1. Balbir Singh Sr passed away in Mohali at the age of 96 years old. He was related to which of the following sports?
a. Cricket
b. Hockey
c. Tennis
d. Badminton
S-b
EXPLANATION-
• Triple Olympic gold medallist Balbir Singh Senior breathed his last at a Mohali hospital at the age of was 96. Singh, who was member of the 1948 London Olympics gold medal-winning Indian hockey team, apart from being the vice-captain of the 1952 victorious side and skipper of the 1956 champions.
• Singh, whose full name was Balbir Singh Dosanjh but was called Senior to differentiate from the other five Balbirs who played for India in later years, was also the oldest surviving Olympic medallist from India, a record which now passes on to his 1948 London Olympics team-mate Keshav Dutt.
• His autobiography is with the name “The Golden Hat-trick”.
2. How much monthly amount was paid to Khelo India athletes as the out of pocket allowance by the Sports Authority of India (SAI)?
a. 30,000
b. 10,000
c. 20,000
d. 50,000
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has deposited Rs 30,000 each as out of pocket allowance in accounts of 2749 Khelo India athletes, adding up to Rs 8.25 crore in all.
• The allowance is for the first quarter of 2020-21.
• The allowance includes expenses towards travel to hometown, diet charges while at home and other miscellaneous expenses incurred by the athletes.
• Athletes from 35 states and union territories have been given the OPA in 21 sporting disciplines with the maximum number of them from Maharashtra (386), Haryana (381), Delhi (225), Punjab (202) and Tamil Nadu (165).
• The OPA is Rs 1.20 lakh annually and is a part of the Khelo India scholarship of Rs 6.28 lakh that is given to each athlete selected under the scheme, annually.
3. Where was the 440 metre-long tunnel under Chardham Pariyojana Chardham inaugurated by Nitin Gadkari?
a. Himachal Pradesh
b. Andhra Pradesh
c. Madhya Pradesh
d. Arunachal Pradesh
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• The Border Roads Organisation achieved a significant breakthrough recently by digging up a 440m long tunnel below Chamba town in Himachal Pradesh.
• The development provides a major boost to the Char Dham road project in Uttarakhand.
• The BRO managed to link up the north and south portals of the tunnel, which is a major step forward.
• The 6 km road and 440 metre tunnel is being constructed at a cost of Rs 88 crore. The tunnel is expected to be completed by October 2020.
• Elaborating on the same, Lt General Harpal Singh said that the tunnel is being constructed using Austrian technology.
• The total budget of the Char Dham project is Rs 12000 crore.
4. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $177 million loan to upgrade 450 kilometers (km) of state highways and major district roads in which state?
a. Maharashtra
b. Punjab
c. Haryana
d. Andhra Pradesh
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $177 million loan to upgrade 450 kilometers (km) of state highways and major district roads in the state of Maharashtra.
• The project is expected to improve connectivity between rural areas and urban centers in the state enabling rural communities to better access markets, employment opportunities and services.
• The project will also strengthen road safety measures by developing a road safety audit framework that will protect vulnerable groups such as the elderly, women, and children, following the international best practice.
• Overall the project will upgrade 2 major district roads and 11 state highways, with combined length of 450 km, to 2-lane standard across seven districts of Maharashtra, and improve connectivity to national highways, interstate roads, seaports, airports, rail hubs, district headquarters, industrial areas, enterprise clusters and agricultural areas.
• The project will also focus on training the Maharashtra Public Works Department project staff to build their capacity in climate change adaptation and disaster resilient features in road design, road maintenance planning and road safety.
5. Which of the following has started Online Career Skills Training to enhance personality development of job seekers?
a. Ministry of Labour and Employment
b. HRD Ministry
c. Niti Aayog
d. Ministry of Health
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• Ministry of Labour and Employment under its National Career Service (NCS) project has now started offering free online Career Skills Training for its registered job-seekers.
• This course on soft skills assists the learners in enhancing personality development with modules on corporate etiquette, improving inter personal skills, making impactful presentation including other necessary soft skills demanded by the industry at present.
• The training module is available in Hindi and English on the NCS portal.
• The Ministry is implementing the NCS Project for transformation of the National Employment Service to provide a variety of employment related services like job search, career counselling, information on skill development courses, apprenticeship and internships through an on-line portal of NCS.
• National Career Service has taken a number of initiatives to mitigate the challenges in the labour market due to COVID-19 and the consequent lockdown.
