Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Mar 15, 2017

ANSWER: 3.65

Explanation:
India's retail inflation rate grew by 3.65 percent in February, up from January's 3.17 percent.

This mirrors flat demand as companies and households hit by note-ban induced cash crunch raised spending on goods and services.

In February 2016, consumer price index inflation grew 5.18 percent, indicating a more expansionary economy a year back.

Retail inflation information, measured by CPI, is the broadest metric to measure cost of living in India.

The recent price data released by CSO represents a pick up in pace of remonetisation, led by food price increase.

Consumer food price inflation is a metric to measure changes in monthly kitchen costs. It grew 2.01 percent as against 0.53 percent in January and 5.30 percent in February 2016.

Fruit prices have risen 8.33 percent in February, up from 5.81 percent in January. The price of prepared meals and snacks saw a negligible change at 5.45 percent growth in February and 5.54 percent in January.

The scrapping of high value notes led to less spending, decreasing the demand for perishable products, when the sudden currency recall exercise commenced.

Prices of veggies and pulses remained tepid. The growth in CPI for vegetables contracted to -8.29 percent in February from 0.70 percent in 2016.

Index for fuel and light witnessed a small growth at 3.90 percent in February from 3.42 percent in January.

Housing inflation remained almost flat and grew at 4.90 percent in February, compared with 5.02 percent in January.

ANSWER: Both of the above

Explanation:
The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare on 11 March 2017 launched Mission Fingerling.

This is a programme aimed at achieving the Blue Revolution by enabling holistic development and management of fisheries.

The main motive behind this programme is to enhance the fisheries production from 10.79 mmt (2014-15) to 15 mmt by 2020-21.

To spur development in the fisheries sector, the Union Government envisaged a program named Blue Revolution.

The Blue Revolution focuses on an enabling environment for an integrated and holistic development and management of fisheries for the socio economic development of fish farmers.

This program with a total expenditure of around INR 52000 lakh will facilitate the establishment of hatcheries and Fingerling rearing pond to ensure the fish production of 426 crores Mission Fingerling.

Around 25.50 crores Post Larvae of shrimp and crab in the country will also be covered. This will converge in the production of 20 lakh tonnes of fish annually and will benefit about 4 million families.

Mission Fingerling: Know More

• It lays greater emphasis on infrastructure with an equally strong focus on management and conservation of the resources through technology transfer.
• Productivity enhancement will also be targeted through integration of various production oriented activities.
• This includes production of quality fish seeds, cost effective feed and adoption of technology etc.
• Fish Fingerling production is the single most important critical mission visualised to achieve fish production targets under the Blue Revolution.
• Use of high yielding verities of brooders is another significant aspect to be addressed on priority.
• The Union Agricultural Ministry identified 20 States based on their potential and other relevant factors to strengthen the Fish Seed infrastructure in the country.

ANSWER: Ankur Verma

Explanation:
Tata Sons has strengthened the Chairman’s office by hiring known investment banker Ankur Verma to join the holding company of the Tata Group.

He would be closely working with N Chandrasekaran, who took over as Tata Sons Chairman on February 21, 2017.

Verma has joined Tata Sons from Bank of America Merrill Lynch where he served as Managing Director (Investment Banking Division).

Verma has done PGDM from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, after graduating in Mechanical Engineering from the Delhi College of Engineering.

This is the first big time hiring at Tata Sons from outside the group after former Chairman Cyrus Mistry was ousted from his position as well as from the group in a big power struggle.

The Group Executive Council (GEC) which was set up by Mr Mistry was disbanded soon after his removal.

GEC members Madhu Kannan, Professor Nirmalya Kumar and NS Rajan who were hired from outside were asked to go and other GEC members Tata insiders Mukund Rajan and Harish Bhat were transferred to different roles.

The GEC used to provide strategic and operational support to the former Chairman Mr Mistry.

TATA Sons: Know More

• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founder: Jamsetji Tata
• Founded: 1917
• Type of business: Private

ANSWER: Both of the above

Explanation:
LS on 14th March 2017 passed the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill 2016 denying inheritance rights to heirs of those who left the country for Pakistan and China.

This completes the process after the RS have assent to the long pending legislation last week.

The amendment was necessitated by the claim made by the Raja of Mahmudabad of Uttar Pradesh.

This was on properties belonging to his father which were declared enemy property and seized by the government of India following partition.

Lok Sabha had to pass a fresh bill to approve the amendments introduced by the upper House on the recommendations of the select committee which considered the legislation.

Home minister Rajnath Singh said the purpose of the bill was to clarify the rules that inheritance law would not apply to enemy property a question which first arose in 2010.

The government had passed an ordinance to enforce the law.

Rajnath Singh: Know More

• Rajnath Ram Badan Singh is an Indian politician belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party.
• He currently serves as the Home Minister.
• He previously served as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and as a Cabinet Minister in the Vajpayee Government

ANSWER: CWC

Explanation:
Narendra Kumar on March 9, 2017 was appointed the new chairman of the Central Water Commission.

He succeeded GS Jha who supernannuated on the same day.

He is a CWES or Central Water Engineering Service officer of 1979 batch.

Holding a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from IIT-Roorkee, he has completed his M.Tech with structural engineering as specialization from IIT-D.

Narendra Kumar worked in the Central Water Commission in various capacities such as an assistant director, deputy director and director.

He also had served as the senior joint commissioner in the Union Ministry of Water Resources between 2002 and 2005.

He worked as the commissioner, Brahmaputra and Barak wing of the ministry between 2011 and 2014.

Central Water Commission: Know More

• It is a premier technical organization of India in the field of water resources.
• At present, it is functioning as an attached office of the Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
• The commission is headed by a chairman, with the status of Ex-Officio Secretary to the Government of India.
• The work of the commission is divided among 3 wings, namely, Designs and Research (D&R) Wing, River Management (RM) Wing and Water Planning and Projects (WP&P) Wing.
• Each wing is placed under the charge of a full-time member with the status of Ex-Officio Additional Secretary to the Government of India.
• It is comprising of a number of organizations responsible for the disposal of tasks and duties falling within their assigned scope of functions.

ANSWER: Ammavin Aran

Explanation:
AIADMK IT Wing has launched the first-of-its-kind women safety application in Tamil Nadu.

The app is called 'Ammavin Aran' which stands for 'mother's fortress'.

The app will give the user details about the nearest police station and hospital along with map details and phone number.

There is an in-built whistle, which can manipulate the phone speaker to create a loud noise when pressed by anyone in distress.

Also, the app carries an in-built call recorder and and 'Tips' icon to provide life saving information.

The app was launched as a part of Women's Day celebration and is named after Jayalalalitha.

The women safety app was officially launched by the party's Deputy General Secretary TTV Dhinakaran.

AIADMK: Know More

• Leader: Jayalalithaa
• Founder: M. G. Ramachandran
• Founded: 17 October 1972
• Ideology: Populism, Social democracy
• Political position: Centrism

ANSWER: Santa Fe

Explanation:
The world’s first fluorescent frog has been discovered near Santa Fe in Argentina.

Scientists at the Bernardino Rivadavia Natural Sciences Museum in Buenos Aires made the discovery by accident.

They studying the pigment of polka-dot tree frogs, a species common across the continent.

In normal light the frog appears to have a dull, mottled browny-green skin with red dots, but under UV light it glows a bright fluorescent green.

Fluorescence – the ability to absorb light at short wavelengths and re-emit it at longer wavelengths – is uncommon in creatures that are land dwellers.

The translucent frog was found to use a blend of lymph and glandular emissions to fluoresce.

The researchers, who published their discovery on 13 March in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that the trait enhanced the brightness of the frog by 19-29%.

This is depending on the level of ambient light in its surroundings.

The compound causing the blue–green glow of the polka-dot tree frog was not previously thought to exist in vertebrates.

The discovery opens up the possibility that other amphibians may be able to fluoresce, particularly those with translucent skin similar to that of the tree frog.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has suspended left-arm pacer Mohammad Irfan in the spot-fixing case which came to light during the recently concluded Pakistan Super League.

Irfan and two other cricketers were interrogated by the PCB's anti-corruption unit for the PSL.

The other two players were left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar (Quetta Gladiators) and opening batsman Shazaib Hassan (Karachi Kings).

Irfan has been charged with failing to disclose to the PCB Vigilance and Security Department (without unnecessary delay) full details of any approaches or invitations received by a participant to engage in corrupt conduct.

He now has 14 days to respond to the charges.

During the tournament, Islamabad United's batsmen Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif were provisionally suspended and ordered to return home.

Meanwhile, in February, Pakistan's opening batsman Nasir Jamshed was arrested by Britain's National Crime Agency in connection with the alleged spot-fixing case.

This is not the first time corruption has haunted Pakistan cricket in the recent past.

In 2010, Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were jailed and banned over their involvement in the spot-fixing case during the Lord's Test against England.

Mohammad Irfan: Know More

• Nationality: Pakistani
• Batting style: Right-handed
• Current teams: Pakistan national cricket team, Islamabad United, Dhaka Dynamites, Khan Research Laboratories cricket team