GK & Current Affairs – January 1, 2016

1. Which of the following organisations has extended a 50 million dollar loan for the Nai Manzil project?
[A]World Bank
[B]International Monetary Fund
[C]Asian Development Bank
[D]United Nations Children’s Fund
Answer: World Bank
The World Bank has extended a loan of 50 million dollar for ‘Nai Manzil Education and Skills Training for Minorities’ project. The project will help the disadvantaged youth from minority communities to complete their education. It will also provide hands-on vocational training and post-placement support to assist them in finding sustainable employment.
2. Which of the following committees is formed to suggest changes in the Cinematograph act?
[A]Shyam Benegal Committee
[B]Nilesh Jha Committee
[C]Chand Kiran Salooja committee
[D]Rastogi Committee
Answer: Shyam Benegal Committee
The Union Government has constituted a committee headed by filmmaker Shyam Benegal for holistic interpretation of the provisions of the Cinematograph Act. The recommendations of this Committee are expected to provide a holistic framework and enable those tasked with the work of certification of films to discharge their responsibilities keeping in view this framework. The panel, which would submit its report in two months, includes filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, adman Piyush Pandey and film critic Bhawana Somaaya.
3. Which of the following committees has been set up to review wage structure of Gramin Dak Sevaks?
[A]N Gopalaswami committee
[B]Deviprasad Mishra committee
[C]Ramesh Bharadwaj committee
[D]Kamlesh Chandra Committee
Answer: Kamlesh Chandra Committee
Recently, the Government of India (GoI) has set up a one-man committee to examine the wage structure and service conditions of the Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) in the Department of Posts. The committee will be headed by Kamlesh Chandra, a retired member of the postal services board. The committee will review the existing facilities, the service discharge benefit scheme and other social security benefits of GDS. It also has a mandate to examine and suggest any change in the method of engagement, minimum qualification for engagement for GDS and their conduct and disciplinary rules, particularly keeping in view the proposed induction of technology in rural post offices.
4. Which of the following projects has won the 2015 eASIA Award?
[A]DAVA project
[B]PRAGATI project
[C]Mangalyaan Project
[D]Nai Manzil project
Answer: DAVA project
The DAVA (Drug Authentication and Verification Application) project of Department of Commerce has won the 2015 eASIA Award. The eAsia Award is announced by AFACT (Asia Pacific Council for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business) in Tehran, Iran. The DAVA project was launched on June 29, 2015 to create an integrated platform for implementation of the track and trace system both for exports and domestic markets of drugs and pharmaceuticals.
5. Which of the following space agencies has suspended the 2016 InSight Mars mission?
[A]Roscosmos
[B]NASA
[C]CNSA
[D]JAXA
Answer: NASA
Recently, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has suspended the 2016 InSight Mars mission due to vacuum leak in critical seismometer instrument. It was scheduled to lift off in March 2016. The acronym of space craft InSight is ‘Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport’. The mission was designed to help scientists to learn more about the formation of rocky planets, including Earth. Mars InSight lander designed to examine the geology of Mars in depth.
6. Ian Murdock, who passed away recently, was the founder of which open-source project?
[A]Ubuntu
[B]OpenOffice
[C]Debian Linux
[D]Mozilla Firefox
Answer: Debian Linux
The German-born American software engineer, Ian Murdock (42) was passed away recently. He was the founder of the Debian GNU/Linux distribution project, one of the Linux’s most popular open-source operating systems. The Debian GNU/Linux is a particular distribution of the Linux operating system, that supports many hardware platforms. It is free to use and redistribute.
7. Who of the following has been named BCCI Cricketer of the Year 2015?
[A]Rohit Sharma
[B]Ravichandran Ashwin
[C]Virat Kohli
[D]Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Answer: Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli has won the BCCI Cricketer-of-the-Year 2015 award. The award is named after former India captain and all-rounder Polly Umrigar. Mithali Raj was picked for the top women’s award by BCCI. Karnataka all-rounder Robin Uthappa has been picked for the Madhavrao Scindia Award for being the highest run-scorer in Ranji Trophy.
8. Who of the following has been conferred with 2015 Sangita Kalanidhi award?
[A]Sudha Ragunathan
[B]Trichur Ramachandran
[C]Sanjay Subrahmanyam
[D]T V Gopalakrishnan
Answer: Sanjay Subrahmanyam
South Indian classical vocalist Sanjay Subrahmanyam has been conferred with 2015 Sangita Kalanidhi award. The prestigious award was bestowed upon him by renowned mathematician Manjul Bhargava at 89th annual conference of the Madras Music Academy in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Sangita Kalanidhi award is a prestigious award bestowed annually upon an expert of Carnatic Music by the Madras Music Academy.
9. Who of the following has been selected for Kerala Tourism’s Nishagandhi Puraskaram 2016?
[A]Mallika Sarabhai
[B]Shovana Narayan
[C]Ilaiyaraja
[D]Yamini Krishnamurthy
Answer: Ilaiyaraja
Music maestro Ilaiyaraja has been selected for Kerala Tourism’s Nishagandhi Puraskaram 2016 for his artistic excellence and contribution to the Indian film music industry. The award carries a purse of Rs 1,50,000, citation and a statuette.
10. How many countries are members of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)?
[A]7
[B]10
[C]12
[D]14
Answer: 10
Recently, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has launched an EU-inspired economic bloc – ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). The economic bloc is formed to boost the region’s trading clout and attracting more investment. The vision for the bloc is a single market with a free flow of goods, capital and skilled labour, which should help the region compete with the likes of China for foreign investment.

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