Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Sept 28, 2015

ANSWER: Syed Ahmed

Explanation:
Governor of Manipur Dr. Syed Ahmed passed away on 26th September 2015. Dedicated to helping the advancement of minorities in Maharashtra and issues facing homeless and slum dwellers, he worked hard in this capacity as Minister for Housing, Slum Improvement, House Repairs and Reconstructions in State Government. He also worked to streamline the Haj pilgrimage process as the Chairman of the Maharashtra State Haj Committee. A scholar and a poet, he was known for his efforts towards poverty alleviation in the nation.

ANSWER: Green credit

Explanation:
Union Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar has spoken about the need to promote green credit rather than carbon credit at the Second Meeting of the Business Dialogue for COP21 under UNFCC. Aim is to ensure polluters do not get away with it through payment for carbon emissions. World should incentivise green growth activities as Green Credit rather than Carbon Credit Mechanism which provides a way out for emitters to get away with having polluted the environment. Demand supply mismatch and low admission for emission reduction will lead to slowdown of Clean Development Mechanism market.

ANSWER: 43 percent

Explanation:
Brazil pledged to slash GHG emissions by 43% by 2030 as part of contribution to United Nations Climate Agreement and reduction from past efforts combating deforestation will help in the attainment of the target. Brazil President Dilma Rousseff presented the pledge at the UNGA in NYC noting the targets are more ambitious than that of developed nation and the country will need no external help to meet them. Leading researchers have estimated legal deforestation could be carried out in a massive area of 100 MHA in Brazil even then.

ANSWER: Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis

Explanation:
Reigning World Number 1 champions Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis have won their sixth title of the year at the Guangzhou Open on 27th September 2015. The top seeded players beat Xu Shilin and You Xiaodi 6-3, 6-1 in the final to win their second WTA title in a row. They did not drop a single set on their way to the title. This is Mirza’s seventh title in 2015 and her sixth with Hingis. Sania and Hingis have now won six of 13 events they have played since March -- Indian Wells, Miami, Charleston, Wimbledon, the US Open and Guangzhou. They have an amazing 42-7 win-loss record together.

ANSWER: Mitra Shakti

Explanation:
Continuing the series of Joint Exercise between India and Sri Lanka. Exercise Mitra Shakti 2015 will be conducted at Aundh Camp, Pune on 29th September 2015. This marks the third joint training exercise between the armies of the two countries. The aim of the exercise is sharing military practices and promoting deep military to military relations by developing joint strategies to share expertise. The confidence building exercise will take place for 14 days.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
Numerous initiatives launched on World Tourism Day

The following initiatives have been launched on World Tourism Day:

- Medical Wellness and Tourism Promotion board chaired by Union Tourism Minister
- Ashok Institute of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Centre of Excellence
- Tourism Vision Document 2030 commissioned by Experience India Society and put together by KMPG
- Launch of Ministry of Tourism Bilingual website including web based e-Recognition System
- Audio Visual Presentation Introduction to India

A seminar was also held on the theme of World Tourism Day 2015. The theme for the day was “One Billion Tourist, One Billion Opportunity” with the following panelists- Vikram Oberoi, Subhash Goyal, Atul Bhatnagar.

ANSWER: 106% increase in profit

Explanation:
Boosted by 106% increase in profit in 2014-2015, NALCO is set to make an investment of INR 65,000 crore to launch key projects and develop the power and mining sector. The company recorded a profit of Rs.1322 crore in 2014-2015 fiscal against Rs.642 crore during the 2013-2014. In the present fiscal, NALCO targets to raise its total metal sales to 3.80 lakh tonnes from 3.26 lakh tonnes during 2014-2015. Numerous projects will be carried out through these funds, including a green-field aluminium smelter abroad. The current CMD of NALCO is T. K. Chand. NALCO is proposing to set up smelter plants with investment of INR 20,000 crore and is exploring Oman, Iran and Indonesia for this purpose. Though power is cheap in Oman and Iran, abundant coal is available at low cost in Indonesia. Port facilities would also be a major factor, according to Chand.

ANSWER: Mark Zuckerberg

Explanation:
PM Modi on 26th September 2015 attended a townhall meeting with Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg at the company’s HQ. Close to 40,000 questions were received for this townhall meeting. India aims to be a USD 20 trillion economy from its current USD 1 trillion. India has 6,00,000 villages and these will be connected through optical fiber network with half a decade. FDI from the US has risen by 87% in last 15 months though India is still 140th in the world in the ease of doing business.

ANSWER: PSLV C-30

Explanation:
India’s first dedicated multi wavelength space observatory Astrosat to be launched with six small satellites from Sriharikota

PSLV C-30 carrying the Astronaut, Astrosat, India's first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory, and six small satellites will be launched from Sriharikota on 28th September 2015. Countdown commenced following clearance from MRR committee and LAB. The satellite weighs 1153 kg and its main goals are as follows:
- To understand high-energy processes in binary systems containing neutron stars and black holes
- Estimate magnetic fields of neutron stars; study star birth regions and high-energy processes in star systems beyond our galaxy
- Detect briefly bright X-ray sources in the sky
- Perform a limited deep-field survey of the universe in the ultraviolet region.

This launch also marks the first commercial launch of 4 US nano satellites by ISRO. PSLV-C30 will also transport Lapan-2, an Indonesian microsatellite from Indonesia and NLS-14, a Canadian nanosatellite to be used for maritime surveillance.

ANSWER: 14th

Explanation:
Indian billiards player Pankaj Advani won the IBSF World Billiards Championship to snare his 14th world title. The 30 year old player beat Singapore’s Peter Gilchrist by 1168 points. Known as Bengaluru’s Golden Boy, he is in good form. In the under 21 event, S. Srikrishna defeated Ishpreet Chadha to win the crown. India’s Arantxa Sanchis finished at the top prevailing over fellow India R. Umadevi at the women’s event. After beating England’s Mike Russell in the final of the 2012 edition of the Time format, Advani went on to win twin titles in both Point and Time formats in 2014.

ANSWER: Both of the above

Explanation:
Via its venture Qualcomm Ventures, mobile chip designing firm Qualcomm has established an India specific USD 150 million investment fund during PM Modi’s recent trip to the US. The chip major has been investing in Indian entrepreneurial ventures since 2007 and has made close to 20 investments. The company will also establish an innovation lab in Bangalore to provide tech and engineering support. This leading mobile chip maker has a R&D centre in Bangalore already. The company will also introduce a "Design in India" initiative and competition for local product design ecosystems.