1. What is the theme of the ‘National Statistics Day’ 2020, celebrated on June 29?
[A] Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 5
[B] Honouring P. C. Mahalanobis
[C] Statistics is Life
[D] Indian statistics
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 5]
Notes:
National Statistics Day is observed on June 29 every year in India. This year it was celebrated through virtual conference with the theme of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 (Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages) and SDG 5 (Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls).
The Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation instituted a new award ‘Prof. P. C. Mahalanobis National Award in Official Statistics’, which was conferred upon Former RBI Governor C Rangarajan. ‘Prof. P.V. Sukhatme National Award in Statistics 2020’ was given to Dr Arvind Pandey and Dr. Akhilesh Chandra Kulshreshtha.
2. Who has been re-appointed as the Attorney General (AG) of India?
[A] Ranjit Kumar
[B] K.K. Venugopal
[C] Tushar Mehta
[D] Maninder Singh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [K.K. Venugopal]
Notes:
The President of India has re-appointed K.K. Venugopal as the Attorney General (AG) of India for one more year. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by Prime Minister approved the extension in term of Tushar Mehta as the Solicitor General (SG) for three years.
Six new Additional Solicitors General (ASGs) were appointed and tenure of five existing Additional Solicitors General (ASGs) was extended. Venugopal took over as the AG in 2017, succeeding Mukul Rohatgi.
3. The Prime Minister has extended the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana scheme till which month?
[A] August
[B] September
[C] October
[D] November
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [November]
Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana would be extended till the end of November.
The scheme aims to provide free grains to more than 80 crore poor people of the country. The Prime Minister announced that more than Rs 90,000 crore will be spent in this expansion of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.
4. Beximco LPG, with which Indian Oil has signed an agreement to form a Joint Venture LPG company, is located in which country?
[A] Malaysia
[B] Russia
[C] Bangladesh
[D] Thailand
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Bangladesh]
Notes:
Indian Oil Corporation and Beximco LPG have signed an agreement to form a Joint venture company for LPG business in Bangladesh.
The Joint venture company (JVC) aims to set up a large LPG terminal at a deep-water port in Bangladesh, to receive LPG and reduce import. It will begin functioning by acquiring existing LPG assets of Beximco.
5. Who has been recognised as the constitutional interim President of Venezuela, by the United Kingdom?
[A] Nicolas Maduro
[B] Juan Guaido
[C] Nigel Teare
[D] Sarosh Zaiwalla
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Juan Guaido]
Notes:
The United Kingdom has recently recognised Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s constitutional interim President.
A case has been held over whether Guaido or Nicolas Maduro have control on the country’s USD 1 billion worth gold reserves held in the Bank of England. In the ruling of the English High Court, it has declared Guaido as Venezuela’s legitimate leader. Though Maduro won the second term, the opposition has majority.
6. Which special day is celebrated on July 2, to mark the anniversary of the International Sports Press Association (AIPS)?
[A] World Sports Journalists Day
[B] World Sports Association Day
[C] World Sportspersons Day
[D] World Coaches Day
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [World Sports Journalists Day]
Notes:
Every year, July 2 is celebrated as World Sports Journalists Day or International Sports Journalists Day.
The day also recognises the importance of sports journalists around the world. It marks the anniversary of the International Sports Press Association (AIPS), that was established in 1924 during the Paris Olympics. AIPS is the peak professional body representing the international sports media.
7. What is the name of the National-award winning Bollywood choreographer, who recently passed away?
[A] Saroj Khan
[B] Protik Prakash
[C] Tridib Ghosh
[D] Geetha Nagabhushan
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Saroj Khan]
Notes:
Veteran Bollywood choreographer Saroj Khan recently passed away at the age of 72. She was fondly called as ‘Masterji’ in Bollywood.
During her long career spanning over forty years, she had choreographed more than 2000 songs in many languages. She had also won three National Awards for Best Choreography for Devdas, Jab We Met and the Tamil film Shringaram.
8. What is the name of the free video-conferencing application, launched by Reliance Jio?
[A] JioMeet
[B] Vande Bharat
[C] Hello India
[D] Jio Zoom
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [JioMeet]
Notes:
Reliance Industries has recently launched a new video conferencing application named ‘JioMeet’, as a competition to the popular video conferencing app Zoom.
The JioMeet video conferencing app is available across all play stores and web. As per the statement of Reliance Jio, the application supports High Definition audio and video call quality. It allows a maximum of 100 participants and unlike Zoom, it does not have a restricted meeting time of 40 minutes.
9. Which Indian state/UT is to launch a financial assistance scheme called ‘Balaram Yojana’?
[A] Gujarat
[B] Odisha
[C] Madhya Pradesh
[D] Uttar Pradesh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Odisha]
Notes:
The state government of Odisha is set to launch a new financial assistance scheme called ‘Balaram Yojana’.
It is a sequel to the ‘KALIA’ scheme, which was launched with an aim to provide assistance to small and marginal farmers. Under the new scheme, the state will provide crop loans to 7 lakh landless sharecroppers in the state, through joint liability groups (JLGs) in the next two years.
10. Which country’s Railways has set up the world’s first solar power plant to directly power Overhead line?
[A] China
[B] India
[C] United States
[D] Singapore
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [India]
Notes:
Indian Railways has set up a solar power plant, for the first time in the world, which directly provides power to the Railway Overhead Line, in collaboration with Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL).
Such a solar power plant has been established at Bina Traction Sub Station, Madhya Pradesh. The 1.7 Mega-watt solar power plant can produce around 25 lakh units of energy in a year and save about Rs 1.37 crore per year.