31. Which country has discovered a new coronavirus strain named ‘D614G’, which is claimed to be more infectious?
[A] United States
[B] Russia
[C] Malaysia
[D] China
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Malaysia]
Notes:
A new strain of coronavirus has been detected in Malaysia which is found to be 10 times more infectious than the existing Corona virus.
The mutated form of the virus called D614G was found in 3 of the 45 cases in a test cluster. The detection of new strain has implied that studies on COVID 19 vaccines may be incomplete or ineffective against the mutation. WHO has explained that the new strain will not cause a more severe disease.
32. Which city has won the cleanest city award in the Swachh Survekshan 2020 survey?
[A] Surat
[B] Indore
[C] Navi Mumbai
[D] Trichy
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Indore]
Notes:
The Union Government has announced the results of annual survey of cleanliness, the ‘Swachh Survekshan 2020’.
Indore of Madhya Pradesh bagged the top spot in the list, for four years consecutively. Gujarat’s Surat was ranked at the second place while Maharashtra’s Navi Mumbai on third place. This is the fifth edition of the survey, that ranks states based on their performance in Swachh Bharat Mission.
33. Who represented India in the 2020 roundtable of ASEAN-India Network of Think Tanks?
[A] Narendra Modi
[B] S Jai Shankar
[C] Piyush Goyal
[D] Shaktikanta Das
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [S Jai Shankar]
Notes:
Union External Affairs Minister S Jai Shankar has represented India in the roundtable of ASEAN-India Network of Think Tanks (AINTT) held recently.
The 6th Roundtable of AINTT was held through a webinar and its theme was “ASEAN-India: Strengthening Partnership in the Post-COVID Era”. As per the Minister, the global loss due to Covid-19 is in the range of USD 5.8 to 8.8 trillion or 6.5 to 9.7 per cent of the global GDP.
34. Which Indian power company is to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary for its renewable energy business?
[A] NTPC
[B] ONGC
[C] NHPC
[D] GAIL
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [NTPC]
Notes:
Government owned power major NTPC Limited has recently announced that it is to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary for its renewable energy business.
The company has recently obtained the approval from the Niti Aayog and Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), Ministry of Finance for formation of a wholly-owned subsidiary.
35. Which private space company’s rockets have been successfully test fired by the Indian Army?
[A] Economic Explosives Ltd (EEL)
[B] Relativity Space
[C] Moon Express
[D] Rocket Labs
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Economic Explosives Ltd (EEL)]
Notes:
The rockets manufactured by Economic Explosives Ltd (EEL) have been successfully test fired by the Indian Army.
This is the first ever set of rockets fully manufactured by a private sector company, and is expected to reduce the single source dependency on Ordnance Factory Board (OFB). The Pinaka rockets were manufactured after a technology transfer agreement with the DRDO.
36. Which organisation is to have India’s largest incubation ecosystem with 21 centres of excellence?
[A] Software Technology Parks of India
[B] Centre for Development of Advanced Computing
[C] Education and Research Network
[D] National Informatics Centre
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Software Technology Parks of India]
Notes:
Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is set to have the largest ecosystem of incubation ecosystem in the country, in a year by setting up 21 centres of excellence.
The proposed 21 centres of excellence (CoEs) will incubate new technologies in various sectors. Out of the 21 CoEs, 12 of them are already operational. Three centres are related to Agriculture and one more is proposed to be launched.
37. Which is the most downloaded Covid-19 contact tracing application in the world, as on date?
[A] COVIDSafe
[B] Stopp Corona
[C] eRouška
[D] Aarogya Setu
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Aarogya Setu]
Notes:
With more than 15 crore users and more than 6.6 million Bluetooth traced contacts, the official contact tracing application of India, Aarogya Setu is the most downloaded contact tracing app in the world, as on date.
The application team has recently introduced ‘Open API Service’, which is used to obtain answers for real-time queries about the health status of their employees or any other Aarogya Setu User who has consented to share their health status.
38. When is International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief observed?
[A] August 22
[B] August 23
[C] August 24
[D] August 25
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [August 22]
Notes:
The United Nations General Assembly designated 22 August as the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief.
It comes a day after the International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism. The UN asks its members to ensure the upholding of human rights of persons belonging to religious minorities, including their right to exercise their religion or belief freely.
39. ‘Rules of origin’, that was seen in news recently, is associated with which Ministry?
[A] Ministry of Commerce
[B] Ministry of Finance
[C] Ministry of Agriculture
[D] Ministry of MSME
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Ministry of Finance]
Notes:
The Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance has notified the ‘Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Rules, 2020’.
The norms for enforcing the ‘rules of origin’ provisions has been released by the Government recently. These rules will come into effect from September 21, 2020 and will apply where preferential rate of duty is claimed by importer. The ”Rules of origin” provision mandates minimal processing in the FTA country.
40. As per the newly activated Aadhaar based GST registration, what is the time taken for GST registration by an entity?
[A] 3 working days
[B] 5 working days
[C] 7 working days
[D] 21 working days
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [3 working days]
Notes:
In order to enhance the ease of doing business, the Aadhaar authentication has been activated by the Government for registration to GST. The Aadhaar based GST registration of an entity would be completed in 3 working days and there is no requirement for physical verification.
Those not opting for Aadhaar based registration will be subjected to physical verification of place of business activity and other related documentary verification. The time required for non-Aadhaar registration would be up to 21 days.