11. What is the new official name of the NASA’s Mars Helicopter?
[A] Intelligence
[B] Ingenuity
[C] Brilliance
[D] Endeavor
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Ingenuity]
Notes:
In the “Name the Rover” essay contest was conducted by the NASA, the essay of a teenager from Alabama High school has been selected, which proposed the name for the Mars Helicopter of NASA.
‘Ingenuity’ is the new official name of the Mars Helicopter, as announced by NASA. Earlier in March, the Mars rover was named as ‘Perseverance’. This helicopter will ride to Mars with the Perseverance rover, which would be launched in July or August.
12. As per the recent survey on Research and Development Statistics and Indicators 2019-20 by NSTIMS, what is the rank of India in number of scientific publications?
[A] Three
[B] Four
[C] Six
[D] Ten
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Three]
Notes:
National Science and Technology Management Information (NSTMIS), Department of Science and Technology (DST) has conducted a survey on Research and Development Statistics and Indicators 2019-20.
As per the survey, India is placed at the third position in terms of number of scientific publications. The number of researchers per million population has doubled since 2000 and India’s gross expenditure in R&D has tripled between 2008 and 2018, during the year the expenditure stood at Rs 1,13,825 crores.
13. What is the name of the operation launched by the Indian Navy, to repatriate the Indian citizens stranded in other countries?
[A]
Samudra Setu
[B] Welcome Back
[C] Navy Setu
[D] Samudra Shakti
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [
Samudra Setu]
Notes:
Indian Navy has launched Operation named ‘Samudra Setu’, which means Sea Bridge in English, with an objective of repatriating Indian citizens who are stranded in other countries.
As a part of Phase-1 under the operation, Indian Naval Ships Jalashwa and Magar have departed to Malè in Maldives for evacuation of Indian citizens. The list of persons who are to be evacuated is prepared by the Indian Mission in Maldives. About a thousand nationals are to be transported back to India following social distancing norms.
14. Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who was seen in news recently, is the new Prime Minister of which country?
[A] Iraq
[B] Iran
[C] Israel
[D] Oman
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Iraq]
Notes:
The new Prime Minister of Iraq, Mustafa al-Kadhimi assumed office after the country’s parliament approved a new government. The parliament also approved 15 ministers in a vote of confidence and seven ministries including Foreign affairs and Oil were left empty.
There has been political crisis for more than six months in the country. The two previous nominees for the role of prime minister, Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi and Adnan al-Zurfi failed to secure the required support from cabinet ministers.
15. NADA, a national organisation under the Ministry of Sports is set conduct its disciplinary hearings online. What does D stand for in NADA?
[A] Direct
[B] Doping
[C] Disciplinary
[D] Delhi
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Doping]
Notes:
The National Anti-Doping Agency, a national organisation under the Ministry of Sports announced that it would conduct its disciplinary hearings online. It is responsible for promoting and monitoring the doping control programs in all forms of sports in India.
Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP) and Anti-Doping Appeals Panel (ADAP) will start hearing cases online, due to the lockdown imposed. NADA will also launch an application to create awareness about anti-doping.
16. In the context of recent gas leakage incident at Visakhapatnam polymer plant, which gas was found to be leaked?
[A] Styrene
[B] Ethyl Benzene
[C] Toluene
[D] Xylene
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Styrene]
Notes:
When a polymer plant in Vishakhapatnam resumed its operations after lock down, there was a leakage of styrene gas, that has killed about 11 people. Thousands of people were evacuated from around the plant and many of them were hospitalised.
The styrene gas is a poisonous, inflammable gas used in plastic engineering industry, which caused nausea and dizziness. As per the experts, the gas could have triggered a series of explosions from the LG Polymers plant, which manufactures polystyrene.
17. Robert Baptiste, who was seen in news recently, is associated with which field?
[A] Epidemiology
[B] Virology
[C] Cyber-security Research
[D] Architecture
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Cyber-security Research]
Notes:
French cybersecurity researcher and ethical hacker Robert Baptiste who writes in the pseudonym Elliot Alderson on Twitter, warned about the security issues in the Aarogya Setu application. He also explained how the application could be manipulated to retrieve data of people infected in a given area.
As per the recent announcement of the Indian government, more than 90 million people have downloaded the application. However, the team of Aarogya Setu assured that no data or security breach has been identified.
18. Which day is celebrated by Monaco-headquartered IAAF, in the month of May every year?
[A] World Architecture Day
[B] World Athletics Day
[C] World Tuna Day
[D] World Astrology Day
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [World Athletics Day]
Notes:
Monaco-headquartered International Association of Athletics Federations leads the celebration of World Athletics Day in the month of May. The first World Athletics Day was celebrated in 1996.
Every year, the date is decided by IAAF and this year it was celebrated on May 7. IAAF was founded at Stockholm, Sweden in the year 1912. The Athletics Day is celebrated to educate the people about the significance of sports and to encourage athletics as the foundational sport in educational institutions.
19. Which global organisation has recognised the advisories released by two institutes of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)?
[A] World Economic Forum
[B] World Bank
[C] Food and Agricultural Organisation
[D] World Food Program
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Food and Agricultural Organisation]
Notes:
Amidst the Covid-19 outbreak, ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (ICAR-CIFT), Kochi prepared advisories for the benefit of the fishing fraternity in 10 different regional languages. ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (ICAR-CIFRI), Barrackpore prepared advisories for the stakeholders involved in freshwater fishing.
The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), Rome has recommended these advisories by including them as ‘Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries’ under the Asia-Regional initiatives.
20. Which is the only mangrove forest in the world inhabited by tigers?
[A] Sundarbans Mangrove forest
[B] Florida Mangroves
[C] Bahia Mangroves
[D] Chitwan and Bardia National Park
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Sundarbans Mangrove forest]
Notes:
The Sunderbans delta, which is spread over India and Bangladesh, is the only mangrove forest in the world inhabited by tigers.
According to the latest estimation conducted by the West Bengal Forest Department, the count of tigers has increased by 8 in 2019-20 to 96, from 88 in the previous year. The increase was significant as this is the biggest annual jump ever reported from the Sundarbans, which is a world heritage site and a Ramsar site.