Question 1

The pnnel which is formed after revamping the high-level 'anti-hijack panel' to include top officials especially National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

Accepted Answer

The Centre has revamped its high-level 'anti-hijack panel' to include top officials in the Prime Minister's Office, especially National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval who will be able to coordinate any immediate military response.The new panel is called the Committee of Secretaries on Aircraft Hijack (COSAH).It will have 15 top officials including pre-identified nominated members who can represent regular members during their absence.Members: The Committee will have a main secretary to the prime minister, additional principal secretary, heads of R&AW (Research and Analysis Wing) and the Intelligence Bureau as its members.

Question 2

The Central government has asked the state transport departments to make it mandatory for all EVs to use the __________ number plates.

Accepted Answer

The Central government has asked the state transport departments to make it mandatory for all EVs to use the green number plates, irrespective of the year in which they were bought. The new mandate is supposed to help provide preferential treatment to the vehicles with no carbon emissions, like parking, free entry in congested areas as well as a concessional toll on highways.

Question 3

Indian Army mountaineering expedition team has sited mysterious footprints of which mythical creature near Makalu Base Camp, located in North-Eastern Himalayas?

Accepted Answer

The official Twitter account of the Indian Army's Additional Directorate General of Public Information tweeted that an Indian Army mountaineering expedition team has sited mysterious footprints of mythical himalayan beast "Yeti" measuring 32x15 inches (81 centimeters by 38 centimeters) close to Makalu Base Camp,located in North-Eastern Himalayas on 09 April 2019. The yeti also known as Abominable Snowman or Asian Bigfoot is a giant ape-like creature often figures in South Asian folklore. Yetis are believed to weigh anywhere between 91 to 181 kilograms with a height of above 6 feet.

Question 4

Common Service Centre's (CSC) e-Governance Services India Limited and this IIT institute has tied to upscale Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, recently.

Accepted Answer

Common Service Centre's (CSC) e-Governance Services India Limited, a special purpose vehicle under the Ministry of Electronics & IT, has tied up with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Kanpur to upscale 'Unnat Bharat Abhiyan'. 'Unnat Bharat Abhiyan' is an initiative of the Ministry of HRD. It aims to find solutions to accelerate sustainable growth in rural India. Under the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, IIT-Kanpur has brought together 15 leading higher education institutions from Uttar Pradesh. These institutions have agreed to work with CSC for the development of villages under the scheme.

Question 5

Which organisation joins hands with Welingkar Institute of Management to support startups in exports?

Accepted Answer

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) inked an agreement with Mumbai-based Prin. L N Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research in order to support startups engaged in the export sector. Under the memorandum of understanding (MoU), FIEO launched a post graduate programme in foreign trade management (PGP-FTM) at Mumbai. The main aim of this industry-academia partnership is to attract new entrepreneurs in exports to bridge the gap of availability of qualified skilled manpower in Exim trade. The programme consist of general management principles, export-import procedures, and international marketing concepts and the duration of the programme will be 11 months. The programme will be offered in 2 batches.

Question 6

Name the world's rarest giant softshell turtle that passed away in Suzhou Zoo,China.

Accepted Answer

The last known female member of Yangtze giant softshell turtle, 90 years old, died in Suzhou Zoo, China. Now, there are only three left in the world. The Wildlife Conservations Society (WCS) declares the Yangtze giant softshell turtle the world's most critically endangered turtle species. One male Yangtze giant softshell turtle lives in Suzhou Zoo and the other two in Vietnam.

Question 7

The Intellectual Property Rights cell of this university has been selected for the National Intellectual Property Award 2019?

Accepted Answer

The Intellectual Property Rights cell (IPR cell) of Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) has been selected for the National Intellectual Property Award 2019 for its contributions in best facilitation for registration of Geographical Indications and promotion of registered GI in the country. This award comprising prize money of Rs 1 lakh and will be presented in a function to be held in New Delhi on 26th April, World Intellectual Property Day 2019. The award was constituted by the Indian Intellectual Property Office under the central ministry of industry and commerce to confer the persons and organizations working in the field of patents, trademarks and Geographical Indications (GI).

Question 8

NABARD has announced Rs __________ crore capital fund for rural agricultural start-ups.

Accepted Answer

India's National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has recently announced for Rs. 700 crore project funds for equity investments in agriculture and rural start-ups. NABARD was used to contribute to other funds but it is for the first time when NABARD launched its own funds. This project was launched by Nabventures, an auxiliary unit of NABARD. NABARD proposed amount of Rs 500 crore with an option to retain over-subscriptions of Rs 200 crore. Company names it green-shoe option. With this initiative NABARD will assist those start-ups who are engaged in agriculture and rural areas' development.

Question 9

Which economic corridor was excluded from the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) recently?

Accepted Answer

The report titled, 'The Belt and Road Initiative Progress, Contributions and Prospects' released by the Leading Group for Promoting the Belt and Road Initiative had previously listed the BCIM as a BRI project. But, owing to the fact that India had skipped the Belt and Road Forum (BRF), the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor ran the possibility to be excluded from the list of projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) umbrella. The BRI is a major initiative speared by China to reconstruct the ancient Silk Road connectivity across Eurasia and Africa.This has come to limelight after a document attached with the Joint Communique of the Leaders' Roundtable of the BRF that concluded in Beijing, the website did not list the BCIM as a project under the BRI.

Question 10

India's Haj Quota increased from 1.75 lakh to __________ by Saudi Arabia.

Accepted Answer

India's Haj Quota has been increased by about 25,000, raising the number to 2 lakh from 1.75 lakh by Saudi Arabia. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gave the assurance to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a meeting in February. This will help the huge number of pilgrim of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, and Bihar to embark pilgrimage this year. Also, total 2,340 Muslim women from India will go for Haj without 'Mehram' or male companion. This year, the GST on Haj pilgrimage has been reduced from 18 percent to 5 percent which will ensure that about Rs 113 crore will be saved by pilgrims during the 2019 Haj.

Question 11

IFBA and __________ partnered to eliminate industrially produced trans fat (iTFA) from food supply worldwide by 2023.

Accepted Answer

WHO (World Health organization) collaborated with the International Food and Beverage Alliance (IFBA) to eliminate industrially produced trans fat (iTFA) from food supply worldwide by 2023. Trans fat-intake leads to coronary heart disease, due to which globally 5,00,000 deaths occur every year. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO had a meeting with the IFBA representatives, that included CEOs (chief executive officers) from around 12 companies comprising IFBA. The meeting stressed on the steps that are needed to be taken to eliminate industrial trans fats, decrease salt, sugar and saturated fats in processed foods. Decision was taken by the IFBA members to make sure that the amount of industrial trans fat in their products does not go beyond 2 gram of iTFA per 100 gram fat/oil globally by 2023. This aligns with the WHO's mission of its REPLACE action package, developed and launched in 2018.

Question 12

Which Indian accident was inducted into the International Labour Organisation (ILO) report titled "The Safety and the Health at the Heart of the Future of Work- Building on 100 years of Experience"?

Accepted Answer

UN labour agency International Labour Organisation (ILO) in its recent report titled "The Safety and the Health at the Heart of the Future of Work- Building on 100 years of Experience" termed Bhopal Gas Tragedy as one of the world's 'major industrial accident' which killed more than 15,000 people due to the result of at least 30 tons of highly toxic Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) gas leak in Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal in 1984. In the report, ILO has reported that more than 600,000 workers were affected due to leak of toxic gas from Union Carbide plant.Other major industrial accident after 1919 which ILO talked about in its report is Chernobyl nuclear disaster of Ukraine in 1986, Fukushima nuclear disasters of Japan in 2011 and Rana Plaza building collapse of Bangladesh in 2013.

Question 13

Who has reduced the minimum subscription requirement for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs)?

Accepted Answer

SEBI in his guidelines titled "Guidelines for Determination of Allotment and Trading Lot Size for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs)" has reduced the minimum subscription requirement as well as defined trading lots for REITs and InvITs.For determining the allotment in an initial offer and follow on public offers, REITs have to offer their units in lots worth at least Rs 50,000 and in case of InvITs, the minimum value of a single lot should be Rs 1 lakh.The allotment to any investor shall be made in the multiples of a lot.For initial listing in case of REITs and InvITs, a trading lot should be of 100 units and for follow on public offers, each lot shall consists of such number of units in its trading lot as it had at the time of initial offer. Moreover, SEBI has also increased leverage limit for InvITs from 49 percent to 70 percent.

Question 14

World's largest airplane weighing 2,26,800 kg took its first ever flight in Mojave, California. It's named as;

Accepted Answer

The world's largest airplane called 'Roc' weighing nearly 2,26,800 kilograms with a 385-foot wingspan took its first ever flight in Mojave, California. Built by Stratolaunch, it's designed to launch rockets into orbit from the air. The plane is powered by six engines on a twin fuselage and is designed to fly to an altitude of 35,000 feet. The aircraft is so big its wing span is longer than a football field, or about 1.5 times that of an Airbus A380. It hit a top speed of 304 kilometers per hour (189 mph) and reached an altitude of 17,000 feet, or 5,182 meters.

Question 15

'GRIHA for Existing Day Schools' is associated with?

Accepted Answer

In a bid to evaluate the environmental performance of existing schools across India, the Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) Council has recently released a rating tool 'GRIHA for Existing Day Schools'. The rating tool will work as an integrated tool to evaluate performance and provide solutions for enhanced energy and water efficiencies, increased thermal and visual comfort, and decreased operational and maintenance costs. The purpose of the rating is to familiarize the students with the concepts of sustainability by involving them, under the guidance of their teachers, on evaluating the environmental impact of schools on the environment. Through the rating process, students and teachers will get an opportunity to establish contact with nature and with each other using the approach of co-creation and understanding.

Question 16

Who has adopted a resolution on Sexual-Violence condemning rape as a weapon of war?

Accepted Answer

The German-sponsored resolution 2467 (2019), on sexual violence, was adopted by United Nations Security Council (UNSC) condemning rape as a weapon of war after 13 out of 15 members have voted in favour of the resolution while Russia and China abstain from voting. The resolution was adopted only after language on a woman's right to "reproductive health" was removed from the draft to avert a veto by the anti-abortion US administration.

Question 17

Indo-Pacific Wing has set by which of the following ministry?

Accepted Answer

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has set up an Indo-Pacific division in the foreign office to integrate the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), ASEAN region and the Quad. The new division is a brainchild of foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale and is intended to give a coherent architecture to the Indo-Pacific policy. It is a big step by the Government and it is expected to give thrust to the Indo-Pacific centred policymaking. The Indo-Pacific Wing is currently headed by joint secretary Vikram Doraiswami.

Question 18

Name the organisation which has developed a new guidelines on physical activity for children under five years.

Accepted Answer

World Health Organization (WHO) issued guidelines for children under five years of age, recently. As per WHO guidelines, children under five must spend less time sitting watching screens, or restrained in prams and seats, get better quality sleep and have more time for active play if they are to grow up healthy. The new guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for children under 5 years of age were developed by a WHO panel of experts. They assessed the effects on young children of inadequate sleep, and time spent sitting watching screens or restrained in chairs and prams. They also reviewed evidence around the benefits of increased activity levels.

Question 19

Recently, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) holds a meet with the stakeholders of the Renewable Energy sector. It is named as;

Accepted Answer

Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) held a 'Chintan Baithak' with the stakeholders of the Renewable Energy sector. The 'Baithak' (meet) was chaired by Secretary, MNRE, Anand Kumar and saw good participation from Renewable Energy (RE) sector including the representatives of major RE developers, equipment manufacturers, financers, regulators, think-tanks, industry bodies and skill developers. The day long meet deliberated upon various issues pertaining to the RE sector viz. solar, wind, bio-energy, small-hydro, regulatory issues, bidding & pricing, demand forecasting, financing of RE projects, energy storage, Make in India, skilling India's RE work force etc.

Question 20

Which organization is set to partner with the Embassy of the US to jointly promote domestic investments during 'Select USA 2019' summit that will be held in Washington DC?

Accepted Answer

The Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) on Thursday said it is partnering with Embassy of the US in the national capital to jointly promote domestic investments during 'Select USA 2019' summit. The summit, dedicated to promote foreign direct investment in America, will be held from June 10-12 in Washington DC. TPCI has signed a partnership agreement with the US Commercial Service, Embassy of the US in New Delhi for the same, it said in a statement.

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