Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Nov 30, 2017

ANSWER: Russia

Explanation:
The Russian Security Council has asked the country's government to develop an independent internet infrastructure for BRICS nations, which would continue to work in the event of global internet malfunctions.

The initiative was discussed at the October meeting of the Security Council, which is Russia's top consultative body on national security.

President Vladimir Putin personally set a deadline of August 1, 2018 for the completion of the task, the RBC news agency reported.

While discussing the issue, members of the council noted that the increased capabilities of western nations to conduct offensive operations in the informational space as well as the increased readiness to exercise these capabilities pose a serious threat to Russia's security.

They decided that the problem should be addressed by creating a separate backup system of Domain Name Servers (DNS), which would not be subject to control by international organizations. This system would be used by countries of the BRICS bloc - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The issue of excessive dependency on global DNS has previously been addressed by Russia.

In 2014, the Russian Communications Ministry conducted a major exercise in which it simulated the "switching off" of global internet services and used a Russian backup system to successfully support web operations inside the country.

ANSWER: Snehlata Shrivastava

Explanation:
Snehlata Shrivastava, a 1982-batch retired IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, was on Wednesday appointed the first woman Secretary General of the Lok Sabha.

The appointment was made by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, an official release said. Shrivastava will replace Anoop Mishra, who is retiring on November 30.

Shrivastava, a senior civil servant with 35 years of rich and varied administrative experience, will have the rank and status of Cabinet Secretary with effect from December 1.

She has held several important positions in the Madhya Pradesh government as well as at the Centre.

Shrivastava has served as Secretary in the Ministry of Law and Justice and also as Special/Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Finance.

She has also held several senior positions in the Madhya Pradesh government, including as Principal Secretary in the ministries of Culture and Parliamentary Affairs.

ANSWER: ICCR

Explanation:
India-Afghan Cultural Festival in New Delhi has been jointly organized by the Government and Embassy of Afghanistan along with the Government of India and ICCR.

India and Afghanistan enjoy age old cultural and civilaisational ties and the deep-rooted linkages in the fields of music, art, architecture, language and cuisine constitute an important bond of friendship between the people of the two countries.

While exponents of Afghan classical music such as Ustad Sarahang were trained in the Patiala Gharana, the popular Indian music of bollywood resonates in Afghan homes,

The central Bamyan province of Afghanistan is an epitome of our shared Buddhist heritage, he added.

Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore's 'Kabuliwala' has connected Indians with the honest and large-hearted Afghans.

India-Afghan Festival is a unique event being organized and will further bring out the commonalities between the two countries through art, handicrafts, dance, music and other forms.

The three day festival includes cultural performances, handicrafts, exhibitions, cuisine and cultural shows from Afghanistan as well as India.

ANSWER: BCCI

Explanation:
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has found Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to be in contravention of the provisions of Section 4(1) read with Section 4(2)(c) of the Competition Act, 2002 (Act) for its assurance to the broadcasters of Indian Premier League (IPL) that BCCI shall not organize, sanction, recognize, or support another professional domestic Indian T20 competition that is competitive to IPL, for a sustained period of ten years.

After a detailed investigation by the DG, CCI found that BCCI enjoys a dominant position in the market for organisation of professional domestic cricket leagues/ events in India.

Based on the nature of activities performed, BCCI has been held as an enterprise and thus, would come under the purview of the Act.

While recognising the role of sports federation in taking measures to serve the integrity or development of the sport, CCI held that the impugned restriction had no nexus to the legitimate interest of cricket in the country.

Rather, the restriction was pursued to enhance the commercial interest of the bidders of IPL broadcasting rights and the consideration in turn received by BCCI.

Therefore, the impugned restriction has been held to be in contravention of Section 4(1) read with Section 4(2)(c) of the Act.

A penalty of INR 52.24 crore has also been imposed on BCCI for indulging into the anticompetitive conduct.

ANSWER: Best Performance Vendor 2017

Explanation:
Alloy Steels Plant (ASP) of the Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) today received the "BEST PERFORMANCE VENDOR - 2017" award from Ordnance Factory, Medak (OF-M) for indigenization, development and supply of import substitute steel plates.

The steel plates in two categories, for which SAIL received the award, were supplied by Durgapur-based ASP, the special steels plant of SAIL. The award was received by Shri AK Patra, DGM I/c (Research & Control Lab.)/ SAIL-ASP, at the Ordnance Factory's Vendors' meet held in Medak.

Plates made with two special-grade varieties of low- and medium-carbon steels developed at SAIL-ASP as import substitutes were supplied to OF-M for meeting the specific property requirements of defence applications, such as muzzle brake for cannons/barrels installed in infantry fighting amphibious vehicles and their bottom parts.

Muzzle brake is a component that is fitted on top of the cannon or barrel that redirects propellant gases to counter recoil and unwanted rising of the barrel/cannon during rapid fire.

Apart from meeting stringent chemical properties, the plates developed by SAIL-ASP also excel in matching physical attributes of plates like excellent surface finish and formability along with meeting the specified properties as stipulated in heat-treated conditions.

SAIL-ASP: Know More

• SAIL-ASP has a diverse product portfolio of over 400 grades catering to critical end-use by strategic sectors such as Defence, Railways, Automobiles, Power plants and heavy engineering & manufacturing industries.
• For Defence applications, the plant manufactures high impact-resistant steels (armour-grade steels) and customized steels for naval applications.
• SAIL-ASP also has capability for manufacturing a variety of stainless steels products also.
• SAIL is pioneering the 'Make in India' campaign by producing world-class steel products in various categories and partnering the Make in Steel - Make in India vision of the Ministry of Steel.
• SAIL steel has been used in various prestigious national projects like the Dhola-Sadiya bridge, Sardar Sarovar Dam, Metro projects in various cities, Chenani-Nashri tunnel, Pamban railway sea bridge, Bandra-Worli sea link, etc.
• The company is increasing the share of value-added products in its product-mix to meet specific requirements of customers.

ANSWER: Number of petrol pumps

Explanation:
India has recorded 45 per cent jump in the number of petrol pumps in the last six years, possibly the highest growth rate in the world, as public and private sector firms jostled to capture retailing sites.

With 60,799 outlets dispensing petrol and diesel at the end of October, India is behind only US and China in number of petrol pumps, data available from Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell of the Oil Ministry.

In 2011, the country had 41,947 outlets, of which 2,983 or 7.1 per cent, were owned or operated by private retailers like Reliance Industries and Essar oil.

Today, private firms own 5,474, or 9 per cent of the total outlets, with Essar being the leader with 3,980 stations.

Several countries around the globe have seen the number of petrol pumps drop as they moved towards Electric Vehicles (EVs) and alternate forms of energy but they have grown in India, which is the world's fastest growing oil consumer.

India had in 2015 overtaken Japan as the world's third- largest oil consuming country behind US and China. Fuel consumption grew by 9.5 per cent in the April-October period of the current fiscal.

Oil ministry data showed that 18,852 outlets were added between 2011 and 2017. Of the 60,799 petrol pumps in the country, 55,325 are owned by state-owned fuel retailers.

India Oil Corp (IOC) owns and operates 26,489 petrol stations, of which 7,232 are rural outlets. Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) is the second biggest fuel retailer with 14,675 outlets, 3,159 being rural sites.

Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) owns 14,161 outlets, of which 2,548 are rural outlets.

Private Company Growth In Petrol Sector

• In the private sector, Reliance Industries owns 1,400 outlets while Royal Dutch Shell has 90 stations.
• Besides, there are 1,273 outlets dispensing CNG to automobiles, the most number of 423 being in Delhi, the data showed.
• Industry officials said public sector oil companies will continue to add at least 2,000 petrol pumps per annum over the next few years.
• In the private sector, Essar, which was recently taken over by Russia's Rosneft, had been the most aggressive. It had 1,382 outlets in 2011 and now has 3,980, which it plans to take up to 5,600 by March 2019.
• With deregulation of petrol in June 2010 and diesel in 2014, private players have once again become active on fuel retailing expansion.

ANSWER: unsafe food products

Explanation:
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued a set of guidelines regarding the recall of unsafe food products from the market, in a bid to ensure that a proper system is in place.

Reports suggest that the food safety regulator stated that the guidelines have been issued to help food business operators frame a proper recall plan and implement them when the situation demands.

Recall can be defined as an action to remove food products from market at any stage of the food chain, including that possessed by consumer, which may pose a threat to the public health or food that violate the Act, or the rules or regulations made thereunder.

As per the guidelines, FSSAI as outlined FBOs to follow 10 steps to carry out entire recall exercise.

The key steps are that FBOs need to set up a recall management team, inform the regulator, identify all products to be recalled, detain and segregate products to be recalled which are in the company's control besides verifying the effectiveness of the recall.

"The recovered product must be stored in an area which is separated from any other food product. Accurate records are to be kept of the amount of recovered product and the batch codes of the product recovered," the FSSAI said.

After recovery, products may be corrected or reprocessed before release to the market if it is fit for human consumption.

Otherwise the product is to be destroyed. The action to be taken on the recalled product should be approved by the competent Authority.

FSSAI further said the companies, which have produced unsafe products, should take steps so that the need for such recalls do not arise again in future.

ANSWER: $500 million

Explanation:
Multilateral funding agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) on 29th Nov, 2017 said it will provide a $500 million loan to improve rural road connectivity in five states, including Assam and West Bengal.

The board of directors of ADB has approved the multi-tranche financing facility (MFF) for the 'Second Rural Connectivity Investment Programme' to improve rural roads in five states of India, ADB said in a statement.

Under this project, ADB will invest to construct and upgrade over 12,000 kilometre rural roads in Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and West Bengal. It will also support state governments to improve rural road maintenance and safety.

ADB is building on the success of previous assistance for rural roads in India. The agency will work closely with the government to improve connectivity for the rural people to access markets, health centres, education and other opportunities.

In the first tranche, ADB is expected to invest USD 250 million in December for construction of initial 6,254 km all weather rural roads in these states. While the second tranche of the loan of same amount is expected to come by the third quarter of 2019.

This leg of the ADB loan assistance for rural roads builds on the first 'Rural Connectivity Investment Programme in 2012' financing USD 800 million MFF to add about 9,000 km all-weather rural roads in these five states.

Apart from this MFF, the Manila-headquartered agency will provide a USD 500,000 technical assistance (TA) grant from its Technical Assistance Special Fund to strengthen sustainability of rural road assets, disaster resilience and innovation in rural road development.

The TA is due for completion in December 2021, with the investment programme expected to be completed by the end of 2023, ADB said.

Rural roads comprise nearly 80 per cent of India's overall paved road network connecting them to major district roads, state roads and national highways.

ANSWER: 75

Explanation:
India has reduced its new malaria cases by one third, and even crossed the malaria mortality targets of 2020, according Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare J. P. Nadda at a high-level round table on 'Accelerating the Elimination of Malaria in the Southeast Asia Region'.

Nearly three-fourth of the share of the regional burden, India's successes have significantly contributed to the reduction of the burden of malaria for the entire Southeast Asia region.

The Union Minister noted that a majority of malaria cases in the country occur in its bordering districts, forests and tribal areas

ANSWER: Heart

Explanation:
Scientists have developed a fully functioning artificial human heart muscle large enough to patch over damage typically seen in patients, who have suffered a heart attack. The advance takes a major step toward the end goal of repairing dead heart muscle in human patients, researchers have said.

Right now, virtually all existing therapies are aimed at reducing the symptoms from the damage that has already been done to the heart, but no approaches have been able to replace the muscle that is lost, because once it is dead, it does not grow back on its own.

This is a way that we could replace lost muscle with tissue made outside the body.

Heart Patches: Know More

• Unlike some human organs, the heart cannot regenerate itself after a heart attack.
• The dead muscle is often replaced by scar tissue that can no longer transmit electrical signals or contract, both of which are necessary for smooth and forceful heartbeats.
• The end result is a disease commonly referred to as heart failure that affects over 12 million patients worldwide.
• Heart patches could be implanted over the dead muscle and remain active for a long time, providing more strength for contractions and a smooth path for the heart's electrical signals to travel through.
• These patches also secrete enzymes and growth factors that could help recovery of damaged tissue that has not yet died.
• However, a heart patch must be large enough to cover the affected tissue. It must also be as strong and electrically active as the native heart tissue, or else the discrepancy could cause deadly arrhythmias.
• This is the first human heart patch to meet both criteria.