Current Affairs Questions & Answers - May 18, 2016

ANSWER: Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management

Explanation:
Government has formed a 5 member committee under former revenue secretary NK Singh to review the working of the 12 year old FRBM Act and examine the fiscal deficit range instead of the fixed target. Other members of the committee include former finance secretary Sumit Bose, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian, RBI Deputy Governor Urjit Patel and NIPFP Director Rathin Roy.

• Committee will submit report to the government by October 31, 2016
• Committee will examine the need and feasibility of a fiscal deficit range as the target in place of existing fixed numbers (percentage of GDP) as goal.
• The way forward is keeping in view the broad objective of fiscal consolidation and prudence and changes required in the context of fiscal consolidation and prudence.
• Instead of fixed numbers as fiscal deficit targets, it is far better to have fiscal deficit range as the target- this provides necessary policy space to the government to deal with dynamic situations.

ANSWER: Bharathiya Mahila Bank

Explanation:
SBI will merge five associate banks along with Bharathiya Mahila Bank according to a press release. SBI has given in principle approval for the bank to discuss the chance of acquiring associate banks. The 5 associate banks are State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur and State Bank of Patiala.

• BMB was created in 2013 to cater to women’s lending needs.
• Associate banks have fixed assets worth INR 4000 crore and lending costs reduced by 100 basis points within a year post this merger.

ANSWER: Both of the above

Explanation:
To streamline the patent regime, government has modified rules offering option of Tatkal for clearance of applications by start ups or those entities which opt for India as first filing of patent.

• Government also plans to cut down time period for giving grants to patients two and a half years immediately and one and a half years by March 2018.
• The current period is 5 to 7 years
• According to modified patent rules, entitles can choose fast clearance route for obtaining patent through payment of extra fees if they select India as International Search Authority or International Preliminary Examining Authorities and file applications in India first
• Benefits of modified rules will be applicable for fresh applicants only.

ANSWER: Post Auction Mining Clearances and Approvals Facilitator

Explanation:
Centre and states will create a platform for monitoring the status of clearances and approvals of auctioned mines bearing minerals such as gold, iron ore and limestone. At the start of the IMG held earlier this month, the decision was taken that software should be installed for online monitoring to expedite post auction clearances.

• This platform will monitor key activities involves in clearance and approval process
• Departments will also update processing status on online portal for monitoring and facilitating post auction mining according to the PAMCAF meet.

ANSWER: TATA CLIQ

Explanation:
TATA group business venture TATA Unistore has announced that its e-commerce platform, TATA CLiQ will open to consumers from may 27th across website, mobile site and mobile apps.

• E-commerce has grown faster than brick and mortar commerce in India
• TATA CLiQ will offer consumers fresh shopping experience in electronics, apparel and footwear category.
• According to a Goldman Sachs report, e-commerce market will account for 2.5 percent of India’s GDP by 2030 growing 15 times and reaching USD 300 billion.
• Current size of e-commerce is 20 billion

ANSWER: Microsoft

Explanation:
European software giant SAP and Microsoft today announced their plans to deliver broad support for SAP HANA platform deployed on Microsoft Azure. The partnership is aimed at simplifying integration between Microsoft Office 365 and cloud solutions from SAP and will provide enhanced management and security for custom SAP Fiori apps.

ANSWER: Flipkart

Explanation:
Tiger Global Management, the largest investor in e-commerce major Flipkart has reduced stake in US rival Amazon by 67 percent in the March ended quarter. Hedge fund has cut exposure to 1.04 million shares worth $619 million as of March 31, down from 3.19 million shares worth $2.16 billion as of December 31, as per regulatory filings.

• The fund also reduced its stake in Chinese e-tailer JD.com by nearly 25% and entirely dissolved its minority stake in Alibaba .
• Amazon was Tiger Global's second-largest public holding, after it had picked up 2.44 million shares for about $1 billion in September last year. The hedge fund however lost 22% in the first three months of this year, as Amazon shares dipped by 12% during the period.

ANSWER: Both a and b

Explanation:
PayU India and Paytm have got amongst the first in-principle approvals for operating as a Bharat Bill Payments Operating Unit (BBPOU), allowing them to offer interoperable bill payment service to consumers.

• Consumers will be able to pay all their bills anytime and anywhere under the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), and the companies will provide platforms to offer these services.

ANSWER: Aedis aegypti

Explanation:
In a pioneering effort, a team of researchers has genetically engineered a clone of the Zika virus strain . According to them, cloning the virus can help in the development of counter-measures and exploring how or whether the Zika virus has evolved to spread more quickly and cause more severe diseases in people.

• The new clone is also a critical step in developing a vaccine and antiviral drug against Zika
• In the study, the team first individually cloned five genome fragments and then assembled them together to form the Zika virus clone.
• The researchers then used the Zika mouse model to demonstrate that the cloned virus infected

ANSWER: Ri Yong Ho

Explanation:
N. Korea has appointed as foreign minister its negotiator at failed international talks aimed at getting it to disarm, according to a North Korean diplomatic note to Britain.Ri Yong Ho, 59, replaces Ri Su Yong, who has been one of the highest-profile officials of a country whose current leader, Kim Jong Un, has not travelled abroad since taking power following the death of his father in 2011.

• Ri Yong Ho, most recently vice foreign minister, represented North Korea at six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programme, which fell apart after their last round in 2008.
• China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States were the other parties to the talks.

ANSWER: Han Kang

Explanation:
S. Korean author Han Kang has won the Man Booker Intenrnational Prize with “The Vegetarian,” an unsettling novel in which a woman’s decision to stop eating meat has devastating consequences.

• Literary critic Boyd Tonkin, chair of the panel that chose the winner from 155 entries, said Han’s book combined “tenderness and terror” in a tale of “volcanic, visceral intensity.”
• The award is the counterpart of the Booker prize in the world and is open to authors whose works have been translated into the English language
• Prize will be split between Han and translator Deborah Smith who helped in the book
• This is one of the first books by the author to be translated into English.

ANSWER: Justice Against Sponsors of Terror Act

Explanation:
The US Senate passed legislation on 17th May that would allow victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to file lawsuits seeking damages from Saudi Arabia, setting up a potential showdown with the White House, which has threatened a veto.

• The Saudis, who deny responsibility for the 2001 attacks, strongly object to the bill and have threatened to sell up to $750 billion in US securities and other American assets in retaliation if it becomes law.
• The " Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act ," or JASTA , passed the Senate by unanimous voice vote. It must next be taken up by the US House of Representatives, where no vote has yet been scheduled.

ANSWER: Tala Marandi

Explanation:
BJP president Amit Shah on 17th May appointed a low profile Santhal leader Tala Marandi, MLA from Borio assembly constituency in Sahebganj district, chief of party's Jharkhand unit. Marandi replaced BJP MP Ravindra Rai who was at the help for around three years.

• BJP spokesperson Pradeep Sinha said a fax with regard to the appointment of the new president was sent to party's state headquarters from party national headquarters on Tuesday evening.
• The ruling BJP is currently the largest political party in Jharkhand.

ANSWER: Heads Together

Explanation:
British Royals Prince William, Princess Kate and Prince Harry on 16 May 2016 launched the Heads Together campaign at Queen Elizabeth Park in East London.The campaign aims to change the national conversation on mental health and wellbeing. William will target young men at risk for suicide and Kate will focus on childhood mental health. while Harry will focus on military members and veterans and help them cope with the mental health challenges.

ANSWER: Yagoan-30

Explanation:
China on 15 May 2016 launched the Yagoan-30 remote sensing satellite. It was placed in the sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) by using the Long March 2-D rocket.

• The satellite was launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center located in Gobi desert in northwest China’s Gansu Province.
• It will be used for scientific experiments, land survey, crop yield assessment and disaster monitoring.
• The first satellite in the Yaogan series, Yaogan-1, was launched in 2006 and this was the 227th mission for the Long March rocket family.