Current Affairs Quiz Set 49

Q1. Who among the following has been appointed as the Managing Director of National Housing Board (NHB)?

  1. Debashish Mallick
  2. David Rasquinha
  3. RC Sharma
  4. Sarada Kumar Hota

S: d

 

Q2. Which Indian state has launched free crop insurance scheme for its farmers- Bangla Shashya Bima (BSB)?

  1. Punjab
  2. Sikkim
  3. Telangana
  4. West Bengal

S-d

E

  • West Bengal Government launched a crop insurance scheme, Bangla Shashya Bima (BSB) to protect farmers from losses due to natural disasters.
  • Their main aim is to provide a steady income in case of unstable market prices. 
  • The scheme launched in collaboration with Agriculture Insurance Company of India (AIC).
  • The crop insurance scheme is “free of cost for farmers” as the state government would pay the entire premium.The crops include Aman and Aus paddy, jute and maize under the scheme. 

 

Q3. Which Indian state has topped the launched “Agricultural Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms Index (AMFFRI)”?

  1. Kerala
  2. Punjab
  3. Maharashtra
  4. Rajasthan

S-c

E-

  • Maharashtra achieved first rank in NITI Aayog launched “Agricultural Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms Index (AMFFRI)”. Meghalaya is the worst performing state.
  • The index ranks states based on the degree of reforms they have undertaken in agricultural marketing. AMFFRI has a score that can have minimum value “0” implying no reforms and maximum value “100” implying complete reforms in the selected areas.
  • NITI Aayog has identified three key areas for reform and is now persuading states to undertake the reforms. The areas identified for immediate reforms are Agricultural market reforms, Land lease reforms and Reforms related to forestry on private land – felling and transit of trees. 

 

Q4. What will be Government of India’s contribution to the Employee State Insurance (ESI)?

  1. 4%
  2. 1%
  3. 4%
  4. 9%

S-a

E-

  • The Government of India has taken a historic decision to reduce the rate of contribution under the ESI Act from 6.5% to 4% (Employers’ contribution being reduced from 4.75% to 3.25% and Employees’ contribution being reduced from 1.75% to 0.75%). Reduced rates will be effective from 01.07.2019.
  • The Employees’ State Insurance Act 1948 (the ESI Act) provides for medical, cash, maternity, disability and dependent benefits to the Insured Persons under the Act. The ESI Act is administered by Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC).
  • Under the ESI Act, employers and employees both contribute their shares respectively. The Government of India through Ministry of Labour and Employment decides the rate of contribution under the ESI Act.

 

Q5. Where is India’s first Solar Kitchen only village in India situated?

  1. Madhya Pradesh
  2. Andhra Pradesh
  3. Arunachal Pradesh
  4. Tamil Nadu

S-a

E-  

  • Bancha, in in Betul district, Madhya Pradesh is the first solar kitchen only village in India. 
  • It is the first village in India to have zero wooden stoves and almost no use for LPG cylinders with all its 75 houses relying on solar-powered stoves to meet their cooking needs.

 

Q6. Which Indian state launched the Pink Sarathi Vehicles for the safety of women ?

  1. Karnataka
  2. Uttar Pradesh
  3. West Bengal
  4. Delhi

S-a

E-

  • Chief Minister of Karnataka H.D. Kumaraswamy recently flagged off the “Pink Sarathi” fleet of vehicles. These Mahindra Bolero vehicles have been ordered under Nirbhaya scheme by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC).
  • With this launch BMTC now owns 25 Pink Sarathi vehicles that are fitted with public announcement systems and GPS. These vehicles will be specially deployed for attending the grievances of women passengers who commute by city buses.

 

Q7. Which of the following launched world’s first national 5G network coverage?

  1. South Korea
  2. China
  3. US
  4. Germany

S-a

E- South Korea launched the world's first nationwide 5G mobile network with its top three top telecom providers -- SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus.

 

Q8. According to the latest guidelines of RBI, what will be the charges of NEFT transactions from 1 July 2019?

  1. Nil
  2. Rs 10 for every Rs 1000
  3. Rs 100 for every Rs 10,000
  4. Re 1 for every Rs 1,00,000

S-a

E-  

  • The RBI issued an order to provide an impetus to digital funds movement, it had decided to do away with the NEFT, RTGS charges.
  • This came into practice from 1 July 2019.
  • NEFT stands for National Electronic Funds Transfer. RTGS stands for Real Time Gross Settlement.

 

Q9. With which country has India has signed a deal to acquire 'Strum Ataka' anti-tank missile?

  1. Russia
  2. France
  3. Israel
  4. US

S-a

E-  

  • India has signed a deal to acquire 'Strum Ataka' anti-tank missile from Russia for its fleet of Mi-35 attack helicopters.
  • Under the emergency clauses, the missiles would be supplied within three months of contract signing. The deal is reportedly worth around Rs 200 crore and would give Mi-32s an improved capability to take out enemy tanks and other armoured vehicles.

 

Q10. Which Indian state has launched the toll-free CM helpline 1076?

  1. Punjab
  2. Haryana
  3. Maharashtra
  4. Uttar Pradesh

S-d

E-  Uttar Pradesh government launched a toll-free Chief Minister helpline 1076.
This scheme will enable people from across the state to register their complaints and a time-bound action will be taken. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will personally review the complaints every month. The helpline will work 24x7 and anyone from any part of the state.

 

Q11. Who among the following has been named as India’s 63rd Grandmaster?

  1. Girish A. Koushik
  2. D Gukesh
  3. Thejkumar M S
  4. Stany G A

S-a

E-

  • 22-year-old Girish A. Koushik of Mysore, Karnataka became India’s 63rd Grandmaster (GM) at the 37th Balaton International Chess Festival in Hungary. He completed his second GM norm at the 8th Llucmajor Open in Mallorca, Spain in May 2019 and third norm in Budapest. The first GM norm was achieved in 2011 at the World Juniors. He became the third Grandmaster from Karnataka, after Thejkumar M S and Stany G A. 
  • Grandmaster (GM) is a title awarded to chess players by the world chess organization FIDE.
  • Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain.

 

Q12. Who among the following will be the head of FAO?

  1. Qu Dongyu
  2. Ramesh Chand
  3. Catherine Geslain-Laneelle
  4. Davit Kirvalidze

S-a

E- Qu Dongyu became the first Chinese national to be elected to head the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, clinching the post in the first round of voting. Qu, a biologist by training, won 108 votes, followed by Catherine Geslain-Laneelle of France with 71 votes and Georgia's Davit Kirvalidze with 12.

 

Q13. Which of the following is the first country to declare climate emergency?

  1. UK
  2. Ireland
  3. Germany
  4. France

S-a

E-

  • The UK became the first country in the world to declare a climate emergency.
  • Climate emergency is the condition in which the countries work towards getting carbon neutrality in response to the impending climate crisis.

 

Q14. Who among the following has been named as the President of European Central Bank?

  1. Christine Lagarde
  2. Mario Draghi
  3. David Malpass
  4. David Lipton

S-a

E-  

  • International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde was nominated as the president of the European Central Bank, following which she announced to temporarily relinquish her responsibilities as head of IMF.
  • The nomination means Lagarde will step down two years before the end of her second five-year term at the helm of the IMF.

 

Q15. Who among the following has been appointed as Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare?

  1. Narendra Singh Tomar
  2. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
  3. Thaawar Chand Gehlot
  4. Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank'

S-a