41. Stylobates calcifer, the newly discovered species of sea anemone, has symbiotic relationship with__?
[A] Red rock crab
[B] Hermit crab
[C] Oyster crab
[D] Red king crab
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Hermit crab]
Notes:
The new species of sea anemone called Stylobates calcifer lives in a symbiotic relationship with a hermit crab species called Pagurodofleinia doederleini. It was discovered at the depth of 100 to 400 meters in Pacific Ocean off the coast of Japan.
42. The high-resolution camera DRACO, is part of which NASA mission?
[A] DART
[B] Artemis
[C] DAVINCI+
[D] Voyager
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [DART]
Notes:
The Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) is the only instrument carried by NASA’s DART mission. It was designed based on the New Horizon Mission’s imager. In recent months, this high resolution camera captured some 150,000 images of various stars.
43. BepiColombo Mission, which recently made news, is the first European mission to which planet?
[A] Mercury
[B] Mars
[C] Venus
[D] Jupiter
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Mercury]
Notes:
Launched in 2018, BepiColombo is the joint mission of the European Space Agency and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The mission has two individual orbiters – ESA’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter and Jaxa’s Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter.
It is the first European mission to Mercury and the first to send two spacecraft to take complementary measurements of the planet and study its environment at the same time. This joint mission recently made its second gravity assist flyby of the Mercury.
44. Mandakini River, which was recently found in the news, is the tributary of which river?
[A] Alaknanda River
[B] Bhagirathi River
[C] Koshi River
[D] Ramganga River
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Alaknanda River]
Notes:
The Mandakini River in Uttarakhand is the tributary of the Alaknanda River, which is one of the two head-streams of Ganga River. It originates from the Chorabari Glacier in the Garhwal Himalayas. The river drains into the Alaknanda, which flows into the Ganges.
Recently, a joint operation was conducted by Uttarkhand Police and the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to rescue two youths trapped in the Mandakini River.
45. Which state has announced plans to install automatic sirens to protect elephants from accidents?
[A] Kerala
[B] Madhya Pradesh
[C] Maharashtra
[D] Odisha
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Odisha]
Notes:
Odisha’s Dhenkanal forest department has announced plans to install automatic sirens near its national highway to protect elephants from accidents.
These sensor-based sirens will ring and a red light will turn on when elephants cross the road to alert drivers within a distance of up to 1 kilometre. The pilot project has been initiated by ‘Change’, a voluntary organization.
46. ‘Avinash Kulkarni’ who was in the news recently, is the new CEO of which body?
[A] UIDAI
[B] National Health Authority
[C] UGC
[D] IDRCL
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [IDRCL]
Notes:
Avinash Kulkarni has been selected as the CEO of India Debt Resolution Company (IDRCL). It was formed to resolve more than ₹83,000 crore of bad loans to be acquired by the government-backed National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL).
He was the Chief executive of India Resurgence Asset Reconstruction Company (IRARC) and also had served in SBI. Another SBI veteran Natarajan Sundar was selected as CEO of the NARCL in April 2022.
47. ‘Living Lands Charter’, which was seen in the news, is associated with which global bloc?
[A] G-7
[B] G-20
[C] Commonwealth of Nations
[D] BRICS
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Commonwealth of Nations]
Notes:
At the conclusion of the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kigali, Rwanda, all 54 Commonwealth members adopted ‘Living Lands Charter’.
The non-binding agreement mandates that member countries will safeguard global land resources and arrest land degradation and act against climate change, biodiversity loss and towards sustainable management.
48. Who has been appointed as the new Chairperson of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)?
[A] Parameswaran Iyer
[B] Nitin Gupta
[C] Anuja Sarangi
[D] Pragya Sahay Saksena
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Nitin Gupta]
Notes:
IRS officer Nitin Gupta has been appointed as the new Chairperson of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
He is an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer of the 1986 batch of the Income Tax cadre, serving as the Member (investigation) in the CBDT Board. The post of the CBDT chief was being held in an additional capacity by Board member and 1986-batch IRS officer Sangeeta Singh. The CBDT is headed by a Chairman and can have six members.
49. Which institution has approved USD 250 million loan for the Indian government’s road safety programme?
[A] IMF
[B] World Bank
[C] ADB
[D] AIIB
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [World Bank]
Notes:
The World Bank approved a USD 250 million loan for the Indian government’s road safety programme to addresses the high road accident fatality rate in the country.
The loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has a maturity of 18 years. According to a World Bank study, road crashes are estimated to cost the Indian economy between 5% and 7% of GDP a year.
50. What is the full form of ‘GPU’ with reference to computer hardware?
[A] Graphics production units
[B] Graphics processing units
[C] Grayscale processing units
[D] Grid processing units
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Graphics processing units]
Notes:
Arm Ltd, the British chip technology firm owned by SoftBank Group, has recently launched a set of new chip technologies aimed at making video games on smart-phones look better while preserving battery life. The latest products are designs for graphics processing units, or GPUs, which are often used for video processing in gaming. Arm upgraded plans for its central processing units (CPUs).