31. With which organization, Facebook has partnered to build a 12,000-kilometre long subsea cable in the Asia-Pacific region?
[A] Microsoft
[B] Apple
[C] Twitter
[D] Google
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Google]
Notes:
- Google and Facebook have joined hands to build a 12,000-kilometre long subsea cable, aimed at expanding connectivity in the Asia-Pacific region.
- The undersea cable will connect Japan, Taiwan, Guam, the Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore, and is expected to be completed in 2024.
- The cable system is expected to have an initial design capacity of more than 190 terabits per second to meet rising data demands in the region.
- Subsea cables are laid on sea beds to carry telecommunication signals. They are made up of hundreds of fibres that transmit data between two locations.
32. With whom has India signed a joint action plan to boost trade activities?
[A] East African Community
[B] European Union
[C] Caribbean Community
[D] Commonwealth of Independent States
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [East African Community]
Notes:
- East African Community (EAC) traders stand to benefit from faster clearance of their goods and lower costs of running their business following the signing of a Joint Action Plan between the EAC and the Government of India.
- The Joint Action Plan will pave the way for a full Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) between the two parties.
- The MRA once realised, will benefit companies under the Authorised Economic Operators (AEO) Programme run by the EAC Partner States under the coordination of the EAC Secretariat since 2008.
- The selection of India as an MRA partner was based on the principle of mutual recognition and the fairly steady trade between the EAC and India over the past five years (2014 – 2018), which cumulatively amounted to over $30 billion.
33. Which State/UT has launched the second phase Naadu-Nedu programme?
[A] Telangana
[B] Andhra Pradesh
[C] Tamil Nadu
[D] Kerala
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Andhra Pradesh]
Notes:
- Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, has launched the second phase Naadu-Nedu programme in Konaseema region in East Godavari district to renovate 16,000 government schools by spending ₹4,500 crore.
- The Chief Minister has also launched the distribution of Jagananna Vidhya Kanuka-2, spending a whopping ₹726 crore to provide the education kits to the 4.73 crore students of government and aided schools in the academic year 2021-22.
- The kit comprises of three pairs of uniform cloths, books, stationary and shoes. This year, the dictionary is an additional gift. For the primary and upper primary students, SCERT dictionary will be presented and Oxford Dictionary will be given to the high school students.
34. Which date in August is observed as World Photography Day?
[A] 18 August
[B] 20 August
[C] 19 August
[D] 17 August
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [19 August]
Notes:
- World Photography Day, is observed on August 19 every year, is a day to celebrate the magic of cameras and photography.
- World Photography Day brings together people who share a passion for photography and also raises awareness about this art form around the world.
- First official World Photo Day was observed on August 19, 2010.
35. Which organization has launched Urja, an AI enabled virtual assistant?
[A] Hindustan Petroleum
[B] NTPC Limited
[C] Power Grid Corporation of India
[D] Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited]
Notes:
- Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), has launched Urja, a virtual assistant with AI/NLP (Artificial Intelligence/Natural Language Processing) capabilities and trained on more than 600 use cases.
- In an effort to make BPCL’s customer interface complete and digitally integrated, Urja, the chabot is now available on the company’s website for any questions.
- Urja speaks in 13 languages (English, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, Oriya, Bengali, Punjabi, Urdu and Assamese).
36. Which ministry has launched the Ubharte Sitaare scheme?
[A] Ministry of Commerce and Industry
[B] Ministry of Finance
[C] Ministry of Corporate Affairs
[D] Ministry of Labour and Employment
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Ministry of Finance]
Notes:
- Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has launched the “Ubharte Sitaare” scheme to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
- Under the scheme, an identified company is supported even if it is currently underperforming or may be unable to tap its latent potential to grow.
- The programme diagnoses such challenges and provides support through a mix of structured support covering equity, debt and technical assistance.
- The objectives of the programme are to enhance India’s competitiveness in select sectors through finance and extensive handholding support.
- Identify and nurture companies having differentiated technology, products or processes, and enhance their export business.
- Assist units with export potential, which are unable to scale up their operations for want of finance.
- Identify and mitigate challenges faced by successful companies which hinder their exports.
- Assist existing exporters in widening their basket of products and target new markets through a strategic and structured export market development initiative.
37. Which organization has become the first rail operator in India to join TradeLens?
[A] Arshyia Rail Infrastructure Ltd
[B] Gati Ltd
[C] Container Corporation of India Ltd
[D] GatewayRail
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [GatewayRail]
Notes:
- Intermodal logistics service provider GatewayRail has joined hands with blockchain-enabled digital container logistics platform TradeLens.
- TradeLens will help it in its digitalization journey.
- Developed jointly by AP Moller-Maersk and IBM, TradeLens was launched to help modernize the world’s supply chain ecosystems with a special focus on containerized freight and logistics.
- TradeLens brings together data from the entire global supply chain ecosystem. This data allows TradeLens and its network partners to modernize manual and paper-based documents by replacing them with blockchain-enabled digital solutions.
- It also allows the network partners to provide their customers with deeper visibility into the entire journey for their cargo from origin to destination.
- GatewayRail has become the first rail operator in India to join TradeLens.
38. In which State/UT, India’s highest herbal park has been inaugurated?
[A] Uttarakhand
[B] Himachal Pradesh
[C] Sikkim
[D] Mizoram
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Uttarakhand]
Notes:
- India’s highest altitude herbal park situated at a height of 11,000 feet was inaugurated at Mana village close to the Indo-China border in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district.
- The research wing of Uttarakhand’s forest department has developed the park over three acres of land given by Mana Van panchayat, under the central government’s Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act (CAMPA), scheme.
- It has been developed in three years under central government’s Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) scheme.
- The herbal park has around 40 species found in high altitude alpine areas in the Indian Himalayan region.
39. Recently, former chief minister Kalyan Singh has passed away. He was the chief minister of which state?
[A] Haryana
[B] Rajasthan
[C] Uttar Pradesh
[D] Madhya Pradesh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Uttar Pradesh]
Notes:
- Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and former Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh passed away in Lucknow at the age of 89 on August 21, 2021.
- Kalyan Singh became the chief minister of the state for the first time in 1991.
- He was at the helm of the affairs in the state when the Babri masjid was demolished in 1992.
- He was CM from 24 June 1991 – 6 December 1992 and from 21 September 1997 – 12 November 1999.
40. In which state/UT, the cabinet has approved two credit-linked schemes for the agro-based sectors?
[A] Assam
[B] Kerala
[C] Arunachal Pradesh
[D] Ladakh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Arunachal Pradesh]
Notes:
- The Arunachal Pradesh cabinet has approved two credit-linked schemes, which will facilitate Rs 300 crore investments in the agro-based sectors.
- The state government has earmarked Rs 60 crore of subsidies each for Atma Nirbhar Krishi Yojana for agriculture and Atma Nirbhar Bagwani Yojana for horticulture during the fiscal year 2021-22.
- The credit-linked programmes will have three components – bank loans, subsidy and beneficiaries’ contribution.
- The schemes will be available for cultivators, self-help groups and farmer producer organisations (FPOs).
