1. Which of the following has been included in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves in 2016?
[A] Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve
[B] Nokrek Biosphere Reserve
[C] Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve
[D] Simlipal Biosphere Reserve
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [ Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve ]
Notes:
Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve became part of World Network of Biosphere Reserves in 2016. ABR includes the Indian Ecoregions of South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests, South Western Ghats montane rain forests and Shola. It is the habitat for 2,000 varieties of medicinal plants, of which at least 50 are rare and endangered species. Rare animals include the tiger, Asian Elephant, and Nilgiri tahr.
2. The newly proposed 0/10 and 0/20 rules are associated to which ministry?
[A] Ministry of Civil Aviation
[B] Ministry of Railways
[C] Ministry of Shipping
[D] Ministry of Steel
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [ Ministry of Civil Aviation ]
Notes:
The 5/20 rule is a norm of the Indian Aviation Ministry according to which under which national carriers are required to have five years of operational experience and a fleet of minimum 20 aircraft to fly overseas. Recently, the Cabinet gave its approval for partial abolition of the 5/20 rule, which will enable new carriers like Vistara and Air Asia to start international operations sooner. The government has decided to scrap a requirement that mandated airlines to have five years of domestic operations to be eligible to fly overseas. However, an airline will have to allocate 20 aircraft or 20% of their total fleet of aircraft, whichever is higher, to the domestic sector if they wish to fly overseas. So in place of 5/20 rule, the new proposed options are like 0/10 and 0/20.
3. Which of the following organisations recently made successful test of Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstration Program or RLV-TD?
[A] Defense research development Organisation (DRDO)
[B] Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
[C] Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)
[D] Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs)
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)]
Notes:
ISRO made successful test of Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstration Program or RLV-TD
4. Recently, scientists from India and Japan have discovered two new ant species and named them as Tetramorium krishnani and Tetramorium jarawa respectively. These new species are endemic to which of the following parts of India?
[A] Western Ghats
[B] Eastern Ghats
[C] Andaman Islands
[D] Eastern Himalayas
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Andaman Islands]
Notes:
Scientists of the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bengaluru and the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Japan have discovered two new ant species. The two new ant species have been named as Tetramorium krishnani and Tetramorium jarawa respectively in honour of late scientist K.S. Krishnan of the NCBS, and after the Jarawas, an indigenous people of the islands. The newly discovered ants are found in leaf litter in the evergreen forests of Havelock Island and are endemic to the Andamans.
5. In an effort to improve India’s weather forecasting, the ministry of earth science (MoES) has recently launched a high performance computer (HPC) system named _?
[A] Pratyush
[B] Mihir
[C] Robocop
[D] Sophia
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Mihir]
Notes:
Recently, the ministry of earth science (MoES) launched a high performance computer (HPC) system named Mihir. The system is meant to improve India’s weather forecasting. It will be India’s largest in terms of peak capacity and performance and will propel the country’s ranking from the 368th position to the top 30 in list of HPC facilities across the world. India will now also be ranked 4th, after Japan, UK and US for dedicated HPC resources for weather/climate community.
6. Recently, the Ministry of Communications has launched the Cool EMS Service which allows customers in India to import the food items for their personal use from which of the following countries?
[A] Myanmar
[B] Japan
[C] Sri Lanka
[D] Maldives
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Japan]
Notes:
Ministry of Communications has launched the Cool EMS Service. It is a one-way service that allows customers in India to import Japanese food for personal use. All the Food items will be carried by Japan Post in special cool boxes containing refrigerant to preserve the quality of the food items and then collected in India.
7. Which of the following countries has been granted the Observer status in Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in April 2017?
[A] Georgia
[B] Armenia
[C] Moldova
[D] Ukraine
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Moldova]
Notes:
The member states of Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are: Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Armenia.
Moldova has been granted the Observer Status in April 2017.
8. Recently, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has directed to remove a chapter from class 9th textbook based on Nadar Community, due to ‘Caste conflict and dress change’ and 'derogatory' references to women from the Nadar community. The Nadar Community is predominantly found in:
[A] North India
[B] West India
[C] North East India
[D] South India
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [South India]
Notes:
Nadar is a Tamil caste of South India and Sri Lanka. Nadars are predominant in the south Indian districts of Tuticorin, Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli and Virudhunagar.
9. Recently, the place "Diyarbakir" was frequently making news for various revolutionary activities. In which country is it located?
[A] Iran
[B] Turkey
[C] Saudi Arabia
[D] Syria
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Turkey]
Notes:
Diyarbakir is one of the largest cities of Turkey. It is situated on the banks of the Tigris River. The city was in news for in news for revolutionary activities led by Kurdish militants for self-rule.
10. It is a 1-U picosatellite (CubeSat) developed by an engineering college students in Pune. This satellite provides point-to-point communications for the UHF HAM band. It was launched by ISRO on June 22, 2016, along with Cartosat-2C by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C-34. This satellite has been placed in low earth orbit (LEO) around the Earth at a height of 515 km. The name of the satellite is _?
[A] Astrosat
[B] YouthSat
[C] Swayam
[D] StudSat
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Swayam]
Notes:
Swayam is a 1-U picosatellite (CubeSat) developed by the students of College of Engineering in Pune. This satellite provides point-to-point communications for the UHF HAM band. The Satellite was launched by ISRO on June 22, 2016 along with Cartosat-2C by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C-34. The satellite has been placed in low earth orbit (LEO) around the Earth at a height of 515 km. The project was completed over a span of 8 years and more than 200 students worked on it. The scientific objective of the satellite is to demonstrate passive attitude control to stabilise and appropriately orient the satellite. This technique has been used for the first time on an Indian Satellite.