Thursday Acknowledge with General Knowledge
Question (1-5)
President Donald Trump said the U.S. will terminate its relationship with the (X) over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak in China and will begin the process of withdrawing special trade benefits for (Y) because of the Chinese government's imposition of a new security law in the semi-autonomous city. The two measures, combined with the cancellation of visas for some Chinese citizens, come as a rift between the two countries widens. Trump, who has complained for weeks about the (X) as the virus death toll surged in the United States, said the global health body failed to adequately respond to the outbreak because China has "total control" over the global organization.
The U.S. is the largest source of financial support for the (X) and its exit is expected to significantly weaken the organization. The U.S. contributes about $450 million to (X) while China provides about $40 million.
Tensions over (Y) have been increasing for more than a year as China has cracked down on protesters and sought to exert more control over the former British territory.
Trump said the administration would begin eliminating the "full range" of agreements that had given (Y) a relationship with the U.S. that mainland China lacked, including on trade and extradition. He said the State Department would begin warning U.S. citizens of the threat of surveillance and arrest when visiting the city.
The president also said the U.S. would be suspending entry of certain Chinese citizens. He didn't provide specifics, but officials said this week that the administration was considering expelling thousands of Chinese graduate students enrolled at U.S. universities.
1. In the given passage, what does (X) refer to with which the US has decided to terminate its relationship?
a. WHO
b. UNICEF
c. UNESCO
d. WTO
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• In the given passage, ‘X’ is being referred to as the World Health Organization.
• WHO has been criticised a lot for handling of the Coronavirus situation across the world and siding China.
• Donald Trump has been quite vocal about his anger towards China and WHO.
2. Where are the Headquarters of (X)situated?
a. Switzerland
b. France
c. United States
d. United Kingdom
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• The Headquarters of WHO are situated in Geneva, Switzerland.
• It was founded on 7 April 1948 and is commemorated as the World Health Day.
• It is a United Nations Specialised Agency.
• Tedros Adhanom is the Director General of WHO.
• Soumya Swaminathan and Jane Ellison are the deputy Director-General of WHO.
3. Who among the following is the Director General of (X)?
a. Tedros Adhanom
b. Soumya Swaminathan
c. Jane Ellison
d. Mark Wilson
S-a
4. What does the given passage refer to as ‘Y’, where the tensions have been rising because of China’s protests?
a. Taiwan
b. Hong Kong
c. Brazil
d. Pakistan
S-b
EXPLANATION-
• ‘Y’ stands for Hong Kong. It is a special administrative region of China in the eastern Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea.
• China’s ruling Communist Party has set in motion a controversial national security law for Hong Kong.
• U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he would begin to remove Hong Kong’s preferential trade and customs status with the United States. Trump did not give details about exactly what steps would be taken.
• His decision was in response to China approving a proposal for a controversial new security law for Hong Kong-critics say the law will grant the central government sweeping powers to crush dissent.
5. Which of the following is an international organisation that US and Israel had made an official exit in 2019?
a. WTO
b. UNESCO
c. IMF
d. World Bank
S-b
EXPLANATION-
• The United States and Israel had officially quit the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on 1 January 2019.
• The US filed its notice to withdraw in October 2017 and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu followed suit, accusing the UN agency of anti-Israel bias.
• US has previously criticised Israel's occupation of East Jerusalem and granted full membership to Palestine in 2011.
Question (6-10)
Cyclone (X) is the strongest cyclone to hit West Bengal in 100 years that destroyed mud houses and agriculture crops, and uprooted trees and electric poles also wreaked havoc in Odisha damaging power and telecom infrastructure in several coastal districts. Odisha government officials estimated it has affected around 44.8 lakh people in the State.
The National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) reviewed the rescue and relief operations in West Bengal and Odisha at a meeting in Delhi and was told that minimal loss of lives was reported due to accurate forecast by the IMD and timely deployment of NDRF troops.
The NCMC was told by the chief secretaries of West Bengal and Odisha that timely and accurate forecast by the IMD and advance deployment of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) facilitated in evacuation of about five lakh people in West Bengal and about two lakh in Odisha.
This has resulted in minimal loss of human lives, considering the fact that the intensity of the (X) was next only to that of the super cyclone that struck Odisha in 1999 causing large scale devastation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee conducted an aerial survey of the affected regions to take stock of the trail of destruction left behind by severe cyclonic storm Amphan in West Bengal.
The PM announced interim financial assistance of Rs 1,000 crore for West Bengal and assured that the Centre and state are working together to provide all possible help to people.
PM Modi conducted an aerial survey of areas affected by (X) n in Odisha. CM Naveen Patnaik & Guv Ganeshi Lal also accompanied. Financial assistance of Rs 500 Cr announced for the state, ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to next of kin of deceased & Rs 50,000 to seriously injured.
6. What does (X) stand for in the given passage, which is the strongest cyclone that hit West Bengal in 100 years?
a. Vayu
b. Ockhi
c. Fani
d. Amphan
S-d
EXPLANATION-
• Cyclone Amphan is the strongest cyclone to hit West Bengal in 100 years that destroyed mud houses and agriculture crops, and uprooted trees and electric poles also wreaked havoc in Odisha damaging power and telecom infrastructure in several coastal districts.
• Odisha government officials estimated it has affected around 44.8 lakh people in the State.
• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) names the cyclones developing over the north Indian Ocean, including the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea, after following a standard procedure.
• The IMD is also mandated to issue advisories to 12 other countries in the region on the development of cyclones and storms.
7. Where are the headquarters of India Meteorological Department (IMD) situated?
a. New Delhi
b. Mumbai
c. Lucknow
d. Pune
S-a
8. Who among the following is known as the Cyclone Man of India?
a. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra
b. Snjay Mrutyunjay
c. Raghav Mohapatra
d. Krishna Swamy Iyer
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• Dr. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, who is affectionately known as ‘cyclone man of India’ for having accurately predicted the path of ferocious cyclonic storm Phailin that hit the coast of Odisha in 1999.
• He took over as the director general of meteorology of India Meteorological Department (IMD).
• He replaced K.J. Ramesh, who headed the India Meteorological Department (IMD) since 2016.
9. Who among the following heads the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC)?
a. Director General of India Meteorological Department
b. Cabinet Secretary of India
c. Union Minister of Earth Sciences
d. Union Home Minister
S-b
EXPLANATION-
• NCMC is a committee set up by the Government of India in the wake of a natural calamity for effective coordination and implementation of relief measures and operations.
• It is headed by Cabinet Secretary.
• Currently, Rajiv Guaba is the cabinet secretary.
10. Under which of the following does the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) function?
a. Union Home Ministry
b. Union Defence Ministry
c. External Affairs Ministry
d. PMO
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is an Indian specialised force constituted "for the purpose of specialist response to a threatening disaster situation or disaster" under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
• The ‘Nodal Ministry’ in the central government for management of natural disasters is the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
• Director General of NDRF-SN Pradhan
• HQ of NDRF-New Delhi
Question (11-15)
(X) , India's Covid-19 contact tracing, syndromic mapping and self assessment mobile app is now open source. Transparency, privacy and security have been the core design principles of Araogya Setu since its inception and opening of the source code upto the developer community signifies Government of India's continuing commitment to this principle. No other government product anywhere in the world has been open sourced at this scale. Government launched (X) mobile App for helping augment the efforts of limiting the spread of COVID19, with an objective of enabling Bluetooth based contact tracing, mapping of likely hotspots and dissemination of relevant information. The App has helped identify about 5 lakh Bluetooth contacts. Those who are identified as Bluetooth contacts of COVID19 positive cases or are classified as needing assistance based on their self-assessment, are contacted by National Health Authority. So far, the platform has reached out to more than 9 lakh users and helped advise them for Quarantine, caution or testing.
11. In the given passage, what does (X) refer to?
a. Aarogya Setu
b. Hamara Kavach
c. Aarogya Kavach
d. Aarogya Shareer
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• ‘X’ refers to Aarogya Setu mobile application.
• It is India's Covid-19 contact tracing, syndromic mapping and self assessment mobile app.
• It uses bluetooth and location to trace the presence of a Corona positive patient.
• The App has helped identify about 5 lakh Bluetooth contacts.
12. Which of the following has developed (X)?
a. National Informatics Centre
b. Niti Aayog
c. IIT-Delhi
d. National Institute of Virology
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• Aarogya Setu was developed by the National Informatics Centre under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
• Director General of National Informatics Center-Neeta Verma
• HQ of National Informatics Center-New Delhi
13. When was (X) launched by the government of India?
a. 2 April 2020
b. 10 April 2020
c. 12 April 2020
d. 15 April 2020
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• Aarogya Setu was launched on 2 April 2020. It was developed by the National Informatics Centre under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
• It reached 100 million installs by 13 May 2020, that is in 40 days since its launch.
• It became the world's fastest-growing mobile app beating Pokemon Go, with more than 50 million installs.
14. Who among the following is the Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology?
a. Ravi Shankar Prasad
b. Rajnath Singh
c. Amit Shah
d. S Jaishankar
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• Ravi Shankar Prasad-Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology & Minister of Law and Justice
• S Jaishankar-Union External Affairs Minister
• Amit Shah-Union Home Minister
• Rajnath Singh-Union Defence Minister
15. What was the name by which (X) was known as, previous to the formal launch by the Government?
a. Corona Kavach
b. Corona Arrogya
c. Setu Kavach
d. Hamari suraksha
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• The Government of India has officially discontinued Corona Kavach, just a few days after launching an even more comprehensive COVID-19 tracking app called Aarogya Setu.
• It has been further developed and a new app Aarogya Setu has been launched by GOI. Please uninstall the Corona Kavach app and install the Aarogya Setu app from (Google) Play Store and (Apple) App Store.”
• Corona Kavach was only available in beta for Android devices, still, it was one of the first few ‘verified’ apps put out by the Government of India to help users track COVID-19 cases in their vicinity, so they could stay away from the proverbial hot zones.
• Corona Kavach was developed by the National e-Governance Division of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in association with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MHFW).
Question (16-20)
National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) has launched an artificial intelligence (AI) based chatbot, (X), to create awareness around its products like FASTag, RuPay, UPI, AePS on a real time basis. This is yet another NPCI’s initiative to improve digital financial inclusion in India.
The AI virtual assistant, (X) is available round the clock helping users with access to accurate information on NPCI products.
Customers can ask their queries in English and Hindi, via text or voice on the websites of NPCI, RuPay, and UPI Chalega. Through (X), users get verified automated responses to their queries on all NPCI’s products. (X) would also be accessible to global RuPay Cardholders as well.
(X) is developed by Bengaluru based startup CoRover Private Limited whose AI/ML powered NLP chatbot technology has been accessed by 20 Crore+ consumers.
To help increase the adoption of digital payments among Indian citizens, (X) will soon be available in several regional languages of India.
NPCI has created a robust payment and settlement infrastructure in the country. It has changed the way payments are made in India through a bouquet of retail payment products such as RuPay card, Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM), BHIM Aadhaar, National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC Fastag) and Bharat BillPay.
16. What is the AI-based chatbot (X) developed by the National Payment Corporation of India?
a. KAi
b. GAi
c. TAi
d. PAi
S-d
EXPLANATION-
• National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) has launched an artificial intelligence (AI) based chatbot, PAi, to create awareness around its products like FASTag, RuPay, UPI, AePS on a real time basis.
• This is yet another NPCI’s initiative to improve digital financial inclusion in India.
• The AI virtual assistant, PAi is available round the clock helping users with access to accurate information on NPCI products. Customers can ask their queries in English and Hindi, via text or voice on the websites of NPCI, RuPay, and UPI Chalega.
• Through PAi, users get verified automated responses to their queries on all NPCI’s products.
17. Who among the following is the MD & CEO of NPCI?
a. Dilip Asbe
b. Dilip Mehta
c. Dilip Rakesh
d. Dilip Mohan
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• Umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India.
• NPCI HQ-Mumbai
• NPCI Founded-2008
• MD & CEO of NPCI-Dilip Asbe
18. What does ‘U’ stand for in UPI?
a. Unified
b. Union
c. United
d. Unison
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• UPI stands for Unified Payments Interface.
• It is an instant real-time payment system developed by NPCI a facilitating inter-bank transactions.
• It is regulated by RBI.
19. Which of the following is India’s umbrella organisation for retail payments?
a. RBI
b. SEBI
c. NPCI
d. FCI
S-c
EXPLANATION-
• The National Payments Corporation of India is an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India.
• It is a not-for-profit organisation registered under section 8 of the Companies Act 2013.
• It was established by Reserve Bank of India & IBA (Indian Banks’ Association).
20. When was the BHIM app released by the Government of India?
a. 2016
b. 2017
c. 2011
d. 2019
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• BHIM app was launched on 30 December 2016.
• It was developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), and based on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
• It allow users to send or receive money to or from UPI payment addresses, or to non-UPI based accounts (by scanning a QR code with account number and IFSC code or MMID (Mobile Money Identifier) Code).
Question (21-25)
The first (X) locomotive, manufactured under government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative recently departed from the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya railway station in Uttar Pradesh. The (Y) HP electric locomotive, a first for Indian Railways, has been manufactured as well as assembled in Bihar. The national transporter got the locomotive from Alstom as part of a 3.5 billion euros ‘Make in India’ deal.
The (X) freight locomotive is powerful and is capable of high speed, thus, it is a significant addition to the Indian Railways network.
The train departed with (X)-60027 at a speed of 100 Kmph from DDU at 2:08 PM in long haul formation for Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction-Barwadih Junction (BRWD) section of DDU and DHN divisions of East Central Railway zone.
In Indian Railways bid to go green and reduce the carbon footprint, the (X) locomotive marks a significant milestone.
The (X) class locos will be used to power trains on Indian Railways’ Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs) and conventional corridors.
The project which is a joint venture of the national transporter and Alstom, involves the manufacturing of as many as 800 fully electric super-powered double-section locomotives as well as their maintenance for over a period of 11 years. So far, eight such locomotives have been rolled out, while the others will be rolled out on an annual basis.
During its trial run, the locomotive achieved a maximum speed of 120 km per hour. It has hauling power of up to 6,000 tonnes. The electric loco makes use of low voltage cables as well as, it has LED lamps, making it a “green loco”.
The locomotive can withstand India’s extreme heat and humidity as well. Equipped with Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT)-based propulsion technology, the electric locomotive will lead to savings in the consumption of energy due to the use of regenerative braking.
21. What does ‘X’ stand for in the passage ?
a. WAG-12 B
b. WAG-10 A
c. WAG-30 B
d. WAG-15 C
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• ‘X’ stands for WAG 12B. It is a freight locomotive is powerful and is capable of high speed, thus, it is a significant addition to the Indian Railways network.
• It has been manufactured as well as assembled at Alstom’s factory in Madhepura, located in the state of Bihar.
22. Where was ‘X’ manufactured under the Make in India program?
a. Bihar
b. Madhya Pradesh
c. Andhra Pradesh
d. Maharashtra
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• WAG 12B has been manufactured as well as assembled at Alstom’s factory in Madhepura, located in the state of Bihar.
• It recently departed from the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya railway station in Uttar Pradesh.
• It is powerful and is capable of high speed, thus, it is a significant addition to the Indian Railways network.
• The project which is a joint venture of the Indian Railways and Alstom, involves the manufacturing of as many as 800 fully electric super-powered double-section locomotives as well as their maintenance for over a period of 11 years. So far, eight such locomotives have been rolled out, while the others will be rolled out on an annual basis.
23. Who among the following is the Union Railways Minister?
a. Piyush Goyal
b. Amit Shah
c. Rajnath Singh
d. Nitin Gadkari
S-a
24. What does ‘Y’, which is actually the power of ‘X’ stand for?
a. 12000 HP
b. 10000 HP
c. 5000 HP
d. 9000 HP
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• ‘X’ stands for WAG12B and ‘Y’ stands for 12000 HP.
• WAG 12B is a 12000 HP manufactured in India.
• It will help the railways to go green and reduce the carbon footprint.
• During its trial run, the locomotive achieved a maximum speed of 120 km per hour. It has hauling power of up to 6,000 tonnes.
• The electric loco makes use of low voltage cables as well as, it has LED lamps, making it a “green loco”.
25. Which Indian railway station will have a five star hotel built on the top?
a. Gandhinagar
b. Surat
c. New Delhi
d. Lucknow
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• Gandhinagar Railways station is being built with a five star hotel on its top.
• The redevelopment work at Gandhinagar railway station is being executed by Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC).
• The idea of revamping stations across the Indian Railways network is aimed at eventually generating a steady stream of revenue from the various retail shops that will come up in the concourse areas.
• The Gandhinagar railway station project was expected to be complete by the beginning of this year, but has missed the deadline and is now expected to be done by the second half of this year.
