GK & Current Affairs – January 27, 2016

1. Which of the following states has been celebrating the Red Panda Winter Festival 2016?
[A]Nagaland
[B]Meghalaya
[C]Sikkim
[D]Assam
Answer: Sikkim
The Red Panda Winter Festival 2016 was started in Sikkim on 23 January. It ends on 31 January. The festival promises to be a grandiose nine-day event of culture, food, harmony and celebrations.
2. The headquarters of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) will come up in which city?
[A]Chandigarh
[B]Gurgaon
[C]Mysuru
[D]Surat
Answer: Gurgaon
The headquarters of the International Solar Alliance will come up on a 5-acre plot on the National Institute of Solar Energy campus in Gurgaon. It is the first time India to have headquarters of an international and inter-governmental organization. India has promised Rs 175 crore for constructing the building, other infrastructure and meeting the recurring expenditure for five years. This is part of the Rs 400-crore pledge that India has made for the ISA.
3. What is the position of India in the Corruption Perceptions Index 2015?
[A]55th
[B]76th
[C]87th
[D]95th
Answer: 76th
The Berlin-based corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI) has ranked India at 76 out of 168 countries in its latest Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2015. The list is topped by Denmark followed by Finland, Sweden, New Zealand and Netherlands. The ranks of some important countries are as follows: Bhutan (27), China (83), Sri Lanka (83), Pakistan (117), Nepal (130) and Bangladesh (139). The CPI is based on expert opinions of public sector corruption. Countries’ scores can be helped by open government where the public can hold leaders to account, while a poor score is a sign of prevalent bribery, lack of punishment for corruption and public institutions that don’t respond to citizens’ needs.
4. Who has been honoured with Order of Australia for his service to dentistry in the state?
[A]Nitish Goswami
[B]Nandan Karmani
[C]Sajeev Koshy
[D]Sanjeevni Ghosh
Answer: Sajeev Koshy
Three Indian-origin persons have been awarded Australia’s highest civilian honour for their contribution in the fields of physics, engineering and medicine. Chennupati Jagadish, an eminent professor at Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, Jay Chandra, an eye doctor in New South Wales, and Sajeev Koshy,a dentist in Melbourne, received Order of Australia medal for the year 2016.
5. Which is the first train in the country where all its coaches are Braille-embedded?
[A]Chamundi Express
[B]Mysuru-Talguppa Express
[C]Purushottam Express
[D]Mysuru-Varanasi Express
Answer: Mysuru-Varanasi Express
The Mysuru-Varanasi Express is the first Braille-embedded in India where all reserved coaches have embedded Braille signage. It has been provided with metallic Braille signage indicating berth numbers, location of alarm chains, toilets and emergency windows. There are also instructions on how to operate the emergency exit windows. The Puri-Delhi Purushottam Express was the first train to have a Braille-embedded coach. However, the Mysuru-Varanasi Express is the first train in the country in which all coaches are Braille-embedded.
6. On which date, the International Customs Day is observed?
[A]January 26
[B]March 25
[C]April 27
[D]May 30
Answer: January 26
The International Customs Day (ICD) has been observed on January 26 every year to recognize the role of custom officials and agencies in maintaining border security. It focuses on the working conditions and challenges that customs officers face in their jobs. The 2016 theme is “Digital Customs – Progressive Engagement”.
7. Which is the focal theme country for the 2016 International Kolkata book fair (IKBF)?
[A]France
[B]Russia
[C]Afghanistan
[D]Bolivia
Answer: Bolivia
The International Kolkata Book Fair (IKBF) is the worlds largest non-trade book fair. Bolivia is the theme country of this year. The book fair is open for general public between January 26 and February 7.
8. Marvin Minsky, who passed away recently, was related to which fields?
[A]Film director
[B]Journalist
[C]Fiction writer
[D]Computer scientist
Answer: Computer scientist
Marvin Minsky (88), the founding father of artificial intelligence, passed away in United States. He was a mathematician, computer scientist, and was the co-founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s AI laboratory and author of several texts on AI and philosophy.
9. Deborah Herold is associated with which of the following sports?
[A]Cycling
[B]Swimming
[C]Table Tennis
[D]Rugby
Answer: Cycling
Deborah Herold, the 20-year-old cyclist from the Andamans created history by qualifying for the 2016 Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Track Cycling World Championships for the first time in India’s history. In last December, Deborah had become the first Indian female cyclist to reach the heights of fourth place in the UCI individual world ranking.
10. What is the name of the 24 hour classical music audio channel launched by the All India Radio (AIR)?
[A]Classic Country
[B]Raagam
[C]Ganam
[D]Classic Tunes
Answer: Raagam
All India Radio (AIR) has launched a non-conventional audio broadcast channel through Internet and ‘free dish’ with easy accessibility to it for connoisseurs of art, especially classical music- both Carnatic and Hindustani. The Channel, known as ‘RAAGAM’, is in public domain round the clock with Mobile App.

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