GK & Current Affairs – May 21, 2016

1. Which of the following banks has launched “SmartUp” for startups?
[A]Punjab National Bank (PNB)
[B]HDFC Bank
[C]ICICI Bank
[D]State Bank of India (SBI)
Answer: HDFC Bank
India’s private sector lender HDFC Bank has launched “SmartUp”, a first-of-its-kind dedicated solution for start-ups, to fulfill all their banking needs. It was launched in association with Zone Startups India (ZSI), a start-up accelerator in Mumbai. SmartUp is customized to meet all the requirements of a startup, offering banking and payment solutions, along with advisory and forex services.
2. Which Indian American professor has been bestowed with the 2015 National Medal of Science of the United States?
[A]Nayantara Sehgal
[B]Rakesh K. Jain
[C]Neelanjan Prasad
[D]Perm Kumar Rawat
Answer: Rakesh K. Jain
Dr. Rakesh K. Jain, an Indian American professor at Harvard Medical School, has been bestowed with the prestigious “2015 National Medal of Science” from the United States President Barack Obama for his work on tumor biology, particularly research on the link between tumor blood vessels and improving the effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
3. The tropical cyclone ‘Roanu’ has recently hit which country?
[A]Russia
[B]India
[C]United States
[D]Japan
Answer: India
The tropical cyclone ‘Roanu’ has recently hit the western part of the Bay of Bengal, East of the Indian city Chennai. The wind speed reaching 90-100 km/hr gusting to 110 kmph is expected to move northeastwards along and off north Andhra Pradesh and Odisha during next 48 hours.
4. Diwaliben Bhil, who passed away recently, was related to which field?
[A]Singer
[B]Photography
[C]Journalism
[D]Politics
Answer: Singer
Diwaliben Bhil (80), the well-known Gujarati folk singer and Padma award winner, has recently passed away in Junagadh, Gujarat. She had given her voice to various Gujarati film songs, folk songs and Garba and also performed on All India Radio and Doordarshan.
5. Who is the author of the book “Curfew in the city”?
[A]Ruskin Bond
[B]Vikram Seth
[C]Amrish Tripathi
[D]Vibhuti Narain Rai
Answer: Vibhuti Narain Rai
The book “Curfew in the city” has been authored by Vibhuti Narain Rai. The book was first published as a Hindi novella in 1988 (Shahar Mein Curfew), has been translated in English (by C.M. Naim) and brought out by Penguin in 2016. It is a sensitive and touching study of a people in a crumbling inner city locality when curfew is suddenly clamped on them. Its’ theme was a 1980 Hindu-Muslim riot in the city of Allahabad and authorwrote freely about how religious prejudice in the Hindu dominated police force and provincial administration led to Muslim citizens’ being viewed as enemies and thus becoming easy targets of brutality and murder.
6. Srabani Nanda is associated with which sports?
[A]Racing
[B]Tennis
[C]Table Tennis
[D]Chess
Answer: Racing
The Indian’s women 4x100m relay team has recently broke the 18-year-old national record to finish in 4th position at the IAAF World Challenge athletics meet in Beijing, China. The 4x100m women relay team comprising Dutee Chand , Srabani Nanda , HM Jyoti and Merlin Joseph clocked 44.03s to finish the race and broke the 18-year-old record of 44.43s created by the quartet of Saraswati Dey, Rachita Mistry, EB Shyla and PT Usha on July 22, 1998 in Fukuoka, Japan.
7. What is the India’s GDP growth forecast for 2016, as per the Moody’s Investors Service?
[A]7.5%
[B]7.6%
[C]7.7%
[D]7.8%
Answer: 7.5%
The global rating agency, Moody’s Investors Service has forecast a growth rate of about 7.5% for the Indian economy in 2016 and 2017. This growth will be driven largely by private consumption growth.
8. What is the strike range of Prithvi-II missile, which was recently successfully test-fired by India?
[A]150 km
[B]350 km
[C]600 km
[D]550 km
Answer: 350 km
India has recently successfully test-fired indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile at Chandipur, Odisha. The short-range surface-to-surface missile has a strike range of 350 km and is capable of carrying 500 kg to 1,000 kg of warheads and is thrusted by liquid propulsion twin engines. It uses advanced inertial guidance system with maneuvering trajectory to hit its target. The battlefield missile has flight duration of 483 seconds and a peak altitude of 43.5km.
9. The International Buddhist conference has started in which country?
[A]India
[B]SriLanka
[C]Bhutan
[D]Nepal
Answer: Nepal
The International Buddhist conference has started in Lumbini, Nepal on May 19, 2016 to mark the 2,560th birth anniversary of Lord Buddha. The 2-day conference has been organised under the theme “Lumbini, Nepal: the birth place of Lord Buddha and the fountain of Buddhism and world peace”. The main purpose of organising the event is to highlight Lumbini as birth place of Lord Buddha and the fountain of Buddhism, in the international arena, to establish Lumbini as the centre for interfaith and peace dialogue as well as developing Nepal as the fountain for world peace.
10. Pench National Park is located in which state of India?
[A]Rajasthan
[B]Madhya Pradesh
[C]Uttar Pradesh
[D]Gujarat
Answer: Madhya Pradesh
The Pench National Park is located in Seoni and Chhindwara districts of Madhya Pradesh. The area of the present Pench Tiger Reserve has been described in Ain-i-Akbari and is the setting of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book..

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