11. Which Indian celebrity is at the top spot in the latest brand valuation study by Duff & Phelps?
[A] Akshay Kumar
[B] Virat Kohli
[C] P V Sindhu
[D] Deepika Padukone
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Virat Kohli]
Notes:
Indian Cricket star Virat Kohli retains his top rank in the latest brand valuation study by Duff & Phelps. He is placed at the first spot third year in a row.
The report revealed that Virat Kohli has increased his brand value by 40 per cent to $237.5 million in 2019. The second place was bagged by Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar, who pushed the last year’s second rank holder Deepika Padukone to third. The third spot is shared by actor Ranveer Singh. Former Indian captain M.S.Dhoni is placed at 9th place in the list.
12. What is the profession of Christina Koch, who recently created a world record?
[A] Sportsperson
[B] Astronaut
[C] Writer
[D] Musician
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Astronaut]
Notes:
The noted astronaut of the US- based National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Christina Koch recently completed the longest-ever single spaceflight by a woman.
Christina Koch landed through a parachute at Kazakhstan, from the Russian Soyuz spacecraft she was onboard. She had created a record by spending 328 days on the International Space Station (ISS) and surpassed the previous record held by the American astronaut Peggy Whitson. In October last year, she performed the first all-female spacewalk along with her fellow astronaut Jessica Meir.
13. Which state is set to host the Hornbill Festival this month, which was originally celebrated in Nagaland?
[A] Assam
[B] Tripura
[C] Mizoram
[D] Meghalaya
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Tripura]
Notes:
Tripura government is to hold the two-day Hornbill Festival for the first time from February 8, 2020. The festival has been an important state festival of Nagaland, which is usually held in the month of December in the Naga heritage village of Nagaland.
Tripura hosts the festival with an aim to conserve the Hornbill bird and to boost the livelihood of the state’s people through tourism. Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur also had started organising the Hornbill festival in their states, following Nagaland.
14. What is the projected growth rate of India, during the next financial year 2020-21, as per the recent Monetary policy of RBI?
[A] 5%
[B] 5.5%
[C] 6%
[D] 6.5%
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [6%]
Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently projected the economic growth of the country to grow by 6 per cent during the next financial year. This is the lower end of the growth projection as announced by the government in the economic survey, which estimated a rate of 6-6.5 per cent. RBI also stated that the Indian economy continues to be weak.
The first half of the year would grow in the range of 5.5-6.0 per cent and the third quarter at 6.2 per cent, as per the RBI. But this projection is higher than the GDP growth projection of 5%, made in the monetary policy statement of December 2019.
15. Who has been named as the head of the trust for construction of the Ram Temple, which was recently constituted by the Centre?
[A] K. K. Venugopal
[B] K Parasaran
[C] G E Vahanvati
[D] Maninder Acharya
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [K Parasaran]
Notes:
As per the Supreme Court ruling on November 9, 2019, a trust had to be set up for the construction of the Ram Temple within three months of the court order. Hence the Indian Government constituted the trust, which is named as ‘the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra’.
Former Attorney General of India, Advocate K Parasaran has been named as the head of the trust, which will function at his residence in Delhi. The advocate had earlier represented the litigant ‘Ram Lalla’ in the dispute and earned the verdict in its favour. An independent 15-member team has been named as the members of the trust, which will always have a trustee from the Dalit community, as per the Union Home Ministry.
16. ‘Sharang’, which is to be inducted into the Indian Army, is an upgraded version of which weapon?
[A] Artillery gun
[B] Assault rifle
[C] Combat Shotgun
[D] Sniper rifle
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Artillery gun]
Notes:
The Sharang Artillery gun would be inducted into the Indian Army on February 7, 2020, as per the recent announcement of the Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane. The 155 mm-Sharang is an upgraded version of the existing 130 mm M-46 field guns.
He also announced that Sig Sauer assault rifles and Spike anti-tank missiles are being issued to the army troops, who are deployed in the forward areas. The Gun Carriage Factory (GCF) in Jabalpur upgraded the Sharang artillery gun along with the ordnance factories and technical teams of Army and DRDO.
17. The Department of telecommunications (DoT) recently approved the merger of consumer mobile operations of the Tata group with which telecom provider?
[A] Jio
[B] Bharti Airtel
[C] Vodafone Idea
[D] BSNL
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Bharti Airtel]
Notes:
The Department of telecommunications (DoT) recently approved the merger of consumer mobile operations of the Tata group with Bharti Airtel.
During the month of October 2017, the Tata group announced that the company would sell its consumer mobile business to Bharti Airtel. After nearly two years of their plan, the final approval has been granted by DoT. Airtel has acquired Tata’s mobile phone operations across the country in 19 circles across the country. This merger would expand the spectrum availability and 4G coverage of Bharti Airtel.
18. Recently, Esperanza Base on the Antarctic Peninsula reached a temperature of 18.3 °C , thus becoming the hottest on record for continental Antarctica. Esperanza Base is a research station of which country on Antarctica?
[A] France
[B] Portugal
[C] Argentina
[D] England
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Argentina]
Notes:
Esperanza Base (Hope Base) is a permanent, all-year-round Argentine research station in Hope Bay, Trinity Peninsula in Antarctica.
19. Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg, who recently submitted her resignation, was associated with which global organisation?
[A] World Bank
[B] International Monetary Fund
[C] United Nations
[D] Asian Development Bank
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [World Bank]
Notes:
The Chief economist of World Bank, Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg recently announced her resignation. The economist is expected to step down from her role on March 1 and return to teach at Yale University.
Pinelopi Koujianou assumed charge as the Chief economist at the end of April 2018. World Bank President David Malpass announced that Research Director Aart Kraay would take over as an interim Chief economist.
20. Which city is host to the 33rd African Union (AU) summit, being held recently?
[A] Addis Ababa
[B] Nairobi
[C] Cairo
[D] Harare
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Addis Ababa]
Notes:
The 33rd African Union (AU) summit has commenced recently in Addis Ababa, the capital of the African nation Ethiopia. The summit is being held under the theme ‘Silencing the Guns: Creating conducive conditions for Africa’s development’.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, took over as the African Union chair, from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Heads of countries and government officials from across Africa have assembled in the city for participating in the summit.