Best PSC / PCS / STATE PCS online Current Affairs

Current Affairs MAY-2021

Showing 161 - 180 of 400 entries

161. Which bank launched ‘Eva’ chatbot on CSCs Digital Seva Portal to support the Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs)?

A
Yes Bank

B
ICICI Bank

C
HDFC Bank

D
Axis Bank

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [HDFC Bank]

Explaination : [HDFC Bank and Common Services Centres (CSCs) launched a chatbot ‘Eva’ on CSCs Digital Seva Portal to support the Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs). The chatbot will provide banking services in rural areas. It is a 24×7 service that will allow VLEs to access information about various products, processes and solve the queries about HDFC Bank’s services.]

162. Which Racing Driver won the Spanish Grand Prix 2021 Tournament?

A
Lewis Hamilton

B
Max Verstappen

C
Charles Leclerc

D
Sebastien Vettel

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [Lewis Hamilton]

Explaination : [British racing driver Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes defeated Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the Spanish Grand Prix 2021 tournament. This is Lewis Hamilton’s third win in four races this season, the 98th of his career, after he set his 100th pole position. Max Verstappen finishes second with Valtteri Bottas in third place.]

163. Which institution has set up a 12-member National Task Force (NTF) to enhance public health response to the pandemic?

A
NITI Aayog

B
Health Ministry

C
Supreme Court of India

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [Supreme Court of India]

Explaination : [The Supreme Court of India, has constituted a 12-member National Task Force (NTF), to facilitate a public health response to the pandemic based on scientific and specialised domain knowledge. The task force would include top experts and doctors from across the country. The Union Minister for Health and Family welfare is an ex officio member of the then NTF.]

164. Which species of frog is the officially largest frog in the world?

A
Goliath frog

B
African Bull frog

C
American Bull frog

D
Cane Toad

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [Goliath frog]

Explaination : [The Goliath frog is said to be the largest living frog, which can grow up to 32 centimetres in length and weigh up to 3.25 kilograms The species of frog are found in a small habitat range in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. Due to habitat destruction, the population of frog are decreasing. Recently, villagers in the Solomon Islands spotted a large frog as big as a human baby. It is said to be a Cornufer guppy frog, a species in the family of Ceratobatrachidae.]

165. Which country is set to create “a line of separation” at the Mt Everest summit to tackle Covid-19 infection?

A
Nepal

B
China

C
India

D
Bangladesh

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [China]

Explaination : [China has recently announced that is set to create “a line of separation” at the Mt Everest summit. This is expected to prevent climbers from the Chinese side from being infected by those climbing the summit from Nepal. Earlier, a number of Covid-19 cases were diagnosed among those climbing the mountain from Nepal. The peak climbing is usually undertaken by the climbers between April and early June before the monsoon arrives.]

166. NITI Aayog in association with which company has launched the report named “Connected Commerce”?

A
VISA

B
Mastercard

C
Clix

D
India Bulls

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Mastercard]

Explaination : [The national think tank NITI Aayog, in partnership with payments leader MasterCard has launched a report titled “Connected Commerce – Creating a Roadmap for a Digitally Inclusive Bharat”. The report identifies key challenges faced by India in accelerating digital financial inclusion in the country and provides recommendations for the same.]

167. As per the World Bank’s Migration and Development Brief, which country registered the highest remittance inflow in 2020?

A
China

B
India

C
Russia

D
Indonesia

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [India]

Explaination : [As per the World Bank’s Migration and Development Brief, India registered the highest remittance inflow in 2020 at USD 83 billion. It had a drop of just 0.2 per cent from the previous year. India is followed by China, which received USD59.5 billion in remittances in 2020 against USD68.3 billion the previous year. Remittances outflow from India in 2020 was USD7 billion, against USD7.5 billion in 2019.]

168. Which state cabinet has given approval for a new Prison Rule for its state, stating that the existing legislation is outdated?

A
Maharashtra

B
Haryana

C
Odisha

D
Punjab

Show Answer

Correct Answer : D [Punjab]

Explaination : [The Cabinet of Punjab Government has given an approval for the Punjab Prison Rules, 2021, under the provisions of Prison Act 1894. This new set of regulations would replace the existing Prison Rules which was last revised in the year 1996. The Punjab Government is of the view that the existing prison rules are outdated and there is an immediate need to upgrade the regulations.]

169. A bank mentioned in the Second Schedule of the Reserve Bank of India Act is known as ?

A
Co-operative Bank

B
Small Finance Bank

C
Scheduled Commercial Bank

D
Foreign Bank operating in India

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [Scheduled Commercial Bank]

Explaination : [A bank mentioned in the Second Schedule of the Reserve Bank of India Act is known as ‘Scheduled Commercial Bank’. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has excluded Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) from the Second Schedule of the RBI Act after it was merged with DBS Bank India Ltd (DBIL) last year.]

170. Which tennis player has clinched the Italian Open tennis tournament?

A
Roger Federer

B
Rafael Nadal

C
Novak Djokovic

D
Andy Murray

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Rafael Nadal]

Explaination : [French Tennis veteran Rafael Nadal beat ace player Novak Djokovic to clinch the Italian Open title, for a record 10th time. In the women’s final, reigning French Open champion Iga Swiatek defeated Karolina Pliskova 6-0 6-0, to clinch the title.]

171. Which state, the first organic state in the country, celebrates its statehood day on May 16?

A
Assam

B
Sikkim

C
Manipur

D
Meghalaya

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Sikkim]

Explaination : [Sikkim celebrates its statehood day on May 16. It marks the day in 1975 when Sikkim was made the 22nd state of India from being a monarchy earlier. Sikkim is the least populous and second smallest among the Indian states. It also became the first state in India to achieve complete organic agriculture production.]

172. Who topped the 50 Greatest Leaders list, recently released by Fortune?

A
Jacinda Ardern

B
Jessica Tan

C
Adar Poonawala

D
Narendra Modi

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [Jacinda Ardern]

Explaination : [According to the latest 50 Greatest Leaders list released by Fortune Group, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern topped the global leaders. Other leaders in the top 10 list are mRNA pioneers; Paypal CEO Daniel H Schulman; NBA Rescuers; Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s John Nkengasong; Ping An’s Jessica Tan among others. The only Indian among the top 10 names is Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India.]

173. Under which section, USA authorizes the President to take tariff-based and non-tariff-based retaliation on a foreign government?

A
U.S. Trade Act of 1974

B
WTO Act

C
World Bank Act

D
US Customs Act

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [U.S. Trade Act of 1974]

Explaination : [As per the Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974, the US Government can authorize the President to take all appropriate action, which includes tariff-based and non-tariff-based retaliation on a foreign government, to remove any unjustified, unreasonable, or discriminatory legislation of the foreign government. USA has proposed a strong tariff action against Indian exporters, especially against Basmati rice, gems and jewellery.]

174. In order to curtail the price rise in pulses, which of the following steps has been recently initiated by the Government of India?

A
Decrease local production of pulses

B
Impose stock holding limits on pulses

C
Permit free import of pulses

D
Incentivize pulse export

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [Permit free import of pulses]

Explaination : [In order to curb the price of pulses from further moving up, the Government of India has permitted for free import of tur, urad and moong pulses. These pulses have been placed in the non-restricted list of imports, since their prices were on the higher side in the recent past.]

175. Which animal has recently resurfaced in India, in Mizoram’s Pualreng sanctuary, after a gap of 108 years?

A
Snow leopard

B
Hyena

C
Yamuna Dolphins

D
Doria’s foam-nesting treefrog

Show Answer

Correct Answer : D [Doria’s foam-nesting treefrog]

Explaination : [A team of zoologists belonging to Mizoram University have spotted Doria’s foam-nesting treefrog in the buffer area of Mizoram’s Pualreng Wildlife Sanctuary. This discovery was made by them in June 2020, which has now been published in a leading journal – Reptiles & Amphibians. This species has characters like changing skin shade and whipping up foam to protect eggs. It is believed that this frog has reappeared in India after 108 years.]

176. Which state has targeted to bring one million hectares under the Direct Seeding of Rice, due to anticipated shortage of migrant labour?

A
Madhya Pradesh

B
Uttar Pradesh

C
Punjab

D
Assam

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [Punjab]

Explaination : [The Government of Punjab has targeted to bring one million hectares of farm land under Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR) technique, during this cropping year. Under this method, seeds are directly drilled into the field by a tractor-powered machine. This target has been envisioned, in anticipation of a huge shortfall in migrant labour due to COVID 19 second wave pandemic in the nation.]

177. Cranes have been observed to return to which country, after a period of 300 years?

A
India

B
Ireland

D
Australia

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Ireland]

Explaination : [Wildlife experts have observed that common cranes have returned to Ireland for shelter and breeding, after a period of 300 years. This is believed to be a sign that our environment is improving. The breeding location is kept confidential to protect the cranes from unlawful hands.]

178. Which Indian state has launched the ‘HIT Covid App’, to ensure regular monitoring of Covid-19 patients?

A
Bihar

B
Odisha

C
West Bengal

D
Karnataka

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [Bihar]

Explaination : [Bihar government launched ‘HIT Covid App’ to ensure regular monitoring of home-isolated Covid-19 patients across the state. HIT stands for Home isolation tracking. Health workers would visit the patients at home and feed data in the app after measuring their temperature and oxygen level, which will be monitored at the district level.]

179. Which country has stated that it would distribute 80 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to the needy countries?

A
India

B
Russia

C
China

Show Answer

Correct Answer : D [USA]

Explaination : [The US President Joe Biden has stated that the USA would share 80 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to the needy countries in the following weeks. This announcement has come in the backdrop of lower demand for vaccines in the USA and increased demand globally. The 80 million doses will include 20 million doses manufactured by Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson.]

180. Which treatment has been dropped from the list of COVID-19 treatments in India?

A
Convalescent Plasma therapy

B
Vaccination

C
Oxygen Therapy

D
Hydrodilatation

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [Convalescent Plasma therapy]

Explaination : [Convalescent plasma therapy has been dropped from the list of COVID-19 treatments by the Government of India. This decision has been made by the national Covid task force, since the experiments with the treatment have been found to be ineffective in treating COVID infection.]