Current Affairs Questions & Answers - May 05, 2017

ANSWER: Indore

Explanation:
Indore has emerged as the India’s Cleanest City in the Swachh Survekshan-2017 conducted in 434 cities and towns.

Bhopal, Visakhapatnam, Surat, Mysuru, Tiruchirapally, New Delhi Municipal Council, Navi Mumbai, Vadodara and Chandigarh are among the Top 10 clean cities in that order.

10 towns that came at the bottom of the 434 surveyed are; Gonda (UP) ranked 434 followed by Bhusawal (Maharashtra), Bagaha (Bihar)- 433, Hardoi (UP)-432, Katihar (Bihar)-431, Bahraich (UP)-429, Muktsar (Punjab)-427, Muktsar (Punjab)-426 and Khurja (UP)-425.

Announcing the Survey Results, Shri Naidu described Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh followed by Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as the Movers and Shakers for having significantly improved their rankings from that of the Survey conducted in 2014 before the launch of Swachh Bharat Mission in October, 2014.

Swachh Survekshan conducted in 2016 covered 73 cities with over million population each besides capital cities.

In Swachh Surekshan-2017, all the cities surveyed in Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand have substantially improved their rankings over that of 2016 and 2014. Gujarat did so in respect of all cities excepting Rajkot and similar being the case in respect of Chattisgarh except Bilaspur.

In Telangana, only two cities have dropped in rankings this year while it happened in respect of four cities in Andhra Pradesh.

Of 14 States that were represented in the Top 50 clean cities, Gujarat accounting for 12, followed Madhya Pradesh-11, Andhra Pradesh-8 and one each from Chandigarh, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh.

25 towns from Uttar Pradesh are ranked among the bottom 50 cities with followed by Rajasthan and Punjab with five each, two in Maharashtra and one each from Haryana, Karnataka and Lakshadweep.

Varanasi has however, improved its rank from 418 in 2014 to 32 this year to become the Fastest Big City Mover in the North Zone.

UP, Bihar, Rajasthan, Punjab and Kerala need to substantially step up efforts to improve sanitation standards in urban areas.

Faridabad in Haryana has improved its rank from 379 in 2014 to 88 this year and has been awarded for being the ‘Fastest Mover’ among cities with a population of above one million each.

37 lakh citizens provided feedback on cleanliness in 434 cities and towns accounting for about 60% of the total urban population in the country.

38 cities were awarded including the Top five clean cities at the national level, cleanest cities and fastest movers in different zones in 5-10 lakh and 2-5 lakh population categories.

Swachh Survekshan: Know More

• Swachh Survekshan-2017 aimed at capturing the outcomes on ground of the ongoing efforts to make urban areas Open Defecation Free.
• It also seeks to improve door-to-door collection, processing and disposal of Municipal Solid Waste.
• Of the total score of 2,000, 900 marks were assigned for performance in respect of ODF and solid waste management, 600 marks for Citizen Feedbak and 500 marks for Independent Observation.
• Quality Council of India that conducted the survey during January-February this year deployed 421 assessors for on the site inspection of cleanliness in 434 cities and towns and another 55 for real time monitoring of progress of survey and field inspections.
• Field inspectors used geo-tagged devices for collecting evidence in real time of their inspection at 17,500 locations.

Top 20 Cities: Swachh Survekshan Survey 2017

Ranking	City	State
1.	Indore	Madhya Pradesh
2.	Bhopal	Madhya Pradesh
3.	Visakhapatnam (Vizag)	Andhra Pradesh
4.	Surat	Gujarat
5.	Mysuru (Mysore)	Karnataka
6.	Tiruchirappalli (Trichy)	Tamil Nadu
7.	New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC)	Delhi
8.	Navi Mumbai	Maharashtra
9.	Tirupati	Andhra Pradesh
10.	Vadodara	Gujarat
11.	Chandigarh	Chandigarh
12.	Ujjain	Madhya Pradesh
13.	Pune	Maharashtra
14.	Amdavad (Ahmedabad)	Gujarat
15.	Ambikapur	Chattisgarh
16.	Coimbatore	Tamil Nadu
17.	Khargone	Madhya Pradesh
18.	Rajkot (M. Corp)	Gujarat
19.	Vijayawada	Andhra Pradesh
20.	Gandhinagar (NA)	Gujarat

ANSWER: Chenab

Explanation:
A railway bridge taller than the Eiffel Tower is being built across the Chenab river in Jammu and Kashmir and is slated to be ready by 2019.

It will be the world's highest railway bridge. The 1.3 km long "engineering marvel" will connect Bakkal in Jammu's Katra and Kauri in Srinagar.

The arch-shaped 35-metre tall structure is being constructed at a cost of 1,110 crores.

The bridge will be a crucial link that connects the Kashmir valley to the rest of the country, part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project.

Once completed, it will break the record of the 275-metre tall Shuibai railway bridge in China.

The mammoth structure will be made of over 24,000 tonnes of steel and will rise 359 metres above the Chenab bed.

The special blast-proof steel can withstand terror attacks and can resist extremely low temperatures and high wind speeds.

To safeguard the bridge and the train passengers, an aerial ring of security, online monitoring and a warning system will be in place.

India's longest road tunnel between Chenani and Nashri in the state was also flagged off recently.

With the roads in the region being prone to snow and landslides in winter, the Jammu-Srinagar national highway remains blocked for most parts of the season, cutting the Kashmir valley off from the rest of the country.

ANSWER: Both a and b

Explanation:
China has hired more than 20,000 people to build the country's online version of national encyclopaedia to compete with Wikipedia.

The Chinese Wikipedia will be launched in 2018 and will feature 300,000 entries at about 1,000 words each.

The Wikipedia of China will be created by select scholars from state-run universities unlike the original Wikipedia that is openly editable by volunteers.

Currently, Wikipedia is available in China but some of its contents are blocked.

The Encyclopaedia of China is not a book but a Great Wall of culture, according to the project's editor in chief.

The Encyclopaedia of China already exists in paper form that was first published in 1993. Its second edition was released in 2012.

Last week, Turkish authorities banned access to Wikipedia in the country without giving any particular reasons.

Aiming to provide better information about the country than what was already available on the Wikipedia, Russia in 2014 announced plans for an alternative version of the online encyclopaedia.

ANSWER: Shobana Kamineni

Explanation:
Shobana Kamineni, Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd, has taken over as the new President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the year 2017-18.

She takes over from Dr Naushad Forbes, Co-Chairman, Forbes Marshall Limited.

Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Vice Chairman, Bharti Enterprises, is the new President Designate, CII.

Bharti Enterprises is one of India’s leading business groups with interests in telecom, agri and food business, financial services, retail, realty, and communication & media devices.

Uday Kotak, Executive Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited is the new Vice President of CII.

Kotak is the Co-Chair of the India-UK Financial Partnership (IUKFP) with Sir Gerry Grimstone as the other Co-Chair.

About Shobana Kamineni

• AHEL is Asia’s foremost integrated healthcare organization.
• Kamineni helms the Apollo Global Projects Consultancy, which steers the planning, design and execution of new projects.
• She also heads Apollo Pharmacy, presently the fastest growing business within AHEL. In addition, Kamineni is Vice-Chairperson of the KEI Group, a diversified logistics, leisure & infrastructure business.
• She is an active member of CII and has been a recipient of prestigious national awards for Entrepreneurship and Leadership.
• Kamineni holds a B.A. in Economics from Stella Maris College, Chennai and an accelerated Diploma in Hospital Administration from Columbia University, New York.

ANSWER: ISRO

Explanation:
ISRO demonstrated its solar hybrid electric car and there's a strong reason behind working on it.

Vehicles using fossil fuels persistently bring serious problems to environment and life.

In this perspective, Solar and Electrical energy based hybrid vehicles provide the most effective and viable long-term solution by using renewable energy sources for mobility.

Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), ISRO, Thiruvananthapuram, demonstrated the running of a solar hybrid electric car using in-house expertise and resources within ISRO.

Considerations involved the right solar panel to suit the roof top of car, a super-capacitor to meet the high peak current of beyond 100 A level, an integral gear box to augment the performance of the Brushless DC (BLDC) motor.

It also involved control electronics for the battery and solar panel interface and drive electronics for running the motor in a smooth way.

The biggest one of course was the conversion of the internal combustion engine (ICE) based vehicle, which was a Maruti Suzuki Omni, to fit in with the electric motor.

The Brushless motor had to be modified to improve torque

To drive the car, energy was supplied to the vehicle by energy density Lithium ion batteries connected across high power density super-capacitors.

The battery delivered the sustained energy requirement while the super-capacitor supported the peak power demand during high torque conditions.

This arrangement of power sharing helped in enhancing the life of power-restricted batteries.

Energy was supplied to the vehicle by energy density Lithium ion batteries.

A solar panel fitted on rooftop of the car charges the battery by absorbing the sunlight.

How it Works

• This electrical energy needed to be converted to mechanical energy to drive the wheels.
• This was achieved by integrating an efficient power conversion module between energy system and electric motor.
• The usage of a Brushless type motor helped in improving the torque and reducing energy input while also helping in weight savings.
• Concerted efforts were made to ensure that the associated safety aspects are not compromised while combining various active subsystems of different behaviour for a focused objective.

ANSWER: Vijayawada Airport

Explanation:
The Union Cabinet today gave its nod to international status for Vijayawada airport in Andhra Pradesh.

This is as per provisions of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, Union minister Arun Jaitley announced.

The act bifurcated the state into Telangana and residual Andhra Pradesh.

As a result, the capital Hyderabad as well as the state’s lone international airport situated in the city were transferred to the new state of Telangana.

The decision is in keeping with passenger traffic growth and demands from airlines and Andhra Pradesh government.

The government hopes that the international tag for the airport at Gannavaram near Vijayawada will help improve connectivity to Andhra Pradesh and attract more domestic and international tourists.

Airports Authority of India has undertaken upgrade of requisite infrastructure and facilities for international operations.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated the new transit terminal building at the airport as well.

Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu welcomed the decision and said this will help generate employment for at least 1,150 people.

The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 provides that the Centre must examine the feasibility of expanding the existing Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati airports to international standards and take an expeditious decision thereon.

Vijayawada Airport: Know More

• Address: Gannavaram, Andhra Pradesh 521102
• Code: VGA
• Elevation: 25 m
• Owner: Airports Authority of India
• Serves: Vijayawada
• Airport type: Public

ANSWER: Braj Bihari Kumar

Explanation:
The Union government has appointed Braj Bihari Kumar as Chairman of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), which is dedicated to social science research in India.

He replaces eminent academic S.K. Thorat, who was appointed by the UPA government.

Mr. Kumar, 76, is the founding member of Astha Bharati, a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting the “India’s unity and integrity.”

It publishes journals Dialogue and Chintan Srijan.

He was chosen by a selection committee comprising National Research Professor Ashok Modak, Panjab University emeritus professor Jitendra Mohan and historian Satish Mittal.

Vice-Chancellors have been appointed for Nagaland Central University and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).

Tariq Mansoor, principal of AMU’s Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, will replace Lt. General (retired) Jameeruddin Shah as Vice-Chancellor of AMU.

Pardesi Lal, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Nagaland University, will become the Vice-Chancellor.

Braj Bihari Kumar: Know More

• Born in 1941, Kumar has a MSc in chemistry and anthropology, MA in Hindi and a doctorate in anthropology.
• Kumar is ex-principal of Sao Change Government College, Tuensang (Nagaland), and Science College, Kohima, and has written, edited and co-authored 136 books.
• Problems of Ethnicity in the North-East India is among the books he has edited.
• He has authored a book titled Naga Identity Kumar’s name was shortlisted by a selection panel.
• Apart from Kumar, I K Bajaj and P M Kamath were also on the shortlist.

ANSWER: 2^nd May

Explanation:
The World Asthma Day 2017 was observed across the world on 2 May 2017 with the theme ‘Asthma: Better Air, Better Breathing’.

This year theme highlights the resurging environmental pollution and its hazardous impacts on health.

World Asthma Day is an annual event organized by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) to improve asthma awareness and care around the world.

The Day was established in the year 1998.

Asthma: Know More

• As per latest reports by World Health Organization, over 235 million people suffer from asthma across the globe.
• Asthma is a common lung condition that causes breathing problems. Symptoms become worse during physical activity and at night.
• For such a chronic disease, it becomes important to get an appropriate medical treatment to help avoid severe episodes of breathlessness.
• Asthma patients usually resort to inhalers to prevent and relieve the symptoms.
• Moreover, it is generally advised to seek immediate medical help, if attack becomes severe.

ANSWER: 4

Explanation:
India slipped to the fourth position in the ICC Twenty20 International team rankings in the annual update of the rankings by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on 1 May 2017.

India dropped two places by having lost six points, giving Pakistan and England an edge to slide higher in the rankings list.

In the updated list, New Zealand retained its top position with 125 points despite dropping two points. England with 121 points climbed up three places to the second position after gaining seven points.

Pakistan too joined England on 121 points after gaining five points but was placed third for being behind England by a fraction of a point.

South Africa with 111 points holds the fifth position.

Australia also moved up one place replacing current ICC World Twenty20 champions West Indies at the sixth position with 110 points.

The teams at the 5th, 6th and the 7th position are separated by just a single point.

The new ranking system ensures that the teams are evaluated more on the basis of their recent form, phasing out the older records.

Going by the new rankings, Australia (host nation) and the next nine highest ranked teams will automatically qualify for the 2020 World T20 Championship, the tournament’s seventh edition.

ANSWER: Sunil Chhetri

Explanation:
Bengaluru FC striker Sunil Chhetri on 2 May 2017 won the coveted Hero of the League 2016-17 Award.

Chhetri won the most number of votes cast by coaches and captains of the 10 teams, which took part in the I-League.

The striker had scored seven goals for fourth-place finishers Bengaluru FC.

Khalid Jamil, who guided Aizawl FC to a historic title win, was chosen as the Coach of the Year.

He was honoured with the Syed Abdul Rahim Best Coach Award.

About Sunil Chhetri

• Born on 3 August 1984, Sunil Chhetri is an Indian professional footballer.
• He plays as a striker for Indian club Bengaluru FC and the Indian national team.
• He is an all-time top goalscorer for the India national team.
• He also served as the captain of the national team from 2011 till 2016.
• He helped India win the 2007 Nehru Cup, 2009 Nehru Cup, the 2012 Nehru Cup as well as the 2011 SAFF Championship.
• He has also been named AIFF Player of the Year four times in 2007, 2011, 2013 and 2014.

List of Winning Awardees 2017

Name	Award
Anas Edathodika	Best Defender of Hero I-League 2016-17 Award
Alfred Kemah Jaryan	Best Midfielder of Hero I-League 2016-17
Aser Pierrick Dipanda Dicka	Best Striker Award of Hero I-league 2016-17
Jerry Lalrinzuala	Best Emerging Player of Hero I-League Award
Churchill Brothers FC Goa	Fairplay Award of Hero I-league 2016-17 DSK Shivajians FC and Bengaluru FC: Best Organiser Award of Hero I-league 2016-17
Debjit Majumder	Best Goalkeeper Award of Hero I-league 2016-17