Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Sep 26, 2016

ANSWER: October 2

Explanation:
India will ratify the Paris agreement on climate change on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Country’s move will bring in a global deal to fight the menace of global warming

• The announcement to this effect was made by PM Narendra Modi during his speech at the BJP party council meet
• India had announced its climate action plan to fight challenges of climate change on October 2 in the past year.
• It has submitted its INDC or Intended Nationally Determined Contribution to the UN Body on October 1, 2015 and made it public the next day coinciding with the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi
• Around 60 countries including the two top polluters of the world- the US and China- have ratified the agreement adopted by 195 nations in Paris in December 2015
• While China and US have ratified it on September 3, as many as 31 countries have formally joined the agreement through formal ratification or acceptance at a special event hosted by the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon in New York on September 21
• Agreement will come into force 30 days after 55 countries, representing 55 percent of global emissions will deposit their instruments of ratification, accession or acceptance with the UN Secretary General
• So fa national ratification has crossed 55 nations but only accounted for 47.62 percent of the global emission
• Decision of India, which accounts for 4.1 percent of the global emission, will bring it within reach of the emission threshold of 55 percent
• The magic figure of 55 percent will be reached in 2016 as 14 more countries, with 12.58 percent of the global emission on September 21, committed to join the agreement this year before the start of the next UN conference on climate change COP22 in Morocco in November 2016
• Paris Agreement calls on nations to combat climate change and accelerate and intensify actions and investments needed for sustainable low carbon future and adapting the increasing impact of climate change
• Regular meetings are mandated every 5 years, starting in 2018 to review progress and consider how to strengthen the level of ambition as countries recognise present steps to counter climate change are not enough to save planet earth
• Apart from India, other countries joining the Paris Agreement through formal ratification include:
  i. Austria,
  ii. Australia,
  iii. Bulgaria,
  iv. Cambodia,
  v. Canada,
  vi. Costa Rica,
  vii. France,
  viii. Germany,
  ix. Hungary,
  x. Kazakhstan,
  xi. New Zealand,
  xii. Poland and
  xiii. the Republic of Korea.

ANSWER: Ochotona sikimaria

Explanation:

• A new species of a small mammal in the rabbit family has been discovered in higher altitudes of the Himalayas in Sikkim, according to the study which has held that it is an important part of the ecosystem
• Called Ochotona sikimaria, the new pika species was found based on a study measuring genetic data and skull measurements
• Study has been published in the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
• Members of the rabbit family belonging to this species are tailless and have been in news in N. America where climate change and rising temperatures are driving them to extinction
• The Sikkim Pika was compared to its close relatives before the new species was discovered
• Pikas are the most fascinating mammalian species and they do not hibernate
• They prepare for winter by collecting and storing hay piles for winter food
• Their vulnerability to increasing global temperatures needs to be further studied
• New species appears limited to Sikkim
• National Centre for Biological Sciences has searched for the species in Ladakh, Spiti, Arunachal Pradesh and Central Nepal without success
• Surveys in Bhutan, Nepal and China are also to be carried out to see if this Pika species can be found there
• Study also included morphological and ecological data of the species
• The Sikkim Pika is very different from the Moupin pika from the genetic and ecological perspective
• Discordance between genetics and morphology of pikas has never been reported before to this extent

ANSWER: Stephen Hawking

Explanation:

• British physicist Stephen Hawking has warned against announcing the presence to alien civilisations, especially the more technologically advanced ones than humans
• Native Americans first encountered Christopher Columbus leading to their exodus, Hawking said in his new online film
• The film, "Stephen Hawking's Favourite Places", takes viewers to five significant locations across the cosmos, on his spacecraft - the SS Hawking.
• The film has Hawking performing a hypothetical flyby of Gliese 832-c a potentially habitable exoplanet located 16 light years away
• He cautioned humans against answering back to the call of aliens saying "They will be vastly more powerful and may not see us as any more valuable than we see bacteria.”
• Launching the Breakthrough Listen Project where Hawking aims to scan nearest million stars for signs of life, he indicated that any civilisation reading our messages would definitely be light years ahead of humans

ANSWER: Alstom

Explanation:

• Alstom launched the zero emission train powered by hydrogen at Innotrains Trade Fair
• The new train is CO₂ emission free
• It is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell stored in a hydrogen fuel tank on the roof of the train
• Train produces water and steam as against GHG emissions and is less noisy than conventional trains
• The technology in the field of clean transportation will complete the Coradia range of regional trains according to Alstom CEO and Chairman H. Poupart Lafarge
• Hydrail technology has been developed for 25 years now, but the focus haas always only been on freight trains
• East Japan Railway Company ran its first test for the hydrail railcard in 2006
• Chinese company released the first hydrail tram
• But Coradia will be the first hydrogen passenger train to run long distances
• One full tank enables the new train to travel between 600-800 km
• Other German states have shown interest in the train, along with Denmark, Norway and The Netherlands
• The cost has not been revealed by Alstom yet

ANSWER: 143

Explanation:

• A global study on a range of health indicators released has ranked India 143rd among 188 nations, citing various challenges including mortality rate, hygiene, air pollution and malaria.
• Inspite of rapid economic growth, India ranks below nations like Comoros and Ghana according to the first annual assessment of SDG health performance published in medical journal Lancet and launched at a special event in the UNGA in New York
• India was placed ahead of Pakistan and Bangladesh which were ranked 149th and 151st respectively
• India’s poor performance on hygiene, air pollution and mortality placed it lower among countries like Syria, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Botswana
• Malaria is just one of the health indicators assessed
• India scored 10 points in this health indicator and remained in the red
• For Hygiene, the study have India just 8 points
• For PM2.5, it scored 18 points
• India scored above 80 points for performing well in the NTD or Neglected Tropical Diseases category comprising communicable diseases, overweight and alcohol consumption.
• Study aid across the world, good progress has been made for health related SDGs since 2000 particularly in reducing under five and neonatal mortality, family planning and rollout of healthcare
• India has poor performance on air pollution and mortality placing it lower than Syria, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Botswana

ANSWER: 200

Explanation:

• Record broken by R. Ashwin, off-spinner becomes second fastest bowler to claim 200 test wickets.
• He achieved the milestone in the 37th test match, beating legends Dennis Lillee and Waqar Younis who took 38 tests
• No.1 spot is held by ex Australian leg spinner Clarrie Grimmet who took 36 tests to reach the 200th wicket market
• Ashwin was playing India’s 500th test match against New Zealand in Kanpur
• Ashwin also broke Sehwag’s record for most Man of the Series awards for India in Tests
• In the four-match series, Ashwin scored 235 runs with two centuries and claimed 17 wickets to help India register their biggest Test series victory on the Caribbean soil with a 2-0 win over the West Indies.
• Ashwin became the first Indian to score ton and take five-for in same Test, twice
• He also won Man-of-the-Series award - the sixth of his career - for his special performance. The feat is the most by any Indian in the longest format of the game, surpassing the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Kapil Dev, Harbhajan Singh, Rahul Dravid, Mohammad Azharuddin and Sourav Ganguly.
• He was also the quickest to reach the milestone in 36 test matches and 13 test series past Malcolm Marshall (21 series), Curtly Ambrose (27) and Steve Waugh (54), who all have won the equal number of player of the series honours.
• Tendulkar (74) and Sehwag (39) have five awards each in Test cricket

ANSWER: Arnold Palmer

Explanation:

• Arnold Palmer was the golfing great adored by fans called Arnie’s Army
• He died on 25th Sept at the age of 87 according to the US Golf Association
• Palmer captured seven major tournaments during his illustrious career, taking The Masters four times (in 1958, 1960, 1962 and 1964), the British Open twice (in 1961 and 1962) and the US Open once (in 1960).
• He was one of the first going television superstars
• His go-for-broke style enthralled fans
• He was, along with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, known as the golfing legend of his times, setting the stage for success by golfers like Tiger Woods
• The cause of death was not immediately given
• Ben Hogan, Walter Hagen and Bobby Jones were some other all time greats in golfing
• Called The “King”, Palmer won the U.S. Open once (Cherry Hills, 1960), and played off for the title in 1962, 1963 and 1966.