Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Oct 22 & 23, 2016

ANSWER: Morinari Watanabe

Explanation:
Japan’s Morinari Watanabe on 20th Oct 2016 was elected the new President of the International Gymnastics Federation

• Watanabe has emerged victorious in the election after defeating rival candidate Georges Guelzec of France by a massive margin in a vote in the governing body’s Congress
• Watanabe is the secretary-general of the Japan Gymnastics Association who won 100 of the 119 votes
• Guelzec, the head of European Union of Gymnastics received just 19 votes
• Watanabe has become the ninth president of the FIG since it was established in 1881
• He succeeded Bruno Grandi who held this position for 20 years
• Watanabe is scheduled to take charge on January 1, 2016
• The International Federation of Gymnastics is a governing body of competitive gymnastics
• It was headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland
• It was founded on 23rd July 1881 in Liege Belgium
• It is the world’s existing international sports organisation originally known as the European Federation of Gymnastics
• It has three member nations namely Belgium. France and the Netherlands till 1921 when non European countries were admitted and it received its current name
• The federation sets rules called the Code of Points that regulate how gymnasts’ performances are assessed
• 6 gymnastics disciplines are governed by the FIG– artistic gymnastics, (men’s artistic gymnastics and women’s artistic gymnastics), rhythmic gymnastics, aerobic gymnastics, acrobatic gymnastics, and trampoline
• The federation is also responsible for determining if gymnasts are old enough to participate in the Olympics

ANSWER: The Sleepwalker’s Dream

Explanation:
Book entitled The Sleepwalker’s Dream authored by Dhurbajyoti Borah was released. Borah is currently the president of the Asam Sahitya Sabha

• The book narrates the journey of a group of militants towards elusive freedom and an unknown future
• The Sleepwalker’s Dream is about rebels fleeing their hideout in Bhutan following an army attack, along with their injured, unconscious leader who is unlikely to survive
• The author gives life to their journey to be insurgents and the memories that haunt them
• The only woman in the group recalls her own childhood and the tragic circumstances under which she became an insurgent
• A male insurgent is also flooded by memories of his childhood and passionate commitment in early days along with high adventure

ANSWER: 137

Explanation:
The Indian football team on 20th Oct 2016 achieved the best ever FIFA ranking in more than 6 years- the team jumped 11 places to be 137th on the list
India defeated Puerto Rico ranked 114th in Sept 2016

• In August 2010, India was ranked 137th which had been its best FIFA ranking since then
• The Indian team was ranked 171st in February 2015 and slipped to 173rd in March 2015
• Currently, Argentina tops the FIFA World Rankings followed by Germany and Brazil
• FIFA World ranking is a ranking system for men’s national teams in association football
• The teams of member nations of FIFA are ranked based on their game results with most successful teams attaining higher rankings
• The rankings were introduced in December 1992 and 8 teams have held the top position since then
• Brazil has attained the first ranking for the longest time
• Eight teams included Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain
• A points system is used, with points being awarded based on results of FIFA recognised international matches
• The ranking system was revamped after the 2006 World Cup

ANSWER: Rice

Explanation:
Researchers of the Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalay/ IGKV in Raipur developed a protein enriched variety

• The newly developed rice variety has over 10 percent protein content which is 3 percent more than what is found in any popular variety and has 30 PPM zinc content
• Researchers said it would serve as a boon for malnourished people especially children in tribal dominated Chhattisgarh
• The researchers worked for 7 years to develop a kind of rice that is rich in protein along with high zinc content
• Rice variety will play a crucial role in fighting protein deficiencies
• The rice variety will be sent to the state’s variety identification committee within six months for the final release following which it is probably going to be ready for cultivation next year.
• As per a survey conducted in 2015, very high rate of malnutrition was found among pre-school children in tribal areas showing conditions such as being underweight and stunted growth which indicates a tough situation
• Over 5 lakh children in Chhattisgarh are underweight, with tribal districts such as Bastar, Dantewada and Narayanpur.
• These have higher rate of malnourishment than other districts
• The Women and Child Development Department in Sept 2016 have informed that malnutrition rate in Chhattisgarh has declined to 29.8 percent from 47.1 percent registered in the National Family Health Survey 2005-2006

ANSWER: World Bank

Explanation:
India on 21st Oct 2016 signed a USD 650 million dollar loan agreement with World Bank for the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor III project

• This project will benefit industries of Eastern and Northern India which rely on railway network for transportation of material inputs and exports
• Industries will depend on railway network for transportation for the distribution of bulk processed and semi-processed commodities and consumer goods
• Railway passengers will be benefited through decongestion of existing passenger lines
• The EDFC-III project was set to augment rail transport capacity, improve service quality and enhance freight carriage through a 401 km Ludhiana Khurja section of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor