Infosys, Noah Consulting - Current Affairs Questions and Answers

ANSWER: Infosys

Explanation:
Infosys has invested in Trifacta, a leading provider of data wrangling software that enables non-technical users to easily transform data for analysis.Infosys Q4 net profit at Rs 3,597 crore, beats estimates for fourth straight quarter

ANSWER: Sanghamitra Bandopadhyaya

Explanation:
The ninth edition of the Infosys prizes was announced on 15th Nov in Bengaluru. Scientists and professionals from the research field were named by a jury which included Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, former Chief Economist Kaushik Basu and geneticist Inder Verma.

Among the winners was Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay, director, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata for engineering and computer science.

Her discoveries include genetic marking for breast cancer and the role of white blood cells in Alzheimer's disease.

Ananya J. Kabir, Professor of English at Kings College, London was awarded the prize for humanities.

Upinder Singh Bhalla from National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) got it for life sciences. His contribution includes research on the brain's computational machinery.

Ritabrata Munshi from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, was named for mathematical sciences, and Yamuna Krishnan, from the Department of Chemistry at University of Chicago was chosen for physical sciences for her work in the fledgling field of DNA architecture.

In the category of social sciences, Lawrence Liang, from School of Law, Ambedkar University in Delhi and the co-founder of Alternative Law Forum was named for "creative scholarship" on law and society. The prizes will be given to the six winners on January 10, 2018 in Bengaluru.

Nobel laureate Kip Thorne will felicitate the awardees with prize money worth INR 65 lakh each and a 22-Carat gold medallion.

The Infosys Science Foundation was formed by the trustees of the software company, Infosys, in 2009 to encourage "basic science research."

ANSWER: 13000 crores

Explanation:
Infosys on Nov 17th said share buyback would begin on November 30 and close on December 14.

The IT services major has issued an offer letter for the buyback of shares.

It said that the necessary forms along with the letter would be dispatched to the eligible shareholders whose names appeared on the record date of November 1.

Infosys: Know More

• Industry: IT services, IT consulting
• Founded: 7 July 1981; 36 years ago
• Founders:
  • N. R. Narayana Murthy
  • Nandan Nilekani
  • S. Gopalakrishnan
  • S. D. Shibulal
  • K. Dinesh
  • N. S. Raghavan
• Ashok Arora
• Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
• Services: IT, business consulting and outsourcing services

ANSWER: Salil S. Parekh

Explanation:
Infosys, India's No.2 IT services company, named Salil S Parekh as chief executive on Saturday, picking an outsider for the job a second time and handing him the twin challenges of reviving growth and making peace between its founders and board.

Parekh, who will join from consultancy firm Capgemini where he is currently an executive, has been given a 5-year term effective January 2, an Infosys filing to exchanges showed.

UB Pravin Rao who was serving as the interim CEO has been re-designated as chief operating officer from January 2, Infosys said.

Parekh has Master of Engineering degrees in Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University, and a Bachelor of Technology degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.

Former CEO Vishal Sikka announced a sudden exit in August after a protracted public spat with the company's founding executives, led by Narayana Murthy, over strategy and alleged corporate governance lapses.

Sikka, who joined from German software maker SAP SE in 2014, was the first outsider to be appointed CEO of the Bengaluru-headquartered company.

His exit and the prolonged public row led to a reshuffling of the Infosys' board with Nandan Nilekani, a co-founder and former CEO, returning as non-executive chairman.

ANSWER: Both a and c

Explanation:
Sanjay Rajagopalan, senior vice-president, Infosys, who headed design and research, has quit the company, according to a posting on his personal page on the networking site, LinkedIn.

He quit Infosys a month ago after working for more than three years with the firm. Earlier, he was a senior vice-president with the German software maker, SAP from 2004 to 2014.

Former CEO & MD of Infosys, Vishal Sikka, had quit the company last month following a spat with the co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy.

Infosys: Know More

• Infosys Limited is an Indian multinational corporation that provides business consulting, information technology and outsourcing services.
• It has its headquarters in Bengaluru, India.
• Infosys is the second-largest Indian IT firm by 2016 revenues.
• Founded: 7 July 1981, Pune
• CEO: U. B. Pravin Rao (2017)
• Revenue: 10.21 billion USD (2017)
• Headquarters: Bengaluru
• Founders: N. R. Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekani
• Key Subsidiaries: Panaya, Infosys BPO, EdgeVerve, Skava

ANSWER: PLuS Alliance Prize

Explanation:
Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy and Mumbai-born scientist Veena Sahajwalla have been conferred the PLuS Alliance Prize.

This is a prestigious honour that recognises Research Innovation, Education Innovation, Global Leadership and Global Innovation.

The Prize of USD 50,000 was awarded in two categories; Education Innovation and Research Innovation.

Both winners were recognized for the development and implementation of innovative solutions to significant global issues.

ANSWER: Ravi Venkatesan

Explanation:
Infosys on April 13, 2017 appointed Independent Director Ravi Venkatesan co-Chairman amid calls from founders to diversify the board.

The Board expansion comes against the backdrop of an ongoing tussle between the founders and the management over contentious issues such as CEO salary hike, severance package to former employees and corporate governance standards.

Venkatesan, who has been on the Infosys Board since April 2011, has made valuable contribution to the development of strategic direction of the company during his tenure, according to a company statement.

ANSWER: 6

Explanation:
Infosys Science Foundation on 18th Nov 2016 declared the names of six persons as winners of Infosys Prize 2016.

The prize which has been given to recognise and celebrate the talent and contribution of leading researchers and scientists today is currently in its eighth year.

Winners were selected from 6 categories namely Engineering and Computer Science, Humanities, Life Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Physical Sciences and Social Sciences.

From a total of 250 nominations, 6 persons were chosen by noted academics and scientists such as Prof Amartya Sen and Prof Kaushik Basu.

Here are the names of the winners:

• Prof. V. Kumaran for Engineering and Computer Science
• Prof. Sunit Amrith for Humanities
• Dr. Gagandeep Kang for Life Sciences
• Prof. Akshay Venkatesh for Mathematical Sciences
• Dr. Anil Bhardwaj for Physical Sciences
• Prof. Kaivan Munshi for Social Sciences

ANSWER: Infosys

Explanation:
The philanthropic arm of Infosys, the Infosys Foundation has signed an MoU with IIT_Kharagpur for funding socially relevant projects.

• Funding of travel to international conferences for women and the celebrated research carried out by the IIT in association with ASI for studying the antiquity of the Indus Valley is being carried out as per the MoU
• Corporate houses have a long term relation with this IIT in sponsoring research and consultant projects
• The institute receives INR 100 crore each year for industrially relevant research from various industrial houses
• Murthy also holds a position on the board of governors at the IIT-Kharagpur
• The project 'Tracking the Antiquity and Climate during Bronze Age Harappan /Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC) in India Using Isotope & Latest Chronological Techniques (CVO) aims at studying climate change and its historic importance in cultures

ANSWER: Infosys

Explanation:
Global software major Infosys on 3rd August 2016 announced the investment of USD 4 million or INR 27 crore in Israeli corporation Cloudyn, providing software as a service solutions for management and optimisation of hybrid, multi-cloud deployments.

• Cloudyn has enabled enterprises to manage and optimise multi cloud deployments.
• Infosys investment came after rival Wipro said it was purchasing HR Given, another Israeli firm for an undisclosed amount.