1. Which Indian sportsperson has clinched bronze in the women’s 10m Air Pistol event at the 10th Asian Championship 10m Rifle/Pistol in Japan?
[A] Heena Sidhu
[B] Shri Nivetha Paramantham
[C] Harveen Srao
[D] Manu Bhaker
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Heena Sidhu]
Notes:
Pistol aces Jitu Rai and Heena Sidhu bagged a bronze each to continue India’s medal charge at the 10th Asian Championship 10m Rifle/Pistol in Wako City, Japan on December 10, 2017. Jitu won an individual bronze in the men’s 10m Air Pistol, which also helped the Indian team comprising Shahzar Rizvi and Omkar Singh besides Jitu, to bag the Team gold in the event.Heena claimed an individual bronze in the women’s 10m Air Pistol. Her effort, along with teammates Shri Nivetha Paramantham and Harveen Srao, helped the Team clinch a silver. India added another individual bronze through Anmol Jain in the junior men’s 10m Air Pistol as well as the Team silver in the event, with combined efforts of Anmol, Gaurav Rana and Abhishek Arya.
2. Identify the fauna with the help of given information:
- This species was for long known to be endemic to Satpura ranges but recently has been recorded in northern Western Ghats
- It has been listed as critically endangered in the IUCN list
- The species is very small in size with very large talons and prefers mixed deciduous forests with dense undergrowth and mature softwood trees
Select the correct answer from options given below:
[A] Brown palm civet
[B] Forest owlet
[C] Pygmy hog
[D] Great Indian hornbill
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [ Forest owlet]
Notes:
All given features are of Forest owlet
3. Southern Birdwing is a/an:
[A] butterfly endemic to Peninsular India
[B] invasive fish species responsible for damage to other fish population in Krishna River
[C] species of peafowl recently declared vermin in Goa
[D] newly declared state bird of Delhi
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [ butterfly endemic to Peninsular India ]
Notes:
Southern birdwing is the largest butterfly of India, endemic to peninsular India. It was recently in news when the State Forest department of Karnataka sent a proposal to the state government to declare Southern Bird Wing butterfly as the state butterfly.
4. Who is appointed as the Returning Officer/Assistant Returning Officer for the election to the Office of President of India?
[A] Speaker Lok Sabha
[B] Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha
[C] Secretary General, Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha
[D] Parliamentary Secretary
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Secretary General, Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha ]
Notes:
By convention, the Secretary General, Lok Sabha or the Secretary General, Rajya Sabha is appointed as the Returning Officer, by rotation. Two other senior officers of the Lok Sabha/ Rajya Sabha Secretariat and the Secretaries and one more senior officer of Legislative Assemblies of all States including NCT of Delhi and Union Territory of Puducherry, are also appointed as the Assistant Returning Officers. The Election Commission of India makes such appointments. For the Presidential Election, 2017 the Secretary General Lok Sabha was the Returning Officer.
5. The term Common Risk Mitigation Mechanism (CRMM), sometimes seen in news, is associated to:
[A] accelerate the global solar power production
[B] prevent new disasters and reduce existing disaster risks
[C] ensure the safe use of cyberspace
[D] reduce tariffs as well as non-tariff barriers and foster international trade
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [accelerate the global solar power production]
Notes:One of the stated objectives of Paris Agreement of 2015 was making finance flows consistent towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resistant development. To achieve the same, recently in May, 2017, 16 countries of International Solar Alliance jointly commissioned to define and structure the Common Risk Mitigation Mechanism for solar power generation projects. The instrument aims to:
- set up a secure environment for private investors to invest in solar projects
- lower the cost of finance for renewable energy and the overall price of electricity enlarge the total size of the renewable energy market by making investments in renewables
- diversify and pool risks on mutualised public resources and unlock significant investments
6. Recently, the Government of India announced the Prime Minister’s Shram Awards for the year 2016. Shram Awards are given in four categories. Which of the following is not the one among them?
[A] Shram Vibhushan
[B] Shram Vir
[C] Shram Shree
[D] Shram Ratna
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Shram Vibhushan ]
Notes:
Shram Awards are given in four categories namely “Shram Ratna Award”, “Shram Bhushan Award”, “Shram Vir/Shram Virangana” and “Shram Shree/Shram Devi Awards”.
7. Recently, our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi released a book titled “The Birds of Banni Grassland”. The Banni Grassland is located in which state of India?
[A] Gujarat
[B] Uttarakhand
[C] Andhra Pradesh
[D] Manipur
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Gujarat]
Notes:
The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi released a book titled “The Birds of Banni Grassland”. The Book is a compilation of the research work, relating to more than 250 species of birds found in the Banni area of Kutch, Gujarat.
8. Logistics Performance Index (LPI) is released by:
[A] World Trade Organisation
[B] World Bank Group
[C] Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
[D] International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [World Bank Group]
Notes:
In the recently released bi-annual Logistics Performance Index (LPI) 2016 of World Bank Group, India ranked 35th among 160 countries and Germany at first.
9. The Railway Budget 2016 proposed three new freight corridors. Consider the following pairs of proposed freight corridors with their connecting places:
- North-South – Delhi to Visakhapatnam
- East-West – Kharagpur to Mumbai
- East-Coast – Kharagpur to Vijayawada
Which of the above is/are correctly matched?
[A] Only 1
[B] Only 2 & 3
[C] Only 1 & 3
[D] 1, 2 & 3
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Only 2 & 3]
Notes:
The three proposed corridors are North-South connecting Delhi to Chennai, East-West connecting Kharagpur to Mumbai and East-Coast connecting Kharagpur to Vijayawada.
10. The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) launched a “Special Project” as a component of the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY). The project aims for skilling BRU Tribes who were earlier displaced from their native place and are currently living in the Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps. The BRU tribes are predominantly found in which of the following states?
[A] Jammu & Kashmir
[B] Maharashtra
[C] Odisha
[D] Mizoram
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Mizoram]
Notes:
BRU tribes were earlier found predominantly in Tripura. However, the community people were not treated well by the then Tripura Raja and most of them were forced to flee to the deep forest not only in the hill areas of Tripura but also in the adjoining areas of Mizoram. This migration from Tripura to Mizoram continued for a longer period of time and now this tribe is predominantly found in Mizoram. Recently, the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) launched a “Special Project” as a component of the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) for skilling BRU Tribes.
