1. 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.
2. Pathani Patnaik, who passed away recently, was the renowned litterateur from which state?
[A] Assam
[B] Odisha
[C] Gujarat
[D] Maharashtra
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Odisha]
Notes:
Pathani Patnaik (89), the renowned litterateur, poet, writer and academician, has recently passed away in Cuttack, Odisha. He was the former principal of Christ College and also served as President of Odisha Sahitya Akademi. He had written over 50 books on different aspects of literature, including short stories and poems and also received the Kendriya Sahitya Akademi Award in 2010 for his autobiography “Jeebanara Chalapatha”.
3. Which country to host the 4th Rollball World Cup-2017?
[A] India
[B] Kenya
[C] Bangladesh
[D] Nepal
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Bangladesh]
Notes:
The 4th Rollball World Cup will be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh from February 17 to 23, 2017. Approx 700 competitors from 45 countries are expected to participate in the tournament. It is the largest-ever event in any field where such a huge number of countries will be participating in any Asian Country. The International Rollball Federation (IRBF) is a body which is associated with International Rollball. This game was created by Raju Dabhade of Pune City, India and is also the Secretary of the IRBF. Rollball is a game played between two teams of 12 players. Out of 12, only 6 players are allowed to play on court at a time. This game is played on skates.
4. Which state government has recently implemented e-Cabinet solution for the state cabinet members?
[A] Arunachal Pradesh
[B] Tripura
[C] Nagaland
[D] Manipur
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Arunachal Pradesh]
Notes:
The Arunachal Pradesh government has recently implemented e-Cabinet solution to use as a powerful tool to streamline its decision-making process. With this, Arunachal Pradesh has become the first state in the northeast to implement e-Cabinet solution for the state cabinet members. The e-Cabinet solution will give remote access to the ministers to view Cabinet notes and the same will be circulated well in advance for proper analysis and feedback. The system is a multi-user secure solution that keeps relevant information organised and updated in real time, giving ministers a clear overview of each item under discussion.
5. 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.
6. Which committee will be constituted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on cyber security?
[A] N K Singh committee
[B] Meena Hemachandra committee
[C] Ravi Iyer committee
[D] Tushar Krishna committee
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Meena Hemachandra committee]
Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will constitute an inter-disciplinary committee on cyber security to examine various threats and suggest measures to deal with it. The committee will review the threats inherent in the existing or emerging technology on an ongoing basis. It will also study adoption of various security standards/protocols and also act as interface with stakeholders. The committee will be headed by Meena Hemachandra and will suggest appropriate policy interventions to strengthen cyber security and resilience.
7. Who has been appointed India’s High Commissioner to Canada?
[A] Syed Akbaruddin
[B] Vikas Swarup
[C] Arun Kumar Sahu
[D] Priyansh Jain
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Vikas Swarup]
Notes:
Vikas Swarup, an officer of the Indian Foreign Service batch of 1986, has been appointed as new High Commissioner of India to Canada. He is famous for penning down the novel Q & A, adapted in film as Slumdog Millionaire. Currently, Swarup is working as Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi. He will replace Arun Kumar Sahu who is currently working as acting Indian envoy in Canada.
8. Who has become the first Indian ever to be promoted by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) as Technical Delegate (TD)?
[A] Surendra Bhatnagar
[B] Norman Isaac
[C] Mohd. Rizwan
[D] Harikrishna Prasad
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Norman Isaac]
Notes:
Norman Isaac has become the first Indian ever to be promoted by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) as Technical Delegate (TD). As a TD, Isaac will be assigned to any country except his own and will be responsible for conduct of an entire event, ranging from actual competition management to every related aspect from media arrangements to logistics. Prior to this appointment, he was a FIBA Commissioner.
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. Which state government will launched anti-corruption induction training mandatory for government officials?
[A] Assam
[B] Sikkim
[C] Kerala
[D] Rajasthan
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Kerala]
Notes:
The Kerala Government will soon launched a six-day anti-corruption induction training mandatory for the government service officials in the state. The induction training programme is claimed to be the first of its kind in India. The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau is the nodal agency for the implementation of the ambitious initiative to cover new recruits and select existing employees.The purpose of the training is to create a mindset against corruption and make the employees prepare to fight against the menace.