1. When is the ‘International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances’ observed?
[A] August 30
[B] September 1
[C] September 2
[D] September 4
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [August 30]
Notes:
- ‘International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances’ is marked every year on August 30, across the world.
- The day is observed to honour and pay tribute to people who have faced enforced disappearances.
- On December 21, 2010, the United Nations General Assembly officially proclaimed August 30 as the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.
- The Assembly also welcomed the adoption of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
2. Which institution releases the Quarterly House Price Index (HPI)?
[A] National Housing Bank
[B] Reserve Bank of India
[C] NITI Aayog
[D] National Statistics Office
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Reserve Bank of India]
Notes:
- The Reserve Bank releases a quarterly house price index (HPI) based on transaction-level data received from housing registration authorities in ten major cities.
- The cities are Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, and Mumbai.
- According to RBI data, the growth in all-India House Price Index (HPI) slowed to 2 per cent in the first quarter this fiscal against 2.8 per cent in the last year.
- The HPI growth ranged from an expansion of 8.8 per cent (Ahmedabad) to a contraction of (-) 5.1 per cent (Chennai).
3. Supertech twin tower case, which was seen in the news recently, is associated with which state?
[A] Kerala
[B] Uttar Pradesh
[C] Karnataka
[D] Maharashtra
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Uttar Pradesh]
Notes:
- The Supreme Court ordered the demolition of the twin towers that had come up in violation of building bye-laws in Supertech’s Emerald Court housing project in Noida.
- The Court also ordered that the towers be razed within three months for violation of building norms in agreement with district officials.
- Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has called for an inquiry and strict action against guilty officers in Noida in the illegal twin tower case.
- The Chief Minister also directed officers to register a criminal case against guilty persons.
4. The multi-nation military exercise named ‘ZAPAD 2021’ is held in which country?
[A] Russia
[B] China
[C] Sri Lanka
[D] India
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Russia]
Notes:
- Indian Army is participating in Exercise ZAPAD 2021, a multination exercise at Nizhniy, Russia from 3 to 16 September.
- The two-week military exercise named ‘ZAPAD 2021’ aimed at boosting anti-terror cooperation.
- More than a dozen countries from Eurasia and South Asia will also participate in the same exercise. China and Pakistan are also expected to take part in the exercise as observers.
- A contingent of 200 personnel of the Indian Army will participate in an exercise.
5. Who has been appointed as the Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)?
[A] J B Mohapatra
[B] Rajesh Damor
[C] Pramod Y Devikar
[D] Deepa Rasal
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [J B Mohapatra]
Notes:
- Senior bureaucrat J B Mohapatra has been appointed the chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
- Mohapatra, is a 1985-batch Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) officer, is currently the member in the board that frames the policy for the Income Tax department.
- The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of J B Mohapatra, as the Chairman of CBDT.
- After the extended tenure of incumbent P C Mody had ended, Mohapatra has been holding the additional charge of CBDT chairman since May 31.
6. Which state has launched ‘Innovation Mission’, a public-private partnership, to boost start-up sector?
[A] Telangana
[B] Punjab
[C] Andhra Pradesh
[D] Tamil Nadu
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Punjab]
Notes:
- Chief Minister Amarinder Singh launched ‘Innovation Mission Punjab’ (IMPunjab), a public-private partnership, to boost start-up sector.
- The Mission aims to bring in global investors and experts to promote start-ups.
- The mission will be accelerated by the private sector with strong government backing.
- As partners, the Department of Agriculture, Industries and Commerce, Mandi Board and Startup Punjab are providing around Rs. 30 crores in cash and kind.
7. Which Indian state/UT has proposed the ‘School bubble’ concept to mitigate the spread of Covid-19?
[A] Tamil Nadu
[B] Karnataka
[C] Kerala
[D] Jharkhand
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Karnataka]
Notes:
- The Covid-19 technical advisory committee (TAC) constituted by the Karnataka government has proposed the ‘school bubble’ concept.
- It aims to mitigate the spread of the disease among children attending offline classes at schools and colleges across the state.
- School bubbles are physical classifications made between groups comprising a small number of students.
- As per the concept, each such bubble will include students who will be made as a group during school hours throughout the term or an academic year.
8. The Fukutoku-Okanoba volcano, which was seen in the news recently, is located in which country?
[A] Japan
[B] China
[C] Philippines
[D] Australia
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Japan]
Notes:
- The Fukutoku-Okanoba volcano, is situated in Japan.
- It is located at about 80 feet below the sea, five kilometres north of Japan’s South Iwo Jima Island.
- As per the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the underwater volcano that exploded in the Pacific Ocean, mid-August, poses a risk to the passage of planes and ships.
- This is regarded as unusual as the eruptions from submarine volcanoes did not reach the height that the plume did.
9. Which country has recently developed a prototype miniature helicopter for surveillance work on future Mars missions?
[A] Russia
[B] China
[C] UAE
[D] India
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [China]
Notes:
- China has developed a prototype miniature helicopter for surveillance work on future Mars missions, according to its space science agency.
- A few months ago, China achieved the historic landing of a robotic rover on the red planet.
- The prototype is similar in appearance to the robotic helicopter Ingenuity, developed by NASA for its Perseverance mission.
- As per the space agency, the helicopter could be a tool for China’s follow-up exploration on Mars.
10. Corbevax is a vaccine candidate of which pharma company?
[A] Johnson and Johnson
[B] Pfizer
[C] Biological E
[D] Ranbaxy
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Biological E]
Notes:
- Corbevax is the COVID 19 vaccine candidate, produced by Hyderabad based pharma company Biological E.
- Recently, the company has received the nod from Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for conducting two clinical trials of the vaccine.
- The company has also received approval from DGCI to conduct phase 2 and 3 trials on children aged 5 – 18.
- The company has received assistance form Government of India under the Mission COVID Suraksha for development of this vaccine.
