11. As per the recent judgement of the Supreme Court, which category of banks may also be included under SARFAESI Act?
[A] Regional Rural Banks
[B] Cooperative Banks
[C] Small Finance Banks
[D] Local Area Banks
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Cooperative Banks]
Notes:
The Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act, 2002, allow banks and financial institutions to auction properties, when borrowers fail to repay their loans.
Recently as per the judgement of the Supreme Court, the cooperative banks that are involved in the banking activities are considered as a ‘banking company’. Hence the SARFAESI act may be modified to include the procedure of loan recovery by cooperative banks.
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. Based on the recommendation of which committee, the Defence Ministry approved the abolition of 9304 posts in the Military Engineering Service?
[A] Lt Gen Shekatkar
[B]
Lt Gen Madhuri Kanitkar
[C] Lt Gen PC Thimmaya
[D] Lt Gen CB Ponnappa
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Lt Gen Shekatkar]
Notes:
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has recently approved the abolition of 9,304 posts in the Military Engineering Service. MES is a government Defence infrastructure development agency.
As per the recommendations of the Committee of Experts, headed by Lieutenant General Shekatkar, and the proposal of the Engineer-in-Chief of MES, the posts in the basic and industrial workforce have been scrapped, which will improve the combat capability and trim the defence expenditure.
14. 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.
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. Humanitarian aid and disaster relief (HADR) outreach, that was seen in news recently, is a diplomatic initiative of which Armed Force of India?
[A] Indian Air Force
[B] Indian Coast Guard
[C] Indian Army
[D] Indian Navy
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Indian Navy]
Notes:
As a part of the humanitarian aid and disaster relief (HADR) outreach of the Indian Navy, the armed force has deployed five of its biggest amphibious warfare vessels on a mission to provide essential supplies to friendly Indian Ocean Region (IOR) countries.
Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kesari, INS Jalashwa, INS Magar, INS Airawat and INS Shardul are deployed in the operations. On their return journey some of them will bring back the stranded Indian nationals in those countries.
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. 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.
20. Where is the headquarters of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) located?
[A] Paris
[B] Madrid
[C] New York
[D] Geneva
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Madrid]
Notes:
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of sustainable and universally accessible tourism. Its headquarters is located at Madrid, Spain.