Current Affairs Based on “The Hindu” for BOM/IBPS Exams

S1. Ans.(a)
Sol. The world’s first Cybathlon Championship for Athletes with Disabilities organised by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH Zurich debuted on Saturday at the SWISS Arena in Kloten, canton Zurich. Popularly known as ‘Bionic olympics’, it differs from the paralympics as it sees participants compete against each other using the latest assistive technologies in terms of their ability to help users navigate the tasks and challenges of daily life. About 4,600 visitors attended the sold-out event that saw participation from seventy-two teams from 25 countries.


S2. Ans.(e)
Sol. The central government will invest Rs 15,000 crore to increase the capacity of Panipat refinery from existing 15 million tonnes (MT) to 25 mt to create huge employment opportunities, Union Minister Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said in Panipat.  
Also, an ethanol plant would be set up at a cost of Rs 500 crore by the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) in Panipat to generate alternative fuel from agricultural residue which would boost agriculture sector.


S3. Ans.(c)
Sol. International Day of the Girl Child is observed annually on 11 October; it is also called the Day of the Girl. The theme for this year’s International Day of the Girl (11 October) is “Girls’ Progress = Goals’ Progress: What Counts for Girls”. 
On December 19, 2011, United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child, to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.The International Day of the Girl Child focuses attention on the need to address the challenges girls face and to promote girls’ empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights.


S4. Ans.(d)
Sol. The Russian and Turkish leaders have agreed to intensify military and intelligence contacts after a meeting in Istanbul, Turkey. After his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, they have agreed on the need for aid to get to the northern Syrian city of Aleppo.


S5. Ans.(b)
Sol. With an aim to make Madhya Pradesh anaemia-free, the state government has decided to launch a scheme-‘Lalima Abhiyan’- that will be effective from November 1, 2016. Under the campaign, free iron folic acid tablets will be provided in aagan wadis’, academic institutions and hospitals.


S6. Ans.(a)
Sol. Abdelilah Benkirane, the leader of Morocco’s Islamic Justice and Development Party, has been appointed for another term as the country’s prime minister. This will be his second term as Prime Minister of Morocco. Benkirane has been serving as Prime Minister in a coalition government since November 2011.


S7. Ans.(b)
Sol. Indian captain Virat Kohli was presented with the ICC Test Championship mace for leading his team to the top of the Test Team Rankings. The mace was presented by former India captain and ICC Cricket Hall of Famer Sunil Gavaskar at a ceremony following the conclusion of the third and final Test against New Zealand in Indore after the home team completed a 3-0 whitewash.


S8. Ans.(c)
Sol. India’s holdings of the US government bonds touched a high of $123.7 billion in July 2016, making it the 12th largest holder, US Treasury Department’s latest data showed. China and Japan were the top two countries with the largest exposure to American government securities at $1.22 trillion and $1.15 trillion, respectively. India added $6 billion in July, as per the data.


S9. Ans.(d)
Sol. Ashok Leyland Limited has entered into an agreement with Telangana Government outlining plans for setting up a body building unit which will entail an outlay of Rs 500 crore. The commercial vehicles major indicated that the unit will be established in phases and have the potential to employ about 1000 people directly and hundreds others indirectly as the company will invest about Rs 500 crore, according to a statement from Chief Minister’s Office.


S10. Ans.(e)
Sol. India ranked 97th out of 118 countries on the International Food Policy Research Institute’s (IFPRI) Global Hunger Index (GHI) in 2016, behind Nepal, Sri Lanka,  Bangladesh, among others, but ahead of Pakistan and three other Asian countries. It was positioned at 80 out of 104 countries the previous year. While India has improved its score on various parameters over the past few years, two out of five children below five years of age are stunted in India. Stunting measures chronic malnutrition and affected children’s height would be considerably below the average for their age.


S11. Ans.(e)
Sol. Andrzej Wajda, the acclaimed Polish director whose films reflected his country’s turbulent history, has died at the age of 90. Reports in Poland said he died in hospital of lung failure after being put into a medically induced coma in recent days. Wajda, who was awarded an Oscar for lifetime achievement in 2000, became a filmmaker only after being rejected by the army in 1939.


S12. Ans.(d)
Sol. Parmeshwar Godrej 72 philantropist and wife of Godrej group chairman Adi Godrej breathed her last at Mumbai’s Breach Candy hospital following a degenerative lung illness. The extremely private family has been shocked by her sudden deterioration insiders said. Group officials were stunned to hear the news but declined to talk. 


S13. Ans.(c)
Sol. Sir Ian McKellen has been given the outstanding contribution to British theatre prize at the UK Theatre Awards. The actor, 77, was honoured both for championing diversity and for his commitment to theatre, including touring productions. Sir Ian’s career has spanned more than six decades and has seen him perform at theatres around the country.


S14. Ans.(b)
Sol. As part of the initiative of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry to provide easy access to the public with regard to India’s export, import and balance of trade data in an analytical format, over time and space, Commerce & Industry Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman launched a new enhanced Dashboard on Foreign Trade Data. Speaking on the occasion she said technology will be used for transparent decision making and reaching out to people using real time data. The Minister said this Dashboard is an improved version of the earlier EXIM Analytics Dashboard developed with many added features. It is more user friendly and would facilitate the general public to have an accurate picture on dynamics of foreign trade performance of India.


S15. Ans.(a)
Sol. Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is a Russian politician who is the current Prime Minister of Russia.