11. What is the repo rate, after the sixth bi-monthly monetary policy committee meeting of the Reserve Bank of India, in February 2020?
[A] 5.5%
[B] 5.4%
[C] 5.15%
[D] 4.90%
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [5.15%]
Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently conducted its sixth bi-monthly Monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting and released the statement. The repo rate was left unchanged at 5.15%, as a unanimous decision taken by the MPC members.
The central bank also announced that it had no plans to monetise the government’s fiscal deficit, which means to print fresh currency notes to balance the deficit. A Self-Regulatory Organisation (SRO) for digital payment system is also to be set up by April 2020. RBI also decided to extend the Cheque Truncation System (CTS) to all regions across India.
12. 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.
13. The indigenous air to ground missile ‘Khagantak’, which was unveiled during the ongoing DefExpo 2020, is built by which firm/organisation?
[A] Defence Research and Development Organisation
[B] Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd
[C] JSR Dynamics
[D] Bharat Electronics Limited
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [JSR Dynamics]
Notes:
A private Indian firm has recently unveiled the indigenous air to ground missile ‘Khagantak’, during the ongoing DefExpo 2020. The firm has manufactured the air to ground missile with a strike range of 180 km.
The Managing Director of JSR Dynamics Air Marshal SB Deo announced the missile and said that when released from a height of 12 km, the missile is an air-launch weapon. It can be used as a guide weapon, which also has artificial intelligence (AI) to recognise the targets. Such indigenous missiles are expected to be a boost to the ‘Make in India’ initiative and reduce our dependence on foreign defence manufacturers.
14. Who has been named as the head of the trust for construction of the Ram Temple, which was recently constituted by the Centre?
[A] K. K. Venugopal
[B] K Parasaran
[C] G E Vahanvati
[D] Maninder Acharya
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [K Parasaran]
Notes:
As per the Supreme Court ruling on November 9, 2019, a trust had to be set up for the construction of the Ram Temple within three months of the court order. Hence the Indian Government constituted the trust, which is named as ‘the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra’.
Former Attorney General of India, Advocate K Parasaran has been named as the head of the trust, which will function at his residence in Delhi. The advocate had earlier represented the litigant ‘Ram Lalla’ in the dispute and earned the verdict in its favour. An independent 15-member team has been named as the members of the trust, which will always have a trustee from the Dalit community, as per the Union Home Ministry.
15. The term “SPICe”, sometimes seen in news, is related to which of the following fields?
[A] Science & Technology
[B] Environment Protection
[C] Business & Economy
[D] Defence and Arms Production
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Business & Economy]
Notes:
Ministry of Corporate Affairs is replacing the existing SPICe (Simplified Proforma for Incorporating Company Electronically) form with a new web form called SPICe+. The existing form, which is used for reservation of name, company incorporation, DIN allotment, and application for PAN/TAN, in its new avatar, would offer 10 services by three central government ministries and departments.
16. 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.
17. Which state government recently launched the ‘Reading Mission’ initiative for students?
[A] Odisha
[B] Kerala
[C] Haryana
[D] West Bengal
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Haryana]
Notes:
The state government of Haryana has launched an initiative called ‘Reading Mission- Haryana’. The initiative was launched to encourage reading habit among the young students of the state.
The scheme is on the lines of the ‘Reading Mission 2022’, launched by the central government. Under the state’s initiative, monthly book review sessions and mass book reading are to be organised by students in educational institutions.
18. As per the latest study of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), which state records the highest number of missing women?
[A] Maharashtra
[B] West Bengal
[C] Uttar Pradesh
[D] Madhya Pradesh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Maharashtra]
Notes:
According to the latest study by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Maharashtra records the highest number of missing women in the last three years, followed by West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh.
NCRB compiled this data on missing children and women, on the directions of the Supreme Court. The study was based on the annual ‘Crime in India Report’ compiled by the agency for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018. The highest number of missing children was reported in Maharashtra and West Bengal.
19. The national online platform for public procurement, Government e-Marketplace (GeM), was launched in which year?
[A] 2015
[B] 2016
[C] 2017
[D] 2018
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [2016]
Notes:
The national online platform for public procurement, Government e-Marketplace (GeM) was launched by the Union Commerce Ministry in 2016. It is an open and transparent procurement platform for government departments.
GeM was recently in news as public procurement worth Rs.40,000 crore has taken place through the online portal. In the recent Union budget, it was announced that government is looking to increase the turnover of the GeM portal to Rs.3 lakh crore.
20. Electronic Dealer Financing Scheme (e-DFS) is a flagship product of which Indian public sector bank?
[A] State Bank of India
[B] Bank of Baroda
[C] Punjab National Bank
[D] Union Bank of India
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [State Bank of India]
Notes:
State Bank of India (SBI) recently partnered with the mobile phone manufacturer Realme, to offer credit facilities. The partnership is made under the bank’s electronic lending product- Electronic Dealer Financing Scheme (e-DFS).
Under this MoU, the dealers and distributors of Realme would get access to credit facilities at low interest rates and minimum collateral. The inventory transactions could also be reported real-time, using the product.