Static Awareness

Q1. Telangana has split from Andhra Pradesh to become the newest 29th State of India on 2nd June 2014 with Hyderabad as the shared capital. Who has become Telangana's first Chief Minister?
(a) K Chandrashekhar Rao
(b) N Chandrababu Naidu
(c) Y S Rajasekhara Reddy
(d) Siddaramaiah
(e) None of the above

S1. Ans.(a)
Sol. Telangana's first chief minister, K. Chandrashekar Rao of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, is also the current incumbent. He has held office since the day Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh, 2 June 2014.

Q2. World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated every year on ..........to raise global awareness to take positive environmental action to protect nature and the planet Earth.
(a) 10th December
(b) 24th October
(c) 08th March
(d) 02nd October
(e) 05th June

S2. Ans.(e)
Sol. World Environment Day (WED) occurs on 5 June every year, and is the United Nation's principal vehicle for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment. First held in 1974, it has been a flagship campaign for raising awareness on emerging environmental issues from marine pollution, human overpopulation, and global warming, to sustainable consumption and wildlife crime.

Q3. Raul Castro is the current President of which country?
(a) Ghana
(b) Cuba
(c) Peru
(d) Latvia
(e) Nauru

S3. Ans.(b)
Sol. Raul Modesto Castro Ruz is a Cuban politician who has been President of the Council of State of Cuba and the President of the Council of Ministers of Cuba since 2008. Castro previously exercised presidential powers in an acting capacity from 2006 to 2008. Castro is Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, and has also been First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) since 2011.

Q4. Sushil Kumar Solanki is famous in which of the following field?
(a) Politics
(b) Art and Living
(c) Film and Television
(d) Author
(e) None of the above

S4. Ans.(e)
Sol. Sushil Kumar Solanki is an Indian freestyle wrestler. Competing in the 66 kg weight division he won the 2010 world title, a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which made him the only Indian to win two individual Olympic medals.

Q5. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a political and economic organisation of ten member countries. Where is the headquarter of ASEAN?
(a) Bangkok, Thailand
(b) Phnom Penh, Cambodia
(c) Naypyidaw, Myanmar
(d) Jakarta, Indonesia
(e) Hanoi, Vietnam

S5. Ans.(d)
Sol. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam then joined on 7 January 1984, Viet Nam on 28 July 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999, making up what is today the ten Member States of ASEAN.

Q6. Dena Bank headquartered in Mumbai was founded in 1938. What is the tagline of Dena Bank?
(a) Trusted family Bank
(b) The Name you can Bank Upon
(c) Tadition of trust
(d) A friend you can bank upon
(e) None of the above

S6. Ans.(a)
Sol. Dena Bank, in July 1969 along with 13 other major banks was nationalized and is now a Public Sector Bank constituted under the Banking Companies Act, 1970. Under the provisions of the Banking Regulations Act 1949, in addition to the business of banking, the Bank can undertake other business as specified in Section 6 of the Banking Regulations Act, 1949.

Q7. Who is the present and 20th Chief Election Commissioner of India?
(a) Shahabuddin Yaqoob Quraishi
(b) T S Vijayan
(c) Raghuram Rajan
(d) Syed Nasim Ahmad Zaidi
(e) R S Sharma

S7. Ans.(d)
Sol. The decisions of the commission are taken by a majority vote. Nasim Zaidi is the current Chief Election Commissioner and other two Election Commissioners are Achal Kumar Jyoti and Om Prakash Rawat. H.S.Brahma retired on 19th April,2015 . After then Dr.Nasim Zaidi took over as 20th Chief Election Commissioner.

Q8. Maa Vindhyavasini Devi Temple is located in Vindhyachal in the Indian state of?
(a) Bihar
(b) Madhya Pradesh
(c) Uttra Pradesh
(d) West Bengal
(e) Uttarakhand

S8. Ans.(c)
Sol. Vindhyavasini is name of a benevolent aspect of Devi Amba or Durga. Her temple is located at Vindhyachal, 8 km away from Mirzapur on the banks of river Ganges, in Uttar Pradesh. The goddess gets her name from Vindhya Range and the name Vindhyavasini, literally means, she who resides in Vindhya. As it is believed that the Shaktipeeths were created on earth, where the body parts of Sati fell.

Q9. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is an international financial institution that aims to support the building of infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region.Who is the present president of AIIB?
(a) Ban ki Moon
(b) D J Pandian
(c) Lou Jiwei
(d) Jin Liqun
(e) None of the above

S9. Ans.(d)
Sol. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a new multilateral financial institution founded to bring countries together to address the daunting infrastructure needs across Asia. By furthering interconnectivity and economic development in the region through advancements in infrastructure and other productive sectors, we can help stimulate growth and improve access to basic services. Mr. Jin Liqun is the chief of staff and has accountability for all of the Bank’s operations.

Q10. Bharat Ratna' is the highest civilian award of the country. The award was started by formal President of India Rajendra Prasad on 2nd January, 1954.The number of annual awards is restricted to a maximum of_______ in a particular year.
(a) Two
(b) Four
(c) Ten
(d) Six
(e) Three

S10. Ans.(e)
Sol. The Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted in 1954, the award is conferred "in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order". The recommendations for the Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister to the President, with a maximum of three nominees being awarded per year. Recipients receive a Sanad (certificate) signed by the President and a peepal-leaf–shaped medallion.

Q11. The writer who refused the Nobel Prize for literature was
(a) Winston Churchil
(b) Jean Pal Sartre
(c) Boris Pasternak
(d) Prem Chand
(e) Svetlana Alexievich

S11.  Ans.(b)
Sol. The 59-year-old author Jean-Paul Sartre declined the Nobel Prize in Literature, which he was awarded in October 1964. He said he always refused official distinctions and did not want to be "institutionalised".

Q12. Which Indian city is also known as City of Four Junctions?
(a) Mathura
(b) Patiala
(c) Madurai
(d) Bijnor
(e) Malda

S12. Ans.(c)
Sol. Madurai district is second largest in population of the 32 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India.[1] The city of Madurai serves as the district headquarters. It houses the world-famous Sri Meenakshi Sundareshwarar temple and is situated on the banks of the river Vaigai. Madurai is called with various nicknames like Athens of the East, Thoonga Nagaram (City that never Sleeps), Naan maada koodal (City of Four junctions), Koil Nagar (Temple city) etc.

Q13. Who among the following is the Vice Chairperson of the United Nations Human Rights Committee?
(a) Mrs. Marry Rohinson
(b) Ms. Sadaka Ogata
(c) Mr. Justice P. N. Bhagawati
(d) Ms. Gro Harlem Brundtland
(e) Mr. Yuji IWASAWA

S13. Ans.(e)
Sol. The United Nations Human Rights Committee is a United Nations body of 18 experts that meets three times a year for four-week sessions to consider the five-yearly reports submitted by 168 UN member states on their compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ICCPR, and any individual petitions concerning 112 States parties to the Optional Protocol.

Q14. Who among the following has become the first winner of Charleston-EFG John Maynard Keynes Prize?
(a) Amartya Sen
(b) A.P.J. Kalam
(c) L.K. Advani
(d) Manmohan Singh
(e) None of the above

S14. Ans.(a)
Sol. Eminent Indian Economist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has won the newly instituted Charleston-EFG John Maynard Keynes Prize. He was awarded in recognition of his work on welfare economics.

Q15. Who invented the polio vaccine (oral)?  
(a) Jonas Salk
(b) Albert Sabin
(c) Burkholder
(d) Robert Koch
(e) Jhon Watson

S15. Ans.(b)
Sol. The first polio vaccine was the inactivated polio vaccine. It was developed by Jonas Salk and came into use in 1955. The oral polio vaccine was developed by Albert Sabin and came into commercial use in 1961.