IBM, HCL, IoT - Current Affairs Questions and Answers

1)   Who has been appointed HCL(Hindustan Copper Ltd) CMD w.e.f. 14th Aug 2017?

a. Santosh Singh
b. Santosh Sharma
c. Santosh Mehta
d. Santosh Kumar
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Santosh Sharma

Explanation:
Santosh Sharma was on 14th Aug 2017 appointed as chairman and managing director (CMD) of Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL). He is currently director (operations) in the same company.

The appointments committee of the cabinet (ACC) has approved his appointment to the post for a period of five years, an order issued by the department of personnel and training (DoPT) said.

Emandi Sankara Rao has been appointed as managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) Ltd.

He is at present working as director and CEO of IIFCL Asset Management Company Ltd. Rao has been appointed to the post for a period of three years, the DoPT order said.

The ACC has also approved appointment of Debasis Jana as CMD of Andrew Yule and Co. Ltd (AYCL), Kolkata. He is working as director (planning) in the same company. He will hold the post for five years.

Hindustan Copper Limited: Know More

  • Hindustan Copper Ltd. is a Government-owned corporation in the Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Mines (India), Government of India.
  • HCL is the only vertically integrated copper producer in India engaged in a wide spectrum of activities ranging from Mining, Beneficiation, Smelting, Refining and Continuous Cast Rod manufacturer.
  • HCL shares are listed at Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta, Chennai, Ahmedabad exchanges.
  • On 31 July 2015, the government of India announced a 15% stake sale in Hindustan Copper Limited, reducing its stake from 89.5% to 74.5%.
  • The headquarters of this company are in Kolkata. It is also located in Delhi and Bengaluru.
  • Its website is www.hindustancopper.com


2)   What does cognitive computing involve?

a. Natural language processing
b. Machine learning
c. Deep learning
d. All of the above
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
IBM has worked on cognitive computing. Already, the President and CEO of IBM Ginni Rometty indicated that digital is the foundation and cognitive computing is next on the anvil for India.

This should involve building abilities on natural language processing, machine learning, deep learning, image and vision, she said.

By 2020 the country will be home to the largest developer population in the world and 3 million programmers will be helping develop at least ten per cent of the apps this year.

IBM plans to open first blockchain innovation centre in Singapore

The company's artificial intelligence platform Watson will be touching the lives of 1 billion people across the world including 200 million people each in the fields of healthcare and education.

Watson can be very helpful in a country like India which has only 1 oncologist for 1,600 cancer patients.

IBM: Know More

  • Headquarters: Armonk, North Castle, New York, United States
  • Founder: Charles Ranlett Flint
  • Founded: 16 June 1911, New York City, New York, United States
  • Revenue: 79.92 billion USD (2016)
  • Number of employees: 386,558
  • Subsidiaries: SoftLayer, FileNet, Kenexa, Trusteer, Emptoris, more


3)   Which provider of enterprise cloud apps for finance and HR has adopted the IBM cloud solution on 15th August 2016?

a. WorkDay
b. WorkPay
c. WorkStay
d. None of the above
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: WorkDay

Explanation:
WorkDay has inked a deal with IBM to adopt the company’s cloud solution as part of a multi-year strategic partnership.

  • Solution called IBM Cloud has become a foundation for WorkDay’s development and testing environment boosting the efficiency, flexibility and global scale of the company.
  • WorkDay will access transformative apps and services in cloud.
  • IBM’s quarterly revenue beat analyst expectations as company shifted to high growth areas like cloud based services to get good results


4)   Incubator Kstart is partnering which tech major to foster a start up ecosystem in India?

a. IBM
b. Infosys
c. Lenovo
d. Dell
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: IBM

Explanation:
Kstart has partnered tech giant IBM to foster the startup ecosystem in India. This is a initiative of venture capital firm Kalaari Capital along with IBM offering training and mentoring sessions to startups.

  • According to a Nasscom and Zinnoy 2015 report, India is third in the world in terms of number of startups
  • It also has the fastest growing startup base internationally.
  • Kalaari Capital has fund value of USD 650 million and has invested in companies like Myntra, Snapdeal and Urban Ladder.


5)   IBM has signed a MoU with which state’s Academy for Skill and Knowledge?

a. AP
b. TN
c. Telangana
d. MP
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Telangana

Explanation:
US IT major IBM and Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge have signed an MoU for the provision of technology platforms and services in cloud computing for academicians in the state. IBM cloud will be available to faculty and students to utilise for practicals and project work.


6)   Etihad Airways has announced an information technology deal worth USD 700 million over the next decade with which IT major?

a. HP
b. Symantec
c. Apple
d. IBM
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: IBM

Explanation:
Etihad Airways and IBM have announced an IT deal worth USD 700 million dollars for over a decade. This deal will improve airline operations and security apart from incorporating analytics of customer data and technology development to forecast weather patterns and better handle airline flights. Deal also comprises IBM mobile solutions developed in collaboration with Apple. Etihad was founded in 2003 and is the second largest airline in the UAE currently.


7)   Researchers have found a new way to shrink transistors beyond a certain size by making them from parallel rows of________ nanotubes.

a. Carbon
b. Hydrogen
c. Helium
d. Uranium
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Carbon

Explanation:
The limit of industry’s capacity to shrink transistors beyond a certain size in the semi conductor business is called red brick wall. But IBM scientists have now found a new way to make transistors smaller through the use of parallel rows of carbon based nanotubes. Advancement is based on a fresh way to connect super thin metal writes to nanotubes, making it easier to shrink the width of the wires without increasing electrical resistance.