Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Nov 03, 2016

ANSWER: Agricultural Marketing and Farm Friendly Reforms Index

Explanation:
NITI Aayog on 31st Oct 2016 launched the first ever Agricultural Marketing & Farm Friendly Reforms Index.

• The index was led by Maharashtra.
• Maharashtra has implemented most of the marketing reforms and offers an amazing environment for agribusiness among states and UTs.
• Maharashtra topped the index with a score of 81.7 out of 100.
• Gujarat ranks second with a score of 71.5.
• Rajasthan stood third with a score of 70.0 and MP scored 69.5.
• Almost 75% of the states could not reach the halfway mark of reforms score.
• Major states such as UP, Punjab, WB, Assam, Jharkhand, TN and J&K are in this group.
• Some states and UTs either did not adopt the APMC Act or revoke it– these include Kerala, Bihar, Daman & Diu, Manipur, Dadra and Nagra Haveli and Andaman and Nicobar.
• They were therefore not included in this ranking.
• NITI Aayog launched an index to rank states and UTs based on implementation of seven provisions under the model APMC Act, joining the eNAM initiative, special treatment to fruits and vegetables for marketing and level of tax in mandis.
• The second area of reforms included in the index is relaxation in restrictions related to leasing in and out agricultural land and change in law to recognise tenant and safeguard land owners liberalisation.
• The third area included in the index represents freedom to farmers for felling and transit of trees grown on private land- this indicates an opportunity to diversify farm business.

Indicators represent:

• Ease of doing agribusiness as well as opportunities for farmers to benefit from modern trade and commerce and have a wider option for sale of his/her produce.
• Efficiency, competitiveness and transparency in agri markets.
• Index has a score which can have minimum value zero implying no reforms and maximum value 100 implying complete reforms within the selected areas.
• States and the UTs have been ranked in terms of the score of the index.

ANSWER: Im Kwon-taek

Explanation:
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu announced that South Korean director Im Kwon-taek will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 47th International Film Festival of India in Goa.

• IFFI will take place from 20-28th November 2016.
• The festival will play special tribute to late Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda and late Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami.
• The 47th edition of the IFFI will have its country focus on Republic of Korea under which the best of Korean films will be showcased.
• Im Kwon-taek is one of the most renowned film directors in South Korea.
• His films have won many domestic and international film festival awards as well as considerable box-office success.
• He has directed over 100 films and was awarded the prestigious Cannes Film Festival Best Director award in 2002.

ANSWER: 585

Explanation:
As part of the Centre’s cleanliness mission, agricultural ministry has made the decision to set up a fund of INR 10 lakh each for 585 mandis across the nation for waste management plans to treat both biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes.

• Besides, the ministry has also decided to earmark 1 percent fund of the flagship Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana for the cleanliness drive.
• INR 5000 crore was allocated to RKVY in the budget for the current financial year 2016-2017.
• Swachchta or cleanliness action plans have been prepared.
• The money to the marketplaces will be provided under the eNAM scheme.
• The eNam scheme is an electronic trading platform where all 585 marketplaces will be connected in a way to act as a common market for buyers and sellers of farm produce.
• Government has integrated 250 of these mandi in 10 states with eNam in the first phase.
• Numerous technologies making the best use of agricultural waste such as preparation of bio-compost, vermin-composting, whey utilisation, straw enrichment and water recycling of waste, cotton waste management,waste management for fisheries and engineering technologies will be considered as part of the waste disposal plants in mandi across the nation.

ANSWER: 512

Explanation:
India’s telecom regulatory authority TRAI has made it compulsory for all broadband providers to ensure a minimum speed of 512 Kbps after users exhaust their initial data quota.

• The mandate requests the service providers both fixed and wireless to notify the users about the throttled speed instead of masking it with unlimited internet offers.
• TRAI had earlier recommended a minimum of 2Mbps and also issued a consultation paper regarding the same.
• State owned BSNL has increased FUP to 1MBps as against 512 Kbps.
• FCC in the United States have denounced DSL providers as broadband providers set up minimum speed of 25 Mbps.

ANSWER: Neutron stars

Explanation:
Humans may be more aligned with the universe than previously thought according to scientists who found the structure of the cell cytoplasm and neutron stars to be similar representing helical multi-storey parking garages.

• Researchers explored the biophysics of shapes-helices that connect stacks of evenly spaced sheet in endoplasmic reticulum. ER is the cellular organelle.
• Structures named Terasaki ramps were thought to be like soft matter (the interior of the cells) till scientists chanced upon the work of nuclear physicist Charles Horowitz at Indiana University in the United States.
• Using computer simulations, the same shapes were found deep in the crust of neutron stars.
• Nuclear physicists have a terminology for the entire class of shapes in high performance computer simulations of neutron stars- nuclear pasta.
• These include tubes/spaghetti and parallel sheets/lasagna connected by helical shapes that resemble Terasaki ramps.
• "For neutron stars, the strong nuclear force and the electromagnetic force create what is fundamentally a quantum-mechanical problem," said Greg Huber, a physicist who documented these discoveries.
• "In the interior of cells, the forces that hold together membranes are fundamentally entropic and have to do with the minimisation of the overall free energy of the system. At first glance, these could not be more different," said the scientist.
• Another difference is in the scale.

ANSWER: None of the above

Explanation:
Finnish telecom giant Nokia on 2nd Nov 2016 has indicated that it has finalised an acquisition of former French American rival Alcatel Lucent.

• Nokia has struck a deal to purchase the other firm in April 2015 but has struggled to buy up the remaining shares.
• By January it held a controlling interest of around 7%, but a public exchange offer to buy the rest dragged on as small shareholders held out for a better price.
• "The closing of the deal today, marked by the purchase of all outstanding Alcatel-Lucent shares, means Nokia will now start eliminating the complexity and costs of running two separate public companies," Nokia said in a statement.
• In 2013, the company bought 50 percent of its network activities from Germany’s Siemens.
• Nokia was the world's top mobile phone maker between 1998 and 2011 but was overtaken by South Korean rival Samsung after failing to respond to the rapid rise of smartphones.

ANSWER: Switzerland

Explanation:
Easing rules can also reduce barriers to market entry and provide legal certainty for the sector.

• Switzerland lags the likes of Britain and Singapore when it comes to fintech.
• Firms specialising in crypto currencies hold that financial regulations must transform for them to develop in places like Zug, dubbed "Crypto Valley".
• Many crypto currency companies are subject to banking regulations as they are classed as deposit taking firms meaning they need 10 million Swiss Francs in paid up capital once the business thrives beyond a certain level.
• A three pronged strategy has been proposed by the cabinet which includes setting a deadline of 60 days for holding money in settlement accounts, facilitating crowdfunding services, creating sandbox innovation and establishing a new fin-tech license granted for institutions restricted to those taking deposits of 100m francs and not operating in the lending business.

ANSWER: Foolproof

Explanation:
Zensar Technologies, an RPG group company on 2nd Nov signed a definitive agreement to acquire UK based Foolproof and three wholly owned subsidiaries in the UK and one subsidiary in Singapore.

• The amount for the acquisition has not been publicly disclosed.
• As per terms of the agreement, Foolproof will become the wholly owned subsidiary of Zensar Technologies (UK) Ltd, the company said in a regulatory filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
• On completion of the deal, Foolproof will operate under its own brand name and will continue to be managed by its founders Peter Ballard and Tom Wood.
• The firm also said the deal will be financed by internal accruals and will be earning per share (EPS) positive for the company.
• With the purchase, Zensar expects about 30 per cent of its revenue will be through Digital services.
• Founded in 2002, Foolproof is headquartered in London with offices in Norwich and Singapore.