11. A new natural gas field named ‘Jebel Ali gas field’ with 80 trillion cubic feet of gas resources, was recently discovered in which country?
[A] Venezuela
[B] United Arab Emirates
[C] Qatar
[D] Iran
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [United Arab Emirates]
Notes:
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) recently announced that it has discovered a new natural gas field with 80 trillion standard cubic feet of shallow gas resources. The new gas field was named ‘Jebel Ali gas field’.
The field is located between the territories of Dubai and Abu Dhabi and reported to span around 5,000 square kilometres. This discovery would help the country become more energy independent, and self-sufficient. As of now, the UAE imports natural gas from its neighbouring country Qatar for electricity. The National Oil companies of Dubai and Abu Dhabi are set to further explore the field.
12. 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.
13. High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), which recently tied up with the Russian organisation Rosoboronexport to import new technologies, is a lab of which Indian organisation?
[A] Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO)
[B] Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
[C] Ordnance Factory Board (OFB)
[D] Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)]
Notes:
High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) is a laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Head-quartered in Pune, it conducts research in the area of High Energy Materials and Explosive materials.
Recently, the lab has tied up with the Russian state military organisation Rosoboronexport to import new technologies for the development of high energy materials required for missiles, rockets and guns. A technology development contract was signed with the organisation in this regard.
14. 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.
15. Teenage cricketer Naseem Shah recently became the youngest person to get a hat trick in test cricket. He belongs to which country?
[A] India
[B] Pakistan
[C] Bangladesh
[D] West Indies
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Pakistan]
Notes:
Pakistani cricketer Naseem Shah recently became the youngest person to get a hat trick in test cricket. Naseem, aged 16 years and 359 days took three wickets against Bangladesh on February 9, 2020 to set this record.
16. 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.
17. Which city’s police recently launched an initiative called ‘Operation Nakai’ to verify the identity of auto-drivers?
[A] Mumbai
[B] Ghaziabad
[C] Hyderabad
[D] Lucknow
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Ghaziabad]
Notes:
The City Police has recently launched ‘Operation Nakail’ in Ghaziabad, to verify the identity of auto-drivers of the city. Under the initiative, a unique four-digit number will be allotted to every auto-rickshaw of the city.
The owner of the vehicle has to paint the number, his name and mobile number on the auto, which would be easy to identify them. After many crimes were reported to be held in auto-rickshaws, this initiative was launched.
18. Giriraj Kishore, who recently passed away recently, was associated with which field?
[A] Literature
[B] Arts
[C] Politics
[D] Sports
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Literature]
Notes:
Renowned writer and academician Giriraj Kishore passed away recently. The Gandhian writer was 82-years-old. He was also the recipient of the prestigious civilian award ‘Padma Shri’.
The famous literary works of Giriraj Kishore include ‘Pahla Girmitiya’ and ‘Dhaai Ghar’. A recipient of ‘Sahitya Samman’, he was also a former member of the Sahitya Academy working committee.
19. The National Deworming Day was recently observed across the country, on which date?
[A] February 7
[B] February 8
[C] February 9
[D] February 10
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [February 10]
Notes:
The National Deworming Day was recently observed across the country on February 10. All children and adolescent boys and girls in all states and Union Territories, who are in the age group of 1 to 19 years are given a single dose of the medicine called Albendazole.
The day is observed with an aim of deworming children and adolescents to reduce the occurrence of parasitic worms in intestine. It is observed under the supervision of the Union Ministry of Health and Family welfare.
20. Which film recently won the Oscar for best picture, which is also the first non- English film to win the award?
[A] Les Misérables
[B] Irishman
[C] Parasite
[D] Border
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Parasite]
Notes:
The South Korean film Parasite created history at the 2020 Oscars, by being the first film not in the English language to win the coveted award. It won a total of four Oscars, including best picture, best director, best screenplay and best international feature.
This is also the first film to have won both international feature and best picture at the Oscars, in its history. Joaquin Phoenix and Renee Zellweger won the award for best actor and actress respectively.