1. Hari Vasudevan passed away at the age of 84. Who was he?
a. Politician
b. Economist
c. Historian
d. Singer
S-c
EXPLANATION-
• Historian Hari Sankar Vasudevan died at a private hospital in Kolkata at the age of 68.
• He was tested positive for coronavirus. He was put on a ventilator after developing respiratory distress.
• Vasudevan was the director of the China Centre at Calcutta University. He was an expert on European and Russian history and the India-Russia relationship.
• He was the author of 'Footsteps of Afanasii Nikitin: Travels through Eurasia and India in the early 21st century’.
• He authored 'Shadows of Substance: Indo-Russian Trade and Military Technical Cooperation' in 2010.
2. Which of the following will manufacture India’s first indigenous ELISA Test Kit for COVID-19?
a. Pfizer India
b. Cipla Pharmaceuticals
c. Cadila Healthcare Ltd.
d. Galaxo Smith Kline
S-c
EXPLANATION
• Ahmedabad-based Cadila Healthcare Ltd has has been provided with technology to make and market the country’s first anti-SARS-Cov-2 human IgG Elisa test kit.
• The kit will be used for antibody detection of Covid-19.
• After the initial development at ICMR-NIV, technology has been transferred to Zydus Cadila for mass scale production.
• ‘Covid Kavach Elisa’ is the first indigenously developed IgG Elisa test for antibody detection.
• It has been developed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune.
3. The HRD Ministry announced amendments in the PMRF scheme. What does ‘R’ stand for in the same?
a. Role
b. Reversal
c. Rejuvenation
d. Research
S-d
EXPLANATION-
• PMRF stands for Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship.
• The scheme was announced in the Budget 2018-19.
• Designed for improving the quality of research in various higher educational institutions in the country.
• Students can apply under this scheme to pursue innovative research in Science and technology.
• They can either use the direct or lateral route.
• The HRD Ministry announced amendments in the Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF) scheme.
• It included reduction in the required GATE score and introduction of a lateral entry option to attract more students.
• Under the scheme, 1000 seats were created which have been remaining empty every year. These changes were made so that students can apply.
4. Recently, the partner of Siegfried Fischbacher passed away after being affected by COVID-19. Both of them are famous for their magic acts. Who was his partner?
a. Thomas Peter
b. Russel Bond
c. Eric Shmith
d. Roy Horn
S-d
EXPLANATION-
• Roy Horn died of complications related to the coronavirus at the age of 75 years.
• He is the half of the famed Las Vegas magic and entertainment duo Siegfried & Roy.
• Roy was born in Germany and emigrated to the United States and became naturalized citizens.
• Horn and Siegfried Fischbacher, were known for including white tigers and other animals in their act. They first worked in Las Vegas in 1967, and then worked at the Mirage Hotel.
• Their shows combined magic tricks with circus thrills, alongside performances featuring dozens of rare white lions and tigers.
• Horn was forced to stop performing in 2003 after a white tiger attacked him during one of their shows. He was severely injured and also suffered a stroke.
• The incident permanently affected his mobility and speech, but Horn was able to take part in some events.
• The duo retired in 2010.
5. How many trains will the Indian Railways start in graded manner from 12 May 2020?
a. 12 Pairs
b. 15 Pairs
c. 17 Pairs
d. 19 Pairs
S-b
EXPLANATION-
• Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued Standard Operating Protocol (SOP) to facilitate movement of persons by train.
• Movement of trains shall be permitted by Ministry of Railways (MoR), in a graded manner, in consultation with Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) and MHA.
• The operations will initially start with 15 pairs of trains.
• These trains will be run as special trains from New Delhi Station connecting 15 important cities of the country such as Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi.
• Only online E-Ticketing will be done through IRCTC website or through Mobile App.
• No tickets will be booked across the reservation counter on any Railway Station.
• Booking of tickets through ‘agents’, (both IRCTC Agents and Railway Agents) shall not be permitted.
