11. The national public health institute of which country has committed $3.6 million to assist India’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic?
[A] China
[B] South Korea
[C] Germany
[D] United States
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [United States]
Notes:
The national public health institute of the United States, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has committed $3.6 million to assist India’s response to the COVID19 pandemic.
This initial tranche of funding will help India to strengthen and support the efforts of India to increase laboratory capacity for SARS-COV-2 testing. The CDC India program will also provide technical assistance for India’s response for the ongoing crisis emergency.
12. What is the rank of India in the recently released global ‘Energy Transition Index’ (ETI) of the World Economic Forum?
[A] 52
[B] 68
[C] 74
[D] 82
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [74]
Notes:
The World Economic Forum has recently released the global ‘Energy Transition Index’. The index ranks 115 economies on the current performance of their energy systems and their readiness for transition to secure and sustainable energy systems.
India has moved up two positions to rank 74th from previous year, and has improved on all key parameters. Sweden has topped the Energy Transition Index (ETI) for the third consecutive year. Switzerland and Finland were ranked in the next two positions.
13. Which organisation released a report titled ‘Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 (FRA 2020)’?
[A] World Food Programme
[B] Food and Agriculture Organization
[C] International Fund for Agricultural Development
[D] World Wide Fund for Nature
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Food and Agriculture Organization]
Notes:
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a specialised agency of the United States has recently released a report titled ‘Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 (FRA 2020)’. The report examines the status of 236 countries in the period 1990-2020.
The report highlighted that the forest area has declined all across the world in the past three decades. The rate of forest loss in 2015-2020 declined to an estimated 10 million hectares, down from 12 million hectares in 2010-2015. The report also revealed that the world lost 178 mha of forest since 1990, which is the size of Libya.
14. What is the name of the first automated testing machine procured by the Government of India, for testing of COVID-19 cases?
[A] CDC 6800
[B] COVID 6800
[C] COBAS 6800
[D] NCDC 6800
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [COBAS 6800]
Notes:
Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan recently dedicated the first testing machine that has been procured by the Government called COBAS 6800. It has been installed in the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). It is an institute under the Indian Directorate General of Health Services, Health Ministry.
COBAS 6800 is a fully automated, high end machine which performs real time PCR testing for COVID-19. It will also provide high-quality testing and can perform around 1200 samples in 24 hours. This is expected to increase the testing capacity in the country.
15. ‘HOPE’ – Helping Out People Everywhere, portal is an initiative of which Indian state?
[A] Odisha
[B] Uttarakhand
[C] Punjab
[D] Kerala
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Uttarakhand]
Notes:
Uttarakhand government has recently launched a portal named ‘HOPE’ – Helping Out People Everywhere, to assist the workers of the state to find suitable employment.
The portal has started to collect data on the youngsters of the state and migrant workers returned from other states. The workers can upload their skill-sets on the website and based on that, they will be able to find suitable jobs at home-state. The data collected will be used for implementing the Mukhyamantri Swarojgar Yojana, implemented by the state earlier.
16. Which state is set to implement sensor-based service delivery monitoring system for rural drinking water under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM)?
[A] Punjab
[B] Rajasthan
[C] Gujarat
[D] Madhya Pradesh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Gujarat]
Notes:
The state of Gujarat is set to implement sensor-based service delivery monitoring system for rural drinking water under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).
It has already implemented a pilot project in two districts of the state to monitor whether potable water in prescribed quantity and quality is provided to every rural household regularly. The state has planned to provide 11.15 lakh household tap connections in the rural areas during 2020-21.
17. Debesh Roy, who passed away recently, was associated with which field?
[A] Literature
[B] Politics
[C] Sports
[D] Business
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Literature]
Notes:
Veteran Bengali author Debesh Roy passed away recently at the age of 84, after he suffered from a massive cardiac arrest.
The author was actively writing articles in several Bengali dailies and had participated in protests against the attack on liberals. He had won several awards during his five-decade long writing career. He was conferred the Sahitya Akademi award for his novel ‘Teesta Parer Brittanto’. His other famous works are ‘Borisaler Jogen Mondal’, ‘Manush Khun Kore Keno’ and ‘Samay Asamayer Brittanto’.
18. When is the International Day of Light celebrated every year by the UNESCO?
[A] May 15
[B] May 16
[C] May 17
[D] May 18
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [May 16]
Notes:
Every year, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) celebrates the International Day of Light (IDL) on 16 May, to raise awareness on the role of light-based technologies.
The day marks the anniversary of the first successful operation of the laser in 1960 by physicist and engineer, Theodore Maiman. The UN observed International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies in 2015. After the success, it was proposed to celebrate a specific day and the first IDL was held on May 16, 2018.
19. The 36th amendment of Indian constitution made which territory as a full state of India?
[A] Manipur
[B] Sikkim
[C] Assam
[D] Mizoram
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Sikkim]
Notes:
The Prime Minister of Sikkim appealed to the Indian Parliament for making Sikkim a state of India, in the year 1975. A referendum was held in Sikkim and 97.5 per cent of the people voted to abolish the monarchy. Sikkim became the 22nd state of the Indian Union, on 16 May 1975.
The 36th amendment of the Indian constitution made Sikkim as a full state of India and added its name in the to the First Schedule of the Constitution. Every year, the state celebrates May 16 as Sikkim statehood day.
20. In the NMIS online dashboard recently developed by the National Disaster Management Authority, what does ‘M’ stand for?
[A] Maintenance
[B] Migrant
[C] Ministry
[D] Movement
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Migrant]
Notes:
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has developed an online dashboard on the existing NDMA-GIS portal named ‘National Migrant Information System (NMIS)’.
The objective of launching this portal is to capture the information about movement of migrants and to enable them to transit across the states in a better manner. As per the communication from the Home Ministry, the portal equipped with a central repository will help in faster communication between the states.