Current Affairs Questions & Answers: March 11, 2017

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The Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu has recently inaugurated India’s largest waste-to-power plant at Narela-Bawana in New Delhi. The 24 Mega Watt plant would not only dispose of 1,300 Metric Tonne waste on a daily basis but also produce compost and energy. The project, built at a cost of Rs. 650 crore and spread across around 100 acres at Narela-Bawana, will use 2,000 metric tonnes of solid waste every day to generate 24 MW of energy. The power generated would be sold to distribution companies for a price fixed by electricity regulator.

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Iran has successfully test fired naval strike ballistic missile “Hormuz 2”, which is intended to hit moving targets at sea with high precision and has a range of nearly 300 kilometers (186 miles).

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The Chief minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik has recently launched a 24X7 toll free helpline number 181 for distressed women in all the 30 districts of the state on the occasion on International Women’s Day. The helpline will facilitate quick response of various services including lodging police complaint to provide medical, legal and counselling to women victims.

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B.P. Kanungo has been appointed the new Deputy Governor in the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a period of 3 years and will succeed R. Gandhi. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has approved his appointment to the post with effect from the date of taking over the charge i.e. on or after April 3, 2017 or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

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The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the 12th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India Africa Project Partnership on March 9, 2017 in New Delhi. It was an annual event that witnessed the participation of high-level official and business delegations from African countries. The purpose of the conference was to discuss cooperation in Trade, Regional Integration & Infrastructure Development, Finance & Consultancy, Mining & Minerals, Agriculture & Agro-Processing, Power & Alternative Energy, Healthcare, Small & Medium Enterprises, Human Capital Development and People-to-People Contacts. The 2-day conference was organised by CII-EXIM Bank in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

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Manjeev Singh Puri, a 1982 batch IFS officer, has been appointed as the new Ambassador of India to Nepal. He will succeed Ranjit Rae. Currently, Puri is India’s Ambassador to the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg.

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The book “The Travelling Belly: Eating Through India’s By-Lanes” has been authored by food blogger Kalyan Karmakar. The author highlights the typical snacks of different regions, often gives an insight into the preferred taste palette of the locals and the popular cuisines in the particular area.

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Prof. Ronald Drever (85), a pioneer in the field of gravitational waves, has recently passed away in Scotland, United Kingdom (UK). He was one of the co-founders of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors that detected the gravitational waves emited by the merger of a binary black hole pair.

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Prof. George A. Olah (89), who won Nobel Prize in chemistry, has recently passed away in California, United States. He won Nobel Prize in 1994 for his groundbreaking research into the unstable carbon molecules known as carbocations.

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The Himachal Pradesh Government has recently launched the mobile app and website ‘Mera Hunar HP’ for job aspirants. It is a first-of- its-kind application in India. Mera Hunar is a web based platform where the skilled, semi-skilled persons can apply for various jobs as per their convenience viz: Plumber, Carpenter, mechanic, security guards, drivers, tourists guides, etc. The platform is available both in English and Hindi. This platform will directly connect the prospective employers with the job seekers as the application will contain the address and the phone numbers of those looking for jobs and other details as well.This will benefit those looking for daily jobs within their area.