Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2018
This page presents 50 random questions from Current Affairs January, 2018 category for January, 2018 month in GKToday. These questions are suitable for SSC, Banking / IBPS, UPSC, IAS, NTSE, CLAT, Railways, NDA, CDS, Judiciary, UPPSC, RPSC, GPSC, MPSC, MPPSC and other states civil services / government job recruitment examinations of India. GKToday publishes 15-20 questions every day in its Yearly Current Affairs Series in GKToday Android App. Download Now.
1. After Sikkim, which North-East state has been officially declared Open Defecation Free (ODF)?
[A] Manipur
[B] Arunachal Pradesh
[C] Nagaland
[D] Mizoram
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Arunachal Pradesh]
Notes:
Arunachal Pradesh has been officially declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) and has become the second state in the North East after Sikkim to achieve the status. On 1st January 2018, Upper Subansiri, Siang and Changlang were officially declared ODF. The project undertaken under Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) SBM (G) saw the light of day only after the state government extended an incentive of Rs 8,000 per toilet. This is in addition to the Centres support of Rs 12,000, raising the grant for constructing a toilet to Rs 20,000. The state government also launched Swachh Arunachal Mission on October 2, 2017 at Tawang which envisaged the Swachh Protocol (Cleanliness Protocol) aimed at ensuring sustainability of assets created under SBM (Gramin). The state has achieved the ODF status before the national target, which is October 2019.
2. Which company has bagged the broadcast rights of 2018 Khelo India School Games (KISG)?
[A] Sahara
[B] Star Sports
[C] Adidas
[D] Reebok
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Star Sports]
Notes:
Star Sports, India’s leading sports broadcaster, has bagged the broadcast and production rights of Union Sports Ministry’s flagship ‘Khelo India School Games (KISG)’ for a period of five years from 2018 to 2022. The first-ever Khelo India School Games 2018 will be held from January 31 for under-17 age group (boys and girls) across 16 sports disciplines. The purpose of KISG is to inculcate a nationwide culture of sports through a grassroots sports revolution. The KISG 2018 is the marquee event under revamped Khelo India porgramme. The event is expected to host around 6000 athletes and officials in its first edition. The best talent selected through the competition will be amongst the 1000 (one thousand) budding athletes eligible for a scholarship worth 5 lakhs each per year for a period of eight years. Every year, new athletes will be added under the Khelo India scheme. Thus, over the period of the scheme, the country will have a solid bench-strength for all sports.
3. Anwar Jalalpuri, the noted Urdu poet has passed away. He hailed from which state?
[A] Arunachal Pradesh
[B] Rajasthan
[C] Telangana
[D] Uttar Pradesh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Uttar Pradesh]
Notes:
Prominent Urdu poet Anwar Jalalpuri (71), who translated Bhagwad Geeta into Urdu, has passed away in Lucknow on January 2, 2018. Jalalpuri wrote ‘Rahraw se Rahnuma tak’, ‘Urdu Shayri Mein Geetanjali’ and ‘Urdu Shayri mein Geeta’. He was the recipient of Uttar Pradesh’s Yash Bharti award. His last rites will be performed on Jan 03 in his hometown Jalalpur in Uttar Pradesh.
4. Which state government has recently received the approval for purchase of electric vehicles under Central government’s FAME-India scheme?
[A] Karnataka
[B] Assam
[C] Himachal Pradesh
[D] Gujarat
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Karnataka ]
Notes:
The Karnataka government has recently received the approval for purchase of electric vehicles from the Department of Heavy Industries of the Union Government under FAME India subsidised scheme. The state will purchase 40 electric buses, 100 four wheelers and 500 three wheelers at maximum of 60% subsidy under the scheme. The subsidy support is also provided for setting up electricity charging infrastructure across Bengaluru. The electric vehicles to ply in the city as public transport will protect the environment, save fossil fuel and ensure public health. The Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles (FAME) India was launched in 2015 under the National Electric Mobility Mission (NEMM) aims at promoting eco-friendly vehicles in the country.
5. The Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) is located in which state?
[A] Uttarakhand
[B] Andhra Pradesh
[C] Kerala
[D] Punjab
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Uttarakhand]
Notes:
The Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) is a leading research institute, which is located in Nainital, Uttarakhand. It is an autonomous body under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India (GoI) and has specialization in Astronomy, Astrophysics and Atmospheric Sciences.
6. Who has taken charge as the Managing Director (MD) of India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL)?
[A] Pankaj Jain
[B] Sridhar Kumar
[C] Arun K Shah
[D] T S Joshi
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Pankaj Jain]
Notes:
Pankaj Jain, a 1990 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre , has taken charge as the Managing Director (MD) of India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL). He will be holding additional charge of IIFCL along with his present position as Joint Secretary at Department of Financial Services (DFS). IIFCL is a state-owned company focused on infrastructure financing and development.
7. Radha Vishwanathan, the noted vocalist has passed away. She hailed from which state?
[A] Kerala
[B] Tamil Nadu
[C] Andhra Pradesh
[D] Karnataka
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Karnataka ]
Notes:
Radha Vishwanathan (83), Carnatic vocalist and former classical dancer, has passed away in Bengaluru, Karnataka on January 2, 2018. She was the daughter of legendary classical singer M S Subbulakshmi. She performed extensively with her mother for nearly five decades on stage.
8. The Union Cabinet has recently given its approval for establishment of new AIIMS in which state under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY)?
[A] Himachal Pradesh
[B] Jammu & Kashmir
[C] Tripura
[D] Nagaland
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Himachal Pradesh]
Notes:
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for establishment of new AIIMS in Bilaspur (Himachal Pradesh) under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY). The cost of the project is Rs.1351 crore and will be completed in a period of 48 months. The Institution will consist of a hospital with a capacity of 750 beds and trauma center facilities. It will also have a Medical college with an intake of 100 MBBS students per year and Nursing College with an intake of 60 B.Sc. (Nursing) students per year. Under this scheme, AIIMS have been established in Bhubaneshwar, Bhopal, Raipur, Jodhpur, Rishikesh and Patna while work of AIIMS Rae Bareli is in progress. Also, three AIIMS in Nagpur (Maharashtra), Kalyani (West Bengal) and Mangalagiri in Guntur (Andhra Pradesh) have been sanctioned in 2015, two AIIMS have been sanctioned at Bathinda and Gorakhpur in 2016 and an AIIMS in Kamrup (Assam).
9. Who has been appointed as the new Deputy National Security Adviser (NSA)?
[A] Manish Pandey
[B] Arvind Gupta
[C] Rajinder Khanna
[D] Nikhil Singh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Rajinder Khanna]
Notes:
Former RAW Chief Rajinder Khanna, a 1978-batch Research and Analysis Wing Service (RAS) officer, has been appointed as the new Deputy National Security Adviser (NSA) on January 2, 2018 without a fixed tenure and would remain at the post until further orders. He will assist NSA Ajit Doval, who too is a former RAW chief. It is for the first time when both NSA and Deputy NSA are from intelligence agency background. Khanna has led many counter-terrorism operations in the spy agency and is reportedly an expert on Pakistan and Islamic terrorism. The position has been vacant since Arvind Gupta had stepped down after completion of his contractual term in August 2017.
10. Endangered ‘bird language’ has entered the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. It is belong to which country?
[A] Senegal
[B] Turkey
[C] India
[D] Uruguay
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Turkey]
Notes:
Turkey’s endangered ‘bird language’ has entered the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. It is an unusual and very efficient whistle language used as a means of communication by villagers in remote northern Turkey. UNESCO has accepted the “bird language” of Black Sea villagers as an endangered part of world heritage in need of urgent protection. Around 10,000 people, mostly in the district of Canakci in Giresun province, still use the highly-developed and high pitch system of whistling to communicate in the rugged terrain where most of the times they cannot see each other. This form of communication which dates to some 500 years ago, during the Ottoman Empire, was widespread across the Black Sea regions, but 50 years ago it suffered the impact of the progression of technology and nowadays the ever rapid growing of cellular mobile systems has put this cultural heritage under serious threat.