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Current Affairs Apr-2020

Showing 21 - 40 of 400 entries

21. IIT-Ropar has developed a technology to sanitise groceries and currency notes from Covid-19. In which state is the institution located?

A
Madhya Pradesh

B
Punjab

C
Odisha

D
Bihar

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Punjab]

Explaination : [The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Ropar has developed a technology to sanitise groceries and currency notes from Covid-19. IIT-Ropar is located in the state of Punjab. The team has developed a trunk-shaped device fitted with ultraviolet germicidal irradiation technology. The device has to be placed at doorsteps and all items brought from outside including grocery and currency notes have to be placed inside it. It takes 30 minutes to sanitise the items.]

22. National Commission for Women (NCW) launches WhatsApp number to report cases of domestic violence. Where is the Headquarters of NCW located?

A
Lucknow

B
New Delhi

C
Nagpur

D
Mumbai

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [New Delhi]

Explaination : [The National Commission for Women (NCW) has recently launched a WhatsApp number, where people can report cases of domestic violence.The head-quarters of NCW is New Delhi. As per the announcement of NCW, the cases of domestic violence have seen a big increase during the lockdown period resulting from coronavirus pandemic. This WhatsApp number service will be operated in addition to the existing online complaint links and emails and only for the period of lockdown.]

23. The International Day of Human Space Flight is celebrated on April 12, to commemorate the first flight carried out by which astronaut?

A
Neil Armstrong

B
Yuri Gagarin

C
Valentina Tereshkova

D
Alan Shepard

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Yuri Gagarin]

Explaination : [The United Nations General Assembly declared 12 April as the International Day of Human Space Flight in the year 2011. 12 April 1961 was the date of the first human space flight, carried out by the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who was the first person to fly in space. The day is celebrated to commemorate this historic event which opened the way for space exploration across the globe. ]

24. Apple recently partnered with which company to develop a technology solution for Contact Tracing activity?

A
Microsoft

C
Google

D
Facebook

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [Google]

Explaination : [Technology giants Apple and Google recently announced a joint initiative to develop a technology solution for Contact Tracing activity, which will help the governments and health agencies to curb the spread of coronavirus. The system which will use the Bluetooth technology, will identify people who are in contact with an infected person and provide alert message to the user. The companies also clarified that the system will be developed without compromising the privacy of the user.]

25. Which multilateral funding agency has tripled its Covid-19 response package, initially announced for its developing member countries, to $20 billion?

A
World Bank

B
Asian Development Bank

C
World Economic Forum

D
BRICS Bank

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Asian Development Bank]

Explaination : [The multilateral funding agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) has tripled its Covid-19 response package initially announced for developing member countries to $20 billion. Last month, ADB had announced a $6.5 billion package for its 31 DMC (developing member countries) to assist them in recovering the economies. The lender has also announced that $2 billion will be provided through loans for private sector and financial institutions and microfinance loans for medium-sized enterprises.]

26. The Central Bank of which country has become one of the investors with more than one per cent stake in Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd (HDFC)?

A
Japan

B
Singapore

C
China

D
Malaysia

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [China]

Explaination : [The Central Bank of China, the ‘People’s Bank of China (PBoC)’ has joined the group of investors with more than one per cent stake in Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd (HDFC). People’s Bank of China now holds 1.01 per cent in HDFC, which is the largest standalone housing finance company of India. The Central Bank has been included in the group of 8 foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), who own more than one per cent stake in HDFC.]

27. ‘Exit from The Lockdown’ is the report released by which industry body of India?

B
NASSCOM

C
FICCI

D
ASSOCHAM

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [CII]

Explaination : [The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is a leading non-government and non-profit Industry association of India. It has recently released a report titled ‘Exit from The Lockdown- A CII Strategy’. In the report, the association suggested that government should give adequate notice before announcing the end of restrictions. It also recommended a calibrated lifting of the lockdown. The association also expects the announcement of an economic package before the lifting of lockdown.]

28. ‘Operation Meghdoot’ is commemorated as which day on April 13 every year, by the Indian Army?

A
Kargil Day

B
Siachen Day

C
Meghdoot Day

D
Warrior Day

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Siachen Day]

Explaination : [The Indian Army has launched ‘Operation Meghdoot’ on April 13, 1984 in order to secure the passes on the Saltoro ridgeline, including the Bilafond La pass from Pakistan. The courage and valour exhibited by the Army troops is commemorated every year on April 13 as ‘Siachen Day’ by the Indian Army across the country. The Siachen Glacier is located in the eastern Karakoram range in the range of Himalayas.]

29. What is ‘CovidGyan’, an initiative which was seen in news recently?

A
Mobile application

B
Web site

C
Call Centre

D
Social media handle

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [ Web site]

Explaination : [Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), and Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) have jointly created an informative website called ‘CovidGyan’. This website serves as a comprehensive hub which consolidates all information available about the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. The initiative has been launched with an aim of making the scientific aspects of this pandemic available in public domain.]

30. As per the latest guidelines of the Union Home ministry on the extended lock-down, industries operating in which areas have been exempted?

A
Metropolitan areas

B
Urban areas

C
Semi-urban areas

D
Rural Areas

Show Answer

Correct Answer : D [Rural Areas]

Explaination : [The Union Home ministry has recently announced a set of revised guidelines on the extended lock-down till May 3, 2020. As per the guidelines, travel by air, rail, metro, public buses, taxis, cab aggregators will remain suspended. However, the industries operating in rural areas, outside the limits of municipal corporations and municipalities, will be exempted. The industries should maintain measures of social distancing and sanitation. ]

31. United Nations celebrates Language Days to celebrate Multilingualism. April 20 is celebrated as the day of which language?

A
Arabic

B
Chinese

C
English

D
French

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Chinese]

Explaination : [The United Nation has six official languages namely Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. It celebrates special days for all the languages to celebrate multilingualism and promote the usage of all languages in the organisation. Chinese was established as an official language of the UN in 1946. April 20 is celebrated as the Chinese Day. The date of the Chinese day is selected to honour and pay tribute to Cangjie, who is claimed to be the inventor of Chinese characters. The people of China celebrate the day of Guyu to commemorate Cangjei.]

32. Finance Minister of India attended the Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of which global financial institution, which also granted an emergency assistance of $1 billion to India?

A
World Bank

B
New Development Bank

C
Asian Development Bank

D
Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [New Development Bank]

Explaination : [Union Finance Minister of India Nirmala Sitharaman participated in the 5th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of New Development Bank (NDB). The Finance Minister also appreciated the efforts of NDB in granting an emergency financial assistance of about $5 billion to BRICS countries including an assistance of $1 billion to India, for fighting the coronavirus pandemic. The Minister also suggested to upgrade the assistance to $10 billion.]

33. Which bank has recently launched voice-banking services on Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, amid the lock-down due to Covid-19?

A
HDFC Bank

B
State Bank of India

C
ICICI Bank

D
Yes Bank

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [ICICI Bank]

Explaination : [Leading Private sector bank of India, ICICI Bank recently launched voice-banking services to its customers by integrating its AI chatbot iPal with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. This initiative is aimed at assisting customers avail the banking services amid the nation-wide lockdown due to Covid-19. The customers will have to download the Alexa / Google Assistant and link their ICICI Bank account to it. Queries about their account and products of the bank will be answered by the voice assistant apps.]

34. What is the theme of the Earth Day 2020, which is also the 50th anniversary of the day?

A
Golden Earth

B
Earth Day @ 50

C
Climate Action

D
Our Earth; Our Life

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [Climate Action]

Explaination : [Every year, April 22 has been celebrated as the Earth Day. The United Nations designates the day as World Mother Earth Day. This year, April 22 is the 50th anniversary of the World Earth Day. The theme of this year’s observance is ‘Climate Action’. It has been celebrated from the year 1970, when about 20 million Americans participated in a historic environmental protest. This year, several artists participate in the protest under the name #EarthDay2020Halt. ]

35. The term ‘Fncas9 Editor Linked Uniform Detection Assay’- Feluda, which was seen in news recently, is associated with which process?

A
Developing vaccine for Covid-19

B
Testing Coronavirus

C
Plasma therapy

D
Developing Herd immunity

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Testing Coronavirus]

Explaination : [A seven-member team of researchers from New Delhi-based IGIB (Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology), of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), have developed a low-cost diagnosis method for detecting coronavirus. Feluda is an acronym for Fncas9 Editor Linked Uniform Detection Assay, which is the scientific name of the test. It is also the name of a Bengali fictional character created by Satyajit Ray. The test is set to receive approval shortly and it claims to give results in less than 1.5 hours. ]

36. The World Games, which were previously scheduled Birmingham at 2020, has been postponed to 2022. In which country, Birmingham is located?

A
United Kingdom

B
United States

C
France

D
Germany

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [United States]

Explaination : [The World Games was previously scheduled to be held in Birmingham, Alabama, United States in July 2021. It comprises of sports and events that do not fall under the Olympics. As it was postponed to 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the organising committee has recently unveiled an updated logo, website and title. ‘The World Games 2022’ is the modified title of the games, which will be held in July 2022.]

37. Who is the head of the recently reconstituted National Shipping Board?

A
Malini Shankar

B
Abdulgani Serang

C
Amar Singh Thakur

D
Anil Devli

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [ Malini Shankar]

Explaination : [As per the notification of the Shipping Ministry, the government has approved reconstitution of the National Shipping Board. It is the highest advisory board on matters associated with Indian shipping. The reconstituted board with 16 members is to be headed by Malini Shankar, former Director General of Shipping. Other members include representatives from the Ministry, Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard, National Union of Seafarers of India, Maritime Union of India representative, Thakur and National Ship Owners’ Association.]

38. What is the objective of the ‘covid19.odisha.gov.in’ portal launched by Odisha in tackling the crisis faced due to Covid-19?

A
Provide official data on positive cases

B
Registration of migrant workers

C
Registration for Public Distribution System

D
Provide tele-medicine facility

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Registration of migrant workers]

Explaination : [The state of Odisha has launched a portal for registration of migrant workers to contain the spread of Covid-19 pandemic, as over five lakh migrant workers are expected to return to the state after lifting the lock-down. Forms are available in the portal covid19.odisha.gov.in and in every gram panchayat for registration of names and address of the workers who want to return to Odisha.]

39. Which global leader topped the list of most interactions in their Facebook page, according to a recent study conducted by BCW (Burson Cohn & Wolfe)?

A
Boris Johnson

B
Donald Trump

C
Narendra Modi

D
Jair Bolsonaro

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Donald Trump]

Explaination : [According to the report titled “World Leaders on Facebook” released by global communications agency BCW (Burson Cohn & Wolfe), US President Donald Trump topped the rankings for the most interactions in his Facebook page over the past 12 months, with 309 million comments, likes and shares on his Facebook page. Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro with 205 million interactions, followed Trump. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the most popular world leader on Facebook with 44.7 million likes on his page. 721 Facebook pages of the international heads were analysed using the CrowdTangle tool of Facebook.]

40. What is the theme of the World Immunization Week 2020, which is being celebrated from April 24 to 30, this year?

A
Vaccines Work for All

B
Let’s get vaccinated

C
Leave no one unvaccinated

D
Reaching all for vaccination

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [Vaccines Work for All]

Explaination : [The World Immunization Week 2020 is being celebrated from April 24 to 30, this year by the World Health Organisation. The day is celebrated with an aim to promote the use of vaccines for protecting people across the world from diseases. The theme of this year’s week is Vaccines Work for All. The theme highlights the importance of vaccines and the persons developing them. WHO also announced that about 20 million children in the world today remain unvaccinated. ]