Current Affairs Questions & Answers - June 02, 2017

ANSWER: None of the above

Explanation:
world-bank Incentives, safe and conducive environment besides a level playing field were critical to boost women participation in the Indian workforce, the World Bank said.

In its India Development Report released on 29th May 2017, the World Bank said the country had one of the lowest female participation in the workforce, ranking 120th among 131 countries for which data was available.

While overall job creation has been limited, most of the new ones have been grabbed by men given the social norms, the report said.

What is worrisome is the fact that the participation level has been dropping since 2005, despite having 42% women who are graduates.

The report highlighted that India’s potential GDP growth rate can be boosted by a percentage point if women participation increased. Jobs for Indian women remain primarily in the agriculture sector.

The share of women in services and industry is less than 20%.

Amid lower rate of job generation, most regular jobs were being grabbed by men. India created only 0.9% jobs equivalent of the adult population between 2005 and 2012.

ANSWER: Solar Plus Probe Spacecraft

Explanation:
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on 31 May 2017 renamed the Solar Probe Plus Spacecraft, NASA’s first mission to a star which will be launched in 2018, as the Parker Solar Probe in honour of astrophysicist Eugene Parker.

The announcement was made at a ceremony at the University of Chicago, where Eugene Parker serves as the S Chandrasekhar Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus at the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Eugene Parker was the first to predict the existence of the solar wind back in 1958. He theorized that the sun constantly sends out a flow of particles and energy called the solar wind.

This is the first time NASA has named a spacecraft for a living individual.

The article was based on the observations of Parker which showed that there was high speed matter and magnetism constantly escaping the sun which affected the planets and space throughout our solar system.

He proposed a number of concepts about how stars including sun give off energy. This phenomenon has been proven to exist repeatedly through direct observation and it was named as the Solar Wind.

Parker’s observation forms the basis for understanding about how stars interact with the worlds that orbit them.

Parker also theorized an explanation for the superheated solar atmosphere, the Corona, which is contrary to what was expected by physics laws.

As per his theory, Corona is hotter than the surface of the sun itself.

Many NASA missions since then have continued to focus on this complex space environment known as Heliophysics.

Parker Solar Probe will be launched during a 20-day window that opens on 31 July 2018.

ANSWER: Q4

Explanation:
India lost its fastest-growing major economy tag in the January-March period, which was the fourth quarter of the financial year (FY) 2016-17, with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth coming down to 6.1 per cent compared with a provisional 7 per cent in the previous quarter.

The growth of 6.1 per cent was also lower than China’s growth in the same period which was 6.9 per cent.

The data released by the Ministry of Statistics on 31 May 2017 showed that the GDP grew 7.1 per cent in the FY 2016-17, which was slower than 8 per cent growth registered during FY 2015-16.

The GDP numbers for the FY 2016-17 was based on the new 2011-12 base year, which was adopted in recent past. The changes in the new base year also include Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and Wholesale Price Index (WPI).

India’s economic growth unexpectedly slowed to its lowest in more than two years and reports suggest that it was dragged down by construction, manufacturing and trade services.

Report on contraction in these fields are given below. It contracted 3.7 per cent year-on-year in the March quarter compared with a 3.4 per cent growth in the prior quarter.

It grew 5.3 per cent in the last quarter from a year ago, slower than an annual rise of 8.2 per cent in the December quarter.

The annual growth in these areas slowed to 6.5 per cent in the January-March period from 8.3 per cent a quarter ago.

The second reason for this unexpected slump in GDP growth in March quarter can also be attributed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision on 8 November 2016, in which he scrapped two high-value banknotes of the country, i.e. INR 1000 and 500 notes.

ANSWER: Any of the above

Explanation:
The Income Tax (IT) Department on 31 May 2017 announced that taxpayers can now link their Aadhaar Card number with their Permanent Account Number (PAN) by using an SMS-based facility.

The two numbers can be linked by sending an SMS to either 567678 or 56161. Moreover, people can also use the I-T Department’s e-filing website to link the two numbers.

Aadhaar can also be linked into PAN database by quoting Aadhaar in PAN application form for new PAN allotment or by quoting Aadhaar in change request form used for reprint of PAN card.

After verification from the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India), the linking will be confirmed.

In case of any minor mismatch in Aadhaar name provided by the applicant, Aadhaar OTP (one-time password) will be required.

The OTP will be sent to the mobile number registered in the Aadhaar database. The linking of Aadhaar number and PAN is a means to seamlessly avail income tax facilities online.

The I-T Department earlier this month launched an e-filing website to link Aadhaar number with PAN, a mandatory procedure for filing I-T returns now.

The e-filing website added a link on its homepage where people must enter their PAN numbers, Aadhaar numbers and names.

The Union Government, under the Finance Act, 2017, made it mandatory for taxpayers to quote Aadhaar number or the enrolment number of Aadhaar application form for filing I-T returns.

The government also made Aadhaar Card mandatory for applying for PAN with effect from July 2017.

ANSWER: Parvathamma Rajkumar

Explanation:
Parvathamma Rajkumar, Kannada film producer and wife of the late Kannada superstar Rajkumar, passed away on 31 May 2017 due to prolonged illness. She was 78.

She had been hospitalised since 14 May. After a major drop in blood pressure, the producer suffered a massive cardiac arrest on 31st morning.

She was the only woman producer-distributor-exhibitor of Kannada films. The two companies founded by her, Vajreshwari Combines and Poornima Enteprises, have produced many films starring her husband Rajkumar and sons Shivarajkumar, Raghavendra Rajkmar and Puneet Rajkumar.

She has produced over 80 films.

Her company’s 87th production was ‘Run Antony’ that starred her grandson, Vinay Rajkumar. Parvathamma, who got married at the age of 13, has played a major role in managing the image of her husband, a major icon of Kannada cinema.

ANSWER: Australia

Explanation:
A team of Australian scientists in May 2017 discovered a faceless fish and other weird and wonderful creatures in the deep waters of Australia during their scientific journey to the parts of the ocean never explored before.

The search area was the most unexplored environment on earth. The scientists have been surveying the dark and cold abyss that was four kilometres (2.5 miles) below the surface through nets, sonar and deep-sea cameras.

They came across an unusual faceless fish, which has only been recorded once before by the pioneering scientific crew of HMS Challenger off Papua New Guinea in 1873.

It hasn’t got any eyes or a visible nose and its mouth is underneath.

Bright red spiky rock crabs, puffed-up coffin fish, blind sea spiders and deep sea eels were collected by the team during their voyage from Launceston in Tasmania north towards the Coral Sea.

Another discovery was of carnivorous sponges that have lethal spicules made of silicon, effectively glass.

They get small crustaceans hooked on their Velcro-like spines to be slowly digested in-situ. This technique differs from most deep-sea sponges which feed on bacteria.

Life at such depths is one of crushing pressures, as there is no light, little food and freezing temperatures with animals evolving in unique ways to survive.

As food is scarce in such depths, these animals spend their lives floating about and lie in wait until food comes to them.

At such huge depths, it is so dark that creatures often have no eyes or produce their own light through bioluminescence.

ANSWER: Inam Pro +

Explanation:
The Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Shri Nitin Gadkari launched INAM-Pro + in New Delhi on June 1, 2017.

INAM-Pro+ is an upgraded version of INAM-Pro, the web portal designed by National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) and launched by the Ministry two years back as a common platform to bring cement buyers and sellers together.

More than 700 construction companies have used INAM-Pro during the last two years. With 37 Cement companies registered on it, the portal facilitated comparison of price, availability of materials etc. and made it very convenient for the prospective buyers to procure cement at reasonable rates in a transparent manner.

This reduced the time and effort in preparation of proposals and bid submissions, and helped increase efficiency in procurement of construction materials as one could place orders, obtain price quotes and track them in swift manner on this portal

The publicly visible prices have promoted transparency and enhanced ease of doing business. The companies registered on INAM-Pro have a committed supply of 27 million metric tons of cement at a price restricted by predefined ceiling values.

INAM-Pro has thus been successful in matching demand with supply, cutting down delays by timely supply of material and providing for online payments , mitigating cost overruns due to price hedging through ceiling price mechanism which allows maximum increment of 10% Year on Year basis and promoting transparency in the market due to publicly visible Prices.

INAM-Pro has been highly acclaimed by the construction industry and IT sector and has also been recognized and listed in the Book-on-Innovations “New Beginning” released by the PM on the Civil Services Day.

Portal Up gradation: Know More

• Following the success with cement, the portal has recently been upgraded as INAM-Pro+ to include the A to Z of construction materials.
• This includes equipments/machinery and services like purchase/hiring/lease of new/used products and services in the domains of Construction Materials viz., cement, steel, bitumen, stone aggregates, concrete, bricks, wood, sanitary items, paint etc.
• The portal allows stake holders to seek operational guidance, give their feedback and submit suggestions through Toll Free No. 1800 200 3399 (10.00 A.M. to 6.00 P.M, Monday to Friday) or www. www.inampromic.in.

ANSWER: St. Petersburg

Explanation:
The complete list of MoUs signed by PM Modi with Russia are listed below:

List of MoUs/Agreements exchanged during the visit of Prime Minister to Russia (June 01, 2017)

Sl.No.	Title of MoUs/Agreement	Indian signatory	Russian Signatory
1.	The program of cultural exchanges between the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of India for 2017-2019.	Ambassador Pankaj Saran	Vladimir Medinskyii Minister for Culture
2.	The General Framework Agreement for the construction of the third stage of the Kudankulam NPP (KK5 & KK6) along with the Credit Protocol	Shri Satish Kumar Sharma, Chairman NPCIL	Mr Alexei Likhachev, CEO ROSATOM
3.	Agreement between the Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent) and the Council of India on Scientific and Industrial Research on granting access to Rospatent experts to the Indian Digital Library of Traditional Knowledge (TKDL)	Ambassador Pankaj Saran	Mr Grigory Ivliev Head of ROSPATENT
4.	The contract between JSC «Russian Railways» and the Ministry of Railways of the Republic of India on the preparation of the justification for the implementation of the high-speed service at the Nagpur-Secunderabad section	Ambassador Pankaj Saran	Oleg BeloserovPresident of Russian Railways
5.	Memorandum of cooperation between ALROSA Joint Stock Company (Public Joint Stock Company) and the Council for the Promotion of the Export of Precious Stones and Jewellery of India	Shri Praveen Shankar Pandya,Chairman,Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC)	Mr Sergei IvanovPresident ALROSA

Source: PIB

The Saint Petersburg Declaration by the Russian Federation and the Republic of India: A vision for the 21st century was also part of the summit.

Ties India and Russia span the spectrum from Culture to Defence (Sanskriti se Suraksha).

70 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries have been marked by a high degree of convergence on various bilateral and global matters.

The Prime Minister mentioned St. Petersburg Declaration, issued today, as a benchmark of stability in a turbulent, interdependent and interconnected world.

ANSWER: Germany

Explanation:
India and Germany on 30th May inked twelve memoranda of understanding and agreements following bilateral delegation-level talks presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The agreements inked included nine joint declarations of intent (JDIs) and three memoranda of understanding. The list of agreements is as follows:

JDI on cooperation in the field of digitalization, empowerment and economic impact between the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and the Germany’s Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

Twelve memoranda on collaboration on training of Indian skill development officers and cluster managers between the Ministry of Skill Development and BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research).

JDI for the establishment of a Indo-German Centre for Sustainability between Ministry of Science and Technology and the BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research).

JDI on cooperation on cyber policy between the Ministry of External Affairs and the German Foreign Office.

JDI on Indo-German Development Cooperation between the Ministry of Finance and BMZ (Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development).

JDI on continuation of cooperation in the field of advanced training of corporate and junior executives from India between the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and BMWi (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy).

ANSWER: Lionel Messi

Explanation:
Barcelona striker Lionel Messi won the European Golden Shoe for a record equalling fourth time on Sunday having scored 37 goals this season in the Spanish league.

He drew level with Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo with the fourth honour. The award goes every season to the leading goal scorer from every top division national league in Europe.

The Argentinian striker, standing on 74 points, pipped Bas Dost of Sporting Lisbon by six points.

Dost, who ended the season with 34 goals, had scored a hattrick in his last game against Chaves. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Borussia Dortmund was third on the table with 31 goals in the Bundesliga.

Lionel Messi, Barcelona,	74 points
Bas Dost, Sporting Lisbon,	68 points
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Borussia Dortmund,	62 points
Robert Lewandowski, Bayern Munich,	60 points
Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspur	58 points
Edin Dzeko, AS Roma	58 points
Luis Suarez, Barcelona	58 points
Dries Mertens, Napoli	56 points
Edinson Cavani, Paris Saint-Germain	52.5 points
Andrea Belotti, Torino	52 points
Romelu Lukaku, Everton	50 points
Anthony Modeste, Cologne	50 points
Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid	50 points

Lionel Messi: Know More

• Messi helped Barcelona win their third Copa del Rey final on Saturday against Alaves with his opening goal.
• However, rivals Real Madrid left Barcelona behind in the league title race by three points to clinch their first title in five years.
• He scored twice against Eibar to seal the league season with a win, ensuring that manager Luis Enrique gets a happy farewell. In other achievements,
• Messi has been honoured with five Ballon d’Or awards so far, five La Liga Best Player awards, and both a FIFA World Cup Golden Ball and Player of the Year title.