11. Sports Authority of India (SAI) and which sports federation recently announced to establish High Performance Centres in seven places across the country?
[A] Athletic Federation of India
[B] Hockey India
[C] Boxing Federation of India
[D] Swimming Federation of India
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Hockey India]
Notes:
Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Hockey India jointly announced that High Performance Centres would be established in seven places across the country. The Centres are expected to provide world-class facilities to Junior and Sub-Junior hockey players.
The Centres, which would provide international exposure to players, will be monitored by Hockey India. Four Centres including the National Hockey Academy at Dhyan Chand National Stadium will be functional within three months. This step is taken to promote the game and groom young players for the upcoming Olympic Games.
12. Seer Goverdhanpur in Uttar Pradesh is the birth place of which Bhakti saint?
[A] Kabir
[B] Dadu
[C] Ravidas
[D] Ramanand
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Ravidas]
Notes:
Sant Ravidas was a 14th-century saint and founder of the Bhakti movement in North India. He was born at Seer Goverdhanpur near Banaras.
13. On February 8, 2020, Thaipoosam festival was celebrated by the Tamil community around the world. This festival marks birth day of which deity?
[A] Thirumal
[B] Murugan
[C] Nataraja
[D] Pavadairayan
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Murugan]
Notes:
Thaipoosam is a festival celebrated by the Tamil community on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai, usually coinciding with Pushya star, known as Poosam in Tamil. It is believed to be Murugan’s birthday by many.
14. In context with India’s defence, what is Pranash?
[A] A rifle
[B] A missile
[C] A tank
[D] A helmet
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [A missile]
Notes:
Pranash is the name of India’s 200-km strike range tactical ballistic missile which is currently under development by DRDO. This missile is advanced version of the 150-km strike range Prahar missile. Pranash will be a surface-to- surface ballistic missile and will be used by Air Force and Army.
15. 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.
16. The headquarters of the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) is located in which city?
[A] Vishakhapatnam
[B] Goa
[C] Kochi
[D] Mumbai
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Kochi]
Notes:
The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) was established in 1972, by an act of Parliament, to act as the nodal agency for the development of Indian seafood industry. It is head-quartered at Kochi.
Recently, MPEDA announced that it is to start the upgradation and modernisation 25 fishing harbours in the country. The project is to be undertaken with the assistance from the Centre
at a proposed outlay of Rs 2500 crore.
17. Recently, the Supreme Court of India upheld the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act. When was the original act of 1989 amended?
[A] 2016
[B] 2017
[C] 2018
[D] 2019
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [2018]
Notes:
The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989 was legislated to protect the scheduled communities from harassments and atrocities.
In March 2018, the Supreme court gave a judgement diluting the original act and it even granted anticipatory bail for those booked in the atrocity case. After huge protest, the government amended the original act and passed the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2018. This amendment has been upheld by the apex court.
18. Jiri Vesely, who clinched the Tata Open Maharashtra 2020, belongs to which country?
[A] Czech Republic
[B] Serbia
[C] France
[D] Switzerland
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Czech Republic]
Notes:
Jiri Vesely of Czech Republic clinched the Tata Open Maharashtra 2020, held recently in Pune. He won the title after five years of his maiden ATP Tour title in Auckland.
He also become only the eighth player since 2013 to save six match points across two matches in a row, towards winning the ATP Tour crown. The tournament had been previously conducted at Chennai.
19. The 2nd BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise, 2020 has been conducted in which city?
[A] Thimphu
[B] Bhubaneswar
[C] Colombo
[D] Kathmandu
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Bhubaneswar]
Notes:
The 2nd Seven-nation BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise, 2020 was recently inaugurated at Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha by its Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
The Exercise is hosted by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) as the nodal agency. The theme of the exercise is- “Response to a cultural heritage site that suffers severe damage in an earthquake” & “Response to a Cultural Heritage site that is affected by flooding or storm surge”.
20. What is the official name of the virus outbreak from China, as per the World Health Organisation?
[A] COVID-19
[B] CORO-19
[C] n-COR -19
[D] NOVEL-19
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [COVID-19]
Notes:
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently announced that the deadly virus outbreak from China will be officially called as “COVID-19”.
The official name was announced to avoid references of particular geographic locations, species of animals or group of people. It has earlier named the virus as “2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease”, temporarily. In the official name, ‘CO’ stands for “corona”, ‘VI’ for “virus” and ‘D’ for “disease”, while ‘19’ denotes the year.