Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Nov 28, 2017

ANSWER: Xiaomi

Explanation:
Chinese mobile handset major Xiaomi has replaced Samsung at the top position in the country's urban market.

The Beijing-headquartered company, which entered India three years ago, has managed to garner a higher market share in the top 50 cities during the September quarter.

Samsung, which had been dominating the space for over four years, lost out to Xiaomi as it held 24.1 per cent of the urban market, compared with Xiaomi's 26.5 per cent, IDC indicated.

As per a report by International Data Corporation (IDC), Xiaomi held the maximum market share in the top 50 Indian cities in the Q3 2017 period, followed by Samsung, Lenovo (including Moto), Oppo, and Vivo.

The top 50 Indian cities have accounted for 50 percent of overall smartphone sales in the country in the third quarter this year.

IDC in its India Monthly City-Level Smartphone Tracker claims that in the top 50 cities, Xiaomi ousted Samsung to take 26.5 percent of the market.

It is said to have registered 120 percent growth in the period, while the Redmi Note 4 contributed to 40 percent of its volumes - becoming the highest selling smartphones across the cities.

Samsung, which moved to the second slot with 24.1 percent market share, saw 15 percent quarterly growth. IDC says the brand continues to dominate in several cities thanks to its "deep penetration and reach."

The Samsung Galaxy J2, Galaxy J7 Max, and Galaxy J7 Nxt made up 50 percent of volumes of the South Korean manufacture.

Lenovo (including the Moto brand) had the third spot with a 10.3 percent share, and grew 8 percent from the previous quarter.

Oppo moved up to the fourth position with a 5.2 percent share, with the Oppo F3, F3 Plus, and A71 smartphones major contributors to the growth the company enjoyed.

Finally, Vivo slipped to the fifth spot at 5.1 percent, and is said to have seen a marginal decline in sales from the last quarter.

ANSWER: G20 Development Track

Explanation:
Former economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das was on 27th Nov, 2017 appointed India's sherpa till December 31, 2018, for the G20's Development Track.

There are two tracks in G20 - the Finance Track and the Development Track.

Finance Track is managed by the Secretary (Economic Affairs), Ministry of Finance, as India's Deputy to G-20 and the Development Track is coordinated by the sherpa.

The Department of Economic Affairs will provide necessary support to the Sherpa.

ANSWER: 2018

Explanation:
Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu announced the new industrial policy that will seek to promote emerging sectors will be released early next year.

The proposed policy, the draft of which has been prepared by the Commerce and Industry Ministry, will completely revamp the Industrial Policy of 1991.

The draft policy is ready and the ministry is now planning to organise 8-9 roadshows to discuss it with all the stakeholders.

Among other things, the policy would endeavour to reduce regulations and bring in new industries currently in focus.

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in August floated a draft industrial policy with the aim to create jobs for the next two decades, promote foreign technology transfer and attract USD 100 billion FDI annually.

The department is working to formulate an outcome oriented actionable policy that provides direction and charts a course of action for a globally competitive Indian industry that leverages skill, scale and technology.

ANSWER: N K Singh

Explanation:
The government has announced the 15th Finance Commission and it will be chaired by former parliamentarian and revenue and expenditure secretary N K Singh.

Its tenure will be till October 30, 2019, by when it will have to give its final report on distributing divisible funds between the Centre and the states for a five-year period starting April 1, 2020.

Earlier, the government appointed the former Planning Commission Member as head of the 15th Finance Commission.

Other members of the commission, which is required to submit its report by October 2019, are former economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das, former chief economic advisor Ashok Lahiri, Niti Aayog Member Ramesh Chand and Georgetown University professor Anoop Singh.

The commission will review the current status of the finance, deficit, debt levels, cash balances and fiscal discipline efforts of the Union and the states. It will also recommend a fiscal consolidation road map for sound fiscal management.

As per Article 280 of the Constitution, the commission is required to make recommendations on the distribution of the net proceeds of taxes between the Centre and the states.

The new Finance Commission will cover five-year period commencing April 1, 2020.

The 14th Finance Commission was set up on January 2, 2013. Its recommendations cover the period from April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2020.

ANSWER: Bangladesh

Explanation:
The 2017 International Multilateral Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise (IMMSAREX) was held in Bangladesh from November 26 to 28 2017.

The exercise is taking place under the aegis of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS). It was inaugurated by Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina.

The IONS is a regional forum of Indian Ocean littoral states, represented by their Navy chiefs, launched by India in February 2008. It presently has 23 members and nine observers.

The exercise comes at a time of intensifying competition among regional navies for dominance in the Indian Ocean - navies of China and Japan, presently observers, in addition to member states like India, France, Iran and the U.K.

In addition, Bangladesh is also scheduling an "extraordinary conclave of Chiefs," a meeting of chiefs of Navy before it hands over the Chair to Iran next year, the source added.

Under the charter of business adopted in 2014, the grouping has working groups on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR), Information Security and Interoperability (IS&I) and anti-piracy now renamed as maritime security.

ANSWER: New and Renewable Energy

Explanation:
India and Greece have signed Air Services Agreement (ASA) and MoU on Cooperation (MoC) in field of New and Renewable Energy.

The agreements were signed after bilateral talks between External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj and her visiting counterpart Minister for Foreign Affairs of Greece Nikos Kotzias in New Delhi.

The two ministers held detailed discussion on all aspects of bilateral relationship. They also re-affirmed commitment to further expand cooperation in mutually beneficial spheres

ANSWER: Jaipur

Explanation:
The first edition of International Symposium to Promote Innovation & Research in Energy Efficiency (INSPIRE 2017) was held in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

The five-day symposium was organized by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) in partnership with World Bank and Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE).

INSPIRE 2017 is an International Conference that brings together various stakeholders such as policy makers, innovators, financiers, influencers to showcase best practices in the sector.

It provides a platform for energy efficiency community to discuss energy efficiency policies, market transformation strategies, emerging technologies, delivery and business-model driven transformations.

The event is further designed to provide global and national thought-leaders and implementers to expand perspectives on energy efficiency and spur ideas and solutions that will help leverage the full potential of energy efficiency and bring its multiple co-benefits to the fore.

The highlight of the symposium is the high-level deliberations driven by policy makers and experts from Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), The World Bank Group, The Energy Institute (TERI), International Energy Agency (IEA), Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), USA and representatives of the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) - a high-level global forum to promote policies and programmes that advance clean energy technology.

Several global organizations like the Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, International Finance Corporation, The World Bank, International Energy Agency, International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation, Clean Energy Ministerial, Copenhagen Centre on Energy Efficiency, GIZ, will also participate.

INSPIRE 2017 intends to create a platform for deliberations and sharing of best practices around energy efficiency policy solutions, high-impact research, innovative financing and implementation that are driving large scale market transformations in India and across the globe.

The event has brought together over 350 participants from 13 countries across North America, Asia, Europe and Middle East.

INSPIRE 2017: App Launched

• During the inaugural session, a mobile app for EESLs various programmes was launched.
• This app will allow consumers to connect with the organisation for its various programmes, lodge complaints and track real time complaint status.
• Further, citizens can now access the real-time status of Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) dashboard at state, district and Urban Local Body (ULB) levels across the country.

ANSWER: Russia

Explanation:
India and Russia have signed comprehensive anti-terror pact agreement for enhancing bilateral cooperation in tackling all forms of terrorism and countering threat posed by narcotics.

The agreement was signed by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Russia's Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev in Moscow after they held wide-ranging talks.

The ministers underlined that cooperation in the field of security is an important aspect of this bilateral relationship further strengthen cooperation to combat terrorism, extremism and radicalism.

The new agreement between India's MHA and Russia's interior ministry will replace the October 1993 agreement between both the countries. This agreement will help in expanding and deepening cooperation on issues related to internal security.

The Indian embassy statement said the two leaders agreed to cooperate in combating new challenges, enhance exchange of information, cooperate in building a data base and in training of police and investigative agencies.

Indian and Russian representatives also signed the joint action plan for countering the threat posed by narcotics and the agreement will provide legal framework for bilateral cooperation in this field.

The agreement on internal security is an updated and more comprehensive agreement on cooperation on security between the MHA and the Russian ministry of interior.

This pact provides a comprehensive approach for help in security related issues, including information technology crimes, counterfeiting currency, illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, trafficking in human beings, economic crimes, crimes related to intellectual property, cultural property.