11. The World Wetlands Day is observed annually on which date, across the world?
[A] February 1
[B] February 2
[C] February 3
[D] February 4
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [February 2]
Notes:
The World Wetlands Day is observed annually on February 2 across the world. On 2 February 1971, the Convention on Wetlands was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar. From then, the day has been observed annually on the same date.
The theme of this year’s World Wetlands Day is “Wetlands and Biodiversity”. Recently, 10 more wetlands of India are included in the ‘Ramsar site’ list. With this, India has 37 Ramsar sites totally, which cover more than 1 million hectares of area in the country.
12. Which banker of India has been named as the Central Banker of the Year (Asia-Pacific 2020), by the Banker magazine?
[A] Raghuram Rajan
[B] Shaktikanta Das
[C] Urjit Patel
[D] Viral Acharya
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Shaktikanta Das ]
Notes:
The Banker magazine has named the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das as the Central Banker of the Year- Asia-Pacific 2020. ‘Global Central Banker of the Year’ award was presented to Jorgovanka Tabakovi, National Bank of Serbia.
The award is given to central bankers who have significantly managed to stimulate growth and stabilise the economy of their country. Shaktikanta Das was nominated as he successfully managed various economic crises of the country including the Non-Banking Financial companies (NBFC) crisis and Non-performing assets of Indian banks.
13. Which country’s delegation of educational institutions recently visited India and signed agreements in the fields of higher education and research?
[A] Canada
[B] Norway
[C] Germany
[D] Japan
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Norway]
Notes:
Authorities from the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research have recently signed agreements with India in the fields of higher education and research, in New Delhi.
This agreement is a part of the visit of delegation of important educational institutions of Norway to India. Among the several agreements signed, the significant pact was between the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and The Arctic University of Norway (UiT), for co-operation in the fields of bio-photonics, health and diagnostic tools, nanotechnology.
14. ‘Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana’ is a flagship scheme of which Union Ministry?
[A] Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
[B] Ministry of Tribal Affairs
[C] Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
[D] Ministry of Human Resource Development
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship]
Notes:
‘Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana’ (PMKVY) is the flagship skill development scheme of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. It is implemented by the National Skill Development Corporation and aims to impart skills to one Crore persons of the country by 2020. It was launched in the year 2015, on the National skills day, July 15.
Recently, the Skill Development Ministry announced that over 73 lakh candidates undertook training under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana. The Ministry had earlier announced that PMKVY-III will be launched this year, with enhanced initiatives.
15. Britain’s Prince Charles has launched a new Children’s protection fund for which Asian country?
[A] Sri Lanka
[B] India
[C] Bangladesh
[D] Nepal
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [India]
Notes:
The Prince of Britain, Charles has recently unveiled a new children’s protection fund for India. This fund is a part of the charity founded by him in 2007, the British Asian Trust. The trust was founded to fight poverty in South Asia.
Noted American singer Katy Perry was named as the ambassador of the new fund. The Protection fund will focus on reducing the exploitation of children by 50 per cent in India over 10 years. The Children’s Protection Fund will primarily cover child sexual abuse, child labour and trafficking. School safety nets are also proposed to be aet up through child-friendly village models.
16. 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.
17. ‘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.
18. 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.
19. The term “Batterygate”, recently in news, is related to which of the following tech giants?
[A] Google
[B] Samsung
[C] Apple
[D] Microsoft
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Apple]
Notes:
Batterygate refers to implementation of performance controls on older models of Apple’s iPhone line in order to preserve system stability on degraded batteries.
20. Which sports coach / guru of India has received an honorable mention in the male category of the prestigious 2019 International Olympic Committee’s Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award?
[A] P. Gopichand
[B] Ramakant Achrekar
[C] Mahavir Singh Phogat
[D] Michael Ferreira
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [P. Gopichand]
Notes:
Chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand has received an honourable mention in the male category of the prestigious 2019 International Olympic Committee’s Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of the role he played in the development of the game in the country.