QUIZ-06

Q1. World water day observed globally every year on _________.

(a) 20 March

(b) 24 April

(c) 22 March

(d) 23 April

(e) 24 March

Q2. VTB Bank has recently decided to close its only office in New Delhi, India to cut costs. It is _________ based company.

(a) South Korea

(b) Russia

(c) Nepal

(d) Australia

(e) Japan

Q3. The RBI recently proposed to fix the upper limit for Pre-paid Payment Instruments (PPIs) at _______ in view of growing usage of PPIs for a purchase of goods and services

(a) Rs 1.5 Lakh

(b) Rs 1.2 Lakh

(c) Rs 1.4 Lakh

(d) Rs 1 Lakh

(e) None of the given options are true

Q4. Name the Indian Soldier, who was presented the second highest peacetime gallantry award Kirti Chakra by President Pranab Mukherjee, recently.

(a) Capt. Gursevak Singh

(b) Maj. Vinay Singh

(c) Lance Naik Amrinder Singh

(d) Maj. Rohit Suri

(e) Capt. Hanuman Bhatti

Q5. Name the person who has been appointed as new whole time member of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) recently by Government of India.

(a) Madhabi Puri Buch

(b) Arundhati Roy

(c) Kavitha Bhanoth

(d) Shikha Singh

(e) Supriya Mondal

Q6. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) chairman is _______ and its headquarter is in ________.

(a) K Subramanyam, Mumbai

(b) A S Kiran Kumar, Bengaluru

(c) G Madhawan Nair, New Delhi

(d) K Radhakrishnan, Chennai

(e) Udupi Ramachandra Rao, Odisha

Q7. Name the person who has been appointed as the Interim Director General (IDG) of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) on a full time basis, recently.

(a) Mr. Sushil Joshi

(b) Mr. Arvind Kushwaha

(c) Mr. Upendra Tripathy

(d) Mr. Anup Kishor

(e) Mr. Naveen Pathak

Q8. NABARD has recently announced a scheme to help ___________ with low-cost technologies for water conservation and efficient use of water in the drought-affected districts.

(a) Rajasthan

(b) Maharashtra

(c) Gujarat

(d) Karnataka

(e) None of the given options are true

Q9. The World Meteorological Day is observed globally on ____________.

(a) 25 March

(b) 21 April

(c) 23 March

(d) 20 February

(e) 22 April

Q10. Indian Government has recently approved 1.17 lakh more affordable houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana was launched in __________.

(a) 2015

(b) 2014

(c) 2010

(d) 2016

(e) None of the given options are true

Q11. Name the country that has topped recently released Human Development Index (HDI) 2015 by United Nations.

(a) Sweden

(b) Austria

(c) Australia

(d) Switzerland

(e) Norway

Q12. What is the ranking of India in Human Development Index 2015 list?

(a) 131

(b) 124

(c) 119

(d) 102

(e) 98

Q13. The theme of World Meteorological Day 2017 is _____________.

(a) Mighty Volcano

(b) Understanding Cloud

(c) Deeper into the Earth

(d) Forgetful World

(e) Counting Meteoroids

Q14. Name the Chairman of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

(a) Narendra Modi

(b) Arvind Pangariya

(c) Harsh Kumar Bhanwala

(d) Deelip Rawat

(e) Sandeep Jajodiya

Q15. What is the theme for World Water Day 2017?

(a) Water and Sustainable Development

(b) Water and Jobs

(c) Nature-based Solutions for Water

(d) Wastewater

(e) None of the given themes are correct

                                                         ANSWERS

S1. Ans.(c)

Sol. World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

S2. Ans.(b)

Sol. Russian bank VTB has decided to close its only office in New Delhi, India to cut costs but will continue to work in India.

S3. Ans.(d)

Sol. The RBI proposed to fix the upper limit for Pre-paid Payment Instruments (PPIs) at Rs 1 lakh in view of growing usage of PPIs for a purchase of goods and services

S4. Ans.(d)

Sol. Major Rohit Suri, from the Parachute Regiment who led the army team that carried out a surgical strike in PoK last year, was presented the second highest peacetime gallantry award Kirti Chakra by President Pranab Mukherjee.

S5. Ans.(a)

Sol. The government has announced Madhabi Puri Buch as new whole time member of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

S6. Ans.(b)

Sol. ISRO chairman is Kiran Kumar and its headquarter is in Bengaluru, India

S7. Ans.(c)

Sol. Mr. Upendra Tripathy, has been appointed as the Interim Director General (IDG) of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) on a full time basis.

S8. Ans.(d)

Sol. NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) announced scheme to help Karnataka with low-cost technologies for water conservation and efficient use of water in the drought-affected districts.

S9. Ans.(c)

Sol. The World Meteorological Day was observed globally on 23rd March 2017.

S10. Ans.(a)

Sol. The government approved construction of 117,814 more affordable houses for urban poor under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in six states (Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha). Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana was launched in year 2015.

S11. Ans.(e)

Sol. In the recently released Human Development Index by United Nations, India is ranked 131 out of 188 countries in the list. The list is topped by Norway followed by Australia and Switzerland on 2nd and 3rd positions respectively.

S12. Ans.(a)

Sol. In the recently released Human Development Index by United Nations, India is ranked 131 out of 188 countries in the list.

S13. Ans.(b)

Sol. The theme of World Meteorological Day 2017 is 'Understanding Cloud' to highlight the enormous importance of clouds for weather climate and water.

S14. Ans.(c)

Sol. Dr. Harsh Kumar Bhanwala is the Chairman of NABARD.

S15. Ans.(d)

Sol. In 2017, the theme for World Water Day is 'Wastewater'.

Daily GK Update 05th April, 2017

SASEC's Finance Ministers Meeting held in New Delhi

i. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley chaired the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Finance Ministers meeting in New Delhi.

ii. It was attended by the seven Finance Ministers from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka and the Asian Development Bank as a supporting SASEC in this endeavor.

iii. Myanmar has joined the SASEC program as its seventh member.

National conference on Communicating India to be organized

i. A day-long national conference on Communicating India will be organized in New Delhi which will be inaugurated by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore.
ii. Telling the India's story to the world, Communicating via Journalism and Dialogue with Diaspora are three main themes which are outlined for the conference.

Jhargram becomes 22nd Bengal district

i. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declared Jhargram as the 22nd district of West Bengal.
ii. Jhargram has been formed by bifurcating West Midnapore, which has a population of more than 11.37 lakh. Mamta Banerjee announced a budget of Rs 200 crore for the development of Jhargram.


Rs 40,000 crore expressway project in northeast announced

i. The first express highway project in the northeast region will be developed along the Brahmaputra river in Assam at an estimated investment of Rs 40,000 crore inaugurated by Union Road Minister Nitin Gadkari.
ii. The agreement was signed by the Assam government, the National Highways Authority of India and the Inland Waterways of India.

BS-IV Grade Fuel launched by Central Government after BS-III ban

i. Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural Gas officially launched the low emission Bharat stage (BS)-IV Grade fuel in Bhubaneswar.
ii. The launch was made on the special occasion of Utkal Diwas which is the foundation day of Odisha.
iii. The launch was made in 12 cities of India. They were Varanasi, Vijayawada, Durgapur, Gorakhpur, Imphal, Bhopal, Ranchi, Madurai, Nagpur, Patna, Guwahati and Shillong.

ICICI, Axis Bank sell Rs 1800 crore Ballarpur loans to Edelweiss

i. ICICI Bank and Axis Bank sold Rs.1,800 crore of loans to paper maker Ballarpur Industries Ltd to Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company.
ii. It is the first time that loans have been sold to an asset reconstruction firm. Axis Bank sold loans of Rs.1,200 crore and ICICI Bank sold loans of Rs.600 crore. 

Geetha Johri- Gujarat's first woman Police Chief

i. A 1982 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) Geetha Johri has been appointed as the first woman Director General of Police (DGP) of Gujarat.
ii. She has replaced P P Pandey, who resigned recently. Johri is posted at the State Police Housing Corporation in Gandhinagar.


Amazon.in launches ‘Classroom’ for new sellers

i. To make on-boarding easy for new sellers, Amazon India has launched an initiative called 'Amazon Classroom', a virtual training program to help teach them the nuances of online selling.
ii. The program focusses on areas such as order processing, adding products and managing returns that are required to operate a successful online business.

 Gionee India ties up with RCB for IPL 10
i. Handset maker Gionee India announced its association with the ‘Royal Challengers Bangalore’, as their presenting sponsors for the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
ii. Gionee is already the principal sponsor of the Kolkata Franchise — ‘Kolkata Knight Riders’. Gionee has become the first brand ever to sponsor front jerseys of two IPL teams in the same edition and will have its logo feature on the front jersey of both the teams.
iii. The smartphone manufacturer had signed Captain Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador in November 2016.

Berhampur Thakurani Yatra fetival begins in Odisha
i. The famous Berhampur Thakurani Yatra, one of the biggest festivals of southern Odisha, has been celebrated with pomp and gaiety.
ii. Nearly a month-long festival celebrates the journey of the deity Maa Budhi Thakurani. 



 WTO sets up panel to resolve steel dispute with India, Japan
i. The WTO’s dispute settlement set up a panel to resolve the dispute between Japan and India over imposition of safeguard import duty on iron and steel products.
ii. Japan in December 2016 dragged India to the WTO against certain measures taken by New Delhi on imports of iron and steel products.
iii. Japan, which is the second largest steel producer in the world, had alleged that duties imposed on steel imports by India violates WTO trade norms.

Indian Cricketer MS Dhoni named CEO of Gulf Oil for 1 day
i. The former Indian cricket team skipper MS Dhoni became an acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Gulf Oil India just for a day.
ii. He took charge of Gulf Oil India at the Mumbai head office. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was also named as the brand ambassador for Gulf Oil in the year 2011.


Important Takeaways from above GK Update are as follows-

• National conference on Communicating India will be organized in New Delhi 
• Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting is Rajyavardhan Rathore
• Geetha Johri has been appointed as the first woman DGP of Gujarat
• She has replaced P P Pandey
• Governor of Gujarat is Mr. Om Prakash Kohli and its Chief Minister is Mr. Vijay Rupani
• Nitin Gadkari announces Rs 40,000 crore expressway project in northeast 
• Nitin Gadkari is the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and Shipping
• Amazon.in launches ‘Classroom’, a virtual training program for new sellers
• Jeff Bezos is CEO of Amazon
• Amazon is USA based company
• SASEC's Finance Ministers Meeting was held in New Delhi
• South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation is the full form of SASEC
• Myanmar has joined the SASEC program as its seventh member
• ICICI, Axis Bank sell Rs 1800 crore Ballarpur loans to Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company
• ICICI bank headquarter is in Mumbai and CEO is Chanda Kochhar
• Axis Bank headquarter is in Mumbai and CEO is Shikha Sharma
• Ballarpur is a town and a municipal council in Chandrapur district in the state of Maharashtra, India
• Jhargram declared as the 22nd district of West Bengal
• CM of West Bengal is Mamta Banerjee
• Governor of West Bengal is Keshari Nath Tripathi
• Government officially launched the low emission Bharat stage (BS)-IV Grade fuel in Bhubaneswar, Odisha
• Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural Gas is Dharmendra Pradhan.

QUIZ-05

Q1. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan inaugurated the two-day South Asian Speaker’s summit held in _______________, recently.
Answer: Madhya Pradesh

Q2. President Dr. Pranab Mukherjee has extended his greetings and felicitations to the Government and people of the Islamic Republic of The Gambia on the occasion of their Independence Day. What is the capital of Gambia?
Answer: Banjul

Q3. _____________________ has been given the maximum ratings by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for vaccine regulations, recently.
Answer: National Regulatory Authority of India

Q4. Which bank has bagged the “National MSME Excellence Award 2017” instituted by the Federation of Industry, Trade and Services, recently?
Answer: Corporation Bank

Q5. Who has been appointed as non-executive chairman of Punjab National Bank, recently?
Answer: Sunil Mehta

Q6. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has launched __________ appeal to help two million acutely malnourished children across Sudan including hundreds of thousands living in conflict areas.
Answer: US $110 million

Q7. India has been ranked 143 out of 186 economies in the annual Index of Economic Freedom 2017 released by US based Think Tank, The Heritage Foundation. Which country has topped the annual Index of Economic Freedom 2017?
Answer: Hong Kong

Q8. The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Radha Mohan Singh has inaugurated the Indian Seed Congress 2017 in-
Answer: Kolkata

Q9. Who has/have been appointed as the new executive director of Bank of India?
Answer: Atanu Kumar Das and Neelam Damodaran

Q10. The Bihar cabinet has cleared an amendment in the state prohibition law, after which bureaucrats, judges or magistrates caught drinking anywhere in the world will be punished. Who is the present Chief Minister of Bihar?
Answer: Nitish Kumar

Q11. _______________ has received markets regulator SEBI’s approval to raise Rs. 4,300 crore through Initial Public Offering (IPO), recently.
Answer: IRB InvIT Fund

Q12. Name the first Indian sportsperson to ink Rs 100-cr deal for eight years with Puma.
Answer: Virat Kohli

Q13. The decks have been cleared for the national rollout of accrual accounting in Railways. The CA Institute’s _____________ has signed an agreement with Railways for this purpose.
Answer: Accounting Research Foundation (ARF)

Q14. On the occasion of the Foundation Day of Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC), it has come up with several digital offerings including launch of mobile wallet ‘Oriental Batuaa’, recently. Its headquater is in ______________.
Answer: Gurugram

Q15. Name the e-commerce company that has tied up with Microsoft to be parners on 'cloud' in Bangalore, recently.
Answer: Flipkart

Daily GK Update 04th April, 2017

Government sets up National Board for Electric Mobility 

i. The Centre has constituted National Board of Electric Mobility (NBEM) to promote electric mobility and manufacturing of electric (& hybrid) vehicles and their components.
ii. The Board will be chaired by the Shri Girish Shankar,  Secretary of the Department of Heavy Industry. The NBEM will examine, formulate and propose short as well as long-term plans and contours of the mission program on electric mobility and its objectives.

India, Malaysia tie up for skilling, entrepreneurship development

i. The Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) has tied up with Pembangunan Sumber Manusia Berhad (PSMB), an arm of Human Resource Development Fund under Ministry of HRD, Malaysia.
ii.The tie-up was done for skill development and providing assistance to the South-East Asian country in its target of ensuring 35 per cent skilled Malaysian workforce by 2020.
iii. The first activity after signing the MoU would be to train close to 100 youth in entrepreneurship through classroom training, simulation exercises and field exposure.

First bio-gas bus in Kolkata with flat Rs1 fare

i. Phoenix India Research and Development Group launched the first bio-gas fuelled bus in Kolkata keeping a flat fare of just Rs 1.
ii. The company has tied-up with Ashok Leyland to manufacture the 54-seater bus at a cost of Rs 13 lakh approximately. The first bus will be flagged off on April 7, 2017 and will run between Ultadanga in the north and Garia in the south in Kolkata.

Malaysia agrees to set up technology park in Andhra Pradesh

i. A Malaysian company MTN has agreed to help set up a technology park in Andhra Pradesh that’s expected to attract private sector investment of $100 million in the first phase.
ii. The Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board and MIGHT (Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology) Technology Nurturing Sdn. Bhd (MTN) have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on building the park, which will cover 250 acres and focus on new technologies.
iii. Phase 1 will be spread over 100 acres to produce biodegradable packaging for the food and electronics industries.

SBI cuts lending rates by 0.15%

i. Ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy this week, the country's largest bank, State Bank of India has reduced its benchmark lending rate by 0.15%.

ii. Base rate or the minimum lending rate of the bank has been reduced from 9.25% to 9.1%. The cut in SBI's base rate was effective from 1st April 2017.

 Ola integrates with UPI to simplify payment options

i. Cab aggregator Ola has integrated with Unified Payment Interface (UPI) to simplify digital payment options for its customers.

ii. This integration will allow Ola customers to use their unique UPI IDs to pay for all their rides on the Ola platform. While making payments for the Ola rides, a customer will now have an option called ‘Pay by UPI’ along with cash, debit/credit card and Ola Money wallet option.

FIFA bans former Guatemala FA president Brayan Jimenez for life

i. FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) banned Guatemala's former football chief Brayan Jimenez for life over corruption, bribery and other offences.

ii. Jimenez was banned for life from all football-related activities at national and international level.

India ranks 3rd for third year in a row in WADA doping charts

i. India has been ranked third for the third year in a row in a doping violation report published by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for 2015 with 117 athletes from the country being punished after testing positive for banned substances.

ii. India followed Russian Federation (176 athletes) and Italy (129 athletes) at the third spot in the doping violation chart released by the WADA.

WhatsApp mulls foray into digital payments with India launch
i. WhatsApp move into digital payments in India, its biggest market that is home to 200 million of its billion plus global users, would replicate similar moves by messaging apps like Tencent Holdings Ltd's WeChat in China.
ii. WhatsApp is working to launch person-to-person payments in India in the next six months.

Lenin Moreno to sworn in as the Ecuador President
i. Ruling Party of Ecuador, Alianza PAIS candidate Lenin Moreno won the Ecuador’s presidential election to sworn in as the Ecuador President.
ii. He defeated conservative former banker Guillermo Lasso who demands a recount after three exit polls.



Noted scriptwriter Ajey Jhankar no more
i. Ajey Jhankar, the noted author and filmmaker passed away. He served as a Director of MM Activ Sci-Tech Communications Pvt. Ltd from January 2000.
ii. He was the writer of Marathi novel 'Sarkarnama'.

Renowned Hindustani classical vocalist Kishori Amonkar passes away

i. Renowned Hindustani classical vocalist Kishori Amonkar passes away. She was 84.

ii. She was from Jaipur Gharana and received the Padma Bhushan in 1987 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2002.

Important Takeaways from above GK Update are as follows-

• Centre has constituted National Board of Electric Mobility (NBEM) 
• NBEM full form is National Board of Electric Mobility 
• India, Malaysia signed for seven MoUs
• Malaysia currency and capital is Malaysian ringgit and Kaula Lumpur.
• India's First Biogas Bus Service Launched in Kolkata
• Phoenix India Research and Development Group launched this service in Kolkata with a fare of Rs1.
• A Malaysian company MIGHT Technology Nurturing Sdn. Bhd (MTN) has agreed to help set up a technology park in Andhra Pradesh
• Full form of MIGHT is Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology
• Malaysia’s Prime Minister is Mr. Najib Razak and its capital is Kuala Lumpur
• State Bank of India has reduced its benchmark lending rate by 0.15%
• Headquarter of SBI in Mumbai
• Chairperson of SBI is Arundhati Bhattacharya
• SBI was founded in 1955
• SBI earlier named as Imperial Bank of India which was founded in 1921
• Ola tied up with UPI
• Ola headquarter is in Bengaluru and CEO is Bhavish Aggarwal
• UPI is a payment system launched by National Payments Corporation of India and regulated by Reserve Bank of India
• UPI is used to facilitates the fund transfer between two bank accounts on the mobile platform instantly.
• Full form of FIFA is International Federation of Association Football
• It has banned Guatemala's former football chief Brayan Jimenez for life
• Guatemala is a Country in Central America and its capital is Guatemala City
• Headquarter of FIFA is in Zurich, Switzerland and its President is Gianni Infantino
• India has been ranked third in a doping violation report published by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for 2015
• The list was topped by Russia
• The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was established in 1999
• Headquarter of WADA is in Montreal, Canada.
• Classical vocalist Kishori Amonkar passes away
• She was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1987 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2002.

QUIZ-04

QUIZ-04

Q1. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully ground tested its indigenously developed Cryogenic Upper Stage engine for GSLV Mark III at its Liquid Propulsion Complex at Mahendragiri in Tirunelveli district of _____________.
Answer: Tamil Nadu

Q2. Jambuvantrao Dhote died in Yavatmal of Maharashtra due to heart attack, recently. He was famous _____________.
Answer: Politician

Q3. A famous Indian singer _________________ has been honoured with the 'Legendary Award' 2017 by Brand Laureate. The Brand Laureate Awards recognise world-class achievement in branding amongst individuals and companies.
Answer: Lata Mangeshkar

Q4. An Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) has been commissioned at Kochi recently by Vice Admiral AR Karwe, Flag Officer Commanding-in- Chief, Southern Naval Command. It is the 20th and the last in the series of 20 Fast Patrol Vessels being built by Cochin Shipyard Ltd. What is the name of this Ship?
Answer: AYUSH

Q5. Which country has hosted the Women's World Chess Championship 2017, a 64-player knock-out tournament?
Answer: Iran

Q6. Who has been selected for 2016 Vyas Samman for his novel "Kaatna Shami Ka Vriksha Padma Pankhuri Ki Dhar Se"?
Answer: Surendra Verma

Q7. There are 75 small operational airports in the country, and this number will increase to over 125 with the successful implementation of UDAN the new scheme through which the government hopes to make flying viable to Tier II and III cities.
UDAN stands for-
Answer: Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik

Q8. Eight Executive Directors (EDs) have been appointed in various public sector banks on the recommendations of Banks Board Bureau Initially, they have been appointments for ____________ year period.
Answer: Three year

Q9. Union Human Resource Development Ministry has stated that to avail benefit under the Central Sector Scholarship Scheme for College and University students, applicants will now have to furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar card or undergo Aadhaar authentication. Who is the present Union Human Resource Development (HRD) minister?
Answer: Prakash Javadekar

Q10. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased the gold loan limit for RRBs (Regional Rural Banks) to ___________ from the current Rs 1 lakh to help the farmers and artisans have access to credit who are willing to pledge gold as collateral.
Answer: Rs. 2,00,000

Q11. Statehood day of Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram is celebrated on 20th February every year. These two states of India were established in year ____________.
Answer: 1987

Q12. An MoU was signed at the ‘Momentum Jharkhand: Global Investors’ Summit & Trade Exhibition between Jharkhand government and a leading IT company to leverage cloud technologies to drive the state’s digital ambitions. What is the name of that IT company?
Answer: Microsoft India

Q13. The world famous 'Khajuraho Dance Festival' begun in Madhya Pradesh, recently. When did UNESCO inscripted Khajuraho in World Heritage Centre?
Answer: 1986

Q14. Former Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir passed away, recently. He was ___________ years old.
Answer: 68

Q15. People of Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh celebrated statehood day on 20th february. It was ___________ statehood day of Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram.
Answer: 31st