Current Affairs Questions & Answers - July 26, 2016

ANSWER: 0.9

Explanation:
Overall power deficit during the April-June quarter this fiscal was 0.9 percent while peak deficit was 2 percent.

• Central Electricity Authority said the demand-supply gap of electricity had been brought to the lowest ever since 2.1 percent during 2015-2016.
• It has further reduced to 0.9 percent during April-June 2016-2017.
• As against an overall demand of 295.34 billion units in April-June, 292.82 billion units were supplied, a deficit of 0.9 percent.
• Close to 149.97 billion units were supplied against the peak demand of 152.97 billion units.
• This recorded a deficit of 2 percent in the time under review.

ANSWER: Only b and c

Explanation:
EU’s first regulated bitcoin product, an asset backed exchange traded instrument is set to invest exclusively in the digital currency and begin trading this week on Gibraltar Stock Exchange and Germany’s Deutsche Boerse.

• Web based currency can be used to send cash instantly across the world, free of charge with no requirement for third party checks.
• It is accepted by major online retailers and used in 200,000 daily transactions.
• It has a highly volatile value peaking at more than USD 1200 in late 2013 before crashing after the collapse of the Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange.
• Bitcoin ETI will be traded through regulated brokerages across Europe and settlement will be handled through Euroclear and Clearstream rather than shared ledger system blockchain.

ANSWER: CEO

Explanation:
Swedish mobile telecoms gear maker Ericsson has parted ways with CEO Hans Westberg on 25th July, 2016 following a series of bad results.

• Vestberg came under fire for leadership and pay factors after weak results, though he has served longer than any of his three predecessors.
• Ericsson shares went up 3 percent in 1230 GMT, losing 21 percent so far this year.
• The removal of the CEO was taken as a positive step by the markets therefore.

ANSWER: Sanjiv Puri

Explanation:
ITC Ltd Board has redesignated ED Sanjiv Puri as the COO of the company with immediate effect.

• 53-year-old Puri was placed on ITC’s board in December 2015 in a move seen as part of Chairman YC Deveshwari’s succession planning.
• Company announced the appointment of the IIT Kanpur alumnus who joined the company in the 1980s.
• He was previously President of the FMCG businesses since 2014.

ANSWER: Quikr

Explanation:
E-classified major Quikr has acquired online hiring platform Hiree as part of the aim to tap the white collar job market.

• Hiree counts IT companies and startups among clients and will be merged with job vertical Quikr Jobs and operate out of the latter’s HQ, Quikr confirmed in a statement.
• Combined entity will create a recruitment platform connecting 4 million active candidates with recruiters across the nation.
• Quikr classified platforms is used by 30 million persons per month and is bagged by investors like eBay, Warburg Pincus and Tiger Global Management.

ANSWER: Big Data Partnership

Explanation:
Big data analytics major Teradata has announced the acquisition of London based firm Big Data Partnership to broaden open source analytics services across international marketplaces such as Asia.

• Big Data Partnership broadens the analytics services portfolio of the company.
• Big Data Partnership has expertise in disruptive technologies such as Apache Hadoop and helps clients become data driven and data savvy through data science and latest big data technologies.
• Company will now join Teradata’s Think Big consulting practice to accelerate its expansion of open source consulting services internationally.

ANSWER: Yahoo

Explanation:
Verizon is purchasing search engine major Yahoo for USD 4.83 billion marking the close of an era for a company defining the internet.

• This marks the second time in two years Verizon has broadened its digital reach.
• It paid USD 4.4 billion for AOL in 2015.
• It is the largest wireless carrier in the US and is NY based.
• Others in the bidding processes were AT&T and Quicker Loans founder Dan Gilbert as well as buyout firms TPG and Vector Capital Management.

ANSWER: HP

Explanation:
Taiwanese smartphone marker HTC has partnered HP to launch Vive branded PCs.

• HTC will acquire the PCs from HP and rebrand them.
• HTC forayed into the VR segment with the launch of Vive headset in 2015.

ANSWER: 10i

Explanation:
Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani has invested in an e-commerce start up for the first time namely Bengaluru based 10i Commerce Services aimed at empowering traditional small retail stores with technology platform ShopX.

• So far, INR 25-30 crore has been raised by Nilekani who is the sole investor in the startup with a minority stake.
• This is his largest investment in a startup since Sedemac.

ANSWER: Viking

Explanation:
40 years ago, NASA’s Viking Mission became the first to successfully land a completely operational spacecraft on Mars.

• Rolls of microfilm containing the data were stored away for potential use.
• NASA is now going through the microfilm and scanning every frame into the computer database so anyone can access it online.
• Spacecraft dubbed Viking 1 landed on the surface of the Red Planet in July 1976.
• Counterpart Viking 2 landed on the Martian surface in September 1976.

ANSWER: Marto Gracias

Explanation:
Former India football player Marto Gracias died on 24th July 2016 following a cardiac arrest. He is survived by a wife and a daughter.

• Gracias is a former striker who captained Maharashtra in the senior nationals and TATA Sports Club in major tournamenets.
• He suffered a heart attack at the age of 75 and passed away.
• Gracias is known for his hat trick in India’s 4-0 win against Hong Kong in the 1967 Merdeka Cup, held in Malaysia.

ANSWER: Democrat

Explanation:
Debbie Wasserman Schultz was put in charge of the Democratic National Committee , becoming the first woman to chair the DNC.

• But following publication of emails (close to 19,000) indicating senator Hillary Clinton was preferred over Bernie Sanders as rocked the party.
• WikiLeaks posted the emails and Schultz will now step down.
• At 26, she was the youngest woman elected to a seat in Florida’s House.

ANSWER: Second phase of Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum inaugurated

Explanation:
PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the second phase of the Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum marking the opening of a museum aimed at enhancing implementation of democratic principles and understanding the role of the Presidency.

• This coincides with the fourth anniversary of assuming the role of the country’s first citizen by President Mukherjee.

ANSWER: Both of the above

Explanation:
Women can join and serve in the Territorial Army in the railway engine regiments and also considered for honorary commissions, the Centre told Delhi HC.

• Government had submitted this in an affidavit filed before the Bench seeking a hearing of the PIL seeking recruitment of women in TA.
• TA is an organisation of volunteers who receive military training to be mobilised for the country’s defence in the event of an emergency.
• No discrimination was indicated during the selection procedure, eligibility criteria and terms of service, said the Centre.

ANSWER: Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping

Explanation:
Centre for United Peacekeeping in India (CUNPK) commenced the first United Nations Peacekeeping Course for African Partners.

• The course commenced for three weeks from July 25 in new Delhi.
• It is being conducted jointly with the US.
• Indian Army has acquired decades of experience through participation in UN Peace Keeping Operations.

ANSWER: New Delhi

Explanation:
Government of India has planned to establish an All India Institute of Homeopathy at Narela New Delhi marking the creation of the first post graduate and doctorate research in this area in the country.

• Civil works of three new institutes All India Institute of Ayurveda New Delhi, North Eastern Institute of Ayurveda and Homeopathy and North Eastern Institute of Folk Medicine were also completed.
• The institutes will be operationalised in 2016-2017.

ANSWER: Feed the Future India Triangular Training Programme

Explanation:
Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and US Agency for International development launched the second phase of the Feed the Future India Triangular Training Programme.

• This brings specialised agricultural training to professionals across Africa and Asia.
• Indian government and USAID signed a Limited Scope Cooperation Agreement to this effect in 2005.
• 17 countries are covered under the programme including Liberia, Kenya, Malawi. Cambodia and Ethiopia.

ANSWER: National Plan of Action for Children

Explanation:
WCD Ministry has drafted the National Plan of Action for Children 2016 which is based on principles of National Policy for Children(NPC 2013)

• It provides a protection of child rights under 4 key areas:1. Survival, Health and Nutrition
  2. Education and Development (including Skill Development)
  3. Protection
  4. Participation.
• Draft NPAC is being developed in consultation with ministries, departments, governments of state and UT, NGOs and children.

ANSWER: State Bank of India

Explanation:
Country’s largest PSU bank SBI has signed an MoU with IRCTC for detailed promotion of railway ticketing activities including online ticketing and unreserved ticketing systems.

• As per the MoU, the signatories “will jointly explore areas of cooperation and draw up a detailed plan for promotion of rail ticketing activities.”
• Both parties are desirous of working together to provide improved Internet ticketing services to the customers of Indian Railways in the field of Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) and Internet-based e-ticketing system.

ANSWER: Startup India

Explanation:
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has organised a day long conference on Startup India in New Delhi aimed at enhancing the ease of doing business.

• Startup would now need only certificate of recognition from government to get IPR benefits.
• Under the ‘Start-up India’ action plan, the government has announced three-year tax holiday and other benefits to these entrepreneurs.
• Around 4400 technology startups are there in India and number is expected to reach 12,000 by 2020.

ANSWER: Aknalich

Explanation:
A huge Yazidi temple is under construction in a small Armenian village, intended as a symbol of resilience for a persecuted religious tradition.

• The temple is being built in Aknalich, about 35km from Yerevan, the Armenian capital.
• 7 domes will surround a central arched roof, crowned with a gold-plated sun.
• At 25m height, it will be built from Armenian granite and Iranian marble and house a 200 sq. m prayer hall.
• Called Quba Mere Diwane, this will be the largest Yazidi temple in the world.

ANSWER: 17

Explanation:
Medical Council of India has granted permission to start 17 colleges in the nation including three government institutes in Karnataka.

• This adds 2150 seats to the MBBS field this year.
• Apart from Karnataka's three, Maharashtra, Telangana and UP will get two institutes each while Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Uttarakhand will get one each.
• The country has 439 medical colleges with 59,288 MBBS seats.
• The highest number of medical colleges are in Karnataka.

ANSWER: A. Kanyakumari

Explanation:
A. Kanyakumari, an outstanding and versatile violinist, will get the Sangita Kalanidhi award of the Music Academy this year.

• “The executive committee of the Academy held on July 24 has unanimously chosen her for its coveted award,” said N. Murali, president of Academy.
• He said Ms. Kanyakumari was the first woman violinist to get the award in the history of the Music Academy and she will preside over the 90th annual conference of the Academy to be held between December 15, 2016 and January 1, 2017.
• The award will be conferred on her at the Sadas on January 1, 2017.
• She belongs to the Balasubramaniam school of music.
• She has also created 7 rages under Saptadri, 7 names of Lord Venkateswara in Tirupati

ANSWER: Neeraj Chopra

Explanation:
Chopra broke the record by winning gold medal at the U-20 World Championships in Poland.

• Chopra, who broke the earlier record of 84.69 meters held by Latvian Zigismunds Sirmais, recorded a throw of 86.48m.
• The 18-year-old was gunning for a spot at Rio Olympics but failed to hit the qualifying mark of 83 meters and now have stunned everyone with his record breaking throw.