GK & Current Affairs: January 13-14, 2017
1. Who has been appointed as the new chairman of Tata Sons?
[A]Natarajan Chandrasekaran
[B]Noel Tata
[C]Indra Krishnamurthy
[D]Nowroji Saklatwala
Answer: Natarajan Chandrasekaran
Notes:
Natarajan Chandrasekaran, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) of TCS, has been appointed as the new chairman of Tata Sons. He’ll be first non-Parsi chairman of Tata Sons and will take charge from Feb 21, 2017. His appointment comes after the Tata sons removed Cyrus Mistry as the Chairman. Chandrasekaran is only the third non-Tata after Nowroji Saklatwala and Cyrus Mistry to be named as Tata Sons chairman.
2. “Aditya” India’s first-ever solar powered boat has been launched in which state?
[A]Gujarat
[B]Kerala
[C]Tamil Nadu
[D]Karnataka
Answer: Kerala
Notes:
India’s first-ever solar powered boat “Aditya” has been launched by the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at a function held in Vaikom boat jetty at Vembanad Lake in Kochi, Kerala. The 75-seater boat fitted with 78 rooftop solar panels, will ferry along a 2.5-kilometre route between Vaikom and Thavanakkadavu 22 times a day. The boat can run at a maximum speed of 7.5 knots and cruises without any noise and minimal vibration compared to the normal diesel ferries. The solar powered boat is built by Kochi-based NavAlt Pvt Ltd.
3. The world’s first gender literature fest will be held in which country?
[A]Sri Lanka
[B]Bhutan
[C]India
[D]Pakistan
Answer: India
Notes:
The world’s first “Gender Literature Festival” will be held in Patna, Bihar in the second week of April 2017. The Gender Resource Centre of Bihar’s Women Development Corporation (WDC) will be organising the festival. The purpose of this initiative is to create a platform, to exchange ideas, and to share and learn experiences of renowned people in the field of gender-based or focused literature. The festival will also act as a platform to increase visibility for gender equity and advocacy in the State of Bihar.
4. The Chhabra Thermal Power Plant (CTPP) is located in which state of India?
[A]Haryana
[B]Uttar Pradesh
[C]Madhya Pradesh
[D]Rajasthan
Answer: Rajasthan
Notes:
The Chhabra Thermal Power Plant (CTPP) is located at Chowki Motipura village in Baran district of Rajasthan. The planned capacity of power plant is 2650MW at the end of 12th Five year plan. It is in news because National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Ltd has recently signed a non-binding MoU with Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd and Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd for takeover of Chhabra Thermal Power Plant (CTPP)’s four units of 250 MW each and two units of 660 MW units each. With this, after transfer of CTPP to NTPC, the state government will receive equity as per latest valuation and the losses being incurred from Chhabra will stop after transfer of the plant and debt liabilities of the state government shall also be reduced.
5. Where is the headquarters of the think-tank Atlantic Council (AC)?
[A]Washington
[B]Berlin
[C]Geneva
[D]Warsaw
Answer: Washington
Notes:
The Atlantic Council (AC) is a US-based think-tank to promote constructive leadership and engagement in international affairs based on the central role of the Atlantic Community in meeting think tank. The headquarters of Atlantic Council (AC) is located at Washington DC, United States. It is in news because Manish Tewari, the Congress leader and former Union Minister, has been appointed as the senior fellow of US-based think tank Atlantic Council.
6. William Peter Blatty, who passed away recently, was the well-known author of which country?
[A]United Kingdom
[B]United States
[C]France
[D]Germany
Answer: United States
Notes:
William Peter Blatty (89), the US author and filmmaker, has recently passed away at Bethesda, Maryland. He was best known for his novel “The Exorcist” and for the Academy Award-winning screenplay of its film adaptation. He also wrote and directed the sequel The Exorcist III. Some of his other notable works are the novels Elsewhere, Dimiter and Crazy.
7. What is the theme of 2017 National Youth Festival (NYF) in India?
[A]Power of Digital India
[B]Celebrating Diversity In Unity
[C]Youth for Digital India
[D]India Youth for Skill, Development and Harmony
Answer: Youth for Digital India
Notes:
The 21st edition of National Youth Festival (NYF) has started in Rohtak, Haryana from January 12 and will continue till January 16, 2017. The 2017 theme of festival is “Youth for Digital India”. The 5-day festival organizes every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, the greatest Youth Icon from 12th to 16th January.
8. The book “An Unsuitable Boy” is the autobiography of which Indian personality?
[A]Twinkle Khanna
[B]Rishi Kapoor
[C]Rahul Bose
[D]Karan Johar
Answer: Karan Johar
Notes:
The book “An Unsuitable Boy” is the autobiography of Karan Johar, the well-known Indian filmmaker. The book is an honest, heart-warming and personal account of Karan Johar’s life and the business of Bollywood.
9. Which committee has recently submitted report on Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) to the Union Government?
[A]Anand Shukla committee
[B]Nitin Kumar committee
[C]Sumit Bose committee
[D]Rajat Sharma committee
Answer: Sumit Bose committee
Notes:
The committee under the Chairmanship of former Finance Secretary Sumit Bose has recently submitted report on Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) to the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD). The committee was constituted to study the objective criteria for allocation of resources to States and identification and prioritization of beneficiaries under various programmes using SECC data. The committee’s interim advice has been accepted by the Ministry and accordingly appropriate guidelines have been issued to make inter–state allocation based on SECC data to cover households under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana and Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM). According to the committee, the use of SECC data and its TIN Number would enable the government to improve the efficacy of its interventions and will result in improved outcome. Apart from this, the use of SECC data would lead to better budgetary planning and allocation of resources for various programmes.
10. How much interest rate will be offer by Airtel Payments Bank on savings accounts deposits?
[A]7.25%
[B]7.50%
[C]7.75%
[D]7.52%
Answer: 7.25%
Notes:
Recently, the Airtel Payments Bank has officially launched its nationwide operations in all 29 states of India. It is the India’s first payments bank and is a fully-digital and paper-free bank . In it, the accounts will be opened by using e-KYC for which customers’ Aadhar number will be required. The bank is offering a 7.25% interest rate on savings accounts deposits and free personal accidental insurance cover of Rs. 1 Lac on every saving account. One can access the banking services by installing MyAirtel app on their smartphone or by registering online through Airtel site. .
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