Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Nov 01, 2016

ANSWER: None of the above

Explanation:
Andhra, Telangana have topped the ease of doing business ranking. They have jointly topped the ease of doing business ranking while Gujarat has slipped to third position in the list prepared by the World Bank and DIPP.

• Chattisgarh, MP, and Haryana have occupied fourth, fifth and sixth slots respectively in an index based on degree of implementation of DIPP’s 340 point Business Reform Action Plan.
• The Action Plan includes reforms on 58 regulatory processes, policies, practices or procedures spread across 10 reform areas spanning the lifecycle of a typical business.
• Many single window clearance, tax reforms, labor and environment reforms, dispute resolution and construction permit were the tax reform areas considered.
• In 2015, Gujarat featured at the top with AP at second place and Telangana at 13th.
• As per the latest 2016 index, those in the list of top 10 states in India providing a better climate for business including Jharkhand (7th), Rajasthan (8th), Uttarakhand (9th) and Maharashtra (10th).
• Among leading states, Odisha occupied the 11 slot followed by Punjab, Karnataka, UP, WB, Bihar and HP.
• These rankings were provided in a report titled Assessment of State Implementation of Business Reforms 2016 which was prepared by World Bank in association with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.
• The exercise is aimed at promoting competition among states to improve business climate to attract domestic as well as foreign investments.
• In the World Bank’s latest Doing Business report, India’s place has remained unchanged from previous year’s original ranking of 130 among 190 economies assessed on various parameters.
• Last year’s ranking has been revised to 131 from which the country has improved its place by one spot.

ANSWER: 31st Oct

Explanation:
The Delhi HC has been established on 31st Oct 1966. It has turned 50 years old on 2016. With a total of 36 courtrooms, dealing with civil and criminal proceedings, it has witnessed some of the most challenging cases from the inception.

• Delhi HC has striven for efficiency and has passed landmark judgements.
• This includes the Centre-State row over distribution of practice, the National Herald case, the Delhi University photocopy case, and the call drop case.

ANSWER: Russia

Explanation:
India and Russia have approved the proposal to double the range of BrahMos, world’s first supersonic cruise missile at the 16th Russia-India intergovernmental commission on military cooperation meeting.

• During the annual summit in Goa, Putin and Modi reached an agreement to develop a different range of the BrahMos.
• One of the ranges agreed was to double this from the current range of 186 miles.
• The proposal to increase the range of BrahMos was under consideration for some time and is now formalised after India became a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime this year.
• Only minor changes will be enough to extend the range of BrahMos up to 372 miles.
• Currently, BrahMos is capable of hitting targets beyond the radar horizon and can be launched from sea and land based weapons systems.
• Test fire of an air launched version of BrahMos cruise missile is expected to be held in February 2017.
• The 2.5 metric ton BrahMos air-to-ground missile will be fired from the IAF Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft that has undergone modifications to accommodate the new weapon.

ANSWER: UK

Explanation:
India has emerged as the third largest startup base and such ventures are projected to grow 2.2 times to reach 10,500 by 2020 despite a perception that the ecosystem in the nation has slowed down in the past year.

• India is in the third position just behind the US and the UK and nearly 1,400 new startups are expected towards the close of 2016, up 8-10 percent from the previous year’s figure according to the Indian Startup Maturing-2016 report by NASSCOM-ZINNOV.
• The report also indicates that Bengaluru, NCR and Mumbai continue to lead as startup hubs in the country.
• As far as vertical growth is concerned, investors are looking at domains such as health-tech, fin-tech and edu-tech.
• With a total funding of USD 4 billion, around 650 startups were funded signifying a healthy growth of the ecosystem.
• The startup landscape is an epitome of innovation with solutions aimed at solving locally relevant issues.
• NASSCOM holds that the contribution by startups is growing at a rapid rate and the landscape has a massive potential in terms of business stability, revenue growth and rapidly advancing innovation.
• As per the report, the number of tech startups is expected to grow by 10 to 12 percent to over 4750 by the close of 2016.
• India will become home to 10,500 startups by 2020 employing over 2,10,000 people as per the report.
• Over 30 new academic incubators have been established under the government’s Startup India Standup India initiative this year.
• Tier 2/3 cities have been establishing 66 percent of the new incubators.
• India will get electricity generated by wind propelled plants installed in Gujarat and TN in about 5 years as part of the green energy development program of the nation.
• Commercial offshore wind projects are slated for India.
• A 100 MW pilot project will be installed in the ocean off Gujarat in three years.
• A Facilitating Offshore Wind in Industry/FOWIND program funded by the EU has done a series of reports on wind conditions for wind generated electricity and its integration into a grid along the coastlines of Gujarat and TN.
• FOWIND is supported by Euro 4 million grant from the Indo-European Cooperation on Renewable Energy program and Euro 500,000 contribution through the Gujarat Power Corp Ltd.
• The consortium Global Wind Energy Council comprises GPCL, DNV GL. CSTEP and WISE.
• The project is being implemented in close cooperation with the Ministry of New and Renewable energy and National Institute of Wind Energy.
• Over time, DNV GL has emerged as a presence in India, one has looked at over 50 GW of offshore wind projects.

ANSWER: Nico Rosberg

Explanation:
Lewis Hamilton has secured a victory with a comfortable win over Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg in the Mexican Grand Prix.

• He secured a 51st career win.
• Rosberg won the second position.
• Hamilton is 19 points ahead with 50 available in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
• Born on 7th January 1981, the 31 year old Hamilton has broken several records.
• With 51 wins and 59 pole positions, he has completed 31 of the fastest alaps.
• His first win was the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix and his first entry was the 2007 Australia Grand Prix.

ANSWER: 1 in 10

Explanation:
A report by UNICEF has confirmed that bad air is contributing to the death of many children before they have even celebrated their fifth birthday.

• Outdoor and indoor pollution are directly linked to respiratory diseases that account for almost 1 in 10 under five deaths, making pollution one of the leading dangers in the world.
• Children are more susceptible to air pollution as their lungs, brains and immune systems are still developing and their respiratory tracks are more permeable.
• Young children also breathe faster than adults and taken in more air relative to the body weight.
• Around two billion children live in areas where outdoor air pollution caused by factors such as vehicular emissions, heavy use of fossil fuels, dust and waste burning exceeds minimum air quality guidelines set up by WHO.
• South Asia has the largest number of children living in these areas at 620 million, with Africa following at 520 million children.
• The findings come ahead of the COP22 in Morocco where UNICEF is calling on world leaders to take urgent action to cut air pollution.