GK & Current Affairs – January 25, 26, 2016

1. Which is the highest peacetime gallantry award of India?
[A]Shaurya Chakra
[B]Param Vir Chakra
[C]Ashok Chakra
[D]Kirti Chakra
Answer: Ashok Chakra
Indian Army’s elite Para Special Forces’ commando Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami has been awarded the country’s highest peace time gallantry honour, Ashok Chakra, posthumously for saving two colleagues during an encounter with militants in Kashmir last year. The Ashok Chakra is awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield. It is the peace time gallantry award i.e. awarded for the “most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent valour or self-sacrifice” other than in the face of the enemy.
2. Who has been elected as the new President of Portugal?
[A]Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa
[B]Jose Manuel Barroso
[C]Fernando Nogueira
[D]Antonia Costa
Answer: Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa
The noted law professor, journalist, political analyst and pundit, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has won the Presidential Election of Portugal. Previously, he was a government minister and Member of Parliament.
3. On which date, the National Girl Child Day is celebrated in India?
[A]April 21
[B]January 24
[C]March 23
[D]February 11
Answer: January 24
The National Girl Child Day is celebrated in India on January 24. It is celebrated to encourage the girl’s situation in the society, to offer more supports and new opportunities to the girls in the country, to remove different types of social discrimination and exploitation with the girls and to aware them that they have equal rights of the good education, nutrition and health care.
4. Who has been honoured with the 2016 National Yash Chopra Memorial Award?
[A]Amitabh Bachchan
[B]Simi Garewal
[C]Lata Mangeshkar
[D]Rekha
Answer: Rekha
The Veteran Bollywood actress Rekha has been honoured with the third National Yash Chopra Memorial Award 2016 in recognition of her talent and contribution to the film industry. The award has been instituted by the T.S.R. Foundation of T Subbarami Reddy in the memory of the producer-director, who died in 2012. The Foundation annually honours a distinguished senior film personality for outstanding contribution to film industry with a Gold Medal and a cash prize of Rs.10 lakh. The previous recipients of the award are Lata Mangeshkar and Amitabh Bachchan.
5. Shankar Ghosh, who passed away recently, was related to which field?
[A]Claasical Singer
[B]Painter
[C]Tabla Maestro
[D]Sarangi Maestro
Answer: Tabla Maestro
The noted tabla player Pandit Shankar Ghosh (80) passed away in Kolkata, West Bengal. He was one of the most famous tabla player in the country and belongs to the Farukhabad gharana of Hindustani classical music and followed the Farukhabad gharana of Hindustani classical music.
6. On which date, the National Voters’ Day (NVD) is celebrated in India?
[A]January 21
[B]January 25
[C]February 10
[D]February 17
Answer: January 25
The 6th National Voters’ Day (NVD) has been celebrated across the country on January 25, 2016 by Election Commission of India (ECI). The theme for this year is ‘Inclusive and Qualitative Participation’. The day is also the foundation day of the Commission, which came into existence in 1950.
7. Which of the following countries soldiers created history by participating in the Republic Day parade?
[A]Australia
[B]South Korea
[C]Japan
[D]France
Answer: France
For the first time in the history of Republic Day parade, a 76-member French Army contingent took part. The French Army’s 35th Infantry Regiment traces its origin back to 1604 when it was raised in Lorraine in France.
8. Who has been selected for the 2016 PEN/Allen Foundation Literary Service Award?
[A]Christopher Hitchens
[B]Taslima Nasrin
[C]J K Rowling
[D]Salman Rushide
Answer: J K Rowling
The free-speech organization PEN American Center announced that it is giving its 2016 PEN/Allen award to author J.K. Rowling. Previous recipients of the PEN/Allen Foundation Literary Service Award include Philip Roth, Toni Morrison and Salman Rushdie. PEN is also honouring Hachette Book Group CEO Michael Pietsch. Pietsch joined with several other publishers last year in an informal pledge to combat censorship of translated books in China.
9. Which of the following is responsible for transmission of the Zika virus to humans?
[A]Mosquitoes
[B]Birds
[C]Pigs
[D]Rats
Answer: Mosquitoes
Recently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne disease suspected of causing birth defects is likely to spread to all countries in the Americas except Canada and Chile. The virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947.
10. Who has joined a task force of the World Economic Forum (WEF) to study the future of global financial system?
[A]Bibek Debroy
[B]Arvind Subramanian
[C]Raghuram Rajan
[D]Duvvuri Subbarao
Answer: Raghuram Rajan
Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan has joined a task force of the World Economic Forum (WEF) to study the future of global financial system. Its members include bankers and policymakers from across the world. The task force was formed at the request of Bank of England Governor and Financial Stability Board Chairman Mark Carney and WEF’s Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab.

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