Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Nov 14, 2016

ANSWER: All the above

Explanation:
Government on 13th Nov 2016 raised daily cash withdrawal limits from ATMs to INR 2500 from INR 2000 and eased other rules

• The limit for exchanging old INR 500 and 1000 notes in bank and post office counters have been raised from existing INR 4000 to 4500.
• Weekly limit of INR 20,000 for withdrawal from bank accounts have been increased to INR 24,000
• Existing daily cash withdrawal limit of INR 10,000 from bank branches has been removed
• Issuance of new series of INR 500 notes has commenced
• Banks have been advised to increase the issuance and use of mobile wallets and debit as well as credit cards to provide them to those customers and establishments not having access to these non-cash means of payment
• Last date for submission of annual life certificate for the government pensioners which is to be submitted in Nov each year has been extended to January 15, 2017
• Customers are advised to deal in non-cash based transaction methods like NEFT, RTGS, IMPS, E-wallets

RTGS: Real Time Gross Settlement
NEFT: National Electronic Funds Transfer
IMPS: Immediate Payment Service

ANSWER: Agreement on Trade, Commerce and Transit

Explanation:
India and Bhutan have signed an Agreement on Trade, Commerce and Transit that aims to enhance trade between countries through trade facilitation, cutting down documentation and adding additional exit/entry points for Bhutan’s trade with other nations

• New bilateral trade agreements aim to enhance trade between two countries through trade facilitation by improving procedures, cutting down on documentation and adding exit/entry points for Bhutanese trade with other nations
• This is also expected to strengthen excellent relations between the two countries
• The first Agreement on Trade and Commerce between Bhutan and India was signed in 1972
• Since then, the agreement has undergone renewal 4 times
• Last agreement renewed on July 28, 2006 was valid till July 29, 2016.
• Validity was extended for a period of one year or till the date of coming into force of the new Agreement whichever is earlier, by the exchange of diplomatic notes between India and Bhutan

ANSWER: Hero Women’s Indian Open

Explanation:
Teen golfing sensation Aditi Ashok became the first Indian woman to win a Ladies European Tour title by clinching the Hero Women’s Indian Open

• The 18 year old golfer shot an even par-72 in the final round to win the title
• Carrying a two stroke overnight lead, the teen be a Brittany Lincicome of the US and Spain’s Belen Mozo
• Aditi started her tournament series at a modest ranking, yet beat contenders to win the Ladies European title

ANSWER: Human Eggs

Explanation:
Scientists have discovered a way to regenerate human eggs using the mother’s genetic material that normally goes waste

• This breakthrough has helped women of advanced maternal age struggling with infertility
• The waste DNA is from small cells called polar bodies that form off eggs and contain the same genetic material found in the egg nucleus of the woman
• Till now, polar bodies have never been seen as useful for generation of human eggs for fertility treatments
• Scientists successfully transplanted a polar body from the woman’s developing oocyte which is the cellular beginning of the embryo into the cytoplasm of the donor oocyte stripped off its nucleus
• By rescuing the polar bodies that would otherwise bud off the developing oocyte, researchers were able to form additional oocytes genetically related to the mother via nuclear transfer
• When fertilised with the sperm, these oocytes grow into viable embryos
• None of the embryos were implanted to carry out actual pregnancy
• Normally, polar bodies disintegrate and disappear through egg development
• The aim is to recycle them by doubling the number of patient eggs available for in-vitro fertilisation

ANSWER: Ice

Explanation:
Researchers have discovered a smart material that can be applied to any surface to repel ice and outperform all others currently in use

• Icy conditions can really create a problem especially during flying
• To prevent this, one side of the surface of the material known as MAGSS or magnetic slipper surface is coated with a magnetic material, while a thin layer of magnetic fluid is deposited on the other side
• The magnetic fluid is the mixture of fluid and iron oxide nanoparticles.
• The magnetic fluid faces outside
• When the water droplets hit the surface, the magnetic fluid acts as a barrier stopping the droplet from reaching the solid surface
• No adhesion of the ice to the solid surface basically ensures that it slides off the surface

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
Consortium Unicode has approved emojis such as a woman wearing a hijab, a woman breastfeeding a baby and a person performing yoga

• New emojis are likely to arrive on smart phone next year after International Consortium Unicode has proposed 51 icons
• It will take the total number of cartoon images used to replace words in text messages to 1724
• Among the list of introductions are 'person with headscarf', 'breastfeeding', 'bearded person', 'older adult', reflecting the current lack of grandparent icons.
• New list Unicode 10 aims to make emojis diverse
• Google recently called for emojis that reflect when in the workplace while Apple added male and female versions of emojis
• The other new emojis proposed include a zombie, a vampire, a person holding their finger to their mouth, and a T-Rex.
• Unicode represents the major technology firms

ANSWER: Colombia

Explanation:
A new peace agreement was signed between the FARC delegates and the Colombian nation to end a 52-year long conflict that has claimed more than 2,20,000 lives and driven 8 million people from homes in South American nation

• Deal was signed by Colombian government negotiator Humberto de La Calle with rebel representative Ivan Marquez
• President Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia inked the initial peace deal on Sept 26 and international fanfare after more than 4 years of negotiations
• Voters rejected this on Oct 2 by 55,000 votes
• Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize for efforts to end Colombian conflicts
• A modified deal was therefore signed
• Some modifications were made related to justice, punishment for combatants accused of war crimes and reparations for the conflict’s victims.
• Other modifications include requiring the rebels to present an inventory of acquired money and holdings, and the provision of safeguards for private owners and property during reforms carried out in the countryside.
• A point where agreement was lacking was that guerrilla leaders would not be permitted to run for elected office.