41. The Union Government has extended Work-from-home exemption for IT and IT-enabled services companies till which month, after July?
[A] December 2020
[B] November 2020
[C] October 2020
[D] September 2020
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [December 2020]
Notes:
The Union Government has recently announced that the Work-from-home exemption for IT and IT-enabled services companies is extended till December 31, 2020.
In March, the Department of Telecommunication had relaxed the norms till April to facilitate work from home amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which was then extended till July 31 and now to December 31. At present, more than 90% of the IT workforce are working remotely.
42. Who has been nominated to be the Vice-Chairman of the International Union of Railways (UIC)?
[A] Arun Kumar
[B] Sylendra Babu
[C] Rajiv Ranjan Verma
[D] Rajan Bhagat
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Arun Kumar]
Notes:
The Director General of the Railway Protection Force (RPF), Arun Kumar, has been nominated to be the Vice-Chairman of the Security Platform of International Union of Railways (UIC).
The Paris-based union also called as Union Internationale Des Chemins, is a global platform for railway systems for improving inter-operability and developing common standards. India has been working closely with the UIC in several initiatives. After the two-year tenure of vice-chairmanship, the DG will hold the chairmanship for the next two years.
43. India is set to procure standoff missiles named ‘HAMMER’ from which country?
[A] United States
[B] France
[C] Russia
[D] Israel
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [France]
Notes:
India is set to procure HAMMER (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range) standoff missiles from France.
The Indian Air Force is expected to receive first five Rafale combat aircrafts from France by July 29. HAMMER is a medium-range air-to-ground weapon. It was originally designed and manufactured for the French Air Force and Navy.
44. What is the name of the unified mentoring platform launched by the Union MSME Minister?
[A] Restart India
[B] Udyog India
[C] Come Back MSME
[D] Reskill India
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Restart India]
Notes:
Union Minster for micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector Nitin Gadkari launched a mentoring platform named ‘RestartIndia’.
The platform has been conceptualised by Muthoot Fincorp and INKtalks. Restart India is a single platform which provides information on various schemes being implemented by the government. It also helps the businesspersons to connect with experts from various sectors.
45. Who has been appointed as the new Health Secretary of India succeeding Preeti Sudan?
[A] Rajesh Bhushan
[B] Sushil Kumar
[C] Ram Kumar Mishra
[D] Anil Kumar Jain
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Rajesh Bhushan]
Notes:
1987 batch Bihar cadre IAS officer Rajesh Bhushan has been appointed as the new Health secretary, after July 31 this year.
As per the recent Personnel Ministry order, Rajesh Bhushan, the Officer on Special Duty in the Department of Health and Family Welfare will succeed the present Secretary Preeti Sudan. Sushil Kumar has been appointed secretary of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. Ram Kumar Mishra has been named Women and Child Development secretary.
46. Which Central Asian country has become the 25th Observer of the World Trade Organization (WTO)?
[A] Turkmenistan
[B] Uzbekistan
[C] Afghanistan
[D] Kyrgyzstan
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Turkmenistan ]
Notes:
Turkmenistan became the 25th country with a status of an observer in the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The member-states of the WTO General Council unanimously adopted the resolution on granting the status of an observer in WTO to the Central Asian country. There are 164 WTO member-states at present and 25 countries possess the status of an observer including Turkmenistan.
47. Which organisation has collaborated with IIT Delhi under the ‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyan’?
[A] TRIFED
[B] NAFED
[C] UPSC
[D] AICTE
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [TRIFED]
Notes:
The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) has entered into a partnership with IIT Delhi under the ‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyan’ (UBA) programme.
The scheme aims to connect higher education institutions with villages for economic and social betterment of rural areas. A MoU was signed between TRIFED, IIT Delhi and Vijnana Bharati for the implementation. Under ‘Van Dhan’ programme, tribal entrepreneurs will be provided guidance from academic and research institutions.
48. India is set to renew the ‘Agreement on Scientific cooperation’ for the next five years with which global association?
[A] ASEAN
[B] BIMSTEC
[C] European Union
[D] G-20
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [European Union]
Notes:
India and the European Union are set to renew the Agreement on Scientific cooperation for the next five years, 2020-2025.
This was announced at the virtual 15th India-EU Summit, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen led the EU. The mentioned Agreement was initially signed in 2001 and has been renewed two times in 2007 and 2015.
49. Indian Railways is constructing world’s first electrified tunnel to run double-stack containers in which state/UT?
[A] Punjab
[B] Rajasthan
[C] Haryana
[D] Gujarat
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Haryana]
Notes:
The world’s first electrified rail tunnel fit to run double-stack containers is being constructed by the Indian Railways in Haryana.
Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd (DFCCIL) has recently conducted a tunnel-breaking ceremony on completion of caving work for the tunnel of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) through Aravalli mountain range. One among the biggest railway tunnels, it connects Rewari and Dadri and itwill be completed within a year.
50. Which country’s people are the largest international community to be granted Australian citizenship?
[A] United States
[B] India
[C] England
[D] Indonesia
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [India]
Notes:
Australian Minister for Immigration and Citizenship recently announced that out of the over 2,00,000 people who became Australian citizens in 2019-2020, around 38,000 were Indians.
They are the largest international community to be granted the Australian citizenship. This figure is also 60 per cent increase from the previous year. India is followed by the people of the UK, China and Pakistan.