Current Affairs Questions & Answers: February 28, 2017

Notes:
Gopal Baglay, the 1992-batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), has been appointed as the new spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Earlier, he headed the division of the MEA dealing with Pakistan. He has also served as the Deputy High Commissioner to Islamabad. Baglay replaced Vikas Swarup, who is headed to Canada as envoy.

Notes:
Punjala Shiv Shankar (87), an Indian politician, has recently passed away in Hyderabad. He served as the Minister of External Affairs (MEA), Law and Petroleum. He was a very influential minister in Indira Gandhi’s and Rajiv Gandhi’s cabinets and is one of the most senior politicians in India. He also served as the Governor of Sikkim and Kerala.

Notes:
Iranian Film ‘The Salesman’ has won the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Oscar Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The movie, directed by Tehran-based Asghar Farhadi marked Iran’s second Oscar victory, coming five years after Farhadi’s drama “A Separation” won the nation’s first Academy Award. It is drama about honor and revenge in a modern marriage. Apart from this, the award for best documentary feature went to “O.J. Made in America”, which is directed by Ezra Edelman. The Syrian war documentary “The White Helmets” has won the short documentary Academy Award. Indian actor Om Puri, “Star Wars” actress Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds and Bill Paxton were among late stars, who were remembered and honored at the Oscars.

Notes:
Zootopia, directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore, has won the Best Animated Feature Film at the 89th Oscar Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The film details the unlikely partnership between a rabbit police officer and a red fox con artist as they uncover a conspiracy which involves the disappearance of predator inhabitants of a mammalian metropolis.

Notes:
Ankur Mittal has won silver in men’s double trap at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup at the Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi. Beside this, in the mixed team 10m air pistol event, the Indian pair of Heena Sidhu and Jitu Rai won the ‘gold badge’. The ISSF is expected to scrap men’s 50m free pistol, 50m rifle prone and double trap events from the Olympic Games and will announce so shortly.

Notes:
The Union Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu has flagged off India’s first Antyodaya Express between Ernakulam and Howrah. The train service was inaugurated by the Railways Minister via video conferencing in New Delhi on February 27, 2017. The Antyodaya Express is a long-distance, fully unreserved, superfast train service, for the common man to be operated on dense routes. The new express train will have facilities like cushioned luggage racks which can serve as seats, LED lights, modular toilets, pleasing interior colour scheme and others. Beside this, the Railway Minister has also flagged off the 4th Humsafar Express between Sriganganagar and Tiruchirapalli. The new train is fully air-conditioned third AC service with an optional service for meals.

Notes:
Nand Kumar Sai, the senior tribal BJP leader from Chhattisgarh and ex parliamentarian, has recently taken charge as new chairman of National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) in Delhi. NCST investigates and monitors all matters related to safeguards provided for Scheduled Tribes under the constitution or under law or under any order of the Government. It also evaluates the working of the safeguards and proper their implementation. The Commission is also authorized to inquire into specific complaints relating to rights and safeguards of STs and to participate and advise in the Planning Process relating to socio-economic development of STs and to evaluate the progress of their development under the Union and States.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently constituted an inter-disciplinary standing committee on cyber security to review the threats inherent in the existing and emerging technology. The 11—member committee headed by Meena Hemchandra, Executive Director of RBI, will study adoption of various security standards and protocols, interface with stakeholders and suggest appropriate policy interventions to strengthen cyber security and resilience. The committee has been formed on the recommendations of the expert panel on Cyber Security and Information Technology Examination.

Notes:
India’s GDP growth rate has been projected to 7% for FY17, as per latest survey by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In its Economic Survey of India (ESI), the Global think-tank has stated that demonetisation may have impacted short term growth but the long term effects would include important gains going forward. It suggested that India should bring down corporate tax rate from 30% to 25%. Beside this, OECD has also estimated India’s GDP growth rate to 7.3% for FY18 and 7.7% for FY19. The OECD is a global policy forum that promotes policies to improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.

Notes:
The National Science Day (NSD) is celebrated every year in India on February 28 to mark the discovery of the Raman Effect by Indian physicist Sir Chandrashekhara Venkata Raman on February 28, 1928. For his discovery, C.V. Raman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930. The 2017 theme is “Science and Technology for Specially Abled Persons”.