from the content md’s desk 2018.pdfmba (hr) (ubs, chandigarh) dear aspirants, this is the...

JANUARY 2018 1www.arifinacademy.com

FROM THEMD’S DESK...�

Content

Anshuman NayakB.E. (NIST,Berhampur)

MBA (HR) (UBS,Chandigarh)

Dear Aspirants,This is the informationage and knowledge hasno limit. Gone are thedays when people usedto depend solely onlibraries and books togain knowledge. Themeans of procuringknowledge andaccessing informationhas undergone a seachange with the adventof computers, internetand smart phones. Theinternet is the biggestlibrary ever created in human history andseemingly presents itself as an unlimited and evergrowing store of knowledge and information.So when my team approached me with the ideaof a current affairs magazine of �� thefirst question I asked myself was why? Whatdifference can we make?There are the news papers, a plethora of similarnational level magazines and of course theinternet which serve the purpose already.The reason I gave my nod was simple.

(1) With so much of information around,there is the problem of overload; Ibelieve there is still a gap to be bridgedwhen it comes to providing precise,succinct and relevant information.

(2) It need not be a mere current affairsmagazine but rather it can be a holisticsupport system for competitive Exampreparation with question banks, tipsand tricks , concepts and practiceexercises, general awareness, traditionalGK and more such similar features.

Hence, the result is this magazine whose editorialteam is a blend of youth, energy, knowledgeand experience. As explained earlier, I promisemy readers two things:

(1) This is not going to be just anothermagazine. This will be a magazine witha difference.

(2) With each new issue, the magazine willget better and better with new andinnovative features,.

So, watch out, enjoy and benefit!!

1.BANKING & FINANCE

Page- 02

2.STATE AFFAIRS

Page-04

3.NATIONAL NEWS

Page-05

4.GLOBAL NEWS

Page-10

5.PEOPLE IN NEWS

Page-12

6.SPORTSPage-14

7.AWARDSPage-16

8.GK/CURRENT AFFAIRS QUIZ

Page-18

9.FUN TIME LESSON

Page-32

2 JANUARY 2018www.arifinacademy.com

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IMF Approves New USD 88 billion Credit LineFor Mexico

� The International Monetary Fund has approveda new USD 88 billion credit line for Mexico,replacing the existing line.

� The two-year flexible credit line boosts Mexico’sability to immediately deal with a potential needfor liquidity, without having to request an IMFloan.

CBDT signs two Advance Pricing Agreements

� The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) hasentered into 2 Bilateral Advance PricingAgreements (APAs) in November 2017. Thesetwo agreements are first ever Bilateral APAs withNetherlands. These two APAs pertain toElectronics and Technology sectors of economy.It also covers international transactions thatinclude Distribution, Provision of BusinessSupport Services, Provision of MarketingSupport Services etc. With this, the total numberof APAs entered into by CBDT has gone up to186. This includes 171 Unilateral APAs and 15Bilateral APAs.

Amitabh Kant Committee constituted toaddress NPAs in power sector

� The Union Government has constituted high-level committee headed by NITI Aayog ChiefExecutive Amitabh Kant to address problem ofNon-performing assets (NPAs) or stressedassets in India’s power sector. It comprisessecretaries in the ministries of power, coal anddepartment of financial services as it members.The Government is also planning to investigatewhether private developers have inflated projectcosts to show higher debt.

STRIVE Project: India inks $125 MillionFinancing Agreement with World Bank

� India has inked Financing Agreement with WorldBank for International Development Association(IDA) Credit of US $125 million (equivalent)for Skills Strengthening for Industrial ValueEnhancement Operation (STRIVE) Project.

� The objective of project is to improve access toquality and market-driven vocational training andapprenticeships.

� The STRIVE Project will focus to improve onquality and the market relevance of vocationaltraining provided in ITIs and also strengthen theapprenticeship programme through industrycluster approach.

DARPAN Project launched to improvefinancial inclusion of Rural Population

� The Union Ministry of Communications haslaunched DARPAN (The Digital Advancementof Rural Post Office for A New India) to improvequality of service, add value to services andachieve financial inclusion of un-banked ruralpopulation.

� DARPAN is Information Technology (IT)modernisation project aimed at realising financialinclusion of un-banked rural population. It offerscore banking services to the account holders.

RBI brings Bank of India under PromptCorrective Action

� The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently hadinitiated prompt corrective action (PCA)measures against Bank of India (BoI) in the viewof its high non-performing assets (NPAs) andinsufficient capital.

� The RBI placed BOI under PCA consequentto the onsite inspection under the risk-basedsupervision model carried out for year endedMarch 2017. This was in view of high net NPA,insufficient CET1 Capital and negative ROA(return on asset) of BOI for two consequentyears.

Maharashtra tops in GST collection in first fivemonths

� Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh are topcontributors among states and Union Territoriesin the first five months since the rollout of theGoods and Services Tax (GST) regime in July1, 2017. The data was revealed by Minister of


State (MoS) for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla inreply to a question in Lok Sabha.

HDFC Bank’s Aditya Puri Only Indian onFortune’s Businessperson of the Year Top 20List

� Aditya Puri, the Managing Director of HDFCBank, is the only Indian on Fortune’s‘Businessperson of the Year’ list. TheBusinessperson of the Year list is an annualranking of world’s top 20 heads of companies.

� At the 18th position, Aditya Puri is the only headof an Indian company on the list.

ADB Funds $580 Million for Reliance’sBangladesh Power Plant Project

� The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Boardof Directors has approved debt financing andpartial risk guarantees totaling $583 million todevelop the Reliance Bangladesh LiquefiedNatural Gas (LNG) and Power Project.

� The financing package of ADB includes loansand partial risk guarantees for the powergeneration facility, as well as for the LNG terminaland the power project, being set up for $1billion.

Fifth Bi-monthly Monetary Policy StatementReleased by RBI

� On the basis of an assessment of the currentand evolving macroeconomic situation at itsmeeting, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)decided to keep the policy repo rate under theliquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at6.0 percent.

� Consequently, the Reverse Repo Rate (RRR)under the LAF remains at 5.75 percent, and theMarginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and theBank Rate at 6.25 percent.

� The projection of real GVA growth for 2017-18 of the October resolution at 6.7per cent hasbeen retained, with risks evenly balanced

Maruti Suzuki Replaces SBI as 6th MostValuable Indian Firm

� India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki became

India’s sixth most valued firm, crossing India’slargest lender State Bank of India (SBI).

� Maruti Suzuki’s market capitalization stood atRs 2.73 trillion, marginally ahead of SBI’smarket value of Rs 2.70 trillion. RelianceIndustries is the country’s most valued companywith a market value of Rs 5.83 trillion, followedby TCS, HDFC Bank, ITC and HindustanUnilever.

Indian Economy Likely to Grow by 7.2% in2018, 7.4% in 2019: UN Report

� Indian economy is likely to grow by 7.2 percentin 2018 and go up further to 7.4 percent in 2019on the back of strong private consumption,public investment and the ongoing structuralreforms, according to a UN report.

� The ‘World Economic Situation and Prospects2018’ report was unveiled by United NationsDepartment of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA). The UN DESA report said the GDPgrowth is projected to be 6.7 percent in 2017.

ADB Lowers India’s GDP forecast for FY18to 6.7%

� The Asian Development Bank (ADB) loweredIndia’s GDP forecast for the current fiscal by0.3% to 6.7 %.

� It has also revised downward the gross domesticproduct (GDP) outlook for next fiscal beginningfrom March 2018 to 7.3% from 7.4% mainlydue to rising global crude oil prices and softgrowth in private sector investment.

SBI Starts State Bank Rewardz Scheme

� The State Bank of India has introduced a loyaltyprogram for its valued customers. This programis called as State Bank Rewardz, the programgives the customers several opportunities to earnreward points and earn many times faster at MaxGet More partner outlets.

� State Bank Rewardz is the enterprise-wideloyalty program for State Bank customers thatawards them with reward points for varioustransactions across many banking services.

RBI Imposes Rs 3 crore Penalty on IndusInd


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MP passes bill awarding death for rape of girlsaged 12 or less� The Madhya Pradesh Assembly has

unanimously passed Dand Vidhi (MadhyaPradesh Sanshodhan) Vidheyak, 2017 that willsee rapists of girls 12 years or below beinghanged till death.

� With this, Madhya Pradesh becomes first statewhere those convicted of such rapes will facethe gallows. The Bill will now be sent to thePresident for his assent, after which it willbecome a law.

Uttar Pradesh first State to endorse Centre’striple talaq draft bill� Uttar Pradesh became first state to endorse

Union Government’s draft draft law - MuslimWomen (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Actthat makes practice of instant “triple talaq” ortalaq-e-biddat. a cognizable and non-bailablecriminal offence. The draft law was endorsedby the state cabinet meeting chaired by ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath.

Meghalaya launches India’s first social auditlaw� Meghalaya became first state in country to

operationalize The Meghalaya CommunityParticipation and Public Services Social AuditAct, 2017, a law that makes social audit ofgovernment programmes and schemes a partof government practice. It was launched byChief Minister Mukul Sangma at a nationalconvention in Shillong.

Andhra Pradesh inks MoU with AlphabetInC.’s X to adopt FSOC technology� Andhra Pradesh government has signed MoU

with Alphabet InC.’s X (Google X) to bringFree Space Optical Communication (FSOC)technology to India.

� The purpose of the FSOC project is to providehigh quality & affordable digital services throughinternet under state government’s Fiber gridproject.

Bank

� The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposedRs 3 crore penalty on IndusInd Bank forbreaching rules on income classification norms.

� As per the RBI Statement, the penalty wasimposed after the regulator observed violationof various regulations issued by the RBI on non-performing loans and extension of non-fundbased limits.

RBI Imposes Restrictions on CorporationBank as its Bad Loans Crosses 10%

� The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposedcertain restrictions on Corporation Bank oncarrying out banking activities as its share of badloans rose sharply. The RBI has triggered promptcorrective action (PCA) against it in view of high

non-performing loans and requirement to raisecapital.

� This makes Corporation Bank eighth bank toface restriction in a span of 10 months.Corporation Bank’s net non-performing loanscross 10% and it reported losses of Rs 1035crore in the second quarter ending 2017.

SBI Card and Bharat Petroleum Launch BPCLSBI Card

� SBI Card, the credit card issuer and BharatPetroleum, the leading petroleum company inIndia announced the launch of the BPCL SBICard – the most rewarding fuel co-brandedcredit card in the country.

� The BPCL SBI Card will offer up to 70 liters offree fuel per year to cardholders. It has beenlaunched on the Visa platform.

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Vijay Rupani sworn in as Chief Minister ofGujarat� Vijay Rupani (61) was sworn in as the 16th

Chief Minister of Gujarat. Besides him, DeputyChief Minister Nitin Patel and 18 other ministers(9 in cabinet rank and 10 MoS) also took oath.

� They were administered the oath of post andsecrecy by the Gujarat Governor O.P. Kohlias per provision Article 164 (3) at the ceremonyheld at Sachivalay Ground in state capitalGandhinagar.

Kerala’s Alappuzha in Top 5 UN Clean CityList� The waste management system being

implemented in Kerala’s coastal town ofAlappuzha has been recognized by the UnitedNations Environment Programme (UNEP) asone of the five models across the world forfighting the pollution menace.

� Alappuzha has been listed in the UNEPenvironment report entitled, ‘Solid approach towaste: how five cities are beating pollution’alongside cities like Osaka in Japan, Ljubljanain Slovenia, Penang in Malaysia and Cajica in

Colombia.J&K Bank Launches ‘Sahafat Finance

Scheme’� Jammu and Kashmir Bank launched a special

financial scheme for journalists of the state. Thescheme “J&K Bank Sahafat Finance Scheme”was launched by the bank’s chairman and CEOParvez Ahmad.

� The scheme will enable journalists to buycameras, laptops, tablets, and books. Theminimum loan amount for the purpose has beenfixed at Rs 50,000 while as the maximum capis Rs 3 lakh.

Jairam Thakur will be Himachal Pradesh’s newCM� The Bharatiya Janata Party has named Jairam

Thakur as legislature party leader in HimachalPradesh, effectively making him the state’s nextchief minister.

� The BJP’s central observer Narendra SinghTomar announced Thakur’s name after ameeting of BJP?MLAs was convened, with allunanimously deciding in his favour.

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11 Annual MedTech Summit of BiodesignProgramme held in New Delhi

� The XIth Annual MedTech Summit of BiodesignProgramme was held in New Delhi. It wasinaugurated by Minister of Science &Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment,Forests & Climate Change Dr.Harsh Vardhan.

� The summit was organised by Department ofBiotechnology (DBT) under the Bio DesignProgramme. It was attended by leaders ofgovernment organisations, academia, medicaldevice industry, startups, hospitals, design,business and engineering institutes from Australia,Finland, Canada, India, Germany, Japan,Singapore, UK and USA.

Noxeno: Nasal foreign body removal device

launched

� Government has launched Noxeno, a nasalforeign body removal device developed bystart-up InnAccel Technologies Private Limited,Bangalore. It was developed by fellow trainedunder Biodesign program. Noxeno is It is firstdedicated tool for anterior nasal foreign body(NFB) removal that allows doctors in any settingto quickly and safely remove objects that people(mostly children aged 2 to 10 years) put intotheir noses.

India-Spain ink Techno-commercial agreementfor three RRTS corridors

� India and Spain have signed Techno-commercialagreement to provide institutional mechanism for


mutual cooperation in field of urban transportand for construction of the three Regional RapidTransit System (RRTS).

� Three RRTS corridors Delhi-Meerut Smart Line,Delhi – Panipat Smart Line and Delhi – AlwarSmart Line have been prioritised forimplementation in the first phase.

Government launches National Strategic Plan2017-24 and Mission SAMPARK

� The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfarelaunched the National Strategic Plan 2017-24aimed at eradicating HIV/AIDS by 2030. It waslaunched on the occasion of World AIDS Day(1st December).

� Mission SAMPARK was also launched to tracethose who are Left to Follow Up and are to bebrought under Antiretroviral therapy (ART)services.

Akash missile successfully tested withindigenous radio frequency seeker

� The Surface to Air Missile (SAM) AKASH wassuccessfully tested with indigenous radiofrequency seeker against target UAV Banshee.It was successfully launched from LaunchComplex-III at ITR Chandipur.

� During the test, radars, telemetry and electro-optical systems along coast had tracked andmonitored all the health parameters of the missile.

BrahMos Missile: Godrej Aero gets newcontract for missile airframes

� Godrej Aerospace has won order fromBrahMos Aerospace Pvt. Ltd. (BAPL) forsupply of additional 100 units airframe fuelmanagement systems for BrahMos Air-Launched Cruise Missile.

� Godrej Aerospace is unit of Godrej & BoyceMfg. Co. Ltd. It has been associated withBrahMos since 2000 and most recently it hadcompleted supply of its 100th airframe for themissile.

India and Cuba ink MoU for enhancedcooperation in Health Sector

� India and Cuba have signed an MoU forenhanced cooperation in the health sector. TheMoU is important for exchanges in the healthsector and to develop institutional frameworkfor cooperation in the health sector between thetwo countries.

� The objective of MoU is to establishcomprehensive interministerial and inter-institutional cooperation between two countriesin the field of health.

India, Israel open centre for floriculture inTamil Nadu

� India and Israel have jointly set up a centre forexcellence in floriculture at Thally in Krishnagiridistrict of Tamil Nadu. It is first agrotechnologydevelopment centre to be set up with Israel’sassistance in Tamil Nadu. The centre at Thallyand similar centre planned for vegetables to beestablished in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu.

India admitted as member into WassenaarArrangement

� Elite export control regime WassenaarArrangement (WA) has decided to admit Indiaas its new member. The decision was taken attwo-day plenary meeting of grouping in Vienna,Austria. India will be Arrangement’s 42ndparticipating country.

MSME Sambandh: Public Procurement Portalfor MSMEs launched

� The Ministry of Micro, Small and MediumEnterprises (MSME) launched PublicProcurement Portal ‘MSME Sambandh’ forPublic Procurement Portal for MSMEs.

� The objective of the portal is to monitor theimplementation of the Public Procurement fromMSEs by Central Public Sector Enterprises(CPSEs). It will help MSMEs in participating inthe procurement process. Besides, it will helpMinistries and the CPSEs can assess theirperformance in procurement process asstipulated in Procurement Policy, 2012.

Housing Ministry and GIZ ink agreement with


GIZ for sustainable transportation

� The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs(MoHUA) has signed an implementationagreement with German firm GIZ GmbH fortechnical cooperation in implementation oftransport projects in Coimbatore, Bhubaneshwarand Kochi. The main objective of theseprojectsare to improve planning and implementation ofsustainable urban transport.

15th Meeting of RIC Foreign Ministers heldin New Delhi

� 15th trilateral meeting of the Russia-India-China(RIC) foreign ministers was held in New Delhi.It was held between India’s External AffairsMinister, Sushma Swaraj, Russian ForeignMinister Sergey Lavrov and China’s Ministerof Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi.

ASEAN-India Connectivity Summit held inNew Delhi

� The ASEAN-India (Association of SoutheastAsian Nations-India) Connectivity Summit(AICS) was held in New Delhi. The theme ofsummit was ‘Powering Digital and PhysicalLinkages for Asia in the 21st Century’. It wasorganized by the Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) in collaboration with AIC (ASEAN-India Centre) and CII (Confederation of IndianIndustry).

ISRO developing compact launcher for smallersatellites

� The Indian Space and Research Organisation(ISRO) is developing small satellite launchvehicles to launch low-cost small satellites.

� Preliminary work to design and develop suchambitious small launch vehicle already hasstarted at ISRO’s rocket development node,Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). Thesmall launch vehicle will be able to put satellitesof up to 500-600 kg in orbits close to the Earth.VSSC has designed the vehicle using the rockettechnology.

India ranks 109th in mobile internet speed:Ookla

� India ranked 109th out of 122 countries in themobile internet speed and 76th out of 133countries in broadband space in the November2017 Speedtest Global Index (SGI). The indexwas released by popular internet speed testingservice provider Ookla.

� Top 5 fastest mobile network countries:Norway (average speed of 62.66Mbps),Netherlands (53.01Mbps), Iceland(52.78Mbps), Singapore (51.50Mbps) andMalta (50.46Mbps).

� Top 5 fastest Home broadband Countries:Singapore (153.85Mbps), Iceland(147.51Mbps), Hong Kong (133.94Mbps),South Korea (127.45Mbps) and Romania(104.46Mbps).

Government inks $250 million Loan Agreementwith World Bank for SANKALP Project

� The Union Government has signed US $250million loan agreement with World Bank for“Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awarenessfor Livelihood Promotion” (SANKALP) Projectto support livelihood.

� World Bank’s financing arm International Bankfor Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)will provide this loan. The closing date for theproject is 31st March, 2023.

4th India-Australia-Japan Trilateral Dialogueheld in New Delhi

� The 4th India-Australia-Japan Trilateral Dialoguewas hosted by India in New Delhi. It was hostedby India’s Foreign Secretary Dr. S. Jaishankar,Australia’s Secretary of Department of ForeignAffairs and Trade Frances Adamson andJapan’s Vice Minister of Foreign AffairsShinsuke J. Sugiyama.

NITI Aayog launches ATL Community Day

� The National Institute of Transforming India(NITI) Aayog’s Atal Innovation Missionlaunched the Atal Tinkering Lab’s CommunityDay in New Delhi.

� The day marks Community Drive Initiative in


which 25 young Mentors engaged with morethan 200 students who are not enrolled in formaleducation system. These mentors will visit fourlocations in New Delhi to conduct brief sessionswith children from various NGOs, on howinnovations can help resolve problems in thecommunities.

Union Cabinet approves Agreement withUNESCO on establishment of ITCOO inHyderabad

� The Union Cabinet approved the establishmentof International Training Centre for OperationalOceanography (ITCOO), as a Category-2Centre (C2C) of UNESCO, in Hyderabad,Telangana.

� The purpose of this agreement is to establishtraining centre towards development of capacityfor countries on Indian Ocean Rim (IOR), Africancountries bordering Indian and Atlantic Oceans,small island countries under framework ofUNESCO.

NITI Aayog to set up Methanol Economy Fund

� The National Institution for Transforming India(NITI) Aayog is planning to set up MethanolEconomy Fund worth Rs 4,000-5,000 crore topromote production and use of the clean fuel.

� The fund will be utilized for generation of cheaper,safer and pollution free methanol fuel byconverting high ash content coal and strandedgas assets into methanol.

India’s First National Rail and TransportationUniversity to come at Vadodara

� The Union Cabinet has approved proposal ofMinistry of Railways to set up first ever NationalRail and Transport University (NRTU) inVadodara to skill its human resources and buildcapability.

� The University will be set up as Deemed to BeUniversity under de novo category as per UGC(Institutions Deemed to be Universities)Regulations, 2016. The first academic programis expected to be launched in July 2018.

MEA launches SAMEEP to take Indianforeign policy to students across the country

� The Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)has launched SAMEEP (Students and MEAEngagement Program). It is an outreach missionthat aims to take Indian foreign policy and itsglobal engagements to students across countryand also to look at diplomacy as a career option.Its name was crowd-sourced through the MyGov portal and out of 550 suggested entries.

World University of Design: India’s first designuniversity opened in Haryana

� India’s first and only design university WorldUniversity of Design (WUD) has opened itscampus at Sonipat, Haryana. The universitypromoted by Om Parkash Bansal Educationaland Social Welfare Trust of Mandi Gobindgarh,Punjab is dedicated to education in creativedomain.

India’s first-ever broad gauge air-conditionedAC EMU suburban train flagged off in Mumbai

� India’s first-ever broad gauge air-conditionedAC EMU suburban train was flagged off fromBorivali station on western railway in Mumbai,Maharashtra. The AC train departed fromAndheri Station and reached Churchgate.

� The services of AC local train will replace existing12 Non AC services. Out of 12 services of ACLocal train 8 will run fast and will only halt atmajor stations.

Government launches e-HRMS

� The Union Ministry of Personnel, PublicGrievances & Pensions launched the electronic-Human Resource Management System (e-HRMS) on the occasion of Good GovernanceDay (25 December).

� The e-HRMS was launched as a step towardsthe ease of governance and is in lines withGovernment’s goal of minimum government,maximum governance. 25 applications of fivemodules of the system were also launched.


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India’s Largest Floating Solar Power PlantOpens in Kerala

� The largest-ever floating solar power plant inIndia inaugurated by state power minister MMMan at the Banasura Sagar dam in Wayanad.The solar power plant that floats on the surfaceof the water has a capacity of 500 kilowatts.

� The solar plant consists of 1,938 solar panelswith a capacity of 260 watts, a 500 kilovolt-ampere (KVA) transformer, and 17 inverters.

� Constructed by the Thiruvananthapuram-basedAd tech Systems, the plant will generate sevenlakh units of power in a year. The total cost ofthe project is Rs. 9.25 crore.

Kacheguda Becomes India’s First Energy-Efficient Railway Station

� Kacheguda Railway Station in Hyderabad underthe South Central Railway (SCR) has earnedthe unique distinction of being the first EnergyEfficient ‘A1 Category’ Railway Station onIndian Railways.

� The station has achieved 100% energy efficiencyby replacing 1,312 conventional lights with light-emitting diode (LED) lighting, among other steps.

Dhammapiya Elected New Secretary Generalof IBC

� Buddhist monk Dhammapiya from Tripura hasbeen elected as the new secretary general ofthe International Buddhist Confederation (IBC).

� He was elected to the post at the second general

assembly of the IBC. The IBC is a globalBuddhist forum for preservation anddevelopment of heritage sites of the religion inIndia and other parts of the world.

India Ranks 100 in Global Prosperity Index

� India has upgraded its ranks in ‘The LegatumProsperity Index 2017’ and is now on 100thposition. At present, the rising trend in India’sprosperity is significant in view of the fact thatIndia registered lower economic growthfollowing demonetization and implementation ofthe goods and services tax (GST) reform in2017.

� The index, which offers an insight into howprosperity is forming and changing across theworld, ranks India 100th on the list ofprosperous countries among 149 countries.

PM Dedicates Tuirial Hydropower Project tothe Nation

� Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the60-megawatt Tuirial hydroelectric power projectfrom Aizawl, Mizoram. Mizoram had becomethe third power- surplus state in the north-eastafter Sikkim and Tripura.

� The Tuirial project was announced and clearedin 1998 by the then Atal Bihari Vajpayeegovernment. It was the first major central projectto be successfully commissioned in Mizoram.Prime Minister also inaugurated the Shillong -Nongstoin Rongjeng Tura road.


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First phase of Chabahar port inaugurated inIran

� The first phase of Iran’s Chabahar port (ShahidBeheshti Port) which holds significant strategicand economic importance for India wasinaugurated was Iran’s President HassanRouhani. It is Iran’s only oceanic port locatedon the Gulf of Oman, southeast of Iran nearPakistani border. It has been jointly developedby India, Iran and Afghanistan.

� The first phase is expected to increase its cargohandling capacity to 8.5 million tons annually i.e.by over three times from the previous 2.5 milliontons. It also includes five new piers, two of themfor containers allowing cargo vessels with up to100,000-ton captaincy to dock.

Petro: Venezuela launches new virtualcurrency

� Venezuela has launched its own cryptocurrencycalled Petro to circumvent US-led financialsanctions. It will be backed by the country’s vastnatural resource reserves. In this regard,Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro hasapproved the creation of BlockchainBaseobservatory to oversee development and rolloutof new cryptocurrency.

Vigilant Ace: South Korea, US launch largestair exercise

� South Korea and United States have launchedVigilant Ace, their largest-ever joint aerial drills.The exercise comes after North Korea testedHwasong-15, its most advanced and powerfulInter Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) aspart of its weapons programme.

US withdraws from UN Global Compact onMigration

� The United States has pulled out of UN GlobalCompact on Migration. It has argued thatObama-era negotiated UN compact processdeal contains numerous provisions thatinconsistent with country’s immigration andrefugee policies and Trump Administration’simmigration principles.

International conference on Climate Changeheld in Nepal

� The International conference on climate changewas held in Nepal. It was inaugurated by NepalPresident Bidya Devi Bhandari. It was titled‘Resilient Hindu Kush Himalaya: DevelopingSolutions towards a Sustainable Future forAsia’.

� Its purpose was to draw attention towardsadverse effects of global warming in Hindu Kushmountain range. It was organized by Nepal’sMinistry for Environment in collaboration withInternational Centre for Integrated MountainDevelopment (ICIMOD).

UAE and Saudi Arabia form new group,separate from GCC

� The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and SaudiArabia have formed new economic andpartnership group named Joint CooperationCommittee, separate from Gulf CooperationCouncil (GCC).

� This move that could undermine six-memberGCC amid Saudi led Arab countries diplomaticcrisis with Qatar as half of countries membersare boycotting Qatar, accusing it for supportingand funding terrorism.

World’s largest automated container terminalopens in China

� China started trial operations of world’s biggestautomated container terminal at Yangshan DeepWater Port in Shanghai, the country’scommercial hub.

� The terminal is located at south of DonghaiBridge, phase 4 of Yangshan Port and covers2.23 million square metres and has a 2,350-metre shoreline. The automated managementsystem is also used at port to maintain safetyand efficiency.

WHO declared Gabon as polio-free country

� The World Health Organization (WHO) hasdeclared Gabon a “polio-free country”. Thiscomes after lack of new reported or suspectedcases in the central African country in recenttimes. But the UN health agency has


recommended taking necessary steps to continuemonitoring for possible signs of the disease.

LKW-2: China successfully launches secondLand Surveying Satellite

� China has successfully launched its second LandSurveying Satellite LKW-2 (also known asYaogan Weixing-32) into a preset orbit fromJiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobidesert.

� The satellite will be used for remote sensingexploration of land resources. It was launchedon board of Long March-2D rocket. It was259th mission of the Long March rocket series.

AG600: World’s largest amphibious aircrafttakes off

� China’s home-grown AG600, also known as‘Kunlong’, the world’s largest amphibiousaircraft took off from the southern city of Zhuhaiand landed after roughly an hour-long flight.

� Its successful maiden flight makes China amongthe world’s few countries capable of developinga large amphibious aircraft. It also furtherstrengthens China’s rapidly modernising military.

‘Populism’ Named Cambridge Dictionary’sWord of the Year

� The word ‘populism’ has been announced asCambridge Dictionary’s Word of the Year 2017.The dictionary defined populism as “politicalideas and activities that are intended to get thesupport of ordinary people by giving them whatthey want”.

� It said searches for ‘populism’ rose when PopeFrancis made statements warning against itsrising tide.

Venezuela Launches New Virtual CurrencyNamed Petro

� Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro hasannounced the creation of a new virtual currencynamed ‘Petro’ in a bid to ease the country’seconomic crisis.

� The Petro would be backed by Venezuela’s oil,gas, gold and diamond wealth.

USA Now Recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’sCapital

� President of USA Donald Trump has announcedthat the US now recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’scapital, overturning decades of official US policy.

� The fate of the ancient city is one of the thorniestissues between Israel and the Palestinians. Israelcalled Donald Trump’s move “historic” but therehas been sharp international criticism. PalestinianPresident Mahmoud Abbas called DonaldTrump’s announcement “deplorable”.

China Starts World’s Biggest Floating SolarProject

� A unit of China Three Gorges Corp. is buildinga 1 billion yuan ($151 million) floating solarpower plant, the world’s biggest, in the nation’seastern province of Anhui. China Three GorgesNew Energy Co. started building the 150-megawatt project in July and part of the plantwas connected to the grid.

� The project features panels fixed to floats onthe surface of a lake that formed after a coalmine collapsed, according to the unit. The entirefacility is expected to come online by May 2018.

Mount Hope Becomes UK’s New HighestMountain

� Britain has a new highest mountain after newsatellite data revealed the peak was almost 400metres taller than previously thought. MountHope, in the British Atlantic Territory, wasrecently re-measured and found to be 377metres taller than previous calculations.

� This takes it to 3,239 metres, meaning it knocksMount Jackson, the current title holder at 3,184metres, off the top spot.

World’s Longest Glass Bridge Opens in China

� The world’s longest glass bridge has beenopened in China to the public. Though it has acapacity to hold 2000 people, only 500 wouldbe allowed at a time. Located in Shijiazhuang,the magnificent bridge lies 218 meters abovehanging between the two cliffs in HongyaguScenic Area in Pingshan county.

� The bridge is 488 meters long and two meterswide, with two dragon statues on top that couldproduce smoke.

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Veteran actor Shashi Kapoor passes away� Veteran Bollywood actor Shashi Kapoor passed

away in Mumbai, Maharashtra reportedly due tokidney failure. He was 79. Iconic star of Indiancinema was worn in the first family of Hindi filmindustry. He had starred in more than hundredmovies, out of which he was the lead actor in atleast 61.

Dinesh K Sarraf appointed as Chairman ofPNGRB� The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet

(ACC) has appointed former CMD of ONGCDinesh K Sarraf (60) as new Chairman ofPetroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board(PNGRB). He replaces S Krishnan, who haddemitted office in August 2015.

� Besides, ACC also appointed S Rath, formerdirector (exploration) of Oil India Ltd (OIL) asmember of PNGRB. S S Chahar, former memberof Cyber Appellate Tribunal was also appointedMember (Legal), PNGRB. They will have 5-year term or till the age of 65, whichever isearlier.

Lalji Singh: Father of RNA fingerprinting inIndia passes away� Eminent scientist and father of RNA

fingerprinting in India Lalji Singh passed awayfollowing heart attack. He was 70. He was oneof the leaders instrumental in making RNAfingerprinting mainstream in India, both at levelof research as well as for forensic applications.

S K Chourasia Appointed as DGOF andChairman of Ordnance Factory Board� Shri Sunil Kumar Chourasia, Indian Ordnance

Factories Service Officer (IOFS), has beenappointed as the new Director General ofOrdnance Factories (DGOF) and Chairman ofthe Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) w.e.f. 1stDecember, 2017.

� Previously, he was Member, OFB and was incharge of Material & Components division.

Dia Mirza Appointed as UN EnvironmentGoodwill Ambassador for India� Former Miss Asia Pacific Dia Mirza was

appointed as UN Environment’s GoodwillAmbassador for India. A long-standing supporterof environmental conservation, Dia will take upthe role to add more weight to her work on raisingawareness of and seeking solutions toenvironmental issues.

� As a Goodwill Ambassador, Dia will work withthe United Nations to further spread the messageon priority areas including clean air, clean seas,wildlife protection and climate change.

Infosys Appoints Salil S Parekh as MD & CEO� Infosys annouced the appointment of Salil S.

Parekh as its new CEO and Managing Director.Salil was in Capegemini earlier.

A Surya Prakash Re-Appointed Prasar BharatiChief� Veteran journalist A Surya Prakash has been

appointed the chairman of the Prasar Bharatiboard for a second consecutive term till February8, 2020.

Kenyatta Sworn in as President of Kenya� Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has been

sworn in for a second and final five-year term, amonth after winning a bitterly disputed electionrerun marked by delays and boycott.

� Kenyatta, 55, won 98 percent of the votes castin October’s poll, which was boycotted by themain opposition leader, Raila Odinga.

Ellie Goulding Honored as UN EnvironmentGlobal Goodwill Ambassador� British singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding signed as

a Global Goodwill Ambassador for UNEnvironment, joining the fight to save the livesand habitats of people and animals by cleaningup our air and seas, fighting climate change andprotecting species.

� Ellie is also backing UN Environment’s#CleanSeas campaign.

France’s Johnny Hallyday Passes Away’� France’s biggest rock star Johnny Hallyday has

died after a battle with lung cancer. He was 74.The singer sold about 100 million records andstarred in a number of films in a career that beganin 1960.

� He was made a Chevalier of the LegionD’Honneur by President Jacques Chirac in 1997.

Sarvesh Tiwari Appointed as President ParaSports Foundation� On the occasion of International Day of Persons

with Disabilities, a renowned communicationexpert, Sarvesh Kumar Tiwari, was appointedas the President of Para-Sports Foundation(PSF), India.

� The announcement was made at the NationalAward for Divyangjan 2017 at Vigyan Bhawan,


New Delhi. Para Sports Foundation is a non-profitorganization working towards the social welfareof persons with disabilities.

Pradeep Singh Kharola Takes Over as AirIndia CMD� Senior IAS officer Pradeep Singh Kharola took

charge as the Chairman and Managing Directorof Air India. Kharola assumed charge from RajivBansal.

� He was the managing director of BangaloreMetro Rail Corporation Ltd since February 2015.

Veteran Journalist Sukharanjan SenguptaPasses Away� Veteran journalist Sukharanjan Sengupta died due

to old age-related health problems. He was 85.� Sengupta had worked for Bengali dailies Jugantar

and Ananda Bazar Patrika in his long careerspanning over six decades.

Nakul Chopra Elected as BARC IndiaChairman� Nakul Chopra, President of AAAI and Senior

Advisor, Publicis Communications, has beenelected as the next Chairman of BARC India.Nakul succeeds Viacom18 Group CEOSudhanshu Vats.

� Nakul will be the third Chairman of BARC India.He had joined the BARC India Board inSeptember 2016.

Actor-Director Neeraj Vora Passes Away� Bollywood actor, writer, and filmmaker Neeraj

Vora, in the coma since a year, died at a Mumbaihospital. He was 54.

� As an actor, his first work professional workcame in the form of Ketan Mehta’s Holi (1984),which also starred Aamir Khan. His last film asan actor was Anil Kapoor starrer WelcomeBack, which released in 2015.

Michael Jordan, World’s Highest-Paid Athleteof All Time� In the latest list released by Forbes, Michael

Jordan has been named as the highest-paidathletes of all time. The 54-year-old has awhopping $1.7 billion in the bank.

� Former world number one golfer Tiger Woods is

standing at the second spot. Late America golferArnold Palmer is at No.3 with incredible $1.4billion to his name.

R Hemalatha Takes Charge as Director,National Institute of Nutrition� R Hemalatha has been appointed as the new

Director of the country’s premier NationalInstitute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad.Hemalatha is a medical graduate of GandhiMedical College, Hyderabad.

� She assumes office at a historic moment as theinstitute enters its centenary year.

Justice UD Salvi Appointed Officiating Chiefof National Green Tribunal� The government has appointed Justice U D Salvi

as officiating chairperson of the National GreenTribunal (NGT) following the superannuation ofJustice Swatanter Kumar.

� Mr. Salvi will remain in the saddle until hisretirement on February 13, 2018.

M. Subbarayudu appointed as NextAmbassador of India to the Republic of Peru� Shri M. Subbarayudu, presently Joint Secretary

in the Ministry of External Affairs has beenappointed as the next Ambassador of India tothe Republic of Peru.

Bengali Singer Jatileswar MukhopadhyayPasses Away� Acclaimed Bengali singer Jatileswar

Mukhopadhyay passed away in Kolkatafollowing a prolonged illness. He was 82.

� He passed away due to multi-organ failure. TheWest Bengal government had conferred him withthe Sangeet Samman award in 2012.

Prince Harry Named President of AfricanConservation Group� Prince Harry has been named the president of

African Parks, a conservation group thatmanages a dozen wildlife areas across thecontinent.

� As per the environmentalist organisation, PrinceHarry will contribute to its effort to protectAfrica’s natural heritage and support both wildlifeand communities.

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India Wins 9 Medals in Asian ArcheryChampionships� Indian archers produced an impressive

performance, grabbed three gold, four silver andtwo bronze medals at the Asian Championshipsin Dhaka, Bangladesh.

� Two Indian boys and girls also booked quotaplaces for the 2018 Youth Olympics.

Shiva Keshavan Wins Gold in Asian LugeChampionships� The sole Indian participant and defending Asian

champion Shiva Keshavan retained his title witha time of 55.60 seconds.

� India’s veteran Winter Olympian ShivaKeshavan won a gold medal at the Asian LugeChampionships at Altenberg, Germany.

Saba Karim appointed as General Manager ofBCCI� Former wicketkeeper of India Saba Karim (50)

was appointed as the new General Manager(GM) of Board of Control for Cricket in India(BCCI).

� He will report directly to BCCI CEO Rahul Johri.The General Manager’s post was lying vacantsince resignation of MV Sridhar in September2017 over the issue of conflict of interest.

� In his new administrative role, Saba Karim willbe responsible for implementing operational plans,budgeting, monitoring the match playingconditions and administration of Domesticprogram.

Prithvi Shaw Named India’s Captain for 2018U-19 World Cup� Mumbai’s 18-year-old batsman Prithvi Shaw has

been named the captain of the Indian Under-19team for the 2018 U-19 World Cup

� The tournament is scheduled to be held in NewZealand starting January 13, 2018. This comesafter Shaw slammed three tons and two fifties infive Ranji Trophy matches this season. Punjab’sShubman Gill has been named as Shaw’s deputy.

Deepika Kumari Wins Bronze at IndoorArchery World Cup� India’s Deepika Kumari has won bronze medal

at the Indoor Archery World Cup Stage 2 thatconcluded in Bangkok, Thailand.

� Deepika, seeded third, defeated 13th seededSayana Tsyrempilova of Russia 7-3 in thewomen’s recurve bronze play-off.

India Wins First-Ever South Asian RegionalBadminton Team Championship� India has won the first-ever South Asian Regional

Badminton Team Championship. In the title clashplayed in Guwahati, India defeated Nepal, 3-0.

� In the boys’ singles competition Aryaman Tandondefeated Dipesh Dhami while Ashmita Chalihadefeated Rashila Maharjan in the Girls’ singlesevent.

� In Boys’ Doubles, the pair of Arintap Dasguptaand Krishna Prasad came back from a gamebehind to beat the duo of Dipesh Dhami andNabin Shrestha.

Kanchanmala Pande Wins India’s 1st WorldPara Swimming Championship Gold� Nagpur’s Kanchanmala Pande created history

as she became the first Indian to secure poleposition at the World Para-SwimmingChampionship in Mexico.

� The 26-year-old Reserve Bank of India employeewon gold in the 200 meter medley event in the S-11 category and was also the only Indian to qualifyfor the women’s category.

Cristiano Ronaldo Wins Ballon d’Or, EqualsLionel Messi’s Record� Cristiano Ronaldo (from Portugal) has won the

Ballon d’Or for a fifth time to move level withrival Lionel Messi. The Real Madrid forward wasnamed the winner of France Football’s prestigiousaward at a ceremony in Paris, France.

� The award caps a year in which Ronaldo haswon LaLiga, the Champions League and theSpanish Super Cup with Real Madrid, as well ashelping Portugal qualify for the 2018 World Cup.Messi, the only other player to have won theaward since 2008, finished second.

Indonesia Open Aquatic: Indian Diving Teamwins 6 Medals� Indian Diving Team won 1 Gold, 3 Silver and 2

Bronze Medals in Indonesia Open AquaticChampionship 2017. The five-day championshipconcluded recently in Indonesia’s Jakarta.

� More than 1,500 athletes from eight countries,participated in the 5 day event. At thechampionships, the diving category featuredathletes from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, thePhilippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Australia Beat Argentina to Win Gold inHockey World League Final


� Australia beat Argentina 2-1 in the final of theHockey World League Final (HWLF) to win goldat Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar, Odisha.Argentina beat India (who won bronze earlier)in the semifinals.

� Australia thus became champions for the secondtime in a row and will go down in internationalhockey history as the last team ever to winHockey World League Final.

India to Host 2021 Champions Trophy, 2023World Cup� India is all set to host the 2023 World Cup, the

global cricketing event’s 13th edition after theBCCI confirmed the host nation. India will alsohost the upcoming Champions Trophy in 2021.

� The ICC World Cup 2019 will be held in Englandand Wales. This will be the first time that theevent will be held entirely in India: the nation has,on three occasions previously, hosted the WorldCup partially (1987, 1996 and 2011).

Jitu Rai And Heena Sidhu Win Medals at AsianChampionships� Pistol aces Jitu Rai and Heena Sidhu bagged a

bronze each to continue India’s medal charge atthe 10th Asian Championship 10m Rifle/Pistol inWako City, Japan.

� ii. Jitu won an individual bronze in the men’s 10mAir Pistol, which also helped the Indian teamcomprising Shahzar Rizvi and Omkar Singhbesides Jitu, to bag the Team gold in the event.

� Heena claimed an individual bronze in thewomen’s 10m Air Pistol. Her effort, along withteammates Shri Nivetha Paramantham andHarveen Srao, helped the Team clinch a silver.

India Becomes 1st Ever Team to RegisterHundred 300+ ODI Totals� India has become the first-ever team to register

300+ totals 100 times in ODIs, after posting 392/4 against Sri Lanka in Mohali.

� This was also the 25th instance of India scoring350+ in an ODI innings, second-most by a teamafter South Africa (26). India was driven bycaptain Rohit Sharma’s 208*, his third ODIdouble hundred which is also a record in ODIs.

Shubhankar Sharma Wins Joburg Open� 21-year-old Indian Golfer Shubhankar Sharma

claimed his maiden European Tour victory in theJoburg Open, in South Africa. He has defeatedSouth Africa’s Erik Van Rooyen.

� This was a maiden European Tour win forShubhankar Sharma. England’s Marcus Armitage

was the top British finisher in Joburg.Lucknow’s Jitesh Singh Deo Named Mr. India2017� Jitesh Singh Deo from Lucknow was declared

the winner of the 2017 Mr. India pageant whichwas held in Mumbai. Indian footballerPrathamesh Maulingkar won the title of Mr. IndiaSupranational and will compete at Mr.Supranational 2018.

� Abhi Khajuria was declared the first-runner.Actress Kangana Ranaut felicitated the winners.Jitesh competed with 15 other contestants to grabthe coveted title.

Sachin Siwach Named ABC’s Best Youth Boxer� World youth champion Sachin Siwach was named

the Asian Boxing Confederation’s best youthboxer of the year 2017 after winning an onlinepoll conducted by the continental body. Siwachpolled 36.2 % votes in this category.

� Siwach claimed the Asian youth championshipssilver this year besides a gold at the YouthCommonwealth Games. India also fetched theBest Asian International Technical Official (ITO)award with Lenny D’Gama winning the onlinepoll. D’Gama polled 45.5%.

Sushil Kumar Clinches Gold at CommonwealthWrestling Championships� Double Olympic medalist Sushil Kumar clinched

a gold medal at the Commonwealth WrestlingChampionships in South Africa. Sushil defeatedNew Zealand’s Akash Khullar via a pinfall in thefinal of the 74kg freestyle category to clinch themedal.

PV Sindhu Wins Silver at Dubai WorldBadminton Superseries Finals� Top Indian shuttler P V Sindhu won the Silver

medal in women’s singles summit clash of theDubai World Super Series Final in Dubai. Shewent down fighting against World No. 2 AkaneYamaguchi of Japan.

Viswanathan Anand Wins World Rapid ChessChampionship� India’s ace chess player Viswanathan Anand

won the World Rapid Chess tournament title inSaudi Arabia by beating Russia’s VladimirFedoseev 2-0 in a two-game tie-break.

� Saudi Arabia hosted the world chess tournamentfor the first time. The women’s title was won byChina’s Ju Wenjun. Dronavalli Harika was thebest-placed Indian, finishing 19th.

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ICAN receives 2017 Nobel Peace Prize

� The Geneva-based International Campaign toAbolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) received the2017 Nobel Peace Prize at ceremony held inOslo, Norway. The award was received byBeatrice Fihn, leader of ICAN and Hiroshimanuclear bombing survivor Setsuko Thurlow.ICAN, a coalition of 468 grassroots non-governmental groups has been in forefront ofpushing for end to use of nuclear weaponsthrough United Nations Treaty on the Prohibitionof Nuclear Weapons adopted by 122 nations inJuly 2017.

2017 Sahitya Akademi Award winners

� India’s national academy of letters SahityaAcademy has announced names of 24 poets andauthors who will be conferred the prestigious2016 Sahitya Akademi Award in 24 differentIndian languages.

� The award has recognised premier works in 24Indian languages that includes seven novels, fivepoetries, five short stories, five literary criticism,and one play and one essay.

� The awards will be conferred during ceremonyto be held on 12 February 2018. The award isgiven for books published between January 2011and December 2015. It will include casketcontaining an engraved copper-plaque, a shawland a cheque of Rs 1 lakh.

Awardees are

· Essay: Jagdish Lachhani (Sindhi).

· Play: Rajen Toijamba (Manipuri)

· English: Mamang Dai for his novel The BlackHill.

· Hindi: Ramesh Kuntal Megh for his literarycriticism work Vishw Mithak Sarit Sagar.

· Sanskrit: Niranjan Mishra for his novelGangaputravadanam.

· Malayalam: KP Ramanunni for DaivathintePusthakam

· Punjabi: Nachhattar for his novel Slow Down.

· Poets: Udaya Narayana Singh (Maithili),Bhujanga Tudu (Santali), Shrikant Deshmukh(Marathi), Inqulab (Tamil) and Devipriya(Telugu).

· Short Stories: Autar Krishen Rahbar(Kashmiri), Shiv Mehta (Dogri), Gajanan Jog(Konkani), Gayatri Saraf (Odia) and Baig Ehsas(Urdu).

· Literary Criticism: Ramesh Kuntal Megh(Hindi), Urmi Ghanshyam Desai (Gujarati), TPAshoka (Kannada), Bina Hangkhim (Nepali)and Neeraj Daiya (Rajasthani).

Miss Korea Jenny Kim Crowned MissSupranational 2017

� The 24-year-old model and Miss Korea JennyKim has bagged the title of Miss Supranational2017 at the gala event, which was held inPoland’s Spa Resort of Krynica- Zdroj.

� Miss Columbia Tica Martinez and Romania’sBianca Tirsin were adjudged First Runner’s Upand the second runner-up in the event,respectively.

� India’s official entry to the competition, PedenOngmu Namgyal, reached top 25.

Syrian Boy Wins Children’s Peace Prize

� Sixteen-year-old Mohamad Al Jounde fromSyria was awarded the International Children’sPeace Prize for his efforts to ensure the rights ofSyrian refugee children.

� Al Jounde, a refugee of the Syrian civil war, setup a school together with his family in a Lebaneserefugee camp that currently provides 200children with education. Al Jounde received theprize from Malala Yousafzai, who won the NobelPeace Prize in 2014 for her work for children’srights.

Mo Farah Wins BBC’s Sports Personality ofthe Year Award


� World 10,000m champion Sir Mo Farah hasbeen voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year2017. The 34-year-old, a four-time Olympicchampion, won his third successive world10,000m gold medal in London in August.

� He becomes the first long-distance runner to winthe Sports Personality award since PaulaRadcliffe in 2002.

Satheesh Reddy Conferred with NationalDesign Award

� G. Satheesh Reddy, Scientific Adviser to RakshaMantri and Director General, Missiles andStrategic Systems, has been conferred with theprestigious National Design Award.

� He has bagged this award for his significantnational contribution towards indigenous designand development of diversified missile systems,guided weapons, avionics technologies.

Bengali Poet Joy Goswami to Get 31stMoortidevi Award

� Eminent Bengali poet Joy Goswami will be giventhe 31st Moortidevi Award for the year 2017.The committee, headed by poet and scholarSatya Vrat Shastri, unanimously decided toconfer the award upon Goswami for his poetry

collection titled Du Dondo Phowara Matro.

� It is the first time the award will be given to aBengali poet. The award consists of a SaraswatiStatue, a Citation Plaque and cash award ofRupees 4 lakh.

Winners of Zee Cine Awards 2018

� Best actor male- Varun Dhawan for BadrinathKi Dulhania.

� Best actor female- Sridevi for Mom.

� Best director- Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari for BareillyKi Barfi.

� Best film- Golmaal Again.

� Extraordinary franchisee award- Baahubali.

� Global icon award- Priyanka Chopra.

� Best script award- Nitesh Tiwari for BareillyKi Barfi.

� Best music director- Amit Trivedi for SecretSuperstar.

� Best male playback Singer- Akhil Sachdevafor Humsafar.

� Best action director- Sham Kaushal forKaabil.

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1. Which city hosted the 15th edition of theHindustan Times Leadership Summit (HTLS)?[A] Panaji [B] Jaipur[C] New Delhi [D] Pune

2. Which film has won the Golden Peacock awardfor the Best Film at the International Film Festivalof India (IFFI-2017)?[A] 120 Beats Per Minute [B] Take Off[C] Angels Wear White [D] Dark Skull

3. Who has inaugurated the 7th edition of ‘Kathakar– International Storytellers Festival?[A] Ram Nath Kovind[B] Kiren Rijiju[C] Narendra Modi[D] Amit Shah

4. The combined military exercise “Ajeya Warrior-2017” has started between India and whichcountry?[A] United States [B] Germany[C] Malaysia [D] United Kingdom

5. Saraswati Tripathy, who passed away recently,was the prominent Gandhian and freedom fighterof which state?[A] Odisha [B] Assam[C] Uttar Pradesh [D] Kerala

6. The 18th Hornbill festival 2017 has started inwhich state?[A] Manipur [B] Nagaland[C] Tripura [D] Assam

7. Who has been appointed as the new Secretary-General of Lok Sabha?[A] Kedarnath Gupta [B] Kirti Shah[C] Snehlata Shrivastava [D] Anoop Mishra

8. What is the theme of 2017 World AIDS day(WAD)?[A] Getting to Zero: Zero new HIV infections[B] Leave no one behind[C] Universal Access and Human Rights[D] Right to health

9. The Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary (AWS) islocated in which state/UT?[A] Puducherry [B] Karnataka[C] Punjab [D] Assam

10. Who has won the Best Actor Female Award atthe 48th International Film Festival of India(IFFI-2017)?

[A] Sumitra Bhave

[B] Ruchi Narain

[C] Gautami Tadimalla

[D] Parvathy Thiruvoth Kottuvatta

11. Jenny Kim has been crowned Miss Supranational2017. She hails from which country?

[A] Serbia [B] Thailand

[C] Ethiopia [D] South Korea

12. Who was the chief guest of the Shared ValueSummit (SVS-2017) in New Delhi?

[A] Suresh Prabhu [B] Narendra Modi[C] Smriti Irani [D] Rajnath Singh

13. Who has been sworn-in as the new Presidentof Republic of Kenya?

[A] Abduba Dida [B] William Ruto[C] Uhuru Kenyatta[D] Raila Odinga

14. What is the theme of the 2017 International Dayof Persons with Disabilities?

[A] Decent Work for Persons with Disabilities[B] Transformation towards sustainable andresilient society for all

[C] A Voice of our Own

[D] Making information technologies work for all

15. Which country to host ministerial meeting of UNSecurity Council (UNSC) on North Korea’ nuclearefforts?

[A] Japan [B] United States

C] Russia [D] France

16. Which state government will set up the world’sfirst IT Campus for differently-abled persons?

[A] Uttar Pradesh [B] Telangana

[C] Punjab [D] Odisha

17. Who has been appointed as the new CEO andMD of Infosys?

[A] Pravin Rao [B] Vishal Sikka[C] S. D. Shibulal [D] Salil S Parekh


18. Who has been resigned as the national observerfor Indian boxing?

[A] Akhil Kumar

[B] M C Mary Kom

[C] Vikas Krishan Yadav

[D] Mandeep Jangra19. The 2017 Konark Dance Festival has started in

which state?[A] Andhra Pradesh [B] Odisha[C] Kerala [D] Karnataka

20. India has recently re-elected to the Council ofthe International Maritime Organisation (IMO).Where is the headquarters of IMO?[A] New York [B] Berlin[C] London [D] Warsaw

21. Which city is hosting the first Internationalexhibition and Conference on AYUSH andWellness sector “AROGYA 2017”?[A] Pune [B] Jaipur[C] New Delhi [D] Lucknow

22. Which Indian athlete has won bronze at 2017Indoor Archery World Cup Stage 2 tournament?[A] Ankita Bhakat[B] Nivetha Ganesan[C] Laishram Bombayla Devi[D] Deepika Kumari

23. The Indian Navy Day (IND) is celebrated onwhich date?[A] December 10 [B] December 4[C] December 6 [D] December 8

24. Which two countries have launched joint air drillexercise “Vigilant Ace-2017”?[A] South Korea and the United States[B] Japan and the United States[C] Japan and the United Kingdom[D] South Korea and Japan

25. Who will lead India in ICC Under-19 CricketWorld Cup 2018?[A] Riyan Parag [B] Himanshu Rana[C] Shubman Gill [D] Prithvi Shaw

26. India’s first Madame Tussauds Wax Museumhas officially opened for public in which city?[A] Mumbai [B] Chennai[C] New Delhi [D] Pune

27. Who is leading the Indian delegation at theInternational conference on climate change inNepal?[A] Jayant Narlikar [B] V K Saraswat[C] C. N. R. Rao [D] Soumya Swaminathan

28. Which city to host World Telugu Conference(WTC-2017?)[A] Chennai [B] Kochi[C] Hyderabad [D] Visakhapatnam

29. Which state assembly has passed Kapureservation bill for 5% quota to community?[A] Andhra Pradesh[B] Telangana[C] Kerala [D] Tamil Nadu

30. The Rollapadu Wildlife Sanctuary (RWS) islocated in which state/UT?[A] Odisha[B] Manipur[C] Himachal Pradesh[D] Andhra Pradesh

31. Which state is hosting the 6th InternationalTourism Mart 2017?[A] Tripura [B] Assam[C] Nagaland [D] Punjab

32. Which district of Uttar Pradesh has beenincluded in the National Capital Region (NCR)?[A] Shamli district [B] Saharanpur district[C] Jaunpur district [D] Bijnor district

33. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) hasapproved how much fund for RelianceBangladesh Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)?[A] $683 million [B] $483 million[C] $583 million [D] $783 million

34. What is the theme of the 2017 World Soil Day(WSD)?[A] Soil day for future life[B] Soils & Pulses: Symbiosis for life[C] Healthy soils for a healthy life[D] Caring for the Planet starts from the Ground

35. India’s largest floating solar power plant hasopened in which state?[A] Kerala [B] Karnataka[C] Odisha [D] Andhra Pradesh

36. Which country has recently withdrawn fromUnited Nations’ Global Compact on Migration?[A] United Kingdom [B] South Korea[C] United States [D] Japan


37. Who is the newly appointed President of NationalRestaurant Association of India (NRAI)?[A] Zorawar Kalra [B] Rahul Singh[C] Kiran Visvas [D] Gautam Krishnakutty

38. Which city is hosting the 22nd conference ofAsian Harmonization Working Party (AHWP)?[A] New Delhi [B] Lucknow[C] Kochi [D] Nagpur

39. Which country has launched new virtualcurrency “Petro”?[A] South Africa [B] Japan[C] Venezuela [D] Indonesia

40. The Jessore Sloth Bear Sanctuary (JSBS) islocated in which state/UT?[A] Andaman and Nicobar Islands[B] Karnataka[C] Gujarat[D] Puducherry

41. Which country’s team has won the 2017 SouthAsian Regional Badminton Team Championship?[A] Sri Lanka [B] India[C] Myanmar [D] Nepal

42. Adithyan, who passed away recently, was thenoted personality of which field?[A] Music [B] Politics[C] Journalism [D] Sports

43. Which state has become the India’s first stateto endorse Centre’s triple talaq draft bill?[A] Punjab [B] Kerala[C] Uttar Pradesh [D] Tamil Nadu

44. Which state government will launch ‘Guru-Shishya’ programme in all districts of the state?[A] Rajasthan [B] Uttar Pradesh[C] Madhya Pradesh [D] Odisha

45. What is the current repo rate in the 5th bi-monthly Monetary Policy Review (MPR) of RBIfor 2017-18?[A] 6.25% [B] 5.75%[C] 6.7% [D] 6.0%

46. Which state assembly has passed a Bill awardingdeath to those found guilty of raping girls aged12 and below?[A] Karnataka [B] Odisha[C] Bihar [D] Madhya Pradesh

47. The Jambughoda Wildlife Sanctuary (JWS) islocated in which state/UT?

[A] Nagaland [B] Haryana

[C] Gujarat [D] Telangana

48. Mohamad Al Jounde has been honoured withthe International Children’s Peace Prize 2017.He hails from which country?

[A] United Arab Emirates [B] Syria[C] Liberia [D] Philippines

49. Which Indian cricketer has launched UNICEF-ICC’s adolescent campaign “Power of Sportsto Shape the Future of Adolescents”?

[A] Yuvraj Singh [B] Virat Kohli

[C] M S Dhoni [D] Sachin Tendulkar

50. Michael I, who passed away recently, was theformer King of which country?

[A] Germany [B] Venezuela

[C] Italy [D] Romania

51. India and which country has recently signedMoU for cooperation in agriculture andphytosanitary issues?

[A] Japan [B] Australia

[C] Malaysia [D] Italy

52. The 2017 Armed Forces Flag Day is celebratedon which date in India?

[A] December 6 [B] December 8[C] December 7 [D] December 9

53. Which committee has been set up by the NationalCommission for Minorities to study minoritystatus for Hindus in 7 states and a UnionTerritory?

[A] Syed Ghayorul Hasan committee[B] George Kurien committee

[C] Ashwini Upadhyaya committee

[D] P Gir Das committee

54. Which of the following has been recognized byUNESCO as India’s Intangible Cultural Heritageof Humanity in 2017?

[A] Ramman [B] Kumbh Mela[C] Sankirtana [D] Mudiyettu

55. The Koderma Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS) islocated in which state/UT?

[A] Jharkhand [B] Gujarat

[C] Odisha [D] Manipur


56. Who has been named Person of the Year for2017 by the Time magazine?

[A] The Whistleblowers

[B] The Protesters

[C] The Dreamers

[D] The Silence Breakers

57. The BR Ambedkar International Centre hasrecently launched in which city?

[A] Pune [B] Indore

[C] New Delhi [D] Lucknow

58. Which country to host the 46th Congress of theInternational Hockey Federation (FIH-2018)?

[A] India [B] Spain

[C] Netherlands [D] Germany

59. Gurdeep Singh is associated with which sports?

[A] Boxing [B] Table Tennis[C] Weightlifting [D] Chess

60. India and which country has recently signedMoU for enhanced cooperation in the healthsector?

[A] Seychelles [B] Cuba

[C] South Africa [D] Mauritius

61. Which city is hosting the first InternationalConference on Sports Medicine & SportsSciences “SAICON 2017”?

[A] New Delhi [B] Guwahati

[C] Patna [D] Jaipur

62. Kanchanmala Pande has become the first Indianto win gold at the World Para SwimmingChampionship 2017. She hails from which state?

[A] Kerala [B] Maharashtra

[C] Karnataka [D] Odisha

63. Who has been appointed as the newAmbassador of India to Turkmenistan?

[A] Gajendra Singh Shekhawat

[B] Azar A.H.Khan

[C] N K Singh

[D] Arvind Mehta

64. Who has won the 2017 Ballon d’Or award forthe year’s best player?

[A] Lionel Messi [B] Gianluigi Buffon[C] Luka Modric [D] Cristiano Ronaldo

65. The Darrah National Park (DNP) is located inwhich state/UT?

[A] Maharashtra [B] Odisha

[C] Rajasthan [D] Punjab

66. Which union ministry has signed MoU withRotary India to achieve immunization target?

[A] Ministry of Rural Development

[B] Ministry of Health & Family Welfare

[C] Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation[D] Ministry of Panchayati Raj

67. Which country has officially recognizedJerusalem as the capital of Israel?

[A] United Kingdom [B] Germany[C] United States [D] Japan

68. Who has been chosen for the 27th edition ofVyas Samman-2017?

[A] Vishwanath Tripathi

[B] Mamta Kalia

[C] Surinder Verma

[D] Mannu Bhandari

69. Which country to host 7th International GroundWater Conference (IGWC-2017) on groundwater Vision 2030?

[A] India [B] Venezuela

[C] Sri Lanka [D] Australia

70. Which Indian monument has been named 2ndbest UNESCO world heritage site in the world,as per new survey of travel portal TripAdvisor?

[A] Red Fort [B] Char Minar

[C] Taj Mahal [D] Ajanta Caves

71. Which union ministry has signed agreement withGerman firm GIZ for technical cooperation intransport projects?

[A] Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation[B] Ministry of Rural Development

[C] Ministry of Road Transport and Highways[D] Ministry of Housing and Urban AffairsMinistry

72. Raffaele Bergamasco, who has been appointedPerformance Director for women’s boxing inIndia, hails from which country?

[A] Italy [B] Germany

[C] Japan [D] Russia


73. Which country has become the 42nd participatingState of Wassenaar Arrangement?

[A] Japan [B] Latvia

[C] India [D] Australia

74. The Satpura National Park (SNP) is located inwhich district of Madhya Pradesh?

[A] Jabalpur district [B] Hoshangabad district[C] Indore district [D] Chhindwara district

75. Kacheguda railway station has declared theIndia’s first Energy-Efficient ‘A1 Category’Railway Station. It is situated in which city?

[A] Hyderabad [B] Chennai

[C] Kochi [D] Kolkata

76. What is the theme of the 2017 World HumanRights Day (WHRD)?

[A] Stand up for someone’s rights today

[B] Stand Up for Human Rights

[C] Our Rights, Our Freedoms, Always

[D] Let’s stand up for equality, justice and humandignity

77. Which city to host the ASEAN India ConnectivitySummit (AICS)?

[A] New Delhi [B] Indore

[C] Kanpur [D] Jaipur

78. The 2017 Aadivasi Mahotsav has started inwhich state?

[A] Odisha [B] Chhattisgarh

[C] Kerala [D] Manipur

79. India’s first mobile food testing lab has launchedin which state?

[A] Punjab [B] Maharashtra

[C] Goa [D] Uttar Pradesh

80. Which country is hosting the “Bodhi Parva:BIMSTEC Festival of Buddhist Heritage”?

[A] Nepal [B] China

[C] Myanmar [D] India

81. Mehuli Ghosh, who has secured her women’squota place for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games(YOG), is associated with which sports?

[A] Boxing [B] Wrestling

[C] Sprint [D] Shooting

82. Lalji Singh, the father of Indian DNAfingerprinting has passed away. He hailed fromwhich state?

[A] Uttar Pradesh [B] Karnataka

[C] Kerala [D] Odisha

83. Alappuzha has been included in top 5 global citiesby the UNEP list to successfully manage solidwaste. It is located in which state?

[A] Goa [B] Kerala

[C] Tamil Nadu [D] Karnataka

84. Which union minister has launched a publicprocurement portal ‘MSME Sambandh’ forMSMEs?

[A] Suresh Prabhu

[B] Arun Jaitley

[C] D. V. Sadananda Gowda

[D] Giriraj Singh

85. UN Women in collaboration with which socialnetworking site launched ‘We The Women’event in Mumbai?

[A] Twitter [B] Skype

[C] Facebook [D] Instagram

86. India has been declared free from trachoma,which is a contagious bacterial infection of whichpart of human body?

[A] Nose [B] Ear [C] Eye [D] Neck

87. Who is leading the Indian delegation at the 11thMinisterial conference of the World TradeOrganization (WTO)?

[A] Sushma Swaraj

[B] Radha Mohan Singh

[C] Narendra Singh Tomar

[D] Suresh Prabhu

88. The Palpur-Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary (PKWLS)is located in which district of Madhya Pradesh?

[A] Balaghat district[B] Hoshangabad district[C] Sheopur district [D] Balaghat district

89. The Union Government has sanctioned howmuch amount for setting up a LiquefiedPetroleum Gas (LPG) bottling plant inMeghalaya?

[A] Rs. 65 crore [B] Rs. 85 crore[C] Rs. 95 crore [D] Rs. 75 crore


90. Which country’s team has clinched bronze atthe Hockey World League (HWL-2017)tournament?

[A] India [B] Germany[C] Nepal [D] Italy

91. Saurabh Chaudhary, who secured men’s quotaplace for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games (YOG),is associated with which sport?[A] Boxing [B] Wrestling[C] Shooting [D] Sprint

92. Which Indian sportsperson has clinched bronzein the women’s 10m Air Pistol event at the 10thAsian Championship 10m Rifle/Pistol in Japan?[A] Heena Sidhu[B] Shri Nivetha Paramantham[C] Harveen Srao[D] Manu Bhaker

93. Sukharanjan Sengupta, who passed awayrecently, was associated with which field?[A] Politics [B] Journalism[C] Film Industry [D] Law

94. Which union minister has launched the first NIC-CERT to prevent and predict cyber attacks ongovernment utilities?[A] Narendra Modi[B] Arun Jaitley[C] Ravi Shankar Prasad[D] D. V. Sadananda Gowda

95. The 54th meeting of SAARC programmingcommittee has started in which country?[A] India [B] Sri Lanka[C] Myanmar [D] Nepal

96. Who will be the chief guest at the valedictoryfunction of the World Telugu Conference (WTC-2017)?[A] Ramnath Kovind[B] M Venkaiah Naidu[C] Narendra Modi[D] Amit Shah

97. Which new initiative has been launched by theUnion Health Ministry on Universal HealthCoverage Day (UHCD)?[A] Saubhagya [B] Laqshya[C] Aarambh [D] Sagar

98. The Madhav National Park (MNP) is located inwhich district of Madhya Pradesh?

[A] Shivpuri district [B] Hoshangabad district[C] Sheopur district [D] Balaghat district

99. The Universal Health Coverage Day (UHCD)is observed on which date?


100. Which country’s team has clinched gold at theHockey World League (HWL-2017)tournament?

[A] Argentina [B] Italy

[C] Japan [D] Australia

101. Who has officially launched the new multi-coloured logo for the Allahabad Kumbh Mela2019?

[A] Ram Naik

[B] Yogi Adityanath

C] Narendra Modi

[D] Ram Nath Kovind

102. What is the India’s GDP growth forecast for2018, according to United Nations ‘WorldEconomic Situation and Prospects 2018’report?

[A] 6.7% [B] 7.2%

[C] 7.4% [D] 7.6%

103. Gurdev Singh Gill is associated with whichsports?

[A] Boxing [B] Wrestling

[C] Football [D] Hockey

104. Who has been appointed as the new ExecutiveDirector of Reserve Bank of India (RBI)?

[A] Uma Shankar

[B] Meena Hemchandra

[C] Deepali Pant Joshi

[D] BP Kanungo

105. The Bandhavgarh National Park (UNP) islocated in which district of Madhya Pradesh?

[A] Hoshangabad district [B] Satna district[C] Shivpuri district [D] Umaria district


106. Which state government has decided torecognise political prisoners held in jails duringemergency as ‘Loktantra Sainani’?

[A] Odisha

[B] Uttar Pradesh

[C] Madhya Pradesh

[D] Rajasthan

107. What is the theme of the 90th AGM ofFederation of Indian Chamber of Commerceand Industry (FICCI)?

[A] Indian Scenario for GST

[B] Indian Business in a New India

[C] Indian Industry & its effects

[D] Indian Business after Demonetization

108. Where is the headquarters of the DredgingCorporation of India (DCI)?

[A] New Delhi [B] Hyderabad

[C] Visakhapatnam [D] Chennai

109. Which state government has launched “SafeCity Surveillance” scheme for checking crimeagainst women at public places?

[A] Bihar [B] Rajasthan

[C] Punjab [D] Tamil Nadu

110. India’s first Electronic Manufacturing Cluster(EMC) will come up in which state?

[A] Telangana [B] Andhra Pradesh[C] Manipur [D] Kerala

111. OBOPAY has recently secured PPI licensefrom the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Whatdoes “PPI” stands for?

[A] Postpaid Payment Instrument

[B] Prepaid Payment Instruction

[C] Postpaid Payment Instruction

[D] Prepaid Payment Instrument

112. Which country hosted the 2nd secondUNWTO/UNESCO World Conference onTourism and Culture?

[A] India [B] Israel

[C] Oman [D] China

113. Neeraj Vora, who passed away recently, wasassociated with which field?

[A] Politics [B] Film Industry[C] Law [D] Journalism

114. The 2017 National Energy Conservation Day(NECD) is celebrated on which date in India?


115. What is the India’s rank in the 2017 LegatumProsperity Index (GPI)?

[A] 100th [B] 149th

[C] 111th [D] 104th

116. The Kanha Tiger Reserve (KTR) is located inwhich state/UT of India?

[A] Karnataka

[B] Madhya Pradesh

[C] Andaman and Nicobar Islands

[D] Odisha

117. Which state government will launch a digitalplatform “Seva Sindhu” for hassle-freegovernance?

[A] Odisha [B] Kerala

[C] Karnataka [D] Tamil Nadu

118. Buddhist monk Dhammapiya has elected asthe new secretary general of the InternationalBuddhist Confederation (IBC). He is fromwhich Indian state?

[A] Manipur [B] Arunachal Pradesh[C] Sikkim [D] Tripura

119. Which state has become the India’s first stateto offer free e-mail address in Hindi to itsresidents?

[A] Rajasthan

[B] Uttar Pradesh

[C] Madhya Pradesh

[D] Jharkhand

120. Who has been elected the new chairman ofthe Broadcast Audience Research Council(BARC) India?

[A] Subhash Chandra Garg

[B] Chetan Chauhan

[C] Nakul Chopra

[D] Sudhanshu Vats


121. Which Indian city is hosting the 3rd edition ofWorld Telugu Conference (WTC-2017)?

[A] Hyderabad [B] Amravati

[C] Kochi [D] Chennai

122. The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) of NITIAayog has launched the Atal Tinkering Lab’sCommunity Day in which city?

[A] Lucknow [B] New Delhi

[C] Gwalior [D] Indore

123. The 4th India-Australia-Japan TrilateralDialogue was hosted by which Indian secretaryin New Delhi?

[A] Pradeep Kumar Sinha

[B] Rajiv Gauba

[C] Subrahmanyam Jaishankar

[D] Basant Pratap Singh

124. Jitesh Singh Deo has won the title of PeterEngland Mr India 2017. He hails from whichstate?

[A] Odisha [B] Rajasthan

[C] Maharashtra [D] Uttar Pradesh

125. Which country is hosting the World Conferenceon Vedas?

[A] India [B] Nepal

[C] Sri Lanka [D] Bangladesh

126. Which country has become the world’s firstcountry to end national radio broadcasts on FMnetwork?

[A] Switzerland [B] Norway

[C] Denmark [D] Britain

127. India has signed how much amount of loanagreement with the World Bank (WB) forSANKALP project?

[A] $350 million [B] $450 million

[C] $250 million [D] $550 million

128. Which country to host the 3rd Annual Meetingof the Board of Governors of AsianInfrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)?

[A] China [B] South Africa[C] Brazil [D] India

129. The Tuirial Hydroelectric Power Project(HEPP) is located in which state?

[A] Andhra Pradesh [B] Tripura[C] Mizoram [D] Sikkim

130. The Rajbari National Park (RNP) is located inwhich state of India?

[A] Nagaland [B] Rajasthan

[C] Odisha [D] Tripura

131. Which of the following is the official emblemfor Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games?

[A] Winter Dream[B] Flight

[C] Nature [D] Yoggl

132. Which country has recently declared polio-freecountry by the World Health Organization(WHO)?

[A] Pakistan [B] Gabon

[C] Afghanistan [D] Nigeria

133. The Gita Research Institute will come up inwhich city of Uttar Pradesh?

[A] Varanasi [B] Jhansi

[C] Agra [D] Mathura

134. The Lakh Bahosi Sanctuary (LBS) is locatedin which state of India?

[A] Madhya Pradesh

[B] Odisha

[C] Uttar Pradesh

[D] Jharkhand

135. Which state government has launched India’sfirst social audit law?

[A] Meghalaya [B] Maharashtra[C] Jharkhand [D] Kerala

136. Who is the newly appointed director of NationalInstitute of Nutrition (NIN)?

[A] Diksha Jain [B] R Hemalatha[C] Kirti Chandra [D] Atul Dubey

137. The 2017 Vijay Diwas is observed on whichdate on India?


138. The Union Cabinet has recently approvedagreement with UNESCO on establishment ofInternational Training Centre for OperationalOceanography. The centre will set up in whichcity?

[A] New Delhi [B] Hyderabad

[C] Chennai [D] Lucknow


139. The 8th edition of bilateral military exercise“EKUVERIN 2017” has started betweenIndia and which country?

[A] Japan [B] Sri Lanka

[C] Nepal [D] Maldives140. Where is the headquarters of National Disaster

Management Authority (NDMA)?[A] New Delhi [B] Kanpur[C] Kochi [D] Dehradun

141. India has recently signed a MoU with whichcountry for enhanced cooperation inhealthcare?[A] Malaysia [B] Indonesia[C] Chile [D] Morocco

142. Eastern India’s first compressed natural gas(CNG) stations for scooters has launched inwhich state?[A] Assam [B] Manipur[C] Odisha [D] Nagaland

143. What is the theme of the 2017 InternationalMigrants Day (IMD)?[A] Together with Migration[B] Safe Migration in a World on the Move[C] Co-operate with your Co-workers[D] Migrants contribute

144. Which country has largest diaspora populationin the world, according to the UN WorldMigration Report 2018?[A] India [B] Mexico[C] Russia[D] Bangladesh

145. The Indian Institute of Pulses Research (IIPR)is located in which state?[A] Uttar Pradesh [B] Madhya Pradesh[C] Gujarat [D] Punjab

146. Which state government has signed anagreement with Alphabet InC.’s X for Fibergrid project?[A] Uttar Pradesh [B] Odisha[C] Jharkhand [D] Andhra Pradesh

147. Which Indian shuttler has won silver at the 2017women’s singles Dubai World BadmintonSuperseries tournament?[A] Saina Nehwal[B] P.V. Sindhu[C] Sri Krishna Priya Kudaravalli[D] Saili Rane

148. Sushil Kumar has clinched gold at whichfreestyle category in the 2017 CommonwealthWrestling Championships (CWC) in SouthAfrica.[A] 64kg freestyle category[B] 84kg freestyle category[C] 74kg freestyle category[D] 54kg freestyle category

149. Who has won the 2017 presidential election ofChile?[A] Sebastian Pinera[B] Ricardo Lagos[C] Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle[D] Michelle Bachelet

150. The Gautam Budha Wildlife Sanctuary(GBWS) is located in which of the followingstates?[A] Bihar and Jharkhand[B] Bihar and Uttar Pradesh[C] Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand[D] West Bengal and Jharkhand

151. Mo Farah has won the 2017 BBC SportsPersonality of the Year Award. He hails fromwhich country?[A] Britain [B] South Africa[C] Morocco [D] Australia

152. Who has been chosen for the 31st MoortideviAward – 2017?[A] Vishwanath Tripathi[B] Joy Goswami[C] M. P. Veerendra Kumar[D] Kolakaluri Enoch

153. Samsung India has signed pact with whichInternational organisation to launch VR contentand 360-degree videos on Indian heritage sites?[A] UNISDR [B] UNESCO[C] UNIDO [D] UNICEF

154. The Union government has engaged whichprivate sector bank to enable cashlesspayments on e-NAM?[A] ICICI Bank [B] HDFC Bank[C] Axis Bank [D] Federal Bank

155. The Union government will bear how muchamount of MDR charges to promote digitaltransactions?[A] Rs 10,000 [B] Rs 1,000[C] Rs 2,000 [D] Rs 5,000


156. Who has been conferred with the prestigiousNational Design Award?

[A] Jyoti Dubey [B] Kanchan Gupta[C] Mrinal Saxena [D] G. Satheesh Reddy

157. The 56th Liberation Day of Goa is celebratedon which date in India?


158. The Union Ministry of Skill Development andEntrepreneurship has signed a Mou with whichautomobile company to impart skill training?

[A] Chinkara Motors

[B] Tata Motors

[C] Maruti Suzuki

[D] San Motors

159. The Losar Festival has started in which regionof Jammu and Kashmir?

[A] Baramulla [B] Kathua

[C] Anantnag [D] Ladakh

160. Which country to host meeting of WTOmember countries in February on food securityand other issues?

[A] Japan [B] United States

[C] Australia [D] India

161. Which state government has recently signedan MoU with Isha Foundation to rejuvenateits rivers?

[A] Odisha [B] Uttar Pradesh[C] Madhya Pradesh [D] Assam

162. India has signed how much amount of financingagreement with the World Bank for StriveProject?



163. The Joda East Iron Mine (JEIM) has beenhonoured with the 2017 Golden PeacockInnovation Management Award. Who is thehonour of JEIM?

[A] Hindalco Industries

[B] Tata Steel

[C] Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd

[D] Jindal Steel

164. Bhavesh Kattamani, who was awarded thebest boxer trophy in the 2017 International SvenLange Memorial Tournament, was related towhich weight category?

[A] 52kg [B] 63kg

[C] 60kg [D] 70kg

165. Aakarshi Kashyap is associated with whichsports?

[A] Badminton [B] Wrestling

[C] Boxing [D] Table Tennis

166. Project Mausam is the initiative of which unionministry?

[A] Ministry of Panchayati Raj

[B] Ministry of Culture

[C] Ministry of Human Resource Development[D] Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

167. The Adichunchanagiri Wildlife Sanctuary(AWS) is located in which state/UT?

[A] Andaman and Nicobar Islands

[B] Lakshadweep

[C] Karnataka

[D] Puducherry

168. The Southern Command of Indian Army areconducting a major army exercise ‘HameshaVijayee-2017’ in which state?

[A] Punjab [B] Kerala

[C] Gujarat [D] Rajasthan

169. The Mumbai Metropolitan RegionDevelopment Authority (MMRDA) has signedan agreement with which Metro RailCorporation for developing Metro-6 corridor?

[A] Chennai Metro Rail Limited

[B] Delhi Metro Rail Corporation

[C] Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation[D] Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation

170. Who has been appointed acting chairpersonof National Green Tribunal (NGT)?

[A] U D Salvi [B] Mohit Seth

[C] Madan B Lokur [D] B M Raikar

171. Javed Shaikh has named in the panel ofumpires for the 2018 Hockey World Cup. Hehails from which country?

[A] India [ B] Pakistan

[C] Bangladesh [D] Myanmar


172. Which city is hosting the 17th Indian ScienceCommunication Congress (ISCC-2017)?[A] Chennai [B] New Delhi[C] Cuttack [D] Agartala

173. India’s first-ever National Rail and TransportUniversity (NRTU) will set up in which state?[A] Rajasthan [B] Odisha[C] Karnataka [D] Gujarat

174. Which Indian city has been ranked 7th in mostexpensive office locations list, according tolatest JLL India Report 2017?[A] Mumbai [B] Kolkata[C] Delhi [D] Jaipur

175. Which Indian personality has won the Globalicon award at the Zee Cine Awards 2018?[A] Priyanka Chopra[B] Katrina Kaif[C] Amitabh Bachchan[D] Akshay Kumar

176. Which country’s parliament has recentlyapproved a law banning all exploration andproduction of oil and natural gas by 2040?[A] Germany [B] France[C] Belgium [D] Brazil

177. The Union Government has recently givenenvironmental clearance for Kaleshwaram LiftIrrigation Scheme (KLIS). The KLIS isassociated with which state?[A] Andhra Pradesh [B] Kerala[C] Telangana [D] Odisha

178. India and which country has recently signedpact for socio-economic development ofRakhine State?[A] Nepal [B] Bangladesh[C] Sri Lanka [D] Myanmar

179. The National Rice Research Institute (NRRI)is located in which state?[A] Kerala [B] West Bengal[C] Odisha [D] Andhra Pradesh

180. Who has been crowned Miss India USA 2017?[A] Kavita Malhotra Pattani[B] Shree Saini[C] Prachi Singh[D] Swapna Mannam

181. Who is the lone Indian woman cricketer tofeature in both the ICC’s ODI & T20I teamsof the year?[A] Ekta Bisht [B] Harmanpreet Kaur[C] Mithali Raj [D] Jhulan Goswami

182. Mamang Dai has won the 2017 SahityaAkademi Award in English language. She hailsfrom which state?[A] Tripura [B] Arunachal Pradesh[C] West Bengal [D] Nagaland

183. India has signed agreement with which countryto share tax-related information from Jan2018?[A] Bahrain [B] Tunisia[C] Switzerland [D] Trinidad and Tobago

184. Which union minister has launched ITmodernisation project “DARPAN” to improvelevel of postal services for rural customers?[A] Narendra Modi[B] D. V. Sadananda Gowda[C] Narendra Singh Tomar[D] Manoj Sinha

185. Who has won the 2017 Sahitya AkademiAward in Hindi language?[A] Ramesh Kuntal Megh[B] Chaman Lal[C] Mulk Raj Anand[D] Mahmood Ahmad Sahar

186. The 2017 bilateral naval exercise “Naseem-Al-Bahr” has started between India & whichcountry?[A] Palestine [B] Oman[C] Egypt [D] Qatar

187. Which program has been launched by theUnion Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) tobring Indian foreign policy to students acrossthe country?[A] SAMVARTI [B] SAMVEDA[C] SAMPARK [D] SAMEEP

188. India’s first and only design university “WorldUniversity of Design (WUD)” has opened inwhich state?[A] Punjab [B] Tamil Nadu[C] Haryana [D] Odisha


189. Which city has been officially selected to hostthe 2022 Commonwealth Games?

[A] New Delhi [B] Birmingham[C] London [D] Durban

190. Which country has topped the list of Forbes’best countries for business 2018?

[A] New Zealand [B] United Kingdom[C] Sweden [D] Canada

191. The Union Government has launched whichproject at Ganga Gram Swachata Sammelan(GGSS-2017)?

[A] Namami Gange

[B] Gange Swachata Abhiyan

[C] Gange Mahadev

[D] Ganga Gram

192. The 2nd edition of Iranshah Udvada Utsav(IUU-2017) has started in which state?

[A] Maharashtra [B] Rajasthan

[C] Gujarat [D] Arunachal Pradesh

193. Which city hosted the 32nd Indian EngineeringCongress (IEC-2017)?

[A] New Delhi [B] Chennai

[C] Kolkata [D] Kochi

194. The Parvati Arga Bird Sanctuary (PABS) islocated in which of the following states?

[A] Uttar Pradesh [B] Madhya Pradesh[C] Bihar [D] Jharkhand

195. Jatilshwar Mukhopadhyay, the renownedsinger has passed away. He hailed from whichstate?

[A] West Bengal [B] Odisha

[C] Assam [D] Goa

196. Who has taken charge as new Director General(DG) of National Cadet Corps (NCC)?

[A] BS Negi [B] Manoj Kumar Unni[C] N.P.S. Hira [D] B S Sahrawat

197. Who has been appointed as the newAmbassador of India to the Republic of Peru?

[A] Jaideep Sarkar

[B] M. Subbarayudu

[C] T.P. Seetharam

[D] Navtej Sarna

198. The 2017 National Mathematics Day (NMD)is celebrated on which date in India?


199. Which state to host the 7th edition of the IndiaInternational Coffee Festival (IICF-2018)?

A] Karnataka [B] Kerala

[C] Odisha [D] Sikkim

200. The 2017 National Farmers day (NFD) iscelebrated on which date in India?


201. Which country has launched the world’s largestamphibious aircraft “AG600”?

[A] China [B] Norway

[C] Japan [D] New Zealand

202. Who has been sworn-in as the new ChiefMinister of Himachal Pradesh?

[A] Suresh Bharadwaj

[B] Mahender Singh

[C] Jairam Thakur

[D] Neeraj Nayyar

203. India’s first-ever broad gauge air-conditionedAC EMU suburban train has started in whichcity?

[A] Delhi [B] Kolkata

[C] Jaipur [D] Mumbai

204. The Betla National Park (BNP) is located inwhich state?

[A] Punjab [B] Jharkhand

[C] Haryana [D] Himachal Pradesh

205. Which city has become the first Indian city toget its own logo?

[A] Pune [B] Patna

[C] Kochi [D] Bengaluru

206. Which city to host the annual meeting of WorldEconomic Forum (WEF) 2018?

[A] New Delhi [B] Berlin

[C] Geneva [D] Davos


207. Which of the following is the India’s first home-grown high purity gold reference standard,which is launched at the India GovernmentMint (IGM)?

[A] BND-4202 [B] BND-4201

[C] BND-4203 [D] BND-4200

208. Who has been appointed as the new GeneralManager (GM) of Board of Control for Cricketin India (BCCI)?

[A] Saba Karim [B] MV Sridhar

[C] Kapil Dev [D] Dilip Sardesai

209. The 2017 Good Governance Day (GGD) iscelebrated on which date in India?


210. Naman Tanwar, who won gold at the GalymZharylgapov Boxing Tournament, is related towhich weight category?

[A] 49kg [B] 75kg

[C] 91kg [D] 60kg

211. Which country to host the 2018 ASEAN-IndiaPravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD)?

[A] Singapore [B] India

[C] Malaysia [D] Indonesia

212. Partha Mukhopadhyay, the veteran actor haspassed away. He hailed from which state?

[A] Odisha [B] Arunachal Pradesh[C] West Bengal [D] Karnataka

213. Which state government has launched a freehousehold power connection scheme ‘Prakashhai to vikas hai’ for the poor in the state?

[A] Punjab [B] Uttar Pradesh[C] Haryana [D] Rajasthan

214. India has signed how much amount of loanagreement with World Bank for the Tamil NaduIrrigated Agriculture Modernization Project ?



215. The world’s tallest and longest glass bridge hasopened in which country?

[A] China [B] North Korea

[C] South Korea [D] Japan

216. India’s first runway on ‘Sea Bridge’ will comeup in which state/UT?[A] Andaman and Nicobar Islands[B] Lakshadweep[C] Karnataka[D] Andhra Pradesh

217. Which state government has recently signedMoU with South Korea to enhance tourismcooperation?[A] Kerala [B] Mizoram[C] Tamil Nadu [D] Uttar Pradesh

218. Which union ministry has launched pilot project‘Blue Flag’ for beach clean-up?[A] Ministry of Information and Broadcasting[B] Ministry of Environment, Forest andClimate Change[C] Ministry of Ministry of Communications[D] Ministry of Ministry of Labour andEmployment

219. Who has edited the book “The Way I See It: AGauri Lankesh Reader”?[A] Abdussalam Puthige[B] Chakravarthy Chandrachud[C] Chandan Gowda[D] P Lankesh

220. The National Sugar Institute (NSI) is locatedin which state?[A] Madhya Pradesh [B] Uttar Pradesh[C] Odisha [D] Jharkhand

221. Who has been appointed the new DirectorGeneral of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB)?[A] Dineshwar Sharma[B] R R Bhatnagar[C] Jitendra Singh[D] Abhay

222. Jairam Thakur, who has been sworn-in as newCM of Himachal Pradesh, is related to whichconstituency?[A] Seraj [B] Nalagarh[C] Hamirpur [D] Gagret

223. As per report titled “2018 World EconomicLeague Table”, India to become 5th largesteconomy in 2018. The report is published bywhich international organisation?[A] International Monetary Fund (IMF)[B] Centre for Economics and BusinessResearch (CEBR)[C] United Nations Conference on Trade andDevelopment (UNCTAD)


[D] World Bank (WB)224. Which union minister has launched e-HRMS

for central government employees to accessall service details?[A] Narendra Modi [B] Smriti Irani[C] Jitendra Singh [D] Arun Jaitley

225. Samsung has tied-up with which bank to offer‘Bill Payments’ on Samsung Pay?[A] SBI [B] ICICI Bank[C] HDFC Bank [D] Axis Bank

226. Which Indian writer has been felicitated in SriLanka for his contribution to children’sliterature?[A] Ashwin Sanghi[B] Ravinder Singh [C] RamendraKumar[D] Kumail Nanjiani

227. The Simbalbara National Park (SNP) is locatedin which state?[A] Madhya Pradesh[B] Himachal Pradesh[C] Jharkhand[D] Odisha

228. What is the theme of the the 25th NationalChildren Science Congress (NCSC-2017)?[A] Science and Youth: Joint Venture[B] Science and Intelligence[C] Science for Future[D] Science and Innovation for SustainableDevelopment

229. Who has inaugurated the 100th annualconference of Indian Economic Association(IEA) at Acharya Nagarjuna University(ANU)?

[A] Ram Nath Kovind[B] Narendra Modi[C] Arun Jaitley[D] Jitendra Singh

230. The Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR)is located in which state?[A] Karnataka [B] Tamil Nadu[C] Kerala [D] Andhra Pradesh

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

c a b d a b c d d d d a c b a b d b b c c d b a d

26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

c b c a d b a c d a c b a c c b a c a d d c b a d

51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75

d c b b a d c a c b a b b d c b c b a c d a c b a

76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100

d a b c d d a b d c c d c c a c a b c d a b a c d

101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125

a b c a d d b c a b d c b a a b c d a c a b c d a

126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150

b c d c d a b d c a b c b d a d c b a a d b c a a

151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175

a b b a c d c c d d d c b a a b c d b a a b d c a

176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

b c d c b a b c d a b d c b b d c b a a d b b a d

201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225

a c d b d d b a c c a c b d a b d b c b d a b c d

226 227 228 229 230

c b d a c


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One fine day, a bus driver went to the bus garage, started his bus, and drove off along the route. Noproblems for the first few stops - a few people got on, a few got off, and things went generally well.

At the next stop, however, a big hulk of a guy got on. Six feet eight, built like a wrestler, arms hangingdown to the ground. He glared at the driver and said, “Big John doesn’t pay!” and sat down at the back.

Did I mention that the driver was five feet three, thin, and basically meek? Well, he was. Naturally, hedidn’t argue with Big John, but he wasn’t happy about it. The next day the same thing happened - BigJohn got on again, made a show of refusing to pay, and sat down. And the next day, and the next.

This grated on the bus driver, who started losing sleep over the way Big John was taking advantage ofhim. Finally he could stand it no longer. He signed up for body building courses, karate, judo, and all thatgood stuff.

By the end of the summer, he had become quite strong; what’s more, he felt really good about himself.So on the next Monday, when Big John once again got on the bus and said, “Big John doesn’t pay!”

The driver stood up, glared back at the passenger, and screamed, “And why not?”With a surprised look on his face, Big John replied, “Big John has a bus pass.”Moral: “Be sure there is a problem in the first place before working hard to solve one.”

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from the content md’s desk 2018.pdfmba (hr) (ubs, chandigarh) dear aspirants, this is the...

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