Current Affairs Questions & Answers - June 08, 2016

ANSWER: 3

Explanation:
Telecom Commission stood by its decision to levy 3 percent spectrum usage charge of adjusted gross revenue on telecom operators. Weighted average will be calculated between broadband wireless access spectrum, current SUC rate and spectrum will be acquired in the future.

• To stop revenue loss for the government, telecom operators will pay minimum amount they are paying as per 2015-2016 rates
• Annual SUC collection is around INR 7000 crore and DoT moved Cabinet note for inter ministerial constellation on spectrum auction within the week
• Spectrum bands will be auctioned in the same time
• COAI has sought uniformity in SUC rate at 3 percent for assigned airwaves and bringing it further down to 1 percent in phased way

ANSWER: Financial Technology

Explanation:
RBI is setting up a multi-disciplinary panel to understand these companies and create the perfect ecosystem for them. The committee will have representatives from financial regulators and stakeholders from the industry

• Fintech covers a large section of areas including transactions, lending and insurance
• RBI is also looking at other technology based systems, trends for receivables sale and unified payment interface systems

ANSWER: 2

Explanation:
India and the US announced the setting up of 2 financial assistance programmes worth USD 60 million for supporting much required clean energy initiatives including solar power and other renewables

• US is committed to bear technical capacity, resources and private sector and launching efforts with India to spur greater funding for the renewable energy sector
• This includes a creation of US$20 million US India Clean Energy Finance Initiative supported by the US and India both
• This will mobilise US $400 million to provide clean and renewable electricity to 1 million households by 2020.

ANSWER: US

Explanation:
India and the United States committed themselves to establish the US-India Clean Energy Hub as the coordinating mechanism to focus on government efforts in the US in partnership with leading financial institutions to enhance renewable energy investment in India.

• The two nations also agreed on a US $40 million US-India Catalytic Solar Finance Programme equally supported by the US
• This includes cooperation with USAID on Greening the Grid and support to Indian utilities for scaling up use of rooftop solar equipment

ANSWER: VI

Explanation:
Consumers will now have to shell out money for power, fuel and cars in few years as industries will pass technology upgrade burden into place for meeting environmental and emission norms

• The new environmental norms for coal-fired power plants, for example, are expected to push up electricity cost by 40-50 paise per unit. Motor fuels could become costlier by 70 paise or more per litre as the country moves to Bharat Stage-VI - akin to Euro-VI - grade fuels by April 2020.
• Similarly, carmakers say prices may rise by anywhere between Rs 1 lakh and Rs1.5 lakh.
• The new norms for coal-fired power stations, announced in December, for example, would impact 180,000 MW of generation capacity.
• The new norms cover the range of emissions from power station including particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury etc as well as limiting water usage.

ANSWER: GFE3

Explanation:
Scientists have come up with new tools to modify brain activity and memory without the use of chemicals and drugs. The new tool is a protein which can be encoded in animal genomes to switch off inhibitory synapses or connections between neurons increasing electrical activity.

• The GFE3 protein enables researchers map the brain's connections and better understand how inhibitory synapses modulate brain function, said lead author Don Arnold , professor at University of Southern California.
• It may also help them to control neural activity and treat a range of conditions from psychosis to cocaine addiction
• Most brain proteins last only a couple of days before they are actively degraded and replaced by new proteins. GFE3 targets proteins that hold inhibitory synapses together to this degradation system and as a result, the synapses fall apart.

ANSWER: M4

Explanation:
Scientists have assessed the music of the stars. Ancient stars in the Milky way were found to display minute pulses in brightness caused by sound captured inside

• Astrophysicists from the University of Birmingham captured these sounds, according to research published today in the Royal Astronomical Society journal Monthly Notices.
• The research team, from the University of Birmingham's School of Physics and Astronomy, has reported the detection of resonant acoustic oscillations of stars in 'M4', one of the oldest known clusters of stars in the Galaxy, some 13 billion years old.
• They studied resonant oscillations of stars using a technique called asteroseismology.
• These oscillations lead to miniscule changes or pulses in brightness, and are caused by sound trapped inside the stars. By measuring the tones in this 'stellar music', it is possible to determine the mass and age of individual stars.

ANSWER: NMNAT 2

Explanation:
Researchers have identified an enzyme that may help protect against the debilitating effects of certain degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer's, an advance which could assist in the development of new drugs.

• This study found that NMNAT2, or nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyl transferase 2, is a key neuronal maintenance factor
• It exerts both an enzyme function to protect neurons from stress caused by over-excitation, and a 'chaperone' function, shown for the first time in this study, to combat the misfolded proteins encountered by the brain during ageing
• Many neurodegenerative disorders are caused by accumulation of proteins in the brain called proteinopathies, which occur when proteins "misfold," causing them to grow "sticky" and clump up in the brain in a form often referred to as "plaques," or "tangles," researchers said.
• As a molecular chaperone, NMNAT2 binds to misfolded proteins to prevent or repair the errors that cause these clumps, they said.
• Common proteinopathies are Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, as well as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, researchers said.

ANSWER: Umang Bedi

Explanation:
Adobe's Umang Bedi will replace Kirthiga Reddy as Facebook India MD. Bedi, a Harvard Business School alumnus, was Adobe's South Asia region MD responsible for sales and marketing. and driving strategic partnerships, alliances, and selling cloud services opportunities.

• Prior to joining Adobe, he was the India head of Intuit, the US-based software company that develops financial and tax preparation software.
• Bedi, an engineering graduate from University of Pune, was the recipient of the '40 Under Forty: India's Hottest Business Leaders Award 2014' given by The Economic Times and Spencer Stuart in 2014.
• Reddy will return to the US to join Facebook's global accounts team. She will manage Facebook's relationships with the world's largest global advertisers.

ANSWER: 8

Explanation:
At least 4 out of 10 computers in Asia-Pacific countries are likely to be infected with malware, a study by Microsoft has found.

• While Pakistan tops the list of countries figuring in the Malware Infection Index 2016, India ranks 8th on the list.
• The index, which was released on June 7, identifies the key malware threats in the region and ranks markets in Asia-Pacific according to how much they are affected.
• Three most encountered malware as Gamarue, a malicious computer worm that is commonly distributed via exploit kits and social engineering; and Skeeyah and Peals which are trojans that try to look innocent to convince you to install them, the index reveals.

ANSWER: US $213.6 million

Explanation:
Business intelligence (BI) software revenue is expected to grow 18.6% to reach $213.8 million by 2016 over the previous year as spending on data analytics solutions rises, research firm Gartner said on June 7th

• The revenue, which stood at $180.2 million in 2015, included revenue from platforms like BI, advanced analytics, analytic applications and corporate performance management software, it said in a report.
• BI platforms segment continued to lead the BI software market in India accounting for $115.6 million in revenues in 2015.

ANSWER: Archefish

Explanation:
A tropical fish can tell one human face from another despite lacking a brain section that homo sapiens and other "smart" animals use for this task, scientists said on June 8, 2016

• The astonishing ability was demonstrated in experiments with eight archerfish, a tropical species best known for spitting pressurised water jets to shoot prey out of the air
• Instead of aiming at bugs, the sharpshooting fish were taught to spit at pictures of human faces displayed on a computer monitor suspended over their aquarium.
• The fish, which require excellent vision for hunting, were first introduced to two faces, and conditioned to spit at one of them in exchange for a food reward.
• The researchers then tested whether the fish would recognise, and spit at, the familiar face among 44 new ones.
• The fish got it right more than 80 percent of the time.
• Understanding fish intelligence may shed light on our own brain function- whether facial recognition is an innate or learned ability

ANSWER: 8

Explanation:
India and the US inked eight agreements, including in the sphere of defence and energy cooperation and counter-terrorism after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama in the White House in June 2016.

• This includes agreement on exchange of terrorist screening information between the Multi-Agency Centre/Intelligence Bureau of India and the Terrorist Screening Center of the US
• The second is a MoU to enhance cooperation on energy security, clean energy and climate change through increased bilateral engagement
• Another MoU is to enhance co-operation in wildlife conservation and combating wildlife trafficking in areas such as wildlife forensics and conservation genetics; natural world heritage conservation and nature interpretation; and conservation awareness.
• Another MoU is between the consular, passport and visa division of India's ministry of external affairs and US customs and border protection, department of homeland security for the development of an international expedited traveler initiative
• The fifth agreement is a technical arrangement between the Indian Navy and the US Navy concerning unclassified maritime information sharing.
• A MoU was also inked between India's petroleum and natural gas ministry and the department of energy of the US for cooperation in gas hydrates.
• In defence cooperation, an information exchange annex (IEA) was held between the ministry of defence and the US's department of defence regarding aircraft carrier technologies.
• The IEA is aimed to enhance data and information sharing specific to aircraft carriers between India and the US, it said.

ANSWER: Double Helix

Explanation:
Scientists were trying to unlock this mystery for over 20 years. New research has unlocked the crucial part of mystery as to how human DNA can replicate and repair itself, essential for all life forms.

• Main findings of the research were that Branched DNA were identified in X-Files a TV serial. Researchers showed how Flap EndoNuclease enzymes (FENs) trim branched DNA molecules after cells have divided.
• They found the FEN threads the free end of the branch through a hole in the enzyme before sliding along to the trunk. It acts like a pair of molecular secateurs, trimming the branch and restoring the iconic double-helix.
• The team used the Diamond Light Source called the UK's synchrotron which works like a giant microscope for their discovery.

ANSWER: Canarias Einstein Ring

Explanation:
International team of astrophysicists discover new optical Einstein ring
Called Canarias Einstein Ring, it is a distorted image of a galaxy, the source, which is very distant from the Earth.

• The results of the discovery were published in the international journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society on 16 May 2016.
• The discovery was made by a team comprising of doctoral student Margherita Bettinelli from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and the University of La Laguna (ULL) of Spain.
• The rare phenomenon was discovered in the Sculptor constellation, IAC J010127-334319, in the vicinity of the Sculptor Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy.
• The discovered new source of galaxy (Einstein Ring) is an almost complete ring with an angle of 300 degree having a diameter of 4.5?arcsec.

ANSWER: Odisha

Explanation:
Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $120 million loan agreement to help improve irrigation and water management infrastructure in Odisha.

• The loan is the second tranche of a $157.5 million financing facility under the Orissa Integrated Irrigated Agriculture and Water Management Investment Program.
• The financing will be used for modernising seven irrigation subprojects resulting in improved irrigation in over 100,000 hectares, and strengthening of Water User Associations (WUAs) and the institutional capacity of Odisha’s Department of Water Resources.
• The selected areas for the investment program are the Baitarani, Brahmani, Budhabalanga, and Subernarekha river basins and part of the Mahanadi delta.

ANSWER: Surya Mitra

Explanation:
Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy launched “Surya Mitra” mobile App

• The GPS based mobile app is developed by National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) which is an autonomous institution of Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE).
• The Surya Mitra Mobile App is currently available in Google play store, which can be downloaded and used across India.
• This App is a high end technology platform which can handle thousands of calls simultaneously and can efficiently monitor all visits of Suryamitra’s. The trained Suryamitra’s who opts for entrepreneurship have joined in the Mobile App in several states.
• These Suryamitras are once again sensitised by NISE on soft skills Customer Relations Management, Punctuality and are now ready to deliver the services.

ANSWER: Freight

Explanation:
The Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Shri Nitin Gadkari launched the TCI –IIM Calcutta joint study report on the operational efficiency of freight transportation by road in India in New Delhi on June 7.

• The report is based on a study commissioned by the Transport Corporation of India (TCI), of 28 routes in the country over the period 2014-15.
• In in China about 47 % of the freight is carried through waterways, in Japan and Korea it is about 43-44 percent and in European countries more than 40 percent. In India only about 6 percent of the freight is carried through waterways.

ANSWER: Paradip

Explanation:
Paradip Port Trust received Best Performance Award from Shipping Ministry.

• The Port showed best improvement in efficiency parameters for the year 2015-16. Shri N. Vaiyapuri, Deputy Chairman, PPT received the award during the review meeting held at Panaji, Goa.
• Paradip Port Trust has achieved outstanding efficiency parameters among the major Ports. Vessel turn round time has been drastically reduced by 36% from 7.01 days in 2014-15 to 4.50 days during 2015-16.
• Similarly, berth day output has also increased by 19% from 17,736 metric tonnes to 21,139 metric tonnes.

ANSWER: Kulmeet Bawa

Explanation:
Adobe on 6 June 2016 announced the appointment of Kulmeet Bawa as Managing Director (MD) for South Asia. He will begin his new role on 24 June 2016

• Bawa will take over the position from Umang Bedi, who is leaving the company after five years of service.
• He will report to Paul Robson, President of Adobe Asia Pacific. Bawa will lead Adobe's customer-facing engagements in India
• Bawa currently serves as the Head of Sales for Adobe in India.
• Adobe Systems Incorporated is an American multinational computer software company headquartered in San Jose, California, United States.

ANSWER: The Education President

Explanation:
The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee will receive the first copy of a book “The Education President” June 8 at a function to be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

• The President will receive the book from Vice President, Shri Mohammad Hamid Ansari who will formally release it.
• The book “The Education President” published by the International Institute for Higher Education Research & Capacity Building, OP Jindal Global University highlights President Mukherjee’s contribution to the field of higher education as Visitor to 116 institutions of higher learning in India.