1. Which state is the top sugar producer of India in 2021-22?
[A] Madhya Pradesh
[B] Maharashtra
[C] Gujarat
[D] Karnataka
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Maharashtra]
Notes:
Maharashtra has overtaken Uttar Pradesh (UP) to regain its position as India’s top sugar producer, in the year 2021-22, after five-year gap.
The state’s output for the 2021-22 crushing year-October-September- stood at 138 lakh tonnes (lt). That is highest ever beating the previous 107.21 lakh tonnes of 2018-19. Maharashtra is followed by Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.
2. The Ministry of Defence signed a contract with which company for supply of ASTRA MK-I Air to Air Missile (AAM)?
[A] HAL
[B] BEL
[C] DRDO
[D] BDL
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [BDL]
Notes:
The Ministry of Defence signed a contract with Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) for the supply of ASTRA MK-I Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Air to Air Missile (AAM).
The contract includes associated equipment for the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy, along with the missile, at a cost of ₹ 2,971 crore under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category. ASTRA MK-I BVR AAM has been indigenously designed and developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
3. Who has been appointed as the MD and CEO of NARCL (National Assets Reconstruction Company Ltd)?
[A] Urjit Patel
[B] Natarajan Sundar
[C] Ashwani Bhatia
[D] Nitin Chugh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Natarajan Sundar]
Notes:
Former State Bank of India Deputy Managing Director Natarajan Sundar has been appointed as the Managing Director and CEO of NARCL (National Assets Reconstruction Company Ltd) as MD & CEO.
NARCL is the joint initiative of Public and Private Sector Banks, and is expected to takeover bad loans from banks and focus on resolution and recoveries. NARCL has shareholding from 15 Indian Banks and Canara Bank is the sponsor bank.
4. Which Indian public sector enterprise issued renewed Biodiversity Policy 2022?
[A] NTPC
[B] ONGC
[C] SAIL
[D] BHEL
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [NTPC]
Notes:
NTPC Ltd, India’s largest integrated energy producer has issued renewed Biodiversity Policy 2022, aligned with environmental and sustainability policies.
NTPC was the first PSU to issue Biodiversity Policy in the year 2018. The Public sector undertaking, formerly known as National Thermal Power Corporation Limited, also became a member of the India Business & Biodiversity Initiative (IBBI) in the same year.
5. Which state/UT launched e-stamping facility after abolishing physical stamp papers of all denominations?
[A] New Delhi
[B] Punjab
[C] Haryana
[D] Maharashtra
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Punjab]
Notes:
Punjab government has recently launched e-stamping facility after abolishing physical stamp papers of all denominations.
The move aims to bring efficiency and is expected to save Rs 35 crore annually. Stamp papers of any denomination can be obtained only through e-stamp from stamp vendor or from banks authorised by the state government. The facility has been started with the assistance of National e-Governance Services Limited.
6. Which is the only Indian institution in the top-50 list of 2022 Times Higher Education (THE) Asia University Rankings?
[A] IIT Madras
[B] IIT Bombay
[C] IISc Bengaluru
[D] IIT Roorkee
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [IISc Bengaluru]
Notes:
The Times Higher Education (THE) released the 2022 edition of the Asia University Rankings with universities from 31 countries and territories.
India is the third most-represented country, with 71 universities making it to the list. Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore is the only institute to make the top-50 list at 42nd rank. JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research (65th), IIT Ropar (68) and IIT Indore (87) were in top 100 list.
7. ‘Eublepharis pictus’, which was seen in the news, belongs to which species?
[A] Turtle
[B] Spider
[C] Gecko
[D] Snake
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Gecko]
Notes:
The species, Eublepharis pictus, also known as the Painted Leopard Gecko, was originally found in Visakhapatnam in 2017.
The species, which was considered as East Indian Leopard Gecko (Eublepharis hardwickii), has now been identified as a member of a new species. It appears to be common in the forests of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. The two species appear to be separated by the Brahmani River.
8. Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) partnered with which technology company for digitisation of its lending business?
[A] Microsoft
[B] Wipro
[C] Infosys
[D] Accenture
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Accenture]
Notes:
Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) partnered with Accenture to digitally transform its lending business.
The collaboration includes a cloud-native lending platform with digital workflows for application, loan processing, credit underwriting and decision- making, disbursement and loan servicing. A machine learning-based decision engine is also used for risk mitigation.
9. Bhajan Sopori, who passed away recently, was associated with which field?
[A] Sports
[B] Business
[C] Music
[D] Politics
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Music]
Notes:
Santoor maestro Bhajan Sopori, also called as the ‘saint of santoor’ and ‘King of strings’ passed away recently at the age of 73.
The veteran musician received multiple awards throughout his career, including the Padma Shri in 2004, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1992 and the Jammu and Kashmir State Lifetime Achievement Award.
10. Ribbon weed (Posidonia australis), the world’s largest plant has recently been discovered in which country?
[A] Australia
[B] UAE
[C] Turkey
[D] China
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Australia]
Notes:
The world’s largest plant- the ribbon weed (Posidonia australis) has recently been discovered off the West Coast of Australia.
It is a sea-grass which is measured to be 180 km in length. Ribbon weed rhizomes can usually grow to around 35cm per year and with this, the scientists arrived at its lifespan of 4,500 years. It has double the number of chromosomes than other similar plants, and managed to survive the volatile atmosphere of the Shark Bay.