11. Rakhi Halder, who was seen in news recently, is associated with which sports?
[A] Hockey
[B] Cricket
[C] Weight-lifting
[D] Wrestling
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Weight-lifting]
Notes:
Rakhi Halder, the Indian weight-lifter from West Bengal was seen in news recently as she bagged gold medal in 64kg category at the 35th edition of the Senior Women’s National Weightlifting Championships, being held at Kolkata.
Rakhi Halder, who is an Indian Railways employee, had clinched gold in the Commonwealth Championship in June 2019 and the bronze medal at the Qatar International Cup. Earlier, former World champion Mirabai Chanu from Manipur set a new national record in the 49-kg category and won gold medal.
12. Who was recently awarded the International Gandhi Awards for Leprosy, by the Indian President?
[A] Dr Mandeep Kumar Bhandari
[B] Dr N.S. Dharmashaktu
[C] Dr. Manohar Agnani
[D] Dr Nipun Vinayak
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Dr N.S. Dharmashaktu]
Notes:
Indian President Ramnath Govind recently conferred the International Gandhi Awards for Leprosy on Dr N.S. Dharmashaktu under the Indian nomination (individual) category. Dr N.S. Dharmashaktu was the former Principal adviser (Public health), Ministry of Health and family welfare.
The Leprosy Mission Trust was presented the award under the institutional category. The President also announced that India has accomplished the level of leprosy elimination which is defined as less than one case per ten thousand population.
13. 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.
14. Recently, Esperanza Base on the Antarctic Peninsula reached a temperature of 18.3 °C , thus becoming the hottest on record for continental Antarctica. Esperanza Base is a research station of which country on Antarctica?
[A] France
[B] Portugal
[C] Argentina
[D] England
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Argentina]
Notes:
Esperanza Base (Hope Base) is a permanent, all-year-round Argentine research station in Hope Bay, Trinity Peninsula in Antarctica.
15. 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.
16. What is the profession of Anoop Mishra, who has been in news recently?
[A] Politician
[B] Army Major
[C] Sportsperson
[D] Musician
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Army Major]
Notes:
Anoop Mishra, an Indian Army Major from the College of Military Engineering was known for having developed a bulletproof jacket which protects against sniper bullets. He was seen in news recently as he has now developed a helmet, which is also the world’s first, that can stop an AK-47 bullet round from 10 meters.
Indian Army’s College of Military Engineering in collaboration with a private firm has developed India’s first and world’s cheapest gunshot locator called ‘Parth’, which can locate the bullet from a distance of 400 meters.
17. Which country has reportedly auctioned licenses to hunt elephants, to tackle human-animal conflict?
[A] Zimbabwe
[B] Namibia
[C] Botswana
[D] Mozambique
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Botswana]
Notes:
The South African country Botswana has the largest elephant population in the world. Recently, the country was seen in news as it auctioned licenses to hunt elephants, to tackle human-animal conflict.
In the capital city of the country Gaborone, the licenses to hunt 70 elephants were said to be auctioned. The government had lifted the ban on hunting, which was prevalent for five years.
18. 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.
19. Aditya Mehta, who was seen in news recently, is associated with sports?
[A] Snooker
[B] Weight-lifting
[C] Archery
[D] Boxing
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Snooker]
Notes:
Indian cueist Aditya Mehta was seen in news recently as he won the National Snooker Championship, held at Pune. He represented the Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) and defeated the 22-time-world champion Pankaj Advani 6-2 to win the title. Pankaj recently won the National Billiards Championship.
Vidya Pillai of Karnataka clinched the women’s snooker title, by beating Amee Kamani of Madhya Pradesh.
20. Which Union Ministry releases the Public Enterprises Survey, on the performances of Central Public Sector Enterprises?
[A] Ministry of Finance
[B] Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
[C] Ministry of Corporate Affairs
[D] Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises]
Notes:
The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) under the Union Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, releases the annual Public Sector Enterprises Survey, on the performance of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs).
Recently, the Public Enterprises Survey -2018-19 was tabled in both the Houses of Parliament, which stated that BSNL, Air India and MTNL are the top loss-making PSUs for the third consecutive year. The top three profit-making PSUs include Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Indian Oil Corporation and NTPC.