11. National Horticultural Fair, the country’s biggest horticultural fair, is set to be conducted in which city?
[A] Kanpur
[B] Bengaluru
[C] Shillong
[D] Guwahati
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Bengaluru]
Notes:
The four-day National Horticultural Fair, which is the country’s biggest horticultural fair is set to be organised at the Hessarghatta campus of the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bengaluru.
Indian Institute of Horticultural Research organises the national-level fair, which is scheduled to be held from February 5 to 8, 2020. The theme of this year’s fair is ‘Making farming an enterprise’. More than 50,000 farmers from various States of the country are expected to take part in the exhibition. Several crop varieties, horticultural technologies and practices are to be showcased in the fair.
12. As per a recent report on medical data leaks, which state is at the top of Indian states that are affected by leaks in medical details?
[A] Madhya Pradesh
[B] Mizoram
[C] Maharashtra
[D] West Bengal
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Maharashtra]
Notes:
A German cybersecurity firm called Greenbone Sustainable Resilience recently published a report on medical data leaks. It revealed that the medical details of more than 120 million Indian patients have been leaked and made available on the Internet.
The state of Maharashtra is placed at the top of the list of states that are affected by the data leak, followed by Karnataka and West Bengal. It also classifies countries in three categories of good, bad and ugly, based on the action taken by the governments after its first report was released. India is placed second in the ugly category.
13. The Union Cabinet recently approved to confer the status of Institution of National Importance (INI) to how many Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs)?
[A] 2
[B] 3
[C] 4
[D] 5
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [5]
Notes:
The Union Cabinet recently approved the Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020, to confer the status of Institution of National Importance (INI) to five Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs).
The Five IIITs in Public-Private-Partnership mode at Surat, Bhopal, Bhagalpur, Agartala and Raichur are to conferred with the INI status. After the status has been granted, the institutions would be able to award degrees and to use the nomenclature of Bachelor of Technology (BTech) or Master of Technology (MTech) or PhD degree. The existing 15 IIITs had already been provided with the INI status.
14. Which state/UT has recently renamed its Public Health Engineering, Irrigation and Flood Control Department as the ‘Jal Shakti Department’?
[A] New Delhi
[B] Puducherry
[C] Jammu and Kashmir
[D] Chandigarh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Jammu and Kashmir]
Notes:
The Administrative Council under the chairmanship of Lt Governor G C Murmu recently approved the renaming of the state’s Public Health Engineering, Irrigation and Flood Control Department as the ‘Jal Shakti Department’.
The council also approved the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission and the strategy to achieve 100 per cent coverage of piped water supply across the UT, by December 2021. It was also proposed to set up a Mission Directorate of Jal Jeevan Mission for implementation of the scheme. Seven districts of the UT would be covered for 100 per cent piped water supply by June 2020, in the initial phase.
15. Which state recently signed agreement with the Survey of India, to use drones in land surveys for mapping the villages of the state?
[A] Odisha
[B] Telangana
[C] Madhya Pradesh
[D] Rajasthan
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Madhya Pradesh]
Notes:
The state government of Madhya Pradesh recently announced that drones would be used in land surveys for mapping the villages. The Revenue department of Madhya Pradesh has signed agreement in this regard with the national mapping agency, Survey of India.
The land survey work is being done manually or with the assistance of satellite images, until now in the state. As many as 55 thousand villages of the state have been selected for mapping. Using the drone technology, the map of the area will be made on a scale of 1:500, for a better resolution. Last year in August, Maharashtra started using drones for mapping its villages.
16. Which Hollywood actor is playing Dr. Kalam in his upcoming biopic?
[A] Nuveen Andrews
[B] Michael C. Hall
[C] Muhammad Ali
[D] Terry O’Quinn
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Muhammad Ali]
Notes:
Hollywood actor Muhammad Ali is playing Dr. Kalama’s role in the movie. The movie is a co-production of Suvarna Pappu, Managing Director of a Hollywood Production House, Hollywood Director, Jagadeesh Daneti and Hollywood Producer & Director Johnny Martin.
17. Which city recently organized the Nutan International Theatre Festival (NITF)?
[A] New Delhi
[B] Chandigarh
[C] Jammu
[D] Dehradun
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Jammu]
Notes:
The Nutan International Theatre Festival (NITF) began on Feb 1 in Jammu and has veen a big it. This is first time in history of Jammu & Kashmir that a theatre festival of international repute was organized here.
18. Arun-III, is the hydropower project of which country, to be built with assistance from India?
[A] Sri Lanka
[B] Bangladesh
[C] Nepal
[D] Bhutan
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Nepal]
Notes:
India and Nepal recently signed the financial closure of Arun-III, which is the largest hydropower project of Nepal. The 900 MW hydropower project is under construction in Nepal, with an estimated cost of $1.04 million.
The project, which is to be built with the financial assistance from India, is to be completed in 5 years. It is being built by Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) Arun-III Power Development Company (SAPDC), a joint venture of the Government of India and the Government of Himachal Pradesh.
19. Which country won its maiden Under-19 World Cup title, in this year’s ICC World cup cricket tournament?
[A] Afghanistan
[B] Pakistan
[C] Bangladesh
[D] Sri Lanka
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Bangladesh]
Notes:
The Cricket team of Bangladesh has clinched its maiden Under-19 World Cup title, in the ICC World cup 2020 cricket tournament, held at Potchefstroom, South Africa.
They beat the Indian team led by Priyam Garg in the Super League final match, by 3 wickets. The team was announced to have won, by D/L method. This is India’s seventh final appearance and the team has missed to earn its record fifth World Cup title.
20. The storm ‘Ciara’ recently hit several countries of which continent?
[A] Asia
[B] Europe
[C] Australia
[D] North America
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Europe]
Notes:
European countries witnessed a devastating storm named ‘Ciara’, which caused huge damage and killed as many as six people. The hurricane-force winds and heavy rains damaged several thousand buildings in the region.
The storm moved on near Germany, after hitting Britain and Ireland. It was called as ‘Ciara’ by the Irish weather service and dubbed as ‘Sabine’ in Germany. Flood warnings are given and flight operations are suspended in the countries.