1. Asim Basu, who passed away recently, was the renowned theatre actor from which state?
[A] Odisha
[B] Assam
[C] West Bengal
[D] Manipur
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Odisha]
Notes:
Asim Basu (81), the renowned theatre artiste and director, art director, painter and playwright, has recently passed away in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. He was known for his set design work in Ollywood movies and designing Oriya book covers and movie posters. He directed around 200 plays and did stage designing for over 500 plays and was the art director for several Odia films. Some of his major works are Indradhanura Chhai, Dadagiri and apana Banika.
2. Which start up has won the ‘Best IT Startup of India’ award at the 2016 National Entrepreneurship Awards (NEA)?
[A] Mitra Biotech
[B] JeevAnksh
[C] Lucideus
[D] Swadha Energies
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Lucideus]
Notes:
Lucideus, an IT risk assessment and digital security services provider, has won the ‘Best IT Startup of India’ award under the IT (Information Technology) and ITES (Information Technology Enabled Services) category at the National Entrepreneurship Award 2016 at the DRDO auditorium in New Delhi. Lucideus is behind the security for BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) app — an Aadhaar-based mobile payment platform. The annual awards were organised by the Ministry of Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship.
3. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy is associated with which sports?
[A] Badminton
[B] Cricket
[C] Chess
[D] Tennis
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Badminton]
Notes:
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy is a badminton player, who competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, winning a gold in the mixed team event, and a silver in the men’s doubles event.
4. Which Indian diplomat has been appointed as the member of the United Nations (UN)’ Joint Inspection Unit (JIU)?
[A] Gopalaswami Parthasarathy
[B] Ajai Malhotra
[C] Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
[D] Achamkulangare Gopinathan
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Achamkulangare Gopinathan]
Notes:
Achamkulangare Gopinathan, a top Indian diplomat, has been re-appointed by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) for a 5-year term beginning from January 1, 2018. Beside him, Sukai Prom-Jackson of Gambia, Jean Wesley Cazeau of Haiti and Nikolay Lozinskiy of Russia are also appointed members of the JIU. The Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) is the only independent external oversight body of the United Nations (UN) system mandated to conduct evaluations, inspections and investigations system-wide. Gopinathan’s re-appointment follows his nomination by India and endorsement as the sole candidate of the Asia-Pacific Group.
5. Who is the newly appointed President of Somalia?
[A] Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed
[B] Hassan Sheikh Mohamud
[C] Sheikh Mukhtar
[D] Sheikh Mukhtar
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed]
Notes:
Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, a former Prime Minister who holds dual Somali-U.S. citizenship, has become the new President of Somali after winning the 2017 Somali presidential election with 184 votes out of a total of 328. Previously, he was the Prime Minister of Somalia from November 2010 until June 2011 and is the founder and Chairman of the Tayo Political Party.
6. Which country to host the 2017 Mobile World Congress?
[A] Spain
[B] India
[C] Germany
[D] France
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Spain]
Notes:
The 2017 Mobile World Congress (MWC) will be held in Barcelona, Spain from February 27 to March 2, which will be organised by the Global System Mobile Association (GSMA). The MWC is the world’s largest gathering for the mobile industry. In it, the Indian researchers from IIT Hyderabad will showcase its C-RAN prototype for 5G technology, which is one of the first prototypes in the world.
7. Consider the following statements regarding a solenoid:
- A solenoid is a coil comprising many circular turns of insulated copper wire wrapped tightly in the shape of a cylinder.
- The magnetic field lines inside a solenoid are parallel straight lines.
Which of the above statements is / are correct?
[A] Only 1
[B] Both 1 and 2
[C] Only 2
[D] None of the above
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Both 1 and 2]
Notes:
A solenoid is defined as a cylinder-shaped coil consisting of many circular turns of insulated copper wire placed closely together. The magnetic field inside the solenoid is represented by parallel straight field lines, signifying a uniform magnetic field throughout its interior. Both statements correctly describe the structure and field properties of a solenoid.
8. Consider the following:
- Meghaduta is a work of Kalidasa
- Abhijyanashakuntalam is a work of Kalidasa
- Mrichchhkatikam is a work of Kalidasa
Which of the above statements is / are correct?
[A] Only 1 and 2
[B] Only 1
[C] Only 2 and 3
[D] All Are Correct Statements
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Only 1 and 2]
Notes:
Kalidasa is known as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language. Some of his notable works include Abhijyanashakuntalam and Meghaduta. However, Mrichchhkatikam was composed by Shudraka, not Kalidasa.
9. Which state to host 3rd edition of LIC-Gateway LitFest?
[A] Maharashtra
[B] Karnataka
[C] West Bengal
[D] Assam
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Maharashtra]
Notes:
The 3rd edition of the annual LIC Gateway LitFest will be held in Mumbai, Maharashtra on February 25 and 26, 2017. The 2017 theme is ‘the contemporary face of Indian literature’, which focuses on five languages – Bengali, Marathi, Malayalam, Punjabi and Tamil. There will be a discussion for writers from script-free languages such as Ahirani, Bhojpuri, Khasi, Konkani, Kosli and Santhali. In the Litfest, approx 50 writers from 15 languages, including National Award winner K R
Meera, script-writer Anjali Menon and ace filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan will participate. Apart from this, Kosli poet Haldhar Nag will be bestowed with the first Gateway LitFest Lifetime Achievement Award.
10. Ved Prakash Sharma, who passed away recently, was the renowned novelist of which language?
[A] Telugu
[B] Tamil
[C] Odia
[D] Hindi
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Hindi]
Notes:
Ved Prakash Sharma (62), the popular Hindi novelist, has recently passed away in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. He was famous for novels with unique titles such as Dahej Mein Revolver (Revolver as Dowry), Widhva Ka Pati (Husband of a Widow) and Dulhan Maange Dahej (Bride Asks For Dowry). Sharma had also written scripts for about half-a-dozen Hindi movies.