11. Which Indian actor was recently presented with the ‘Kishore Kumar Samman’ Award for 2018, by the Madhya Pradesh government?
[A] Waheeda Rehman
[B] Asha Parekh
[C] Vyjayanthimala
[D] Hema Malini
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Waheeda Rehman]
Notes:
Veteran Indian actor Waheeda Rehman was recently conferred with the prestigious Kishore Kumar Samman Award for the year 2018. The award was instituted by the Madhya Pradesh government.
Famous director Priyadarshan was conferred with the Kishore Kumar Samman for the year 2019, on the death anniversary of the legendary actor Kishore Kumar, October 13, 2019. As Waheeda Rehman could not receive the award during the ceremony, she was presented the award now, by the Madhya Pradesh culture minister Dr Vijaylaxmi Sadho.
12. What is the name of the dispute resolution scheme for direct taxes, recently announced in the Union Budget?
[A] Sabka Vishwas
[B] Vivad se Vishwas
[C] Kar Vishwas
[D] CBDT Vishwas
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Vivad se Vishwas]
Notes:
The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a dispute resolution scheme for direct taxes in the recent Union Budget 2020-21.
Under the proposed scheme, the taxpayers whose tax demands are locked in any dispute in any of the forums can pay their due taxes by March 31, 2020. By paying it before the deadline, the taxpayer can get complete waiver of interest and penalty. With an additional 10 per cent, he can pay up to June 30. The Finance Minister recently introduced the ‘Vivad se Vishwas’ bill in the parliament. Last year, a scheme for dispute resolution for indirect taxes called ‘Sabka Vishwas’ was launched.
13. Which famous writer was recently selected for the Mystic Kalinga Literary Award (Indian and Global Languages)?
[A] Manoj Das
[B] Pratibha Ray
[C] Surendra Mohanty
[D] Ramakanta Rath
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Manoj Das]
Notes:
The prestigious Mystic Kalinga Literary Award (Indian and Global Languages) is to be presented to the noted Odia and English writer Manoj Das. The award would be presented during the Mystic Kalinga Festival (MKF) which commences in Bhubaneswar on February 8.
The Mystic Kalinga Literary Award is conferred to a person who has made significant contribution to the literature and culture of Odia. The bilingual writer recently received the country’s third-highest civilian award- Padma Bhushan, for his contribution in the field of literature and education. He had also been conferred with the Saraswati Samman award.
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. 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. 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.
17. The first glass-floor suspension bridge of India is to be built in which state?
[A] Uttarakhand
[B] Arunachal Pradesh
[C] Sikkim
[D] Assam
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Uttarakhand]
Notes:
The country’s first glass floor suspension bridge is to be built across the river Ganga in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. The state government has recently approved the design of the glass-floor bridge.
This bridge is to be built as an alternative to the iconic Lakshman Jhula which was closed last year, citing safety reasons. The Public Works Department (PWD) is to construct the bridge, which would have a floor with toughened transparent glass, through which the pedestrians can see the surface of the river. The length of the proposed bridge will be 132.3 metres and it will have toughened glass railings on either side.
18. The cybersecurity project codenamed Dejfa, that was recently making news, belongs to which country?
[A] Pakistan
[B] Iran
[C] Malaysia
[D] China
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Iran]
Notes:
Digital Fortress (Dejfa in Persian) is the name of a cybersecurity project of Iran. This has been frequently in news in recent times as Iran faces frequent DDoS attacks and cyber attacks. On 8th February also, the agency was able to avert a massive DDoS attack.
19. Kaamya Karthikeyan of Mumbai recently became the youngest girl in the world to summit Mt Aconcagua. Mt Aconcagua is the highest peak of South America, located in which country?
[A] Brazil
[B] Argentina
[C] Peru
[D] Chile
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Argentina]
Notes:
Kaamya Karthikeyan a student from Mumbai, recently became the youngest girl in the world to scale Mt Aconcagua. Mt Aconcagua is the highest peak in South America, located in Argentina. It is the highest peak outside Asia with the height of 6962 metres.
The student of Navy children school has already scaled the some of the highest peaks in Africa, Europe, and Australia in the past.
20. 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.