1. Which bank acquired the Indian consumer banking businesses of Citibank?
[A] HDFC Bank
[B] Axis Bank
[C] ICICI Bank
[D] Yes Bank
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Axis Bank]
Notes:Indian private sector lender Axis Bank has acquired the Indian consumer banking businesses of US bank Citigroup.
The sale includes businesses of credit cards, retail banking, wealth management and consumer loans for Rs 12,325 crore, as part of plans to exit its retail operations in 13 markets. The sale excludes Citi’s institutional client businesses in India.
2. Education Ministry has launched over one lakh internship opportunities of which institution?
[A] AICTE
[B] UGC
[C] NTA
[D] NCERT
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [AICTE]
Notes:
The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has announced over one lakh internship opportunities through AICTE internship portal to enhance employability. The programme was launched by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Technical students as well as higher education students can apply for the internships provided by Salesforce, CISCO, and Mahatma Gandhi National Council for Rural Education (MGNCRE) among others.
3. Which country recently signed “Emmett Till Antilynching Act” into law?
[A] Russia
[B] USA
[C] UK
[D] Germany
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [USA]
Notes:
US President Joe Biden signed the “Emmett Till Anti-lynching Act” into law, as he made lynching a federal hate crime.
As many as 4,743 persons were lynched between 1882 and 1968, with 3,446 of them being Black. This act was named after the murder of a 14-year-old Black boy from Chicago by a group of White men in Mississippi in 1955 as he was alleged to have whistled at a White woman.
4. ‘Ambedkar Young Entrepreneur (AYE)-Mentor program’ is a new scheme of which Union Ministry?
[A] Ministry of Finance
[B] Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
[C] Ministry of Women and Child Development
[D] Ministry of Education
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment]
Notes:
The venture capital fund (VCF) scheme was implemented by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to help aspiring entrepreneurs belonging to SCs and OBCs new businesses. As the performance of the scheme is not satisfactory, the Ministry is set to launch a “mentorship” programme.
Named the ‘Ambedkar Young Entrepreneur-Mentor’ (AYE-Mentor) programme, the IFCI Venture, which is the VCF manager, will empanel businessmen or heads of companies or veterans of banking and financial institutions, as ‘mentors’.
5. Which Asian country has declared a nationwide public emergency amidst protests over economic crisis?
[A] Myanmar
[B] Afghanistan
[C] Sri Lanka
[D] Pakistan
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Sri Lanka]
Notes:
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has declared a nationwide public emergency amidst protests over the worst economic crisis in the island nation.
The special gazette notification declared a public emergency in Sri Lanka with immediate effect from April 1. The residents are facing shortages in fuel, cooking gas, essentials in short supply and long hours of power cuts.
6. Which country saw a rise in illegal online trade of wildlife, as per a recent report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)?
[A] Afghanistan
[B] China
[C] Myanmar
[D] North Korea
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Myanmar]
Notes:
A report by the World Wildlife Fund showed that the illegal online trade of wildlife is growing in Myanmar, which is seen as a threat both to public health and to endangered species.
The report found that enforcement of bans on such transactions has weakened amid political crisis following a 2021 military takeover. Out of the 173 species traded, 54 are threatened with global extinction. The animals included elephants, bears and gibbons, Tibetan antelope, critically endangered pangolins and an Asian giant tortoise.
7. Which state implements the ‘Mukhya Mantri Bagwani Bima Yojana’?
[A] New Delhi
[B] Haryana
[C] Rajasthan
[D] Punjab
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Haryana]
Notes:
Haryana Agriculture Minister launched the portal of ‘Mukhya Mantri Bagwani Bima Yojana.’ Under this scheme, farmers will be compensated for the damage caused to their crops due to natural calamities.
21 crops including 14 vegetables, 2 spices and five fruits are covered under this scheme. As per the agriculture department, Rs 10 crore will be kept by the state government as initial capital for the scheme.
8. Which Indian has been appointed to the UN ‘High-Level Expert Group on Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities’?
[A] Ramesh Chand
[B] Rajiv Kumar
[C] Arunabha Ghosh
[D] Arvind Panagariya
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Arunabha Ghosh]
Notes:
Arunabha Ghosh, been appointed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to the ‘High-Level Expert Group on Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities’.
Arunabha Ghosh is the CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), a climate and energy think tank. The expert group will be chaired by former Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna.
9. Which Union Ministry oversees the ‘Stand Up India Scheme’?
[A] Ministry of MSME
[B] Ministry of Finance
[C] Ministry of Commerce and Industry
[D] Ministry of Science and Technology
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Ministry of Finance]
Notes:
Ministry of Finance oversees the ‘Stand Up India Scheme’, which aims to promote entrepreneurship among women, Scheduled Castes (SC) & Scheduled Tribes (ST) categories, to help them in starting a Greenfield enterprise.
The scheme has completed six years and loans worth more than ₹30,160 crore have been sanctioned in the last six years. Over 1.33 lakh new entrepreneurs have been facilitated and more than 1 lakh women promoters have benefitted from this Scheme during the last six years.
10. The Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its recent assessment report mentioned which Indian city for sustainable transportation?
[A] Chennai
[B] New Delhi
[C] Kolkata
[D] Mumbai
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Kolkata]
Notes:
The Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently released the Part C of its sixth assessment report. The main finding of the latest IPCC report is that the world must focus on reducing dependency on fossil fuel.
The report mentioned Kolkata in respect of shifting from private to public transport. It highlighted that the urban mobility transitions in Kolkata show interconnected policy as well as institutional and socio-cultural drivers for socio-technical change.