1. Which among the following country is the host of 2018 Commonwealth Games?
[A] Canada
[B] England
[C] Australia
[D] India
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Australia]
2. Who has been appointed new Head of Mission and Chief Military Observer for UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP)?
[A] Stephanie T. Williams
[B] Jose Eladio Alcain
[C] Per Gustaf Lodin
[D] Antony K Luce
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Jose Eladio Alcain]
Notes:
Major General Jose Eladio Alcain of Uruguayan Army has been appointed new Head of Mission and Chief Military Observer for UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP). He will succeed Major General Per Gustaf Lodin of Sweden, who will complete his two year assignment in July 2018. In 1948, the UN Security Council (UNSC) established the UN Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) to investigate the dispute between India and Pakistan regarding the disputed state of Kashmir. In 1949, UNCIP was absorbed into the UNMOGIP, which supervises the ceasefire between India and Pakistan and to monitor the peace in Kashmir.
3. Recently, Indian scientists have discovered an almost fully preserved fossil of a Jurassic age sea-dwelling reptile also known as the “fish lizard”. It has been discovered in which of the following regions?
[A] Coastal grassland in Tamil Nadu
[B] Kutch district of Gujarat
[C] Coastal Andhra Region
[D] Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Kutch district of Gujarat]
Notes:
Recently, Indian scientists announced the discovery of an almost fully preserved fossil of a Jurassic age sea-dwelling reptile known as the ‘fish lizard’ from a village in Gujarat’s Kutch district. The discovery was reported in PLOS ONE, a scientific journal, by a group of researchers who found the fossil in early 2016. The discovery adds to the knowledge of ichthyosaur from the southern continents. Ichthyosaur is a combination of two Greek words meaning fish and lizard, a name the reptile gets because of its fish-like appearance. The discovered fossil is believed to be from the Jurassic period, which lasted from about 250 million to 200 million years ago. Ichthyosaur fossils from the Jurassic period have been found in the Americas, Australia and Europe but never in India.
4. Recently, scientists have unveiled the world’s most powerful X-ray machine called European X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL). It is installed in which of the following countries?
[A] France
[B] Germany
[C] Norway
[D] Switzerland
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Germany]
Notes:
World’s One of the most powerful X-ray machines called European X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL has officially opened at Hamburg, Germany. It is capable of firing powerful X-rays in bursts in less than seconds: so short that, like strobe lights, they can capture snapshots of jittery molecules frozen in time, and with a wavelength small enough to provide pictures at atomic resolution. The Hamburg machine is one of a few such X-ray lasers worldwide, but boasts a unique rapid-fire feature: it can rattle off 27,000 pulses every second, a firing rate more than 200 times greater than the next-fastest facility.
5. The logic behind the e-Way bill is to track the tax evasion on movement of goods worth _?
[A] Rs 50,000 and above
[B] Rs 1 Lakh and above
[C] Rs 5 Lakhs and above
[D] Rs 10 Lakhs and above
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Rs 50,000 and above]
Notes:
The logic behind the e-Way bill is to track the tax evasion on movement of goods within the state and interstate worth Rs 50000 and above. The government has planned for all-India rollout of e-Way bill by February, 2017.
6. Government has recently launched the National Strategic Plan (2017-24) and Mission “SAMPARK” with an aim to eradicate which of the following epidemics by 2030?
[A] Tuberculosis
[B] HIV/AIDS
[C] Hepatitis C
[D] Leprosy
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [HIV/AIDS]
Notes:
Recently, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare recently announced the launch of National Strategic Plan (2017-24) and Mission “SAMPARK” with an aim to eradicate the menace of HIV/AIDS from country by year 2030. Under Mission SAMPARK, the government aims to promote “Community Based Testing”. This would help in fast-tracking the identification of all those people who are HIV positive and subsequently link them to Anti-retroviral therapy (ART) programme.
7. Government has recently proposed imposing 70 per cent safeguard duty on import of solar panels. Which of the following acts empowers the government to impose such safeguard duty?
[A] Customs Tariff Act, 1975
[B] Special Economic Zones Act, 2005
[C] Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017
[D] Finance Act, 2017
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Customs Tariff Act, 1975]
Notes:
Section 8B of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 empowers the Central Government to impose Safeguard Duly on goods which enter in increased quantities and cause or threaten to cause serious injury to domestic industry producing like or directly competitive goods.
8. India’s first Agri-commodity Options Contracts trading has been launched for which of the following products?
[A] Onions
[B] Pulses
[C] Guarseed
[D] Oil palm
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Guarseed]
Notes:
Recently, the government launched options trading in guarseed on the commodity bourse NCDEX. NCDEX is the second exchange after MCX to launch options trading in commodities. In October 2017, MCX had launched gold options. Guarseed is the first agri-commodity options.
9. “Bandar Laddu”, which has been recently conferred with GI Tag, is a sweet dish of which state in India?
[A] West Bengal
[B] Rajasthan
[C] Uttar Pradesh
[D] Andhra Pradesh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Andhra Pradesh]
Notes:
Bandar Laddu, a sweet dish from Andhra Pradesh, has been recently registered in the Geographical Indication Registry in food category. Gowra Venkateswara Rao of Mallayya Sweets has been credited in earning the GI tag for the “Bandar Laddu”. The origin of the sweet could be traced from the Rajputs of Rajasthan, who had migrated to Machilipatnam from Bundelkhand in Rajasthan after the 1857 Sepoy mutiny.
10. "Flamenco India", a dance cultural festival, was celebrated recently to mark diplomatic relationship between India and _?
[A] Spain
[B] Japan
[C] Brazil
[D] Greece
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Spain]
Notes:
"Flamenco India", a dance cultural festival, was celebrated recently to mark diplomatic relationship between India and Spain.