Current Affairs Questions & Answers - July 26, 2017

ANSWER: Faridabad

Explanation:
In its next step forward to provide BS-VI compliant fuel, government owned oil manufacturer Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has inaugurated a BS-VI Emission Testing Facility at company’s Research & Development Centre in Faridabad on 24th July 2017.

Indian Oil claims that the new fuel testing facility is designed to test all types of fuels including petrol, diesel, ethanol-blended petrol, bio-diesel, CNG, LNG, Hydrogen-CNG and 2G-ethanol blends.

Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas had earlier announced to skip BS-V emission norms and directly implement BS-VI norms by April 2020.

In addition to generating emission data, the facilities will also evaluate the fuel blends for energy efficiency and engine durability.

Earlier in November 2016, Indian Oil had also dispatched BS-VI compliant diesel to OEMs like Honda Cars and Mahindra and Mahindra.

At the inauguration of the R&D centre, Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas in his inaugural speech complimented senior scientists for developing a nano-additised battery for use in e-rickshaws.

This promotes better efficiency and longer life than commercially available batteries, he urged them to take its benefits to the market at the earliest.

The Indian auto-industry is dependent heavily on the availability of BS-VI compliant fuel to meet the April 2020 deadline.

The tough stance taken by the Supreme Court on the implementation of BS-IV norms last year indicates that no additional time will be provided to OEMs to roll out Euro-6 equivalent vehicles in India.

If reports are to be believed then almost every car and UV manufacturer have already started working towards rolling out BS-VI compliant vehicles.

ANSWER: Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana

Explanation:
The Ministry of Rural Development will launch a new sub-scheme under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM).

It will be named as “Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana (AGEY)”.

The main objectives of AGEY are to provide an alternative source of livelihoods to members of Self Help Groups (SHGs) under DAY-NRLM.

This is facilitating them to operate public transport services in backward rural areas.

The Government is implementing DAY-NRLM across the country in all States and Union Territories (except Delhi and Chandigarh).

Under DAY-NRLM, till date, 34.4 lakh women SHGs have been promoted under the programme.

ANSWER: Use of stapler pins

Explanation:
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has banned the use of stapler pins in tea bags from January 2018.

FSSAI ban order issued under Section (15) FSS Act, 2006 has deemed that any loose staple pin consumed inadvertently with tea may cause a serious health hazard.

Currently, tea bags are either stapled or knotted.

According to industry estimates, the tea bag segment contributes 3-4% by value of total tea sales but it is one of the fastest growing segments at 50-60% year-on-year.

The FSSAI order directs the concerned food business operators to discontinue the manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import of stapled tea bags by 1 January 2018.

It also directs all food safety commissioners to take action to prevent the use of unsafe packaging materials by companies and take up measures for enforcement of its order.

FSSAI: Know More

• FSSAI is a nodal statutory agency responsible for protecting and promoting public health in India through the regulation and supervision of food safety.
• FSSAI was established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
• It operates under aegis of Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

ANSWER: Both a and b

Explanation:
The world’s first full - scale floating wind farm is being built off the coast of Scotland in the North Sea.

The wind farm, known as Hywind is a trial project which aims to bring power to 20,000 homes.

The floating wind farm technology will allow wind power to be harvested in waters that are too deep for the existing bottom - standing turbines particularly installed in shallow waters.

Unlike normal turbines, floating turbines are not attached to the seabed by foundations.

Rather, they are attached by long mooring tethers, allowing them to be placed in deep water.

Traditional fixed turbines work best at a depth of 20-50m on stationary base.

Hywind: Know More

• The park will be around four square kilometres in size in deep sea.
• Each turbine in the park will be floating at a depth of between 95 and 120 metres.
• Each turbine tower, including the blades in the floating wind park is 175m high and weighs 11,500 tonnes. It uses a large buoy filled with iron ore to weight the base to keep it upright.
• The turbines also make use of new blade technology, which twists the blades in order to lessen the impact of wind, waves and currents to hold turbine tower upright.
• The turbines in the floating wind farm can operate in water up to a kilometre deep.
• The power output is also larger than power generation from current stationary turbines.
• This revolutionary tech development project will demonstrate workability of floating wind farm technology in open sea conditions and also help to bring costs down.

ANSWER: KR Narayanan

Explanation:
Ram Nath Kovind (71) sworn in as the 14th President of India. He was administered oath to the office by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar in Parliament’s Central Hall.

With this, he became the second Dalit President of India after late President K.R. Narayanan.

He is also the first person from Uttar Pradesh to hold the office of President since Independence.

Kovind was born on 1st October 1945 in Paraukh village in the Kanpur Dehat district, Uttar Pradesh.

He had completed graduation in law from a Kanpur college.

Before starting his career as a lawyer, he cleared the civil services examination but did not join as he was selected for an allied.

He had joined the BJP in 1991.

He was President of the BJP Dalit Morcha between 1998 and 2002. He also served as Member of Rajya Sabha from 1994 to 2006.

Prior to getting elected as President, Mr. Kovind had served as the 35th Governor of Bihar.

KR Narayanan: Know More

• In office: 25 July 1997 – 25 July 2002
• Prime Minister: I. K. Gujral
• Atal Bihari Vajpayee
• Vice President : Krishan Kant
• Born: Kocheril Raman Narayanan
• Date: 4 February 1921
• Place: Perumthanam, Travancore, British India (now Uzhavoor, Kerala, India)
• Died: 9 November 2005 (aged 84) New Delhi, India
• Nationality: Indian
• Political party: Indian National Congress
• Spouse(s): Usha Narayanan (m. 1951–2005)
• Alma mater: University of Kerala (B.A., M.A.)
• London School of Economics (B.Sc)

ANSWER: Human

Explanation:
Scientists for the first time have produced human antibodies in the laboratory.

They have developed revolutionary technique which can help in rapid development of new vaccines to treat a wide range of infectious diseases.

Antibodies mainly function in the humoral adaptive immune system by secreting antibodies to fight off infections caused by bacteria, viruses, and other invasive pathogens.

They are produced by body’s B cells (B lymphocytes).

When an individual B cell recognises a specific pathogen-derived antigen molecule, it proliferates and develops into plasma cells that secrete large amounts of antibody capable of binding to the antigen and fending off the infection.

To develop revolutionary technique, researchers had replicated the process of natural production of antibodies from B cells isolated from patient blood samples in the laboratory to produce specific antibodies.

They had found that B cells need a second signal to start proliferating and developing into plasma cells apart encountering a specific antigen at first instance.

For the second signal they used short DNA fragments called CpG oligonucleotides, which activate a protein named TLR9 inside B cells.

However, they found that treating patient-derived B cells with CpG oligonucleotides stimulates every B cell, not just the tiny fraction capable of producing a particular antibody.

So to overcome the problem they treated patient-derived B cells with tiny nanoparticles coated with both CpG oligonucleotides and an antigen.

With this technique, CpG oligonucleotides were only internalised into B cells recognising the specific antigen.

These cells were only ones in which TLR9 is activated to induce their proliferation and development into antibody-secreting plasma cells.

Importance of Discovery

• Researchers successfully demonstrated their approach using various bacterial and viral antigens, including the tetanus toxoid and proteins from several strains of influenza A.
• In each case, they were able to produce specific, high-affinity antibodies in just a few days.
• In some of the anti-influenza antibodies generated by the technique were able to neutralise multiple strains of the virus.
• They were able to generate anti-HIV antibodies from B cells isolated from HIV-free patients.
• This approach may help researchers to rapidly generate therapeutic antibodies for the treatment of infectious diseases and other conditions such as cancer.

ANSWER: None of the above

Explanation:
A Case Study on the birth of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India – “The GST Saga: A Story of Extraordinary National Ambition” was released on 25th July 2017 by the Union Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley in his office in North Block in the national capital.

In view of the successful roll-out of the GST on 1 July 2017, it was felt that there was a need for the public to know of the story of how GST evolved, its timeline, the different stakeholders involved and how it eventually culminated in its inauguration in the Central Hall of the Parliament of India on the midnight of 30th June,2017 and 1st July, 2017 by the President and Prime Minister of India.

This case study accordingly captures the entire journey of GST right from its ideation in the Kelkar Task Force Report in 2003.

Other salient features such as the dates on which the SGST Laws were enacted in the 31 States, peculiarity of the Indian GST model, how the fitment of rates was done and the IT backbone of GST have also been addressed in the case study.

This makes it a concise yet comprehensive repository of the GST story.

ANSWER: Shachi and Shruti

Explanation:
Reliance Defence and Engineering Limited (RDEL) on 25th July launched the first two Naval Offshore Patrol Vessels (NOPVs) at their shipyard in Pipavav, Gujarat.

The ships are part of a five ship project being constructed for the Indian Navy.

The two NOPVs, Shachi and Shruti were launched by Smt. Preeti Luthra at RDEL Shipyard Pipavav, Gujarat.

The primary role of NOPVs is to undertake surveillance of the country’s vast Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) besides operational tasks such as anti-piracy patrols, fleet support operations, maritime security of offshore assets, coastal security operations, and protection of shipping lanes.

The NOPVs would increase the ocean surveillance and patrolling capabilities of the Indian Navy.

The NOPVs being constructed at RDEL are patrol ships and are armed with 76mm Super Rapid Gun Mount (SRGM) system along with two 30mm AK-630M guns which provide medium range and short range offensive and defensive capabilities.

The armament is remotely controlled through an electronic Fire Control System. The ships are fitted with diesel engine driven propulsion systems and can deliver speeds upto 25 knots.

All ship operations are controlled by an intelligent Integrated Platform Management System which has interfaces for all operational activities onboard the ship.

These two NOPVs are the first warships to be launched by a private sector shipyard in India. He further noted that opening up of warship building to the private sector by the Indian Navy is an opportunity that the private sector must make full use of, and is an enabling factor for increased private sector participation in this key area of national capability.

While India has commissioned a number of quality warships, our shipyards need to constantly strive to transform with an aim to achieve global standards in quality, productivity and build periods with focus on innovation, modern techniques, and processes, and all round efficiency.

The projects need to be implemented as per planned schedule.

Apart from meeting national requirements, the shipyards should also focus on export orientation.