Current Affairs Questions & Answers - May 19, 2017

ANSWER: Reema Lagoo

Explanation:
Veteran Bollywood actress Reema Lagoo passed away at the age of 59 after reportedly suffering from cardiac arrest.

The senior actress started her career in Hindi and Marathi films in the late 1970s and early 80s.

She was best known for playing the on-screen mother to protagonists in hit films like 'Maine Pyar Kiya', 'Hum Aapke Hain Koun', 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' and 'Hum Saath-Saath Hain'. Reema Lagoo also did notable work in television in popular shows like 'Tu Tu Main Main' and 'Shriman Shrimati'.

The actress was born on February 3 in 1958 and appeared in Marathi and Hindi films, theatres and television shows, serving the industry for nearly four decades.

She was married to Marathi actor Vivek Lagoo and the couple had a daughter Mrunmayee Lagoo.

However, the couple later parted their ways. Presently, Lagoo was working for the daily soap 'Namkaran,' where she was portraying the character Dayawanti Mehta.

Reema Lagoo was born Nayan Bhadbade.

She was the daughter of a well-known Marathi actress Mandakini Bhadbade and began acting herself after finishing school in Pune.

She took the name Reema Lagoo after her marriage - she and her husband later separated but Ms Lagoo retained the name.

Reema Lagoo's best-known roles were as mother to the stars.

Reema Lagoo: Know More

• Born: 1958, Mumbai
• Died: 18 May 2017, Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai
• Parents: Mandakini Bhadbhade
• Key TV shows: Shrimaan Shrimati, Tu Tu Main Main
• Children: Mrunmayee Lagoo

ANSWER: Nadi Ka Ghar

Explanation:
Dave had not been keeping well for the last few months. He complained of uneasiness at his home this morning and was rushed to AIIMS where he passed away.

Science and technology minister Harsh Vardhan will now hold additional charge of the environment ministry.

He took charge as Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Independent Charge), in New Delhi on July 6, 2016.

He hailed from Madhya Pradesh.

The minister was elected to the Rajya Sabha in August 2009.

At the time, he was appointed member, Committee on Water Resources. He was also on the consultative committee for the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

From March to June 2010, Dave was a member of the Parliamentary Forum on Global Warming and Climate Change.

Born in Barnagar in Madhya Pradesh, Dave was a Rashtriya Swyamsewak Sangh (RSS) member since childhood.

His first major political assignment was as an adviser to then Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharti in 2004.

As environment minister, Dave had speeded up the approval of India’s first river-linking project Ken-Betwa falling in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) gave its conditional principle approval to the project that will submerge one-third of Panna tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh and will irrigate 6.35 lakh hectares of land in drought- prone Bundelkhand.

Dave took several policy initiatives, including delegating power to give environment clearance to building projects to the state governments and time-bound approval to projects.

He pushed approval for genetically modified Mustard which was stalled for the last two years. The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) last week recommended to the government its commercial release.

ANSWER: M777

Explanation:
Nearly after 30 years after the induction of Bofors howitzers, Indian Army will get its first artillery guns called M777 from BAE Systems.

Swedish Bofors guns were inducted in late 1980s after which Army has not inducted any modern artillery guns.

The two M777s has arrived in New Delhi and will be tested at the Pokhran field firing range in Rajasthan.

The two M777 guns will be used for compilation of firing tables. Indian Army has plans to equip 169 regiments with 3,503 guns by 2020. Salient

The 155 mm/39-caliber howitzers will increase the army’s capabilities in high altitude and will be deployed in the northern and eastern sectors.

The modular design of the guns would come handy in towing the guns along the narrow and treacherous mountain roads that is found in India’s borders with both Pakistan and China.

The guns can also be airlifted by using heavy-lift helicopters like the Chinook. India has signed an agreement to acquire Chinook from the US.

The C130J Super Hercules, which are used for strategic airlift by India is also capable of airlifting M777 guns.

The M777 guns are already in service in the countries like the US, Canada and Australia. These guns were deployed by these armies in Afghanistan and Iraq. The first 25 guns will be inducted directly.

The remaining 120 guns will be be assembled in India by BAE Systems in collaboration with Mahindra Defence.

ANSWER: Innovate in India

Explanation:
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved a collaborative mission between industry and academia called ‘Innovate in India empowering biotech entrepreneurs and accelerating inclusive innovation' that is aimed at accelerating research for early development of bio-pharmaceuticals.

The mission would attract an investment of INR 1,500 crore from the central government over a period of five years.

Half of the funding would be funded through a loan from World Bank.

The mission will be implemented by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a public sector undertaking working under the Department of Biotechnology (DBT).

The mission will focus on key areas that would supplement country’s technological and product development capabilities in the biopharmaceutical sector to enable the sector to become globally competitive over the next 10-15 years.

The significance of the mission lies in the fact that National Biotechnology Development Strategy 2015-2020 announced by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) lays emphasis on making the country achieve USD 100 billion biotech industry by 2025.

The mission will concentrate on development of specific products such as vaccines, biotherapeutics, medical devices and diagnostics etc.

Besides, the mission will also work on establishment of shared infrastructure and facilities.

The mission will help in building and strengthening domain specific knowledge and management skills at the same time creating and enhancing technology transfer capabilities in public and private sector.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
Indian scientist Shrinivas Kulkarni has won the prestigious Dan David prize as a recognition for his contributions made in the field of astronomy.

Shrinivas Kulkarni, a professor of astrophysics and planetary science at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, is a pioneer in the field of time-domain astrophysics.

He has been credited for building and conducting the Palomar Transient Factory, which is a large-area survey of the night sky that has turned up with thousands of stellar explosions.

Shrinivas Kulkarni would share the award with Andrej Udalski of the University of Warsaw and Neil Gehrels of NASA for their discoveries on time-domain astrophysics in the “Future” category of the prize.

With this award, he will join other prominent Indians who have won the Dan David prize like noted author Amitav Ghosh, music conductor Zubin Mehta and renowned chemist CNR Rao.

Dan David Prize: Know More

• The Dan David Foundation was established in 2000 by the late Dan David, an international businessman and philanthropist.
• Three Dan David prizes of $1 million each are awarded each year in the categories of “Past,” “Present” and “Future” to people who have made exemplary contributions to humanity in the field of sciences, humanities, or for their work in civil society.
• The recipients in the “Past” category are chosen from the field of history, archaeology, paleontology, biography, etc;.
• The recipients in the “Present” category are chosen from arts, media, policy, economics, etc.
• The recipients in the “Future” category are chosen from one of the exact or natural sciences. The prize mandates the laureates to donate 10% of their prize money to provide scholarships for graduate or post-graduate researchers in their respective fields.

ANSWER: SIMBEX

Explanation:
The 24^th bilateral exercise involving Indian Navy and Republic of Singapore Navy has commenced in South China Sea.

SIMBEX stands for “Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercises.”

The exercise will be held from May 18, 2017 to May 24, 2017.

This edition of the bilateral exercise aims at increasing the interoperability among the two navies as well as developing a common understanding and procedures among the two navies for maritime security operations.

The major thrust of the exercise will lie on Anti-Submarine Operations (ASN), integrated operations with Surface, Air and Sub-surface Forces, Air Defence and Surface Encounter Exercises.

The exercise would be conducted into two phases-the Harbour Phase and the Sea Phase.

The Indian & Republic of Singapore Navy began participating in the bilateral exercises in 1994.

Since then the two navies share a long standing relationship with regular professional interactions that include exchange programs, staff talks and training courses.

The earlier edition of the bilateral exercise, SIMBEX-16 was held at Visakhapatnam in Bay of Bengal.

ANSWER: 7

Explanation:
The GST Council headed by finance Minister Arun Jaitley has finalised tax rates and has approved all the seven rules for the GST regime that is scheduled to be implemented from July 1.

The remaining two rules of the GST pertaining to transition and return is under the examination of the legal committee.

In total, the council has fixed the rates of 1211 items. It will decide rates of some other items and services in the coming days.

Out of 1211 items, 81% of the items will attract tax of 18% or less. Only the remaining 19% of items will attract a highest rate of 28%.

Household items like Sugar, Tea, Coffee and edible oil will attract 5% levy. Cereals and milk will be exempted from the tax.

Manufactured goods will attract 18% levy. Luxury cars will attract 28% GST in addition to a cess of 15%.

Small petrol cars will attract 28% GST plus a 1% cess, and diesel cars will be taxed at 28% plus 3% cess.

Capital goods, a key asset for the manufacturing sector, will be taxed at 28%. Aerated drinks will fall under the 28% tax bracket.

GST Council Overall Tax: Know More

• The GST Council has not increased the overall tax in any of the 1211 items but have reduced tax on many items.
• For example, Soap, which is now taxed at the rate of 22-24%, will be taxed at 18%. The present tax incidence in excess of 28% on luxury items will be treated as cess and will be deposited in the corpus for compensating states if they suffer any revenue loss.
• Food items are expected to become cheaper. Daily use items like hair oil, toothpaste, and soap are kept in the 18% tax slab instead of 28%.
• The cost of energy generation is expected to become less as tax incidence on coal has been reduced from 11% to 5%.
• GST regime is expected to unify the whole of the country into a common market eliminating both Central and State levies.
• GST is also expected to increase state and federal tax revenues, ease inflation and boost economic growth by 1-2% points in the medium term.

ANSWER: India

Explanation:
Indian cricket team has retained its top position in the latest ICC Test rankings with 123 points.

The Indian team is six points ahead of second placed South Africa. Australia has been placed at the third place with 100 points followed by England at 4th (99 points), New Zealand at 5th (97 points), Pakistan at 6th (93 points), Sri Lanka at 7th (91 points), West Indies at 8th (75 points), Bangladesh at 9th (69 points) and Zimbabwe at 10th with zero points.

While Indian and South African teams have improved their performance, Australia, England and Pakistan have made downward movements.

During recent matches, India registered series wins against West Indies last year and defeated New Zealand, England and Australia in home series.

Out of the total 13 matches played in India, the Indian team have registered 10 wins, 2 loses and one draw.

In the ICC ODI Championship Rankings, Indian team has been placed at third position after South Africa and Australia

In the ICC Twenty20 Championship Rankings, India occupies fourth position after New Zealand, England and Pakistan.

In the ICC Women’s Championships Rankings, Indian Women’s team is at fourth position after Australia, England and NewZealand.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
In Karnataka, a major exercise of elephant census began on 17 May 2017.

The census exercise began simultaneously across all protected areas and forests of the state that were identified to harbour elephant population.

The Mysore Elephant Reserve, spread across 11,000 sq km through Bhadra-Nagarahole-Bandipur-BRT Wildlife Sanctuary, Cauvery Wildlife Reserve and Bannerghatta, harbours most of the elephants of Karnataka.

The last elephant census of Karnataka was held in the year 2012, which pegged the State elephant population at 6072 with Bandipur and Nagarahole accounting for nearly 1500 elephants each.

The census in Karnataka is a part of a Nationwide Elephant Census, which is being conducted to minimise possible errors.

Presently, the elephant census is being organized in all Southern States simultaneously. A similar exercise was held in eastern India last month.

Four states- Karnataka, Kerala (particularly the Western Ghat regions), Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh account for 40 per cent of the country’s elephant population of more than 12000.

Elephant Census: Know More

• The Elephant Census is conducted every five years.
• Officially known as All India Synchronised Asian Elephant Population Estimation, the census covers all the forest divisions and protected areas where wild elephants are found.
• The nation-wide census is a three-month programme.

ANSWER: 2017

Explanation:
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) ON 15 May 2017 officially announced the start of the Year of Polar Prediction (YOPP).

The Year of Polar Prediction (YOPP) is one of the key elements of the Polar Prediction Project.

The YOPP’s mission is to enable a significant improvement in environmental prediction capabilities for the polar regions and beyond.

It will be done by coordinating a period of intensive observing, modelling, verification, user-engagement and education activities.

YOPP also aims to improve verification of polar weather and environmental predictions to obtain quantitative knowledge on model performance, and on the skill of operational forecasting systems for user-relevant parameters; and efficiently monitor progress by World Meteorological Organization.

It seeks to improve understanding of the benefits of using existing prediction information and services in the polar regions, differentiated across the spectrum of user types and benefit areas and provide training opportunities to generate a sound knowledge base on polar prediction related issues.

WMO: Know More

• Abbreviation: WMO/OMM
• Formation: 23 March 1950
• Type: UN agency
• Legal status: Active
• Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland,
• Head: Petteri Taalas (Secretary-General)
• Key Official: David Grimes (President)
• Website: public.wmo.int

ANSWER: Whitley Award

Explanation:
Renowned wildlife biologist, Dr Purnima Devi Burman, in May 2017 was nominated for the prestigious Whitley Awards.

Burman has been nominated for her relentless efforts and campaigns for the conservation of the Greater Adjutant Stork locally known as Haargila in Assam.

The wildlife biologist has been working with the Dadara, Pachariya and Hingimari villages of Kamrup district to save the Greater Adjutant Stork.

She is associated with Aaranyak, a Guwahati based NGO, which works for wildlife conservation.

Whitley Awards: Know More

• The Whitley Awards are given annually by the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN).
• Also known as Green Oscars, it is given to recognize and celebrate effective national and regional conservation leaders across the globe.
• The awards are worth £ 35000 and are now amongst the most high profile of conservation prizes.
• The awards particularly seek to recognize contributions to wildlife conservation made from outside the developed world.
• It also aims to bring to international attention the work of deserving individuals committed to precipitating long-lasting conservation benefits on the ground.

ANSWER: May 17

Explanation:
The 2017 World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) was observed on 17 May 2017.

The theme for WTISD-17 is Big Data for Big Impact.

The theme focuses on the power of Big Data for development and aims to explore how to turn imperfect, complex, often unstructured data into actionable information in a development context.

The theme for WTISD-17 is in line with ITU’s work highlighting the technological developments that have facilitated the emergence of Big Data, developing standards related to Big Data and identifying sources and uses of Big Data.

This is including use of Big Data technologies for developing and monitoring improvements in information societies.

The purpose of WTISD is to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies can bring to societies and economies.

17 May marks the anniversary of the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention and the creation of the International Telecommunication Union.

World Telecommunication Day has been celebrated annually on 17 May since 1969. It was instituted by the Plenipotentiary Conference in Malaga-Torremolinos in 1973.

World Information Society Day: Know More

• In November 2005, the World Summit on the Information Society called upon the UN General Assembly to declare 17 May as World Information Society Day.
• The General Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/60/252) in March 2006 stipulating that World Information Society Day will be celebrated every year on 17 May.
• In November 2006, the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Antalya, Turkey, decided to celebrate both events on 17 May as World Telecommunication and Information Society Day.