1. Lazarus Chakwera has been elected as the President of which African country?
[A] Zimbabwe
[B] Malawi
[C] Zambia
[D] Mozambique
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Malawi]
Notes:
The electoral commission of the East African country Malawi has declared opposition alliance leader. Lazarus Chakwera, as the winner of the country’s presidential re-election.
The result of the previous May 2019 election has been declared invalid by the constitutional court, over allegations of irregularities. Lazarus Chakwera secured the required majority defeating the incumbent President Peter Mutharika, who has been in power since 2014.
2. Which is the parent organisation of “Global Forum on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes”?
[A] Financial Action Task Force
[B] Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
[C] G-20
[D] Common Wealth
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development]
Notes:
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is the parent organisation of Global Forum on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes.
According to the latest study by the Global Forum, India has been among the top-three jurisdictions to which Switzerland provided information about bank accounts and beneficiary ownership of entities, on request. The other two countries were France and Germany. The report recorded the requests during the period from July 2015 to June 2018.
3. Which is the first Indian state/UT to launch a dedicated Plasma Bank to treat COVID-19 patients?
[A] Kerala
[B] Maharashtra
[C] New Delhi
[D] Uttar Pradesh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [New Delhi]
Notes:
The government of New Delhi has recently announced the launch of the country’s first dedicated plasma bank for treating Covid-19 patients.
The facility would be set up at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS), and it will be made available to all government and private hospitals of the UT. The therapy involves drawing blood from patients who have recovered from covid-19 and using the plasma and antibodies to treat active patients.
4. Which state government is set to launch the ‘Kill Corona’ campaign, to control the spread of coronavirus?
[A] Bihar
[B] Uttar Pradesh
[C] Madhya Pradesh
[D] Gujarat
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Madhya Pradesh]
Notes:
The state government of Madhya Pradesh is set to launch a campaign called ‘Kill Corona’, to control the spread of coronavirus in the state.
The 15-day campaign, which is to be carried out from July 1, involves door-to-door survey and tests for other diseases. During the campaign, 2.5 lakh tests will be carried out and about 20,000 samples would be collected daily.
5. Who has been named as ‘India’s Most Valuable Test Player of the 21st Century’ by Wisden?
[A] Mahendra Singh Dhoni
[B] Virat Kohli
[C] Ravindra Jadeja
[D] R Ashwin
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Ravindra Jadeja]
Notes:
Wisden has named Ravindra Jadeja as ‘India’s Most Valuable Test Player of the 21st Century’. He is also named as the second most Valuable Test player in the world.
The list is topped by Sri Lanka’s legendary cricketer Muthiah Muralithatan. Wisden used CricViz, a detailed analysis tool in cricket to analyse performance of the players and award an ‘MVP rating’ to each player in world cricket. The 31-year old India’s spin-bowling all-rounder has scored an MVP rating of 97.3.
6. Which is the headquarters of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)?
[A] Geneva
[B] New York
[C] Nairobi
[D] Paris
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [New York]
Notes:
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has recently released the ‘State of World Population 2020’ report.
UNFPA is the sexual and reproductive health agency of the United Nations (UN) located in New York. As per the report, the number of missing women has more than doubled over the past 50 years, from 61 million in 1970 to 142.6 million in 2020. Out of that, India accounts for 45.8 million of missing females of the world.
7. Which global organisation released the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report?
[A] UNICEF
[B] UNESCO
[C] IMF
[D] World Bank
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [UNESCO]
Notes:
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has released the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report.
As per the report, 40% of poorest countries failed to support learners at risk during COVID-19 crisis. It also revealed that fewer than 10% of countries have laws that help ensure inclusion in education. UNESCO urged all countries to focus on people who are left behind and improve inclusion.
8. Which Indian author has won the 2020 Commonwealth Short Story Prize?
[A] Madhuri Vijay
[B] Kritika Pandey
[C] Arvind Adiga
[D] Arundhati Roy
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Kritika Pandey]
Notes:
Young Indian author Kritika Pandey has won the 2020 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, for her short story ‘The Great Indian Tee and Snakes’.
The 29-year-old writer is currently studying at University of Massachusetts Amherst. She was also declared as one of five Regional Winners for the 2020 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for her literary work.
9. Which global organisation has enhanced support to USD 400 million, for India’s programme to rejuvenate Ganga river?
[A] International Monetary Fund
[B] World Bank
[C] Asian Development Bank
[D] BRICS Bank
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [World Bank]
Notes:
The World Bank has recently announced that it has enhanced its support for India’s flagship program to rejuvenate Ganga river.
World Bank would provide a USD 400 million assistance to the program, which will help reduce pollution and strengthen river basin management. The Second National Ganga River Basin Project (SNGRBP) will support the government’s Namami Gange program. The loan has a maturity of 18.5 years including a grace period of 5 years.
10. What is the name of the online competition launched by the HRD Ministry and Health Ministry, to identify drugs against coronavirus?
[A] Corona Care Hackathon
[B] Drug Discovery Hackathon
[C] Bharat Medico Hackathon
[D] Aatma Nirbhar Hackathon
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Drug Discovery Hackathon]
Notes:
Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan have jointly launched the online competition to identify drugs against coronavirus.
The competition is named “Drug Discovery Hackathon” 2020. Students, researchers and experts from across the country and the world can participate in the event, to submit their discoveries on potential drugs. While HRD Innovation cell and AICTE will identify potential drug, CSIR will conduct synthesis and laboratory testing.