Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Nov 11, 2015

ANSWER: 5

Explanation:
Indian researchers have discovered 5 new long haired species of wasps from different parts of the nation. The scientists who made the discovery, Veenakumari Kamalanathan, Prashanth Mohanraj and FR Khan of the National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources have named them 'adikeshavus,' meaning 'first one to have long hairs' in Sanskrit. Tribe to which the 5 new wasp species have been added have an exclusive preference for spider eggs. These species are 1 to 2 mm long because of their being parasites for considerably medium sized spider eggs. Scientists have made the suggestion that clustering into groups is needed for further studies. This group of wasps will yield a much larger set of parasitoids attacking spider eggs in India.

ANSWER: Helmut Schmidt

Explanation:
Ex German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt who guided West Germany through the 1970s and 80s passed away at the age of 96. He oversaw the affairs of Germany during the Cold War and the Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan. He also combated homegrown terrorism in the country. Schmidt was an iconic statesman.

ANSWER: 15

Explanation:
Government of India on 10th November 2015 announced big bang reforms in the FDI sector alleviating problems across 15 sectors. This includes the sectors of defence, banking, construction, civil aviation, retail and broadcasting. For facilitation of faster approvals for proposals, government has decided inter ministerial FIPB will provide approvals to proposals above INR 5000 crore from 3000 crore. This is one of the most radical reforms in the FDI sector.

ANSWER: Google Maps

Explanation:
Google Maps has gone offline with an update for Android phones by 10th November. Users will now be able to search locations and obtain driving directions including voice prompts even if the internet connection is not working. A version for iPhones will soon be launched. This is an ideal feature for those who are indoors and looking for a certain location. Mapping apps on Windows phone have long had this feature.

ANSWER: 47

Explanation:
Himalayas were born 47 million years ago after India and Eurasia smashed into each other. Scientists unearthed the first oceanic microplate in the Indian Ocean and stumbled across this discovery. Currently, there are close to 7 microplanes known in the Pacific Ocean. This is the first ancient microplate to be discovered in the Indian Ocean region. Radar beams from orbiting satellite have highlighted the age of the collision and the precise date has divided scientists for over a decade. Researchers have also made the discovery that crustal stresses caused by initial collision cracked the Antarctic Plate far away form the collisional zone and broke the fragment of a size equalling Australia’s Tasmania in a remote patch of the C. India Ocean. The microplate has been named Mamerickx Microplane after Jacqueline Mammerickx, a seafloor mapping pioneer. Mammerickx Microplate rotation is revealed through rotating pattern of grooves and hills turning the ocean topography into a jagged landscape called “abyssal hills”. These hills have recorded crustal stress indicating Himalayas came into being 47 million years ago.

ANSWER: Justice AP Shah

Explanation:
Former CJ of the Delhi HC, Justice AP Shah was on 9th November 2015 appointed as ethics officer at BCCI and will be the sole decision maker for conflicting interest issues faced by Indian cricket. Decision for appointing the ombudsman was taken at the 86th AGM to end conflict of interest on Board. This is being seen as a clean up operation of the BCCI. Clean up operation has been triggered by the IPL scandal investigated by SC appointed Justice Lodha committee. Justice Shah was chairman of the 20th Law Commission of India and Chairman of the Committee constituted by the Union Ministry of Finance.

ANSWER: RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan

Explanation:
RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has been appointed as the Vice Chairman of the Bank for International Settlements on 10th November 2015. He has been appointed to a 3 year term and will joined the BIS board of directors in December 2013. The BIS Chairman is Jens Weidmann. He is also president of the Bundesbank of Germany.

ANSWER: 10th Nov

Explanation:
World Science Day for Peace and Development, known as World Science Day was observed on November 10th 2015 across the globe. The theme of this day was Science for a Sustainable Future and to mark this day, UNESCO held several special campaigns and visits to museums for school children. Theme for this day was chosen against the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development approved by the UN. This day was created as a follow up to the World Conference on Science in 1999.

ANSWER: Maldives and Angola

Explanation:
President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has extended greetings to government and people of the Republic of Maldives on their Republic Day held on November 11, 2015. The current president of the republic is His Excellency Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom. He also extended greetings to the Republic of Angola on their national day (11th November 2015). Currently, the president of Angola is Jose Eduardo Dos Santos. The latter country is the second largest source of crude oil in Africa for India. Maldives and India also have strong bilateral ties.

ANSWER: UNCITRAL

Explanation:
India on 9th November 2015 was re-elected by the General Assembly for a six year term on the UNCITRAL/United Nations Commission on International Trade Law. 22 other nations including the US and Pakistan were also elected to the trade body. This is the 5th election that India has won in 2015, it was also re-elected to the UNHCR in 2014. During April 2015, UN ECOSOC elected India to executive councils of WFP and UNICEF, governing councils of United Nations Human Settlements Programme and Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. UNGA by Resolution 2205 (XXI) of December 17th, 1966 set up the UNCITRAL for promoting harmonisation and unification of trade law.

ANSWER: Women and Organic Products

Explanation:
Ministry of Women and Child Development will hold the annual Women of India exhibition with the theme Women and Organic Products from 13th to 23rd November 2015 at INA. Exhibition will involve sale or exhibition of organic products such as food and eco friendly products from all states of India, mostly from rural areas. Over 500 women artisans across the nation will come together for the first time with organic products.

ANSWER: 6.80 lakh

Explanation:
Incredible India campaign has attracted 6.80 lakh foreign tourists in October this year as against 6.68 lakh within the same month in 2014, according to Tourism Ministry data.There was a decline in foreign exchange earnings in October, as per the Tourism Ministry data. Forex earnings in October from tourism were INR 9611 crore as against INR 10,041 crore in October 2014. This marks a fall of 4.3%. Maximum number of tourists in India came from Bangladesh (15.22%) followed by the US, the UK and Sri Lanka.

ANSWER: KM Mani

Explanation:
Finance Minister of Kerala K. M. Mani made the decision to resign. From the ruling United Democratic Front, he resigned from the Oommen Chandy cabinet following adverse remarks from Kerala HC. Government Chief Whip Thomas Unniyadan also resigned from his post in solidarity with Mani.