1. Who has won the 2018 men’s singles Miami Open tennis tournament?
[A] John Isner
[B] Alexander Zverev
[C] Roger Federer
[D] Kei Nishikori
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [John Isner]
Notes:
John Isner, an American professional tennis player, has won the 2018 men’s singles Miami Open tennis tournament. In the title clash, the 14th seeded American defeated fourth-placed German Alexander Zverev, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 to win his first ever Masters 1,000 title. With this win, Isner returned to his career-high ranking of world No. 9.
2. Who has been adjudged ‘Sportsperson of the Year’ at the Telangana Sports Journalists Association annual awards for 2017?
[A] Sania Mirza
[B] Kidambi Srikanth
[C] P V Sindhu
[D] Mithali Raj
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Mithali Raj]
Notes:
Mithali Raj, Indian women’s cricket team captain, has been adjudged ‘Sportsperson of the Year’ at the Telangana Sports Journalists Association annual awards for 2017 in Hyderabad on March 31, 2018. Beside her, Ace shuttlers Kidambi Srikanth and P V Sindhu bagged the best senior male and female athletes. Former Indian cricketer V V S Laxman presented ‘best coach of the year’ award to Gopichand, who received this award for the second time in a row. Triple Olympian and former national Hockey player N Mukesh Kumar was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award at the event.
3. 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.
4. Which of the following places to host Asia’s largest startup ecosystem congregation “Huddle Kerala”?
[A] Kannur
[B] Kovalam
[C] Ernakulam
[D] Kozhikode
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Kovalam ]
Notes:
Asia’ s largest startup ecosystem congregation “Huddle Kerala” will be held at Kovalam near the Kerala capital ‘Thiruvananthapuram’ from April 6 and 7, 2018 to provide a platform for start-ups to pitch their products and interact with a wide array of technology and industry leaders from around the world. The main focus of Huddle Kerala will be on the emerging sectors like blockchain, cryptocurrency, internet of things (IoT), gaming and e-sports, cyber security, digital entertainment, augmented reality, virtual reality, e-governance and mobile governance among other latest technologies. The initiative, organised by the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) in association with the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IAMAI Startup Foundation, is to have participation from 2,000 delegates, including start-up entrepreneurs, investors, industry leaders and academicians, with 40 speakers in 30 sessions.
5. Who is the newly appointed President of National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM)?
[A] Ravi Kumar
[B] CS Krishna Setty
[C] R Chandrashekhar
[D] Debjani Ghosh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Debjani Ghosh]
Notes:
Debjani Ghosh, former managing director of Intel South Asia, has been appointed the new President of National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM). She succeeded R Chandrashekhar. A big propagator of gender diversity and equal representation in corporate India, Ms. Ghosh was the first woman to lead Intel India and Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology (MAIT). She now gets the rein of Nasscom.
6. Saikhom Mirabai Chanu has clinched India’s first gold at the 21st Commonwealth Games (CWG-2018). She is related to which weightlifting category?
[A] 48 kg
[B] 56 kg
[C] 42 kg
[D] 45 kg
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [48 kg]
Notes:
Star weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu from Manipur has clinched the first gold for India at the 21st Commonwealth Games (CWG-2018) with a power-packed performance in the women’s 48 kg weightlifting category in Gold Coast, Australia on April 5. In a remarkable performance, Chanu smashed the Commonwealth Games record in snatch, pulling off clean lifts in all her three attempts (80kg, 84kg and 86kg). Chanu lifted a total of 196 kg (86 kg in Snatch + 110 kg in Clean and Jerk) to win the gold for country.
7. What is the India’s position in the world in terms of risk of cyber threats in 2017, as per latest report by security solutions provider Symantec?
[A] 1st
[B] 3rd
[C] 4th
[D] 2nd
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [3rd]
Notes:
India is emerged as the 3rd most vulnerable country in terms of risk of cyber threats, such as malware, spam and ransomware, in 2017, as per latest report by security solutions provider ‘Symantec’. The list is topped by U.S., followed by China. The global threat ranking is based on 8 metrics: malware, spam, phishing, bots, network attacks, web attacks, ransomware and cryptominers. According to Internet Security Threat Report, India continues to be 2nd most impacted by spam and bots, 3rd most impacted by network attacks, and 4th most impacted by ransomware. The report also pointed out that with the threat landscape becoming more diverse, attackers are working harder to discover new avenues of attack and cover their tracks while doing so.
8. 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.
9. The Union Government has constituted a committee to frame regulations for online news portals. Who is the head of the committee?
[A] Cabinet Secretary
[B] Secretary of Information and Broadcasting
[C] Secretary of Electronics and Information Technology
[D] Secretary of Corporate Affairs
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Secretary of Information and Broadcasting ]
Notes:
The Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry has constituted the 10-member committee to frame rules to regulate the functioning of news portals and media websites, including platforms like YouTube. The committee will be headed by Narendra Kumar Sinha, the I&B Secretary. The committee has been mandated to frame and suggest a regulatory framework for online media, news portals, digital broadcasting and entertainment and infotainment (information and entertainment) sites and for media aggregators. Apart from I&B Secretary, the panel will have secretaries of Ministry of Electronics and IT and Home Ministry, and CEO of government’s citizen engagement platform MyGov. It will also have representatives of the Press Council of India, News Broadcasters Association and Indian Broadcasters Federation, and the head of government outreach portal MyGov.
10. 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.