11. Union Cabinet of India approved Alliance Air to start flight operations between India and which country, by waiving 20-aircraft rule?
[A] Sri Lanka
[B] Mauritius
[C] Thailand
[D] Singapore
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Sri Lanka]
Notes:
The Union Cabinet has granted approval to Alliance Air to fly between India and Sri Lanka, by waiving the rule that an airline needs to own minimum 20 aircrafts to operate internationally.
Alliance Air, which is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Air India, has five years of experience but does not have 20 aircrafts. A special exemption is allowed for the interim period, until the airline deploys the higher among- a minimum of 20 aircraft or 20 per cent of total capacity. There was no commercial operation scheduled from Palaly and Batticaloa airports of Sri Lanka, before this approval.
12. 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.
13. Leading car-maker Ford recently inaugurated its technology and innovation centre at which Indian city?
[A] Hyderabad
[B] Gurugram
[C] Chennai
[D] Mumbai
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Chennai]
Notes:
Leading car-maker Ford recently inaugurated its technology and innovation centre in the southern Indian city, Chennai. The Centre was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Edapadi K Palaniswami along with the President and MD of Ford India.
The centre spanning over 15,000 sq. ft, is located at the Global Technology and Business Centre (GTBC) campus of Ford, in the Special Economic Zone of the city. The Centre has several state-of-the -art facilities including Mobility Experience Lab. It also has simulations for the Office Raid, an application-based mobility solution of Ford.
14. Raju Bharatan, who passed away recently, was a famous personality in which field?
[A] Arts
[B] Politics
[C] Business
[D] Sports journalism
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Sports journalism]
Notes:
The 86-year-old renowned cricket journalist and film historian Raju Bharatan recently passed away. Raju Bharatan had worked with the news magazine-‘Illustrated Weekly of India’ for more than 40 years. He has worked with several famous personalities including Khushwant Singh.
Raju Bharatan was also a columnist in sports magazines. He is the director of “The Victory Story” (1974) the first full-length cricket documentary. The film was based the first victory of the Indian cricket team over England during the tour of 1972. He was also a film historian and he had given voices for several cricket matches in radio.
15. In the wake of the coronavirus fears, recently the Baltic Dry Index sank to all time low plunging into negative territory. What is tracked by Baltic Dry Index?
[A] Crude Oil Prices
[B] Freight Rates
[C] Tourist Arrivals
[D] International Flights
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Freight Rates]
Notes:
Baltic Dry index tracking freight rates for world’s largest cargo ships recently plunged into negative territory due to coronovirus.
16. Which Indian crop faces danger due to a fungus called Alternaria brassicae as per recent news?
[A] Rice
[B] Wheat
[C] Mustard
[D] Sugarcane
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Mustard]
Notes:
Alternaria brassicae is a fungus that causes blight in the Mustard and Rapeseed crops. Yield in a field infected by fungus Alternaria brassicae can come down by as much as by 47 per cent, if remedial measures are not taken.
17. Which state announced that a centre called ‘Bharosa centre’, to monitor the impact of social media on youth?
[A] Uttar Pradesh
[B] Maharashtra
[C] Madhya Pradesh
[D] Odisha
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Maharashtra]
Notes:
The state of Maharashtra recently announced that ‘Bharosa Centre’ would be launched in the state to monitor the impact of social media on youth.
The proposed Centre would comprise a psychologist, woman police officer and counsellor in the Raigad district of the state to monitor the impact of social media on youth. The announcement was made during the closing ceremony of the seventh Aurangabad International Film Festival.
18. 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.
19. The cricket team of which country was recently presented with the ICC Women’s Championship trophy?
[A] England
[B] South Africa
[C] Australia
[D] New Zealand
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Australia]
Notes:
The Australian team was presented with the ICC Women’s Championship trophy. The team has retained the trophy by topping in eight-team ODI competition played from 2017 to 2020.
Australia has scored 34 points from 18 matches with one more series to play. The ICC Women’s Championship qualified hosts New Zealand and four other top teams including Australia, England and South Africa, directly to the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021.
20. ‘Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi’, is a newly formed district of which state?
[A] Jharkand
[B] Haryana
[C] Chhattisgarh
[D] Odisha
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Chhattisgarh]
Notes:
Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi was recently inaugurated as the 28th district of the state of Chhattisgarh, by the state’s Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.
The new district, which has been carved out of Bilaspur, has three tehsils and three development blocks namely Gaurela, Pendra and Marwahi. The district has 166 Gram panchayats, 222 villages and two nagar panchayats.