Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Sep 09, 2016

ANSWER: Apigee

Explanation:
Alphabet’s Google is purchasing software developer Apigee in a deal valued at USD 625 million as it strengthens the cloud business.

• San Jose’s Apigee software helps a company’s backend services interact with mobile and web based apps used by customers and partners
• Companies are moving beyond traditional ways of communicating like phone calls and visits and instead are communicating programmatically through API or Application Programming Interface according to Dianne Greene who runs Google’s cloud computing division
• Google will pay Apigee shareholders USD 17.40 for each share held, a 6.5 percent premium to latest closing values of the stock
• Company’s customers include AT&T, Burberry Group Pic, Vodafone Group Pic and World Bank went public in April 2015
• Apigee deal comes after Google and online storage company Box Inc said they would partner to enable corporate customers to integrate Google’s suite of word processing, spreadsheets and other productivity tools known as Google Docs.
• Companies including Google, Amazon com, Microsoft Corp and IBM Corp are competing for a share in the rapidly growing cloud computing business

ANSWER: madad.gov.in

Explanation:
In the absence of data on Indian students studying abroad, Government of India has launched a registration module for them so that they can be reached in an emergency

• Student’s Registration Module has been started on madad.gov.in/ for Indian students studying abroad
• MEA has requested students to register themselves on this module as in case of emergency, the Embassy will be able to reach them
• US remains the top destination for Indian students studying abroad with latest official data saying they number over 194,000
• According to SEVIS by the Numbers, a quarterly report from the US SEVP or Student and Exchange Visitor Programme found that number of students from India studying in the US grew from 148,360 in March 2015 to 194,438 in March 2016 marking an increase of 31.1 percent
• There are nearly 1.2 million global students with vocational or academic status studying in the US
• SEVIS is part of the US ICE or Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations
• Data extracted from SEVIS on March 7, 2016 showed that international students enrolment in US schools rose by 6.2 percent as against March 2015
• 69 percent of all students who pursue mathematics and statistics coursework however, were from China
• 40 percent of international students studying in the US equalling 479,000 individuals were enrolled in STEM coursework
• Close to 417,000 international students from Asia pursued STEM studies in the US in 2016
• Among US schools, NYU, Columbia, Southern California, NE University and University of Illinois were ranked through 5 for schools with highest international student population.
• Close to 77 percent of all international students were from Asia
• Top 10 countries of citizenship for international students included India, China, and South Korea.

ANSWER: Only a and b

Explanation:
Sikkim and Kerala have been ranked as top performing states in the cleanliness/Swachhta survey conducted by NSSO while Chattisgarh and Jharkhand were last.

• Official report released by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation on 8th September 2016 also found Dungarpur in Rajasthan and Panchmahal in Gujarat were among the low ranking districts, while Sindhudurg in Maharashtra topped the list with 99 percent of the houses having access to safe sanitation
• Nadia district in W. Bengal has been ranked second followed by Satara in Maharashtra and Midnapore East in WB.
• Among states, Sikkim recorded a 100 percent category of people using household or community toilets and 98.2 percent of the households having sanitary toilet
• Kerala has been ranked second followed by Mizoram in third place and HP in the 4th
• A survey on Swachhta status was conducted in May-June 2015 covering 73,176 households in 3788 villages
• The report called Swachh Survekshan Gramin 2016 was released with the findings.
• As per the survey, Chattisgarh has 21.2 percentage of households having sanitary toilets while Jharkhand has only 18.8 percent
• Among top performing states besides Sikkim and Kerala, other states with good results were HP, Nagaland, Haryana and Mizoram

ANSWER: Sanskrit

Explanation:
UN Charter, seminal treaty of the United Nations was on 7th Sept 2016 translated into Sanskrit for the first time.

• This was following the pioneering efforts of JK Tripathi, Secretary of Lucknow’s Akhila Bharatiya Sanskrit Parishad
• UN Charter was signed on 26th June 1945
• It was signed in San Francisco at the conclusion of the UN Conference on International Organisation
• It came into force w.e.f 24th October 1945
• Statute of the ICJ is a key part of this charter
• This charter is available in UN six official languages

ANSWER: Group B Streptococcus

Explanation:
Indian researchers unlocked the mechanisms by which preterm birth occurs.

• This birth is between 28 to 32 weeks of gestation.
• At present India accounts for 35 percent of preterm births in the world- the highest burden across the globe
• Researchers found that gram positive Group B Streptococcus bacterial produced small balloons called membrane vesicles which contained toxins that destroy foetal and maternal cells.
• They also kill collagen that keep the cells together
• GBS bacteria are found in the human vagina- numbers can shoot up in some pregnant women
• The GBS bacteria has been associated with premature rupture of amniotic membrane and preterm birth
• Researchers found that toxins in the vesicles fragmented the collagen of the amniotic membraneFragmentation of the collagen leads to loss in elasticity and weakening of the amniotic membrane making it susceptible to rupture due to pressure from the growing foetus
• This leads to preterm birth

ANSWER: Reading the Past, Writing the Future

Explanation:
The International Literacy Day was celebrated on Sept 8, 2016 across the world.

• The theme of the day was “Reading the Past, Writing the Future”
• Theme was chosen to honour past 5 decades of national and international engagement efforts and progress made to increase literacy rates across the world
• Theme also addresses current challenges and looks to innovative solutions to further boost literacy in the future
• Literacy is also part of the Sustainable Development Goals aiming to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
• Target by 2030 is that all youth and considerable number of adults achieve literacy and numeracy
• As per the Census 2011 report, illiteracy rate in India is 22 percent
• Kerala is the most literate state with 93.91 percent and Lakshadweep at 92.28 percent
• Bihar and Telangana have the lowest literacy with 63.82 percent and 66.50 per cent illiterate people respectively
• In 2014, literacy rate of India rose by 10 percent
• India is the world’s largest population of illiterates
• Illiteracy is high among many communities in India
• Jains are thee most literate community above 7 years of age among religious communities, 86.73 percent of them are literate
• Close to 61.6 percent men and 38.4 percent women have studied up to graduation or above
• As per UNESCO new Global Education Monitoring report, India will be expected to attain universal primary education in 2050, secondary education in 2060 and upper secondary education in 2085.
• First World Literacy Day was celebrated on 8th September 1966
• It was proclaimed by UNESCO in 1965
• On this day 5 Literacy Prizes are conferred namely International Reading Association Literacy Award, Noma Literacy Prize, UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize, The Malcolm Adiseshiah International Literacy Prize and UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy.

ANSWER: Greece

Explanation:
India on 7th Sept 2016 signed the bilateral air services agreement with Greece to permit unlimited points of call for domestic airlines in Greece.
Both countries have signed MoU in this regard under the Open Sky Policy

• This will be the first ASA with Greece known for its beauty and tourist sports
• Indian government has signed the MoU with the country under the provisions of the new Civil Aviation Policy
• The aim is to improve international air connectivity for Indian carriers
• Indian government has signed the MoU with Greece under the provisions entering into a reciprocal Open Sky Air Services Agreement on reciprocal basis with SAARC nations and countries with territory located beyond 5000 km radius from Delhi

ANSWER: CK Asnani

Explanation:
CK Asnani on 7th September 2016 assumed charge as CMD of UCIL a DAE undertaking

• He is a chemical engineer from Osmania University
• He was Director Technical of Indian Rare Earth’s Limited before the current appointment
• He was earlier associated with Nuclear Fuel Complex, Hyderabad
• Uranium Corporation of India Limited/UCIL is a PSU company at the forefront of the nuclear power cycle
• It operates six underground mines.
• These include Bagjata, Jaduguda, Bhatin, Narwapahar, Turamdih and Mohuldih and one open pit mine at Banduhurang, Jharkhand.
• Ore produced from these mines is processed in two plants located at Jaduguda and Turamdih.

ANSWER: Karnataka

Explanation:
The first edition of the IoT Indian Congress 2016 began on 7th Sept in Bengaluru Karnataka.

• The three day event is one of the largest in the world of its kind
• It will bring together stakeholders from various parts of the Internet of Things ecosystem
• The aim is to bring together key stakeholders across value chain and verticals to collaborate, ideate and create a common roadmap
• The IoT Thought Leadership Awards 2016 and the IoT StartUp Awards 2016 will be hosted
• Internet of Things is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people are provided with unique identifiers
• They have the ability to transfer data across a network without human to human or human to computer interaction
• In 2013, Global Standards Initiative on IoT defined it as the infrastructure of the information society
• The term Internet of Things was coined by entrepreneur Kevin Ashton from Britain in 1999 while working at Auto ID labs.

ANSWER: National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations

Explanation:
Union Government on 6th September 2016 launched the program called National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations

• Initiative aims at nurturing ideas and innovation into successful startups
• NIDHI is an umbrella programme of DST
• The programme focuses on innovation by channelising youth and bring socio economic development to the nation
• It also strengthen links of innovation
• 8 components of NIDHI are there with PRAYAS being the first component and Seed Support System being the final
• PRAYAS stands for Promoting and Accelerating Young and Aspiring Innovators and Startups
• Key stakeholders of NIDHI include mentors, institutions, VC, angle investors, industry champions, private sector, government bodies, state and central government

ANSWER: Tajikistan

Explanation:
President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has extended his greetings and felicitations to the Government and people of the Republic of Tajikistan on the eve of 25th anniversary of their Independence Day (September 9, 2016).

• Currently Mr. Emomali Rahmon is the President of the Republic of Tajikistan.
• The President has also extended his greetings and felicitations to the Government and people of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on the eve of their Foundation Day (September 9, 2016).
• Marshal Kim Jong Un, the First Secretary of Worker's Party of Korea, First Chairman of National Defence Commission and Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army is the President of DPRK
• DPRK is currently fighting with the Republic of South Korea
• It has an anti US policy

ANSWER: Anjum Chopra

Explanation:
Ex Indian women’s cricket team captain Anjum Chopra has been awarded the honorary life membership of the Marylebone Cricket Club along with Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan.

• She is the first Indian woman sportsperson to receive this honour
• 39 years old currently, she has plated 12 tests, 127 ODIs and 18 T20s for India.
• Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club in London, founded in 1787. It owns, and is based at, Lord’s Cricket Ground in St John’s Wood, London NW8.
• MCC was formerly the governing body of cricket both in England and Wales as well as worldwide.
• Since 2005 the MCC has funded six university cricket academies known as the MCC Universities (MCCUs).
• The MCC also produces a bible for cricket called the Coaching Manual
• It has an intake limit of 1800 members

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
India is the first country to be officially acknowledged as yaws free.

• It received certificates from WHO declaring the country Yaws, Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus free
• Certificates were presented at the 69th Session of the WHO regional committee for south-east Asia region held in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
• The elimination of tetanus as a public health problem means that in India, the annual rate of maternal and neonatal tetanus is now less than 1 per 1000 live births.
• The health ministry aims at sustaining achievements by health systems providing immunisation coverage and best healthcare practices as well as effective surveillance system
• Newer vaccines such as Rotavirus Vaccine and Measles Rubella vaccine have kept India free from preventable deaths
• Yaws is a disease caused by Treponema pallidum subspecies pertenue.
• It is one of the first diseases targeted by WHO and UNICEF for eradication in the 1950s.
• The disease affects skin, bone and cartilage.