Question 1

Which country received the Award of Excellence for 'Best in Show' at the New York Times Travel Show 2019?

Accepted Answer

India received the Award of Excellence for 'Best in Show' at the New York Times Travel Show 2019, the largest travel show in North America. India was honoured during the Closing Bell Ceremony at the New York Stock Exchange. The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India participated as the 'Presenting Partner' in the New York Times Travel Show (NYTTS 2019) organised at Jacob K Javits Centre, New York with a view to scale up its tourism promotional efforts in the US, enhance India's visibility and to increase its share of US Outbound travel market.

Question 2

Who was appointed as Nepal's ambassador to India in Kathmandu on 4th February 2019?

Accepted Answer

Nilambar Acharya, Nepal's former law minister,was appointed as Nepal's ambassador to India in Kathmandu. Nilambar Acharya's oath of office position was administered by President Bidya Devi Bhandari in Kathmandu. The position of Nepalese ambassador to India was vacant after Deep Kumar Upadhyay resigned in October 2017.

Question 3

The Union Cabinet approved the funds for implementing __________ percent EWS Quota.

Accepted Answer

Union cabinet approved the sanction of Rs 4315.15 crore for the 158 Central Educational Institutions (CEIs) for implementation of reservation in admission to students belonging to Economically Weaker Section (EWS). The Rajya Sabha on January 9 approved amending the Constitution to provide 10% reservation to general category poor in jobs and education, with the government terming the landmark move as "slog over sixes". The quota will be over and above the existing 50 per cent reservation to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (OBCs). With the approval of the Cabinet, over 2 lakh additional seats will be created in 158 Central Educational Institutions (CEIs) across the country to implement 10% reservation for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS). while 1,19,983 additional seats will be created during 2019-20 academic session, 95,783 seats will be added in 2020-21.

Question 4

Which of the following country was selected as the guest country for Paris Book Fair 2020?

Accepted Answer

In a bid to strengthen Indo-French ties, India has been designated as the guest of honour at the Paris Book Fair in 2020, while France will be the guest country at the New Delhi World Book Fair (NDWBF) in 2022. The announcement was made by the nodal agency - National Book Trust (NBT) - in a statement on Friday. The Livre Paris (Paris Book Fair) will take place from March 20 to 23, 2020.

Question 5

What is the position of India in terms of highest number of impacted species in hotspots?

Accepted Answer

India was ranked 16th in the world in terms of highest number of impacted species in biodiversity-rich zones (also known as hotspots) due to human actions. In India, 35 species affected on an average in biodiversity-rich zones. Malaysia ranks first among countries with highest number of impacted species (on an average 125 species). Southeast Asian tropical forests - including those in India's Western Ghats, Himalaya and north-east - are among the 'hotspots' of threatened species.

Question 6

Which country bans Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes after the Ethiopian Airlines crash?

Accepted Answer

Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft banned by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in the Indian airspace from 1600 hrs IST or 1030 UTC 13th March 2019. The airlines affected by this are SpiceJet which has 13 jets of the model 8 variant and Jet Airways which has 5 jets of this variant.

Question 7

Muhammadu Buhari was re-elected as the president of which of the following country?

Accepted Answer

Muhammadu Buhari was re-elected Nigeria's President, results showed, after a delayed poll that angered voters and led to claims of rigging and collusion. Buhari, 76, took an unassailable lead of more than four million votes as the last states were yet to be declared, making it impossible for his nearest rival, Atiku Abubakar, to win.

Question 8

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved a scheme for Farmer's welfare. It was named as;

Accepted Answer

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the launch of 'Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan' (KUSUM Yojana) with the objective of providing financial and water security to farmers. The Central Government will provide a total financial support of Rs 34,422 crore for the scheme.

Question 9

For how many Indian cities, the Environment Ministry launched the National Clean Air Programme?

Accepted Answer

The Environment Ministry launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) aimed at reducing toxic particulate matter in 102 Indian cities by 2024. The NCAP will be a mid-term, five-year plan with 2019 as the first year, while 2017 will be the base year for comparison of concentration. An amount of INR300 crore has been sanctioned for this purpose.

Question 10

How many Central Public Sector Enterprises are approved by the Union Cabinet recently?

Accepted Answer

The Union Cabinet approved the listing of 7 Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) on the stock exchanges via Initial Public Offering (IPO) or Follow-on Public Offer (FPO). The companies that will go for IPOs include Telecommunication Consultants (India) Ltd., RailTel Corporation India Ltd., National Seed Corporation India Ltd., Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Limited, Water & Power Consultancy Services (India) Limited and FCI Aravali Gypsum and Minerals (India) Limited. Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited will go for an FPO.

Question 11

According to the Henley Passport Index, India ranks which position as the world's most travel-friendly passport?

Accepted Answer

According to the Henley Passport Index, India jumped two positions from 81st in 2018 to 79th in 2019. Japan retained its top spot as the world's most travel-friendly passport. China jumped almost 20 places in just two years, from 85th in 2017 to 69th this year. The Henley Passport Index is based on data provided by the International Air Transport Authority (IATA) and covers 199 passports and 227 travel destinations.

Question 12

This country agreed to work expeditiously on operationalizing the Kartapur corridor in Pakistan.

Accepted Answer

India and Pakistan have agreed to work expeditiously on operationalizing the Kartapur corridor. The corridor will facilitate Indian pilgrims to visit the holy shrine of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur in Pakistan. The agreement was reached during the first meeting between the representatives of the two countries held at Attari in Punjab.

Question 13

The Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act, 2019, the Act providing __________ % reservation in government jobs and educational institutions to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) of General Category.

Accepted Answer

The Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act, 2019, the Act providing 10 percent reservation in government jobs and educational institutions to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) of General Category, came into effect on January 14, 2019. The move came after the Union Government exercised its powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Constitution (One Hundred and Third Amendment) Act, 2019 and appointed January 14, 2019 as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force.

Question 14

How many free cooking gas (LPG) connections has the government provided under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)?

Accepted Answer

The government gave out the 6-croreth free cooking gas (LPG) connection under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) to make available cleaner fuel in every household kitchens. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu handed over papers for an LPG connection to Jasmina Khatoon from Shivpark, Khanpur in New Delhi to mark the 6 crore LPG connections under PMUY. Under the scheme, the government provides a subsidy of Rs 1,600 to state-owned fuel retailers for every free LPG gas connection that they give to poor households. The 5-croreth free LPG connection under the scheme was given to Takrdiran, a resident of Sangam Vihar of the national capital, in August 2018 by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.

Question 15

Which financial inclusion program of India is set to cross Rs 1 lakh crore accounts?

Accepted Answer

The total deposits in Jan Dhan Account are set to cross Rs 1 lakh crore soon. The scheme was launched on 28th August 2014 by the Modi-government with an aim to provide universal access to banking facilities to all households. On 3rd April, the total balance in the Jan Dhan accounts was at Rs 97,665.66 and the total number of Jan Dhan accounts crossed 35.39 crores. Also, more than 27.89 crores account holders have been issued the Rupay debit cards.Recently, the government increased the accident insurance cover to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 1 lakh for new accounts opened after 28th August 2018 and the overdraft limit was also doubled to Rs 10,000.

Question 16

What is the sovereign rating of India as per the credit rating agency Fitch?

Accepted Answer

Fitch Rating affirms India's sovereign rating at the lowest investment grade of BBB-with a stable outlook. The growth rate of India forecasted by Fitch is 6.8% in financial year 2019-20 and 7.1% in FY 2020-21.According to Fitch, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) regulations has been eased and there is reduction in red tape but still there are some difficulties in doing business in India due to which India's rating is not upgraded. Since 2006, this is the 13th year in a row that India is getting "BBB" ranking from Fitch. On August 1, 2006, Fitch had upgraded the India's rating from "BB+" to "BBB".

Question 17

Which union ministry has launched Shehri Samridhi Utsav?

Accepted Answer

The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has launched Shehri Samridhi Utsav to extend the outreach of DAY-NULM (Deendayal Antyodaya Mission - National Urban Livelihoods Mission) to the most vulnerable. The event will also showcase its initiatives and facilitate access of Self-Help Group (SHG) members to the other government schemes.

Question 18

Recently, this country evacuates peacekeeping CRPF contingent from Libya.

Accepted Answer

India evacuated its entire contingent of 15 CRPF personnel from Tripoli after the situation suddenly worsened in Libya. The CRPF contingent was deployed as a peacekeeping force in Tripoli. The military conflict in Libya escalated after forces of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar launched an air strike yesterday in an area in Tripoli and the government vowed a major counteroffensive. The United Nations called for a two-hour truce to allow evacuations of civilians and the wounded. Rivalries between Haftar and the government threaten to plunge the country into a civil war. Indian Ambassador in Tunisia has the concurrent charge of Libya.

Question 19

Delhi High Court has allowed the Transgenders to file sexual harassment case under which section?

Accepted Answer

Delhi High Court has allowed that Section 354A of Indian Penal Code (IPC) can be used by transgenders to register complaints of sexual harassment. According to the police, there was a lack of an appropriate penal section under which they could register such a complaint.

Question 20

What is the position of Indian Passport in the Passport Index of 2019?

Accepted Answer

The Passport Index of 2019, which ranks almost 199 countries in the world based on their Visa-Free Scores and their ranking according to the UNDP human development index, showed that Indian passport has steadily strengthened in a period of 5 years from rank 77 in 2015 to 67 in 2019. 25 countries allow visa-free entry to Indian passport holders, whereas 39 countries offer visa-on-arrival. The Tourism Ministry for India is also offering e-tourist visa facilities to 166 countries, by making several amendments in the e-visa regime of the country in order to make this process more tourist friendly.

National Questions