Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Oct 14, 2015

ANSWER: Lima

Explanation:
Annual meetings of the World Bank Group and the IMF were held between 9th and 11th October 2015 in Lima, the capital of Peru. Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley led as India’s Governor on Board of Governors of IMF and World Bank leading the Indian delegation including RBI governor and Chief Economic Advisor. Key issues of discussion included shareholding review of WB and the role of both WB and IMF to support SDGs.

ANSWER: Geoffrey Howe

Explanation:
Geoffrey Howe, Britain’s ex treasury chief, died on 9 October 2015 Idlicote, England. He was 88. He oversaw Britain’s recovery from recession in the 1980s and was a champion of European unity. He was also the longest serving cabinet minister of Margaret Thatcher’s cabinet. He was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1979-1983, Foreign Secretary from 1983-1989, Leader of House of Commons from 1989-1990 and Deputy PM from 1989-1990.

ANSWER: Male

Explanation:
India-Maldives Joint Commission was co-chaired by MEA minister Sushma Swaraj and Maldivian foreign minister Dunya Maumoon. It assessed the entire range of bilateral relations including economic security and cultural aspects apart from focusing on the growing policy alignment between two countries as seen in India’s Neighbours First and Maldives India First policies.

It was under the 1986 Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation that India-Maldives Joint Commission first met in Male in 1990. The Framework Agreement for Cooperation was signed in November 2011.

ANSWER: K. Balakrishnan

Explanation:
To mark his 8th death anniversary, well known writer M. N. Vijayan’s biography by K. Balakrishnan was released. The book details the exit of Vijayan as editor of Deshabhimani weekly. Book also highlights the numerous internal conflicts within CPI (M). The book was released by academician K. P. Narendran.

ANSWER: 67th

Explanation:
Google has marked legendary Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s 67th birth anniversary with a doodle on its homepage. Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was a singer of Qawwali, devotional Sufi music. Born to a family of musicians in Faisalabad on October 13th 1948, Khan was noted for his soulful performances. He made the traditional Qawwali form of music and semi classical Pakistani music through fusion with modern fast beats. He is one of the most important artists to make the Qawwali popular. He passed away in 1997 at the age of 49.

ANSWER: Dalip Kumar Tiwana

Explanation:
Punjabi writer Dalip Kaur Tiwana has announced she will return the Padma Shri to protest against rising communal tension in the nation. Tiwana was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2004. She is also the winner of a Sahitya Akademi award in 1971.

ANSWER: I. V. Sasi

Explanation:
Well known Malayalam filmmaker I. V. Sasi was honoured with the J. C. Daniel award for 2014 for contributions to the film industry. He has made over 150 Indian films and is mostly known for his S. Indian movies. He started his career with a film entitled Ulsavam. He has directed more than 170 movies over 3 decades. In the year 1982, Aaroodam (a film directed by him) won the Nargis Dutt Award for the best feature film on National Integration. J. C. Daniel award is given annually by the Government of Kerala.

ANSWER: Novak Djokovic

Explanation:
Novak Djokovic on 11 October 2015 won the China Open Men’s Singles title crushing Rafael Nadal of Spain 6-2 6-2. This was the 4th consecutive win in Beijing for him since 2012. He is the only player to have won this title 6 times. Remaining two titles were in 2010 and 2009. Djokovic is the only man in the Open era to reach 4 major finals along with Rod Laver and Roger Federer.

ANSWER: 12th October

Explanation:
National Human Rights Commission is celebrating its 22nd Foundation Day on 12th October, 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. During last year (October 2014 to 2015), Commission has registered 1,15,896 cases from which 95,563 cases were disposed of. The highest number of cases have been registered in UP followed by Odisha, Haryana, Delhi, Bihar, Rajasthan, as well as MP. Since the time of its inception, NHRC has registered 15,02,398 cases. It is addressing issues pertaining to human rights.

ANSWER: 38th

Explanation:
Veteran Communist leader K. P. Sharma Oli was sworn in as the 38th Nepali PM a day after he was elected in Parliament with support from small parties, as the country is grappling with political unrest as regards the new Constitution. Oli was administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Ram Baran Yadav and he formed a small cabinet with two deputy ministers and 5 ministers during his first meeting.

ANSWER: Cox & Kings

Explanation:
Holiday and education travel firm Cox & Kings has acquired UK based online hotel booking firm LateRooms Ltd on 13th October 2015 from TUI Group for INR 85 crore. LateRooms offers a complete range of accommodation options totalling 54,800 properties to be booked up to a year in advance. The UK firm has 3.5 million opted-in and active consumer database and operates a Single Web Platform for mobile device usage. Acquisition is in line with the strategic intent of the travel group to expand its online and B2C leisure proposition.

ANSWER: Goldilocks period

Explanation:
India is presently in goldilocks period of low inflation along with gradual recovery and is expected to clock GDP growth rate of 7.6% in the fiscal according to Japanese financial services company Nomura. India's industrial output rose to nearly three-year high of 6.4 percent in August on improvement in manufacturing and capital goods while retail inflation rose to 4.41 percent in September. According to Nomura, GDP (at market prices) growth is set to recover to 7.6 percent YoY in FY16 from 7.3 percent in FY15.

ANSWER: MTV India

Explanation:
Apple Music members will now be able to access Bollywood plus indie music through playlists regularly updated by MTV India. Exclusive playlists being curated by MTV India for Apple Music comprise Indie Top 10 series from ballads to electronics and heavy metal. Users can access mix of playlists about bespoke MTV properties such as CokeStudio@MTV.

ANSWER: Bank of Botswana

Explanation:
RBI has signed an agreement on information sharing with Bank of Botswana under the Supervisory Cooperation and Exchange of Supervisory Information. It has signed an MoU with Bank of Botswana with respect to this. RBI has entered into an agreement with other countries in a similar field. The apex bank has signed 28 such MoUs, one letter for supervisory cooperation and statement of cooperation.

ANSWER: NASA’s Journey to Mars: Pioneering Next Steps in Space Exploration

Explanation:
NASA has released a report on next steps in space exploration in the journey to Mars on 9th October 2015. The document contains a plan for establishment of permanent settlements and deep space habitation facilities on the red planet by 2030s. The journey to Mars will cross several thresholds identified by NASA, each having its own challenge. NASA is implementing earth reliant exploration, and promotion of earth independent activities with respect to the red planet. It has also identified three technological and operational challenges within the report namely transportation, working in space and staying healthy.

ANSWER: Vishal Bharat Sansthan

Explanation:
The first Anaj bank or Food grain bank has been started to help poor families who find it hard to get two meals in a day. Bank was opened by NGO Vishal Bharat Sansthan under pet bharo-campaign in Hukugunj area on the first day of Navratri. To support poor families, each will be given 5 kg rice, 1 kg atta, 1 kg salt every month for a year. A person can open a bank account by depositing 5 kg of food grain and get satisfaction and innovation as interest.

ANSWER: Nippon

Explanation:
Nippon Life Insurance of Japan has signed an agreement to increase stake in Reliance Capital Asset Management, part of the ADAG led Reliance Capital in tranches ranging from 35 to 49 percent for INR 1196 crore or USD 184 million. BoD of both companies have approved the increase in stake by Japanese partner. The market valuation of RCAM is pegged at USD 1.3 billion. Reliance Capital Asset Management, India’s largest asset manager, had Rs. 2,43,162 crore (USD 38.3 billion) assets under management as on June 30, 2015, across mutual funds, pension funds, managed accounts and offshore funds. In 2012, Nippon Life Insurance has initially acquired 26 per cent stake in Reliance Capital Asset Management pegged at aggregate value of Rs. 1,450 crore (USD 240 million). It increased the stake to 35% in February 2015.

ANSWER: OCSD

Explanation:
Miniature satellite Orbital Communications and Sensor Demonstration CubeSat spacecraft is operational and in orbit according to NASA. The miniature satellite was sent into space abroad an Atlas V rocket from the California Vandenberg Air Force Base. CubeSats plays an important role in exploration, scientific research, technology demonstration and educational inquiries. This project provides an affordable platform for future NASA missions such as planetary exploration, observations of Earth and so on. OSCD is the first among six NASA managed technology demonstration missions to be launched. Miniature satellites measure close to 4 inches per side. Second mission is scheduled for February 2016.