Daily GK Update 07th April, 2017

64th National Film Awards

i. The 64th National Film Awards were announced in which the Directorate of Film Festivals presents its annual National Film Awards to honor the best films of 2016 in the Indian cinema.
 ii. The awards ceremony will be held on 3 May 2017 in India.
Click Here to Read More

World Health Day: 7 April 

i. World Health Day is celebrated on 7th of April every year to mark the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization. 

ii. The theme of 2017 World Health Day is 'Depression: Let's Talk'.

Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated 3-day National Children’s Film Festival

i. Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Urban Development M Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated a three-day National Children’s Film Festival in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. 
ii. It is the largest film festival for children in the country giving the audience quality and wholesome entertainment. The aim of the film festival is to expose children to quality cinema and to introduce novel elements beyond films.

India & Israel sign defense deals worth over 2 billion dollars

i. India and Israel signed a mega defense deals worth over 2 billion dollars for advanced surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems, to further tighten the bilateral strategic partnership ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Israel in July, 2017. 
ii. The SAM systems are designed to destroy hostile aircraft, missiles and drones at a range of 70-km. The major deal was for the joint project between the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for the Barak-8 medium-range SAM systems for the Indian Army.

 RBL Bank opens IFSC Banking Unit in GIFT City

i. Ratnakar Bank limited (RBL) Bank announced the opening of its Indian Financial System Code (IFSC) Banking Unit (IBU) at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City). 

ii. The leading private sector bank had received an in-principle approval from RBI for setting up IBU in November 2016.

NEFT transfers to be faster as RBI cuts clearance time

i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to slash clearance time for National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) in an attempt to enhance the efficiency of the electronic payment system and add to customer convenience.  
ii. The NEFT settlement cycle will be reduced from hourly batches to half hourly batches, the RBI stated in the first bi-monthly monetary policy for 2017-18. 
iii. 11 additional settlement batches will be introduced at 8.30 am onwards, taking the total number of half hourly settlement batches during the day to 23. RBI also stated the starting batch at 8 am and closing batch at 7 pm shall remain the same and the return discipline will also remain the same as per the existing practice.

 Bhimaraya Metri joins as Director of IIM Trichy

i. Bhimaraya Metri has taken over as Director of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Trichy (IIM Tiruchirappalli). 
ii. He succeeded Prafulla Agnihotri. Prior to joining IIM Trichy, Metri was the Dean at L&T Institute of Project Management, Vadodara.


India's first transgender police officer appointed in Tamil Nadu
i. K Prithika Yashini, aged around 25 years, is the first transgender person to become a police official in India, appointed in Tamil Nadu. 
ii. After struggling with the social dogma and gender bias, she recently applied to become a police sub-inspector in Dharampuri, Tamil Nadu. A court in Chennai, Madras has now ruled in her favour.

Facebook launches digital assistant 'M' in US
i. Facebook launched its digital assistant named 'M' for US users of its Messenger application, ramping up the social network's efforts in artificial intelligence.
ii. For users of the messaging platform, M will pop up and suggest helpful actions in the chat window. 'M' uses artificial intelligence and suggests relevant actions to help manage conversations or help get things done. 

Germany ‘1st NATO member’ to launch cyber command
i. Germany is the first North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) state to launch a 'self-contained' cyber command unit designed to shield IT and weapons systems from growing attacks. 
ii. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is one of the world’s major international institutions. It is a political and military Alliance of 28 member countries from Europe and North America.

Ministry approves appointment of two foreign athletics coaches

i. Sports Minister Mr. Vijay Goel has approved the appointment of two top foreign athletics coaches, one each in race walking and 400m race. Australian Dave Smith has been appointed as the coach in race walking. 
ii. The ministry also approved the appointment of American Galina P Bukharina as coach of national 400m and 400m relay teams. The appointments have been made keeping in mind the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 
iii. The ministry has also approved the appointment of two masseurs- Dmitry Kislev and Elmira Kisleva both from Russia.

RCB, Nazara tie up to launch online cricket game
i. Royal Challengers Bangalore and gaming entity Nazara Games have come together to launch a new mobile cricket game RCB Star Cricket. 
ii. This will also mark the first cricket franchise to have a game off the field and on the screen.



P V Sindhu reaches career-best World No.2 ranking
i. Rio Olympics silver medallist P V Sindhu jumped three places to achieve a career-best world number two ranking in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings. 
ii. The 21-year-old shuttler from Hyderabad became only the second Indian woman after Saina Nehwal to break into the top-five of the world rankings by earning 75759 points. 



Important Takeaways from above GK Update are as follows-

• World Health Day is celebrated globally on 7th of April
• The Theme of 2017 World Health Day is  'Depression: Let's Talk'
• World Health Day is celebrated to mark the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization
• Headquarter of WHO is in Geneva, Switzerland.
• Dr. Margaret Chan is the Director-General of WHO.
• RBI has decided to slash clearance time for NEFT
• National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) is a nation-wide payment system facilitating one-to-one funds transfer
• Under NEFT, the transactions are processed and settled in batches, hence are not real time.
• 3-day National Children’s Film Festival inaugurated in Vishakhapatnam
• Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Urban Development is Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu
• AP capital is Amravati and CM is Nara Chandrababu Naidu
• Governor of AP is E.S.L Narasimhan
• 3-day National Children’s Film Festival inaugurated in Vishakhapatnam
• Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Urban Development is Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu
• AP capital is Amravati and CM is Nara Chandrababu Naidu
• Governor of AP is E.S.L Narasimhan
• PV Sindhu reaches career-best World Number 2 ranking
• PV Sindhu has recently bagged Indian open title, 2017
• Tai Tzu Ying of China is at World Number 1 Ranking
• Sports Ministry approved the appointment of two foreign athletics coaches, Dave Smith (for race walking) and  Galina P Bukharina (for national 400m and 400m relay teams)
• Mr. Vijay Goel is the Minister of State (I/C) of Youth Affairs and Sports
• 2020 Summer Olympics will be organized in Tokyo, Japan
• Bhimaraya Metri appointed as Director of IIM Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu
• IIM Trichy was founded in 2011
• Bhimaraya Metri succeeds Prafulla Agnihotri
• RBL bank has opened it's IFSC banking unit in GIFT City
• RBL bank headquarter is in Maharashtra
• Slogan of RBL bank is 'apno ka bank' and it was founded in 1943
• CEO of RBL bank is Vishwavir Ahuja

QUIZ-07

Q1. The World Bank has recently signed a 100 million US dollar credit agreement with the Centre and which one of the following state government to improve the quality of health care services?

(a) Uttarakhand

(b) Meghalaya

(c) Assam

(d) Himachal Pradesh

(e) Bihar

Q2. Name the Photojournalist who was conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) ministry for his remarkable contribution to the field.

(a) Ashok Bansal

(b) Tripurari Sharma

(c) Raghu Rai

(d) Ramnath Shukla

(e) Anup Shekhawat

Q3. Yves Meyer won the 2017 Abel Prize, recently. He is famous ____________.

(a) Biologist

(b) Surgeon

(c) Musician

(d) Mathematician

(e) Philosopher

Q4. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has recently commissioned the world’s third largest hypersonic wind tunnel in ___________.

(a) Karnataka

(b) Kerala

(c) Odisha

(d) Andhra Pradesh

(e) Maharashtra

Q5. Defense Minister Arun Jaitley handed over three naval systems, developed by premier Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) to the Indian Navy. Chairman of DRDO is _____________.

(a) Kiran Kumar

(b) R. Madhavan

(c) James Robert

(d) S. Christopher

(e) Vinay Kumar

Q6. The country’s sole aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya successfully carried out the maiden test of the newly installed Barak Missile. BARAK is _________.

(a) Medium-Range surface-to-surface Missile

(b) Medium-Range surface-to-air Missile

(c) Short-Range surface-to-air Missile

(d) Short-Range surface-to-surface Missile

(e) None of the given options are true

Q7. Finance Minister of India has recently announced to change the name of Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) to ___________ for the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.

(a) CBIC

(b) CNBC

(c) CBAC

(d) CBOC

(e) None of the given options are true

Q8. Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) is situated in ____________. 

(a) Karnataka

(b) Kerala

(c) Odisha

(d) Maharashtra

(e) Gujarat

Q9. Name the state government that has recently signed two MoUs with State Bank of India (SBI) to provide housing loan and education loan for its employees.

(a) Uttarakhand

(b) Jharkhand

(c) Telangana

(d) Assam

(e) Punjab

Q10. Headquarter of World Bank is in _________ and its CEO is _________.

(a) Geneva, San Ki Moon

(b) Beijing, Robert Pattison

(c) Washington D.C., Kristalina Georgieva

(d) Tokyo, Adam Matthews

(e) Philippines, Pater Karry

Solutions

S1. Ans.(a)

Sol. The World Bank has signed a 100 million US dollar credit agreement with the Centre and Uttarakhand in New Delhi to improve the quality of health care services in all 13 districts of the state. 

S2. Ans.(c)

Sol. Photojournalist Raghu Rai was conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) ministry for “his remarkable contribution to the field.”

S3. Ans.(d)

Sol. The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters has awarded the Abel Prize for 2017 to mathematician Yves Meyer. He was awarded for his pivotal role in the development of the mathematical theory of wavelets.

S4. Ans.(b)

Sol. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) created history by commissioning the world’s third largest hypersonic wind tunnel at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

S5. Ans.(d)

Sol. Defense Minister Arun Jaitley handed over three naval systems, developed by premier Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) to the Indian Navy. DRDO chairman is S.Christopher.

S6. Ans.(c)

Sol. The country’s sole aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya successfully carried out the maiden test of the newly installed Barak short-range surface-to-air missile (SAM).

S7. Ans.(a)

Sol. The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) will be reorganized for the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime and will be renamed as the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) following Parliamentary approval.

S8. Ans.(b)

Sol. Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) is situated in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

S9. Ans.(d)

Sol. The state government of Assam has signed two MoUs with Mumbai-based State Bank of India (SBI) to provide housing loan and education loan for its employees.

S10. Ans.(c)

Sol. World Bank headquarter is in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. and World Bank CEO is Kristalina Georgieva.

Daily GK Update 06th April, 2017

Monetary policy review: RBI leaves repo rate unchanged

The Reserve Bank of India has released the first Bi-monthly Monetary policy of the new financial year (2017-18). GDP growth has hiked to 7.4% from 6.7%. Rates in the newly released Monetary policy are as follows-

• Repo Rate under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) unchanged at 6.25%. 
• The Reverse Repo Rate (RRR) under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) has been hiked to 6% from 5.75%. 
• The Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate are at 6.50% decline from 6.75%. 
• Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) remains unchanged at 4% and Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) also remains unchanged at 20.50%.

Cabinet approvals on 5th April 2017

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the following agreements on 5th April.The list of agreements is given as follows-

Cabinet Approves-

1. MoU between India and Australia on cooperation in the field of Health and Medicine 

2. agreement on Audio Visual Co-Production between India and Bangladesh 

3. MoU on Cooperation in the field of Mass Media between India and Bangladesh 

Click Here to Read More

PM to lay foundation stone of a multi-modal terminal on River Ganga in Jharkhand

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of a multi-modal terminal on River Ganga at Sahebganj in Jharkhand. 
ii. The state of the art terminal, to be constructed at an estimated cost of 280 crore rupees, is an important component of the development of the National Waterway-1 from Varanasi to Haldia. 

International Day of Sport for Development and Peace: 06th April

i. 6 April was declared as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) by the UN General Assembly. 
ii. On the occasion of the 2017 International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP), the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace (UNOSDP) launches the digital campaign #WePlayTogether to encourage organizations and individuals.

Haryana government to provide Rs 21,000 to families for third girl child 

i. Haryana government has decided to provide a one-time grant of Rs 21,000 to all those families whose third girl child was born after August 24, 2015, under the 'Aapki Beti, Hamari Beti' scheme. 
ii. Under the scheme, the eligible families will receive the amount irrespective of their caste, creed, religion, income and number of sons.

Yogi Adityanath govt waives Rs 36,359-crore loan for UP farmers
i. The BJP-led government in Uttar Pradesh decided to waive off crop loans of up to Rs 1 lakh of small and marginal farmers in the state. 
ii. About 92.5% of the state’s farmers fall in the small and marginal categories. Besides, the cabinet also decided to write off Rs 5,630 crore in non-performing assets (NPAs) of 700,000 farmers.

Aditya Birla Group gets RBI licence to start payments bank

i. Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Ltd becomes the seventh entity to receive a final licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to set up a payments bank. ii. Except Vodafone M-Pesa Ltd, all payment bank licence holders have received the final approval. 
iii. Among payment bank licence holders, two entities namely Airtel Payments Bank and India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) have started operations so far. While Airtel is offering 7.25% interest on its savings account, IPPB is offering three types of accounts where interest rates will vary from 4.5-5.5%.

IDBI Bank cuts deposit rates by up to 75 bps

i. IDBI Bank has reduced interest rates, ranging from 50 to 75 basis points, on retail term deposits (RTD) with effect from April 5, 2017. 
ii. Following the rate cut, the highest interest rate that the bank now offers is 6.40% (earlier 6.90%) on deposits of one-two years maturity. 



India, UK to set up 240 mn pound fund for green energy

i. India and the UK decided to set up a 240 million pound fund to finance clean energy projects. 
 ii. The Green Growth Equity Fund will be a sub-fund of NIIF. India had in 2015 set up the Rs 40,000 crore National Infrastructure and Investment Fund (NIIF) to finance greenfield as well as brownfield projects. 
iii. The fund will focus initial investments in India’s rapidly growing energy and renewables market.

India’s ranks 7th in world’s largest tourism economy in terms of GDP

i. India's travel and tourism sector ranks 7th in the world in terms of its total contribution to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to a new report of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), 2016. 
ii. The USA topped the list followed by China and Germany at the second and third positions, respectively.

ADB lends $175 m loan to Power Grid Corporation
i. The Manila-headquartered  Asian Development Bank (ADB) lends a $175 million loan to the Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. 
ii. The project will improve the capacity and efficiency of interstate transmission networks, particularly in transmitting the electricity generated from the new solar parks to the national grid. 

Raman Roy is new Nasscom chairman

i.The National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) appointed Raman Roy (Managing Director of Quatrro Global Services) as its chairman for 2017-2018. 
ii. Rishad Premji (Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), Wipro Limited) has been appointed Vice Chairman. Raman Roy has replaced Mr. CP Gurnani.

FMCG highest paying industry in India: Randstad survey
i. The Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry has emerged as the highest paying industry in India with an average annual cost to company (CTC) of Rs. 11.3 lakh across all levels and functions according to Randstad survey, 2017. 
ii. Randstad is a Dutch multinational human resource consulting firm headquartered in Diemen, Netherland. Randstad is the world's second-largest HR service provider.

India allows duty-free imports of 500,000 tonnes of raw sugar
i. India, the world’s biggest sugar consumer, will allow imports of 500,000 tonnes of duty-free raw sugar, as a drought has cut output below consumption levels for the first time in seven years. Duty-free imports would be allowed until 12 June, 2017. 



NTPC appoints head for Kudgi project
i. NTPC has appointed Sanjeev Kishore as Group General Manager at Kudgi Super thermal Power Project, Karnataka. Kishore joined the services of NTPC in 1984 and has served in various capacities of NTPC projects.



Japan Officially Recognises Bitcoin as Currency 
i. Bitcoin has finally gained the recognition of a mainstream currency along the lines of other fiat currencies. 
ii. The privilege follows the implementation of a new law in Japan which categorizes Bitcoin as a legal payment option within the country. 


 Virat Kohli crowned Wisden’s ‘king of the willow’ for 2016
i. India’s Virat Kohli was named Wisden’s Leading Cricketer in the World for 2016. 
ii. Kohli had also won the prestigious ‘Polly Umrigar award’ presented to the ‘International Cricketer of the Year’ at the BCCI Annual Awards. 
iii. Kohli was additionally declared Wisden India Almanack’s Cricketer of the Year for the second time in its 2017 edition.

Important Takeaways from above GK Update are as follows-

• PM Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of a multi-modal terminal on River Ganga in Jharkhand
• National Waterways (NW-1) runs from Haldia (Sagar) to Allahabad across the Ganges, Bhagirathi and Hooghly river systems
• CM of Jharkhand is Raghubar Das
• Governor of Jharkhand is Draupadi Murmu
• ADB grants $175 m loan to Power Grid Corporation
• Takehiko Nakao is the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB)
• ADB full form is Asian Development Bank
• Headquarter of ADB in Manila, Philippines
• National Association of Software and Services Companies is the full form of Nasscom
• Raman Roy is new chairman of Nasscom
• He has replaced Mr. CP Gurnani
• Rishad Premji has been appointed as Vice Chairman
• International Day of Sport for Development and Peace is observed on 6th April
• United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace (UNOSDP) launches the digital campaign #WePlayTogether
• Peter Thomson is the President of the United Nations General Assembly
• Aditya Birla Group gets RBI licence to start payments bank
• Airtel launched India's first payments bank
• A payments bank is like any other bank, but operating on a smaller scale without involving any credit risk. 
• India stand's at the world’s 7th largest tourism economy in terms of GDP
• WTTC full form is World Travel and Tourism Council 
• WTTC 2016 list is topped by the USA.
• Haryana Govt grant Rs 21,000 to families for third girl child
• 'Aapki Beti, Hamari Beti' scheme was launched to insure the survival of newborn girl child along with proper health and promote education of girls in the state
• Haryana CM is Manohar Lal Khattar
• Governor of Haryana is Kaptan Singh Solanki.
• India and UK to set up 240 mn pound fund for green energy
• Full form of NIIF is National Infrastructure and Investment Fund
• Capital of the United Kingdom (UK) is London and its Prime Minister is Theresa May
• Currency of UK is Pound
• IDBI Bank reduced deposits rates by up to 75bps
• IDBI Bank headquarter is in Mumbai
• CEO of IDBI Bank is Kishor Kharat
• FMCG industry has emerged as the highest paying industry in India
• FMCG full form is Fast-moving consumer goods
• Randstad human resource consulting firm headquartered in Diemen, Netherland.

QUIZ-006

Q1. Who has been appointed as the new Vice-Chancellor of Nalanda University?

(a) David Beasley

(b) Sima Kamil

(c) Vanaja Sarna 

(d) Sunaina Singh

(e) George Yeo

Q2. Name the Indian forward player, who has named the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) Player of the Year for 2016.

(a) S V Sunil

(b) Arjun Halappa

(c) Sardara Singh 

(d) P. R. Shreejesh

(e) Sandeep Singh

Q3. President Pranab Mukherjee has inaugurated the "Namami Brahmaputra" festival on the banks of the river Brahmaputra in 21 districts of-

(a) Jharkhand

(b) Tripura

(c) Assam

(d) West Bengal

(e) Arunachal Pradesh

Q4. Which among the following countries has become the first country in the world to ban metals mining nationwide?

(a) Panama

(b) El Salvador

(c) Guatemala

(d) Belize

(e) None of the given options is true

Q5. Name the American astronaut, who made history when she floated outside the International Space Station (ISS) and broke the record for the most spacewalks by a woman?

(a) Thomas Akers

(b) Aydyn Aimbetov 

(c) Vladimir Aksyonov

(d) James Adamson

(e) Peggy Whitson

Q6. As per the government announcement the returns on small savings schemes, including Public Provident Fund (PPF), National Savings Certificate (NSC) and Kisan Vikas Patra, has been lowered by 0.1 percent for the April-June (2017) quarter. Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) investments will yield 7.6% and mature in ________.

(a) 116 months

(b) 114 months

(c) 108 months

(d) 110 months

(e) 112 months

Q7. The Loan Agreement for New Development Bank (NDB) financing of ____________ for Development and Upgradation of Major District Roads Project in Madhya Pradesh was signed between Government of India and the New Development Bank (NDB).

(a) US$ 1000 Million

(b) US$ 750 Million

(c) US$ 500 Million

(d) US$ 350 Million

(e) US$ 100 Million

Q8. Parliament has passed the Mental Healthcare Bill, 2016, which provides healthcare and services to the people with mental illness and also decriminalizes suicide. Who is the present Union Health Minister of India?

(a) Maneka Sanjay Gandhi

(b) Smriti Zubin Irani 

(c) Jagat Prakash Nadda

(d) Ravi Shankar Prasad

(e) Harsimrat Kaur Badal

Q9. Which among the following two banks have launched co-branded credit cards for the customers recently?

(a) PNB and South Indian Bank

(b) SBI and Karnataka Bank

(c) ICICI and Indian Overseas Bank

(d) Axis Bank and Bank of Baroda

(e) Indian Bank and Bandhan Bank

Q10. Who has appointed as the new chairman of Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC)?

(a) Vanaja N. Sarna

(b) Swati Gupta

(c) Tanushree Pareek

(d) Upendra Tripathy

(e) T S Anantharaman

Q11. Which among the following countries has committed an 'Official Development Assistance' (ODA) of 371.345 billion yen (about Rs 21,590 crore) under 2016-2017 for various infrastructure projects, including the dedicated freight corridor in India?

(a) Malaysia

(b) Thailand

(c) South Korea

(d) Japan

(e) China

Q12. Kanha tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh has become the first tiger reserve in India to officially introduce a mascot of its own. The Mascot has been named as.................? 

(a) Bhoorsingh the Barasingha

(b) Shersingh the Sheraham

(c) Baghathakut the Bhaghwar

(d) Singham the Singhatam

(e) None of the given options is true

Q13. Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has given the ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi. Najib Tun Razak is present Prime Minister of-

(a) Bhutan

(b) Nepal

(c) Malaysia

(d) Singapore

(e) Russia

Q14. Name the private sector bank, which has tied up with Wells Fargo (the third largest American bank by assets) to offer real-time remittances from the Indian diaspora to their relatives back home?

(a) HDFC Bank

(b) Axis Bank

(c) ICICI Bank

(d) South Indian Bank

(e) Karnataka Bank

Q15. The Indian Army has entered into an MoU with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) to the objective of the agreement is to identify and enhance the critical technological areas that can be enhanced in the armed forces. Who is the present Chief of Army Staff?

(a) General Birender Singh Dhanoa 

(b) General Sunil Lanba

(c) General Bikram Singh

(d) General Dalbir Singh

(e) General Bipin Rawat

Solutions

S1. Ans.(d)
Sol. Sunaina Singh has been appointed as the new Vice-Chancellor of Nalanda University. She was Vice Chancellor of Hyderabad-based EFL University. The University has been without Chancellor and Vice Chancellor after George Yeo resigned from the post. The University has received a total of 160 applications for the position and six people were called for interviews and three names were then sent to the Visitor. Singh’s name was on top.

S2. Ans.(a)
Sol. Indian forward player S V Sunil has named the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) Player of the Year for 2016. Drag-flick specialist Harmanpreet Singh was chosen as the Promising Player of the Year in the continental body’s annual awards. S.V. Sunil played a vital role in India's successful outing at the FIH Champions Trophy in London where the team earned a historic silver medal.

S3. Ans.(c)
Sol. President Pranab Mukherjee has inaugurated the "Namami Brahmaputra" festival on the banks of the river Brahmaputra in 21 districts of Assam. The main purpose of the 5 day festival (31st March to 04th April, 2017) is to give a boost to the investment and tourism prospect in the state. Prime Minister of Bhutan Tshering Tobgay and Governor of Assam Banwarilal Purohit has attended the inaugural ceremony.

S4. Ans.(b)
Sol. El Salvador, Central America’s smallest nation, has become the first country in the world to ban metals mining nationwide. The new law, supported by 70 lawmakers, bans all exploration, extraction, and processing of metals both in open pits and mines. The level of environmental pollution in El Salvador is one of the highest in the region and the availability of drinking water is the lowest, according to UN data.

S5. Ans.(e)
Sol. American astronaut Peggy Whitson made history when she floated outside the International Space Station (ISS). She broke the record for the most spacewalks by a woman. Whitson at the age of 57, is making her eighth career spacewalk, surpassing the record of seven previously held by American Sunita Williams. Ms Whitson earned a doctorate in biochemistry and served as the first female space station commander in 2008.

S6. Ans.(e)
Sol. As per the government announcement the returns on small savings schemes, including Public Provident Fund (PPF), National Savings Certificate (NSC) and Kisan Vikas Patra, will be lowered by 0.1 percent for the April-June quarter. According to finance ministry notification, investments in the public provident fund (PPF) scheme will fetch lower annual rate of 7.9%, the same as a five-year National Savings Certificate. The existing rate for these two schemes is 8%. Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) investments will yield 7.6% and mature in 112 months.

S7. Ans.(d)
Sol. The Loan Agreement for New Development Bank (NDB) financing of US$ 350 Million for Development and Upgradation of Major District Roads Project in Madhya Pradesh was signed between Government of India and the New Development Bank (NDB).
This is the First Loan Agreement for NDB assisted project in India. The objective of the Project is upgradation of major district roads (Approx. 1,500 km) in Madhya Pradesh to improve connectivity of the interior areas of the state with the national and state highway networks.

S8. Ans.(c)
Sol. Parliament has passed the Mental Healthcare Bill, 2016, which provides healthcare and services to the people with mental illness and also decriminalizes suicide. The government will set up a Central Mental Health Authority at the national level and a State Mental Health Authority in every state. Under the Mental Healthcare Bill, the punishment for flouting of provisions will attract up to six months in prison or Rs 10,000 fine or both. Jagat Prakash Nadda is the present Union Health Minister of India. 

S9. Ans.(b)
Sol. Karnataka Bank and SBI Card have launched co-branded credit cards for the customers of Karnataka Bank. Through this alliance, Karnataka Bank and SBI Card will launch two variants of the co-branded credit card named ‘Karnataka Bank Platinum SBI Card’ and ‘Karnataka Bank SimplySAVE SBI Card’. ‘Karnataka Bank Platinum SBI Card’, which has been designed keeping in mind the premium customers, offers features in line with their lifestyle and spending patterns. ‘Karnataka Bank SimplySAVE SBI Card’ is aimed at value-conscious consumers and offers rewards and features that enable customers to maximise their savings on their regular spends.

S10. Ans.(a)
Sol. Vanaja N. Sarna has appointed as the new chairman of Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC). She has replaced Najib Shah after his retirement. Prior to becoming Member of the CBEC, she held the charge of Director General of Vigilance and Chief Vigilance Officer of the Department.

S11. Ans.(d)
Sol. Japan has committed an 'Official Development Assistance' (ODA) of 371.345 billion yen (about Rs 21,590 crore) under 2016-2017 for various infrastructure projects, including the dedicated freight corridor, in India. The notes in this regard were exchanged in New Delhi between S Selvakumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs and Kenji Hiramatsu, Ambassador of Japan to India.

S12. Ans.(a)
Sol. Kanha tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh has become the first tiger reserve in India to officially introduce a mascot of its own. The Mascot has been named 'Bhoorsingh the Barasingha' to present the hard ground swamp deer as the spirit of the reserve and spread awareness to save it from possible extinction. The Kanha tiger reserve, spread over Mandla and Balaghat districts, is the only place in the world where the species exists. Barasingha or Swamp Deer is the State animal of Madhya Pradesh.

S13. Ans.(c)
Sol. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is on a 6-day visit to India. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has given the ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi. This year marks the 60th anniversary of formal diplomatic relations. Malaysia’s father of independence, Tunku Abdul Rahman, visited India in 1962. India and Malaysia signed their strategic partnership in 2010. India has trained Malaysian pilots for the Russian SU-30 aircraft.

S14. Ans.(b)
Sol. Axis Bank has tied up with Wells Fargo (the third largest American bank by assets) to offer real-time remittances from the Indian diaspora to their relatives back home. Under the arrangement between the two banks, any member of the Indian diaspora with an account with the Wells Fargo will be able to transfer money to their relatives back home and there will be no transaction fee applicable to the money transfers from the USA. But the relative or the beneficiary in India will need to have an account with Axis Bank.

S15. Ans.(e)
Sol. The Indian Army has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M). The objective of the agreement is to identify and enhance the critical technological areas that can be enhanced in the armed forces.It also aimed at facilitating the prestigious institutions such as the IITs to achieve a better understanding of the critical technology requirements of the Indian Army through seamless interaction between the IIT M faculty and the Army officers. General Bipin Rawat is the Chief of Army Staff.