Best PSC / PCS / STATE PCS online Current Affairs

Current Affairs Mar-2020

Showing 1 - 20 of 331 entries

1. Which Indian state announced a ₹20,000 crore economic package to deal with the coronavirus outbreak?

A
Maharashtra

B
Kerala

C
Uttar Pradesh

D
Telangana

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Kerala]

Explaination : [The Kerala state government announced a ₹20,000 crore economic package to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. This package includes funds to clear dues which the government owes individuals and institutions, providing consumer loans, disbursing welfare pension of two months in advance and a health package. The Chief Minister also announced free ration for all of this month, where everyone in the state will be given free food grain up to 10kg through ration shops. ]

2. Who is the head of the proposed panel, which is set to review fiscal consolidation road map of Central and State Governments?

A
Arvind Subramanian

B
N. K. Singh

C
Urjit Patel

D
Sajjid Chinoy

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [N. K. Singh]

Explaination : [The Fifteenth Finance Commission is to set up a panel soon, which will examine the fiscal and debt situation of the Centre and states. This panel is to be headed by the Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission N.K.Singh. It will present a road map on the lines of the erstwhile Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management panel, which was also headed by N.K.Singh. The panel may include or receive suggestions from former RBI Governor Urjit Patel, former chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian among others. ]

3. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh unveiled an updated manual DPP-2020. What does DPP stand for?

A
Direct Procurement Procedure

B
Direct Promotion Proposal

C
Defence Procurement Procedure

D
Defence Promotion Proposal

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [Defence Procurement Procedure]

Explaination : [Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh unveiled an updated manual DPP-2020 (Defence Procurement Procedure-2020). For the last 18 years, this DPP is the procurement manual that has been used for governing the purchase of weapons and equipment from the defence capital budget. The 2020 draft version aims to promote more indigenous content in defence equipment which are manufactured in India. It also introduced ‘leasing’ as another category to make defence equipment affordable. ]

4. What is the maximum limit of grant given to state per bulk drug park, under the bulk drug park scheme?

A
₹500 crore

B
₹1,000 crore

C
₹2,000 crore

D
₹5,000 crore

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [₹1,000 crore]

Explaination : [The Cabinet recently approved the relaunch of a scheme called ‘Bulk drug park scheme’. The approval aims to set up three bulk drug parks and four medical device parks for a total outlay of ₹3,400 crore over the next five years. Under the bulk drug park scheme, the government will give grant to states with a maximum limit of ₹1,000 crore per bulk drug park, up to ₹3,000 crore in total. A similar scheme has been launched for medical devices, with a maximum grant of ₹100 crore per park. ]

5. Who is the head of the high-level committee of medical experts constituted by the Government of India for prevention & control of COVID-19?

A
Dr V K Paul

B
Amitabh Kant

C
Rajiv Kumar

D
Harsh Vardhan

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [Dr V K Paul]

Explaination : [The Government of India has recently constituted a high-level committee of medical experts for prevention & control of COVID-19. The committee is headed by Dr V K Paul, a member of the India think-tank NITI Aayog. The 21-member high level technical committee comprises of noted public health experts to suggest measures on the prevention and control actions. Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan and Director General of Indian Council of Medical Research are the Co-Chairpersons of the committee. ]

6. SDMC recently launched a website for information related to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a Disaster Management agency of which bloc?

A
BIMSTEC

B
SAARC

C
ASEAN

D
OPEC

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [SAARC]

Explaination : [The SAARC Disaster Management Centre has recently launched a website for information related to the COVID-19 pandemic in the region. The website shows the number of coronavirus cases in the SAARC member states with live updates on the count of active cases. This initiative was earlier proposed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during the recent video conference with the leaders SAARC member nations. ]

7. Which Indian bank has unveiled an emergency credit line to meet liquidity mismatch for its borrowers, amid the coronavirus scare?

A
Bank of Baroda

B
State Bank of India

C
ICICI Bank

D
HDFC Bank

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [State Bank of India]

Explaination : [India’s largest lender State Bank of India has recently unveiled an emergency credit line to meet liquidity mismatch for its borrowers, amid the coronavirus pandemic scare. The additional liquidity facility called Covid-19 Emergency Credit Line (CECL) will provide credit up to 200 crore rupees. This loan facility will be available till June 30 where the loan will be offered at an interest rate of 7.25 per cent with a 12-month tenure. ]

8. World Tuberculosis Day is being celebrated to commemorate the anniversary of discovery of the Tuberculosis (TB) bacteria by which Scientist?

A
Robert Koch

B
Louis Pasteur

C
Emil von Behring

D
Paul Ehrlich

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [Robert Koch]

Explaination : [One of the founders of bacteriology, German physician Robert Koch, discovered the anthrax disease cycle and the bacteria responsible for tuberculosis and cholera. He received the Nobel Prize for Physiology in 1905 for his research on tuberculosis. To commemorate the day of his discovery, World Tuberculosis day is being celebrated on March 24. Government of India has committed to eliminate prevalence of TB by 2025, by formulating National Strategic Plan (NSP) for Tuberculosis Elimination (2017-2025) and campaigns like “TB Harega Desh Jeetega”. ]

9. The Government approved to continue the scheme for Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) on export of which products?

A
Garments

B
Medicines

C
Spices

D
Engineering goods

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [Garments]

Explaination : [The government recently approved to continue the scheme for Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) on export of garments beyond March 31. It is to be continued till it is merged with the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products scheme (RoDTEP), which was introduced in last September. By continuing RoSCTL scheme, all taxes and levies in the textile sector which are not rebated under other mechanisms will be rebated. ]

10. What is the name of the Central Government’s economic package for the poor to fight the coronavirus pandemic and lock-down?

A
Prime Minister Gareeb Kalyan Scheme

B
Prime Minister Annadata Scheme

C
Prime Minister KISAN Scheme

D
Prime Minister Gareeb Suraksha Scheme

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [Prime Minister Gareeb Kalyan Scheme]

Explaination : [The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the Government’s ₹1.7 lakh crore economic package for the poor to fight the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown named ‘Prime Minister Gareeb Kalyan Scheme’. Under the scheme, ex-gratia of ₹1,000 will be given to poor senior citizens, poor widows and poor disabled and ₹500 per month for 3 months to women Jan Dhan account holders; Ujjwala beneficiaries will get free cooking gas (LPG) cylinders for next three months; An installment of ₹2000 will be transferred to farmers. Under Prime Minister Garib Ann Yojna, additional 5 kg rice or wheat per month is given in addition to the existing scheme. ]

11. Which badminton player won the men’s singles title at the All England Open Badminton Championships 2020?

A
P Kashyap

B
K Srikanth

C
Viktor Axelsen

D
Lin Dan

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [Viktor Axelsen]

Explaination : [In the recently concluded All England Open Badminton Championships, Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen won his first singles title. He defeated Taiwanese top seed Chou Tien-chen in straight sets in the summit clash. Last year, Axelsen was the runner-up in the tournament after losing to Kento Momota. Taiwan’s Tai Tzu Ying is the women’s champion for the third time in four years, after defeating Chinese world number one Chen Yu Fei. ]

12. As per the recent statement of the Union Labour Minister, what was the number of job seekers in the country in 2017?

A
1.24 crore

B
2.24 crore

C
3.24 crore

D
4.24 crore

Show Answer

Correct Answer : D [4.24 crore]

Explaination : [The Union Labour Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar recently informed that the number of job seekers in the country marginally declined between 2015 and 2017 from 4.35 crore in 2015 to 4.24 crore in 2017. This is the count of job seekers who registered on live register of employment exchanges. The minister also added that all of them may not necessarily be unemployed. The Labour bureau has revamped quarterly employment survey (QES) with the objective to measure relative change in employment situation. ]

13. The Central bank of which country slashed its benchmark interest rate to almost zero and announced to buy USD 700 billion in bonds?

A
China

B
India

C
United States

D
Japan

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [United States]

Explaination : [The Central bank of the United States-the Federal Reserve has recently cut its benchmark interest rate to almost zero. The Fed Reserve also announced that it would buy $700 billion in bonds to ease the economic activities. The bank also said that it shall maintain this target range until the economy is on track to achieve its maximum employment and price stability goal. ]

14. Patil Puttappa, who recently passed away, was associated with which field?

A
Sports

B
Journalism

C
Business

D
Research

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Journalism]

Explaination : [Veteran journalist Patil Puttappa who was fondly known as Papu, passed away recently at the age of 99. He was an ardent follower of Gandhian principles and a Khadi activist. Patil Puttappa had also served as a former Rajya Sabha member. He remained as a strong representative of Kannada and had received several prestigious awards including the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award, T.S.R. Award, and “Nadoja’. He had recently been presented the ‘Basava Award’ by the Chief Minister of Karnataka. ]

15. Which Indian institution has launched a re-skilling programme for women called ‘Career Back 2 Women’?

A
Indian Institute of Science

B
Indian Institute of Management-Ahmadabad

C
Indian Institute of Technology-Madras

D
Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [Indian Institute of Technology-Madras]

Explaination : [The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras has recently launched a re-skilling programme for women called ‘Career Back 2 Women’. The programme aims at offering 150 hours of training to re-skill women who have taken a break from their career. The certification course comprises of artificial intelligence, machine learning, cyber security data science and big data. This programme is done through the Institute’s Digital Skills Academy. ]

16. Poshan Pakhwara or Nutritional Fortnight’ is a programme held in which Indian state/UT?

A
Uttar Pradesh

C
Arunachal Pradesh

D
Sikkim

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Goa]

Explaination : [An awareness programme called ‘Poshan Pakhwara or Nutritional Fortnight’ is being held in the UT of Goa from March 8 to 22. The programme is aimed at creating awareness about nutrition among the general public. Several activities are being organised with special focus on the health of women, children and people who are suffering from malnutrition. Guidance by nutrition experts and Paediatricians is also provided to the people. ]

17. Which technological firm along with NASSCOM Foundation launched the ‘Innovate for Accessible India’ campaign?

A
Google

B
Microsoft

C
Amazon

D
Apple

Show Answer

Correct Answer : B [Microsoft]

Explaination : [Microsoft India and NASSCOM Foundation partnered to launch the ‘Innovate for Accessible India’ campaign. The campaign aims at empowering people with disabilities with the technology required for better access to equal opportunities. The campaign invites applications from students, citizens and social organisations to build customised solutions that address challenges faced by people with disabilities. The ten best solutions will be provided mentoring support by Microsoft and NASSCOM Foundation, along with financial grants. ]

18. ‘World Cities Summit’ is a global biennial conference hosted by which country?

A
United Kingdom

B
Japan

C
Singapore

D
United Arab Emirates

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [Singapore]

Explaination : [‘World Cities Summit’ is a global biennial conference hosted by Singapore. This year, World Cities Summit (WCS) 2020 is scheduled to be held from July 5 to 9. The theme of this year’s summit as announced by the Singapore government is ‘Liveable and Sustainable Cities: Adapting to a Disrupted World’. Leaders from several governments and industry experts discuss on challenges in climate change, social shifts and technological disruptions. ]

19. The Scientists of which institution have developed a chemical-free hand sanitiser in India?

A
Council of Scientific & Industrial Research

B
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research

C
National Institute of Biomedical Genomics

D
Agharkar Research Institute

Show Answer

Correct Answer : A [Council of Scientific & Industrial Research]

Explaination : [The scientists at Himachal Pradesh based Council of Scientific & Industrial Research -Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT) have developed a chemical-free hand sanitiser in India. Due to the increasing demand for sanitisers amid the corona virus scare, many companies manufacture fake products. Hence the Scientists have developed this product with the natural constituents and alcohol content as per the guidelines of the World Health Organisation (WHO). Another firm is to commercially produce this sanitiser as per a new agreement. ]

20. 12 journalists were selected for Road Safety Media Fellowship 2019, which is implemented by Centre for Media Studies (CMS) in association with which global organisation?

A
United Nations

B
World Bank

C
World Health Organization

D
UNESCO

Show Answer

Correct Answer : C [World Health Organization]

Explaination : [Centre for Media Studies (CMS) in partnership with World Health Organization (WHO) is implementing a media fellowship programme on road safety, called WHO Road Safety Media Fellowship. Recently it was offered to 12 journalists based in Delhi and Karnataka from print, broadcast and online media of Hindi, English and Kannada languages. The fellowship is aimed at improving the capacities of journalists in coverage of news related to road safety. ]