GK & Current Affairs – February 19, 2016

1. The Medaram tribal festival is celebrated in which state of India?
[A]West Bengal
[B]Kerala
[C]Telangana
[D]Tamil Nadu
Answer: Telangana
Notes:
The Medaram Jatara is a sacred tribal festival is celebrated in honouring the goddesses in Medaram village in Tadvai Mandal in Warangal district, Telangana. The four day fair, also known as Sammakka Saralamma Jatara, is held in every two years to commemorate the fight of a mother and daughter, Sammakka and Saralamma, with the reigning rulers against an unjust law. Recently, the fest has started in the village on February 17, 2016 and it is estimated that millions of people from Telangana, AP, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, MP, Maharashtra, Karnataka etc. has participated in the event.
2. Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan, who died recently, was trained in which gharana of Hindustani classical music?
[A]Atrauli Gharana
[B]Kirana Gharana
[C]Gwalior Gharana
[D]Agra Gharana
Answer: Gwalior Gharana
Notes:
The well-known Hindustani classical vocalist Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan (107), a descendant of Tansen, passed away in Kolkata, West Bengal. He belonged to the family of musicians of the “Gwalior Gharana” and as a poet, he has written around 2,000 compositions under the pseudonym ‘Rasan Piya’.
3. Name the Indologist who awarded with prestigious Israel Prize for religious studies?
[A]Avinoam Naor
[B]Adina Bar-Shalom
[C]David Shulman
[D]Zelig Eshhar
Answer: David Shulman
Notes:
The well-known Indologist Professor David Shulman has been honoured with the prestigious Israel Prize for his breakthrough studies on the religion, literature and culture of southern India and his command over Indian languages like Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. The Israel Prize is given to those who have displayed excellence in their fields, or have contributed strongly to Israeli culture or the State.
4. Which country has successfully launched the ASTRO-H space observation satellite?
[A]United States
[B]China
[C]France
[D]Japan
Answer: Japan
Notes:
Japan has successfully launched the ASTRO-H X-ray astronomy satellite via its H-IIA rocket to study black holes. ASTRO-H is a high-energy astronomy mission led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The satellite is 14 meters long and weighs 2.7 tons, and is equipped with four X-ray telescopes and two gamma-ray detectors.
5. Akbar Kakkattil, who passed away recently, was a writer of which language?
[A]Telugu
[B]Tamil
[C]Malayalam
[D]Urdu
Answer: Malayalam
Notes:
The noted Malayalam novelist and short story writer Akbar Kakkattil (62) passed away in Kozhikode, Kerala. He was well known for his short stories based on school experiences. His work, ‘Sarga Sameeksha’, a creative and critical interface of a young writer with the iconic writers of the old generation is perhaps the first of its kind among Indian languages.
6. Which of the following states is also known as ‘The land of dwan lit mountains’?
[A]Manipur
[B]Arunachal Pradesh
[C]Nagaland
[D]Mizoram
Answer: Arunachal Pradesh
Notes:
Arunachal Pradesh is also known as the “land of the dawn-lit mountains”. Arunachal Pradesh was granted statehood on 20th February, 1987.
7. Utkarsha Bangla scheme has been launched by the West Bengal government, for what purpose?
[A]To train school dropouts
[B]To stop human trafficking
[C]To promote entrepreneurship among women
[D]To promote organic farming
Answer: To train school dropouts
Notes:
The West Bengal government has recently launched Utkarsh Bangla Scheme, a welfare scheme for school-dropouts. The scheme is aimed at giving vocational training to school dropouts who will be trained free of charge in tailoring, driving, repairing television and others. Each youth will get training ranging from 400 to 1200 hours.
8. Who was named as new chairman of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on Goods and Services Tax (GST)?
[A]Saurabh Patel
[B]Amit Mitra
[C]Pradip Kumar Amat
[D]G. Parameshwara
Answer: Amit Mitra
Notes:
West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra has been named as the new chairman of the empowered committee of state Finance ministers that is working out the details of the proposed goods and services tax (GST). He will succeed Kerala Finance Minister KM Mani, who resigned in November over corruption charges.
9. First ‘New Silk Road’ train from China has completed its trip in which city?
[A]Tehran
[B]Kabul
[C]Islamabad
[D]Ankara
Answer: Tehran
Notes:
The first train connecting China to Iran through the ancient Silk Road has arrived in the Iranian capital after traveling over 10,000 kilometers. The train had started its journey from China’s eastern Zhejiang province and it took 14 days to reach final destination. It had passed through two Central Asian countries Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
10. The Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy (IIPE) has been established at which of the following city?
[A]Visakhapatnam
[B]Kochi
[C]Kolkata
[D]Chennai
Answer: Visakhapatnam
Notes:
The Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy (IIPE) has been established at Visakhapatnam by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), Government of India. This institute has the mandate to lead the nation forward in education, research and training related to all areas of Petroleum and Energy. .

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