CURRENT AFFAIRS By Lt Col Pradeep Bhatia - Amar Ujala

CURRENT AFFAIRS

         By

Lt Col Pradeep Bhatia

CURRENT AFFAIRS

         By

Lt Col Pradeep Bhatia

40 Current Affairs
 questions (with
   answers and
explanatory notes)

1. Who has been appointed
as the new President of
ASSOCHAM?

a)Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee
b)Amartya Kumar Sen
c)SP Kothari
d)Vineet Aggarwal

The Associated Chambers of Commerce
        and Industry of India

         ASSOCHAM

1. (d) Vineet Aggarwal
The Associated Chambers of
Commerce and Industry of India-
ASSOCHAM informed on December 21,
2020, that Vineet Aggarwal, the
Managing Director of Logistics major
Transport Corporation of India has
been appointed as the new President
of the industry body.

2. Tso Kar wetland has been
recognised as a wetland of
international importance.
Where is it located?

a)Ladakh
b)J&K
c)Sikkim
d)Uttarakhand

2. (a) Ladakh
Ladakh’s Tso Kar Wetland Complex
has been recognised as a wetland of
international importance, becoming
India’s 42nd Ramsar site. The Tso Kar
Basin is a high-altitude wetland
complex, which comprises two
principal waterbodies- Startsapuk
Tso and Tso Kar.

3. How many Ramsar
sites are situated in India?

a)42
b)35
c)40
d)39

3. (a) 42
India now has a total of 42 Ramsar
sites with the recognition of Ladakh’s
Tso Kar Wetland Complex as a
wetland of international importance.
This is the second Ramsar site in the
Union Territory of Ladakh.

What is a Ramsar site?

A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to
be of international importance under
the Ramsar Convention.
The Convention on Wetlands, known as
the Ramsar Convention, is an
intergovernmental environmental treaty
established in 1971 by UNESCO, which came
into force in 1975.

4. India has lost its second
retrospective taxation case
against which among the
following companies?

a)RPC Group
b)Cairn Energy
c)Shanghai Electric Group
d)Brother Industries

4. (b) Cairn Energy
The Permanent Court of Arbitration
(PCA) in the Hague unanimously ruled in
favour of Cairn Energy stating that the
Indian government failed to uphold its
obligations under the India-UK bilateral
investment treaty and international laws
in seeking tax payments worth Rs
10,250 crore from the company for its
business reorganisation.

5. Which nation has
temporarily banned the
arrival of foreign nationals
from the UK?

a)Russia
b)France
c)India
d)Japan

5. (d) Japan
Japan on December 23, 2020
imposed a temporary ban on
travellers from the United
Kingdom in view of the threat
posed by the spread of the new
COVID-19 strain.

6. Which state’s government
has collaborated with UN
women to set up India’s first
gender hub?

a)Goa
b)Karnataka
c)Kerala
d)Maharashtra

6. (c) Kerala
The Kerala state government and the UN
women has decided to collaborate to
establish the country’s first gender data
hub. A memorandum of understanding
was signed for the same on December 21,
2020, in the presence of Chief Minister of
Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan.

7. Union Transport Minister
laid the foundation stone for
highway projects worth Rs
8,341 crore in which state?

a)Uttar Pradesh
b)Rajasthan
c)Gujarat
d)Madhya Pradesh

(b) Rajasthan
Union Transport Minister Nitin
Gadkari laid the foundation stone
for highway projects in Rajasthan
worth Rs 8341 crore on December
24, 2020. Rajasthan Chief Minister
Ashok Gehlot will be presiding over
the virtual function.

8. Which state will take
punitive action against owners
of vehicles with caste stickers?

a) Madhya Pradesh
b) Uttar Pradesh
c) Telangana
d) Andhra Pradesh

8. (b) Uttar Pradesh
Vehicles displaying caste stickers will
now invite punitive action and will be
seized in Uttar Pradesh, as per an
official order dated December 24, 2020.
The directions aim to bring an end to
the glorification of caste names by
putting them on the number plate and
vehicles, as it can lead to law and order
situations.

9. EAM Jaishankar will be
making his first visit to which
nation from December 27-28,
2020?

a) Saudi Arabia
b) Bahrain
c) Qatar
d) Oman

9. (c) Qatar
The Minister of External Affairs S
Jaishankar is scheduled to go on a two-
day visit to Qatar from December 27-28,
2020. He will be meeting Qatari Deputy
Prime Minister and Foreign Minister
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman
bin Jassim Al-Thani.

10. How much percent of
COVID cases will be tested
for whole-genome
sequencing in India?

a) 5 percent
b) 7 percent
c) 10 percent
d) 20 percent

10. (a) 5 percent
The central government’s national
task force (NTF) informed on
December 28, 2020 that five percent
of positive cases from all states and
union territories will be tested for
whole-genome sequencing due to
the new virus strain detected in the
United Kingdom

11. Who has been named the
captain of ICC Men’s T20I and ODI
teams of the decade?

a) MS Dhoni
b) Virat Kohli
c) Kane Williamson
d) Steve Smith

11. (a) MS Dhoni

The International Cricket Council (ICC)
announced ICC Men’s and Women's
T20I, ODI and Test teams of the
decade on December 27, 2020. Former
Indian captain MS Dhoni was named
the captain of the ICC Men’s T20I and
ODI teams of the decade.

12. The government has
extended the validity of
vehicular documents to which
date?

a) January 30th
b) February 27th
c) March 15th
d) March 31st

12. (d) March 31st

The central government on December 27,
2020 extended the validity of vehicular
documents like Driving Licenses, permits
and Registration Certificates till March
31, 2020.

13. India’s first hot air
balloon safari in a tiger
reserve has been launched
in which state?

a) Gujarat
b) Assam
c) Uttarakhand
d) Madhya Pradesh

13. (d) Madhya Pradesh

India's first hot air balloon safari
in a tiger reserve was launched
on December 25, 2020 in
Madhya Pradesh's world-famous
Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve.

14. India’s first lithium
refinery will be set up in
which state?

a) Madhya Pradesh
b) Gujarat
c) Telangana
d) Punjab

14. (b) Gujarat

The first lithium refinery of India will
soon be set up in Gujarat to boost the
nation's efforts towards
electrification of transport. The
refinery will process Lithium ore to
produce battery-grade material.

15. Exercise SKYROS will be
conducted between the Air
Force of which two
nations?

a) India, France
b) France, UK
c) UK, India
d) Italy, Germany

15. (a) India, France
Indian and French Rafale fighter jets will
be carrying out wargames codenamed
‘SKYROS in Jodhpur in the third week of
January 2021. The French Air Force
Rafale fighter jets will be coming to
Jodhpur for the wargames, which will see
them flying with Indian Rafales and the
Su-30MKI fighters.

16. Who won the Sir
Garfield Sobers Award for
ICC Male Cricketer of the
Decade?

a) Steve Smith
b) AB de Villiers
c) Kane Williamson
d) Virat Kohli

16. (d) Virat Kohli

Indian skipper Virat Kohli has won
two prestigious awards at the ICC
Awards of the Decade - Sir Garfield
Sobers Award for ICC Male
Cricketer of the Decade and ICC
Men’s ODI Cricketer of the
Decade.

17. Who won the ICC Spirit
of Cricket Award of the
Decade?

a) Kane Williamson
b) Brendon McCullum
c) MS Dhoni
d) Mahela Jayewardene

17. (c) MS Dhoni
Former Indian skipper MS Dhoni won
the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award of the
Decade for his grand gesture of
recalling England batsman Ian Bell to
the crease after a bizarre run out in the
Trent Bridge Test against England in
2011.

18. Which state’s officials won
Digital India Award 2020?

a)Madhya Pradesh
b) Bihar
c) Delhi
d) Uttar Pradesh

18. (b) Bihar
Bihar has won the Digital India Award
2020 for the initiatives undertaken by
the state during COVID-19 lockdown
such as reaching out to its citizens and
providing different kinds of assistance
including transferring money to the
beneficiaries' accounts.

19. Which city’s Municipal
Corporation has been
selected as the best
performing civic body in
India?

a) Vishakhapatnam
b) Guntur
c) Bhagalpur
d) Rourkela

19. (a) Vishakhapatnam

The Greater Vishakhapatnam
Municipal Corporation has been
announced as the best performing
civic body in India. It was chosen
under the annual awards for
excellence by the Ministry of
Housing and Urban Affairs.

20. The centre will be
removing export restriction
imposed on which among the
following agricultural produce
from January 1, 2021?

a)Tomato
b) Onion
c) Potato
d) Beans

20. (b) Onion

The central government on
December 28, 2020, removed the
prohibition on the export of all
kinds of onion from January 1, 2021.
The variety of onions, including
Krishnapuram Onions and Bangalore
Rose Onions have been allowed to
export from January 1.

21. Under the government's
new vehicle scrapping policy,
personal vehicles will have to
undergo fitness tests after
how many years?
a) 20
b) 15
c) 10
d) 18

(a) 20 years
Under the new vehicle
scrapping policy, personal
vehicles will undergo fitness
tests in automated centres
after 20 years while
commercial vehicles will
undergo the test after 15 years.

22. RBI has projected real
GDP growth to be how
much in FY 2021-22?
a) 10.5 percent
b) 9.7 percent
c) 11.0 percent
d) 12.7 percent

(a) 10.5 percent
The Reserve Bank of India
has projected the real GDP
growth to be at 10.5
percent in 2021-22 – in the
range of 26.2 to 8.3 percent
in H1 and 6.0 percent in Q3.

23. The military of which
country staged a coup on 01
Feb 2021 and took over the
nation's government
recently?
a) Pakistan
b) Nepal
c) Myanmar
d) Sri Lanka

(c) Myanmar
The Myanmar military on February 1,
2021, staged a coup and declared a
state of emergency in the country for
one year. The military has also
detained the state counsellor of
Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi and
several other civilian leaders. The
move has been condemned by several
countries and the United Nations.

24. The Chauri Chaura
incident had taken place
during which among the
following Indian freedom
movements?
a) Quit India
b) Civil Disobedience
c) Non-cooperation
d) None of the Above

(c) Non-cooperation
The Chauri Chaura incident took place
on February 4, 1922 at Chauri Chaura
in the Gorakhpur district of British
India. The Mahatma Gandhi-led Non-
cooperation movement was underway
then

25. The Defence Ministry has
awarded the contract to
manufacture 83 Light Combat
Aircraft (LCA) Tejas fighters to
which among the following
companies?
a) DRDO
b) Antrix
c) TASL
d) HAL

(d) HAL
The Defence Ministry has
awarded a contract to
manufacture 83 Light Combat
Aircraft (LCA) Tejas fighters to
the Hindustan Aeronautics
Limited (HAL) at the Aero
India international air show on
February 3, 2021 .

26. Jeff Bezos has decided
to step down as CEO of
which company?
a) Microsoft
b) Facebook
c) Amazon
d) Google

(c) Amazon
Amazon announced on February 2,
2021 that its founder Jeff Bezos
will step down as CEO of the
company during the third quarter
of 2021. Bezos will transition to
the role of Executive Chair of
Amazon's board, while Amazon
Web Services CEO Andy Jassy will
succeed him as the new Amazon
CEO in Q3.

27. Which space agency has
appointed Indian-American
Bhavya Lal as acting chief of
staff?
a) NASA
b) JAXA
c) ESA
d) Roscosmos

(a) NASA
Indian-American scientist Bhavya Lal
was appointed by NASA as its acting
chief of staff on February 1, 2021. The
space agency said in a statement that
Lal brings extensive experience in
engineering and space technology,
serving as a member of the research
staff at the Institute for Defence
Analyses Science and Technology
Policy Institute (STPI) from 2005 to
2020.

28. The United States has
extended the New START
Nuclear Treaty for five years
with which nation?
a) Japan
b) Russia
c) China
d) UK

(b) Russia
The United States has extended the
New START (Strategic Arms Reduction
Treaty) nuclear arms control treaty
with Russia for another five years.
This was announced by US Secretary
of State Antony Blinken, who said that
it made the world safer as
unconstrained nuclear competition
would endanger us all.

29. Which Indian cricketer has
been nominated for ICC Men's
Player of the Month?
a) Rishabh Pant
b) Mohammed Siraj
c) Prithvi Shaw
d) Hanuma Vihari

(a) Rishabh Pant
The International Cricket Council (ICC)
has announced the nominees for the
inaugural ICC Player of the Month
Awards that recognise and celebrate
the best performances across all forms
of international cricket throughout the
year. The nominees for Men's Player of
the Month (January) are Rishabh Pant
(India), Joe Root (England) and Paul
Stirling (Ireland).

30. When is ISRO scheduled to
launch Gaganyaan's first
unmanned space mission?
a) December 2021
b) January 2022
c) September 2021
d) June 2021

(a) December 2021
Union Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman
announced in her budget
speech on February 1, 2021
that ISRO's first unmanned
space mission as a part of
Gaganyaan is slated for
launch in December 2021.

31. Which company has
got the world's first
consignment of 'carbon-
neutral oil' from the US?
a) Reliance
b) Tata Group
c) HAL
d) DRDO

(a)Reliance
Reliance has sourced the
world's first consignment of
'carbon-neutral oil' from the
United States. The move
comes as the company
looks to become a net zero-
carbon company by 2035.

32. Who has been re-elected
as Boxing Federation of
India President?
a) Ashish Shelar
b) Rakesh Singh
c) Ajay Singh
d) Ramesh Tomar

(c) Ajay Singh
Ajay Singh has been re-elected as
President of the Boxing Federation of
India (BFI). He defeated former
Maharashtra sports minister Ashish Shelar
in the polls. Ajay Singh received 37 votes
while Shelar got 27 votes in the BFI
elections that were held on February 3,
2021

33. Which Day is celebrated
on 13th February every year?
a) World Radio Day
b) World Pulses day
c) World day of Social
Justice
d) World Wildlife Day

(a) World Radio Day
The UNESCO observes the
World Radio Day (WRD)
every year on February 13,
2021. This year, the Day
was celebrated on the
theme 'New World. New
Radio.'

34. Mario Draghi was
recently sworn-in as Prime
Minister of which country?
a) Vietnam
b) Italy
c) France
d) Indonesia

(b) Italy
Mario Draghi, the former European
Central Bank chief, was sworn in as
the Prime Minister of Italy. Draghi
successfully convinced majorly all
political parties of Italy to support his
government. His main task will be to
efficiently manage spending of more
than 200 billion euros that Italy
expects from the European Union fund
for its recovery post COVID-19
pandemic.

35. Who was elected as
new prosecutor of
International Criminal
Court?
a) Fatou Bensouda
b) James Stewart
c) Karim Khan
d) Luis Moreno Ocampo

(c) Karim Khan
Britain's Karim Khan was
elected as the new prosecutor
of Hague-based International
Criminal Court (ICC). Khan will
replace Fatou Bensoudaand
will serve a nine-year term. He
will take up the position with
effect from June 16, 2021.

36. India recently gifted
2000 metric tonnes of
rice to which country?
a) Myanmar
b) Vietnam
c) Turkey
d) Syria

(d) Syria
Indian government gifted 2000
metric tonnes of rice to middle
east country Syria to
strengthen its food security.
The rice supply was made in a
response to request of Syrian
government for the emergency
humanitarian assistance .

37. Which state government
recently announced to
construct COVID-19 Warrior
Memorial?
a) Andhra Pradesh
b) Odisha
c) Jharkhand
d) Telangana

(b) Odisha
Odisha's Health and Family
Welfare Department on
February 8, 2021 announced to
construct COVID-19 Warrior
Memorial in its capital
Bhubaneshwar. The Memorial
will be build to recognize and
honour the services of COVID
warriors.

38. Prime Minister Modi
recently inaugurated
Propylene Derivative
Petrochemical Project of
BPCL in which state?
a) Uttar Pradesh
b) Haryana
c) Kerala
d) Tamil Nadu

(c) Kerala
PM Narendra Modi inaugurated
various development projects in
Kerala on February 14, 2021
worth Rs. 6,100 crores including
the Propylene Derivative
Petrochemical Project of Bharat
Petroleum Corporation Limited
and Ro-Ro vessels at Willingdon
Islands, Cochin.

39. India to start the
trials of which air-to-air
missile this year?
a) Astra Missile
b) Trishul Missile
c) Nag Missile
d) Agni Missile

(a) Astra Missile
India is expected to start the
testing of Astra Mark 2 missile this
year with an aim to establish its
superiority in air combat over
countries like Pakistan and China.
Astra Mark 2 is beyond visual
range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM.)

40. India's first geothermal power project
will be set up in which union territory?
A)Jammu and Kashmir
B)Laddakh
C)Puducherry
D)Chandigarh

(b) Laddakh
ONGC plans to implement India's first
geothermal energy project at Ladakh.
"A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to
formalise this has been inked by ONGC
Energy Centre (OEC) with the Union Territory
of Ladakh and Ladakh Autonomous Hill
Development Council, Leh on February 6," the
company said in a statement.

Thank you

Any questions??