1. Archaeologists have unearthed 3,000-year-old priestly tomb in which country?
[A] Peru
[B] Argentina
[C] Greece
[D] Japan
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Peru]
Notes:
Archaeologists have recently unearthed 3,000-year-old priestly tomb, which had lain undisturbed, in northern Peru.
The occupant of the grave was dubbed as the Priest of Pacopampa by archaeologists after the highland area where it was found.
2. Which state raised the OBC quota to 27% in local bodies?
[A] Gujarat
[B] Assam
[C] Jharkhand
[D] Madhya Pradesh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Gujarat]
Notes:
The Gujarat government has increased the reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the state’s panchayats and urban local bodies from 10% to 27%.
This decision was made based on recommendations of the K.S. Jhaveri Commission, which was formed based on a 2022 Supreme Court order on deciding the level of OBC quotas in Gujarat.
3. India signed a MoU with which country to boost cooperation in civil aviation?
[A] New Zealand
[B] France
[C] Germany
[D] Spain
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [New Zealand]
Notes:
The Government of India and the Government of New Zealand have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to boost cooperation in civil aviation.
This will cover the scheduling of new routes, code share services, traffic rights and capacity entitlement. An Air Services Agreement was signed between New Zealand and India in 2016. The New Zealand and India have reviewed the existing arrangements relating to air service between the two countries.
4. Who was the founder of Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc)?
[A] P C Mahalanobis
[B] Alladi Ramakrishnan
[C] Ramanujan
[D] C V Raman
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Alladi Ramakrishnan]
Notes:
The birth centenary of the eminent physicist Alladi Ramakrishnan is being celebrated in December 2023.
He founded MATSCIENCE, The Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc), in Chennai, and served as its Director until his retirement in 1983 at the age of sixty. The Institute will pay homage to its Founder-Director, by conducting The Alladi Ramakrishnan Centenary Conference at its campus in Taramani, Chennai.
5. ‘CrossLinx accelerator programme’ is associated with India and which country?
[A] Sri Lanka
[B] USA
[C] Germany
[D] UAE
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [USA]
Notes:
INDUS-X (India-U.S. Defense Acceleration Ecosystem), an initiative to build a defence innovation bridge by Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) of the Ministry of Defence, and the US Department of Defence (DoD).
It began an exercise to begin the Indo-US CrossLinx accelerator programme to prepare defence start-ups to expand to the US markets.
6. When is the ‘National Small Industry Day’ observed in India?
[A] August 25
[B] August 30
[C] September 1
[D] September 3
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [August 30]
Notes:
The Indian Government formally declared August 30 as the National Small Industry Day, a year after the Ministry of Small-Scale Industries announced a comprehensive policy package for small businesses.
The day recognises the contribution of small industries to the country’s growth and is an opportunity for the central and state governments to encourage and support small industries.
7. What is India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) percent in the April-June quarter of the current fiscal (2023-2024)?
[A] 5.8 per cent
[B] 6.8 per cent
[C] 7.8 per cent
[D] 8.8 per cent
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [7.8 per cent]
Notes:
India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) registered a growth of 7.8 percent in the April-June quarter of the current fiscal (2023-2024), compared to a growth of 6.1 percent in the previous January-March quarter of fiscal 2022-23.
According to official data shared by the National Statistical Office, India’s nominal GDP or GDP at Current Prices in the first quarter showed a growth rate of 8 percent as compared to 27.7 percent in the previous year’s first quarter.
8. Which was the wettest town in the country, during August 2023?
[A] Rishikesh
[B] Cherrapunji
[C] Haridwar
[D] Mawsynram
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Rishikesh]
Notes:
For most of August 2023, Rishikesh in Uttarakhand held the record as the wettest town in the country.
Between August 1 and August 25 the town received 1,901 millimetres of rainfall, according to Typhoon Research Centre of Jeju National University in South Korea. During the same period, the two wettest places in India and the world, Cherrapunji and Mawsynram, received 1,876.3 mm and 1,464 mm rainfall respectively.
9. Which country is set to produce its own high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI processors?
[A] China
[B] Israel
[C] India
[D] USA
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [China]
Notes:
China is exploring ways to produce its own high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the next-generation of memory chips tailored for artificial intelligence (AI) processors, amid US sanctions.
China’s top dynamic random access memory (DRAM) maker, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), is the country’s best hope for HBMs.
10. Utkela Airport has been inaugurated in which state/UT?
[A] Odisha
[B] West Bengal
[C] Assam
[D] Arunachal Pradesh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Odisha]
Notes:
Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M Scindia inaugurated Utkela Airport and a direct flight between Utkela and Bhubaneshwar.
Utkela airport is owned by the Government of Odisha. It has been developed as a regional airport under the UDAN scheme of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India at a cost of Rs. 31.07 Crores.