1. Which football team has won the 72nd edition of Santosh Trophy Football tournament 2018?
[A] Services
[B] West Bengal
[C] Kerala
[D] Hyderabad
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Kerala]
Notes:
The Kerala football team has won the 72nd edition of Santosh Trophy Football tournament 2018 by defeating West Bengal in the final by 4-2 via penalties at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on April 1. It is their sixth Santosh Trophy Football title. The Kerala team is led by Rahul Raj in the 2018-19 season. Kerala have not won the trophy since 2005 and lost on penalties to Services in the final five years ago at home in Kochi.
2. Who has won the 2018 women’s singles Miami Open tennis tournament?
[A] Johanna Konta
[B] Sloane Stephens
[C] Jelena Ostapenko
[D] Serena Williams
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Sloane Stephens]
Notes:
Sloane Stephens, a US professional tennis player, has won the 2018 women’s singles Miami Open tennis tournament by defeating Latvian Jelena Ostapenko in the final by 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 on April 1, 2018. It is her first Miami Open tennis title.
3. Which high-powered committee has been formed by the Union government to examine CBSE’s exam conduct process?
[A] Nirmal Jain committee
[B] VS Oberoi committee
[C] Sundaram Das committee
[D] Mithali Kumar committee
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [VS Oberoi committee]
Notes:
The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has set up a high-powered committee to examine the process by which the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) conducts examinations. The panel, headed by former HRD Secretary VS Oberoi, will suggest measures to make the process secure and foolproof through use of technology. The committee will submit a report by May 31 to the Ministry. The move comes following the alleged leak of the Class 10 Mathematics and Class 12 Economics papers. The Ministry recently announced re-examination of the Class 12 Economics paper on April 25. It, however, decided against conducting the Class 10 Maths re-test.
4. 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.
5. Which country to host 2018 Boao Forum for Asia (BFA)?
[A] Japan
[B] South Korea
[C] China
[D] Denmark
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [China]
Notes:
The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), often called Summer Davos, will be held at Boao, a coastal town in the southern island province of Hainan from April 8 to 11 with theme ‘Open and Innovative Asia for a World of Greater Prosperity’. It is modeled after the World Economic Forum (WEF) held annually in Davos, Switzerland. It has its fixed address in Bo’ao, Hainan province, China, although the Secretariat is based in Beijing. The BFA is a non-profit organisation that hosts high-level forums for leaders from government, business, and academia in Asia and other continents to share their vision on the most pressing issues in this dynamic region and the world at large.
6. Which city hosted the Global Logistics Summit (GLS-2018)?
[A] New Delhi
[B] Jaipur
[C] Hyderabad
[D] Chennai
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [New Delhi]
Notes:
The Global Logistics Summit (GLS-2018) was held in New Delhi on April 5-6 to improve logistics and connectivity which are vital for increasing intra-state and international trade flows. It was organised by the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, along with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and the World Bank Group. The Summit acts as a platform to hold discussions for global experts, academics, government officials and private sector and industry representatives. According to the Union Minister for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, 56 new airports will be ready for operation in the next few years.
7. Who has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Serbia?
[A] Neel Reddy
[B] Y S Khan
[C] Subrata Bhattacharjee
[D] Ankita Mehra
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Subrata Bhattacharjee]
Notes:
Subrata Bhattacharjee, an IFS officer of 1989 batch, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Serbia. Currently, he is Joint Secretary in Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). He is expected to take up his assignment shortly.
8. 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.
9. The Centre, Maharashtra Government and the World Bank have signed how much amount of project to help small and marginals farmers in the Marathwada and Vidarbha region of the state?
[A] 420 million
[B] 320 million
[C] 520 million
[D] 220 million
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [$420 million]
Notes:
The Centre, Maharashtra Government and the World Bank have signed a $420 million project to help small and marginals farmers in the Marathwada and Vidarbha region of the state. The project will help in increasing climate resilient practices in agriculture and ensuring that farming continues to remain a financially viable activity for them. The project will benefit over 70 lakh farmers cultivating 30 lakh hectares of land in 15 districts. The Maharashtra Project for Climate Resilient Agriculture will be implemented in rural areas largely dependent upon rain-fed agriculture. The project will take up a series of activities at the farm and watershed level and implement micro irrigation systems, expand surface water storage and facilitate aquifer recharge. This would help to a more efficient use of scarce water resources. By adopting climate-resilient seed varieties with short maturity and drought resistance, the project will help the farmers in reducing risks of climate-related crop failure and increase their income.
10. E N Rammohan, who passed away recently, was the former director of which Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF)?
[A] Indo-Tibetan Border
[B] Central Reserve Police Force
[C] Border Security Force
[D] Sashastra Seema Bal
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Border Security Force]
Notes:
E N Rammohan (77), a celebrated IPS officer and former director general of the Border Security Force (BSF), has passed away in New Delhi on April 8, 2018. He was known for his handlebar moustache, discipline, leadership skills, and a no-nonsense attitude that took him far in the police establishment. He was a 1965-batch IPS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre and headed the BSF between December 1997 and November 2000. Rammohan was appointed head of a fact-finding probe panel by the home ministry to look into the lapses that took place during the 2010 Naxal ambush in Chhattisgarh, in which 76 security were killed. He was a strong proponent of the 5th Schedule for tribal rights, and believed that the denial of land rights was what was fueling insurgency.