GK & Current Affairs – October 23, 2015

1. Justice R V Easwar committee is related to which field?
[A]to simplify Service tax laws, 1969
[B]to simplify House loans, 1971
[C]to simplify Education norms, 1985
[D]to simplify provisions of IT Act, 1961
Answer: to simplify provisions of IT Act, 1961
The Union Government has constituted a 10-member high-level committee to simplify the provisions of the Income Tax Act (IT), 1961 under the Chairmanship of former Delhi High Court Judge, Justice R.V. Easwar. The term of the committee shall be for a period of one year from the date of its constitution. It will study and identify the provisions which are impacting the ease of doing business as well as identify the areas and provisions of the Income tax Act for simplification in the light of existing jurisprudence.
2. Which of the following Indian movies has bagged the People’s Choice Award at Rome Film Festival, recently?
[A]Talvar
[B]Haider
[C]Masaan
[D]Angry Indian Goddesses
Answer: Angry Indian Goddesses
The Indian filmmaker Pan Nalin’s movie “Angry Indian Goddesses” has bagged the BNL People’s Choice Award at the 10th Rome Film Festival. The movie follows the stories of seven girls and narrates the tale of how Frieda (Sarah-Jane Dias), invites her close girlfriends to Goa to announce her wedding and it all turns into a wild bachelorette party. The film is described as a fresh and unbridled portrayal of women in India today. It stars Sandhya Mridul, Sarah-Jane Dias, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Anushka Manchanda, Amrit Maghera, Rajashri Deshpande and Pavleen Gujral.
3. Which Indian environment group bagged the 2015 UN Climate Solutions Awards?
[A]Conserve
[B]Delhi Greens
[C]Chintan
[D]Siruthuli
Answer: Chintan
An Indian environment group “Chintan” won the 2015 UN Climate Solutions Awards for their work with waste pickers and e-waste to tackle climate change. This Delhi-based group has been awarded for its project ‘E-waste: From Toxic to Green’ which revolves around preventing greenhouse gas emissions due to mass burning of electronic waste in Delhi NCR while promoting green livelihoods for urban waste-pickers.
4. The world’s first 3D blood vessel bio printer has been invented by which country, recently?
[A]China
[B]India
[C]Japan
[D]USA
Answer: China
The world’s first 3D blood vessel bio-printer has been invented by Chinese biotechnological firm Sichuan Revotek. This 3-D blood vessel bio-printer makes it easy to produce personalised functional organs. With this innovation, the stem based 3D bio-printing technology has been plastered. Blood vessel carry nutrients to organs and play a vital role in organ formation. The research team developed a new bio-ink called “Biosynsphere”, whose primary goal is the personalised stem cell bio-printing to pave the way for organ regeneration.
5. How much financial assistance has been raised for BPL Patients under Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN), recently?
[A]Rs 7 lakh
[B]Rs 3 lakh
[C]Rs 5 lakh
[D]Rs 6 lakh
Answer: Rs 5 lakh
To ease access to financial assistance under Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN), the Union government has decided to enhance the financial powers delegated to designated central government hospitals and institutes from Rs. 2 lakh to Rs. 5 lakh for providing financial assistance in cases where emergency surgery is to be conducted. After the enhancement, only cases for financial assistance beyond Rs. 5 lakh/patient would now be required to be referred to Health Ministry.The purpose of this increment of financial assistance is to curtail procedural delays for treatment, which would bring relief to thousands of patients annually. The Government also provides financial assistance through the Health Minister’s Cancer Patient Fund (HMCPF) under which aid is given to the poor patients in 27 Regional Cancer Centres. The financial assistance is also available under the Health Minister’s Discretionary Grant (HMDG) to patients having family annual income up to Rs. 1.0 lakh and below to defray a part of the expenditure on hospitalization and treatment in government hospitals.
6. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently permitted how much percentage of foreign investment in DEN Networks Limited?
[A]49 %
[B]26 %
[C]74 %
[D]100 %
Answer: 74 %
As per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) notification, the Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)/Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors (RFPIs) can now invest up to 74% of the paid up capital of DEN Networks Limited under the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS).
7. Recently, which country has launched the Tianhui-1C mapping satellite?
[A]China
[B]North Korea
[C]Japan
[D]South Korea
Answer: China
The Tianhui-1C mapping satellite of Tianhui-1 series has been launched by Long March 2D carrier rocket from the Jiuquan launching base located in the China’s northwestern Gansu province.The satellite has been developed and produced under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASTC) which is China’s primary launch vehicle and satellite contractor. It will be used for scientific experiments, land resource surveys, mapping, crop yield estimation and disaster relief.
8. As per the World Bank’s 2016 Ease of Doing Business Report, what is the rank of India?
[A]134
[B]132
[C]130
[D]137
Answer: 130
As per the latest edition of World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business 2016 report, India ranked at 130th among the 189 countries. The ranking of country in this list is based on index averages the country’s percentile rankings on 10 indicators each having equal weightage. The list is topped by Singapore followed by New Zealand, Denmark, South Korea, Hongkong, Britain and the USA. The ranking of BRICS countries are Russia (51), South Africa (73), China (84), Brazil (116). The ranking of India’s neighbouring countries are as follows: Pakistan (138), Bhutan (71), Sri Lanka (107), Myanmar (167), Nepal (99), Bangladesh (174).
9. E- Sahyog Pilot Project has been launched by which Union Ministry recently?
[A]Union Ministry of Human resource
[B]Union Ministry of Environment
[C]Union Ministry of Finance
[D]Union Ministry of Textiles
Answer: Union Ministry of Finance
The Union Ministry of Finance has launched “E-Sahyog” pilot project to facilitate taxpayers. The project aims to reduce compliance cost, especially for small taxpayers. The purpose of the project 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.
10. Which of the following organisations has developed the Herbal drug ‘BGR-34’?
[A]Centre For Biochemical Technology (CBT)
[B]Industrial Toxicology Research Centre (ITRC)
[C]National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI)
[D]Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI)
Answer: National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI)
The ‘Scientifically Validated’ Anti-Diabetes Herbal Drug “BGR-34” has jointly developed by CSIR laboratories viz. National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) and Central Institute for Medicinal and Aromatic Plant (CIMAP). The drug is a based on Ayurveda, and is meant to treat type-II diabetes mellitus. It is basically a combination of natural extracts obtained from plants. The functions of BGR-34 include the following: a) It boosts the immune system. B) Works as antioxidant. C) Helps maintain normal blood glucose levels. D) Reduces chances of complications caused by persistent high blood glucose levels. E) Improves the quality of life for patients with high blood sugar levels.

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