11. ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’, the national anthem of Bangladesh, was written by which Indian poet, whose birth anniversary is celebrated on May 7?
[A] Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
[B] Rabindranath Tagore
[C] Aurobindo Ghosh
[D] Munshi Premchand
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Rabindranath Tagore]
Notes:
Rabindranath Tagore, also called as the ‘Gurudev’ wrote the ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’ song during the first partition of Bengal, announced by Lord Curzon in 1905. The song later led to the uprising of the freedom movement of the present Bangladesh and became their national anthem.
Tagore is the only known person who had composed national anthems for two countries, including Jana Gana Mana of India. The Sri Lankan national anthem was also inspired from Tagore’s work, as per some historians. His 159th birth anniversary was observed on May 7. National Gallery of Modern Art organised a virtual tour to commemorate the birth anniversary of Tagore.
12. 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.
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 state-owned institution has approved the project for developing ‘Human monoclonal antibodies (hmAbs)’ that can neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 virus?
[A] Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR
[B] S.N Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences
[C] Agharkar Research Institute
[D] Institute of Nano Science and Technology
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR]
Notes:
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR through its flagship New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative (NMITLI) programme has approved a project towards development of human monoclonal antibodies (hmAbs).
The antibodies can neutralize the mutated virus SARS-CoV-2 and could be used for fighting future SARS-CoV infections. The team that is going to develop the therapeutic antibodies comprises of academic institutes and industries.
15. Coir Board signed a MoU with which institute, to establish a Centre of Excellence for Coir Applications?
[A] IISc, Bengaluru
[B] IIT, Madras
[C] IIT, Delhi
[D] IIT, Mumbai
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [IIT, Madras]
Notes:
Coir Board, a statutory body under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has recently signed an MoU with the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, to establish a Centre of Excellence for Coir Applications.
As per the announcement of the MSME Ministry, Coir Board will provide a financial assistance of five crore rupees for two years for the establishment and running of the Centre of Excellence. The Centre will take up and develop the Research and Development work done in the coir sector.
16. ‘Pranavayu’ is a respiratory health awareness programme launched in which Indian city?
[A] New Delhi
[B] Bengaluru
[C] Chennai
[D] Hyderabad
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Bengaluru]
Notes:
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the city corporation of Bengaluru has launched ‘Pranavayu programme’ to create awareness about self-examination of respiratory health for the city-dwellers.
The programme aims at educating people with low oxygen level in their blood to check themselves at an early stage. Under the programme, several advertisements are published in media about self-examination.
17. Which country won the inaugural $180,000 FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup?
[A] United States
[B] India
[C] China
[D] South Korea
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [China]
Notes:
China recently won the inaugural $180,000 FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup, whereas India settled in the fifth place.
On the basis of highest points in the round-robin stage, China was declared the winner as it drew 2-2 against USA, which bagged the second position. China won 48,000, USA 36,000 and others received $24,000 each. Representing India, Humpy won Olga Girya and P. Harikrishna drew with Sergey Karjakin.
18. Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), that was seen in news, is an autonomous organisation of which Union Ministry?
[A] Ministry of Culture
[B] Ministry of External Affairs
[C] Ministry of Home Affairs
[D] Ministry of Tourism
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Ministry of External Affairs]
Notes:
The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) is an autonomous organisation of Union Ministry of External Affairs. Its main objective is to build cultural relations with other countries.
Recently, ICCR released a song titled “United We Fight” featuring famous musicians like Usha Uthup and Joe Alvares, as a part of its efforts to instil hope among Indians in their fight against COvid-19. The song was written and composed by Joe Alvares and sung by several famous singers from across the country.
19. Which official index of India recently declined sharply to 16.5% in the month of March, 2020?
[A] Consumer Price Index
[B] Index of Industrial Production
[C] Wholesale Price Index
[D] Net national Income
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Index of Industrial Production]
Notes:
The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is an index published by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), MoSPI every month. It shows the growth rate of industry groups in the economy such as manufacturing and electricity.
Recently, the IIP of March recorded a sharp decline of 16.7 per cent to 120.1 in the month of March. The data also showed that the industrial growth during the fiscal year 2019-20 slipped 0.7 per cent, against the 3.8 per cent rise in 2018-19.
20. As per the recent analysis of World Economic Forum, the CO2 emissions of which country have dropped for the first time after 40 years?
[A] United Kingdom
[B] China
[C] India
[D] Sri Lanka
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [India]
Notes:
As per the recent analysis of World Economic Forum, the CO2 emissions of India have dropped for the first time in over 40 years.
WEF highlighted that the fall in emissions is due to the economic slowdown and growth in the renewable energy sector. Emissions dipped by around 1% in the fiscal year 2019-20. In the month of March, the emissions fell by 15% and it is expected to have fallen 30% in April 2020. As the pandemic has cut the electricity demand, coal consumption also flatlined.