Current Affairs Questions & Answers - May 01 & 02, 2016

ANSWER: Germany

Explanation:
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development has collaborated with the German government for a special programme on Soil Protection and Rehabilitation for Food Security. A high level delegation from Economic Cooperation and Development Ministry of Germany signed the agreement.

• NABARD is anchoring 2 major programmes- soil conservation and rehabilitation of degraded land for food security in MP and Maharashtra and innovation of watershed development for rehabilitation of degraded soil and climate change adaptation in 5 states.
• Programme is part of the German government’s recently introduced special initiative One World, No Hunger on meeting the food security needs of countries.
• India is the only country chosen for this initiative.

ANSWER: Both of the above

Explanation:
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has set fire to the world’s biggest ivory bonfire following a total ban on trade in tusks and horns to end murder through trafficking and prevent extinction of elephants in the wild.

• 11 giant pyres of tusks and another of rhino horns were arranged in semi circle for burning in Nairobi National Park.
• Africa is home to between 450,000 and 500,000 elephants; more than 30,000 are killed every year to satisfy the demand for ivory.
• Pyre contains 16,000 tusks and pieces of ivory.

ANSWER: Neela Banerjee

Explanation:
A graduate of Yale University, she also served as a Wall Street Journal correspondent and she and her colleagues were presented with the prestigious E.A Poe Award during the annual White House Correspondents Dinner.

• Annual award by the White House Correspondents Association honours work of national or regional significance.
• Washington based journalist Banerjee has joined Inside Climtate News and was a energy and environmental reporter for the LA Times Washington Bureau.
• Award was shared by Terrence McCoy of the Washington Post who explored issue of high lead poisoning among African American children in Baltimore.
• Misha Euceph, a Pakistani radio journalist from Rawalpindi was among 18 journalists selected for the WHCA annual scholarship
  Judges for journalism award included Indian American Indira Somani.

ANSWER: Daniel Berrigan

Explanation:
Daniel Berrigan, the Roman Catholic priest and Vietnam war protestor has died at the age of 94. Michael Benigno said Berrigan passed away at Jesuit infirmary in Fordham University

• Berrigan was a peace activists who was imprisoned for burning draft files in protest against the Vietnam war.
• The Catonsville Nine were convicted on federal charges.

ANSWER: Dilip Tuli

Explanation:
Realty portal Housing.com has said it has appointed former KPMG director Dilip Tuli as senior vice president-Strategy and New Business Initiatives.

Dilip Tuli will assist with strategy and oversee new business initiatives such as transaction facilitation and fulfilment services, Housing.com said in a statement.

ANSWER: Tessolve Semiconductor

Explanation:
Hero Group electronics manufacturing company Hero Electronix has made a strategic investment in Bengaluru based Tessolve Semiconductor. The 300 crore Hero Electronix will be holding a majority stake in the company towards the close of the year by buying stakeholders in Tessolve over the next coming months.

• Through this acquisition, Delhi based Hero plans to take a deep dive into electronics manufacturing including wearables, IoT devices and electronic components.
• Tessolve was founded in 2004 by Raja Manickam.

ANSWER: Heart

Explanation:
Using a technique similar to regeneration powers of animal like salamanders, scientists have turned skin into brain and beating heart cells.

• The revolutionary method was a significant step to a point where coronary and Alzheimer’s patients would be treated with their own reprogrammed tissues.
• Human skin cells were turned into steam cells which can firm any kind of tissue in the body.
• Close to 97% of the cells were beating when they were transplanted, developing into healthy looking heart tissue.

ANSWER: Amazon

Explanation:

• Scientists have discovered a new reef system at the mouth of the Amazon River, which is the largest river discharge of water anywhere in the world.
• When large rivers empty into oceans in areas called plumes, they create gaps within the reef distribution which makes finding the reef in this river system an unexpected discovery.

ANSWER: 29th

Explanation:

• New Zealand ace batsman Kane Williamson on 28th April 2016 was confirmed as 29th test cricket captain of New Zealand cricket Team.
• He will succeed Brendon McCullum as captain in all three formats. McCullum retired from test cricket in February 2016.
• Prior to this confirmation, Williamson has already captained New Zealand in 36 limited over International Cricket matches.
• Williamson became the third-youngest man to captain New Zealand in Test cricket, after Stephen Fleming and John Parker.

ANSWER: Graphene

Explanation:

• China has developed a new electronic paper touted as the world’s first graphene electronic paper.
• It will be a huge breakthrough that will catapult the material to a new level.
• It was developed by The Guangzhou OED Technologies in partnership with a company in Chongqing.
• Compared with traditional e-papers, graphene e-paper is more pliable and has more intensity and its high-light transmittance means optical displays will be much brighter.
• Graphene is the strongest and lightest known material in the world.

ANSWER: Charles Borromeo

Explanation:

• Borromeo, won a gold medal of 800 m at the 1982 Asian Games held in Delhi and also a part of Indian Olympic contingent that took place at Los Angeles in 1984.
• He joined Tata Steel as sports assistant in 1979 and participated in a number of track and field meets.
• He was honoured as TATA’s best sportsman in the 1980s.
• He resigned following allegations of irregularities in tender allocation.

ANSWER: 30th April

Explanation:

• The International Jazz Day 2016 was observed across the world on 30th April 2016.
• This year, UNESCO celebrated the day at Washington, DC.
• The day celebrates benefits of jazz as an educational tool
• Jazz breaks down barriers and is a symbol of peace and unity.

ANSWER: Trinidad and Tobago

Explanation:
Tobago bastman Iraq Thomas on 24th April 2016 created a record by scoring 21-ball century in the Tobago Cricket Association’s T20 tournament at Louis D'or.

• The 23-year-old Thomas represented Scraborough/Mason Hall and remained not out on 131 rums off just 31 balls.
• He helped his side to chase down Speyside's target of 152 runs in just eight overs.
• West Indies’ destructive batsman Chris Gayle holds the record for the hitting the fastest T20 ton.
• In one-day internationals, AB de Villiers of South Africa owns the record for the fastest ODI century from 31 balls.

ANSWER: Tabassum Adnan

Explanation:
Tabassum Adnan, a women’s rights activist from Swat valley of Pakistan, on 28th April 2016 won the prestigious Mandela - Graça Machel Innovation Award 2016 in Bogota, Colombia.

• She won the award for the individual activist category on the concluding day of the International Civil Society Week held from 25 April to 28 April 2016.
• A victim of child marriage, Tabassum Adnan was married at the age of 13. She divorced her abusive husband.
• She is the founder of Khwendo Jirga (Sister's Council), the first women-only jirga in Pakistan.
• The council meets weekly to address issues of women's right, including honour killings, and acid attacks.

ANSWER: May 1

Explanation:
Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 came into force on 1 May 2016. It also promotes the growth of real estate sector in an environment of trust, confidence, credible transactions and efficient and time bound execution of projects. Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) on 27 April 2016 notified 69 of the total 92 sections of the Act to bring it into force from 1 May 2016. This culminates the eight year long efforts in this regard.

• A proposal for a law for Real Estate was first mooted at the National Conference of Housing Ministers of States and Union Territories in January 2009.
• As per the notification, Rules under the Act have to be formulated by the Union and State Governments within a maximum period of six months from the act coming into force that is by 31 October 2016 under Section 84 of the Act.
• The Act also empowers appropriate Governments to designate any officer preferably Secretary of the Department dealing with Housing, as the interim Regulatory Authority until the establishment of Regulatory Authority under the provisions of the Act.

ANSWER: Garima Chaudhary

Explanation:
Garima Chaudhary has clinched the gold medal at the 2016 Commonwealth Judo Championship finals at Port Elizabeth in South Africa.

• Participating in the 63 kg category, this 26-year-old from Meerut followed up her quarter-final exit from the previous edition of the competition held at Glasgow in 2014 in perfect fashion, winning the event.
• Garima was the only representative from India to contest for Olympic glory in London 2012 at Judo.
• India will be hosting the 2018 Commonwealth Judo Championships in Jaipur, besides organizing the Asian Cadet and Asian Junior Judo Championships in September in Kerala this year.
• Judo is a sport of Japanese origin.