11. Which American astronaut has recently set the record for the longest stay in space by a woman?
[A] Jessica Meir
[B] Anne McClain
[C] Nicole Aunapu Mann
[D] Christina Koch
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Christina Koch]
Notes:
Christina Koch has set the record for the longest stay in space by a woman. The U.S. astronaut landed in Kazakhstan on February 6 after 328 days on the International Space Station (ISS).
12. The Pollution Control Board of which state recently received the national award for e-Governance 2019-20?
[A] Odisha
[B] Kerala
[C] Telangana
[D] Andhra Pradesh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Andhra Pradesh]
Notes:
The Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) bagged the national award for e-Governance 2019-20 for its Real-Time Pollution-Monitoring System (RTPMS) project, during the 23rd National Conference on e-Governance held in Mumbai.
Under the RPTMS project, an alert is sent to the concerned officials if an industrial unit exceeds the desired pollution levels.
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. Which Union Ministry has recently launched the web portal for ‘Star rating of Coal mines’?
[A] Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
[B] Ministry of Coal
[C] Ministry of Mines
[D] Ministry of Earth Sciences
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Ministry of Coal]
Notes:
Ministry of Coal (MoC) has recently launched a web portal for star rating of coal mines. Under the portal, all operational coal mines across the country will be enabled for self-rating. The mines will be subsequently validated by Coal Controller’s Organization (CCO), the subordinate office of Ministry of Coal.
The mechanism on the portal would award star rating to the mines with certain evaluation parameters under 7 modules.
16. ‘We Think Digital’ is a digital literacy program of which global technological company?
[A] Google
[B] Facebook
[C] Apple
[D] Amazon
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Facebook]
Notes:
We Think Digital is a global digital literacy program of the technology major Facebook. The program was launched in 2019 with an aim to overcome gender imbalance on the internet space.
Recently, Facebook launched ‘We Think Digital’ program in Uttar Pradesh, in association with National Commission for Women (NCW) and Cyber Peace Foundation. The program aims to provide digital literacy to nearly 1,00,000 women across seven Indian states.
17. What is the theme of the ‘World Radio Day, 2020’, observed on February 13?
[A] Radio and Diversity
[B] Radio across World
[C] Radio and Multilingualism
[D] Connecting through Air
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Radio and Diversity]
Notes:
The proclamation of UNESCO member states was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2013 to celebrate February 13 as the World Radio Day. The theme of this year’s celebration is “Radio and Diversity’.
The day celebrated to raise awareness about the importance of radio and access to information. This year, the day is celebrated across the world, led by UNESCO. It has started a campaign called ‘We are Radio; We are Diversity’.
18. Amit Panghal, who was seen in news recently, is a famous personality associated with which sports?
[A] Archery
[B] Boxing
[C] Wrestling
[D] Tennis
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Boxing]
Notes:
Indian ace boxer Amit Panghal was seen in news, as he has been ranked first by the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Boxing Task Force ahead of next month’s Olympic Qualifiers.
With this, Amit became the first Indian boxer to be ranked first, in more than a decade. Before Amit, Vijender Singh was ranked first in 2009. The IOC Task force will conduct the Olympic qualifiers and the main event in Tokyo, as the International Boxing association is currently suspended.
19. Global code hosting platform GitHub, which recently launched its operations in India, is owned by which technological company?
[A] Google
[B] Microsoft
[C] Amazon
[D] Apple
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Microsoft]
Notes:
Global open-source code hosting and software development platform GitHub, recently launched its operations in India in the name ‘GitHub India Private Limited’.
It is owned by the Tech major Google, as it acquired the platform two years ago for $7.5 billion. The platform offers distributed version control and source code management. The software development platform is used by several million organisations.
20. Which country recently approved the sale of an Integrated Air Defence Weapon System to India?
[A] Russia
[B] Israel
[C] France
[D] United States
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [United States]
Notes:
The United States has recently approved the sale of an Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS) to India. The Weapon system is to be sold for an estimated cost of $1.9 billion. India would deploy the IADWS to modernise its armed forces and enhance its air defence architecture.
The trade deal is proposed to be signed during the visit of the US President Donald Trump to India, in the month of February, 2020.