GK & Current Affairs: July 20, 21, 2015

1. Amlie Mauresmo, who has been recently inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame; belongs to which of the following countries?

[A]France [B]Italy [C]Spain [D]Portugal

Answer France

Recently, Amlie Mauresmo (former World No. 1 tennis player of France) is inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. In her career, she won two Grand Slam singles titles viz. Australian Open and at Wimbledon. At present, she is the coach of Tennis player, Andy Murray.

2. Recently, which of the following union ministries has launched the ?Participatory Guarantee System (PGS)? portal?

[A]Ministry of Commerce [B]Ministry of Agriculture [C]Ministry of Rural Development [D]Ministry of Labour

Answer Ministry of Agriculture The Agriculture Ministry has launched three agri-portals viz. Soil Health Card (SHC) portal, Fertiliser Quality Control System (FQCS) portal and Participatory Guarantee System (PGS). The purpose to launch these portals is to make the process of organic farming certification, fertilisers? quality checking and issuance of soil health cards, more transparent and accountable. These are available only in English. In the next phase, these portals will also be available in regional languages.

3. Which of the following city is host to the Global Rice Bran Oil Conference 2015?

[A]Kolkata [B]Mumbai [C]Delhi [D]Chennai

Answer Mumbai To promote rice bran oil and its value added products, the second Global Rice Bran Oil Conference 2015 will be held in Mumbai on August 7-8, 2015. The conference is being organised by the International Association of Rice Bran Oil and hosted by The Solvent Extractors? Association of India. The theme of the conference is ?Position, promotion and prospect of rice bran oil as a health oil in the world??.

4. United States has recently restored diplomatic relations after 54 years with which of the following countries?

[A]Iran [B]Cuba [C]Iran [D]Netherland

Answer Cuba Both the countries, the United States of America (USA) and Cuba re-established diplomatic relations after 54 years and opened their embassies in Havana and Washington, D.C.

5. Who among the following personalities launched ?Breakthrough Listen? project to search for Aliens?

[A]Bill Gates [B]Larry Page [C]Mark Zuckerberg [D]Stephen Hawking

Answer Stephen Hawking Professor Stephen Hawking launched a $100-million project (also known as Breakthrough Listen) to search for Aliens at the Royal Society in London. The project is funded by Silicon Valley technology investor and physicist Yuri Milner.

6. Which of the following trophies dropped by BCCI for 2015-16 season? [A]Ranji Trophy [B]Vijay Hazare [C]Deodhar Trophy [D]Duleep Trophy

Answer Duleep Trophy The BCCIs domestic programme will start with the Ranji Trophy from October 1, 2015. In all 900 matches will be played and the 2015-16 season will end with the Irani Cup match scheduled to be held from March 6, 2016. But, the inter-zonal cricket tournament, Duleep Trophy dropped for 2015-16 season due to packed schedule.

7. As per recommendations of which committee, BCCI changed the format of the Deodhar Trophy? [A]Anil Kumble [B]Saurav Ganguly [C]Ravi Shastri [D]Sachin Tendulkar

Answer Anil Kumble As per Anil Kumble-led technical committee recommendations, BCCI changed the format of the Deodhar Trophy, an inter- zonal one day tournament. Deodhar Trophy will have four 50-overs matches across five days between January 24-28, 2016. It will be played on a 3-team format that consists of the champion team of the Vijay Hazare tournament and 2 other teams which will be selected by the Senior National selectors.

8. Which among the following bagged the 2015 Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Award in the Heritage & Culture category? [A]Hong Kong Tourism [B]Tourism Authority of Thailand [C]Kerala Tourism [D]None of the above Answer Kerala Tourism The Kerala Tourism bagged 2015 Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) award for its Muziris Heritage Project in the Heritage & Culture category. The award, sponsored by the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO), was conferred on the Muziris Heritage Project for its conservational aspect, uniqueness and impact on local community.

9. Alex Rocco, who died recently, was a famous__: [A]Actor [B]Scientist [C]Journalist [D]Author Answer Actor The US actor, Alex Rocco was best known for his role in crime drama The Godfather was recently died due to cancer. He won an Emmy for his role in 1990s sitcom The Famous Teddy Z and also voiced the studio boss behind Itchy and Scratchy in The Simpsons.

10. Which among the following are the two sites of Indias nuclear fuel complex? [A]Hyderabad & Bangalore [B]Kudunkulam and Kota [C]Hyderabad and Kota [D]Narora and Hyderabad

Answer Hyderabad and Kota India already has one nuclear fuel complex at Hyderabad. Another nuclear fuel complex is coming up in Kota in Rajasthan.

GK & Current Affairs: July 22, 23, 2015

1. Recently, which of the following auto makers launched its first compact SUV named Creta in India? [A]Toyota [B]Maruti Suzuki [C]Tata Motors [D]Hyundai

Answer Hyundai The South-Korean car maker, Hyundai launched its Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) Creta in India in both diesel and petrol variants. The 1.6 litre petrol versions of the SUV are priced between Rs.8.59 lakh and Rs.11.19 lakh. The vehicle would be offered with two diesel engine options viz.1.4 litre costing between Rs.9.46 lakh and Rs.11.45 lakh and 1.6 litre diesel engine priced between Rs.11.59 lakh and Rs.13.6 lakh.

2. Which among the following country has least contribution in the capital of the New Development Bank (NDB)? [A]Brazil [B]India [C]South Africa [D]Russia

Answer South Africa The New Development Bank (NDB) is a multilateral development bank operated by the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) started its operations from its headquarters in Shanghai, China. The eminent banker, K V Kamath from India appointed as the first President of NDB for five years till 2020. The NDB will have an initial capital of $50 billion, which will be raised to $100 billion within the next couples of years. China will contribute $41 bn while India, Brazil and Russia will each pump in $18 bn while South Africas contribution would stand at $ 5 billion. The purpose of the bank is to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries in the world.

3. As per the Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India (ADSI) 2014 report, which among the following states have maximum farmers suicides due to Bankruptcy? [A]Maharashtra [B]Telangana [C]Uttar Pradesh [D]Madhya Pradesh

Answer Maharashtra As per the Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India (ADSI) 2014 report, released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), total of 5,650 farmers committed suicide in 2014. Due to bankruptcy (or Indebtedness) caused by crop loan, the maximum suicides were reported in Maharashtra followed by Telangana and Madhya Pradesh. 4. Who is the head of the Rajya Sabha panel on the constitutional amendment Bill regarding National Goods and Services Tax (GST)? [A]Swati Maliwal [B]K Chandramouli [C]Bhanu Pratap Sharma [D]Bhupender Yadav

Answer Bhupender Yadav Mr. Bhupender Yadav is the chairman of the Rajya Sabha committee on the constitutional amendment Bill regarding National Goods and Services Tax (GST).

5. Which among the following is the First city to send its nomination for inclusion in the 100 Smart Cities Mission? [A]Bangalore [B]Rajkot [C]Puducherry [D]Kozhikode Answer Puducherry Union Territory of Puducherry has nominated its capital city for inclusion in the 100 Smart Cities Mission launched on June 25. With this, it is first city to send its nomination.

6. Which among the following is a correct statement about Softex? [A]It is an annual expo held in New Delhi for promotion of software export industry in India [B]It is form which software companies need to fill and submit to RBI when they export software [C]It is a cloud service developed and deployed by NIC [D]None of the above is a correct answer

Answer It is form which software companies need to fill and submit to RBI when they export software The SOFTEX is an RBI form available online. It requires companies to submit contracts and statements- of-work with every invoice. This form helps RBI to monitor inward and outward remittances in the software business.

7. Which among the following cities of India will host the final of the 2016 ICC World T20 tournament? [A]Kolkata [B]Bengaluru [C]Chennai [D]Mohali Answer Kolkata The 2016 ICC World T20 tournament is scheduled to be held in India from March 11 to April 3, 2016. It will be hosted in eight citiesacross India viz. Bengaluru, Chennai, Dharamshala, Kolkata, Mohali, Mumbai, Nagpur and New Delhi. Kolkatas Eden Gardens, theoldest cricketing venue of India, will host the final of this tournament.

8. In which year, the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) on all packaged commodities was introduced? [A]1985 [B]1990 [C]1991 [D]1996 Answer 1990 The maximum retail price (MRP) printed on all packaged commodities that consumers purchase was introduced in 1990 by the Ministry of Civil Supplies, Department of Legal Metrology, by making an amendment to the Standards of Weights and Measures Act (Packaged Commodities Rules) (1976).

9. As of July 2015, what is the current nuclear power generation capacity in India? [A]4430 MW [B]5780 MW [C]6020 MW [D]7040 MW Answer 5780 MW Nuclear power generation in India is currently at 5,780 MW from 21 operational reactors. This capacity is expected to increase to 10,080 MW on progressive completion of projects under commissioning/ construction by 2019, according to the government.

10. What is the main purpose of the proposed Gold Monetisation Scheme? [A]Allow consumers to sell gold to banks at par with markets [B]Allow consumers to deposit Gold with banks to get tax-free interest [C]Allow government of India to sell its Gold stock to utilize for welfare schemes [D]All RBI to monetize gold to pump money in the economy

Answer Allow consumers to deposit Gold with banks to get tax-free interest The proposed Gold Monetisation Scheme proposes to offer tax-free interest to individual on depositing the yellow metal with banks. Government recently circulated a cabinet note on this scheme.