Current Affairs - 7 January 2015

Who became the first Indian industrialist to be felicitated by a commemorative coin after a commemorative coin on this industrialist was released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 6 January 2015?

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  Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata (The founder of Tata Group)

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a commemorative coin to mark the 175th birth anniversary of Tata group founder Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata. Jamsetji Tata founded the Tata group in 1868. J.N. Tata is considered father of modern industry in India. The translation of his vision led to creation of India’s first integrated steel plant (Tata Steel’s Jamshedpur plant-1907), hydroelectric power plants that service Mumbai’s needs till today (Tata Power’s Khopoli plant-1910) and the Indian Institute of Science (1909). The $100 billion Tata Group now comprises over 100 operating companies, with operations in more than 100 countries across six continents, exporting products and services to over 150 countries.

Trade unions of which sector went on a five-day strike on 6 January 2015 that was termed as the biggest industrial action for any sector since 1977?

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  Coal sector

  The unions went on strike to protest against ‘disinvestment and restructuring of state-run Coal India’ and to press for their other demands including the roll-back of what they call as “process of denationalising of coal sector”. All India Coal Workers Federation (AICWF) claimed that almost 7 lakh workers went on this strike. The strike can affect coal production of up to 1.5 million tonnes a day and may also hit supplies to power plants which are already grappling with fuel shortages. On its part the Union Govt. called a meeting with representatives of major trade unions – BMS, INTUC, AITUC, CITU and HMS – to sort out the issue.

The BSE Sensex crashed 905 points in intraday trade on 6 January 2015, which was its biggest single-day fall in over 5 years. What were the major reasons for this dramatic fall?

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  Continued fall in crude oil prices and worries stemming out of the Greek economy

  The crash recorded in the BSE Sensex 6 January 2014 was the eighth biggest single-day fall in Indian stock markets. Crude oil prices continued to fall with Brent hitting a low of $51.23 a barrel on 6 January. While cheap oil is good for India as the country imports nearly 80% of its energy needs, but the over 50% plunge in oil prices since June has also raised deflationary fears in many countries. The second major reason that contributed in this crash was the talk of Greece crashing out of the Euro zone. Euro zone is a major trade partner for the US, Eastern Europe and Asia and hence worries pertaining to it cast its spell on all these markets including India.

Whose name was cleared as the first CEO of NITI Aayog by the Union Govt. on 6 January 2015?

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  Sindhushree Khullar

  Sindhushree Khullar was the Secretary of the erstwhile Planning Commission, which has now been replaced by the NITI Aayog (Policy Commission). Khullar, a 1975 batch UT cadre IAS officer, had taken over as Secretary Planning Commission in April 2012. Her appointment could be made at any time according to media reports. Noted economist Arvind Panagariya has been appointed as the first Vice Chairman of the newly-created NITI Aayog.

Who was sworn in as the 19th Governor of Meghalaya on 6 January 2015?

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  Keshari Nath Tripathi

  Keshari Nath Tripathi is the Governor of West Bengal and he would continue to hold the office of Governor of the state until further orders. Meghalaya High Court Chief Justice Uma Nath Singh administered the oath of office and secrecy to him.
  
  
  
  
  

Which Indian auto major achieved the milestone of producing 50 lakh vehicles as announced by the company on 6 January 2015?

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  Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M)

  M&M achieved this milestone by rolling out its 5 millionth vehicle from Kandivali plant in Mumbai. The company’s 4×4 offroader, Mahindra Thar, was rolled out as the 5 millionth vehicle from this plant. The company had achieved the 40 lakh mark in 2012 and reached the 50 lakh vehicle mark in just two years. This milestone is the result of combined vehicle production from the company’s six automotive plants, namely Chakan, Nasik, Haridwar, Zaheerabad, Kandivali and engine plant in Igatpuri. Mahindra & Mahindra is part of the Mahindra Group and is one of the largest vehicle manufacturers by production in India and the largest seller of tractors across the world. It was set up as a steel trading company in 1945 in Ludhiana as Mahindra & Mohammed by brothers K.C. Mahindra and J.C. Mahindra and Malik Ghulam Mohammed. After India gained independence and Pakistan was formed, Mohammed emigrated to Pakistan. The company changed its name to Mahindra & Mahindra in 1948. Starting as a licensee of Willys Jeep in India the company later became a leader in SUV, LCV and agricultural auto products.

Which states won the men’s and women’s title of 65th Senior National Basketball Championship 2014-15, that concluded on 5 January 2015 at Bhilwara (Rajasthan)?

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  Uttarakhand (men’s) and Chhattisgarh (women’s)

  In the title clash for men’s title, Uttarakhand defeated Tamil Nadu by 72-63 to reclaim the title. Uttarakhand had last won the Senior Nationals two years ago at the 63rd Senior Nationals in Ludhiana, Punjab. In the women’s title clash, defending champions Chhattisgarh women scored a convincing 84-75 win over Delhi.

Country’s 1st Sculpture of Hawker unveiled

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  Nagpur: The country’s first Sculpture of Hawker, installed by Lokmat Media at Samvidhan Square in Nagpur, was unveiled at the hands of senior hawker Gajanan Meshram in the august presence of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday.
  Also present on the occasion were Nagpur district guardian minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, chairman, Editorial Board of Lokmat Media and Rajya Sabha member Vijay Darda, executive director of Lokmat Media Karan Darda, legislators Anil Sole, Sudhakar Deshmukh, Krishna Khopde, Ashish Deshmukh, Dr Milind Mane, Congress leader Anees Ahmed, divisional commissioner Anup Kumar, district collector Abhishek Krishna, municipal commissioner Shravan Hardikar, NIT chairman Shyam Wardhane, entrepreneur Dilip Chhajed, senior general manager (Nagpur) of Lokmat Media Nilesh Singh, deputy general manager (special project) Ashish Jain and other dignitaries.
  Fadnavis said, “Despite continuous struggle in their life and work, the hawkers bring the world to our homes everyday through newspapers. They connect us to the happenings in the world which makes them an important part of our daily routine. In my entire lifetime, I have never seen a day when the hawker failed to bring the paper home.
  The absence of the newspaper makes me uncomfortable, which is why I am thankful and indebted to the hawker for bringing the world at my doorstep every day.”
  Pointing out why Samvidhan Square is the appropriate place to install the Sculpture of Hawker, Fadnavis said, “Respect and dignity even to the last sections of the society is enshrined in the Indian Constitution, penned by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. Hawkers represent that particular section and the sculpture is a tribute to them. The unveiling of this sculpture is a milestone on our way to achieving that objective as enshrined in the Indian Constitution.”

COMPUTER AWARENESS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

• 1. UNIVAC stands for?
  A) Universal Automatic Computer
  B) Universal Array Computer
  C) Unique Automatic Computer
  D) Unvalued Automatic Computer
  E) None of these

• 2. The basic operation performed by a computer is ____
  A) Arithmetic operation
  B) Logical operation
  C) Storage and relative
  D) All the above
  E) None of these

• 3. The two major types of computer chips are:
  A) External memory chip
  B) Primary memory chip
  C) Microprocessor chip
  D) Both b and c
  E) Both a and b

• 4. Microprocessors as switching devices are for which generation computers?
  A) First Generation
  B) Second Generation
  C) Third Generation
  D) Fourth Generation
  E) None of the above

• 5. What is the main difference between a mainframe and a super computer?
  A) Super computer is much larger than mainframe computers
  B) Super computers are much smaller than mainframe computers
  C) Super computers are focused to execute few programs as fast as possible while mainframe
  uses its power to execute as many programs concurrently
  D) Super computers are focused to execute as many programs as possible while mainframe
  uses its power to execute few programs as fast as possible
  E) None of the above

• 6. ASCII and EBCDIC are the popular character coding systems. What does EBCDIC stand for?
  A) Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code
  B) Extended Bit Code Decimal Interchange Code
  C) Extended Bit Case Decimal Interchange Code
  D) Extended Binary Case Decimal Interchange Code
  E) None of the above

• 7. The brain of any computer system is ___
  A) ALU
  B) Memory
  C) CPU
  D) Control unit
  E) Keyboard

• 8. Storage capacity of magnetic disk depends on ___
  A) tracks per inch of surface
  B) bits per inch of tracks
  C) disk pack in disk surface
  D) All of the above
  E) Only A and B

• 9. The two kinds of main memory are:
  A) Primary and Secondary
  B) Random and Sequential
  C) ROM and RAM
  D) All of the above
  E) None of these

• 10. A storage area used to store data to compensate for the difference in speed at which the different units can handle data is ___
  A) Memory
  B) Buffer
  C) Accumulator
  D) Address
  E) None of these

• 11. Computer is free from tiresome and boardroom. We call it ___
  A) accuracy
  B) reliability
  C) diligence
  D) versatility
  E) programmability

• 12. Integrated Circuits (ICs) are related to which generation of computers?
  A) First generation
  B) Second generation
  C) Third generation
  D) Fourth generation
  E) Fifth generation

• 13. CD-ROM is a ___
  A) Semiconductor memory
  B) Memory register
  C) Magnetic memory
  D) All of the above
  E) None of the above

• 14. A hybrid computer:
  A) Resembles digital computer
  B) Resembles analogue computer
  C) Resembles both a digital and analogue computer
  D) Converts digital to analog
  E) None of the above

• 15. Which type of computers uses the 8-bit code called EBCDIC?
  A) Mini computers
  B) Micro computers
  C) Mainframe computers
  D) Super computer
  E) None of these

• 16. The ALU of a computer responds to the commands coming from:
  A) Primary memory
  B) Control section
  C) External memory
  D) Cache memory
  E) None of these

• 17. Chief component of first generation computer was ___
  A) Transistors
  B) Vacuum Tubes and Valves
  C) Integrated Circuits
  D) All of the above
  E) None of the above

• 18. To produce high quality graphics (hardcopy) in color, you would want to use a/an ___
  A) RGB monitors
  B) Plotter
  C) Ink-jet printer
  D) Laser printer
  E) None of these

• 19. What are the stages in the compilation process?
  A) Feasibility study, system design and testing
  B) Implementation and documentation
  C) Lexical Analysis, syntax analysis, and code generation
  D) Both A and B
  E) None of the above

• 20. Which of the following IC was used in third generation of computers?
  A) SSI
  B) MSI
  C) LSI
  D) Both a and b
  E) None of these

• ANSWERS:
  1) A 2) D 3) D 4) D 5) C 6) A 7) C 8) D 9) C 10) B
  11) C 12) C 13) E 14) C 15) C 16) B 17) B 18) B 19) C 20) D