Current Affairs Questions & Answers - July 25, 2016

ANSWER: Direct Benefit Transfers

Explanation:
Direct Benefit Transfers will be linked to Aadhaar towards the close of the current calendar year.

• Government has decided to bring all subsidies and welfare schemes under the DBT net by March 2017.
• DBT programme is a major reform initiative for checking the leakages of welfare funds.
• It was launched on January 1, 2013 with 24 schemes of 8 ministries.
• At present, benefits under 74 schemes and 17 ministries have been reached to targeted people through DBT.
• A DBT cell will also be present in central government ministries and state governments.
• Through DBT all cash benefits are transferred to the beneficiary’s bank account and the DBT mission last year was shifted to Cabinet Secretariat and implementation monitored by PMO.
• Scope of DBT has been expanded to include individual; beneficialness under PAHAL, transfer of LPG subsidy to individual consumers, wages under MGNREGA scheme and the National Social Assistance Programme.
• Ministers have been requested to examine numerous programmes and schemes implemented by them/their attached officers, autonomous agencies, and PSUs.

ANSWER: Neptune

Explanation:
Scientists have discovered two small worlds far outside the orbit of Neptune in the most comprehensive survey conducted on distant solar system objects.

• The two objects are located beyond the Kuiper belt which is a region of small icy objects beyond Neptune.
• Pluto is a part of this belt.
• They also have the third and fourth most distant perihelia which means when the object has its closest approach distance to the sun of any known solar system objects.
• Orbital motions of these objects are in resonance with Neptune’s orbit making it somewhat unexpected.
• Orbital paths imply worlds have interacted with Neptune in the past or continue to do so despite massive distance from the ice giant planet.
• This latest discovery is based on observations made with the Subaru Telescope in Hawai'i and Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) telescope in Chile.
• The new objects are all under Neptune Mean Motion Resonances i.e the location of their orbits have specific period ratios with respect to that of Neptune.
• One of the new objects foes around the sun once every time Neptune foes around four times while the other new objects go around once every time Neptune goes around three times.

ANSWER: 4

Explanation:
Symbiosis Institute of Skill Development has signed 4 MoUs including Telecom Skill Sector Council for telecom skills, Abhi Impact Solutions Pvt Ltd for logistics and transport management skills, Rajasthan Beauty Institute for beauty and wellness skills and Ghulam Nabi Azad College, Akola for teaching student logistics, retail, marketing skills and more.

• The MoU is aimed at enhancing the employability of students and ensuring they are suitable to serve Small, Micro and Medium enterprises of the region in their respective industries.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
Haryana, Karnataka and TN have expressed serious reservations to the PMO that census based assessment of learning outcomes should be done at school level.

• Haryana and TN made a strong pitch for sample based assessment and showed how to improve the system.
• NCERT has also expressed reservations about the census based assessment.
• It has been argued that the census based assessment would not provide the kind of data which is needed.
• Sample based assessment of Class III, V and VIII students in Tamil, English and Maths showed that TN in 2012-2013 was easy to administer and could also be used to draw conclusions with ease.
• Census based survey has become a gigantic exercise with the focus moving away from lessons.

ANSWER: Nepal

Explanation:
Nepal’s PM KP Oli resigned on 24th July 2016 ahead of the no confidence vote plunging the country into fresh turmoil after the Madhesi protests against the new Constitution.

• Oli who became PM in October 2015 heads the eighth government of Nepal in the past decade.
• He was facing a no trust motion after Maoists withdrew support from the coalition government.
• Madhesi People’s Rights Forum Democratic and the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party has supported the no confidence motion tabled against Oli by the Nepal Congress and Prachanda led CPN Maoist Centre.

ANSWER: Mexico

Explanation:
India and Mexico have charted out a fresh path in bilateral trade and investment with a focus on sectors like telecom and medical devices as well as renewable energy.

• This was agreed during a recent meeting of the bilateral HLG on Trade, Investment and Economic Cooperation.
• HLG or High Level Group established in 2007 has met on July 13-14 after 4 years.
• Mexico is considering increase in installed wind power capacity to 9.5 GW by 2018 gtom 2.5 GW.
• Suzlon has plans to spur development in this area.
• According to a recent report by Global Data India’s medical devices sector will grow to USD 17.6 billion in 2020 from 10.4 billion in 2014 while the Mexico medical device market will rise to USD 6.5 billion by 2020 from 4.9 billion in 2015

ANSWER: INS Viraat

Explanation:
Aircraft carrier INS Viraat has sailed for essential repairs and dry docking at the Cochin shipyard.

• INS Viraat also known as the Grand Old Lady among Indian naval officers will be decommissioned later this year.
• The second aircraft carrier of the nation, INS Viraat has spend 29 years under the Indian tricolour and 27 years with the Royal Navy.
• It holds the Guinness Record for being the oldest serving warship.
• INS Viraat was known in the Royal Navy as the HMS Hermes.
• It was commissioned into the Indian Navy on May 12, 1987.

ANSWER: Dr. Sanjiv Misra

Explanation:
Mumbai based Axis Bank has been given RBI approval for appointing Dr. Sanjiv Misra as the Additional Director and Non Executive (Part Time) Chairman of the bank from July 2016 to July 2019 for a period of three years.

• He was earlier the SUUTI or special under stading of UTI) nominee on board as Non Executive Chairman till May 2016.
• He has a degree in economics from St, Stephen’s College, a masters from Delhi School of Economics and a doctorate from JNU.
• He was designated Lucius N. Littauer Fellow of 1987 in recognition of skills in academia and leadership spheres.
• He was a member of the IAS for over 35 years.
• Dr. Misra has also been a member of the Advisory Council of the Asian Development Bank Institute Tokyo and a member of the Committee on Fiscal Consolidation (Kelkar Committee) set up in August 2012 for fiscal consolidation for the Indian economy.

ANSWER: HDFC ERGO GIC

Explanation:
HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company and Shamrao Vithal Cooperative Bank announced a bancassurance agency partnership.

• The partnership aims at providing non life insurance offerings to bank customers.
• Alliance is an important part of the growth strategy according to HDFC ERFO CEO and MD Ritesh Kumar.
• SVC Bank has 194 branches in 10 states.
• HDFC ERGOGIC is a JV between HDFC Ltd and ERGO International AG from Germany which is part of the Munich Re Group among the largest insurance companies across the globe.
• HDFC has 51 percent stake in the insurance JV.

ANSWER: Viacom 18

Explanation:
Mydala dot com, India’s leading local services marketing platform has joined hands with Viacom 18 as the media partner for Star Trek Beyond, third instalment of the iconic Star Trek Reboot series released in India.

• Mydala is the largest mobile commerce platform in the country with over 6.6 transactions per month and 85 percent of these from mobile platforms.

ANSWER: Made in Afghanistan: Harnessing the Economic Potential

Explanation:
Conference titled Made in Afghanistan was recently held in Delhi to promote Afghan products and boost trade ties between the two countries."

• The theme of the 2 day long event was “Made in Afghanistan: Harnessing the Economic Potential”
• It helped to strengthen Indian Afghan relations in terms of trade, commerce and investment opportunities.
• MoU was signed between FICCI Flo and Afghanistan Women Business Federation during the event.
• Traders from Afghanistan also displayed their products and offerings

ANSWER: Keni Harrison

Explanation:
America’s Keni Harrison broke the 28 year old world record in the 100m hurdles clocking 12.20 seconds at the London Anniversary Games.

• She is the fast woman in the world this year.
• The previous record of 12.21 seconds was held by Bulgaria’s Yordana Donkova.
• This is Harrison’s second record breaking performance of the year.
• She set the American record for 12.24 seconds on May 28 in Eugene, Oregon.

ANSWER: Karnataka Bank Ltd

Explanation:
Karnataka Bank Ltd has initiated a programme to provide solar lights in non electrified areas in rural parts of the state.

• Bank ltd in association with the Manipal based NGO Bharatiya Vikas Trust has taken up the initiative under the Corporate Social Responsibility programme.
• Close to 100 students from Udupi district have been provided solar lights under this solar light scholarship programme

ANSWER: Ghatampur

Explanation:
CCEA has approved the 1980 MW thermal power project in UP’s Ghatampur at a cost of INR 17237 crore including interest during a construction component of INR 3202.42 crore.

• CCEA has given approval for installation of the GTPS through a JV between Nevyeli Lignite Corporation and UP Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam called Uttar Pradesg Power Limited.
• Pachwara south coal block in Jharkhand has been allowed for meeting coal requirements of this project.
• CCEA also cleared proposal of Ambuja cements to acquire 24 percent stake in Holcim India, permitting Swiss major Lafarge Holcim to enhance its India footprint.