Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Mar 02, 2017

ANSWER: March 1

Explanation:
The Zero Discrimination Day was held on March, 01 2017. This United Nations Day aims to combat all forms of discrimination.

Specifically, this involves the organization of UNAIDS and their fight for a fair and equal treatment of patients suffering from HIV and AIDS.

Worldwide around 40 million people live with the so-called human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome).

The United Nations program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) follows the goal of individual countries and their use in the fight against AIDS to support and coordinate their activities.

On Zero Discrimination Day global actions took place to raise awareness.

ANSWER: Shanta Rangaswamy

Explanation:
In a move that will potentially give a much-needed impetus to Women’s Cricket in India, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), has introduced the women’s category in their Lifetime Achievement Awards.

This is recognising the stellar contribution of Indian women cricketers to the sport in India.

The first awardee in the category, who will be felicitated on International Women’s Day on March 8, is former India captain Shanta Rangaswamy.

Apart from Mr. Vaman Viswanath Kumar and late Ramakant Desai have been nominated for the BCCI Special Award in recognition of their yeoman services to Indian Cricket.

About Shanta Rangaswamy

• Chennai-born Rangaswamy played 16 Tests between 1976 and 1991, and 19 ODIs between 1981 and 1986.
• In her Test career, she captained eight of the matches in 1976-77 and four in 1983-84, and scored 750 runs at 32.60 including the first ever century scored by a woman cricketer against New Zealand, in 1986.
• In her ODI stint, she captained 16 matches and scored 287 runs.
• The right-handed batter and bowler who bowled at a medium pace took 21 wickets at a bowling average of 31.61, and clocked a best analysis of 4-42 against England.
• The 63-year-old has also won the Arjuna award in 1976, and continues to contribute to the cricketing sphere as a cricket writer, coach, and selector for the women's team.
• She also holds an executive position, namely General Manager, at Canara Bank, for its Bengaluru Region.

ANSWER: Haji Abdul Salam

Explanation:
Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Haji Abdul Salam passed away on 28th Feb 2017. He was 69.

Haji Abdul Salam is the first Manipuri Muslim to be a member of RS from Manipur.

He has been representing the state in the upper house since 2014.

He was elected to the 3rd, 6th and 8th Manipur Legislative Assembly from Wabagai assembly constituency.

Born at Heibong Makhong in Thoubal district, Haji Abdul Salam is survived by his wife, son and 5 daughters.

ANSWER: Tarak Mehta

Explanation:
Renowned Gujarati writer and playwright Tarak Mehta passed away at 87, on March 1, 2017, due to old age.

He was best known for his Gujarati column Duniya Ne Undha Chasma in which he touched upon contemporary issues with a tinge of humour.

In 2008, writer Asit Kumarr Modi, decided to pay an ode to his writings by adapting them into a TV series titled Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah.

Apart from other characters, the show also has a character called Tarak Mehta played by Shailesh Lodha.

It is India's longest running comedy show.

Tarak Mehta, Indian columnist, humorist, writer and playwright, who has garnered huge popularity for his column Duniya Ne Undha Chasma in Gujarati language translated and adapted several comedies into Gujarati, and has been popular in Gujarati theatre.

In 2008 SAB TV had begun the show Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah which draws its content from his column Duniya Ne Undha Chasma.

ANSWER: Sumit Mullick

Explanation:
Senior IAS officer Sumit Mullick was on March 1, 2017 appointed as the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra.

He will succeed Swadheen Kshatriya, who was due for retirement on January 31, but was given a month's extension.

Mullick, a 1982 batch IAS officer is Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) and currently serving as the Chief Protocol Officer in the General Administration department.

Mullick is the senior most bureaucrat in the state after Kshatriya and will retire in April 2018.

Mullick (58) is the third Dalit to reach the highest post in the state’s bureaucracy after PG Gavai (1979-82) and JP Dange (2009-11).

Mullick was the Additional Chief Secretary of the protocol department - a post that he will continue to hold as full additional charge till further orders.

Kshatriya attained a prestigious post retirement posting as Maharashtra’s first Chief Commissioner of the Right to Services, a post he is expected to hold for another five years.

Know More: Sumit Mullick

• Mullick's first posting was that of an Assistant Collector in Nagpur.
• It was in 1989 when Mullick first bagged a posting in Mumbai as the Additional Collector (Urban Land Ceiling) before being deputed to the Sangli Collector’s post.
• He has also previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (2002), and was later appointed as the Secretary to former Maharashtra Governor Mohammed Fazal (2003).
• As a secretary in Mantralaya, Mullick has handled various portfolios including school education, social justice and special assistance, excise, the general administration.
• Since 2009 he had been handling the post of the state’s Chief Protocol Officer. In 2013 he was elevated to the Additional Chief Secretary rank.
• Besides his administrative prowess, Mullick has a published novel to his credit. His book, Unkindest Cut, which was released in 2013, had ended up creating quite a stir (said to be of the time he was secretary to the Governor) but the novel was fictional.
• The bureaucrat who claims his hobby is writing has a Bachelors of Arts degree in History.
• He has an MBA degree from IIM (Bangalore) and also has a post graduation degree in Economics and Development Studies from the Wales University.

ANSWER: Prithvi

Explanation:
Moving towards operational two-tier ballistic missile defence (BMD) system, India on March 1, 2017 tested Prithvi interceptor missile.

This is a low-altitude interceptor missile, which was used to destroy an incoming ballistic missile over the Bay of Bengal.

DRDO on February 11 had tested a high-altitude interceptor missile+ as part of the experimental BMD system.

This is designed to track and destroy ballistic missiles both inside (endo) and outside (exo) the earth's atmosphere for a higher kill probability.

The previous involved the "exo-atmospheric" interceptor missile hitting the target at an altitude of 97-km, the test-firing on March 1 was against an incoming missile at 15-km altitude.

Defence officials said the interceptor missile fired from the Abdul Kalam Island (Wheeler Island) off Odisha coast successfully destroyed the incoming Prithvi missile, which was launched from the integrated test range at Chandipur, at 10.15 am.

All the mission objectives were successfully met.

The weapon system radars tracked the target and provided the initial guidance to the interceptor which could precisely home on to the target and destroyed it in the endo-atmospheric layer.

The complete event including the engagement and destruction was tracked by a number of electro-optical tracking systems using infrared imagery.

Radars and telemetry stations tracked the target and the interceptor till the destruction of the target.

The much-delayed BMD system will take at least another two years to become ready for deployment to protect a city or strategic installation.

It requires an overlapping network of early-warning and tracking sensors, reliable command and control posts, land and sea-based batteries of advanced interceptor missiles,

Development of this two-layered missile shield began in late-1990s, with the first interceptor missile being tested in 2006.

The system has been tested over 10 times till now, with at least three of the tests failing.

Moreover, it has not been tested so far in an integrated mode, with both exo and endo interceptor missiles together, which will be the real challenge.

Only the US, Russia, Israel and China have operational BMD systems as of now.

The ongoing testing of the Phase-I of the indigenous BMD system, with interceptors flying at 4.5 Mach high-supersonic speeds to intercept enemy missiles, is meant to tackle hostile missiles with a 2,000-km strike range.

The Phase-II, in turn, will be geared for taking on 5,000-km range missiles, with interceptors at hypersonic speeds of 6-7 Mach.

Prithvi: Know More

• Prithvi is a tactical surface-to-surface short-range ballistic missile.
• It is developed by DRDO of India under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program.
• It is deployed by India's Strategic Forces Command

ANSWER: JS Deepak

Explanation:
Telecom Secretary JS Deepak has been appointed India's permanent representative to World Trade Organization (WTO).

Mr. Deepak will take over his new assignment from June 1, 2017 and till then he will be Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Department of Commerce in the Ministry of Commerce and Industries with immediate effect.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued the order on March 1, 2017.

Previously, as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce, Deepak, a 1982-batch IAS of UP cadre, handled WTO and other international agencies.

With his transfer from the ministry, the government is expected to name a new secretary for the telecom as also for other ministries like tribal affairs and tourism.

Secretary, Culture, N.K. Sinha has been given the additional charge of Secretary, Tourism and Secretary, Social Justice and Empowerment G. Latha Krishna Rao has been given additional charge of Secretary, Tribal Affairs.

ANSWER: 4.3 billion

Explanation:
Microfossils close to 4.3 billion years in age were found in Canada similar to bacteria thriving on sea floor hydrothermal vents. This may represent the oldest-known evidence of life on Earth, scientists on March 1, 2017 said.

The fossils from the Hudson Bay shoreline in northern Quebec near the Nastapoka Islands lend credence to the hypothesis that hydrothermal vents spewing hot water may have been the cradle of life on Earth.

This is relatively soon after the planet formed, the researchers said.

They also said Earth's planetary neighbour Mars at that time is thought to have had oceans, long since gone, that may have boasted similar conditions conducive to the advent of life.

Tiny filaments and tubes made of a form of iron oxide, or rust, formed by the microbes were found encased in layers of quartz that experts have determined to be between 3.77 billion and 4.28 billion years old.

The researchers expressed confidence the fossils from northeastern Canada were formed by organisms, saying no non-biological explanation was plausible.

It was primordial microbes like those described in the study that set in motion the evolutionary march toward complex life and, eventually, the appearance of humans 200,000 years ago.

The scientists said the primordial microbes' structure closely resembled modern bacteria that dwell near iron-rich hydrothermal vents.

They believe that, like their modern counterparts, they were iron-eaters. The rock's composition was consistent with a deep-sea vent environment.

This is important for the origin of life as it shows microbial life diversified to specialized microbes very early in Earth history.

It is also important for the evolution of life. It shows that some microbes have not changed significantly since Earth's early times.

The fossils appear to be older than any other previously discovered evidence of life.

For example, other scientists last year described 3.7 billion-year-old fossilized microbial mats, called stromatolites, from Greenland.

ANSWER: Oman

Explanation:
India and Oman on 1st March 2017 explored ways to enhance cooperation between their navies during talks Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba had with top defence officials of this Gulf nation.

The two sides deliberated on ramping up cooperation between their navies in the backdrop of the fast evolving security scenario in the region.

The Chief of Navy Staff also held talks with Chief of Royal Air Force of Oman Mattar Al Obaidani on issues of strategic interests to both the countries.

Lanba, on a visit to Oman, is also scheduled to visit the Sultan Qaboos Naval Academy and the Said Bin Naval Base.

On the first leg of his trip, Lanba visited UAE where he met top echelons of the country's defence establishment and discussed ways to bolster strategic partnership between the two countries.

Oman: Know More

• Capital: Muscat
• Code: +968
• Currency: Omani rial
• Sultan: Qaboos bin Said al Said
• Official language: Arabic