1. What is the maximum strength of the members of Rajya Sabha?
a. 250
b. 300
c. 290
d. 310
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• Article 80 of the Constitution lays down the maximum strength of Rajya Sabha as 250, out of which 12 members are nominated by the President and 238 are representatives of the States and of the two Union Territories.
• The present strength of Rajya Sabha, however, is 245, out of which 233 are representatives of the States and Union territories of Delhi and Puducherry and 12 are nominated by the President. The members nominated by the President are persons having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as literature, science, art and social service.
• The ‘Council of States’ which is also known as Rajya Sabha, a nomenclature that was announced by the chair in the House on the 23rd August, 1954 has its own distinctive features.
• The origin of the second Chamber can be traced to the Montague-Chelmsford Report of 1918.
2. The wife of which of the following countries’ Prime Minister has been tested positive for COVID-19?
a. Australia
b. Canada
c. United Kingdom
d. Germany
S-b
EXPLANATION-
• Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau was tested positive for the new coronavirus. Sophie Grégoire Trudeau would remain in isolation
• Justin Trudeau will also be in isolation.
3. Who among the following made India's first Covid-19 testing kit?
a. Anirudh Sharma
b. Divya Bhosle
c. Minal Dakhave Bhosale
d. Riya Mittal
S-c
EXPLANATION-
• Virologist Minal Dakhave Bhosale, who is the research and development chief of Mylab Discovery in Pune, the first Indian firm to get full approval to make and sell Covid-19 testing kits, managed to provide the testing kit for evaluation just a day before she delivered her daughter.
• Her efforts paid the price with her team delivering the testing kit in a record time of six weeks.
4. Who among the following has been appointed as the Member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board by the US President Donald Trump?
a. Aditya Bamzai
b. Rohan Oza
c. Mohit John
d. Sundar Picchai
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• US President Donald Trump has renominated a prominent Indian-American law professor and legal expert, Aditya Bamzai to be the Member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.
• It is an agency whose mission is to ensure the federal government's efforts to prevent terrorism are balanced with the need to protect privacy and civil liberties. The nomination of Aditya Bamzai of Virginia was sent to the US Senate.
• The Board is an independent agency within the Executive Branch established by the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007.
• The Board's mission is to ensure that the federal government's efforts to prevent terrorism are balanced with the need to protect privacy and civil liberties.
5. Which of the following has launched the campaign to ‘Pass the message to kick out coronavirus’?
a. FIFA and WHO
b. ICC and WHO
c. FIFA, ICC, and WHO
d. UNSECO and WHO
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• FIFA and the World Health Organization (WHO) have teamed up to combat the coronavirus by launching a new awareness campaign led by world-renowned footballers, who are calling on all people around the world to follow five key steps to stop the spread of the disease.
• The 'Pass the message to kick out coronavirus' campaign promotes five key steps for people to follow to protect their health in line with WHO guidance, focused on hand washing, coughing etiquette, not touching your face, physical distance and staying home if feeling unwell.
• Talismanic Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri was picked among 28 past and present stars for world governing body FIFA's campaign to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
