1. S. Madhavan, who passed away recently, was the veteran politician of which party?
[A] CPI
[B] INC
[C] BJP
[D] DMK
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [DMK]
Notes:
S. Madhavan (85), the veteran Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader, has passed away at Singampunari village in Sivagangai district of Tamil Nadu on April 3, 2018. He had served in the cabinets headed by late C.N. Annadurai and M. Karunanidhi.
2. Which city hosted the 9th trilateral meeting of India, Japan and the United States?
[A] New Delhi
[B] Ahmedabad
[C] Kanpur
[D] Bhopal
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [New Delhi]
Notes:
The 9th India-Japan-US trilateral meeting was held in New Delhi on 4 April 2018 at the Joint Secretary/Director General/Assistant Secretary level. The dialogue was aimed at exploring practical steps to enhance cooperation in the areas of connectivity and infrastructure development, counter-proliferation, counter-terrorism, maritime security, maritime domain awareness and Humanitarian Assistance And Disaster Relief (HADR). The trilateral talks were held in accordance with the directions received from the foreign ministers of the three countries, who had met in New York on 18 September 2017 on the margins of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
3. Who has become the youngest Indian weightlifter to win medal at Commonwealth Games (CWG)?
[A] Aleena Reji
[B] Saraswati Rout
[C] Deepak Lather
[D] P Gururaja
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Deepak Lather]
Notes:
Teenager Deepak Lather from Haryana has become the youngest Indian weightlifter to claim a Commonwealth Games medal by clinching a bronze in the men’s 69kg weightlifting category at the 21st Commonwealth Games (CWG-2018) in Gold Coast, Australia on April 6. He lifted a total of 295kg (136kg+159kg). The youngster, competing in his first Commonwealth Games, holds the distinction of being the youngest to hold the national record as well. He held the 62kg category national record at 15. Lather trained at the Army Sports Institute as a diver before being pushed into weightlifting by the coaches there. Earlier, Mirabai Chanu (48kg) and Sanjita Chanu (53kg) won gold medals in the women’s competition and P Gururaja claimed a silver in the men’s 56kg category. The Indian weightlifters have so far claimed four medals in the event.
4. The joint anti-piracy, search and rescue exercise ‘Sahyog – Hyeoblyeog 2018’ was held between India and which country?
[A] Japan
[B] South Korea
[C] South Africa
[D] Brazil
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [South Korea]
Notes:
Indo-Korean joint anti-piracy, search and rescue exercise ‘Sahyog-Hyeoblyeog 2018’ was conducted off the Chennai coast, in Tamil Nadu on April 6. The Korean Coast Guard ship ‘BADARO’ took part in the exercise. Indian Coast Guard deployed a Dornier aircraft to carry out sea-air coordinated search along with ICG Shaurya, Rani Abbakka, C-423, C-431 in the exercise. Director General of Indian Coast Guard Rajendra Singh and Commissioner of Korean Coast Guard General Park Kyung reviewed the exercise. The mission of the joint exercise is to develop working level co-operation and enhance inter-operability in the fields of maritime search and rescue, anti-piracy operations.
5. The joint Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) exercise ‘Chakravath 2018’ is organised by the Indian Navy in coordination with which state government?
[A] Kerala
[B] Odisha
[C] Tamil Nadu
[D] West Bengal
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Kerala]
Notes:
The joint Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) exercise ‘Chakravath 2018’ is organised by the Indian Navy in coordination with the Kerala government at Kochi Airport. The exercise is conducted by the Southern Naval Command from April 5 to 8. The highlight of the 4-day disaster management exercise is Skill Demo, which was conducted in the Mattancherry Channel off the BTP Jetty. The skill demo showcased the capabilities and prowess of the Armed Forces, as well as all state agencies, in tackling an emergency using all available resource.
6. What is the theme of the 55th edition of National Maritime Day (NMD-2018)?
[A] Connecting India through Shipping
[B] Indian Coast Line – A New opportunity
[C] Blue Economy
[D] Indian Shipping – An Ocean of opportunity
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Indian Shipping – An Ocean of opportunity]
Notes:
The National Maritime Day (NMD) is celebrated every year in India on 5th April since 1964 to commemorate the maiden voyage of the first Indian –owned ship “SS Loyalty” sailed from Bombay to London on 5th April 1919. This was a crucial step for Indian shipping history when sea routes were controlled by the British. The theme of the 55th edition of the NMD 2018 is ‘Indian Shipping – An Ocean of opportunity’. The United Nations’ World Maritime Day (WMD) is observed every year on September 29 to highlight the importance of shipping safety, maritime security and the marine environment.
7. The Government of India (GoI) has launched UTTAM App for coal quality monitoring. What does “UTTAM” stands for?
[A] Unlocking Transparency by Third Party Assessment of Mined Coal
[B] Underact Transparency by Third Party Assessment of Mined Coal
[C] Underplay Transparency by Third Party Assessment of Mined Coal
[D] Underboss Transparency by Third Party Assessment of Mined Coal
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Unlocking Transparency by Third Party Assessment of Mined Coal]
Notes:
Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister for Railways and Coal, has launched UTTAM App for Coal Quality Monitoring. UTTAM stands for – Unlocking Transparency by Third Party Assessment of Mined Coal (uttam.coalindia.in). The app is developed by the Ministry of Coal and Coal India Limited (CIL). The purpose of the app is to provide an app for all citizens and coal consumers to monitor the process of Third Party Sampling of coal across CIL subsidiaries. UTTAM App ensures accountability, transparency, effectiveness and efficiency in coal ecosystem. It provides a platform for monitoring of sampling and coal dispatches. The App is designed with an aim to make the citizens a stakeholder in the coal ecosystem. UTTAM is an example of leveraging technology to facilitate a bidirectional channel between Coal India Limited and a common citizen. It ensures transparency and efficiency in the coal quality monitoring process and brings coal governance closer to people.
8. Sanjita Chanu has clinched India’s second gold at which weightlifting category in the 21st Commonwealth Games (CWG-2018)?
[A] 45 kg
[B] 53 kg
[C] 55 kg
[D] 69 kg
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [53 kg]
Notes:
Weightlifter Sanjita Chanu from Manipur has clinched the India’s second gold at the 21st Commonwealth Games (CWG-2018) in the women’s 53 kg weightlifting category in Gold Coast, Australia on April 6. She lifted a total of 192kg (84 kg in Snatch + 108 kg in Clean and Jerk).Beside her, Deepak Lather became the youngest Indian weightlifter to claim a Commonwealth Games medal by clinching a bronze in the men’s 69 kg category. With this, India has won 2 Gold, a silver and a gold. India is placed at third place in the Medal’s tally now. Earlier, on April 5, P Gururaja bagged India’s first (silver) medal in the men’s 56 kg weightlifting category and Saikhom Mirabai Chanu clinched the first gold for India in the women’s 48 kg weightlifting category.
9. Munin Barua, the noted film-maker has passed away. He belonged to which state?
[A] Odisha
[B] West Bengal
[C] Manipur
[D] Assam
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Assam]
Notes:
Munin Barua (72), the National award winning Assamese film-maker, has passed away in Guwahati, Assam on April 7, 2018. He is popularly known as Bhaimon da. Recipient of National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Assamese in 2005 for his film ‘Dinabandhoo’, Barua’s popular films include ‘Pratima’, ‘Pita Putro’, ‘Pahari Kanya’, ‘Prabhati Pokhir Gaan’, ‘Hiya Diya Niya’, ‘Daag’, ‘Nayak’, ‘Kanyadaan’, ‘Bidhata’, ‘Barood’, ‘Rong’, ‘Raamdhenu’ and ‘Priyar Priyo’. He was also awarded the state award for best director for his film ‘Nayak’ for the year 2001-02 and had received the Lifetime Achievement Award 2017 from Prag Cine Awards for his immense contributions to Assamese film industry.
10. The Maharashtra government has tied up with which philanthropic organisation to finance tribal women’s poultry company?
[A] Tata Trusts
[B] Wipro
[C] Shiv Nadar Foundation
[D] Vedanta
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Tata Trusts]
Notes:
The Maharashtra government has tied up with Tata Trusts to finance the state’s first poultry company to be run and owned by tribal women. As part of the project, 300 women have been given poultry sheds and each of them would be given 400 chicks every day. After rearing them for 40 days, the poultry will be sold and the project envisages an income between Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000 for each woman over a 40-day period. The state government has contributed Rs 12 crore while Tata Trusts has given Rs 3 crore to finance the project and an agreement had been signed with an NGO, Pradhan, to operate the project. This initiative would be implemented in other tribal talukas under the state’s Human Development Programme.