1. How many countries are members of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), which has held its virtual annual summit?
[A] Eight
[B] Ten
[C] Twelve
[D] Fifteen
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Ten]
Notes:
ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) leaders have met during the recent annual summit held via video conference.
ASEAN is a regional association with 10 member countries including Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma), Brunei, Laos. The Chair of ASEAN in 2020 is Vietnam, which hosted the virtual summit, due to travel restrictions amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
2. 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.
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. Union Home Ministry has extended the Armed Forces Special power Act(AFSPA) in which state for six months?
[A] Assam
[B] Nagaland
[C] Mizoram
[D] Arunachal Pradesh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Nagaland]
Notes:
The Union Home Ministry has extended the Armed Forces (Special power Act) (AFSPA) in Nagaland, for six more months.
The whole state has been declared as a “Distributed area” for a period of six months with effect from 30th June. This has been exercised under the powers provided by section 3 of the AFSPA Act. Earlier, Nagaland Governor R. N Ravi has written to the Chief Minister that the law and order has collapsed in the state.
5. What is the corpus of the new Special Liquidity Scheme launched to support Non-Banking Finance Companies and Housing Finance Companies?
[A] 10000 crore
[B] 20000 crore
[C] 30000 crore
[D] 50000 crore
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [30000 crore]
Notes:
The Union Government has recently launched the Special Liquidity Scheme improve the liquidity of Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) and Housing Finance Companies (HFCs).
The corpus of the scheme is Rs 30000 crore rupees and it was launched through a Special Purpose Vehicle in the form of a trust set up by SBI Capital Markets. The Union Government will provide unconditional and irrevocable guarantee to the special securities issued by the Trust.
6. Everton Weekes, who passed away recently, was associated with which field?
[A] Politics
[B] Arts
[C] Sports
[D] Literature
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Sports]
Notes:
Everton Weekes, who was considered as one of the finest cricketers of the West Indies, has recently passed away at the age of 95.
During his eminent cricket career, he scored an average of 58.61 per innings, which included a world-record of five consecutive centuries in 1948. Weekes also jointly holds the record as the fastest to reach 1000 Test runs. He was also a member of the prestigious ICC Hall of Fame.
7. Who has been appointed as the new prime minister of France?
[A] Jean Castex
[B] Emmanuel Macron
[C] Edouard Philippe
[D] Mikhail Mishustin
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Jean Castex]
Notes:
The President of France Emmanuel Macron has named Jean Castex as the next French Prime Minister.
The previous Prime Minister Edouard Philippe had resigned earlier. The President has reshuffled the Government to restart the country’s economy. Jean Castex is a 55-year-old public servant, who has also coordinated the re-opening strategy in the country.
8. Which country has the world’s largest elephant population?
[A] Botswana
[B] Zimbabwe
[C] Thailand
[D] Namibia
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Botswana]
Notes:
Botswana, the landlocked country in South Africa has the largest elephant population in the world, around an estimate of 1,30,000.
The country was recently in news, more than 300 elephants have died mysteriously in the famous Okavango Delta of Botswana. As per the head of the wildlife department, the reason of deaths was not poaching, as their tusks were not damaged.
9. As per the World Bank’s classification, India is retained in which category of income group?
[A] Low-income
[B] Lower-middle income
[C] Upper-middle income
[D] High-income
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Lower-middle income]
Notes:
The World Bank assigns the countries of the world to four income groups namely low, lower-middle, upper-middle, and high-income countries.
The classifications are updated on July 1 every year and it is based on GNI per capita. In this year’s classification, seven economies including Nepal and Indonesia are moving to a higher category. Three economies including Sri Lanka have moved down to a lower category. India retains its Lower-middle position.
10. What is the name of the first social media super-application, to be launched in India?
[A] Elyments
[B] Incorporate
[C] Homegrown
[D] Inspire
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Elyments]
Notes:
The Vice President of India is set to launch the first social media super-application of the country named ‘Elyments’. More than 1000 IT professionals have created the application.
The application, that will be available in more than 8 Indian languages, aims to combine the features of popular social media applications and present it on a single unified app. It also has features such as free audio and video calls and chats.