1. ‘Proba-3 Mission’, which will be launched aboard ISRO’s PSLV, is associated with which space agency?
[A] NASA
[B] ESA
[C] JAXA
[D] CNSA
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [ESA]
Notes:
The European Space Agency’s Proba-3 Mission will be launched aboard the ISRO’s PSLV in 2024. Its two satellites will study the Sun’s faint corona and surrounding atmosphere.
The 340-kilogram spacecraft will be deployed by PSLV in a high Earth orbit with an orbital period of 19.7 hours.
2. Which institution is to set up the ‘Corporate Debt Market Development Fund’?
[A] RBI
[B] SEBI
[C] NSE
[D] BSE
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [SEBI]
Notes:
SEBI decided to set up a corporate debt market development fund in the form of an Alternative Investment Fund.
Corporate Debt Market Development Fund will be set up with an initial corpus of Rs 3,000 crore. It will function as a backstop facility for buying investment grade corporate debt securities during stressful times.
3. ‘National League for Democracy’ is a famous political party based in which country?
[A] India
[B] Myanmar
[C] Sri Lanka
[D] Pakistan
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Myanmar]
Notes:
National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, has been dissolved after it refused to comply with a tough new party registration law imposed by Myanmar’s military.
The military, which seized power in a coup in February 2021, set a deadline for political parties to re-register under the restrictive new law. It has promised to hold an election, though such a vote has been widely dismissed as lacking in any credibility.
4. ‘Lynx-U2 System’ is an indigenously developed naval gun fire control system, manufactured by which institution?
[A] HAL
[B] DRDO
[C] BEL
[D] BHEL
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [BEL]
Notes:
Lynx-U2 System is an indigenously developed naval gun fire control system. The Union Defence Ministry recently signed a contract with BEL for the procurement of 13 of these systems for the Indian Navy.
The purchase under the Buy Indian – IDMM (Indigenously Designed, Developed, and Manufactured) category will be placed on new-gen offshore patrol vessels to be constructed indigenously at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers and Goa Shipyard Limited.
5. Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) is a joint venture of Education Ministry and which bank?
[A] State Bank of India
[B] HDFC Bank
[C] Canara Bank
[D] ICICI Bank
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Canara Bank]
Notes:
Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) is a joint venture of Education Ministry, Government of India and Canara Bank for financing creation of capital assets in premier institutions.
A Parliamentary panel has recently directed the Education Ministry to fast track the process of disbursing sanctioned loans by the HEFA.
6. World Health Organisation (WHO) certified which countries as Malaria-free recently?
[A] India and Sri Lanka
[B] Azerbaijan and Tajikistan
[C] Pakistan and Afghanistan
[D] Nepal and Bangladesh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Azerbaijan and Tajikistan]
Notes:
Recently, the World Health Organisation certified Azerbaijan and Tajikistan as Malaria-Free Countries.
They succeeded in eliminating the Anopheles mosquito-borne disease in their territories. In Tajikistan and Azerbaijan, the last cases of regional spread of Plasmodium vivax malaria were discovered in 2012 and 2014.
7. Hexacentrus ashoka, which was seen in the news, belongs to which species?
[A] Spider
[B] Bush Cricket
[C] Turtle
[D] Snake
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Bush Cricket]
Notes:
Three new species of bush cricket was found recently. Two of these species (Hexacentrus tiddae and Hexacentrus ashoka) were found in Haryana. In the local dialect of Haryana, bush crickets are referred to as tiddaes.
The third species found in Meghalaya was named Hexacentrus khasiensis — after the Khasi hills where it was discovered.
8. ‘Vaikom Satyagraha’ was held in which Indian state in 1924?
[A] West Bengal
[B] Maharashtra
[C] Kerala
[D] Andhra Pradesh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Kerala]
Notes:
The ‘Vaikom Satyagraha’ began on March 30, 1924 in the temple town of Vaikom, Kerala in the princely state of Travancore, marking the beginning of “temple entry movements” across the country.
Kerala and Tamil Nadu Chief Ministers recently inaugurated the centenary celebrations of anti-caste struggle Vaikom Satyagraha.
9. What is the GST collection recorded in the month of March?
[A] Rs 1.5 lakh crore
[B] Rs 1.6 lakh crore
[C] Rs 1.8 lakh crore
[D] Rs 2 lakh crore
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Rs 1.6 lakh crore]
Notes:
India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue collection for the month of March 2023 is stood at 1.6 lakh crore rupees.
This is 13 percent higher than the GST revenues in the same month of last year. It is for the fourth time, in the current financial year that the gross GST collection has crossed 1.5 lakh crore rupees, since the implementation of GST.
10. Which country has invited Prime Minister to visit as a guest at the annual Bastille Day parade?
[A] France
[B] USA
[C] Ukraine
[D] Afghanistan
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [France]
Notes:
France has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Paris as a guest at the annual Bastille Day parade in July.
The Prime Minister and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to discuss a number of major agreements including those on the Indo-Pacific region, nuclear power and defence, as the two countries mark the 25 th year of their strategic partnership.