GK & Current Affairs – July 12, 2016

1. Which state government will introduce online filing of Performance Appraisal Report (PAR) through SPARROW for its IPS officers?
[A]Jammu & Kashmir
[B]Haryana
[C]Odisha
[D]Uttar Pradesh
Answer: Haryana
Notes:
The Haryana Government has decided to introduce online filing of Performance Appraisal Report (PAR) through Smart Performance Appraisal Report Recording Online Window (SPARROW) for all its IPS officers from the assessment year 2015-16. The government has also notified the instructions for writing of their PAR which will be recorded online at http://ips.gov.in by December 31, 2016.
2. Which committee has been constituted to tackle the shortage of pulses in India?
[A]Sanjay Mitra committee
[B]NK Singh committee
[C]Arvind Subramanian committee
[D]Divakar Reddy committee
Answer: Arvind Subramanian committee
Notes:
The Union Government has recently constituted a high-level committee headed by Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian to tackle the shortage of pulses in India. The committee will consider a reasonable hike in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for pulses and bonus for the farmers to promote pulse cultivation and frame an appropriate policy to promote cultivation of lentils in India. The committee will submit its report within 2- weeks. Beside this, the Government of India (GoI ) has decided to increase the buffer stock of pulses from 8 lakh to 20 lakh tonnes.
3. Who has become the first woman Chief Justice of Nepal?
[A]Kalyani Shrestha
[B]Nirjala Nagendra
[C]Sushila Karki
[D]Mridula Upadhyaya
Answer: Sushila Karki
Notes:
Sushila Karki has become the first woman Chief Justice of Nepal after taking oath of office and secrecy at a special programme organized at the Presidential Residence, Sheetal Niwas. She will head the judiciary till June 6, 2017. The oath was administered by President Bidya Devi Bhandari. Beside Karki, President Bhandari has also administered oath of office and secrecy to newly appointed Chief Election Commissioner Dr. Ayodhi Prasad Yadav.
4. Amal Dutta, who passed away recently, was related to which sports?
[A]Football
[B]Badminton
[C]Tennis
[D]Cricket
Answer: Football
Notes:
Amal Dutta (86), the former India footballer and India’s first full time diamond coach, has recently passed away at Baguiati in Kolkata, West Bengal. He was a midfielder during his playing days and represented India in the 1954 Asian Games at Manila. He was renowned for his bold and innovative tactics and formation “Diamond system”, thus he was also called as Diamond Coach.
5. The Kharchi Puja festival has started in which state of India?
[A]West Bengal
[B]Tripura
[C]Odisha
[D]Tamil Nadu
Answer: Tripura
Notes:
The 7-day long Kharchi Puja festival has started at Chaturdas Devta Temple in Old Agartala, Tripura. It is a century old traditional festival of Tripura. The uniqueness of the fest lies in offering Puja to the head-images of 14 God and Goddesses, who live in a locked room throughout the year and it is only during the first week of Shukla Paksha of Ashad of Bengali calendar year they are brought out so that the devotees can see them. The head images of 14 God and Goddesses symbolize with Hindu Gods like Hara, Uma, Hari, Vani, Kartik etc. Because of the beliefs of the festival, Tripura is also known as the land of fourteen gods.
6. Which union minister has recently launched the “Intensified Diarrhoea Control Fortnight (IDCF)” in New Delhi?
[A]Jagadish Shettar
[B]Jagat Prakash Nadda
[C]DV Sadananda Gowda
[D]Harsh Vardhan
Answer: Jagat Prakash Nadda
Notes:
Jagat Prakash Nadda, the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, has recently launched nationwide “Intensified Diarrhoea Control Fortnight (IDCF)” in New Delhi on July 11, which will be continue till July 23, 2016. The purpose of the IDCF is to curb the risk of diarrhoea which scales up during monsoon season. The Ministry also unveiled a package of measures to end child diarrhoea deaths on the overdrive. As per the programme, ASHA workers shall visit all households with children below 5-years of age for pre-positioning the ORS. The combination of ORS and Zinc has been found to be the most cost-effective intervention to prevent deaths due to diarrhea.
7. Who has been appointed as the new chairman of the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL)?
[A]D Rajkumar
[B]Utpal Bora
[C]M Rajeshwari
[D]S Varadarajan
Answer: D Rajkumar
Notes:
D Rajkumar has been appointed as the new Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL). He will take over the charge on or after October 1, 2016 after retirement of BPCL’s current chief S Varadarajan in September 2016. Currently, he is working as Managing Director of Bharat Petro Resources Ltd, a unit of BPCL focused on exploration and production. Apart from him, Utpal Bora has been appointed as the new Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Oil India Limited (OIL).
8. Dharambir Singh is associated with which sports?
[A]Wushu
[B]Golf
[C]Sprint
[D]Triple Jump
Answer: Sprint
Notes:
Dharambir Singh has recently book his berth in 2016 Rio Olympics by clocking 20.45 seconds in Men’s 200 meters race at the Indian Grand Prix in Bengaluru and become the first Indian to qualify in the sprint event after Perumal Subramaniam in the 1980 Moscow games. Apart from him, Jinson Johnson from Kerala has also qualified for the 2016 Rio in the 800m race after clocking a time of 1:45.98 seconds.
9. Who has been conferred with the 2015 Jnanpith Award?
[A]Pannalal Patel
[B]Umashankar Joshi
[C]Raghuveer Chaudhari
[D]Rama Jain
Answer: Raghuveer Chaudhari
Notes:
The President of India Pranab Mukherjee has recently conferred the 51st edition of the Jnanpith Award 2015 to Dr. Raghuveer Chaudhari at a function held at Parliament Library Building, New Delhi. The award consists of a citation plaque, a cash prize of Rs.11 lakh and a bronze replica of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge and wisdom.
10. The book “The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable” has been authored by whom?
[A]Amrish Tripathi
[B]Tabish Khair
[C]Amitav Ghosh
[D]Nitin Gokhale
Answer: Amitav Ghosh
Notes:
The book “The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable” has been authored by Amitav Ghosh. The book examines human’s inability—at the level of literature, history, and politics—to grasp the scale and violence of climate change. The book serves as a great writer’s summons to confront the most urgent task of our time. .

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