Best PSC / PCS / STATE PCS online Current Affairs

Current Affairs JUNE-2020

Showing 201 - 220 of 260 entries

201. Vidyaben Shah, who passed away recently, was associated with which field?

A
Politics

B
Social work

C
Sports

D
Literature

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Social work]

Explaination : [Veteran Social worker Vidyaben Shah passed away recently at the age of 98, at her residence in Delhi. She was regarded as the pioneer in the field of child welfare, as she established the first Bal Bhavan in Rajkot during 1940s. She also served as the president of the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW). She was awarded the Padma Shri in 1992 and received the National Award for outstanding services in the field of child welfare in 1986. ]

202. Which country is the largest holder of US govt securities at the end of April 2020?

A
China

B
Japan

C
India

D
Australia

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Japan]

Explaination : [According to the data from the US Treasury Department, India has become the 12th largest holder of US government securities at the end of April. Japan stood at the first position by holding securities worth 157.4 billion dollars. It is followed by China at 1.1 trillion dollars and the UK at 368.5 billion dollars. At the end of April, India had an exposure of 157.4 billion dollars ]

203. What is ‘NavRakshak’, that was seen in news recently?

A
Light Combat Aircraft

B
Fighter Jet

C
Personal Protective Equipment

D
Covid-19 Drug

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [Personal Protective Equipment]

Explaination : [The manufacturing know-how of a PPE Suit being named ‘NavRakshak’ has been licensed by National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) to 5 five MSMEs. The manufacturers are expected to mass produce more than 10 million PPEs per year, to meet the demand of quality PPE kits across the country. This know-how has been developed at the Mumbai-based Innovation Cell of the Institute of Naval Medicine. Intellectual property rights are also to be obtained. ]

204. Which Indian stock exchange has become the world’s 10th largest exchange with market capitalisation of $1.7 trillion?

A
National Stock Exchange

B
Bombay Stock Exchange

C
Calcutta Stock Exchange

D
Madras Stock Exchange

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Bombay Stock Exchange]

Explaination : [India’s first listed stock exchange Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has featured among the world’s 10 largest exchanges in terms of cumulative market capitalisation of all companies listed on its platform. As per the latest data from the World Federation of Exchanges, BSE stands at the tenth place in the list, with a market capitalisation of USD 1.7 trillion. The list is topped by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with a valuation of USD 19.3 trillion. It is followed by Nasdaq with a market capitalisation of USD 13.8 trillion. ]

205. Who has been appointed as the Chairman of National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP)?

A
Raghuram Rajan

B
Urjit Patel

C
U K Sinha

D
M S Sahoo

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Urjit Patel]

Explaination : [Former Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel has been appointed as Chairman of the economic think tank, the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP). Urjit Patel will be the Chairperson of NIPFP for a four-year term from June 22, 2020. He will replace Vijay Laxman Kelkar, who had been the Chairman of the think-tank since 2014. Urjit Patel served as the Deputy Governor of RBI in 2013 and Governor of RBI from 2016 to 2018. ]

206. What is the tenure of the ‘Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan’ launched by the Prime Minister of India?

A
75 days

B
100 days

C
125 days

D
200 days

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [125 days]

Explaination : [Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan, a Rs 50,000 crore dedicated programme to create job opportunities for millions of migrant workers who returned home during the lockdown imposed due to Covid-19. It was launched from Telihar village of Bihar’s Khagaria district. The scheme is expected to run in mission mode for 125 days across 116 districts in six states namely Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha. Twelve different ministries or departments will be engaged in implementing the programme. ]

207. What is the theme of the World Refugee Day 2020?

A
Every Action Counts

B
Everyone on earth matters

C
Anti-racism wins

D
Rights of Refugees

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [Every Action Counts]

Explaination : [World Refugee Day is observed annually on June 20, to create awareness of the situation of refugees across the world. The theme of this year’s observance is “Every Action Counts”. On December 4, 2000, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) decided that June 20 would be celebrated as World Refugee Day. The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol protect the refugees, who are present throughout the world. ]

208. Which country is named the President of the UN Security Council for August 2021?

A
United States

B
China

C
India

D
Norway

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [India]

Explaination : [India, which has been elected as a non-permanent member of the Security Council recently, will serve as its president for the month of August, 2021. India, Norway, Ireland, Mexico and Kenya were elected as the non-permanent members of the 15-nation-UNSC for a two-year term beginning January 1, 2021. Tunisia will begin 2021 as the President of the Council in January. It will be followed by each of the members in turn for one month, as per the English alphabetical order of the name of member states. ]

209. Which institution has been selected as the implementation Agency for PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi)?

A
Life Insurance Corporation (LIC)

B
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)

C
Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)

D
NITI Aayog

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)]

Explaination : [Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs signed a MoU with Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), to engage SIDBI as the Implementation Agency for PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi). The scheme aims to provide a working capital loan up to Rs 10000 to street vendors, who have been adversely affected by the Covid-19 lockdown. The loan is repayable in monthly instalments in 1-year tenue. On prompt payment, a subsidy of 7% per annum is also provided. ]

210. Which technology company has acquired the Swedish mapping technology company, ‘Mapillary’?

A
Amazon

B
Facebook

C
Apple

D
Google

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Facebook]

Explaination : [Technology major Facebook has recently acquired Swedish mapping technology company Mapillary, as per official sources. Mapillary crowd-sources the images, collects pictures contributed from smart phones and other types of cameras. It then uses computer vision technology to stack them together into a real-time 3-D map. This technology is expected to support Facebook products under development like augmented reality glasses and virtual reality headsets. ]

211. Which company has become India’s first $150 bn company and has also become net debt-free recently?

A
Reliance Industries

B
Tata Consultancy Services

C
HDFC Bank

D
State Bank of India

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [Reliance Industries]

Explaination : [Reliance Industries has recently become the first Indian company to be valued at $150 billion. It also became the first company to be valued at over Rs 11 lakh crore, in rupee terms. Reliance Industries is among the most valued energy companies in the world, at present. In the last two months, the company raised about Rs 1.69 lakh crore from global investors and a rights issue. As per the company’s release, Reliance had a net debt of Rs 1,61,035 crore as on March 31, 2020 and with these investments, RIL has become net debt-free. ]

212. Who has become the first Indian to participate in the $150,000 Chessable Masters tournament?

A
B. Adhiban

B
P. Harikrishna

C
Praggnanandhaa

D
Sasi Kiran

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [P. Harikrishna]

Explaination : [Indian Grandmaster P. Harikrishna is the first Indian to participate in the in the million-dollar Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour that continues with the $150,000 Chessable Masters. The Chessable Masters is a 12-player tournament which is to be played by the top six players of the world, on the classical ranking list, including Norway’s Magnus Carlsen, China’s Ling Diren and USA’s Fabiano Caruana. The field has been divided into two groups of six players each ]

213. Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojna (PMBJP) is implemented by which Union Ministry?

A
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

B
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers

C
Ministry of Women and Child Development

D
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers]

Explaination : [Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) is an initiative by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers. The scheme seeks to make high-quality medicines available to all at affordable prices, through exclusive outlets of Jan Aushadhi Kendras. Recently, Jan Aushadhi Suvidha Sanitary Napkin is being made available in more than 6300 PMBJP Kendras at a minimum price of Rs.1 per pad. ]

214. Which financial institution is the regulator of housing finance companies (HFCs) after August 2019?

A
National Housing Bank (NHB)

B
Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

C
Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)

D
Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI)

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Reserve Bank of India (RBI)]

Explaination : [The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) took over the powers to regulate HFCs from the National Housing Bank (NHB) in August 2019. Recently, RBI proposed to modify the rules of housing finance firms, which includes the formal definition of housing finance as “financing, for purchase/ construction/ reconstruction/ renovation/ repairs of residential dwelling unit”. RBI also proposed to classify HFCs as systemically important HFCs and non-systemically important HFCs. ]

215. As per BP Statistical Review, what is the position of India, in terms of energy consumption in 2019?

B
Three

C
Four

D
Five

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Three]

Explaination : [According to the BP Statistical Review released recently, India’s energy consumption in 2019 was third largest behind China (141.70 EJ) and US (94.65 EJ). While World primary energy consumption rose to 583.90 Exajoules (EJ), India’s consumption increased 2.3 per cent to 34.06 EJ. The growth was lower than 5.2 per cent in 2018. It also said that India was second biggest growth driver of primary energy consumption in the world, behind China, in 2019. ]

216. Prime Minister of India launched the auction process for how many coal blocks for commercial mining?

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [41]

Explaination : [Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi launched the auction process for 41 coal blocks for commercial mining, to open coal sector of India to private players. The Ministry of Coal in association with FICCI launched the process of auction under the provisions of Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act and Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act. The auction is expected to invite Rs 33,000 crore of capital investment in the country over next five to seven years. ]

217. How many non-permanent members are elected by the UN Security Council every year?

A
Four

B
Five

D
Seven

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Five]

Explaination : [India has been recently elected as the non-permanent member of UN Security Council for 2021-22, along with Ireland, Mexico and Norway. India’s term is to begin from January 2021. Each year the General Assembly elects five non-permanent members, out of the 10 total seats, for a two-year term. In the recent election, India won 184 votes out of 192 valid votes cast. Previously, India has been elected as a non-permanent member of the Council for seven terms. ]

218. What is the rank of India in the World Competitiveness Index (WCI) 2020?

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [43]

Explaination : [India is ranked 43rd on the annual World Competitiveness Index compiled by the Institute for Management Development (IMD). It has retained the same 43rd rank obtained in the previous edition. In the 2020 list that ranks 63 nations, Singapore has retained its top spot. It is followed by Denmark and Switzerland. However, the United States moved down from 3rd place to 10th place. While India improved in high-tech exports, foreign currency reserves etc, it degraded in areas like exchange rate stability, real GDP growth. ]

219. The inter-Korean liaison office building, that has been demolished, is located in which country?

A
South Korea

B
North Korea

C
Taiwan

D
Cambodia

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [North Korea]

Explaination : [South Korea recently said that North Korea has blown up the inter-Korean liaison office building, that is located north of the Korean border. This serious incident followed the recent degradation in the relations between the two countries. North Korea has earlier threatened to engage in military action at the border with South Korea. The two countries jointly set up a liaison office at Kaesong in North Korea in 2003. The Kaesong Industrial Complex is a joint industrial zone operated by both North Koreans and South Koreans. ]

220. What is the theme of ‘International Day of Family Remittances’ 2020?

A
Cities, Communities and Countries

B
Remittances are a lifeline

C
Family Remittance matters

D
Household economies

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Remittances are a lifeline]

Explaination : [‘International Day of Family Remittances (IDFR)’ is celebrated on June 16, every year across the world. This year, the International Day is observed with the theme of “Remittances are a lifeline”. The United Nations that designated the day, also calls upon governments, private sector companies and the civil society, to maximize the impact of remittances through individuals. ]