Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Nov 1 & 2, 2015

ANSWER: Moscow Declaration

Explanation:
BRIC Nations Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa and China on 30th October 2015 signed Moscow Declaration for co-investment of resources for supporting multilateral Research and Development Projects in mutually agreed areas. Declaration was signed at the third meeting of the BRICS Ministers for Science, Technology and Innovation held in Russian capital city of Moscow and reflects partnership in meeting global and regional socio-economic challenges, utilising such drivers as science, technology and innovation (STI).

ANSWER: Sardar Vallabhai Patel

Explanation:
National Unity Day was observed across India on 31st October 2015 for commemorating the birthday of S. V. Patel on the occasion of his 140th birth anniversary. the PM also flagged off a Run for Unity at New Delhi’s Rajpath on this occasion. Day was observed in several other states as well. The government in October 2014 declared 31 October as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas or National Unity Day to mark the birth anniversary of India's first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

ANSWER: Both of the above

Explanation:
PM Narendra Modi has greeted people on the occasion of the State Foundation Day in MP and Chhattisgarh . It was also celebrated as the Haryana and Karnataka State Formation Day apart from being the occasion of Piravi in Kerala.

ANSWER: 1st November

Explanation:
President of India Pranab Mukherjee extended greetings to People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria on the eve of their national day on November 1st, 2015. India has high value for partnership with this nation with which it shares goals of sustainable development and inclusive economic growth.

ANSWER: Jabong

Explanation:
Online fashion marketplace Jabong announced the appointment of S. Mohanty as CMD. He has over 2 decades of experience in the fashion industry and worked with Benetton as well. Prior to this, he worked at Madura Garments, SF Jeans and Levi Strauss. Another recent appointment was of CMO Saurabh Srivastava.

ANSWER: Shaktikanta Das

Explanation:
Shaktikanta Das presently Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs under Union Ministry of Finance has been nominated as Director to Central Board of Directors of RBI. Nomination of Das is effective w.e.f 30th October. He is a 1980 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS officer. Central BoD of RBI governs RBU affairs and is nominated by the Union government including 21 members on board comprising the Governor, 4 Deputy Governors, 10 Directors, two government Official, 4 directors from local boards of RBI which are headquartered at Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and New Delhi.

ANSWER: Paul Ryan

Explanation:
Republican Paul Ryan was on 30th October 2015 elected as the 5th speaker of the US house of Representatives. Only 9 House Republicans voted against him and he fetched votes of 236 members . Ryan succeeds John Boehner of Ohio. He was sworn in as Speaker of the House and the nine-term congressman from Wisconsin, becomes the third Catholic in a row in the position, after John Boehner and Nancy Pelosi. He started working on Capitol Hill as a legislative aide in 1992 and won his House seat in 1998 when he was 28.

ANSWER: Nokia

Explanation:
Finnish telecom group Nokia has inked numerous deals worth 910 million euros to sell services and equipment to China Mobile. The latter is the world’s largest mobile operator. Finnish firms’s contract includes agreement to roll out 4G wireless network and provide solutions in diverse fields such as network planning and software solutions.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
WTA has honoured the World No. 1 players in singles and doubles categories with trophies. Trophies were conferred on Serena Williams (WTA singles number 1) and doubles players Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza.

ANSWER: Yuki Bhambri

Explanation:
Yuki Bhambri won the KPIT MSLTA challenger on 31st October beating second seeded Evgeny Donskoy in a a 6-2, 7-6(4) defeat. Bhambhri is currently ranked world number 105. He won the title in Shanghai previously after which he was runner up in Taiwan and semifinals in Vancouver and Tashkent. This is the fifth career title for Yuki at Challenger level, having won two Challengers in a season. He had previously won a single one from 2012 to 2014.

ANSWER: INS Sahyadri

Explanation:
INS Sahyadri is likely to be in Manila till 4th November and is presently on operational deployment in north west pacific South China sea region as part of the Act East Policy of India. This indigenously built warship of Shvalik Class boasts of an impressive array of long range anti-ship missiles, medium and short range surface to air missiles augmented by powerful guns of different calibre providing a shield against numerous types of surface and air threats. The capability to carry two integral multi-role helicopters significantly enhances the capabilities of this ship. INS Sahyadri, is commanded by Captain Kunal Singh Rajkumar. It was inducted into the army on 21st July 2012.

ANSWER: Nanda Kishore Pun

Explanation:
Ex guerrilla commander from Nepal UCPN (Maoist) Nanda Kishor Pun was elected as the new vice president of the country on 31st October 2015, winning 325 out of 547 votes. His rival, Amiya Kumar Yadav (Nepali Congress) garnered 212 votes. Pun succeeds P. Jha who was one of the Madhesi party leaders. Born in Rolpa district, he was chief commander of PLA of Maoist Party during the 10 year insurgency. Pun joined the party in 1990 and commanded numerous battles against Royal Nepal Army.

ANSWER: 9

Explanation:
India will have 9 crore 4G subscribers and 18 crore 4G smartphones by the year 2018. Firms like Airtel and Vodafone may benefit from this growth if Jio Infocomm from Reliance delays launch of services. 4G smartphone base is expected to jump from 5 million in 2015 to 180 million (18 crore) by 2018, leading to 4G subscribers accelerating from almost zero in 2016 to 90 million (9 crore) by FY 2018. Reliance Jiio is expected to be the market leader 2017 onwards, as per the report.

ANSWER: Brazil, South Africa, India and China

Explanation:
Following a UN report showing the inadequacy of countries’ action plans to prevent global warming, 4 developing nations BASIC- Brazil, South Africa, China and India have urged the rich nations on 31st October to ensure emission cut targets are increased to prevent average global temperature rise beyond 2 degree C by 2100. The nations met in Beijing and issued a joint statement to scale up pre-2020 and post 2020 emission cut targets. This joint appeal is ahead of the pre-COP or conference of parties of over 80 nations in Paris from November 8 to 10. Countries also vowed to remain united under G77 plus China group and worked to strengthen the role of developing nations during COP21.

ANSWER: BDNF

Explanation:
NICHD Researchers have found that single variation in BDNF/ Brain Derived Neurotropic Factor predisposes persons to obesity by lowering levels of BDNF, a protein regulator of appetite in the human brain. Researchers also found that raising BDNF protein levels may offer a therapeutic strategy for people with the genetic variation, which tends to occur more frequently in African Americans and Hispanics, than in non-Hispanic Caucasians. BDNF plays a role in feeling of satiation and they have identified an area of the gene where single change has lowered BDNF levels within the hypothalamus. Genetic changes are a variation that take place in the general population. There are 2 copies, or alleles, of each gene, inheriting one copy from each parent. Overall, the study suggests that the C allele of the BDNF gene may be linked to obesity in people.