1. Which state is the top sugar producer of India in 2021-22?
[A] Madhya Pradesh
[B] Maharashtra
[C] Gujarat
[D] Karnataka
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Maharashtra]
Notes:
Maharashtra has overtaken Uttar Pradesh (UP) to regain its position as India’s top sugar producer, in the year 2021-22, after five-year gap.
The state’s output for the 2021-22 crushing year-October-September- stood at 138 lakh tonnes (lt). That is highest ever beating the previous 107.21 lakh tonnes of 2018-19. Maharashtra is followed by Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.
2. Which country has recently signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United Arab Emirates?
[A] Australia
[B] Israel
[C] France
[D] Italy
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Israel]
Notes:
Israel has signed a free trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates, its first big trade pact with an Arab state.
The agreement, which aimed at boosting trade between the two Middle Eastern nations, would encourage more Israeli companies to set up offices in the UAE, particularly in Dubai. The deal with Israel is UAE’s second bilateral free trade agreement after a similar accord with India in February.
3. The ‘West Nile fever’ was first detected in 1937 in which country?
[A] India
[B] Uganda
[C] Syria
[D] Israel
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Uganda]
Notes:
West Nile fever was first detected in 1937 in Uganda. The vector-borne infection is spread by the Culex species of mosquitoes. The fever was first detected in Kerala in 2011.
A 47-year-old man died due to West Nile fever in Kerala’s Thrissur district. It is the first fatality in the state caused by the disease in the last three years.
4. As per the RBI Annual Report, what is the trend of total number of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICNs) in 2021-22, compared to previous year?
[A] Increased
[B] Decreased
[C] Remained Same
[D] Not Calculated
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Increased]
Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the RBI Annual Report 2021-22. As per the report, the total number of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICNs) of all denominations detected in the banking sector increased to 2,30,971 pieces.
There was an increase of 16.4 per cent, 16.5 per cent, 11.7 per cent, 101.9 per cent and 54.6 per cent in the counterfeit notes detected in the denominations of Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 200, Rs 500 and Rs 2,000, respectively. The total expenditure on security printing during 2021-2022 was ₹4,984.8 crore as against ₹4,012.1 crore in the previous year.
5. Which company took over Ford’s passenger vehicle manufacturing plant at Sanand in Gujarat?
[A] Ola
[B] Tata Motors
[C] Mahindra and Mahindra
[D] Hyundai
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Tata Motors]
Notes:
Tata Motors’ subsidiary Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Limited (TPEML) signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ford India and Government of Gujarat to take over Ford’s passenger vehicle manufacturing plant at Sanand.
Tata Motors’ subsidiary TPEML can manufacture electric vehicles (EVs) at Ford India’s Sanand plant, located in the state of Gujarat.
6. Which is the venue of the ‘World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2022’?
[A] New York
[B] Paris
[C] Geneva
[D] Davos
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Geneva]
Notes:
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2022 started from 15 March in a virtual format with the final week held physically from 30 May to 3 June 2022 at the ITU Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
The forum was held under the theme of ‘ICTs for Well-Being, Inclusion and Resilience: WSIS Cooperation for Accelerating Progress on the SDGs’. The WSIS Forum is co-organized by ITU, UNESCO, UNDP and UNCTAD.
7. India signed the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) annual report with which country?
[A] Nepal
[B] Bangladesh
[C] Pakistan
[D] China
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Pakistan]
Notes:
The 118th meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) comprising Indus Commissioners of India and Pakistan was recently organised.
During the meeting, the annual report for the year ending on March 31, 2022, was finalised and signed. The next meeting of the PIC would be held in Pakistan. According to the of the Indus Waters Treaty, around 33-million-acre feet water of eastern rivers- Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi is allocated to India for unrestricted use annually, and about 135 MAF of western rivers-Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab to Pakistan.
8. Frontier, the world’s fastest supercomputer, is developed in which country?
[A] USA
[B] Russia
[C] China
[D] Israel
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [USA]
Notes:
‘Frontier’ became the world’s fastest supercomputer, according to the Top500 list of world’s most powerful supercomputers with Linmark benchmark score of 1.1 exaflops.
It is a supercomputer built using Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) architecture and equipped with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) processors. It surpassed Fugaku, Japan’s supercomputer jointly developed by RIKEN and Fujitsu Ltd., which topped the supercomputer benchmarking index in 2020.
9. The ‘International Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories’ is observed in which month?
[A] April
[B] May
[C] June
[D] July
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [May]
Notes:
The ‘International Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories’ is observed from May 25 to May 31.
In the UN Charter, a Non-Self-Governing Territory is defined as a Territory “whose people have not yet attained a full measure of self-government.” At present, there are 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories remaining.
10. Which is the only Indian institution in the top-50 list of 2022 Times Higher Education (THE) Asia University Rankings?
[A] IIT Madras
[B] IIT Bombay
[C] IISc Bengaluru
[D] IIT Roorkee
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [IISc Bengaluru]
Notes:
The Times Higher Education (THE) released the 2022 edition of the Asia University Rankings with universities from 31 countries and territories.
India is the third most-represented country, with 71 universities making it to the list. Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore is the only institute to make the top-50 list at 42nd rank. JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research (65th), IIT Ropar (68) and IIT Indore (87) were in top 100 list.