Current Affairs - 15 November 2014

Modified DBTL scheme launched

• For the benefit of lakhs of households, the Central government has launched a modified Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG (DBTL) scheme in 54 districts in 11 states including all in Kerala starting November 15, 2014 whereby LPG consumers who have not yet availed the benefit will be able to get cash subsidy amount transferred into their accounts to buy Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders at market price.
  Every time they book a cylinder the government will transfer Rs 568 to the customers’ bank account so that the money would be there in the account before gas reaches their homes. Each household is entitled to get 12 subsidized cylinders a year. So those who have already exhausted the quota will not be get any subsidy this year.
  This scheme will be implemented in the rest of India on January 1, 2015. Post implementation of this scheme India’s LPG subsidy burden of Rs 48,000 crore is expected to come down by 15 per cent.

India’s UN resolution on Yoga

• In an overwhelming response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for commemorating an International Day of Yoga, about 130 countries have joined as co-sponsors to an India-led U.N. General Assembly resolution recognising yoga’s benefits.
  The draft resolution for an ‘International Day of Yoga’ was prepared by India and informal consultations were convened last month by the Indian mission in the U.N. General Assembly where views on the topic were expressed by other delegations.
  The draft resolution, known as the ‘L Document,’ was finalised with 130 countries co-sponsoring it, an all-time record for a resolution of such kind. The draft resolution, expected to come up for adoption in the General Assembly on December 10, would recognise that.

Warmest oceans ever recorded

• "This summer has seen the highest global mean sea surface temperatures ever recorded since their systematic measuring started. Temperatures even exceed those of the record-breaking 1998 El Niño year," says Axel Timmermann, climate scientist and professor, studying variability of the global climate system at the International Pacific Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa.
  From 2000-2013 the global ocean surface temperature rise paused, in spite of increasing greenhouse gas concentrations. This period, referred to as the Global Warming Hiatus, raised a lot of public and scientific interest. However, as of April 2014 ocean warming has picked up speed again, according to Timmermann's analysis of ocean temperature datasets. 
  "The 2014 global ocean warming is mostly due to the North Pacific, which has warmed far beyond any recorded value (Figure 1a) and has shifted hurricane tracks, weakened trade winds, and produced coral bleaching in the Hawaiian Islands," explains Timmermann. 

Prithvi-II successfully test-fired

• India on Friday successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear-capable Prithvi-II surface-to-surface missile, which has a strike range of 350 km, from a test range at Chandipur as part of a user trial by Army.
  Defence sources said the state-of-the-art missile, which is capable of carrying 500 kg to 1000 kg of warheads, was test-fired from a mobile launcher in salvo mode from launch complex-3 of Integrated Test Range at about 10.40 hrs.
  It is thrusted by liquid propulsion twin engines and uses advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory. Describing the trial as "fully successful," ITR director M V K V Prasad told PTI that the test was conducted by Strategic Force Command.
  The sophisticated missile was randomly chosen from the production stock and the entire launch activities were carried out by SFC and monitored by scientists of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as part of training exercise, defence sources said.
  "The missile trajectory was tracked by DRDO radars, electro-optical tracking systems and telemetry stations located along the coast of Odisha.

Milky Way black hole producing mysterious particles

• The giant black hole at the centre of the Milky Way may be producing the mysterious high-energy neutrinos, NASA scientists have found.
  If confirmed, this would be the first time that scientists have traced neutrinos back to a black hole.
  Neutrinos are tiny particles that carry no charge and interact very weakly with electrons and protons.
  Unlike light or charged particles, neutrinos can emerge from deep within their cosmic sources and travel across the universe without being absorbed by intervening matter or, in the case of charged particles, deflected by magnetic fields.
  The Earth is constantly bombarded with neutrinos from the sun. However, neutrinos from beyond the solar system can be millions or billions of times more energetic.

India and Myanmar hold meeting on cross-border issues

• The Border Liaison officers from India and Myanmar held a meeting at Nanyon in Myanmar over various cross-border issues, an official statement said on Friday.
  The Indian team led by Chanchal Yadav, Deputy Commissioner, Changlang district met with the Myanmarese delegates led by Ru San Kuye, Chairman, Naga Self Administered Zone, Lahe at the 2nd BLO meeting yesterday, the statement said.
  The delegates agreed to share real time intelligence on activities of insurgents, arms smugglers, drug traffickers and poachers as well as increase co-operation between the law enforcement agencies of both the countries at the district level along the international border.

Malnutrition due to lack of awareness: World Bank

• India’s woes with malnutrition is little to do with poverty or food insecurity, but is exasperated by inadequacies in child care, feeding information and awareness, the latest World Bank report has said.
  “Appropriate infant and young child feeding practices even in the highest wealth quintile are extremely poor. Effective interventions, which cover the three critical determinants, when provided at scale during the first 1,000 days of life, can reduce stunting and improve under-nutrition significantly,” said Onno Ruhl, World Bank Country Director in India while releasing the Nutrition in India report on Thursday.  
  The report says stunting in children from households in middle and upper wealth quintiles is also quite high – about 50 and 25 per cent respectively.

Sundarban National Park under significant threat: IUCN

• LONDON: Bengal's Sundarban National Park has now been declared as "facing significant threat" due to a failed conservation system. 
   Some of India's iconic natural wonders — Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, Kaziranga National Park and the Western Ghats too were declared to be of "significant concern" after the first ever analysis of all 228 natural world heritage sites across the world. 
   The red flag has also been raised for some global iconic sites like Machu Picchu in Peru and Tanzania's Serengeti by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) on Thursday. 
   More than a third of the planet's natural world heritage sites face significant threats such as invasive species, logging and poaching besides climate change. 
   Sundarbans national park in India, home to an endangered population of tigers was shown to be the worst affected by all the above threats. 

Philae successfully plants thermometer on comet

• The European Space Agency (ESA) said its Philae lander is doing well and has succeeded in planting a thermometer in the comet where it touched down this week. 
  The agency said on Friday that scientists have received a steady stream of data from the lander, which on Wednesday became the first spacecraft to touch down on a comet. However, their job is complicated by the fact that Philae landed next to a cliff that is blocking sunlight from its solar panels. 
  Planting a thermometer in the surface was Philae’s first so-called “mechanical operation” but ESA said it will hold off on any more for now. The lander’s primary battery only has power for another day or so and scientists are contemplating realigning it so that the solar panels can charge the craft.

World Bank warns of calamity if Ebola lessons ignored

• BRISBANE: Millions of lives could be lost in a global pandemic if the international community repeats its tardy response to West Africa's Ebola outbreak, World Bank president Jim Yong Kim warned on Friday. 
  Kim called for the establishment of a multi-billion dollar contingency fund to ensure relief efforts mobilise immediately when an infection threat such as Ebola or a rogue influenza strain emerges. 
  Such outbreaks were not only human tragedies but also threatened to destabilise the world economy, the Korean said at the G20 summit in Brisbane, where he is promoting his proposal to leaders of the world's most powerful economies. 
  "It would require something like a global health corps - people from all over the world who'd be ready to respond at a moment's notice - (and) a fund that would disperse millions, and indeed billions, of dollars if necessary," he told reporters. 
  Kim said the world was slow to react to the worst Ebola outbreak on record, which has killed some 5,000 people in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. 

GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE MCQs FOR ALL BANK EXAMINATIONS

• 1.    Which of the following are true:
      1.    According to new National Child Policy, a child is anyone who is less than 18 years of age.
      2.    The framework is in line with the UN Child Rights Convenstion
      3.    India ratified the convention in the year 1992.
      Code:
      (a)    All are correct    (b)    Only 1
      (c)    Both 1 & 2    (d)    None
• 2.    With respect to Nirbhay cruise missile, identify the correct one:
      1.    It is the Indian adaptation of patriot Missile.
      2.    It is a super-sonic missile.
      3.    The range of the missile is 1000-2000 km.
      Code:
      (a)    1 and 2    (b)    All
      (c)    Only 3    (d)    2 and 3
• 3.    Consider the following:
      1.    The subsidized rate for wheat and rice under Antyodaya Anna Yojana is Rs. 2 and Rs. 3 for rice and wheat respectively.
      2.    The identification of Antyodaya families is to be done by State Government.
      3.    The scale of issue is increased from 25 kgs. per family per month to 35 kgs. for family per months.
      The incorrect are:
      (a)    None    (b)    Only 1
      (c)    1 and 2    (d)    All
• 4.    Consider the following statements:
      1.    National Urban Livelihood Mission is under the administrative control of Ministry of Housing and urban Poverty Alleviation.
      2.    The Mission has components like skill training, entrepreneurship Development etc.
      The correct are:
      (a)    Both 1 and 2    (b)    Only 2
      (c)    Only 1    (d)    None
• 5.    Match the following:
      1.    Giorgio Napolitano    A.    Former Diplomat
      2.    K Natwar Singh    B.    Telgu Writer
      3.    Dr. Ravuri Bharadwaja    C.    President ADB
      4.    Takehiko Nakao    D.    Italin President
      Codes:
      (a)    1D, 2A, 3B, 4C
      (b)    1A, 2B, 3C, 4D
      (c)    1C, 2B, 3A, 4D
      (d)    1B, 2D, 3C, 4A
• 6.    Which of the following are true:
      1.    K. Kasturirangan Committee was setup to study the recommendations of Western Ghats Ecology Expert Group.
      2.    According to Kasturirangan report only 37% of total area is ecologically sensitive.
      3.    Western Ghats are spread in 7 states.
      Code:
      (a)    All    (b)    Only 3
      (c)    Only 1    (d)    1 and 2
• 7.    Civil Service Day is observed on:
      (a)    20 April    (b)    22 April
      (c)    21 April    (d)    23 April
• 8.    Consider the following statements:
      1.    33% of world's poorest live in India.
      2.    Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region where number of Poor has risen steadily.
      The incorrect are:
      (a)    Both    (b)    None
      (c)    Only 1    (d)    Only 2
• 9.    Nitaqat Policy is introduced by:
      (a)    Saudi Arabia
      (b)    UAE
      (c)    Qatar
      (d)    Kuwait
• 10.    "Orbital Noatis Ark' is:
      (a)    A USA base sea expedition.
      (b)    A Russian Bio-satellite
      (c)    A new space shuttle.
      (d)    New expedition to Mars.
• Answers
  1 a, 2 c, 3 b, 4 a, 5 a, 6 d, 7 c, 8 b, 9 a, 10 b