GK & Current Affairs: December 20, 2016

1. Which union ministry has launched GARV-II mobile app to monitor rural electrification data?
[A]Ministry of Power
[B]Ministry of Rural Development
[C]Ministry of Panchayati Raj
[D]Ministry of Tribal Affairs
Answer: Ministry of Power
Notes:
The Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, Piyush Goyal has recently launched Grameen Vidyutikaran mobile application ‘GARV-II’ App in New Delhi to track rural household electrification and citizen engagement window ‘SAMVAD’. GARV-II is an upgraded version of its earlier version, which hosts village-wise, habitation wise baseline data on household electrification on all states.
2. India’s first cashless bazaar has come up in which of the following states?
[A]Rajasthan
[B]Chhattisgarh
[C]Uttar Pradesh
[D]Madhya Pradesh
Answer: Chhattisgarh
Notes:
India’s first cashless bazaar has come up in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Now, over 900 shops of this ‘Smart’ bazaar are providing customers the facilities of cashless payments using POS, UPI and other digital systems. Currently, Chhattisgarh is leading in the nation in training its people in digital transactions. According to data on a central government website, Chhattisgarh has trained over 5 lakh people in cashless payments in first 10 days of training.
3. Karun Nair is associated with which sports?
[A]Hockey
[B]Badminton
[C]Cricket
[D]Chess
Answer: Cricket
Notes:
Karun Kaladharan Nair, an Indian cricketer from Karnataka, has recently hit the triple century in the fifth and final Cricket Test against England at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. With this, Nair became only the 2nd Indian batsman to hit a triple-hundred in international cricket history after Virender Sehwag and the 3rd player after Bob Simpson and Sir Garfield Sobers to convert their maiden Test centuries into triple centuries.
4. Which union ministry has won gold medal in the Web Ratna category of 2016 Digital India Awards?
[A]Ministry of Human Resource Development
[B]Ministry of Tourism
[C]Ministry of Power
[D]Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Answer: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Notes:
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare won gold in the Web Ratna category at the 2016 Digital India awards. The 2016 Digital India awards have been conferred by the Ministry of Electronics & IT to promote more innovative e-governance initiatives by the government entities. Web Ratna award felicitates a Ministry or Department of the Government of India (GoI) which has a comprehensive web presence and display the level of accountability in terms of quantity, quality, spectrum of coverage and innovation ascertaining user satisfaction. Level of convenience provided to the citizen for availing the services, usability and accessibility are also assessed.
5. Anupam Mishra, who passed away recently, was the noted personality of which field?
[A]Water conservation
[B]Environment
[C]Journalism
[D]All of the above
Answer: All of the above
Notes:
Anupam Mishra (68), who recently passed away in New Delhi, was the noted environmentalist, Gandhian ideologue, a journalist, an author and an authoritative voice in the field of water conservation in India. He was well known for his written books such as “Aaj Bhi Khare Hain Taalab” and “Rajasthan Ki Rajat Boondein”, the landmark works in the field of water conservation.
6. ‘Saanjhi Saanjh’ the national newspaper for senior citizen has been launched by which union ministry?
[A]Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
[B]Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
[C]Ministry of Human Resource Development
[D]Ministry of Rural Development
Answer: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
Notes:
The Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Thaawarchand Gehlot has released the first issue of a National Newspaper ‘Saanjhi Saanjh’ for senior citizen in New Delhi. This newspaper for senior citizen is edited by J.V Manisha Bajaj, Secretary of Harikrit, an NGO for elderly people. The bilingual newspaper has 8 pages which will be published from Delhi by Harikrit publishers. The newspaper will carry important and useful news pertaining to elderly persons besides inspirational stories. It will serve as a bridge between old and new generations.
7. What is the current interest rate on Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) for FY 17?
[A]8.65%
[B]8.55%
[C]8.75%
[D]8.45%
Answer: 8.65%
Notes:
The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has recently lowered the interest rate on Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) deposits to 8.65% for the current fiscal FY 17 (2016-17) from 8.8% in 2015-16. The decision was taken by the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)’s central board of trustees i.e. chaired by Bandaru Dattatreya, the Union Minister of Labour and Employment. As per EPFO, interest income from PF investments for 2016-17 has been estimated mainly on the basis of interest income received or receivable in this financial year, including surplus from previous year of Rs. 410 crore.
8. Who will be the head of newly constituted high-level task force on Indus Water Treaty (IWT)?
[A]Shaktikanta Das
[B]Nripendra Mishra
[C]Ajit Doval
[D]Aditya Mehta
Answer: Nripendra Mishra
Notes:
The Union Government has recently formed an inter-ministerial task force on Indus Water Treaty (IWT), which will be headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Principal Secretary Nripendra Mishra. Mishra will look into all the strategic aspects of Indus Water Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan. The other members of the team include NSA Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and Secretaries in ministries of Finance, Environment, Power and Water Resource.
9. Which famous personality has become the brand ambassador of Assam tourism?
[A]Sachin Tendulkar
[B]Priyanka Chopra
[C]Aamir Khan
[D]Lata Mangeshkar
Answer: Priyanka Chopra
Notes:
The Assam government has appointed Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra as the state’s tourism brand ambassador for two years to promote the new brand entity “Awesome Assam”. The actress will not charge a fee for the brand ambassador assignment. She will charge professional charges for the work she will do in photoshoots and television commercials.
10. Saumitra Chaudhuri, who passed away recently, was the famous personality of which field?
[A]Sports
[B]Film Industry
[C]Economics
[D]Science
Answer: Economics
Notes:
Dr. Saumitra Chaudhuri (62), an eminent economist and a former member of the erstwhile Planning Commission, has recently passed away in New Delhi. He was one of the longest serving members of the Planning Commission of India. Before being part of Planning Commission, Dr. Chaudhuri worked as Economic Advisor and Research Co-ordinator with ICRA Limited, a full service credit rating agency, for 16 years (1993-2009) and was executive editor of the research publication — Money and Finance. Dr.Chaudhuri had over 25 monographs and papers spanning issues of industry, the financial sector, regional development and fiscal policy. .

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