GK & Current Affairs: January 17, 18, 2015

Current Affairs Questions and Answers for January 17 and 18, 2015 on IRENA, Olympic 2016 Mascot, Great Rift Valley, India’s first canal top solar project, Brisbane international title, Ashok Srinivasan

1. For which among the following books, Ashok Srinivasan has been named winner of “The Hindu Prize-2014” ?
[A]Book of Common Signs
[B]The Beauty Myth
[C]Dork Trilogy
[D]Cutting for Stone
Answer: Book of Common Signs
Notes:
Ashok Srinivasan won The Hindu Prize-2014 for his work ‘Book of Common Signs”. Book of Common Signs is a collection of 13 short stories.
2. The winner of women’s Brisbane International Title 2015 in professional tennis tournaments is __?
[A]Ana Ivanovic
[B]Maria Sharapova
[C]Elina Svitolina
[D]Yaroslava Shvedova
Answer: Maria Sharapova
Notes:
Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova won the Brisbane International Title-2015 by defeating Ana Ivanovic.
3. Recently, UN chief Ban Ki-Moon has inaugurated the India’s first-ever canal top solar power plant in __?
[A]Rajasthan
[B]Gujarat
[C]Haryana
[D]Madhya Pradesh
Answer: Gujarat
Notes:
United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-Moon has inaugurated the canal top solar power plant in Gujarat. The 1 megawatt project envisaged covering of 3.6km of Vododara branch of Narmada river canal with solar panels.
4. The union ministry of water resource has decided to celebrate the year 2015-16 as ____?
[A]Jal Samruddi Varsh
[B]Jal Kranti Varsh
[C]Jal Shuddi Varsh
[D]Jal Neeti Varsh
Answer: Jal Kranti Varsh
Notes:
The Union Minister for Water Resources has decided to observe the Year 2015-16 as ‘Jal Kranti Varsh (Year)’ across the country. The move is to create awareness the need of conservation and saving of water.
5. The “Great Rift Valley”, an intra-continental ridge system is located in ____?
[A]Asia
[B]Australia
[C]Africa
[D]South America
Answer: Africa
Notes:
The Great Rift Valley is a part of an intra-continental ridge system running north to south for around 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometres), from northern Syria to central Mozambique in East Africa.
6. Which among the following are the only banks from India listed in the top 50 global banks in terms of market capitalisation, recently?
[A]HDFC and SBI
[B]SBI and Axis Bank
[C]Axis Bank and ICICI
[D]ICICI and SBI
Answer: HDFC and SBI
Notes:
HDFC and SBI are the only banks from India to figure in a list of the top 50 global banks in terms of market capitalisation. HDFC Bank, India’s second-largest private bank in terms of asset size, ranks 45th, with a market capitalisation of $39 billion and SBI is ranked 46th ($38 billion). Reference
7. The names of mascots for 2016 Rio Olympic Games and Paralympics Games are respectively__?
[A]Polo & Amik
[B]Wenlock and Mandeville
[C]Vinicius & Tom
[D]Roni & Amik
Answer: Vinicius & Tom
Notes:
Vinicius and Tom are the names of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and Paralympics Games. These are names of two great Brazilian musicians Vinicius de Moraes and Tom Jobim. The mascot Vinicius is a yellow feline animal, which represents Brazil’s rich floral and faunal diversity.
8. According to RBI guidelines, the net NPA of a bank should be less which among the following fractions of overall assets to be eligible for insurance broking?
[A]Five percent
[B]Three percent
[C]Seven percent
[D]Eight percent
Answer: Three percent
Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India has issued the final guidelines for banks to become insurance brokers. As per the guidelines, the net NPA of a bank should be less than three per cent of overall assets to be eligible for insurance broking.
9. Which one of the following banks has topped the list of top 50 most-valued global banks in terms of market capitalisation?
[A]JP Morgan Chase
[B]Wells Fargo
[C]ICBC
[D]Banks of China
Answer: ICBC
Notes:
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) tops the list of global banks. ICBC has market capitalisation of $285 billion. Wells Fargo ($263 billion) ranked second in the list.
10. The headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) are located in __?
[A]New York
[B]Cairo
[C]Abu Dhabi
[D]Geneva
Answer: Abu Dhabi
Notes:
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is headquartered in Abu Dhabi. IRENA is an intergovernmental organisation to promote adoption and use of renewable energy. It was founded in 2009 and its statue entered into force on 8 July 2010.

The above 5 questions are part of Daily Current Affairs 20 MCQs Series in GKToday Android Application. This series can be subscribed in the app only for Rs. 799/- for entire year. Download Now

12 Comments

  1. aditi dubey

    January 24, 2015 at 11:31 am

    Dear Team, please update GK and current affairs for Madhya pradesh state PSC.
    Thanks alot.

  2. vivek agarwal

    February 6, 2015 at 9:39 pm

    Dear Tream,please update GK and current affairs for lic aao.
    Thanks alot.

  3. manish singh

    February 12, 2015 at 3:04 pm

    its very well for prepareing to any enternce exam…….
    thanx for gk,…….

  4. Shivanki chaudhary

    February 12, 2015 at 6:13 pm

    Pls send all current gk on my e-mail

  5. Rahul

    February 17, 2015 at 6:52 pm

    Please provide general awareness for shipping corporation of india (SCI) exam.

  6. shalini

    March 24, 2015 at 7:11 pm

    this site is really very gud….
    its a complete package for current affairs…..

  7. shalini

    March 24, 2015 at 7:12 pm

    this site is really very gud…its a complete package for current affairs…..

  8. basant kumar pradhan

    March 30, 2015 at 5:34 pm

    this site is very useful for prepareing competative exam……

  9. jyothi

    April 7, 2015 at 9:51 pm

    Nice to know unknown things useful for knowledge increase.

  10. shafath

    April 10, 2015 at 1:32 pm

    Dear Team,Please update Gk and Current affairs for Utter Pradesh
    Thinks …

  11. NIDHI DWIVEDI

    May 18, 2015 at 12:18 pm

    Please update Gk & current affair of 2015

  12. Gokul Kanneganti

    June 4, 2015 at 12:30 pm

    1) Regarding 9th question wells cargo is the largest bank and 2nd position goes to ICBC.
    2) Question 3… it is India’s 2nd canal top solar power project. 1st canal project was also is in gujarat.
    Please correct them.

Leave a Reply to aditi dubey Cancel reply