21. Which country has been recently hit by ‘African Plume Heatwave’?
[A] UK
[B] USA
[C] Australia
[D] Brazil
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [UK]
Notes:
The arrival of Africa plume heatwave in the UK is expected to cause extreme heatwave conditions in the country.
African plume heatwave is the meteorological phenomena that is marked the mass of hot air coming from the Sahara Desert towards Europe.
22. What is the new statutory authority recently formed that will be headed by the Chief Minister of Delhi?
[A] National Capital Civil Service Authority
[B] National Civil Service Authority
[C] National Principal Secretary Authority
[D] National Home Authority
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [National Capital Civil Service Authority]
Notes:
The Central Government has recently introduced the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023 to create the National Capital Civil Service Authority (NCCSA).
It is a new statutory authority that will be headed by the Chief Minister of Delhi in addition to the Chief Secretary and the Principal Secretary of the Home department.
23. Which state has recently commenced removal of dotted lands in the state from prohibited list?
[A] Andhra Pradesh
[B] Tamil Nadu
[C] Gujarat
[D] Uttar Pradesh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Andhra Pradesh]
Notes:
A dotted land is a disputed land that does not have a clear ownership documents. The Andhra Pradesh government has recently commenced the removal of dotted lands in the state from prohibited list.
Over 2 lakh acres of the British-era dotted lands have been identified for permanent denotification.
24. ‘YZ Ceti b’ was seen in news recently, it is a/an:
[A] Asteroid
[B] Crater on Mars
[C] Moon of Pluto
[D] Exoplanet
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Exoplanet]
Notes:- YZ Ceti b is a rocky, earth-sized exoplanet rotating around a small red dwarf star and is 12 light-years from Earth.
- Astronomers have detected a repeating radio signal from this exoplanet that suggests the presence of a magnetic field around it.
25. Which state/UT recently approved the ordinance Amending Hospital Protection Act?
[A] Tamil Nadu
[B] Kerala
[C] Karnataka
[D] Andhra Pradesh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Kerala]
Notes:
The Kerala Cabinet has recently approved the ordinance amending the Kerala Healthcare Service Persons and Healthcare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act, 2012.
The ordinance includes a strict penal provision against perpetrators of violence against hospitals.
26. Consider the following statements with respect to the recently launched device TEMPO:
- It has been launched by Australian government to monitor the impact of climate change on coral bleaching.
- It will be placed in low Earth orbit.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
[A] Only 1
[B] Only 2
[C] Both 1 & 2
[D] Neither 1 nor 2
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Neither 1 nor 2]
Notes:- The Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) instrument was launched by NASA in a Falcon 9 rocket. The instrument will measure pollution and air quality across greater North America on an hourly basis during the daytime.
- Existing pollution-monitoring satellites are in low Earth orbit (LEO), but TEMPO will be hosted in geostationary orbit.
- TEMPO will be part of a constellation of instruments measuring air quality over the Northern Hemisphere which includes the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-4 (under development) and South Korea’s Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer.
27. ‘Robert E Lucas’ who passed away recently, was associated with which field?
[A] Physics
[B] Economics
[C] Medicine
[D] Literature
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Economics]
Notes:
Nobel laureate Robert E Lucas has recently passed away at the age of 85. He was an American economist at the University of Chicago.
Dr. Lucas, the recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in economic sciences, was best known for his role in developing a concept called the theory of rational expectations approach in macroeconomics.
28. Application Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA) was in news recently, it was introduced by which of the following organizations/institutes?
[A] National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
[B] National Institution for Transforming India
[C] Reserve Bank of India
[D] Securities and Exchange Board of India
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Securities and Exchange Board of India ]
Notes:- Application Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA) was introduced by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in 2008.
- ASBA is an application containing an authorization to block the application money in the bank account, for subscribing to an initial public offering (IPO).
- ASBA gives an explicit authorisation to a Self-Certified Syndicate Bank (SCSB) to block the application money in the bank account for subscribing to an issue (IPO).
- SCSBs are SEBI authorized banks that confirm to the conditions laid by SEBI and capable of providing ASBA services to its customers.
- SEBI has introduced (ASBA)-like facility for trading in the secondary market.
- ASBA in secondary market trading will ensure that clients will continue to earn interest on the blocked funds in their savings account till the debit takes place.
29. Gekko mizoramensis was discovered recently in which state/UT?
[A] Assam
[B] Mizoram
[C] West Bengal
[D] Kerala
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Mizoram]
Notes:
Gekko mizoramensis was discovered in Mizoram by researchers of Mizoram University and Germany-based Max Planck Institute for Biology.
It is a gliding gecko, a subgenus found in Southeast Asia. The lizard is named as Parachute Gecko because of skin flaps along the body and tail that enable it to glide.
30. W12+ Blueprint was in news recently, it is a:
[A] Set of database for solutions to achieve safe drinking water for all
[B] Set of database for solutions to urban water challenges
[C] Set of database for solutions to clean Indian rivers
[D] Set of database for solutions to increase the ground water level
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Set of database for solutions to urban water challenges]
Notes:- The W12+ Blueprint committed knowledge sharing for water security challenges at Un Water Conference 2023.
- The W12+ Blueprint is one of the W12+ programs for urban water challenges.
- The W12+ Blueprint is an online information tool for urban water solutions.
- It was launched by two NGOs (SOS and ECOCIV) in partnership with UNESCO IHP.
- The platform is dynamic, interactive knowledge-sharing database of case studies and best-practice water solutions at city-level.
- The W12+ Blueprint is an informational database for solutions to urban water challenges.
- Two cities from India are listed in this Blueprint: Bengaluru – Community Leadership for Water Source Rejuvenation and Chennai- Rainwater Harvesting Policy for Enhanced Supply.
