GK & Current Affairs – November 22, 2015

1. Who among the following is the recipient of the first ‘Distinguished Indologist’ award?
[A]Romila Thapar
[B]Wendy Doniger
[C]Heinrich von Stietencron
[D]Bannanje Govindacharya
Answer: Heinrich von Stietencron
The first `Distinguished Indologist` award was conferred on Prof. Emeritus Heinrich Freiherr Von Stietencron of the Federal Republic of Germany. The President of India has conferred the award during the first ever World Indology Conference held in New Delhi on November 21. The award will carry US $ 20,000 and a citation. Heinrich Von Stietencron has worked on various aspects of history of Indian religions, especially Hinduism. He was one of the founding members of the Orissa Project, which focuses on history and socio-cultural significance of Jagannath cult in Orissa. He was also conferred with Padma Shri in 2004.
2. Who among the following has been appointed as a member to the high-level panel on health by United Nations (UN)?
[A]P M Bhargava
[B]Yusuf Hamied
[C]Devi Prasad Shetty
[D]Ashok Seth
Answer: Yusuf Hamied
Indian scientist, Yusuf Hamied has been appointed as one of the member of the United Nations (UN) high-level panel on health technology innovation and access. The panel consist of 16 eminent individuals with a deep knowledge and understanding of the public health, human rights and legal issues associated with access to treatment etc. The panel will be co-chaired by former President of Switzerland Ruth Dreifuss and former President of Botswana Festus Mogae. Yusuf Hamied, the non-executive chairman of generic pharmaceutical manufacturer Cipla, offered the world’s first affordable AIDS medicine at the unprecedented cost of USD 1 per day in 2001.
3. Who among the following is the winner of the IBSF World Snooker Championship 2015?
[A]Geet Sethi
[B]Aditya Mehta
[C]Pankaj Advani
[D]Ashok Sandilya
Answer: Pankaj Advani
Ace Indian cueist Pankaj Advani won the 2015 IBSF World Snooker Championship. In the final match played at Hurghada (Egypt), he defeated his Chinese opponent Zhua Xintong by 8-6 score in the best-of-15 final. With this victory, Pankaj Advani has won the World Snooker Championship for record 15 times. He also became the first person in history of Snooker to take the short (6-Red) and the long snooker format in the same calendar year. Earlier in September 2015, he had won the 2015 IBSF World Billiards Championship. Presently he is ranked world number 1 in 6-red snooker and World Team Billiards.
4. Who among the following has been elected as President of FICCI for 2016?
[A]Venugopal Dhoot
[B]Rajan Raheja
[C]Harshavardhan Neotia
[D]Sanjiv Goenka
Answer: Harshavardhan Neotia
Harshavardhan Neotia, chairman of Ambuja Neotia Group has been elected as President of FICCI for 2016. He will take over from the incumbent Jyotsna Suri, who is the chairperson and managing director of Bharat Hotels, after the FICCI annual general meeting in December month. He is a member of the Rajasthan Chief Minister’s Advisory Council and West Bengal Chief Minister’s Core Committee on Industry. In 1999, he was conferred with Padma Shri for his outstanding initiative in social housing.
5. In which country, the world’s second largest diamond ever has been discovered?
[A]South Africa
[B]Botswana
[C]Democratic Republic of Congo
[D]Namibia
Answer: Botswana
The world’s second largest diamond ever has been discovered in Botswana. The 1,111-carat diamond measures 2.5 inches by 2.2 inches. It is the largest diamond to be discovered anywhere in the world in more than 100 years. The 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond, recovered from Pretoria of South Africa in 1905, is widely considered to be the world’s largest gem-quality diamond.
6. The second World Congress for Disaster Management was held in which city?
[A]Chennai
[B]Kolkata
[C]Vishakapatnam
[D]Mumbai
Answer: Vishakapatnam
The second World Congress for Disaster Management was held in Vishakapatnam during 19-22 November. It was held in collaboration with Government of Andhra Pradesh and various local, national, regional and international organisations. It was held six years after the first congress (held in 2008 in Hyderabad). The congress debated on the process of implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, which was adopted at the third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in March 2015..
7. Which country is the winner of the 2015 Junior Asia Cup hockey tournament?
[A]China
[B]India
[C]Malaysia
[D]Japan
Answer: India
India has won the 8th Asian junior hockey championship by defeating Pakistan in the final match in Malaysia. Harmanpreet became the highest scorer with his four goals in the match taking his tournament tally to 15 goals in the tournament.
8. Who is the author of the book titled- ‘The modern Gurukul’?
[A]Rekha Ganesan
[B]Sonali Bendre
[C]Anupam Kher
[D]Amitabh Harivansh
Answer: Sonali Bendre
Actress Sonali Bendre shared her life’s experiences in her debut book ‘The Modern Gurukul: My Experiment with Parenting’. In the book, she shared her three principles of parenting which she says will help find a balance between tradition and modernity, and show how to raise a child in the digital age.
9. Who among the following Indian women farmer is included in BBC’s list of 100 most aspirational women?
[A]Shoba Pramila
[B]Lakshmi Kumari
[C]Rimppi Kumari
[D]M Mahadevi
Answer: Rimppi Kumari
On November 18, BBC released a list of 100 most inspiring women from all over the world. It included seven Indian women from different walks of life. They are Asha Bhosle (singer), Sania Mirza (tennis player), Kamini Kaushal (veteran actor), Rimppi Kumari (farmer), Smriti Nagpal (entrepreneur), Mumtaz Shaikh (activist), and Kanika Tekriwal (entrepreneur). Rimppi Kumari is a framer from Rajasthan, who took over a 32-acre farm after her father died and she manages it with her sister.
10. Which one of the following space agency is attempting to grow flowers in space?
[A]Roscosmos
[B]European Space Agency
[C]NASA
[D]China National Space Administration (CNSA)
Answer: NASA
After its initial success with lettuce in August, 2015, NASA attempting to grow Zinnias on the International Space Station (ISS). The Zinnias will grow for 60 days, which is twice as long as the first and second crop of lettuce that grew on the space station. During the growth cycle, the LED lights will be on for 10 hours and off for 14 hours in order to stimulate the plants to flower.

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