Current Affairs Questions & Answers - May 28, 2016

ANSWER: Both a and b

Explanation:
As per FATCA and CRS, Financial Institutions/FIs can now get self certification through internet banking platform from the user account where the customer has transaction rights. Reps of FIs have informed that a massive number of financial accounts are there and physically obtaining self certification from the account holder is not easy.

• CBDT further clarified that valuation of securities may be done in the values regularly communicated by Depository (CDSL/NSDL) to the depository participants and brokers.
• Referring to issue of Tax Identification Number, apex direct tax group said TIN is not needed to be collected by FIs if TIN is not issued by the country or territory outside India for which person is resident for tax purposes
• TIN is not needed to be collected from persons by FIs in his country or territory of residence who can get TIN, but has not yet obtained it
• FATCA stands for Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act which came into effect from September 30 which enabled automatic exchange of financial information between India and United States
• CRS stands for Common Reporting Standard which has been developed response to the G20 request and approved by OECD Council on 15 July 2014.

ANSWER: 91

Explanation:
Water level in 91 major reservoirs of the country has dipped to 18 percent of their total capacity

• As per Union Water Resources Ministry, 26.816 billion cubic metre of water is available in reservoirs for week ending May 26.
• Total capacity of the reservoirs is 157.799 BCM and is 45 percent short of the stock there in the corresponding period last year and 21 percent less than 10 year average storage level fr the same spam
• The states which have reported lower levels of water in major reservoirs include the following: HP, Telangana, Punjab, West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Gujarat, UP, Uttarakhand, MP, Chhattisgarh, TN, Kerala and Karnataka.
• States with better storage as against last year include AP, Tripura and Rajasthan

ANSWER: Boosting Exploration

Explanation:
New mineral policy has been initiated to bring private investment in sectors other than boosting exploration, according to Union Ministry of Mines. Private investment will be promoted in mineral exploration to be done in a timely manner. The state government has now been asked to focus on exploration with a balance between mining and the environment

• Aim is that environment should be protected and exploration should be enhanced
• Mining is the second biggest sector after agriculture in India
• It contributes 2.4 percent in GDP
• Government has also amended the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation)Act and abolished discretionary powers of the Centre and the states.
• Mines are currently auctioned through a process that makes it transparent and increases revenue

ANSWER: Sarbasirpur

Explanation:
An area of 140 ha has been allowed by the forest department to be reserved forest zone for endangered species

• Area has been sanctioned in Sarbasirpur
• NCR is already home to a Sultanpur national park and bird sanctuary which provides habitats for migratory birds
• Reserve area will be developed over a period of four years and will provide a natural habitat for the black bucks

ANSWER: Barack Obama

Explanation:
US President Barack Obama indicated that the Hiroshima bombing demonstrates “that makind possessed the means to destroy itself.” He laid a wreath and prayed before the arched monument in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.

• Hiroshima was bombed on August 6, 1945
• A second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki three days later and killed 70,000 people
• Obama also won the Nobel Peace Prize

ANSWER: New Education Policy

Explanation:
Government appointed committee headed by former Cabinet Secretary TSR Subramaniam submitted the report on the evolution of a New Education Policy

• Committee has submitted the report containing the recommendations to the HRD Ministry
• HRD Ministry has attempted to frame the New Education policy and the process includes online, grassroots and thematic national level deliberations on 33 topics
• Apart from Subramaniam, the former chief secretary of Delhi government Shailaja Chandra, former Home Secretary of Delhi government Sevaram Sharma and former Chief Secretary of Gujarat Sudhir Mankad and former NCERT director JS Rajput were panel members
• Thematic consultations were conducted by the ministry and by institutions like UGC, NCERT, NCTE and AICTE as well as several universities and autonomous bodies.

ANSWER: 24

Explanation:
QS Higher Education System Strength Rankings 2016 has ranked India at 24th position. The overall ranker of higher education systems also assigned India a score of 60.9 percent from 100

• US scored a centum and topped the heap
• At second place is UK with 98.5
• Germany took the third spot with 94
• With a score of 9.2, Pakistan was last on he list
• Overall assessment is done through 4 categories- system straighten, flagship access and economic concept of different countries in higher education.
• All categories combined with equal weightage to provide overall rankings
• India ranked 20th in this with top two rankings shared by US and UK

ANSWER: Insular cortex

Explanation:
As the difficulty of making decisions rises, activity in the part of the brain critical to make coherent thoughts also rises. Researchers found a strong positive correlation between perceptual difficulties and activities in the part of the brain called the Insular cortex

• This cortex is divided into anterior, middle and posterior insula
• Perceptual decision making is the process in which sensory information is gathered and used to influence our behaviour
• Study found that the activity of the anterior insulae can predict how sensory information is perceived or what the difficulty level of the perceptual task is
• Research is vital because activity in the anterior insulae along with two nearby brain structures makes up the salience network
• Impairments in this network could be linked to psychiatric illnesses and it is important to learn how the brain area will be functioning.

ANSWER: Chang’e 5

Explanation:
China will send lunar probe to Chang’e 5 to land on the moon and return with samples in the second half of 2017 according to officials

• SASTIND or State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence has said this is the first time a Chinese probe will land on the moon, collect samples and return to earth
• This marks the third stage of the lunar exploration endeavour by China
• Beijing also aims to be the first to launch a probe on the far side of the moon
• China will also unveil new generation of Long March 5 and 7 in 2016, along with other new satellites and space labs.

ANSWER: Apoptosis

Explanation:
Scientists have discovered a new way of triggering cell death, a finding that may lead to drugs for treating cancer and autoimmune diseases

• Programmed cell death, also called apoptosis is a natural process to remove unwanted cells from the human body
• Failure of apoptosis allows cancer cells to grow unchecked or immune cells to incorrectly attack the body
• Protein called Bak is central to apoptosis. Researchers from Australia’s Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research have discovered a novel way of activating Bak to trigger cell death
• This can lead to development of drugs that trigger Bak activation to treat diseases such as cancer where apoptosis has gone awry
• Researchers used information about Bak 3D structure to ascertain how the antibody activated Bak

ANSWER: Facebook

Explanation:
Microsoft and Facebook have joined hands to build a new, state of the art subsea cable across the Atlantic Ocean to help meet growing demand for high speed, reliable connections for online and cloud services.

• The MAREA cable spanning 6600 km will be the highest capacity subsea cable to cover the Atlantic
• 8 fibre pairs and an initial estimated design capacity of 160 tbps will be features of this cable, a company statement said
• Construction of the cable will commence in August 2016 and expected to be completed in October 2017
• Microsoft and Facebook are collaborating on this system which will be the first to connect the US to Southern EU to accelerate the development of a next generation of internet infrastructure and support the explosion of data consumption

ANSWER: Desert Eagle-II

Explanation:
To step up military engagement with Persian Gulf countries, IAF is conducting air combat exercise called “Desert Eagle-II” with UAE forces.

• IAF has deployed Sukhoi-30MKI fighters for the exercise and UAW has fielded F-16s and Mirage-2000s.
• Such an exercise provides exposure towards mission planning and execution in a simulated high threat combat environment
• Exercise Desert Eagle-1 was held at the same location in September 2008

ANSWER: RG Jadhav

Explanation:
Marathi litterateur RG Jadhav known for 91 reflective poems on Mahatma Gandhi passed away following prolonged illness at age 83

• He was a prolific literary critic born in Vadodara, Gujarat
• He taught Marathi literature in numerous colleges like Elphinstone in Mumbai and Milind College in Aurangabad.
• He also presided over the 2004 Marathi Sahitya Sammelan and served as chief editor of Marathi Vishwakosha
• He authored more than 40 works of literacy criticism and poetry including Anadacha Doh, Milee Paha and Bapu.

ANSWER: Mamata Banerjee

Explanation:
Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee was sworn in as CM of WB for the second successive five year term on May 27, 2016

• Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi administered the oath of office and secrecy
• This is the first time CM will take oath on Red Road
• Banerjee is the state’s 8th CM and the first woman CM of WB.
• On May 19, 2016, Banerjee’s party swept the electoral mandate bagging 211 of 294 seats

ANSWER: Rana Ayyub

Explanation:
Book entitled “Gujarat FIles:Anatomy of a Cover Up” authored by Rana Ayyub was released in may 2016

• Book is an account of investigation by Ayyub who posed as Maithili Tyagi, an American filmmaker out to investigate the Gujarat riots
• In Gujarat in 2010, she was also working for Tehelka magazine during this period
• Book narrates the story of fake encounters and murder of state Home Minister Haren Pandya
• Transcripts of the sting operation show the complicity of the state and officials in crimes against humanity

ANSWER: Istanbul

Explanation:
The first World Humanitarian Summit was held in Istanbul from 23rd to 24th May since WW2.
The summit was inaugurated by UN Secretary General ban Ki-moon and hosted by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan

• This summit was held and attended by world leaders of the UN member nations with the aim of ending conflict, respecting rule of war, addressing displacement and attaining gender equality.
• UNICEF also launched a new “Education Cannot Wait” fund at the summit

ANSWER: Vizag

Explanation:
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas launched the website of the Indian Institute of Petroleum & Energy (IIPE), Visakhapatnam (www.iipe.ac.in).

• As per the AP Reorganisation Act 2014, GoI has agreed to establish institutional of natural importance one of them being petroleum university IIPE in AP
• IIT Kharagpur will be IIPE’s mentor institute

ANSWER: Ethiopia

Explanation:
The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has extended his greetings to the Government and people of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia on the eve of their National Day (May 28, 2016) and His Excellency Mr. Mulatu Teshome, the President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

ANSWER: 28 May

Explanation:
President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee wished the people of Azerbaijan on their republic day which falls on May 28.In a message to His Excellency Mr. Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Indian President extended his greetings.

ANSWER: Lakshadweep

Explanation:
Lakshadweep became first Union Territory (UT) to sign “24x7 Power for All” document. Representative of Government of India and the Administration of Lakshadweep signed the document. The document chalks out a plan to increase solar capacity of the region from 2.15 MW to 8.45 MW. At present, 10 inhabited islands of Lakshadweep are being fed by diesel mostly. The plan also envisions reduction of AT & C losses from current level of 21% to 6.7% till 2019 by increasing the collection efficiency up to 99 %.

• 22 states have already signed the 24x7 Power for All Documents which is being jointly monitored by State and Central governments

ANSWER: Net Zero Energy Buildings

Explanation:
Ministry of Power and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) launched India’s first integrated web portal designed to promote and mainstream Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB) in India. The portal (www.nzeb.in) was launched by Shri Pradeep Kumar Pujari, Secretary, Ministry of Power, and Ambassador Mr Jonathan Addleton, USAID Mission Director to India.

• This portal provides complete information about Net Zero Genergy Buildings.
• What are these? They are buildings that generate as much energy as they use

ANSWER: 26th May

Explanation:
The Cochin Port celebrated ‘Port Day’ on 26.05.2016 with a business meeting for the exporters and importers and agencies, On the occasion awards were given to companies for the highest performance in export, import and ship handling and cargo handling categories. The winners included Kochi Refinery for highest volume of cargo handling i.e. Lakshmi Machine Works, Coimbatore and Apollo Tyres in the category of exports, Malayala Manorama and Mathrubhumi in the category of imports.

ANSWER: Football

Explanation:
The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has urged the states and Union Territories to take necessary steps to popularize and promote the sport of Football in their territory in order to make the FIFA U-17 World Cup a huge success,

• This includes football in various programmes of the state government
• Department of Sports has also initiated steps to popularise football through the country
• Numerous rounds of discussion have been held with FIFA, AIFF, KVS, CBSE and Subrotio Mukherjee Sports Education Society and other stake holders.