Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Nov 10, 2016

ANSWER: None of the above

Explanation:
The Union Tourism Ministry is set to name Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the mascot of the Incredible India campaign.

• This position was vacant following Aamir Khan’s removal as the brand ambassador of the campaign in January 2016 for his remarks on Indian Intolerance.
• Bollywood superstars Amitabh Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra were also said to have been considered for the role.
• Video footage of PM Modi speaking on tourism in India and abroad will form part of the campaign.
• Incredible India campaign was conceptualised in 2002 by V Sunit and Amitabh Kant, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism.
• It is the first tourism marketing initiative of its kind.
• The main objective is the creation of a distinctive identity for tourism from India.
• Campaign has established India as a high-end destination for tourists, generating 16 percent increase in tourist traffic in the first year itself.

ANSWER: 276

Explanation:
US Republican Donald Trump proved poll pundits and pollsters alike wrong by scripting a stunning victory in the US Presidential elections, winning by 276 seats.

• He is scheduled to take office as the 45th President of the USA on 20th January 2017.
• He will succeed Barack Obama.
• Hillary Clinton won 47% of the votes to Trump’s 48 percent.
• Donald John Trump is an American real estate mogul and a Republican Party contender for the US Presidential elections.
• Chairman and president of Trump organisation, he will vacate his post prior to assumption of presidency.
• He is an alumni of Wharton School from UPenn.
• Trump has made appearances at the Miss USA pageants which he owned from 1996-2015 and made cameo appearances in film and television series.
• Trump also hosted reality televisions series in NBC called The Apprentice from 2004 to 2015.
• As of 2016, he was listed as the 324th wealthiest person in the world by Forbes and the 156th in the US.
• Melania Trump his wife is the first foreign born First Lady of the US after Louisa Adams, the wife of sixth US President John Quincy Adams.
• Melania,a Slovenian former model owns her own jewellery and skin care line and speaks 5 languages- Slovenian, Serbia, German, English and French.
• A US Citizen since 2006, she stood by Trump when video footage emerged of his boasting about groping women.

ANSWER: Tata Literature Live! Lifetime Achievement Award

Explanation:
Amitav Ghosh has won the Tata Literature Live! Lifetime Achievement Award for 2016 as per an announcement on 8th Nov 2016.

• Ghosh is the Indian-American author best known for his English fiction work.
• He is an alumnus of The Doon School along with authors Vikram Seth and Ram Guha.
• He also received degrees from St. Stephen’s College, DU and DSE.
• He was also won the Inlaks Foundation scholarship.
• His debut novel launched in 1986 is The Circle of Reason.
• Other famous works in function include The Calcutta Chromosome,The Shadow Lines, The Glass Palace, Sea of Poppies and The Hungry Tide.
• Notable non-fiction writings include In An Antique Land, Dancing in Cambodia, At Large Burma, Countdown, The Imam and The Indian.
• His debut book The Circle of Reason won the Prix Medicis etranger, a top literary award in France.
• The Shadow Lines won the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Ananda Puraskar.
• Sea of Poppies was shortlisted for the 2008 Man Booker Prize.
• Government of India awarded him the the Padma Shri in 2007.
• The award was instituted by the festival to recognise and honour outstanding contributions in Indian literary space.
• Past recipients of the award include VS Naipaul, Khushwant Singh, Mahasweta Devi and MT Vasudevan Nair.
• Since its inception, TATA Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest has been constituted to honour achievements by emerging and accomplished Indian writers.

ANSWER: Mangalyaan

Explanation:
The RBI on 8th Nov 2016 issued a new series of notes for INR 500 and 2000 rupee denominations with newer sizes and improved features.

• New designs will be visually impaired by having features making it accessible for all sections.
• The INR 2000 rupees note which is the first under the denomination will be called the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series and has a design of the low cost mission to Mars, the Mangalyaan on the reverse.
• The base colour of the note will be magenta.
• The banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi New Series will not carry the inset letter and the year of printing 2016 will be on the banknote’s reverse. It will also bear the signature of Dr. Urjit R Patel.
• Note has other designs, geometric patterns aligning with overall colour scheme at obverse and reverse.
• The only security features of the INR 2000 note include latent images, coloured strip security threads, watermarks and other features.
• The rumour of a tracking chip on notes is untrue.
• The new design in the INR 500 rupee note denomination will be a different colour, size, theme and pattern and have a new set of security features.
• The note will be stone grey in colour and the predominant theme will be Delhi’s Red Fort.
• Government has further said that demonetisation scheme is to ban INR 500 and 1000 notes currently in circulation and deposits up to INR 2 lakh will be below the taxable income.
• Clarification also said government will get reports of cash deposits above INR 2.5 lakh made between Nov 10 and Dec 30.
• Deposits made above INR 10 lakh will be treated as cases of tax evasion and along with imposing an additional penalty of 200 percent will be levied on deposits that do not match tax declarations.

ANSWER: All Terrain Bike

Explanation:
Following the Scooty scheme for girls, the J&K Government has announced the launch of the All Terrain Bike programme for meritorious boys of lower economic strata.

• The state government on the initiative of CM Mufti made the announcements.
• The bikes will be provided to male students of 10th standard in a government school.
• The motorcycles will be provided on a 90:10 basis where 90 percent of the cost will be borne by the government and 10 percent by the student.
• Boys in 10th standard belonging to lower economic background who has to cover a distance of more than 2 km from the home to the school and shall secure more than 65 percent in 10th standard exams will be eligible for the scheme if he continues to pursue his education.

ANSWER: 10

Explanation:
Ten UK based companies have pledged to invest 29.29 million pound to train about 20 lakh people in India by 2020.

• 10 UK companies have committed to support India’s Make in India ad Skill Indian initiative at global level according to UK India Business Council.
• Companies are among the largest investors in India.
• Firms include HSBC, Vodafone, Reckitt Benckiser, OCS, Rolls Royce, Aviva, Marks & Spencer and GSK.
• Areas covered include apprenticeships. career development, training and all important certification support.
• UKIBC is a membership based NPO founded in 2007 to foster trade and business relations between the UK and India.

ANSWER: Uttaranchal

Explanation:
Uttarakhand High Court has ordered all hill stations and glaciers in the state to be declared as eco-sensitive within three months and put a ban on all construction within 25 km radius of the glaciers.

• It also directed nagar panchayats and municipal boards across the Ganges and Yamuna to set up sewage treatment plants within 6 months and asked government to check water quality every day.
• HC also banned construction and felling of trees within 2 and 5 km across the lakes of Bhimtal, Sattal, Naukuchyattaal, Nainital and Khurpatal.
• No new construction will take place within 25 km of Gangotri and Yamunotri glaciers and no fossil fuel will be burnt within radius of 10 km around them.
• Uttarakhand earlier known as Uttaranchal referred to as Land of the Gods is a global pilgrimage centre and contains many Hindu temples.
• It was created on 9th Nov 2000.
• Its official languages are Hindi and Sanskrit and Kumaoni as well as Garhwali languages are also heard here.
• Capital city and largest city is Dehradun.