11. Among the Road and infrastructure cess and the Special additional excise duty that were recently hiked by the Centre, which one is passed to the states through devolution?
[A] Road and infrastructure cess
[B] Special additional excise duty
[C] Both of them
[D] None of them
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Special additional excise duty]
Notes:
In a recent move, the Centre hiked the duties on petrol and diesel steeply and raised it to Rs 10 and Rs 13 per litre, respectively. It was also announced that there will be no change in the retail prices as the hike will be absorbed by the Oil Marketing companies.
Among the total hike, the Road and infrastructure cess will go the revenue of the Centre only whereas the special additional excise duty will be passed on to all states through devolution at 42%. This decision has been taken at the backdrop of falling crude oil prices in the global market and lower demand during the lock-down.
12. What is the name of the application launched by the AYUSH Ministry as a part of the launch of clinical research on Ayurveda interventions?
[A] AYUSH Raksha
[B] AYUSH Sanjivani
[C] AYUSH Suraksha
[D] AYUSH Shakti
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [AYUSH Sanjivani]
Notes:
Union Health Minister along with the Union AYUSH Minister launched the clinical research studies on Ayurveda interventions as an add-on to the standard care in tackling COVID 19. This will be a joint initiative of Ministry of AYUSH, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Science & Technology through CSIR.
They also launched the Ayush Sanjivani application developed by the AYUSH Ministry, with an aim of generating data on acceptance and usage of AYUSH recommendations among the public and record their impact in prevention of COVID 19.
13. Which chess player won the recently held $250,000 online chess tournament, considered to be the richest so far?
[A] Hikaru Nakamura
[B] Viswanathan Anand
[C] Magnus Carlsen
[D] Alireza Firouzja
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Magnus Carlsen ]
Notes:
The richest online chess tournament in history held so far was recently organised by the World Chess champion Magnus Carlsen after live tournaments could not be held amidst the Covid-19 crisis.
Named the Magnus Carlsen Invitational, the 16-day contest comprised of a total prize fund of 250,000. Magnus Carlsen won the final match and bagged the winner prize of 70,000 after defeating his American counterpart Hikaru Nakamura 2.5:1.5. Live feeds were offered during the matches with live commentary from chess grandmasters.
14. Which day is celebrated in the month of May, to observe and create awareness on a blood-related disorder?
[A]
World Anaemia Day
[B] World Haemophilia Day
[C] World Thalassaemia Day
[D] World Leukaemia Day
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [World Thalassaemia Day]
Notes:
The World Thalassaemia Day is observed every year across the world on May 8. It is observed with an aim of creating awareness about a blood disorder called Thalassaemia.
Thalassaemia is a genetic blood disorder that affects the production of haemoglobin. Lesser red blood cells and low haemoglobin are the effects of this disorder. This year the theme is “The dawning of a new era for thalassaemia: Time for a global effort to make novel therapies accessible and affordable to patients”.
15. The strategically important Ghatiabagar-Lipulekh motor road, that was inaugurated recently, is located in which state?
[A] Sikkim
[B] Arunachal Pradesh
[C] Uttarakhand
[D] Himachal Pradesh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Uttarakhand]
Notes:
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh recently inaugurated the strategically important Ghatiabagar-Lipulekh motor road.
The road connects the last Indian post on the Indo-China border in Uttarakhand’s Vyas valley. The construction of the road commenced in 2008 and was scheduled to be completed in 2013, but it was delayed due to the tough terrain. The Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra from Lipulekh pass is more convenient for pilgrims, after the road has been commissioned.
16. What is the permitted stay period of an individual in India, to be included as a Non-Resident Indian (NRI), in context of tax calculation?
[A] 60 days
[B] 90 days
[C] 120 days
[D] 150 days
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [120 days]
Notes:
The Union Budget 2020 proposed to reduce the stay period of an individual in India to 120 days, from the previous 182 days. But this reduction is only applicable to persons with less than Rs 15 lakh as Indian income during the Financial year.
Recently, Finance Ministry allowed a relief in determining the residential status during 2019-20, where a person came to India before 22nd March, 2020 and was unable to leave India on or before 31st March 2020, his period of stay in India from 22nd March to 31st March shall not be taken into account. Otherwise they shall have to file tax returns as Indian residents.
17. What is ‘Covid Kavach Elisa’, that was seen in news recently?
[A] Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
[B] Mask
[C] Testing Kit
[D] Disinfectant
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Testing Kit]
Notes:
Pune-based National Institute of Virology under the Indian Council of Medical Research has successfully developed the first indigenous antibody detection kit for Covid-19 named ‘Covid Kavach Elisa’.
Technically, it is an anti-SARS-CoV-2 human IgG ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) test kit for detecting coronavirus. As per the Union Health Ministry, the kit can test up to 90 samples together in 2.5 hours. This is expected to ramp up the testing speed in the country.
18. The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) announced a research collaboration with which company to develop a vaccine for Covid-19?
[A] Bharat Biotech International Ltd
[B] Biocon
[C] Serum Institute of India
[D] Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Limited
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Bharat Biotech International Ltd]
Notes:
The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) recently announced a research collaboration with Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech International Ltd (BBIL) to develop a COVID-19 vaccine.
The virus stains that had been isolated at the National Institute of Virology, Pune (an ICMR institute), have been transferred to the Biotech firm. The ICMR and BBIL will seek approvals to speed-up vaccine development, subsequent animal studies and clinical evaluation of the indigenous vaccine.
19. Which Indian state/UT has launched the new initiative ‘FIR Aapke Dwar Yojana’?
[A] Uttar Pradesh
[B] Punjab
[C] Madhya Pradesh
[D] Maharashtra
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Madhya Pradesh]
Notes:
The government of Madhya Pradesh has launched a new scheme called ‘FIR Aapke Dwar Yojana’ in Bhopal.
The scheme has been launched on a pilot basis in 23 Police stations across the state. Under the scheme, people need not visit Police stations to lodge an FIR, rather they can use the number 100. The Dial 100 vehicle would have trained Head Constables to lodge FIR. For serious complaints, guidance will be given by senior officers.
20. Betty Wright, who recently passed away, was associated with which profession?
[A] Sportsperson
[B] Singer
[C] Politician
[D] Scientist
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Singer]
Notes:
Betty Wright, the Grammy winner recently passed away in her hometown Miami, Florida, as per her family sources.
The singer’s real name was Bessie Regina Norris and she was born in 1953. She started her singing career in a musical group called the ‘Echoes of Joy’. The biggest hit of her career was the album named “Clean Up Woman”, which was released when she was eighteen. She won her first Grammy Award for her song, “Where is the Love?”, at the age of 23. She continued her song writing and music production for several years.