Current Affairs Questions & Answers - May 29, 2016

ANSWER: Both b and c

Explanation:
Swiss engineer Carl Educard Gruner has come up with the aim to build the world’s longest rail tunnel under the Alps in 1947. The visionary project was mean to be finished by the start of the 21st century.

• GBT or Gotthard Base Tunnel is a 57 km rail tunnel taking over 12 billion Swiss francs and 2400 workers as per Swiss government statistics
• Switzerland’s federal government has set up a committee in the 1960s to look into the building of an alpine base tunnel but opinions were split over numerous proposals.
• Momentum built in favour of the 92 referendum supported the project but public outcry about expense placed work on the hold
• Tunnel runs from Erstfeld in central Swiss canton of Uri to Bodio in southern Ticino canton. This will lessen journey from Zurich to Milan to 2 hours, 40 minutes.

ANSWER: Porsche Digital GmbH

Explanation:
Porsche AG, the sportswear unit of Volkswagen launchd Porsche Digital GmbH, a division dedicated to development of digital services for the premium segment. Porsche Digital GmbH will become a competence centre and incubator to find ideas which can be turned into business and services

• BMW invests in California based carpooling app Scoop
• Division will be based in Ludwigsburg near Stuttgart and have offices in Berlin, China and Silicon Valley
• It will be headed by former digital mobility analyst at consulting firm Gartner, Thilo Kozlowski

ANSWER: Anant Radakrishnan

Explanation:
India’s second largest software exporter Infosys has conducted a top level reshuffle and named Anatha Radakrishnan as the new head of back office outsourcing business, while previous BPO head Anup Uppadhyaya has been tasked with helping the company win large deals.

• Upadhyay has been designated head of strategic sales programs

ANSWER: Tech Mahindra

Explanation:
Tech Mahindra has indicated it will buy financial technology firm Target Group to boost its platform business process as a service offering in the banking sector in a deal valued at more than 112 million pounds.

• In a BSE filing, TechM said the deal had an enterprise value of 112 million pounds per an adjustment for surplus cash of close to 8 million pounds
• Company will pay 64 million pounds upfront and a deferred consideration of up to 16.28 million pounds in 2017
• TechM will pay an amount of 17.1 million pounds on account of loan notes at closing

ANSWER: Itseez

Explanation:
Chip maker Intel Corporation has acquired Itseez, a company specialising in computer and machine learning

• The company will bring its expertise in advanced driver advance systems for automobiles ti Intel, as part of Intel’s IoT related ambitions
• The firm also recently acquired Italian company manufacturing safety measures for semiconductors, Yogitech

ANSWER: POT1

Explanation:
Scientists have discovered how a gene mutation found in several human cancers promotes the growth of aggressive tumours, a finding that may develop new treatment for the deadly disease.

• The mechanism through which the mutation leads to the scrambling to the genome is when you really get massive tumours.
• Research also suggests a possible way to kill these tumours by targeting important enzymes
• Researchers studied mutations in a gene that codes for protein POT1. This protein forms a protective cap across the ends of the chromosomes called telomeres, stopping cell machinery from mistakenly dancing DNA and causing harmful mutations
• POT1 is so critical that cells without functional POT1 would die rather than passing on POT1 mutations- stress in these cells leads to activation of an enzyme called ATR triggering programmed cell death
• Scientists in recent years were surprised to find recurring mutations affecting POT1 in several human cancers including melanoma and leukaemia.
• Those cells found a way to survive and thrive sometimes and scientists have discovered its mechanism.

ANSWER: BrahMos

Explanation:
Indian Air Force on May 27, 2016 successfully test-fired the land attack version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile which was test fired from the defence base in the western sector in Pokhran in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan

• Flight conducted met its mission parameters in a copybook manner and the weapon hit and annihilated the designated target
• Flight conducted met its mission parameters in a copybook manner and the weapon hit and annihilated the designated target
• It was a maiden air launch from the fighter aircraft
• The Indian Army and Navy have inducted the BrahMos missile system
• Accuracy in mountain warfare mode of the missile system was re-established in an exercise conducted by Indian Army in the eastern sector in 2015
• The test was conducted in April 2016
• BrahMos is the fastest missile in the world which has a flight range of close to 290 kilometres and caries a conventional warhead of 200 kg to 300 kg

ANSWER: 22

Explanation:
ISRO has indicated that it will launch a record 22 satellites in a single mission in June and following the current reusable launch vehicle, the next experiment is what one had to focus on. ISRO workhorse Polar rocket PSLV C34 will be used for the launch and will have satellites from Indonesia, US, Canada and Germany as co-passengers

• ISRO had earlier sent ten satellites into orbit in a single mission in 2008

ANSWER: Rosetta

Explanation:
Scientists have found further evidence supporting the theory that building blocks of life may have come to earth from outer space

• Instruments used abroad the European space probe Rosetta detected glycine and phosphorous in the dusty world around the comet
• Glycine is an amino acid which is one of the molecules needed to make proteins while phosphorous is needed for DNA and cells
• Presence in the coma enveloping comet 67P indicates that comets delivered key molecules for prebiotic chemistry through the solar system and in particular, to the early Earth
• Scientists also said adding a high concentration of these molecules to bodies of water could have produced the primordial soup giving birth to life on the planet more than 4 billion years ago.

ANSWER: Twitter

Explanation:
Micro-blogging platform Twitter is now considering the roll-out of Twitter Seva service in other countries such as UK and the UAE following the success of the service developed for the Indian market to help delivery of e-governance services

• Twitter Seva will help process a large volume of tweets and assign them to the relevant authority for real time resolution
• It is currently being used by Ministry of Commerce, MEA and Ministry of Railways
• The product has ben designed and developed in the country and the processes that Twitter had built into it are absolutely Indian based

ANSWER: Pakke Tiger Reserve

Explanation:
Pakke Tiger Reserve on 22nd May 2016 received the Indian Biodiversity Award in one of 4 categories in Mumbai in a reserve in East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh.

• Hornbill Nest Adoption Programme of the Pakke Tiger Reserve was awarded the prize under conservation of threatened species category
• Besides this, Hong Niitii, Lower Subansiri was awarded under the category IV Biodiversity Management Committee award
• Hornbill Nest Adoption programme is a collaboration of State Forest departments, Nature Conservation Foundation and Ghora Aabhe Society
• Under this programme, urban citizens contribute money to protect hornbill nests around Pakke Tiger Reserve.
• This is a major step forward towards conservation of 4 hornbill species found in the adjoining areas of the Tiger reserve
• Awards are a joint initiative of Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry National Biodiversity Authority and UNDP.

ANSWER: Sunil Bharti Mittal

Explanation:
Bharti Enterprises founder and chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal on 26th May 2016 received the 2016 Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award

• He was one of the five recipients of the year
• Others include Mary Callahan, CEO of JP Morgan Asset Management, Alan F. Horn chairman of Walt Disney Studios and W James McNerney Jr, retired chairman of Boeing Company. Another recipient was worldwide MD of Bain & Company and chairman and cofounder of the Bridgespan Group.
• He is the founder, chairman and group CEO of Bharti Enterprises with interests in telecom, financial services, retail and agri business.
• He was listed as the eighth richest person by Forbes recently

ANSWER: Odisha

Explanation:
Government of India has approved the establishment of a National Investment and Manufacturing Zone in Odisha. This is India’s third NIMZ involving a massive area of 163 square kilometres.
The project will come up at Kalinganagar industrial area in Jaipur district of Odisha.

• For execution of the project, the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry has approved INR 4241 crore
• Of this, 3816 crore will be invested in the first phase of the project which will be completed by 2020.
• NIMZ will create job opportunities for 1.5 alike people and help Odisha grow as a manufacturing hub and help Paradip’s growth
• To boost the manufacturing sector, the Union Government in 2014 announced the establishment of 16 national investment and manufacturing zones under the National Manufacturing Policy
• It aims to enhance the share of manufacturing in GDP to 25 percent and creating 100 million jobs over a decade

ANSWER: Government of Karnataka

Explanation:
Loan and projects agreement for WB assistance of US $100 million for the Karnataka Urban Water Supply Modernisation project was signed between Government of India/Karnataka and the World Bank.

• Objective was to provide city wide access to continuous piped water supply in eligible cities in the state of Karnataka
• The aim is also to strengthen service delivery arrangements at the city level
• KUIDFC is the implementing agency for this project
• Project will have 4 broad components namely Capital Investment Program, Institution Building, Technical Assistance for Sector Development and Project Management.

ANSWER: Atmospheric oxygen

Explanation:
Following the successful testing of a reusable launch vehicle, ISRO has set up an air breathing propulsion system aiming to capitalise on oxygen in the atmosphere instead of liquified oxygen while in flight. This system will help in reducing the lift off mass of the vehicle since liquified oxygen need not be carried abroad the vehicle. This will increase the efficiency of the rocket and make it cost effective.

• Fresh propulsion system once mastered will complement ISRO’s aim to develop a reusable launch vehicle which would have longer flight duration
• System involves scramjet engine crucial while sending up the spacecraft
• ISRO is now evolving and testing numerous technologies to bring down the cost of launch vehicles
• The national space agency has developed rockets that can send multiple satellites in a single mission