Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Nov 16, 2016

ANSWER: Balochistan

Explanation:
Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif on 13th Nov 2016 inaugurated the operational activities of the strategic Gwadar port, situated in the SW Balochistan Province

• The Pakistani PM as well as General Raheel Sharif, the Army Chief of Pakistan welcomed the first massive shipment of Chinese goods through this port
• The deep water port is linked to the USD 46 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor that includes road and energy projects
• It has been predicted by Pakistani officials that the project will create as many as 7 lakh direct jobs between 2015 and 2030
• This is expected to add 2 to 2.5 percentage points to the annual economic growth of the country.
• In case all planned projects are implemented, the value of these projects would equal all FDI in Pakistan since 1970
• This would be equivalent to 17 percent of the 2015 GDP of Pakistan
• Infrastructure projects under CPEC will link the city of Gwadar in SW Pak to China’s autonomous region of Xinjiang through a massive network of highways and railways
• India has expressed concerns because the CPEC passes through Kashmir’s disputed region
• Currently, there is no CEPC project near line of control
• In 2015, India’s Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj told Chinese President Xi Jingping that projects passing through Gilgit and Baltistan were not permitted as they constructed on claimed territory

ANSWER: Donald Trump

Explanation:
Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Elect Donald Trump recently held their first telephonic conversation which concluded with the agreement on instructing respective staffs to begin planning for a personal meeting

• Trump and Putin on 14th Nov 2016 agreed to maintain contact by phone and arrange a meeting in person in the future
• The two leaders agreed on the need to normalise relations and pursue constructive cooperation
• Putin told Trump that Russia was ready with a partnership based on equality, mutual respect and non-interference in domestic affairs.
• Both leaders also agreed that the 210th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and the US should consider a return to mutually beneficial cooperation
• The common enemy the two leaders identified was international terrorism and extremism
• Trump also announced he looked for a strong and enduring relationship with Russia and the people of Russia
• US broke off talks with Russia in Oct 2016 for not implementing the ceasefire agreement on Syria and accused Moscow of not living up to its commitments under the Sept 9 deal to hold the violence and deliver humanitarian aid to communities
• The war in Syria has killed thousands and displaced 11 million
• The 5.5 year old civil war had left to the suspension of bilateral channels with Russia

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
After TCS, Cyrus Mistry was removed as chairman of TATA Global Beverages, whose board voted for Harish Bhat instead.

• TATA Global Beverages is a company that makes Tetley and Eight O’Clock Coffee
• Bhat is a TATA Group insider
• He joined the entity in 1987 under TATA Administrative Services
• He earlier worked as COO of Titan and also authored the “ TATA Log: Eight Modern Stories From a Timeless Institution.”
• This is the second time that Mistry has been removed from a TATA entity
• TCS earlier replaced him with Ishaat Hussain as the interim chairman
• 7 of the 10 directors present in the board voted against Mistry as chairman of TATA Global Beverages
• Mistry’s office has said the statement is illegal as the matter of removal of the chairman was not on the agenda and the meeting concluded as Mistry was chairman
• Two independent directors, Darius Pandole and Analjit Singh also opposed the bid at committing illegal acts.
• Mistry found support in the boards of Indian Hotels Company, TATA Chemicals, TATA Motors and TATA Steel
• The boards company happened before the sacking of Mistry as chairman of TATA Sons on 24th Oct
• Ousted chairman Mistry has countered allegations he contributed to rising expenses and impairments at TATA Sons
• “In the five years, several group centre (GCC) members held what were deemed “non-executive” roles in Tata Sons. They, including Mr. Ratan Tata, drew their compensation as commissions from Tata Sons instead of salaries. Several erstwhile directors of Tata Sons drew additional parallel commissions from operating group companies,” the statement released by Mistry said
• TATA Sons also bore the office costs of Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata, according to Mistry who said the figure was at INR 30 crore in 2015 and a significant amount was used for corporate jets.
• Mistry also pointed to investments of a questionable nature including the INR 400 crore investment in Nagarjuna Refiners and some investment in SASOL JV with South Africa’s SASOL in cola to liquid)
• “One investment in Piaggio Aero, a company in the aerospace sector with a friend of Mr. Tata, was especially distressing. Tata Sons decided to exit the company at a commercial loss of Rs 1,150 crore. This was after the efforts of Mr. Bharat Vasani (Chief legal Counsel Tata Sons) and Mr. Farokh Subedar (COO at Tata Sons) who managed to recover Rs. 1,500 crore, overcoming the objections of Mr. Ratan Tata who in contrast favoured increasing investments in that company. Today, the company is, for all practical purposes, nearly bankrupt,” Mr Mistry’s office said in a statement.

ANSWER: Both a and c

Explanation:
Government of India has asked banks to use indelible ink to ensure that people do not withdraw more than the permissible limit by going to different bank branches

• The government has noted that the same people have been coming again and again to withdraw money and this is causing long lines
• People are also trying to convert black money by sending many people to different branches
• Branches will now resort to indelible ink marks for over the counter withdrawals
• Government has also asked religious institutions which receive donations in smaller denomination notes to deposit these in bank accounts to increase their supply in circulation
• There are enough currency notes with the banks and the system according to the government which is closely monitoring the supply of cash and essential commodities
• To prevent infusion of fake currencies in vulnerable areas, the government has also constituted a special task force to keep a watch.
• Technology team has been formed to popularise the use of e-wallets and ensure ATM recalibration progresses apace
• Economic Affairs Secretary Shantikanta Das also clarified that the phenomenon of colour running in the new INR 2000 notes was normal
• In rural areas, people are taking the name of farmers to prevent tax: agricultural income in rural areas is tax free
• The steps have been taken to enable bona fide farmers to withdraw cash for purchase of seeds, fertilisers and sowing operations

ANSWER: Both a and c

Explanation:
The International Solar Alliance conceived by PM Narendra Modi will move to the next level where more than 20 countries, including India, France and Brazil have signed the framework agreement on 15th Nov- the first day when it opened for signature on sidelines of UN COP22

• More countries are expected to join in coming weeks
• ISA is collective voice of sunshine rich nations and it will enter into force once 15 countries ratify it after completing the respective domestic processes
• This will help these countries to get low cost finance and technology to boost solar energy
• ISA was launched in COP21 on Nov 30 2015 by PM Modi and French President Francois Hollande after the former gave a call for solar resource rich nations to create a coalition to address energy needs by tapping solar energy from the sun
• Alliance provides platform for 121 prospective member nations to collaborate and address gaps through common approach
• ISA activities are increasing and with the legal framework in place, Alliance will be a major international body headquartered in India
• Alliance will create common buyers' market for solar finance, technology, innovation and capacity building will lead to higher quality and lower cost products, according to India’s environment minister Anil Madhav Dave
• Alliance will renew the objective of the Paris agreement emphasising the move towards renewable energy
• Alliance has been envisioned as a dedicated platform which will utilise and promote solar energy and solar applications to help the world transition to low carbon and greener society
• To aggregate demand, improve quality and reduce cost of solar energy in developing countries, ISA will benefit from this agreement
• The ISA aims to address energy needs by tapping solar energy from the sunInterim secretariat of the alliance is Surya Bhawan, National Institute of Solar Energy, Gurgaon

ANSWER: IBM

Explanation:
General Electric on 15th Nov 2016 acquired two tech startups to build the AI capability to compete with IBM’s Watson product

• Acquisitions of Bit Stew Systems and Wise.io will expand its Predix platform for industrial internet applications, which connects big machines such as power plants and aircraft engines to databases and analytical software.
• Terms of the deals weren't publicly disclosed.
• Wise.io is based in Berkeley California and has advanced machine learning technology
• AI has a branch called machine learning which allows computers to adapt to new data without fresh programming
• Bit Stew is a Vancouver based Canadian firm backed by GE’s venture capital arm
• It applies machine learning to large data sets associated with utilities, aviation, oil and gas production and manufacturing, according to the company's web site.
• IBM’s Watson is among the better known AI systems which enables computers to perform intelligent actions such as recognising voices and making decisions