Best PSC / PCS / STATE PCS online Current Affairs

Current Affairs Dec-2020

Showing 161 - 180 of 233 entries

161. What new parameters have been incorporated into 2020 Human Development Index?

A
COVID Preparedness

B
CO2 emission and Material foot print

C
Monetary Policy and Inflation

D
Pandemic Preparedness and vaccination

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [CO2 emission and Material foot print]

Explaination : [The Human Development Index for the year 2020 has been released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). As per the report, India has been ranked at 131 out of 189 countries. Last year, India was ranked at 130. HDI is measured with three parameters namely life expectancy, education and per capita income. This year’s index has incorporated new parameters namely CO2 emission and Material foot print and introduced Planetary pressures–adjusted Human Development Index (PHDI).]

162. The economic report named “Ecowrap” is released by which organization?

A
World bank

B
NITI Aayog

D
State Bank of India

Show Answer

Correct Answer : D [State Bank of India]

Explaination : [The State Bank of India in its recent Ecowrap report has lowered India’s GDP contraction for FY 21 from earlier 10.9% to 7.4%. The report states that it would take nearly 7 quarters from Q4 for the current financial year, to reach the pre-COVID output and growth levels.]

163. The North East Power Project, NERPSIP which was seen in the news recently, is implemented by which organisation?

B
POWERGRID

C
NTPC

D
ONGC

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [POWERGRID]

Explaination : [The North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project (NERPSIP) was approved in 2014 as a Central Sector Scheme and is being funded with the assistance of World Bank fund. It is being implemented through POWERGRID, a Public Sector Undertaking under Ministry of Power in association with six beneficiary North Eastern States namely, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura. The Union Cabinet has approved the Revised Cost Estimate of the scheme at Rs 6700 crore.]

164. What is the rank of India in the Human Development Index, if the new metric ‘PHDI’ is taken into account?

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [123]

Explaination : [The United Nations Development Programme introduced a new measure named called the Planetary Pressures-adjusted HDI, or PHDI. It assesses the impact caused by each country’s per-capita carbon emissions and its material footprint. While India stands at 131st rank in the Human Development Index, when this metric is considered, India is placed at 123rd rank in the list, which is topped by Ireland.]

165. Shashi Shekhar Vempati, who has been elected as the Vice President of Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union, is presently the CEO of which organization?

A
Prasar Bharati

B
NTPC

C
ONGC

D
Airtel

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [Prasar Bharati]

Explaination : [The CEO of Prasar Bharati Shashi Shekhar Vempati has been elected as the Vice President of Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU). ABU is one of the largest broadcasting associations in the world. The election for the prestigious post was held virtually and Shashi Shekhar Vempati has been elected for a term of three years.]

166. What is the rank of India in the Doing Business Report 2020, after the recent update of the World Bank?

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [63]

Explaination : [The World Bank has recently released the corrected Doing Business rankings after review of data irregularities. The World Bank corrected the rankings of China, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan. China’s rank in 2018 would have been 85, a drop of 7 places. India holds the same place of 63 in the Doing Business 2020 report.]

167. ASTRA Mk-I Missile, IMSAS and BOSS System, which were handed over to the Armed Forces, were developed by which organisation?

A
DRDO

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [DRDO]

Explaination : [Defence Minister Rajnath Singh handed over three indigenously developed systems developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) laboratories, to Army, Navy and Air Force. Indian Maritime Situational Awareness System (IMSAS) was handed over to the Navy, ASTRA Mk-I Missile to the Air Force and Border Surveillance System (BOSS) to the Army, which was already deployed in in Ladakh.]

168. Which state launched Public Welfare Portal (PWP) or Jan Kalyan Portal, to consolidate all information about the state schemes?

A
Gujarat

B
Rajasthan

C
Punjab

D
Madhya Pradesh

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Rajasthan ]

Explaination : [Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has launched ‘One Stop Shop’ (OSS) facility, to make available over 100 types of clearances and services, required by investors. The Chief Minister also launched Public Welfare Portal (PWP) or Jan Kalyan Portal, to consolidate the information of eligibility, benefits of the state schemes, useful circulars and orders etc. It also highlights the efforts of the Government in two years.]

169. Which Indian personality has been chosen for “Global Visionary of Sustainable Business and Peace” honour?

A
Narendra Modi

B
Ratan Tata

C
Mukesh Ambani

D
Sachin Tendulkar

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Ratan Tata]

Explaination : [The famous industrialist Ratan Tata has been chosen to be awarded with “Global Visionary of Sustainable Business and Peace” honour, for innovations that promotes sustainability and peace in the Indo-Israel region. This award would be presented to Ratan Tata during the launch of Indo-Israel Chamber of Commerce’s international chapter in Dubai.]

170. The CLMV Countries are the group of countries belonging to which regional organisation?

A
ASEAN

B
Common Wealth

C
G-20

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [ASEAN]

Explaination : [CLMV countries are Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. They are also the members of the Association of South East Nations (ASEAN). During the Inaugural Session of the 6th India – CLMV Business Conclave 2020, India invited the CLMV countries to join the International Solar Alliance and the Resilient Supply Chain Initiative by India.]

171. Which country has passed a legislation to study and promote legacies of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King?

B
Australia

D
India

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [USA]

Explaination : [A Legislation has been passed by the USA’s House of Representatives that seeks to create an initiative to study and promote the legacies of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. This paves way for an annual educational forum for scholars and researchers of both countries that would revolve around the preaching and ideologies of Gandhi – Martin Luther King.]

172. The National Green Tribunal has directed which state to prepare an action plan for 14 proposed elephant corridors?

A
Tamil Nadu

B
Kerala

C
Odisha

D
Maharashtra

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [Odisha]

Explaination : [The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Odisha government to prepare an action plan within three months on 14 identified elephant corridors. The State government had proposed 14 corridors, for providing stress-free migration to elephants from one habitation to another in the state. The 870 sq km-area proposal did not record any progress and so NGT issued directions to the state.]

173. Nepal has announced the revised height of which famous peak, as 8848.86 metres?

A
Mount Everest

B
Mount Kanchenjunga

C
Mount Makalu

D
Mount K2

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [Mount Everest]

Explaination : [Nepal has recalculated the height of the world’s highest peak Mount Everest. The country along with China announced the revised height of the peak as 8,848.86 metres. This height is almost 86 centimetres higher than the previous measurement done by the Survey of India in 1954. The new height is also four metres higher than the China’s recent measurement. The Nepal-China border passes through the summit.]

174. Which Indian bank has launched a new mobile banking application for customers of all banks, named ‘iMobile Pay’?

A
Yes Bank

B
ICICI Bank

C
HDFC Bank

D
Axis Bank

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [ICICI Bank]

Explaination : [ICICI Bank has recently launched a new mobile banking application named ‘iMobile Pay’, which can offer payments and banking services to customers of any bank. Through the app, customers can pay to any UPI (Unified Payments Interface) ID or merchants, pay bills and do online recharges among others. It also enables users to access instant banking services like loans, credit cards, gift cards, travel cards and more.]

175. The ‘Smuggling in India Report 2019-20’ report is associated with which organization?

A
CRPF

B
ITBP

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [DRI]

Explaination : [The 63rd Founding Day Celebrations of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) was held recently. During the occasion, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman released the DRI’s report titled Smuggling in India Report 2019-20. The report makes a detailed analysis of smuggling trends on Gold, Foreign Currency, Narcotic Drugs etc.]

176. Shaheed Ashfaque Ullah Khan Prani Udyaan, which was seen in the news recently, is located in which state?

A
Punjab

B
Uttar Pradesh

C
Bihar

D
Jharkhand

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Uttar Pradesh]

Explaination : [At the recent meeting of Central Zoo Authority chaired by Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar, two new zoos were granted recognition. They are the Rajgir Zoo Safari in Nalanda, Bihar and Shaheed Ashfaque Ullah Khan Prani Udyaan in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. With this, the state of Uttar Pradesh has a total of 9 zoos.]

177. What is the limit of FDI in Defence sector, under automatic route?

D
100%

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [74%]

Explaination : [The Finance Ministry has now permitted foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Defence sector up to 74 per cent under the automatic route. The Ministry has notified the changes required to FEMA (Non-Debt Instruments) rules regarding this announcement. In September, the Commerce and Industry Ministry had raised the FDI limit for the Defence sector through the automatic route to 74 per cent from 49 per cent.]

178. Which country has been recently affected by bird flu outbreak and ordered for a nation-wide disinfection?

A
China

B
New Zealand

C
Pakistan

D
Japan

Show Answer

Correct Answer : D [Japan]

Explaination : [Japan has been worst hit by a sudden outbreak of bird flu. The condition has worsened and the government has culled more than 2 million birds, fearing its transmission to human beings. The flu has been spreading from Europe and in response, Japan has banned imports from seven European countries.]

179. In which country is the Chabahar port located?

A
Afghanistan

B
Pakistan

C
Iran

D
Oman

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [Iran]

Explaination : [India, Iran and Uzbekistan are on discussion about the joint use of Chabahar port, located in Iran. In this regard, a joint trilateral meeting would be held to deliberate regarding the same. The trilateral meeting would be held in a virtual mode and is set to be chaired by the Dy. Minister of Iran, Dy. Minister of Uzbekistan and senior Foreign Ministry official from India.]

180. Which institution has revealed that droughts occurring in India are due to atmospheric disturbances from the North Atlantic region?

B
IISc

C
IIT Bombay

D
ISRO

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [IISc]

Explaination : [The researchers at Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (CAOS) – Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have revealed that more than half of the droughts that have occurred in India has occurred due to atmospheric disturbances from the North Atlantic region. Since, Indian agriculture and water needs are predominantly rain dependent, any shortfall in annual rain fall has drastic impact. Till date, the usual suspect for such droughts has been the El Nino.]