31. Port-au-Prince, which was seen in the news, is the capital city of which country?
[A] Haiti
[B] Maldives
[C] Madagascar
[D] Mauritius
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Haiti]
Notes:
After a week-long gang violence in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, at least 89 people dead. Raising prices, fuel shortages and gang warfare accelerated worsened the security situation in Port-au-Prince.
The violence erupted between two rival factions in Cite Soleil, an impoverished and densely populated neighborhood of Port-au-Prince.
32. ‘CAATSA sanctions’, which was seen in the news, is associated with which country?
[A] Russia
[B] USA
[C] China
[D] UK
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [USA]
Notes:
The US House of Representatives has passed a legislative amendment that approves waiver to India against the punitive CAATSA sanctions for its purchase of the S-400 missile defence system from Russia.
Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) is a US law that authorises the US administration to impose sanctions on countries that purchase major defence hardware from Russia in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
33. South European countries have recently witnessed which disaster?
[A] Floods
[B] Wildfire
[C] Drought
[D] Tornado
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Wildfire]
Notes:
South European countries including Spain, Greece and France have been witnessing huge wildfires and heat-wave.
Hundreds of deaths were reported due to rising temperatures that are related to climate change. France has evacuated over 16,000 people threatened by wildfires in the south-west and fires spread in Spain, Croatia and Greece.
34. Some public sector banks have recently connected to the AA ecosystem. What is the expansion of AA?
[A] Amount Aggregator
[B] Account Aggregator
[C] Affiliate Aggregator
[D] Account Administrator
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Account Aggregator]
Notes:
Public sector lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) has gone live on the account aggregator ecosystem as financial information user (FIU) as well as financial information provider (FIP).
Union Bank of India, Canara Bank and Indian Bank have also connected to the account aggregator system. Other banks including SBI, BOB and UCO Bank are in the testing phase and some others are in the development phase.
35. Mairaj Ahmad Khan, who was seen in the news recently, is associated with which sports?
[A] Weight lifting
[B] Shooting
[C] Wrestling
[D] Tennis
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Shooting]
Notes:
Two-time Olympian and India’s ace Skeet shooter Mairaj Ahmad Khan won the country’s first ever individual gold in the ISSF World Cup at Changwon, Korea.
India stays on top of the medal standings with five gold, five silver and three bronze medals with two more days of competitions left. India also won a bronze with the 50m Rifle women’s team of Anjum Moudgil, Sift Kaur Samra and Ashi Chouksey.
36. NTPC has partnered with which company for a new a joint venture company in Renewable Energy?
[A] SAIL
[B] GAIL
[C] ONGC
[D] IOC
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [IOC]
Notes:
NTPC and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) have signed an agreement to set up a joint venture company for meeting the power requirements of projects of IOC refineries.
NTPC Green Energy (NGEL), a wholly owned subsidiary of NTPC, will form the JV Company for supplying RE-RTC power to Indian Oil Corporation.
37. Bhupinder Singh, who recently passed away, was a famous personality in which field?
[A] Business
[B] Music
[C] Sports
[D] Politics
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Music]
Notes:
Veteran playback singer Bhupinder Singh, who is famous for his Bollywood songs, passed away recently at the age of 82 in Mumbai.
He is a renowned ghazal singer with a five-decade-long career. He began his career working in the All India Radio, Delhi, as a singer and musician.
38. Who is the head of the high-powered panel on minimum support price (MSP), which was recently set up?
[A] Ramesh Chand
[B] Amitabh Kant
[C] M. S. Swaminathan
[D] Sanjay Agarwal
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Sanjay Agarwal]
Notes:
The Central Government has constituted a high-powered panel under the chairmanship of former agriculture secretary Sanjay Agarwal.
The panel seeks to the minimum support price (MSP) mechanism more effective and transparent. It was set up eight months after the government repealed the three controversial farm Acts. The panel includes NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand, and representatives from IFFCO, ICAR, along with representatives from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, and Odisha.
39. Which state celebrated ‘Happiness Utsav’ to mark the fourth anniversary of its Happiness Curriculum?
[A] Madhya Pradesh
[B] New Delhi
[C] Goa
[D] Tamil Nadu
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [New Delhi]
Notes:
The Delhi government celebrated ‘Happiness Utsav’ marking the fourth anniversary of its Happiness Curriculum for schools.
During the Happiness Utsav, various activities will be organised for the next 15 days. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had introduced the Happiness Curriculum in 2018.
40. Who has been appointed as the BCCI ethics officer and Ombudsman?
[A] Ranjan Gogoi
[B] Vineet Saran
[C] A K Sikri
[D] V K Singh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Vineet Saran]
Notes:
Former Supreme Court judge Vineet Saran has taken over as the BCCI’s ethics officer and ombudsman, filling the dual posts which were lying vacant for a year.
Vineet Saran has succeeded Justice (Retd) D K Jain, whose term ended in June last year. He is a former Chief Justice of Odisha High Court, and also served as a judge in Karnataka and Allahabad High Court.