Best PSC / PCS / STATE PCS online Current Affairs

Current Affairs MAY-2021

Showing 101 - 120 of 400 entries

101. European Investment Bank has entered into a pact with which Indian Bank, for climate focussed equity financing?

A
Bank of Baroda

B
Punjab National Bank

C
State Bank of India

D
Small Industries Development Bank of India

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [State Bank of India]

Explaination : [The European Investment Bank has entered into a pact with State Bank of India, for equity financing Indian small businesses which are focusses on climate change and sustainability. The pact has been signed for a value of Euro 100 million. The two banks have created a new fund named “NEEV FUND II” to implement this pact.]

102. A new species Ampelorhiza heteroxylon, that was recently found, belongs to which category?

A
Insect

B
Plant

C
Aquatic Animal

D
Land Animal

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Plant]

Explaination : [Researchers have found an 18.5-million-year-old fossil in Panama. It is said to be the oldest reliable species of a climbing plant. The new species is named as ‘Ampelorhiza heteroxylon’., belonging to the climbing vine known as a liana from the soapberry family. This discovery is expected to shed more light on the evolution of climbing plants.]

103. What is the name of the autism spectrum disorder, linked to difficulty with social interactions?

A
Down Syndrome

B
Asperger’s syndrome

C
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

D
Kanner’s Syndrome

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Asperger’s syndrome]

Explaination : [Asperger’s syndrome is an autism spectrum disorder. It is linked to experiencing difficulty with social interactions in spite of having strong verbal and cognitive skills. Hosting an episode of Saturday Night Live, Tesla CEO- billionaire Elon Musk revealed that he has Asperger’s syndrome.]

104. Which multilateral institution has launched an Asia Pacific Tax Hub, for better tax coordination among its members?

A
AIIB

C
World Bank

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [ADB]

Explaination : [The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has launched an Asia Pacific Tax Hub. This will create an open platform to improve knowledge sharing, and strengthen coordination on tax policy among ADB, its members, and development partners. The hub will mobilise regional and international resources to strengthen domestic resource mobilization (DRM) and international tax cooperation (ITC) in ADB’s developing member countries.]

105. Which organisation releases the ‘World Economic Situation and Prospects’ report?

A
World Bank

B
International Monetary Fund

C
United Nations

D
Asian Development Bank

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [United Nations]

Explaination : [The United Nations has recently released the update of the ‘World Economic Situation and Prospects’ report. As per the update, the UN has raised India’s growth forecast to 7.5 per cent for the year 2021, which is a 0.2 per cent increase from its projection in January. It also predicted that India’s GDP would grow by 10.1 per cent in 2022.]

106. The Vineyard Wind project, which was seen in the news recently, is the first commercial offshore wind farm of which country?

A
China

B
India

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [USA]

Explaination : [The Joe Biden Administration gave final approval to the construction of the country’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm. Named the Vineyard Wind project, the construction of the project is to begin this summer. The project includes setting up of 84 turbines in the Atlantic Ocean about 12 nautical miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. The plants could together generate about 800 megawatts of electricity.]

107. Who has been named as the CEO of the proposed bad bank- NARCL?

A
Padmakumar M Nair

B
Ajay Bhushan Pandey

C
S C Garg

D
K Subramaniam

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [Padmakumar M Nair]

Explaination : [Padmakumar M Nair of State Bank of India (SBI) will be the Chief executive officer of National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL). NARCL, also called as the ‘bad’ bank, is expected to be operational in June 2021. It is a proposed entity for taking over bad loans of lenders, predominantly public sector banks.]

108. ‘Jezero’ Crater, whose images have been captured recently, is a crater in which astronomical body?

A
Moon

C
Mars

D
Venus

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [Mars]

Explaination : [NASA’s Perseverance rover has recently started to study the floor structure of the ancient crater- Jezero Crater. The rover has started focusing its science instruments on rocks laying on the floor of the crater. A camera named ‘WATSON’ at the end of the rover’s robotic arm has taken detailed shots of the rocks. The rover is also documenting the historic flights of the rotorcraft of Ingenuity.]

109. What is the outlay of the PLI Scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage?

A
Rs 8100 cr

B
Rs 18100 cr

C
Rs 48100 cr

D
Rs 78100 cr

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Rs 18100 cr]

Explaination : [The Union Cabinet approved a ₹18,100 crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage. The prime objective is to set up 50 giga watt hour (GWh) manufacturing capacity for advance chemistry cell batteries. This is expected to accelerate switching to electric vehicles to curb pollution and reduce oil imports.]

110. Which Indian state has launched ‘Mission Oxygen’ plan, to increase daily production of Oxygen up to 3000 mt?

A
Tamil Nadu

B
Kerala

C
Maharashtra

D
Odisha

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [Maharashtra]

Explaination : [Under its Mission Oxygen, also coined as Swayampurna Maharashtra, the state aims to increase daily production of Oxygen up to 3,000 metric tonnes (MT). The state also has a short-term goal of 2300 MT to be achieved in the next six months. It aims to encourage the private sector to generate liquid medical oxygen. The state is to extend waiver in registration fee, electricity duty, stamp duty and GST.]

111. NASA partnered with which space agency for the first private mission to the International Space Station?

A
Space X

B
ISRO

C
DRDO

D
Axiom

Show Answer

Correct Answer : D [Axiom]

Explaination : [USA’s space agency NASA has signed an agreement with Axiom Space, for the first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. The two agencies have proposed to commence the mission after January 2022. Axiom space is a privately funded space infrastructure developer which is based in Houston, Texas in the USA.]

112. Which country has authorized vaccinating children of ages 12 and above?

A
India

B
China

C
Japan

Show Answer

Correct Answer : D [USA]

Explaination : [The Government of USA has authorised the Pfizer vaccine, for vaccination of children of ages 12 and above in the country. This is a strong move to widen the vaccinated population in the USA and is aimed to completely curtail the viral spread in the country. This is also expected to increase the chances for a safe return to full-time school by the children.]

113. Which country’s recent Action plan of Animal welfare formally recognises the feelings of animals?

C
France

D
Japan

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [UK]

Explaination : [The United Kingdom government recently unveiled its Action Plan for Animal Welfare, which will formally recognise the feelings of many animals. Under the plan, Microchipping pet cats will become compulsory. This measure was aimed at pets and livestock, rather than wild animals. The Action Plan also includes measures to ban the export of live animals for slaughter, keeping of primates as pets.]

114. Which Indian has been conferred with the Whitley Award 2021?

A
Nuklu Phom

B
Akshay Kumar

C
Mary Kom

D
Suzana D’souza

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [Nuklu Phom]

Explaination : [Nuklu Phom, a Church worker from Nagaland has been conferred with the Whitley Award 2021, which is also called as the “Green Oscar Award”. He is the only India to be conferred with this award, which is given annually by Whitley Fund for Nature, in recognition of people who conserve nature at the grassroot level.]

115. Two classified Yaogan satellites have been launched by which country?

A
Japan

C
China

D
India

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [China]

Explaination : [China has recently launched two classified Yaogan satellites from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in South West China. These satellites were carried by Changsei 2C rocket. The satellites are said to be put for use in electromagnetic environmental surveys and other related technical tests.]

116. Which country has proposed to introduce self-driving cars by the end of 2021?

A
India

D
Japan

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [UK]

Explaination : [The Government of the United Kingdom (UK) has proposed to permit operations of self-driving cars by end of the year 2021. The automated lane-keeping systems (ALKS) to be operationalised in the UK would be first in the world to be legalised. The ALKS technology controls the position of driver less cars in a single lane and limits its speed to 60 kmph.]

117. Which organisation has released the ‘Global Forest Goals Report 2021’?

A
World Bank

C
UN ECOSOC

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [UN ECOSOC]

Explaination : [The Global Forest Goals Report 2021 was prepared by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations. The report provides an overview of progress towards achieving the six Global Forest Goals and their 26 associated targets as mentioned in the United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests 2030. The first Global Forest Goal provides for increasing forest area by three per cent by 2030.]

118. The SDRF contribution is released in two equal instalments to the states, as per the recommendation of ………?

A
Planning Commission

B
Finance Commission

C
NITI Aayog

D
Supreme Court of India

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Finance Commission]

Explaination : [The Finance Ministry has recently released in advance the first instalment worth Rs 8,873.6 crore of the state disaster response fund (SDRF) for the current fiscal, to the states. SDRF contribution is released in two equal instalments to the states, as per the recommendation of the Finance Commission. Normally, the first instalment of SDRF is released in the month of June. Around half of the amount released, can be used by the states for COVID-19 containment measures.]

119. What is the limit of FDI permitted in the Road and Highways Sector in India?

A
21 %

B
49 %

C
75 %

D
100 %

Show Answer

Correct Answer : D [100 %]

Explaination : [In India, 100% FDI has been allowed for roads and highways sector allowed under the automatic route. Recently, Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry has set a target of road construction worth Rs 15 lakh crores in next two years. The Ministry also aims to achieve the target of 40 kilometres per day of highways construction, in the current year.]

120. Rushikulya river, which was making news recently, is located in which state?

A
Karnataka

B
Odisha

C
Andhra Pradesh

D
Bihar

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Odisha]

Explaination : [The Rushikulya river mouth, located in the state of Odisha is considered as the second-biggest rookery of Olive Ridley Turtles in India after Gahirmatha. This year, the annual mass nesting of millions of Olive Ridley sea turtles near the Rushikulya river mouth is likely to be missed, as the time for nesting process is set to be over. In March 2020, over 3 lakh turtles nested in the same place.]