41. Which country supplies S-400 air defence missile system to India?
[A] USA
[B] Israel
[C] Russia
[D] France
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Russia]
Notes:
Russia will begin supplying India with the third squadron of the S-400 air defence missile system in January or February of next year.
India has already deployed its first two missile system squadrons to patrol the Ladakh sector, West Bengal’s Chicken’s Neck Corridor and the entire north-eastern region. India and Russia have agreed to a three-year ₹35,000 crore deal to buy five squadrons of S-400 air defence missiles.
42. Which institution recommends the minimum support prices (MSPs) for 22 products in India?
[A] Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices
[B] Food Corporation of India
[C] Agricultural produce market committee
[D] Indian Council of Agricultural Research
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices]
Notes:
The minimum support prices are announced by the Government of India at the beginning of the sowing season for 22 crops on the basis of the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
The Union Cabinet approved minimum support prices (MSPs) for copra for 2023 season, based on recommendations of CACP and prices and views of major coconut-growing states. MSP is fixed at Rs 10,860 per quintal for milling copra and at Rs 11,750 per quintal for ball copra.
43. UIDAI is a statutory authority established under which Union Ministry?
[A] Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology
[B] Ministry of Home Affairs
[C] Ministry of Finance
[D] Ministry of Science and Technology
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology]
Notes:
The Unique Identification Authority of India is a statutory authority established under the provisions of Aadhaar Act 2016 under the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology.
UIDAI has urged the residents to keep their documents updated in Aadhaar issued 10 years back, by uploading supportive documents either online through myAadhaar portal or offline by visiting the nearest Aadhaar centre.
44. Under Atal Innovation Mission, what is the maximum grant provided to establish AIC?
[A] Rs 1 crore
[B] Rs 5 crore
[C] Rs 10 crore
[D] Rs 25 crore
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Rs 10 crore]
Notes:
Under Atal Innovation Mission, grant-in-aid of up to Rs. 10 crores for a maximum period of 5 years is provided to establish the Atal Incubation Centre (AIC)
Atal Incubation Centre (AIC) at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) recently signed agreements with MSMEs for incubation of newer technologies into commercial products.
45. Which Union Ministry released a policy draft for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics — Extended Reality (AVGC-XR)?
[A] Information and Broadcasting Ministry
[B] Science and Technology Ministry
[C] Electronics and IT Ministry
[D] Finance Ministry
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Information and Broadcasting Ministry]
Notes:
Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry released a policy draft for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics — Extended Reality (AVGC-XR).
It has an aim to boost India’s domestic capacities and develop opportunities in AVGC-XR sector. The policy at state and national levels talks about the framing of a new curriculum at school and college levels, under ‘Create in India’ campaign and creating more job opportunities. The taskforce on AVGC-XR was formed under the aegis of I&B Ministry secretary Apurva Chandra.
46. What is the name of the digital project funded by Google to map the language diversity of India?
[A] Project Bharat
[B] Project Vaani
[C] Project Echo
[D] Project Inimai
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Project Vaani]
Notes:
The Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc), ARTPARK (AI and Robotics Technology Park) and Google have partnered together for ‘Project Vaani’ Initiative.
The digital project aims to map the language diversity of India by collecting speech sets of about a million people across 773 districts. The project aims to record over 150,000 hours of speech, part of which will be transcribed in local scripts. The goal is to boost development of automatic speech recognition, speech to speech translation and natural language understanding.
47. Which country has claimed that 18 children have died due to cough syrup made by Indian firm Marion Biotech?
[A] Egypt
[B] Uzbekistan
[C] Bangladesh
[D] Sri Lanka
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Uzbekistan]
Notes:
The Health Ministry of Uzbekistan said 18 children, with acute respiratory disease, have died from taking excessive doses of a cough syrup, Doc-1 Max.
It has been manufactured by Marion Biotech a Noida-based Indian firm. The children consumed the cough syrup, which contained ethylene glycol, a substance that ought not to be present in cough syrup. Parliamentary panel in The Gambia earlier found unacceptable levels of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol in cough syrups made by Haryana-based Maiden Pharma.
48. What is the theme of the official Government of India Calendar for 2023?
[A] Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas
[B] Naya Varsh, Naye Sankalp
[C] Vikas Aur Vishwas
[D] New Hopes of India
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Naya Varsh, Naye Sankalp]
Notes:
Union Information and broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur released the Official Government of India Calendar for the year 2023.
It has 12 themes for the 12 months to highlight the efforts made by the Government towards public welfare. The calendar will showcase the achievements of the Government so far and the commitment for future, with the theme ‘Naya Varsh, Naye Sankalp’. It will be made available in 13 languages.
49. Which state assembly has recently passed ‘Lokayukta Bill’?
[A] Maharashtra
[B] Gujarat
[C] Haryana
[D] Punjab
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Maharashtra]
Notes:
The Maharashtra Assembly unanimously passed the Maharashtra Lokayukta Act, 2022, which will give additional powers to the Lokayukta to direct state agencies to probe public servants, including the chief minister and state ministers.
The government has accepted all the recommendations made by the committee led by social activist Anna Hazare. The Act will now be presented in the Legislative Council for approval.
50. Which state has set up a Commission to conduct a survey to ensure that OBCs are provided reservation on the basis of ‘Triple test’?
[A] Jharkhand
[B] Uttar Pradesh
[C] Karnataka
[D] Himachal Pradesh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Uttar Pradesh]
Notes:
Uttar Pradesh has set up a five-member commission, which will conduct a survey to ensure that the OBCs are provided reservation on the basis of the triple test, as mandated by the Supreme Court. Earlier, the Allahabad High Court ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to hold urban local body elections without reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) because the ‘triple test’ requirement had not been fulfilled.