Current Affairs Questions & Answers - June 15, 2016

ANSWER: Inflation Expectations Survey of Householder

Explanation:
Following rise of CPI and WWPI based inflation, RBI has launched the June 2016 round of Inflation Expectations Survey of Householders across 18 cities.

• This includes Ahmedabad, Patna, Chandigarh and Thiruvananthapuram
• Survey seek qualitative responses from households on price changes within the next three months as well as the next one year
• Quantitative responses were also sought on current three month ahead and one year ahead inflation rates
• RBI which factors in inflation while arriving at the monetary decision, said the results of the survey provide useful policy information.
• "Inflation expectations are subjective assessments of households covered in the survey and are based on households' individual consumption baskets," it said.
• RBI has been regularly conducting the survey
• May retail inflation touched 21 months high in May due to rising price of food items.
• RBI also launched the June 2016 round of Consumer Confidence Index

ANSWER: 30-100

Explanation:
RBI’s new debt recast norms are credit positive for banks and will help in reducing gross NPO levels by 30-100 basis points after a year.

• Implementation of the guidelines will bridge the gap between actual expected losses and provisioning cover
• New norms will also help in reducing reported gross NPA levels by 30-100 basis points from current level of 7.7 percent in March 2016
• RBI issued guidelines on Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets
• Scheme allows the bifurcation of stressed borrow debt into sustainable and unsustainable portions

ANSWER: 0.6 percent

Explanation:
WPI inflation is expected to average around 0.6 percent in 2016 compared to -2.7 percent in 2015 owing to rising input costs such as commodity prices

• On account of the Japanese financial services major, WPI inflation is expected to see a rise following gradual growth recovery
• Commodity prices have bottomed out and base effects are waning
• Wholesale price based inflation increased to narrowing output gap
• Output price inflation was relatively steady at 1.6 percent showing weak pricing power of corporates despite rising costs

ANSWER: Interstellar Space

Explanation:
Researchers have found an organic molecule essential to biology in interstellar space for the first time, which could help solve a long time mystery.

• Like humans, the organic molecules that make up the universe can lean left-handed or right-handed, a preference known as chirality. Most molecules on Earth lean left -- but scientists don't know why
• The recently discovered interstellar molecule is the most complex ever discovered outside our solar system, and the first chiral molecule detected in interstellar space.
• Scientists have found chiral molecules in meteorites on Earth and comets in our solar system, but never before in interstellar space.
• The molecule, propylene oxide, was found "near the center of our galaxy in an enormous star-forming cloud of dust and gas," the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) said in a statement.
• Scientists used an extremely sensitive radio telescope to detect the molecule. They presented their findings at the American Astronomical Society meeting in San Diego, California this week, and published a paper in the journal Science.
• The origin of chirality in molecules remains a mystery, but scientists are hopeful that the interstellar discovery could finally solve the puzzle by clearing up what ingredients formed the base of our solar system.

ANSWER: Hottest

Explanation:
May’s temperature broke international records again as the northern hemisphere completed its hottest spring on record, according to statistics released by NASA on June 14, 2016

• Arctic in particular saw abnormal heat, causing Arctic sea ice and Greenland ice sheet to start melting earlier according to NASA
• Alaska recorded the warmest spring on record by a wide margin
• In Finland, the average May temperature was between three and five degrees warmer than usual in most regions as per data from the Finnish Meteorological Institute
• David Carlson, Director of Geneva’s World Climate Research Program announced that the super El Nino is partly to blame
Strong El Nino temperatures caused more than 53 percent of Australia to experience the warmest autumn on record

ANSWER: Arkin

Explanation:
Virtualisation and cloud infrastructure VMWare has made the announcement to acquire a software defined data centre security and operations firm

• Company said it would close in Q2 2016
• Two companies are also collaborating for mutual customers like Nebraska Medicine and Columbia Sportswear
• Arkin is the company set to be acquired

ANSWER: Karl Landsteiner

Explanation:
On what is his 148th birthday, Google honoured Nobel Laureate Karl Landsteiner which id the discoverer of blood groups which are the key to efficient blood transfusion with a doodle

• Landsteiner made blood transfusion safe and helped millions of people lead longer and healthier lives
• First fundamental discovery in the history of serology did not come till 1901 when Karl Landsteiner’s identification of blood groups sparked additional research and discovery and led to the receipt of the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• During the 17th century, dangerous practice of blood transfusion used in the Middle Ages was banned in EU before this

ANSWER: Gunit Chadha

Explanation:
CEO of Deutsche Bank Asia Pacific Region Gunit Chadha has made the decision to quit following 13 years with the institution

• J Cryan, Co-CEO announced this in a note to employees though he did not cite a reason.

ANSWER: Bharti Airtel

Explanation:
Singapore Telecommunications and Bharti Airtel have joined hands to deliver high speed data network coverage across 325 cities in the Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, Europe and the US under one network

• Association will enhance value proposition for enterprise customers by offering wide global reach and largest reach within the country under a single platform
• This will benefit pharma, IT and ITes enabled services as well as financial segments
• This will form one of the largest Internet Protocol Virtual Private Networks internationally
• Singetel’s 200 points of presence in 160 cities across and world and AIrtel’s over 170 plus PoPs across 165 cities will be part of the new network
• With Airtel wide coverage of cities in India, network paves way for international customers to enter the most vibrant economies
• Partnership also opens the door to Indian companies to expand abroad
• Under this global network, multinational corporations can maintain a track of their operations across different regions by using high-bandwidth business applications such as video conferencing, cloud applications, unified communications and the like.

ANSWER: Welspun Renewables Energy Pvt Ltd

Explanation:
TATA Power Co Ltd on 12th June 2016 agreed to acquire renewable energy company Welspun Renewables Energy Pvt Ltd in a bid to grow clean energy portfolio to 2.3 GW

• TATA Power’s renewable energy uni TATA Power Renewable Energy Ltd has signed an agreement to acquire Welspun Renewables Energy Pvt Ltd
• This is the largest transaction in the renewables space in India and acquisition has been made at enterprise value of INR 9249 crore

ANSWER: Manipur

Explanation:
Justice Rakesh Ranjan Prasad, the senior-most Judge of the Manipur High Court on 13 June 2016 assumed charge of the Chief Justice of the High Court.

• He succeeded Justice Laxmi Kanta Mohapatra who relinquished the office on 9 June 2016.
• Clause (1) of Article 222 of the Constitution empowers the President to transfer a judge from one high court to other high court, which can be done after consultation with the Chief Justice of India.
• Prasad completed his law education from Patna Law College and enrolled as an advocate on 17th September 1980

ANSWER: 4X400

Explanation:
Indian men’s 4X400 relay team o 12th June 2016 created a new national record. They clocked 3:02.17 at the International Sprint and Relay Teams Cup at Turkey

• The Indan women’s 4x400m relay team clocked 3:30.16 and jumped to world No 12 in the rankings. In the 2016 South Asian Games, the women's relay team finished the race with a timing of 3:35.44 to win the gold. They also recorded their fastest time of 3:29.08 in the 2016 IAAF World Championships which took place in Beijing.
• The 4×400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap.

ANSWER: Ranu Langthasa

Explanation:
Ranu Langthasa was unanimously appointed as the chairperson of the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC) in Assam on 13 June 2016.

• With this, she also became the first women chairperson to be appointed to the post since the formation of Autonomous Council in 1950s.
• The NC Hills Autonomous Council can be described as a state in miniature having all the paraphernalia of a Government like Legislative, Executive and Judiciary.
• On the 29 April 1952, the Dima Hasao District Council came into being as an autonomous body under the provision of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India.
• Before turning up to be North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council, the Doima Hasao district was a part of Dimasa Kingdom. The kingdom extended at the time (before the British occupation) up to the whole area of Cachar District. This includes the present Karbi Anglong District, a major portion of Nagaon District and parts of Nagaland including Dimapur right upto Nichu Guard on Dimapur-Kohima Road.

ANSWER: Japan

Explanation:
India, the US and Japan on 10th June 2016 began their annual exercise Malabar 2016 which is the 20th edition of the exercise to be conducted till June 17, 2016

• The main aim of this exercise is to boost the interoperability amongst the three navies and develop common understanding of procedures for Maritime Security Operations.
• Malabar 2016 will be conducted with the harbour phase at Sasebo and with the sea phase in the Pacific Ocean.
• The scope of MALABAR-16 includes professional interactions in harbour and a diverse range of activities at sea, including complex surface, sub-surface and air operations.

ANSWER: 14

Explanation:
World Blood Donors Day (WBDD) 2016 was observed on 14 June 2016. The theme of the 2016 World Blood Donor Day campaign is Blood connects us all. The theme highlights the common bond that all people share in their blood.

• The slogan for 2016 WBDD is Share life, give blood.
• The slogan focuses on voluntary donation systems.
• The voluntary donation systems play a pivotal role in encouraging people to care for one another and promoting community cohesion.

ANSWER: Central Port Authorities Act 2016

Explanation:
The Union Ministry of Shipping in June 2016 prepared a draft bill 'The Central Port Authorities Act, 2016'. The bill seeks to replace the Major Port Trust Act, 1963.

• The draft was prepared with an aim to provide more autonomy and flexibility to the Major Ports and to bring in a professional approach in their governance.
• Composition of board has been simplified. The board will comprise of 9 members including 3 to 4 independent members instead of 17-19 under the Port Trust Model and 3 functional heads of Major Port as Members in the Board apart from a Government Nominee Member and a Labour Nominee Member.
• The disqualification of the appointment of the Members of the Board, duties of the Members and provision of the meetings of the Board through video conferencing and other visual means have been introduced on the lines of Companies Act, 2013.

ANSWER: Mudrarakshasa

Explanation:
Distinguished Hindi writer, activist, thinker and cultural personality Mudrarakshasa passed away on 13 June 2016 following a prolonged illness in Lucknow. He was 82.

• Born in Behta near Lucknow in 1931, He graduated from Lucknow University and was then employed as Assistant Editor of Gyanodaya that was published from Calcutta from 1955 to 1958. He was the editor of Anuvrata, a Calcutta based magazine.
• He worked as Editor at All India Radio from 1962 to 1976
• His works of theatrical criticism includes Rang Bhumikayen and a book on Nemichandra Jain

ANSWER: Jal Marg Vikas

Explanation:
Jal Marg Vikas is a project on the river Ganga that is being developed between Allahabad and Haldia to cover a distance of 1620 kilometers.

• The project is being implemented with technical and investment support from World Bank and would be completed over a period of six years at an estimated cost of 4200 crore rupees.
• It envisages development of a fairway with three metres depth which would enable commercial navigation of at least 1500 ton vessels on the river.
• The construction of multi modal terminals, jetties, river information system, channel marking, navigational lock, river training and conservancy works are to be undertaken as part of the project.

ANSWER: Around 40

Explanation:
India has joined a group of nearly 40 nations that have signed a Europe-led clampdown on tax evasion and corruption.

• This is a commitment to automatically exchange information on beneficial ownership.
• According to UK’s Treasury Department in London that these 40 countries have committed to the initiative to automatically exchange information on beneficial ownership.
• The next stage will be for the development of a global standard for this exchange.

Besides India, some of the other countries outside Europe on the list include Afghanistan, Nigeria, Mexico and the UAE. Most European countries except Switzerland are part of this automatic exchange mechanism.

ANSWER: Directorate of Advertising & Visual Publicity

Explanation:
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has framed a New Print Media Advertisement Policy for Directorate of Advertising & Visual Publicity (DAVP).

• The key objective of the policy is to promote transparency and accountability in issuing of advertisements in print media.
• It also focuses on streamlining release of Government advertisements and to also promote equity and fairness among various categories of newspapers/periodicals.
• The policy directs all clients of DAVP to issue Letter of Authority/Cheque/DD/NEFT/RTGS up to 80 % of the actual expenditure in the previous year within the first month of the new financial year and clear all the remaining payments before February 28th of the financial year.

ANSWER: Odisha

Explanation:
Ministry of Railways signed a Joint Venture Agreement with Govt. of Odisha on 14 June 2016.The company shall identify projects to be developed and find avenues for financing of the same. Ministry of Railways and Govt. of Odisha shall be essentially funding part of such identified projects. Project specific SPVs shall be formed after financial closure of the project.

• 17 State Governments consented for formation of Joint Venture Companies in collaboration with the Ministry of Railways for development of rail infrastructure in their respective States.
• Draft MoUs were sent to these State Governments and discussions were also held with them to clarify various provisions of the MoU.
• MoUs have already been signed by the Ministry of Railways with seven State Governments viz. Odisha, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Haryana.
• Around 9 States, the other States who have consented/ shown keenness for formation of State JVs are Punjab, Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
• Karnataka is already having a Joint Venture (by the name K-RIDE) with Ministry of Railways.