Best PSC / PCS / STATE PCS online Current Affairs

Current Affairs Dec-2020

Showing 61 - 80 of 233 entries

61. Which space agency has launched the new Dragon resupply mission?

A
ISRO

B
NASA

D
Space X

Show Answer

Correct Answer : D [Space X]

Explaination : [The private space agency SpaceX has successfully launched a new Dragon resupply mission. Under the mission, the company sent a cargo space craft to the International Space Station, on behalf of NASA. After the launch, the first stage booster of the rocket returned to Earth and landed on the company’s ship placed in Atlantic Ocean.]

62. The Armed Forces Flag Day is being celebrated in India since which year?

A
1935

B
1949

C
1965

D
1990

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [1949]

Explaination : [The Armed Forces Flag Day is a day dedicated towards collection of funds from people of India for the welfare of the Indian Armed Forces personnel. India has been observing December 7 annually as the Armed Forces Flag Day since 1949 to honour the soldiers. The Flag day aims for rehabilitation battle casualties, welfare of serving personnel and their families as well as ex-servicemen and their families.]

63. Union Cabinet has approved Submarine Optical Fibre Cable Connectivity between Lakshadweep Islands and which city?

A
Delhi

B
Chennai

C
Kochi

D
Mumbai

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [Kochi]

Explaination : [The Union Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister has approved establishment of Submarine Optical Fibre Cable Connectivity between Kochi and Lakshadweep Islands. The project is proposed to be established at a cost of Rs.1,072 crore that includes operational maintenance of the project for a period of 5 years. The proposed project would connect 11 islands of Lakshadweep.]

64. Companies of which two countries are leaders in global arms market, as per the recent SIPRI report?

A
India and Israel

B
USA and China

C
USA and Russia

D
Russia and Japan

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [USA and China]

Explaination : [The companies of USA and China have dominated the global arms market in the year 2019, as per a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The arms industry of USA accounts for nearly 61% of the sales by top 25 arms manufacturers. Chinese firms account for 15.7% of the sales by top 25 arms manufacturers.]

65. Indian origin Anil Soni has been appointed as the 1st CEO of which organisation?

A
WHO Foundation

B
World Bank

D
UNESCO

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [WHO Foundation]

Explaination : [Anil Soni, who is an Indian Origin health expert, has been appointed as the first Chief Executive Officer of WHO Foundation. He is set to assume office on 1st Jan 2021. Erstwhile, he was the head of global infectious disease of the health care company named Viatris. The WHO Foundation is a newly formed organisation will work alongside the World Health Organisation that would combat the most pandemic disease of the world.]

66. Which word has been selected as the ‘Top Word of 2020’, by Merriam-Webster?

A
Lock down

B
Pandemic

C
Vaccine

D
Immunity

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Pandemic]

Explaination : [US based- Merriam-Webster, known for its dictionaries, has recently announced ‘pandemic’ as its 2020 word of the year. As per the company, when the World Health Organisation declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic on March 11, the searches on the site for ‘pandemic’ rose hugely. The word has roots in Latin and Greek. It is a combination of pan, meaning all, and demos, meaning people.]

67. Which country has formed its first all-woman communication team?

A
New Zealand

B
United States

C
Myanmar

D
Germany

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [United States]

Explaination : [US President-elect Joe Biden has recently appointed the country’s first all-female White House communications team. He also appointed Jen Psaki, who earlier served as the spokesperson in Barack Obama administration, as the White House Press Secretary. Six other women who had held important positions, were appointed in the official Press Team.]

68. What amount of grant has been allotted under “Mission COVID Suraksha”, by the Central Government?

A
Rs.100 crore

B
Rs.500 crore

C
Rs.900 crore

D
Rs.1000 crore

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [Rs.900 crore]

Explaination : [The Union Government has launched “Mission COVID Suraksha” and has allotted a package of Rs.900 crore for the same. The grant by the central government would be given to Department of Biotechnology (DBT) for Research & Development of Indian COVID-19 vaccines. The mission aims at development of approximately 5 or 6 COVID 19 vaccine candidates and ensure their faster availability to the public.]

69. ‘Technical Recession’, which was making news recently refers to the contraction of GDP for how many consecutive quarters?

B
Three

C
Four

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [Two]

Explaination : [The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of India has contracted by 7.5 % in the second quarter of the financial year 2020-21. The contraction in GDP is registered for the second consecutive quarter and hence India is said to have entered ‘Technical Recession’. The real GDP in the first quarter of 2020-21 (April – June) registered a record low of 23.9% contraction.]

70. Which state has launched an outreach programme called ‘Duare Sarkar’?

A
Odisha

B
West Bengal

C
Chhattisgarh

D
Jharkhand

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [West Bengal]

Explaination : [West Bengal state government has recently launched a massive outreach programme named “Duare Sarkar” or “Government at your doorstep”. Under the programme, people can avail the benefit of over 11 schemes of the state including Kanyashree, Khadya Sathi and Sikshashree. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced to set up ‘Duare Sarkar’ camps in the state for redressing grievances of people.]

71. Which is the world’s most polluted city, as per the US Air Quality Index?

A
Delhi

B
Lahore

C
New York

D
Beijing

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Lahore]

Explaination : [As per the US Air Quality Index released recently, Lahore is named the most polluted city in the world, followed by Delhi and Kathmandu. Lahore, the cultural capital of Pakistan, has reported a particulate matter (PM) rating of 423. The The United States Environmental Protection Agency registers air quality as ‘satisfactory’ if the AQI is under 50.]

72. Mount Semeru, which was making news recently, is an active volcano in which country?

A
Philippines

B
Indonesia

C
Russia

D
Turkey

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Indonesia]

Explaination : [Mount Semeru is an active volcano located in East Java, Indonesia. It is the highest mountain on the island of Java. This is also known as Mahameru, meaning ‘The Great Mountain’. Recently, hot ash fell as far as 3,000 metres down the slopes of Mount Semeru. Earlier, Mount Ili Lewotolok of the country spew out hot clouds for 4,000 metres into the sky. The country’s disaster management team evacuated thousands of people.]

73. Which regulator has launched an asset restructuring web module for MSMEs named ARM-MSME?

B
NABARD

D
SIDBI

Show Answer

Correct Answer : D [SIDBI]

Explaination : [Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has recently launched an asset restructuring web module for the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). The module named ARM-MSME would assist MSMEs to get benefitted from RBI’s MSME restructuring guideline. MSMEs will be able to prepare restructuring proposals by inputting only the most essential data. This service is being offered by SIDBI at no cost to the MSMEs.]

74. ‘Dev Deepawali’ festival is celebrated in which Indian city?

A
Varanasi

B
Haridwar

C
Rishikesh

D
Gangotri

Show Answer

Correct Answer : D [Gangotri]

Explaination : [The festival named Dev Deepawali is celebrated in Indian city. This is a festival of lights and is celebrated in the Poornima day of the Karthik Month of Hindu calendar. This year’s celebration is attended by the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi. During the event, 11 lakh earthern lamps were lit on both sides of river Ganga.]

75. Which country is the first in the world to permit the sale of lab grown meat?

A
China

B
Japan

C
Singapore

D
Russia

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [Singapore]

Explaination : [The Government of Singapore has allowed a US-based start up to sell lab grown chicken meat in the country. The meat is generated from animal tissues in laboratories. This is the world’s first regulatory approval for lab-grown meat also called as cultured meat. Its production cost is higher compared to the original meat.]

76. Which organisation is to finance USD 430 million to improve Power Distribution Network of Uttar Pradesh?

B
AIIB

C
BRICS Bank

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [ADB]

Explaination : [The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD 430 million multi-tranche financing facility (MFF) to improve Power Distribution Network of Uttar Pradesh. Named as the ‘Uttar Pradesh Power Distribution Network Rehabilitation Project’, it aims to improve the quality of electricity supply in the state. The project is estimated to benefit around 70 million people in 46,000 rural villages.]

77. Which country has become the first in the West, to approve corona virus vaccine for mass production?

C
France

D
Germany

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [UK]

Explaination : [The United Kingdom has become the first nation in the world to approve coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer – BioNTech. The country’s medical regulator has given a nod for commercial production and mass vaccination. The vaccine is said to offer 95% protection against Covid disease. The country aims to produce 8 lakh doses in the next few days.]

78. India held the inaugural meeting of the Counter-narcotics Working Group (CNWG), with which country?

A
United States

B
Japan

C
Brazil

D
Israel

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [United States]

Explaination : [India and the United States attended the inaugural meeting of the Counter-narcotics Working Group (CNWG), in virtual mode. Indian delegation was represented by the Deputy Director General of Narcotics Control Board, Ministry of Home Affairs. The two countries also agreed to improve their data sharing operations to fight the production, distribution, and export/import of drugs and related chemicals.]

79. Which Ministry releases the Annual Ranking of best performing Police stations?

A
Ministry of Law

B
Ministry of Defence

C
Ministry of Home Affairs

D
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [Ministry of Home Affairs]

Explaination : [The Ministry of Home Affairs has released the rank list of best performing police stations in India. Nongpok Sekmai Police station in Manipur has topped the list which is followed by the All Women Police Station (AWPS) Suramangalam in Salem of Tamil Nadu. Most of the Police stations in the list are located in South India and in North Eastern India.]

80. Which organization has become India’s first regulated Gas Exchange?

A
NCDEX

D
NCML

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [IGX]

Explaination : [Indian Gas Exchange (IGX) was launched in 2020 as India’s first automated national-level trading platform for physical delivery of natural gas. IGX is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX). Recently, IGX obtained all necessary approvals as per the provisions of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (Gas Exchange) Regulations, 2020. It becomes the first regulated Gas Exchange of the country.]