Best PSC / PCS / STATE PCS online Current Affairs

Current Affairs JULY-2020

Showing 201 - 220 of 236 entries

201. India is to sign ‘Defence logistics sharing pact’ with which country?

A
United States

B
Russia

C
France

D
Israel

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Russia]

Explaination : [India and Russia are set to sign a Defence logistics sharing pact by the end of this year. Under the pact, both the countries can have seamless access to each other’s military bases and support facilities. An annual summit is expected to be held for signing this agreement. As Russia continues to be a leading arms supplier to India, this agreement will enhance more interoperability and support to military platforms like warships and aircraft.]

202. ‘Operation Legend’, that was seen in news recently, is associated with which country?

A
United States

B
China

C
Russia

D
Brazil

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [United States]

Explaination : [United States President Donald Trump has announced a program named ‘Operation Legend’ in the country. The plan aims at sending federal agents to more U.S. cities including Chicago and Albuquerque, New Mexico, to take firm action on violent crimes. The federal law enforcement agents will be deployed to assist local police in combatting crimes.]

203. Which Central Asian country has become the 25th Observer of the World Trade Organization (WTO)?

A
Turkmenistan

B
Uzbekistan

C
Afghanistan

D
Kyrgyzstan

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [Turkmenistan]

Explaination : [Turkmenistan became the 25th country with a status of an observer in the World Trade Organization (WTO). The member-states of the WTO General Council unanimously adopted the resolution on granting the status of an observer in WTO to the Central Asian country. There are 164 WTO member-states at present and 25 countries possess the status of an observer including Turkmenistan.]

204. Which country is the largest holder of American government securities, at the end of May 2020?

A
China

B
India

C
Japan

D
United Kingdom

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [Japan]

Explaination : [Japan remains the largest holder of American government securities, at the end of May 2020 with an exposure of USD 1.260 trillion. India has increased its holdings of American government securities purchased through the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), by nearly USD 13 billion to USD 169.9 billion at the end of May. In February, the country had a record high of USD 177.5 billion worth securities and have seen fluctuations throughout this year.]

205. Which Union Ministry has developed a new web portal to issue No Objection Certificate (NOC) for power projects?

A
Ministry of Coal

B
Ministry of Power

C
Ministry of Defence

D
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [Ministry of Defence]

Explaination : [Union Defence Ministry has launched a new portal to issue No Objection Certificate (NOC) for power projects and Research Survey Exploration Exploitation (RSEE) activities in the Indian Territorial Waters and Exclusive Economic Zone. The Ministry of Defence gives security clearances to various Private and Public Sector Undertakings for power, wind and solar projects in areas near defence installation. The new portal will allow applicants to submit their proposals online for seeking security clearance from the Ministry.]

206. Which organisation has partnered with Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad to establish a research cell?

A
Indian Space Research Organisation

B
Defence Research and Development Organisation

C
Hindustan Aeronautical Limited

D
Bharat Electronics Limited

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Defence Research and Development Organisation]

Explaination : [The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has signed an MoU with Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad to establish a Research cell at the IIT. The Defence research cell aims to meet the upcoming defence technological requirements of the country. This DRDO – IITH Research Cell will conduct research programmes in specific technology areas. This will be established as an extension of the DRDO Research and Innovation Centre (RIC), Chennai.]

207. Which Indian institution has partnered with NVIDIA, to establish India’s first ‘NVIDIA AI Technology Centre’?

A
IIT- Madras

B
IISc, Bangalore

C
IIT- Hyderabad

D
IIT- Kharagpur

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [IIT- Hyderabad]

Explaination : [The Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH) has recently partnered with the multinational technology company NVIDIA, to establish India’s first ‘NVIDIA AI Technology Centre’ (NVAITC). The centre aims to accelerate research on Artificial Intelligence and its commercial adoption. In this technology centre, more than 200 faculty will carry out research in this field. NVIDIA is a partner to the government of Telangana, in its project to establish Hyderabad among the top 25 global AI innovation hubs.]

208. Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), that has established stable cultures of coronavirus, is located in which state/UT?

A
New Delhi

B
Odisha

C
Uttar Pradesh

D
Gujarat

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Odisha]

Explaination : [The Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), an autonomous institute of the Department of Biotechnology, has successfully established stable cultures of coronavirus from patient samples. The Seventeen in-vitro cultures have been established using Vero cells, from samples of different locations and different virus loads. The cultured SARS-Cov-2 can be used in developing antibodies or antidotes, testing of antibodies and identifying therapeutic agents.]

209. Indian Government has issued notice to which Social Media Giant, after recent hacking of global high-profile users?

A
Facebook

B
Twitter

C
TikTok

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Twitter]

Explaination : [India’s cybersecurity nodal agency, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team, CERT-In has issued a notice to Social Media Giant Twitter, asking for full details of the recent global hacking incident that targeted high-profile users. CERT-In also sought information on the number of Indian users who are affected and who have visited malicious tweets and links. The modus operandi of the operation was also said to have been sought from Twitter.]

210. Which country chaired the 3rd G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting?

A
Japan

B
Saudi Arabia

C
Qatar

D
United States

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Saudi Arabia]

Explaination : [Saudi Arabia holds the Presidency of G-20 of the year 2020. It has chaired the 3rd G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting recently. Union Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman participated in the meeting through Video Conferencing. The global economic outlook during COVID-19 pandemic crisis and G20’s Finance Track priorities for the year 2020 was discussed.]

211. The Income Tax Department is conducting an e-campaign on voluntary Income Tax compliance for which financial year?

A
FY 2018-19

B
FY 2019-20

C
FY 2020-21

D
FY 2021-22

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [FY 2018-19]

Explaination : [The Income Tax Department has launched an e-campaign on voluntary compliance of Income Tax for the convenience of taxpayers from July 20. The aim of the 11-day campaign is to assist taxpayers especially the Income Tax assessees for FY 2018-19, to validate their financial transaction information online, by using the information available with the I-T Department. This will help tax-payers from redundant notice, scrutiny and penalty.]

212. Who has been appointed as the new Health Secretary of India succeeding Preeti Sudan?

A
Rajesh Bhushan

B
Sushil Kumar

C
Ram Kumar Mishra

D
Anil Kumar Jain

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [Rajesh Bhushan]

Explaination : [1987 batch Bihar cadre IAS officer Rajesh Bhushan has been appointed as the new Health secretary, after July 31 this year. As per the recent Personnel Ministry order, Rajesh Bhushan, the Officer on Special Duty in the Department of Health and Family Welfare will succeed the present Secretary Preeti Sudan. Sushil Kumar has been appointed secretary of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. Ram Kumar Mishra has been named Women and Child Development secretary.]

213. A France-based refinery has spilled toxic chemicals over 15 acres in which sea?

A
Mediterranean Sea

B
Red Sea

C
Pacific Ocean

D
Atlantic Ocean

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [Mediterranean Sea]

Explaination : [Following a leak at a Lavera petrochemical refinery in southern France, an orange-brown chemical sheet spread over 15 acres in the Mediterranean Sea. This area includes the nationally recognized marine life area. The plant is said to have spilled 200 gallons or more of iron chloride into the sea. The chemical could harm eyes and mucous membranes and could even cause death.]

214. What is the name of the COVID-19 health policy, framed by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI)?

A
Corona Aarogya

B
Corona Saral

C
Corona Protect

D
Corona Kavach

Show Answer

Correct Answer : D [Corona Kavach]

Explaination : [According to the guidelines issued by the insurance regulator, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) has directed the general and health insurance companies to offer one short-term Covid-19 policy. Named as the “Corona Kavach Policy”, the standard health policy would have a tenure period of 3.5 months to 6.5 months, and 9.5 months. As per the guidelines, the mode of payment would be a single premium. Another policy called Corona Rakshak, a standard benefit policy is also to be launched.]

215. When is the “International Day of the Tropics” celebrated every year?

A
June 28

B
June 29

C
June 30

D
July 1

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [June 29]

Explaination : [International Day of the Tropics is celebrated every year on 29 June. The United Nations General Assembly declared the day in the year 2016. The International Day of the Tropics was designated to raise awareness to the specific challenges faced by tropical areas. June 29 was selected because on the same day in 2014, the inaugural State of the Tropics Report was launched by leading tropical research institutions.]

216. Who is the head of the national level committee set up by the Home Ministry, for reform in criminal law?

A
Ranbir Singh

B
A K Sikri

C
C Rangarajan

D
Thaawar Chand Gehlot

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [Ranbir Singh]

Explaination : [The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has constituted a national level committee for reform in criminal law. The committee is to be headed by Ranbir Singh, who is the Vice-Chancellor, National Law University-Delhi. The committee has many veteran legal academicians and it has invited opinions online on the possible reforms in the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and Indian Evidence Act.]

217. What is the name of the first social media super-application, to be launched in India?

A
Elyments

B
Incorporate

C
Homegrown

D
Inspire

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [Elyments]

Explaination : [The Vice President of India is set to launch the first social media super-application of the country named ‘Elyments’. More than 1000 IT professionals have created the application. The application, that will be available in more than 8 Indian languages, aims to combine the features of popular social media applications and present it on a single unified app. It also has features such as free audio and video calls and chats.]

218. What is the name of the campaign launched by the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board, to attract tourists?

A
Intzaar Aap Ka

B
Magnificent Madhya Pradesh

C
Miracles awaiting

D
Pranaam MP

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [Intzaar Aap Ka]

Explaination : [The Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board has launched a campaign on social media platforms named ‘Intzaar Aap Ka’. The campaign aims to attract tourists to the iconic tourist places of the state. The board has described every tourist destination of the state with this tagline in social media. It has also announced tour packages to the destinations, with safety measures.]

219. ‘Mission Vriksharopan’ is a plantation initiative of which Indian state?

A
Uttar Pradesh

B
Bihar

C
West Bengal

D
Chhattisgarh

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [Uttar Pradesh]

Explaination : [The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath has launched a plantation campaign named ‘Mission Vriksharopan’. He planted a sapling at Kukrel forest Lucknow, on the occasion of the Guru Purnima, which is celebrated across the state. Under the mission, the state government has planned to plant at least 25 crore saplings in a single day, across the state.]

220. Which Union Ministry has started the project to reprint ‘Mongolian Kanjur’ manuscripts?

A
Ministry of Culture

B
Ministry of Law and Justice

C
Ministry of Communication

D
Ministry of Science and Technology

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [Ministry of Culture]

Explaination : [The Union Ministry of Culture has launched a project of reprinting 108 volumes of Mongolian Kanjur under the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM). The National Mission for Manuscripts was launched in 2003 by the Union Government, under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture. Recently, the first set of five volumes of Mongolian Kanjur was presented to the President Ram Nath Kovind on the occasion of Guru Purnima. Mongolian Kanjur is the most important religious text in Mongolia.]