Current Affairs 13 July 2019

1. Who among the following has been appointed as the Home Minister of India?

1. Amit Shah
2. Rajnath Singh
3. Narendra Modi
4. Ramesh Pokhriyal

S: a

2. Who among the following has been appointed as the Finance Minister of India?

1. Amit Shah
2. Rajnath Singh
3. Nirmala Sitharaman
4. Ramesh Pokhriyal

S: a

• Nirmala Sitharaman has been appointed as India's first woman full-time finance minister.
• Indira Gandhi did hold the post for a brief while during 1970-71, she managed the ministry as additional charge while she herself was the Prime Minister of India.

 

3. Who among the following has been appointed as the first female referee in France’s top football league?

1. Sarah Thomas
2. Stéphanie Frappart
3. Bibiana Steinhaus 
4. Maria Thomas

S: b

E:

• Stéphanie Frappart has been appointed as the first female referee in France’s top football league-Ligue 1.

 

4. The Government has created 'Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar' to honour whom?

1. Sardar Vallabhai Patel
2. Subhash Chandra Bose
3. Bhagat Singh
4. Swami Vivekananda

S: b

E:  

• The government of India instituted an annual award titled ‘Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar’.
• The award recognises all Indian Citizens and organisations who have excelled in areas of Disaster Management.
• The award will be announced every year on 23rd January on the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and for 2019, 8th Battalion of NDRF was selected for the award.

 

 

5. Which of the following banks will be merged with Bharat Financial Inclusion (BFIL)?

1. HDFC
2. Indusind Bank
3. HDFC
4. Axis bank

S: b

E:

• National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the merger of IndusInd Bank with Bharat Financial Inclusion (BFIL).
• Post-merger, BFIL will become a subsidiary of the Bank.
• Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited BFIL is a non-banking finance company, licensed by the Reserve Bank of India.

 

6. Which country has successfully created the world’s first artificial crater on asteroid?

1. Russia
2. Japan
3. Malaysia
4. Maldives

 

S: b

E:

• Japanese scientists have succeeded in creating what they called the first-ever artificial crater on an asteroid.
• Hayabusa2 probe fired an explosive device at the Ryugu asteroid to blast a crater in the surface and scoop up material, aiming to reveal more about the origins of life on Earth.

7. Who among the following has been appointed as the President of Brazil?

1. Jair Bolsonaro
2. Fernando Haddad
3. Ciro Gomes
4. Fernando Hadad

S: a

E: Former Army captain, Jair Bolsonaro was sworn in as Brazil's President after defeating  leftist opponent Fernando Haddad.

 

8. Who among the following has won the Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize 2019?

1. Rana Dasgupta
2. Moan Dasgupta
3. Lakshmi Dasgupta
4. Mita Dasgupta

S: a

E:  

• The Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize 2019 was awarded to author Rana Dasgupta for his 2010 novel “Solo” which is a tale of estrangement and the ultimate failure of material existence.
• TagorePrize is founded and launched with a strong vision to be a platform and a vehicle for improving and inspiring World Peace, Literature, Art and Education.

9. When is the National Panchayati Raj Day observed?

1. 22 April
2. 21 April
3. 24 April
4. 29 April

S: c

E:  

• Ministry of Panchayati Raj commemorates the National Panchayati Raj Day on 24th April 2019. 
• This day marks the passing of Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 that came into force with effect from 24 April 1993.
• The first Panchayati Raj Day was celebrated in 2010.

 

10. How much gold did RBI buy from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2018?

1. 9 metric tonnes
2. 7 metric tonnes
3. 5 metric tonnes
4. 4 metric tonnes

 

S-c

E-

• As per its annual report, the RBI bought nearly 8.5 metric tonnes of gold between December 2017 and June 2018 taking the level of gold reserves to 566.23 metric tonnes.
• This was the first time that the central bank had bought gold since its purchased 200 million metric tonnes from the International Monetary Fund in 2009.

 

11. Who among the following has been appointed as the officer On Special Duty (OSD) in the Office of Lokpal?

1. Tushar Gaba
2. Vijay Kumar
3. Dilip Kumar
4. Abhay Sharma

S-c

E-

• Senior IAS officer Dilip Kumar was appointed as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the office of Lokpal.
• It is the first official appointment of a bureaucrat in Lokpal.

 

12. Who is the first Indian woman scientist to be elected Royal Society Fellow in 360 years?

1. Gagandeep Kang
2. Mehakdeep Kang
3. Roshandeep Kang
4. Sumandeep Kang

S-a

E-

• The UK Royal Society elected 51 eminent scientists as Fellows of the Royal Society which included India's first woman scientist- Gagandeep Kang became a Royal Fellow while Mumbai-born Padma Bhushan awardee Dr Yusuf Hamied was elected as Honorary Fellow. The Fellowship of the Society is an incredible honour in the scientific world.
• Founded on November 28, 1660, the Council and Fellows of the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, commonly known as the Royal Society, is the oldest scientific academy the world which has been working continuously for 360 years.

 

13. Who among the following is the youngest GrandMaster of India?

1. D Gukesh
2. R Praggnanandhaa
3. Iniyan
4. Parimarjan Negi 

S-a

E- Chess player D Gukesh became the second youngest Grand Master (GM) in the world and the youngest Indian to achieve the feat at age of 12 years and 7 months. He became India's 59th Grand Master

14. Who among the following has been appointed as the force commander of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS)?

1. Shailesh Tinaikar
2. David Shearer
3. David Malpass
4. António Guterres

S-a

E-

• United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Shailesh Tinaikar of India as his new Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
• Lieutenant General Tinaikar succeeds Lieutenant General Frank Kamanzi of Rwanda who will complete his assignment on 26 May 2019.  

 

15. Who among the following has been appointed as the protem speaker of the 17^th Lok Sabha?

1. Virendra Kumar
2. Tushar Mehta
3. Maneka Gandhi
4. Smriti Irani

 

S-a

E- 

• BJP MP from Madhya Pradesh Virendra Kumar will be the Pro-tem Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
• The first all-party meeting will be convened on June 16, before the first session of the 17th Lok Sabha to be held from June 17 to 26.
• Kumar is a seven-term member of Parliament.

 

16. How many total women have been elected to the 17^th Lok Sabha?

1. 78
2. 80
3. 39
4. 48

S-a

E-

• In Lok Sabha Elections result 2019, total 78 women MPs have been elected across the country while 46 women representatives are present in the list of first time elected women MPs.
• 17th Lok Sabha will see highest number of women representatives ever.

 

17. Who among the following is heading RBI’s committee on digital payment?

1. Cyrus Mistry
2. Salel Parekh
3. Vishal Sikka
4. Nandan Nilekani

S-d

E- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) constituted a high-level committee that will work towards deepening digital payments in India and will be headed by Nandan Nilekani.

18. Who among the following will head the High-Level Committee for implementation of Clause six of the Assam Accord?

1. P. Bezbaruah
2. P. Bezbaruah
3. P. Bezbaruah
4. G. P. Bezbaruah

S-a

E- 

 

• The government has notified a High-Level Committee for implementation of Clause six of the Assam Accord and the committee is headed by former IAS officer M.P. Bezbaruah.
• It will assess the appropriate level of reservation of seats in the Assam Assembly and local bodies for the Assamese people, besides providing employment opportunities.

 

           

19. Where will be G-20 summit 2019 held?

1. India
2. Japan
3. South Africa
4. Russia

S-b

E-

• The G20 Osaka Summit will be held from June 28 to 29, 2019 in Japan.
• It is the first time for Japan to take on the G20 presidency.

 

20. Who among the following has been appointed as the Chief Minister of Sikkim?

1. Jyoti Basu
2. Pawan Chammling
3. S. Golay

Gita Chammling

S-c

E-

• Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) president Prem Singh Tamang, popularly known as P.S. Golay, took oath as the chief minister of Sikkim.
• He defeated Pawan Kumar Chamling who was the longest serving Chief Minister.
• The SKM, founded in 2013, won a slender majority in the 32-member Sikkim legislative assembly by bagging 17 seats against 15 won by SDF led by P.K. Chamling. 

 

21. Who among the following has been appointed as the speaker of Lok Sabha?

1. Smita Mahajan
2. Virendra Kumar
3. Adhir Ranjan
4. Om Birla

S: d

E:  Om Birla has been appointed as the speaker of Lok Sabha. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha is the presiding officer of the Lok Sabha (House of the People), the lower house of the Parliament of India.

 

22. What is India’s rank on Global Peace Index 2019?

1. 121
2. 140
3. 131
4. 141

S-d

E

• India's rank has slipped five places to 141 among 163 countries on the Global Peace Index 2019, while Iceland remains the most peaceful country and Afghanistan the least peaceful nation.
• Australian think tank Institute for Economics & Peace ranks countries according to their level of peacefulness based on three thematic domains-the level of societal safety and security, the extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict and the degree of militarisation.

 

23. Who among the following is the fastest player to score 11,000 ODI runs?

1. Rohit Sharma
2. Shikhar Dhawan
3. Virat Kohli
4. Hardik Pandya

S-c

E-

Virat Kohli is now the fastest to bring up 11,000 ODI runs. He reached the milestone in only his 222nd innings. The record was held by Sachin Tendulkar for nearly 17 years.

24. Who among the following has been elected first female President of Slovakia?

1. Zuzana Caputova
2. Sahle-Work Zewde
3. Lech Wa??sa
4. Jacinda Arden

S-a

E-

• Zuzana ?aputová will be the first woman to hold the presidency, as well as the youngest president in the history of Slovakia, at age 45.
• Sahle Work Zewde is the first female president of Ethiopia.

 

25. Who among the following has been appointed as the Chief Scientist at the World Health Organisation?

1. Soumya Swaminathan
2. Ananya Swaminathan
3. Mohan Swaminathan
4. Ritesh Swaminathan

S-a

E-  Soumya Swaminathan, a Deputy Director-General of the World Health Organisation has been named Chief Scientist of the WHO. As Deputy Director-General Programmes (DDP), she was one of the three DDGs assisting WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

 

 

26. Which is the first G7 country to join China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) ?

1. Italy
2. France
3. Germany
4. Russia

S-a

E-

• Italy  became the first G7 country to join China's controversial Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
• Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Rome, endorsing the global infrastructure-building scheme.

 

27. Who among the following has been appointed as the Chief of Naval staff?

1. Karambir Singh
2. Mohan Seghal
3. Naresh Sharma
4. Alok Nath

 

S-a

E-

• Vice Admiral Karambir Singh was appointed as the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS). He is currently serving as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) of Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam. 
• Vice Admiral Singh will be the first helicopter pilot of the Navy to become the Chief of Indian Navy.

 

28. Who among the following has been appointed as the Jal Shakti Minister?

1. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat
2. Uma Bharti
3. Nitin Gadkari
4. Piyush Goyal

S-a

E-  

• The Ministry of Jal Shakti is the apex body for formulation and administration of rules and regulations relating to the development and regulation of the water resources in India. 
• It has been formed by merging of Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation and Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation.
• Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has been appointed as the Jal Shakti Minister.

 

29. Who among the following has been appointed as NATO’s supreme commander?

1. Tod Walters
2. Laura Richardson
3. David Goldfein
4. John W Raymond

S-a

E-  

• US Air Force General Tod Wolters has been nominated to become NATO's top officer. 
• The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's military leader is always American, and Wolters was nominated by acting US defence secretary Patrick Shanahan.  
• General Wolters is currently serving as Commander, United States Air Forces Europe, United States Air Forces Africa and Allied Air Command.

 

30. Which of the following has instituted Antarashtriya Yoga Diwas Media Samman(AYDMS)?

1. Ministry of External Affairs
2. Human Resource & Development Ministry
3. Ministry of Tourism
4. Information and Broadcasting Ministry

S-d

E-  The Ministry of Information &Broadcasting has instituted the First Antarashtriya Yoga Diwas Media Samman (AYDMS) from this year to mark the contribution of media in spreading the message of Yoga. It will be conferred to Media Houses engaged in Print Media, Electronic and (Television & Radio).

31. What is India’s rank on the first ever SDG Gender Ixdex?

1. 95
2. 98
3. 99
4. 100

S-a

E-

In first-ever SDG Gender Index which measures progress made in achieving gender commitments against internationally set targets, India was ranked 95th out of a total 129 countries. The Index is developed by Equal Measures 2030, a partnership effort of regional and global organisations.It includes 51 indicators across 14 of 17 official Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

           

 

32. Which of the following launched Confetti, its first interactive game show in India?

1. Facebook
2. Google
3. IBM
4. Microsoft

S-a

E- Social networking giant Facebook announced its first interactive game show, titled ‘Confetti’ in India. The interactive game will challenge participants to answer pop culture trivia questions for a chance to win ?3 lakh as cash prize every day.

 

33. Who has been appointed as the head of NTA?

1. Anita Karwal
2. Vineet Joshi
3. NK Singh
4. Bibek Debroy

S-b

E-

• The former chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Vineet Joshi, was appointed the first director-general of the National Testing Agency (NTA), an independent body dedicated to conducting entrance tests for higher education in India.
• For starters, in 2019, it will take over all entrance examinations currently being organised by the CBSE, including UGC’s National Eligibility Test (NET), Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).

 

34. What is the rate of scholarship offered to boys and girls under the National Defence Fund (NDF)?

1. 2500 per month and Rs. 3000 per month
2. 2000 per month and Rs. 3000 per month
3. 2100 per month and Rs. 3100 per month
4. 2000 per month and Rs. 3200 per month

S-a

E-

• The rates of scholarship have been increased from Rs. 2000 per month to Rs. 2500 per month for boys and from Rs. 2250 per month to Rs. 3000 per month for girls.
• The ambit of the Scholarship Scheme is extended to the wards of State Police officials who are/were martyred during terror/naxal attacks. The quota of new scholarships for wards of state police officials will be 500 in a year.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs will be the nodal Ministry in this regard.

35. Who among the following has been appointed as WHO’s external auditor?

1. Rajiv Mehrishi
2. Tushar Mehta
3. Rajiv Mittal
4. Rishi Kumar Shukla

S-a

E-

• Rajiv Mehrishi, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, will be the External Auditor of the World Health Organisation (WHO) for a four-year term from 2020 to 2023.
• This is the second major international audit assignment for the CAG this year, following his selection for the post of External Auditor of the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome in March 2019.

 

36. What was theme of Financial Literacy Week 2019 by RBI?

1. Farmers
2. Teachers
3. Scientists
4. Doctors

S-a

E-

• Financial Literacy Week 2019 will be observed from June 3-7 on the theme of “Farmers” and how they benefit by being a part of the formal banking system.
• The messages disseminated during the week will focus on Responsible Borrowing & Agricultural Finance.

 

37. Who among the following has been as the appointed Deputy Executive Director for UN Women?

1. Anita Sharma
2. Anisha Bhatia
3. Anita Bhatia
4. Amrita Bhatia

S-c

E:

• Indian-origin Anita Bhatia, a veteran in strategic partnerships, resource mobilisation and management, has been appointed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as the Deputy Executive Director in the global body’s agency focussed on women empowerment and gender equality.
• She has been appointed the Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) for Resource Management, Sustainability and Partnerships

 

38. Who among the following is the first woman fighter pilot to fly Hawk jet?

1. Shubhangi Sharma
2. Mohana Singh
3. Hina Jaiswal
4. Bhawana Kanth

S-b

E-  Flight Lieutenant Mohana Singh has become the first woman fighter pilot to fly by day a Hawk advanced jet aircraft

39. Which of the following is the world’s southernmost city?

 

1. Ushuaia
2. Puerto Williams
3. Rio Di Janeiro
4. Sao Pulo

S-b

E- Puerto Williams in Chile has become world’s southernmost city after its status upgraded from hamlet to city. It took over the title from  Ushuaia in Argentina which was world’s southernmost city till recently.

40. Which of the following is the colour of the newly launched twenty rupee note?

1. Red
2. Purple
3. Greenish-Yellow
4. Reddish-Orange

S-c

E-

• The Reserve Bank of India issued new Rs 20 notes which will be greenish yellow in colour and will be a continuation of the Mahatma Gandhi series.
• The new notes will have a motif of Ellora Caves on the reverse, depicting the country’s cultural heritage.

 

 

41. Which of the following Indian states has declared Ghumot as heritage musical instrument?

1. Goa
2. Punjab
3. Assam
4. Uttar Pradesh

 

S-a

E-  

• The Art and Culture Minister of Goa, Govind Gaude has announced that Ghumot, an indigenous earthen drum will soon be notified as a heritage instrument of Goa.
• Ghumot is an indigenous earthen drum fashioned as a designed clay pot, with the skin of the monitor lizard stretched taut across the pot’s mouth, forming a drumhead.

 

42. Which of the following countries have been removed from US’s currency watchlist?

1. India and Switzerland
2. India and Japan
3. Japan and Germany
4. Germany and Switzerland

 

S-a

E-  

• The Trump administration removed India from its currency monitoring list of major trading partners, citing certain developments and steps being taken by India which address some of its major concerns.
• Switzerland is the other nation that has been removed by the US from its currency monitoring list which among others include China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam.

 

43. When was the International Day of United Nations Peace Keepers observed?

1. 29 May
2. 28 May
3. 27 May
4. 22 May

 

S-a
E-

• The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers was observed on May 29 2019.
• The theme for this year is ‘Protecting Civilians, Protecting Peace’

 

44. Which country has conferred ‘Order of the Distinguished Rule of Nishan Izzuddeen’ on PM Modi?

1. Iran
2. Israel
3. Palestine
4. Maldives

 

S-d

E-

Prime Minister Modi was conferred with Maldives’ highest honour- ‘Order of the Distinguished Rule of Nishan Izzuddeen‘ in Male,  (Maldives capital) during his two-day state visit to the island country. The prestigious award of Most Honourable Order of the Distinguished Rule of Nishan Izzuddeen is Maldive’s highest honour accorded to foreign dignitaries.

 

45. Who among the following is the first woman pilot of the Indian Air Force to qualify to undertake combat missions on a fighter jet?

1. Avani Chaturwedi
2. Shubhanghi Sharma
3. Bhawana Kanth
4. Heena Jaiswal

S-c

E-  

• Flight Lieutenant Bhawana Kanth became the first woman pilot of the Indian Air Force to qualify to undertake combat missions on a fighter jet. 
• Kanth has completed operational syllabus for carrying out combat missions on Mig-21 Bison aircraft during day time.

 

46. According to the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), what is the tentative national level target of the government by 2024?

 

1. 20%–30% reduction of PM2.5 and PM10 concentration
2. 40%–60% reduction of PM2.5 and PM10 concentration
3. 100% reduction of PM2.5 and PM10 concentration
4. 80%–90% reduction of PM2.5 and PM10 concentration

S-a

E-

• The Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan launched National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in New Delhi.
• A tentative national level target of 20%–30% reduction of PM2.5 and PM10 concentration by 2024 is proposed under the NCAP taking 2017 as the base year for the comparison of concentration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

47. Which Indian state launched the PRANAM scheme?

1. Punjab
2. Haryana
3. Assam
4. Manipur

S-c

E:

• Assam is the first state to launch the Parents Responsibility and Norms for Accountability and Monitoring (PRANAM) It the first-of-its-kind in the country that aims to protect elderly parents of government employees in their times of need.
• Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal launched the PRANAM Commission, which is a panel set up to look after the issues concerning a Bill brought in for the protection of parents of state government employees.

 

           

48. Who has been appointed as the SEBI’s first full-time Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO)?

1. Sudha Sharma
2. Arti Chhabra Srivastava
3. Sudha Balakrishnan
4. Divya Mehta

S-b

E-

 

 

• Arti Chhabra Srivastava has been appointed as the first full-time Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) of SEBI.
• CVOs are considered an extended hand of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), which is tasked with detecting graft by officials holding public office.

 

49. Who among the following has been appointed as the youngest goodwill ambassador of UNICEF?

1. Millie Bobby Brown
2. Kylie Jenner
3. Malala Yousafzai
4. Hima Das

S: a

E:

• UNICEF appointed Emmy-Nominated actress Millie Bobby Brown as its youngest-ever Goodwill Ambassador on World Children's Day in New York City.
• She has supported UNICEF's work since 2016.

 

50. Who among the following is the world’s first woman to cross Atlantic Ocean (AO) solo?

1. Aarohi Pandit
2. Aarohi Sharma
3. Aarohi Mehta
4. Aarohi Mittal

 

S-a

E-   

• India’s Captain Aarohi Pandit became world’s first woman to cross Atlantic Ocean (AO) solo in a Light Sports Aircraft (LSA) named Mahi.
• She is a 23 year old commercial pilot and LSA licence holder from Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• This achievement is part of her ongoing Women Empower (WE) Expedition launched with her friend Captain Keithair Misquitta