GK & Current Affairs – December 16, 17, 2015

1. Which of the following organisations has sanctioned $1.5 billion loan to support the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM)?
[A]World Bank
[B]IMF
[C]ADB
[D]Japan Bank for International Cooperation
Answer: World Bank
Recently, the World Bank has sanctioned a $1.5 billion loan to India for its Clean India Campaign. The loan will support Indian Government’ s efforts to ensure all citizens in rural areas have access to improved sanitation and end the practice of open defecation by 2019. The loan will be used for Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) Support Operation Project. The project will promote behaviour change among rural communities and help accelerate results in India’s states by giving them performance-based incentives. A national sample-survey of rural sanitation will be conducted every year by independent third-party agencies. Based on the survey findings, the World Bank will release funds to the Government of India. The Union Government will in turn pass on the funds to the states, based on their performance on certain parameters every year.
2. Which of the following countries satellites have been successfully launched by using ISRO’s PSLV-C29?
[A]Canada
[B]Singapore
[C]Indonesia
[D]Saudi Arabia
Answer: Singapore
Recently, the ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C29 has successfully launched six commercial satellites from Singapore into their orbit from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. Of the six satellites, the 400 kg earth observation satellite called TeLEOS-1 is the main passenger for the PSLV rocket. Thus, the mission is called TeLEOS mission by ISRO.TeLEOS-1 is Singapore’s first commercial earth observation satellite designed and developed by ST Electronics. The other five co-passenger satellites are VELOX-C1 (123 kg), VELOX-II (13 kg), Kent Ridge-1 (78 kg), Galassia (3.4 kg) and Athenoxat-1. This is the 32nd flight of PSLV and 11th flight of the launch vehicle in ‘core-alone’ configuration, which is without the use of solid strap-on motors.
3. Which of the following countries has formed the 34 nations Islamic Anti-terror Coalition?
[A]Iran
[B]Iraq
[C]Saudi Arabia
[D]Egypt
Answer: Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has launched Islamic Military Coalition, a new military alliance of 34 nations mainly Muslim nations to fight terrorism. It has been established in pursuance of the objectives and principles of the charter of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). It calls for all member states to cooperate to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. The establishment of coalition comes amid international pressure on the Gulf Arab states to do more in the fight against so-called Islamic State.
4. Which of the following Indian states Lokayukta has been appointed by Supreme Court of India by using its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution?
[A]Uttar Pradesh
[B]Bihar
[C]Karnataka
[D]Andhra Pradesh
Answer: Uttar Pradesh
Recently, the Supreme Court of India (SCI)has appointed Justice (Retd) Virendra Singh as new Lokayukta of Uttar Pradesh, after recording the repeated failure of the state government to comply with the court’s directives. The Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi has exercised its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to make the appointment of Lokayukta.
5. Which of the following countries has successfully tested Shaheen-IA ballistic missile?
[A]Iran
[B]Pakistan
[C]Israel
[D]Turkey
Answer: Pakistan
Pakistan has successfully tested the nuclear-capable Shaheen-IA ballistic missile with a range of 900 km. It is a land-based supersonic and short-to-intermediate range surface-to-surface guided ballistic missile, jointly designed and developed by the joint venture of NESCOM and the National Defence Complex (NDC). The missile is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads to a range of 2,750 km.
6. Which of the following companies is the title-sponsor for 2016 Hockey India League?
[A]Star Plus
[B]Coal India Ltd.
[C]Jaypee Group
[D]Steel Authority of India Ltd.
Answer: Coal India Ltd.
The state-owned Coal India Ltd. has become the title-sponsor for the next three editions of the Hockey India League beginning 2016. The tournament had six franchises teams from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Mumbai, Ranchi, Odisha and Punjab. Except Delhi and Punjab, the rest of the teams are from coal-bearing States.
7. Which of the following countries has hosted the 14th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Prime Ministers’ meeting?
[A]China
[B]Russia
[C]Kazakhstan
[D]Kyrgyzstan
Answer: China
The 14th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) prime ministers’ meeting was held in Zhengzhou, China. The prime ministers vowed to strengthen cooperation in renewable energy and environmental protection in a bid to reduce energy consumption and curb greenhouse gas emissions. They also suggested that the SCO expand cooperation with observers, dialogue partners and other international groups. They approved the SCO 2016 budget and decided to convene the 2016 prime ministers’ meeting in Kyrgyzstan.
8. On which date, the Vijay Diwas is celebrated across the India?
[A]December 14
[B]December 16
[C]December 18
[D]December 20
Answer: December 16
The 44th anniversary of Vijay Diwas is celebrated in India on December 16, 2015 to mark India’s victory over Pakistan in the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971. The day is celebrated to honour the martyrs of the 1971 war between the two countries. On this day in 1971, about 93,000 Pakistani soldiers surrendered to the Indian forces. This historic victory led to creation of Bangladesh.
9. Who of the following has been honoured with the Garwood Award for ‘Outstanding Global Leader in Open Innovation’?
[A]Narendra Modi
[B]Pranab Mukherjee
[C]Arun Jaitley
[D]Rajnath Singh
Answer: Pranab Mukherjee
The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee has been honoured with the Garwood Award for ‘Outstanding Global Leader in Open Innovation’ from US Berkeley-Haas School at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The award was presented to Pranab Mukherjee for promoting open innovation, organizing first Festival of Innovation at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, for launching the first Innovations Scholars’ ‘In-Residence’ programme to promote the spirit of innovation and provide a thriving creative atmosphere for grassroots innovation activities that will have the potential to transform the global landscape, etc. The University of California, Berkeley has established the Garwood Award to acknowledge individuals who have embraced, supported and encouraged open innovation in a significant and impactful way.
10. Who was the author of the book ‘Imagined Communities’?
[A]Nidhi Eoseewong
[B]Salman Rushide
[C]Perry Anderson
[D]Benedict Anderson
Answer: Benedict Anderson
Benedict Anderson was the author of the book ‘Imagined Communities’. He passed away recently. He was a scholar of Southeast Asia who transformed the study of nationalism by positing that nations were “imagined communities” that arose from the fateful interplay of capitalism and the printing press.

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