Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Jun 05, 2017

ANSWER: WINDIES

Explanation:
The cricket board for West Indies, on its 91st anniversary, has re-branded themselves as Cricket West Indies from the former West Indies Cricket board.

The board also announced in a media release on their official website that the cricket team from now on will be officially known as ‘WINDIES.’

The release also quoted the board’s CEO Johnny Graves as saying that the name Cricket West Indies “better reflects how the organisation operates.”

“There are many different stakeholders who we work in partnership with, under the unifying aim of improving cricket at all levels within the region over the next few years and consultation will begin immediately as a new strategic plan for 2018-2023 is being developed.

The name ‘Windies’ has been associated with the cricket teams that have representing the Carribean islands in a more colloquial way. The team, once regarded one of the most feared units in the game, have been on the decline since the past few years.

Key players such as Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy etc have had a long standing differences with the board over remunerations that has forced the team to deal with the absence of these players.

This year, the team also failed to make it to the ICC Champions Trophy and a series of defeats in ODI cricket have led to their automatic qualification for the 2019 ICC World Cup in jeopardy.

ANSWER: Third confirmed detection of gravitational waves coming from binary black hole merger

Explanation:
LIGO detects G-waves from black hole merger the 3rd time

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in January 2017 detected another merger of two black holes forming gravitational waves.

The findings were published in the Physical Review Letters on 1 June 2017.

Named as GW170104, this is the third confirmed detection of gravitational waves coming from a binary black hole merger.

This time, the detection has revealed not merely a black hole merger, but also the alignment of the spins of the black holes. This can help the scientists in finding out the way the black holes were formed.

This supports the theory which says that black holes form independently in a star cluster, then sink to the centre of the cluster and eventually merge.

Until the first detection of gravitational waves by LIGO in 2015 (GW150914), it was not known that such massive black holes could exist.

The study had a major Indian contribution and the LIGO-India facility which will join the club in 2024. US-based LIGO has discovered a new population of black holes with masses that are larger than what had been seen before with X-ray studies.

The three confirmed detections by LIGO (GW150914, GW151226, GW170104) and one lower-confidence detection (LVT151012) point to a population of stellar-mass binary black holes that are larger than 20 solar masses.

The gravitational wave detection was for the first time, a chance event; second time a coincidence and third time a pattern.

The observation also yields support to Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity. According to this theory, gravitational waves, unlike light waves, will not disperse as they travel through space.

This too has been confirmed by the analysis of the presently detected signal.

Einstein's Theory: Know More

• The general theory of relativity describes the force of gravity.
• Einstein wasn't the first to come up with such a theory — back in 1686 Isaac Newton formulated his famous inverse square law of gravitation.
• In 1905, Albert Einstein determined that the laws of physics are the same for all non-accelerating observers, and that the speed of light in a vacuum was independent of the motion of all observers.
• This was the theory of special relativity.
• It introduced a new framework for all of physics and proposed new concepts of space and time.

ANSWER: AmbuSens

Explanation:
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur has developed a wireless technology called AmbuSens for remote monitoring of condition of those patients who are ferried in ambulances.

AmbuSens will help in wireless monitoring of various physiological conditions of patients who are ferried in ambulances.

The AmbuSens system includes both hardware and software. The ambulance and the hospitals will have laptops or tablets with internet connection to continuously monitor the health condition of the patients in real-time.

The patients will be fitted with wireless body sensors.

The technology will monitor the parameters like ECG, heart-rate, temperature and blood-pressure and can ensure remote monitoring of the patient’s condition even before they reach the hospital.

The web interface of the system will offer easy-to-use graphical interface with data visualisation tools such as real-time ECG graph rendering.

The graphical interface can be accessed from internet-enabled laptops, tablets and smartphones. The collected patient’s data will be held confidentially.

This new system assumes significance at the backdrop of limited knowledge of medical technician who accompanies a critical patient in an ambulance.

With this technology, the doctors will be able to instruct life saving medical interventions to the technician.

ANSWER: Uday Kotak

Explanation:
Market Regulator SEBI has formed a Committee on Corporate Governance under the chairmanship of Uday Kotak, the executive vice chairman and managing director of Kotak Mahindra Bank.

The move is aimed at improving the standards of corporate governance of listed companies.

The panel which is headed by Uday Kotak will also include representatives of Corporate India, stock exchanges, professional bodies, investor groups, chambers of commerce, law firms, academicians and research professionals and SEBI.

The panel has been mandated to submit the report within a period of four months.

The mandate of the committee is to make recommendations on: Ensuring independence in spirit of independent directors and their active participation in functioning of the company.

The steps that are need to be taken for improving safeguards and disclosures pertaining to related party transactions.

To suggest measures for addressing issues faced by investors on voting and participation in general meetings.

The steps required for improving effectiveness of board evaluation practices. Suggest on issues pertaining to disclosure and transparency.

Corporate Governance Norms: Know More

• In April, SEBI unveiled the detailed corporate governance norms for listed companies.
• The new norms which are in alignment with the new Companies Act would be effective from October 1.
• The new norms are aimed at encouraging companies to adopt best practices on corporate governance. SEBI’s new norms provides for stricter disclosures and protection of investor rights including equitable treatment for minority and foreign shareholders.

SEBI: Know More

• SEBI is the statutory regulator for the securities market in India established in 1988.
• It was given statutory powers through the SEBI Act, 1992.
• SEBI’s headquarters is in Mumbai, Maharashtra. SEBI’s mandate is to protect the interests of investors in securities, promote the development of securities market and to regulate the securities market.

ANSWER: None of the above

Explanation:
Samsung India has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) for setting up two new Samsung Tech Schools in Bengaluru and Jamshedpur as well as to renew the partnership for 10 existing schools being run across the country.

As a part of Samsung’s commitment to government’s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign, the company has announced the MSME-Samsung Technical School Scholarship programme for girls and differently-abled trainees.

Under this Programme, 1,000 girls and differently-abled trainees will be given a grant of up to INR 20,000. Also, a Meritorious Reward Programme for toppers has also been launched.

The toppers among Samsung Technical School students will also be rewarded INR 20,000.

Samsung already runs 10 schools in the Sates of Rajasthan, Kerala, Bihar, Delhi and West Bengal. These schools are run in collaboration with Departments of Technical Education.

Samsung: Know More

• Samsung is a South Korean multinational conglomerate headquartered in Seoul.
• Samsung was founded in 1938 by Lee Byung-Chul.
• The group has diversified into areas including electronics, heavy industries, food processing, textiles, insurance, securities, retail, construction, ship building among others.

ANSWER: Ganeshan Neelakanta Iyer

Explanation:
Ganeshan Neelakanta Iyer has become the first Indian to be nominated as a member of the Umpires and Referees Committee (URC) by International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).

He will serve for a term of two years which is further extendable. In another first Ganeshan Neelakanta Iyer has also been recommended as the Technical Commissioner from Asia to the ITTF.

His will serve in this capacity for a period of four years. Ganesan already serves as the chairman of the South Asian Federation technical committee and also as a member of the Technical Committee of the Commonwealth Table Tennis Federation.

He also recently supervised the Asian Championships at Wuxi (China) as the competition manager. He had served as a deputy referee in the Kuala Lumpur World Championships 2016 and has officiated in various International competitions as Competition Manager and Referee like that of the Commonwealth Games at Glasgow.

URC is the technical arm of the ITTF. It looks after all technical issues involving the sport. The mandate of the committee is to oversee the training, certification, appointment and performance of umpires and referees.

ANSWER: Neutron Stars

Explanation:
NASA is all set to launch the world’s first ever mission devoted for studying neutron stars.

NASA will launch the Neutron Stars Interior Composition Explorer, or NICER, aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.

The NICER will be installed aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as an external attached payload.

About a week after its installation, the NICER will begin observing neutron stars. The mission will focus especially on Pulsars.

During the mission, NASA will also carry out the world’s first demonstration of X-ray navigation in space. Pulsars are those neutron stars that appear to wink on and off like a cosmic lighthouse.

As these pulsars send pulsations that are predictable.

They can be used as celestial clocks for providing high-precision timing similar to that of the atomic-clock signals supplied through the Global Positioning System (GPS).

GPS signals, however, gets weakened if one travels beyond the orbit of the Earth.

On the other hand, Pulsars remain accessible virtually everywhere in space making them an apt navigational solution for deep-space exploration.

NICER will perform tests for the first time in a space technology that relies on pulsars as navigation beacons.

Pulsars and Neutron stars are nothing but the remnants of massive stars which exploded and collapsed into super-dense spheres after exhausting their nuclear fuel.

Pulsars: Know More

• Pulsars were discovered in 1967 by British astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell. It is estimated that just one teaspoonful of neutron star matter would weigh a billion tonnes on Earth.
• There have been many models that attempt to describe the physics governing the interiors of neutron stars.
• The NICER mission will help in finally testing these theories with precise observations
• Observation of neutron stars in the energetic X-ray band provides the greatest insights into their structure and the phenomenon like starquakes, thermonuclear explosions as well as of the most powerful magnetic fields known in the cosmos.

ANSWER: North Korea

Explanation:
The UN security council has unanimously passed a resolution expanding targeted sanctions against North Korea after the latter launched its ninth ballistic missile test of the year.

This is the first such resolution which is agreed upon by the United States and China since the US President Donald Trump took office.

The new resolution has slapped even more sanctions on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). It has condemned the North Korea’s continued proliferation of its nuclear and ballistic program.

The new sanctions have extended a travel ban and asset freeze on senior officials, core military apparatus as well as the state entities that are directly responsible for North Korea’s illicit nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

The list of expanded sanctions also included state officials and banks. This is aimed at further restricting North Korea’s ability to finance its illicit activities.

Sanctions have been applied on entities like Koryo Bank, Strategic Rocket Force of the Korean People’s Army, and 14 other people, including the head of North Korea’s overseas spying operations.

History of UNSC Sanctions

• The UN Security Council had first imposed sanctions on North Korea over its ballistic missile and nuclear programs in the year 2006.
• The UN’s sanctions against North Korea are in response to five nuclear tests and two long-range missile launches.
• North Korea has also launched several more ballistic missiles since then.
• The US has struggled a lot to slow down these programs as the North Korea has vowed to develop a nuclear -tipped missile capable of hitting the US mainland.
• The countries like France and Italy has supported the new resolution.
• Veto powered Russia too have backed the measures taken by UN.

ANSWER: None of the above

Explanation:
The Ministry of Rural Development has selected Vizianagaram as one among the 17 districts for MGNREGA annual award.

The award will be given to Vizianagaram for its effective implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act during the time period 2015-16.

The district programme coordinator and District Collector would be presented the award at the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA Sammelan to be held in New Delhi.

The district has been chosen after the field verification carried out by the selection committee.

The district was known to have generated works for 3,61,668 households in 2015-16 and disbursed INR 483.42 crore as wages to the workers with an average wage of INR 106.

The works carried out under NREGA in the district include 5,000 farm ponds, 240 rain water harvesting structures, and 440 water shed works, and de-siltation of 3,427 minor irrigation tanks. Vizianagaram is a district in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

ANSWER: Terrier Improved Malemute

Explanation:
NASA will launch the Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket into the space that will release blue-green and red artificial clouds.

The launch is expected to support space studies. The launch which was originally scheduled for May 31 eventually got delayed due to poor weather conditions.

The ground stations will require clear skies to clearly view blue-green and red artificial clouds that will be produced as part of the test.

These artificial clouds will be visible from New York to North Carolina.

The rocket will eject vapour canisters between 10 to 20 km from the rocket’s main payload. These canisters will release the vapour after launch. Ground cameras will be stationed to view the vapour tracers.

The vapour tracers will be formed due to the interaction of barium, strontium and cupric-oxide. The multi-canister or ampule ejection system will facilitate the scientists to gather information over a much larger area.

The total flight time of the mission will be around 8 minutes.

What Are Sounding Rockets?

• Sounding rockets derive their name from the nautical term “to sound” that is to take measurements. The sounding rockets are short lived and follows a parabolic trajectory.
• The significance of the launch lies in the fact that the vapour traces can be helpful in studying the ionosphere.
• Since the 1950s, scientists are making use of the sounding rockets to study high-level winds and the Earth’s magnetic field.
• Since these fields are invisible to the human eye, tracer elements like barium makes their movement visible.
• It will help in the study of the motion of the charged particles in the ionosphere as well as the motion of the neutral particles in the upper atmosphere.

ANSWER: Leo Varadkar

Explanation:
Ireland’s governing Fine Gael party elected Leo Varadkar as its new leader on Friday, choosing the gay, 38-year-old son of an Indian immigrant to succeed Enda Kenny as prime minister in a striking sign of the country’s rapid social change.

Varadkar overcame ministerial colleague Simon Coveney as expected, winning an overwhelming majority among the centre-right party’s lawmakers, who hope the straight-talking Dubliner can lead them to third successive term for the first time.

Barring an unexpected development, Varadkar will be voted in as prime minister when parliament next sits on June 13 and become the once-staunchly Catholic country’s first openly gay premier and the youngest person ever to hold the office.

His election marks another chapter in the social change that has swept through the country of 4.6 million people that only decriminalised homosexuality in 1993 but became the first country to adopt gay marriage via a popular vote in 2015

It also shows another face of modern-day Ireland.

Varadkar’s father Ashok, who like his son is a doctor, was born in Mumbai in India.