GK & Current Affairs – December 3, 4, 2015

1. On which date, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities is observed?
[A]September 21
[B]October 10
[C]December 3
[D]December 15
Answer: December 3
Every year International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) is being observed on 3 December to promote an understanding of disability issues. It also seeks to mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. The theme for year 2015 of International Day of Persons with Disabilities is Inclusion matters: access and empowerment for people of all abilities. United Nations has estimated around one billion people are living with disabilities across the world and they are facing barriers of inclusion in many key aspects of society. In 1992, United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) had passed a resolution 47/3 for annually observing 3rd December as International Day of Disabled Persons. It was originally called as International Day of Disabled Persons.
2. Which of the following campaigns has been launched by the Union Government for differently-abled people?
[A]Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan
[B]Sulabh Bharat Abhiyan
[C]Sojanya Bharat Abhiyan
[D]Sanskirti Bharat Abhiyan
Answer: Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan
The Union Government has launched the “Accessible India Campaign” (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) on December 3, 2015. The campaign seeks to make at least 50 % of all government buildings in the national capital and all state capitals “fully accessible” for the disabled by July 2018. It is a nationwide flagship campaign for achieving universal accessibility for persons with disabilities and to create an enabling and barrier free environment, with a focus on Built Environment, Public Transportation and Information and Communication Technologies. The campaign would involve making transport, public space, tourist places, international airports, railway stations and information and communication technology in India differently-able friendly.
3. The proposed Dholera International airport will come up in which city?
[A]Mumbai
[B]Kochi
[C]Jaipur
[D]Ahmedabad
Answer: Ahmedabad
Recently, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) has given an environment clearance to the proposed Dholera International airport in Ahmedabad district. The proposed airport will be established in Ahmedabad district’s Navagam village, which is 15 km from Dholera. It will cater to the regions of Vadodara, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Nadiad, Kheda and Anand. The project will be developed in three phases with an estimated cost of around Rs 1,712 crore, of which the first phase will cost Rs 716 crore. By January 2016, the project is expected to receive the in-principle approval from the Civil Aviation Ministry of Government of India (GoI).
4. Which of the following space agencies has launched the LISA Pathfinder?
[A]Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
[B]NASA
[C]European Space Agency
[D]China National Space Administration
Answer: European Space Agency
On December 3, the European Space Agency has launched the LISA Pathfinder to detect Albert Einstein’s gravitational waves. The LISA Pathfinder was blasted off on a Vega rocket from the spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. It is carrying gold-platinum cubes that will be released in freefall to try to detect the waves predicted by the one-hundred-year-old General Theory of Relativity. According to the theory, there should be universal ripples in the fabric of space and time, caused by massive objects accelerating through the Universe. But the fluctuations are so tiny, they have never been detected by scientists.
5. Who among the following personalities has been honoured with ITC Sangeet Samman 2015?
[A]Ajoy Chakrabarty
[B]Lakshminarayana Subramaniam
[C]Ulhas Kashalkar
[D]Deborshee Bhattacharjee
Answer: Lakshminarayana Subramaniam
The renowned Indian violinist, Dr. Lakshminarayana Subramaniam (68) has been honoured with the ITC Sangeet Samman 2015. Dr. Subramaniam is the only musician who has performed and recorded South Indian and Western classical music, both orchestral and non-orchestral, composed for and conducted major orchestras. He scored for films like “Mississippi Masala” and “Salaam Bombay”.
6. For what purpose, the GIAN scheme has been launched by the Union Government?
[A]To boost higher education
[B]To boost rural health
[C]To boost telecom sector
[D]To boost solar sector
Answer: To boost higher education
Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has launched Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN) Scheme to boost the quality of higher education in India. It was launched by Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhi Nagar campus. GIAN Scheme aims at improving the quality of higher education in the country through international collaboration. Facilitate participation of high quality international academicians for delivering short-term courses and programs in Indian institutions. Initially 500 international faculties will be engaged in conducting courses and later in subsequent years 1000 faculties would be engaged under GIAN throughout India. Under this scheme, academicians will cover 13 disciplines and 352 courses to be taught in 68 national institutions. These courses will be webcasted live for students across the country through web portal www.gian.iitkgp.ac.in designed by IIT Kharagpur.
7. Which of the following companies has signed a MoU with Akshaya Patra Foundation to provide mid-day meal in Odisha?
[A]Airtel
[B]Idea Cellular
[C]Wipro
[D]Infosys
Answer: Idea Cellular
The Aditya Birla Group’s telecom company, Idea Cellular has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Akshaya Patra Foundation in Odisha for providing mid-day meals to school students in the state. Around 47,000 students from 625 schools in 10 locations of the state would benefit from this initiative. The purpose of this mission is to provide children with nutritious meals every day and also ensure that they attend school daily.
8. According to the latest Brickwork Ratings report, which of the following state’s economy is biggest in India in FY 2014-15?
[A]Tamil Nadu
[B]Maharashtra
[C]Kerala
[D]Punjab
Answer: Maharashtra
As per the latest report published by credit rating agency Brickwork Ratings, Maharashtra is the biggest economy among the states in India in the FY 2014-15. Maharashtra accounts for Rs. 16.87 lakh crore in terms of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) and is followed by Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. In terms of GSDP, the fastest-growing states of India are Bihar (17.06 %), Madhya Pradesh (16.86 %) and Goa (16.43 %).
9. Which of the following banks is the first Indian bank to introduce Display Debit cards?
[A]HDFC Bank
[B]Axis Bank
[C]ICICI Bank
[D]State Bank of India
Answer: Axis Bank
The private sector bank, Axis Bank has become the India’s first bank to launch Display variant Debit Card for its customers. The EMV chip embedded interactive debit card comes with a display screen and touch-sensitive button that enables customers to generate the OTP on the card itself. This OTP, in conjunction with the user id and password will allow the customer to seamlessly transact on internet banking without having to wait for OTP delivery via SMS or email.
10. M. A. M. Ramaswamy, who passed away recently, was related to which of the following fields?
[A]Industrialist
[B]Journalist
[C]Space Scientist
[D]Painter
Answer: Industrialist
Veteran industrialist and former parliamentarian MAM Ramaswamy (84) passed away recently. He was the last King of Chettinad and co-founder and past chairman of the Rs. 10,000 crore Chettinad Group of companies. He was famously known as MAMR in political, business and sports circles. He was a politician from Janata Dal (Secular) party. He was a Member of the Parliament (MP) in the Rajya Sabha and had represented Karnataka. He also conferred with Padma Shree award.

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