28 october 2015
1) What is
the name of the US guided missile destroyer which sailed near an artificial
island built by China in the South China Sea on 27 October 2015 thus resulting
in diplomatic tussle between China and the US? –USS Lassen
Explanation: USS Lassen,
a guided missile destroyer of the US Navy, carried out its patrol inside what
China claims as a 12-mile territorial limit around Subi Reef in the South China
Sea on 27 October. China has its artificial island in the area.
Sailing a US Navy ship within
12 nautical miles of any of the artificial islands created by China is being
seen as the U.S. assertion that they are not sovereign Chinese territory.
The Obama administration considers Beijing’s claim of sovereignty in those
waters as “excessive”. US administration felt that it has the authority to
conduct
freedom of navigation operations in international waters anywhere on
the globe.
China’s Foreign Ministry
confirmed that the USS Lassen entered within 12 sea miles of Chinese reefs in
the South China Sea, and said that the action was illegal and without Chinese
permission.
2) Indian
Railways on 27 October 2015 received Rs. 2,000 crore from Life Insurance
Corporation (LIC) as part of long-term funding tied-up with the state-run
insurer to restart the investment cycle. LIC is altogether providing how much
amount of long-term fund to Railways for capacity augmentation? – Rs.
1.5 lakh crore
Explanation: LIC
handed over the first cheque of Rs 2,000 crore to Indian Railways Finance
Corporation (IRFC) towards financial assistance as per the agreement signed
earlier in March 2015.
The investment by LIC, to be
made through bonds issued by railway entities such as IRFC, would be
channelised in capacity augmentation projects. The bonds will come with a five
year moratorium on interest and loan repayment.
Railways over the years, has
failed to execute a large shelf of its sanctioned projects due to
non-availability of sufficient resources.
With significant time and cost
over-runs on key projects plaguing revenue realisation, rail minister Suresh
Prabhu had announced a new source of funding – Extra Budgetary
Resources-Institutional Finance (EBR-IF) – in this year’s rail budget. The LIC
funding is expected to be the main source of EBR-IF.
3) Which
company on 27 October 2015 became the first corporate to sign the revised
listing agreement with the BSE as mandated under SEBI’s newly introduced
Listing Regulation? –Reliance Industries Limited (RIL)
Explanation: During
September 2015 the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) came out with
new listing regulations and a six-month deadline for all companies in which it
prescribed the listing agreement.
Earlier, the listing agreement
was a bilateral agreement between the stock exchange and the company, and
market regulator SEBI didn’t have regulations on this. Thus, each company’s
agreement with the stock exchange could be at a variance and lacking the full
force of SEBI’s rigour.
With the signing of the
agreement with BSE, RIL is the first listed company to conform to new listing
norms of the SEBI.
SEBI’s new listing regulations
were notified on 2 September 2015 and the same are effective from 1 December
2015.
4) What is
the name of the rightist-centrist political party that scored an emphatic
victory in Polish (Poland’s) parliamentary elections on 25 October 2015? – Law
and Justice Party
Explanation: As
per the announcement made by the Polish National Electoral Commission on 26
October 2015, the Jaroslaw Kaczynski-led centrist-right Law and Justice party,
the PiS, won with 37.6% of the vote. Jaroslaw Kaczynski is the twin brother of
former Polish President Lech Kaczynski, who died in a plane crash in 2010.
It is the first time since
democracy was restored in Poland in 1989 that a single party has won enough
seats to govern alone.
The outgoing Prime Minister,
Ewa Kopacz of the centrist Civic Platform party (Platforma Obywatelska), has
admitted defeat. Her party won just around 24% votes.
52-year old Beata Maria
Szydło, who is the Vice-President of Law and Justice Party, will become the new
Prime Minister of Poland.
She will be Poland’s third
female Prime Minister and the first woman to succeed a woman as Prime Minister
(Ewa Kopacz)
5) Which
country was rated as the country with the best retirement system for the fourth
consecutive year in 2015 as disclosed in the latest report by Melbourne Mercer?
– Denmark
Explanation: The
2015 Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index (MMGPI), which is one of the most
comprehensive global pension indexes, was released during October 2015. With an
overall score of 81.7 points, it rated Denmark as the best retirement system in
the world for the fourth consecutive time.
The primary reasons for
Denmark’s top spot is its well-funded pension system with its good coverage,
high level of assets and contributions, the provision of adequate benefits and
a private pension system with developed regulations.
Denmark and Netherlands are
the only countries to achieve an ‘A’ grade in the history of the index.
Singapore has been ranked the highest among Asian countries for a retirement
system.
However, the Indian retirement
system continues to rank last in this report.
29 october 2015
1) What is
India’s position with regard to ease of doing business in World Bank’s annual
‘Doing Business 2016’ Report? – 130 out of 189 countries
Explanation: World
Bank’s annual ‘Doing Business 2016’ report was released on 27 October 2015.
India moved 12 places up
during 2015 and its place was 130 out of 189 countries as compared to 142 last
year. World Bank stated that India implemented two major reforms during the
past year to improve its position.
During last one year India
eliminated the requirements for a paid-in minimum capital and a certificate to
commence business operations, significantly streamlining the process for
starting a business.
The report mentioned that in
2004 it took 127 days to start a business in India. In 2015 this has been
reduced to 29 days.
Ease of doing Business report
is topped by Singapore, followed by New Zealand, Denmark, South Korea, Hong
Kong, Britain and the US.
2) The NITI
Aayog’s sub-group of Chief Ministers has suggested increasing the flexi-fund
component of centrally-sponsored schemes (CSS) to 25%. This was disclosed in
the report submitted by the sub-group to the Prime Minister on 27 October 2015.
What is the present flexi-fund component of CCS? – 10%
Explanation: ‘Flexi-fund’
was introduced in January 2014 to give states more leeway to meet local needs
and requirements within the overall objective of each programme. The fund is
also for piloting innovations, improving efficiencies, and
mitigation/restoration activities in case of natural calamities.
The NITI Aayog’s sub-group of
Chief Ministers on ‘Rationalisation of Centrally-sponsored Schemes’ submitted
its detailed report to the PM on 27 October. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister
Shivraj Singh Chauhan is the Convener of the sub-group. The sub-group was
constituted on 9 March 2015 and was tasked with examining the existing CSS and
recommending measures for ensuring their proper implementation.
The sub-group has suggested
splitting CSS into three categories for deciding the funding pattern. However,
for schemes such as the MGREGA, it has suggested maintaining the same funding
pattern.
3) What is
the name of the pilot project launched by the Union Govt. on 27 October 2015
that aims to facilitate easier facilities for country’s taxpayers? – “e-Sahyog”
Explanation: “e-Sahyog”
is the name of the pilot project that was launched by Union Finance Minister
Arun Jaitley on 27 October 2015. It primarily aims at reducing compliance cost,
especially for small taxpayers.
The objective of “e-Sahyog” is
to provide an online mechanism to resolve mismatches in Income-tax returns of
those assesses whose returns have been selected for scrutiny, without visiting
the Income Tax Office. Under this initiative the Department will provide an end
to end e-service using SMS, e-mails to inform the tax assesses of the mismatch.
4) Which
private sector bank on 27 October 2015 claimed that it has become the first
bank to set up its IFSC banking operations at the highly-ambitious Gujarat
International Finance Tec City (GIFT City)? – Yes Bank
Explanation: Yes
Bank disclosed that it has started operations from its IFSC banking unit at the
Gujarat International Finance Tec City (GIFT). It also claimed that it is the
first bank to start operations in GIFT City by setting up an IBU (IFSC Banking
Unit).
GIFT City is being developed
as India’s first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC). It is being
conceptualised as a global financial and IT services hub and is being designed
to be at or above par with globally-benchmarked financial centres like those at
Shinjuku (Tokyo), Lujiazui (Shanghai), La Defense (Paris) and London Dockyards.
GIFT City project, spread over
886 acres, including a 261-acre SEZ on the outskirts of Gandhinagar, is
expected to involve investments of Rs 78,000 crore when completed by 2026.
5) The
Union Govt. on 27 October 2015 constituted a committee to simplify the
provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Who is heading this committee which
primarily seeks to identify the provisions in the said Act which are leading to
ambiguities? – Justice R.V. Easwar
Explanation: Justice
R.V. Easwar is the former Judge of the Delhi High Court and former
President of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT). Apart from Justice
Easwar as its chairman, the committee has 9 other persons as members.
The committee will have tenure
of 1 year and its first set of recommendations are expected by 31 January 2016.
The committee seeks to study
and identify the provisions/phrases in the Act which are leading to litigation
due to different interpretations. It will also identify provisions which are
impacting the ease of doing business. It will suggest alternatives and modifications
to the existing provisions and areas so identified to bring about
predictability and certainty in tax laws without substantial impact on the tax
base and revenue collection.
6) Who was
elected as the first-ever woman President of Nepal on 28 October 2015? –Bidhya
Devi Bhandari
Explanation: Nepal’s
Parliament elected Bidhya Devi Bhandari as country’s new President after she
received 327 votes against her opponent’s 214 in Presidential elections held in
the Parliament on 28 October 2015. She thus became country’s first-ever woman
President.
Bidhya Devi Bhandari is the
deputy leader of the Communist Party of Nepal Unified Marxist-Leninist and has
long campaigned for women’s rights. She became Nepal’s second President since
the Himalayan nation was turned into a republic after abolishing the centuries-old
monarchy
30 october 2015
1) In a
landmark decision, China announced the end of its hugely controversial
one-child policy on 29 October 2015. From now all Chinese couples would be
allowed two children. When one-child policy was first introduced in China? – In
1978
Explanation: A
communique issued by the ruling Communist Party after a four-day meeting in
Beijing on 29 October mentioned that one-child policy will be ended and the
couples will be allowed to have two children.
The controversial one-child
policy was introduced in 1978 and was officially enacted on 18 September 1980.
It was introduced in the background of explosive growth rate in country’s
population due to lowering infant mortality rate and improvement in life
expectancy.
However, the policy had many
exceptions and ethnic minorities were exempt from it. In rural areas, families
were allowed two children without incurring penalties. The one-child limit has
mostly been enforced in China’s densely populated urban areas, and its
implementation varied from location to location.
But with demographic problems
such as rapid aging, severe gender imbalances and shrinking workforce, China
started limiting the one-child policy from 2013. Now country has taken decision
to do away with this controversial policy.
2) Prime
Minister Narendra Modi announced how much concessional credit for African
countries on the occasion of 3rd India-Africa
Forum Summit’s main event held on 29 October 2015 in New Delhi? – $10
billion
Explanation: $10
billion credit for African countries over the next 5 years was announced by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 29 October. This will be in addition to the
ongoing credit programme.
PM also pledged an assistance
of $600 million to the continent and 50,000 scholarships for African students
in India. He announced that India will support the expansion of the Pan
Africa E-Network and institutions of skilling, training and learning across the
African continent.
3rd India-Africa Forum Summit is the largest multi-lateral
event held in India in last few decades with heads of state and representatives
from 54 African countries participating in it.
3) Nepal on
28 October 2015 signed an oil supply agreement with which country, resulting in
loss of India’s age-old status as Nepal’s sole fuel provider? – China
Explanation: Nepal
signed an agreement with China for supply of petroleum products so as to
counter shortages caused by the blockade of land routes from India due to unrest
over the new constitution. With the signing of this agreement India lost
its decades old status as the sole supplier of fuel commodities to Nepal.
The said agreement was signed
between Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) and China National United Fuel Corporation
(CNUFC) in Beijing on 28 October. Under the agreement, China will supply fuel
at international rates, which Kathmandu might find cheaper than its imports
from India. To begin with, China will fulfill at least a third of Nepal’s
requirements.
Disruption in fuel supply from
India began following a dispute between Madhesi parties and major national
parties over Nepal’s new constitution.
4) Eminent
scientist P.M. Bhargava became the first scientist of country to return his
national award (Padma Bhushan) to protest against “the government’s attack on
rationalism, reasoning and science”, as announced on 28 October 2015. Bhargava
is the founder-director of which prestigious scientific institution of the
country? –Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB)
Explanation: Pushpa
Mitra Bhargava (PM Bhargava) is a noted biologist of India. He is known for
establishing the Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology
(CCMB) in 1977. It was initially set-up as a semi-autonomous institution.
During 1981-82, this institution was accorded the status of a full-fledged
national institution.
On 28 October Mr. Bhargava
announced his decision to return the Padma Bhushan award, Indian’s third
highest civilian award, to protest against government’s so-called attack on
rationalism, reasoning and science. This decision came hours after 107 senior
scientists signed an online statement to join the chorus of protests by other
scientists, artists and writers. A day earlier 135 scientists had signed an
online petition addressed to President Pranab Mukherjee against “the systematic
spread of intolerance and communal hatred in the country”.
5) World’s
largest data center company NTT Communications on 28 October 2015 opened India’s
largest data center. This new state-of-the-art data center with floor space of
3 lakh sq. feet has been established in which city? – Mumbai
Explanation: NTT
Communications (Japan) is world’s largest data center company having its data
centers all across the globe. On 28 October the company opened its ninth data
center in India at Mumbai, which is also the largest data center in the country
till date.
This Mumbai data center is
dubbed DC5 and have a floor space of 3,00,000 square feet. It also has the space
to support 2,700 racks and access to 20 megawatts of power capacity. It has
entailed investments of around Rs. 700 crore.
It is worth mentioning that
NTT Communications operates in India through its Indian subsidiary Netmagic
Solutions, in which it had acquired 74% stake in 2012.
31 october 2015
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