Current Affairs Quiz
1. Who won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in fiction for “The Underground Railroad”?
a) Karan Mahajan
b) J. D. Vance
c) Colson Whitehead
d) Michael Chabon
Click here to View Answer
Answer c) Colson Whitehead. Colson Whitehead’s National Book Award winning speculative history novel The Underground Railroad garnered another top honor, with the announcement that the book had been awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for 2017. The novel reimagines the Underground Railroad as a real, tangible subway system carrying Southern slaves north. The Pulitzer prizes, considered the most prestigious journalism and arts awards in the country at Columbia University in New York.
2. The Ganesh Shankar Vidhyarthi Award for Hindi journalism will be awarded to ________________
a) Harmahendra Singh Bedi and Rahul Dev
b) Rahul Dev and Baldev Bhai Sharma
c) Rahul Dev and Pushpita Avasthi
d) Subadani Devi and Baldev Bhai Sharma
Click here to View Answer
Answer b) Rahul Dev and Baldev Bhai Sharma. Central Hindi Institute Director N.K. Pandey announced the names of 26 writers from different categories for the prestigious Hindi Sevi Samman Awards. The awardees will receive Rs 5 lakh each, a citation and a shawl from President Pranab Mukherjee at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan in May. The Ganesh Shankar Vidhyarthi Award for Hindi journalism will be awarded to Rahul Dev and Baldev Bhai Sharma.
3. The Cabinet has given its approval for setting up of Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy (IIPE) in _________________
a) Andra Pradesh
b) Maharashtra
c) Rajasthan
d) Karnataka
Click here to View Answer
Answer a) Andra Pradesh. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for setting up of Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy (IIPE) at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh as “an Institute of National Importance” through an Act of Parliament. The Institute will have the governance structure as well as legal mandate to grant degrees in a manner similar to that enjoyed by IITs. A separate Act will also impart the required status to the Institute to become a “Centre of Excellence” in petroleum and energy studies.
4. The Union Cabinet has been apprised of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and _________ for cooperation in the field of Science and Technology
a) Japan
b) Russia
c) Bangladesh
d) China
Click here to View Answer
Answer b) Russia. The Union Cabinet has been apprised of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Russia for cooperation in the field of Science and Technology (S&T) signed in October, 2016. The objective of the MoU is to facilitate and support joint scientific and research activities between scientific organizations, subordinated to the Agency and scientific organizations and scientists of the Republic of Russian Federation, with India through DST.
5. Who has been honoured with the Living Legend Lifetime Award by the Punjab Association?
a) Manoj Kumar
b) Shashi Kapoor
c) Dharmendra
d) Dilip Kumar
Click here to View Answer
Answer d) Dilip Kumar. Veteran actor Dilip Kumar has been honoured with the Living Legend Lifetime Award by the Punjab Association. “God is kind. Humbled at receiving the Living Legend Lifetime Award,” he wrote on Twitter. The actor also addressed reports about his health and tweeted, “I am much better. Slight discomfort and an irritating back pain.”
6. The Union cabinet has approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the field of justice between India and ____________
a) Ukraine
b) Germany
c) Tunisia
d) Turkey
Click here to View Answer
Answer c) Tunisia. The Union cabinet has approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the field of justice between India and Tunisia. During the recent years, social, cultural and commercial relations between India and Tunisia have developed in a positive direction. Signing of an agreement on cooperation in the field of justice will further enhance good relations between the two countries and add new dimensions in the field of judicial reforms.
7. The prices of petrol and diesel in India will change every day in sync with international rates from ___________
a) May 01
b) June 01
c) July 01
d) August 01
Click here to View Answer
Answer a) May 01. The prices of petrol and diesel in India will change every day in sync with international rates from May 1. The government-owned fuel retailers will launch a pilot project for daily price revision in Puducherry, Vishakhapatnam, Udaipur, Jamshedpur and Chandigarh before extending it to all over India. The fuel retailers currently revise rates on 1st and 16th of every month.
8. Which e-commerce company has received the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) approval to launch its own digital wallet in India?
a) Flipkart
b) Snapdeal
c) Shopclues
d) Amazon
Click here to View Answer
Answer d) Amazon. Amazon India has received the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) approval to launch its own digital wallet in India, paving the way for the American online retail giant to gain a slice of India’s fast-growing digital payments business. Amazon India, which had applied for what is called a Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) licence nearly a year ago, will now look to take on established rivals such as Paytm and Freecharge as it prepares to launch a prepaid wallet service that will be broader in scope than its Pay Balance service and will not be restricted to Amazon-based transactions.
9. India and ____________signed a Joint Statement on the launching of the Joint Feasibility Study on the bilateral Free Trade Agreement
a) Austria
b) Georgia
c) Switzerland
d) Singapore
Click here to View Answer
Answer b) Georgia. India and Georgia signed a Joint Statement on the launching of the Joint Feasibility Study on the bilateral Free Trade Agreement. The agreement was signed after a meeting between the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia GiorgiGakharia and the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi. On this occasion, both the ministers expressed the hope that the Joint Feasibility Study Group shall issue a report with the relevant analysis and recommendations within a period of six months.
10. Ministry of Science and Technology are collaborating with the ____________Centre for Innovation Multidisciplinary Partnerships to Accelerate Community Transformation and Sustainability (IC-IMPACTS)
a) India – Canada
b) India – USA
c) India – Russia
d) India – Australia
Click here to View Answer
Answer a) India – Canada. The Department of Biotechnology and Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology are collaborating with The India-Canada Centre for Innovation Multidisciplinary Partnerships to Accelerate Community Transformation and Sustainability (IC-IMPACTS), to promote multidisciplinary research partnerships. Five projects addressing the issue of Clean Water Technologies are being implemented by the Departments at the total cost of Rs. 572 lakhs with matched funding from Canada.
11. Kerala government has promulgated an ordinance making it mandatory for all state schools, including both private and government schools, to teach __________
a) Tamil
b) Kannada
c) Telugu
d) Malayalam
Click here to View Answer
Answer d) Malayalam. Kerala government has promulgated an ordinance making it mandatory for all state schools, including both private and government schools, to teach Malayalam. Any school or teacher disobeying the provision would have to face legal consequences, the law states. The Kerala High Court had in 2012 struck down a similar order stating that students from other states also studied in Kerala.
12. India and Australia have launched Sports partnership in ___________ aimed at increasing cooperation in sports
a) New Delhi
b) Hyderabad
c) Mumbai
d) Bangalore
Click here to View Answer
Answer c) Mumbai. India and Australia have launched Sports partnership in Mumbai aimed at increasing cooperation in sports. The Partnership, which was launched by the Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports Mr. Vijay Goel and the visiting Australian Prime Minister Mr. Malcolm Turnbull, in the presence of cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar, will advance India – Australia cooperation in four areas – athlete and coach training and development, sport science, sport governance and integrity, and grassroots participation.”
13. The joint military training exercise of India and Mongolia “Nomadic Elephant” has begun recently in ____________
a) Manipur
b) Nagaland
c) Odisha
d) Meghalaya
Click here to View Answer
Answer a) Manipur. The joint military training exercise of India and Mongolia has begun recently in Mizoram. The 14-day long exercise began on 5 April 2017 and will end on 18 April 2017. It is the twelfth edition of the Indo-Mongolia joint military exercise Nomadic Elephant. It is being conducted at the Indian Army’s elite Counter-Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School Vairengte in Mizoram.
14. The United Nations (UN) celebrates the International Day of Human Space Flight on ____________
a) April 09
b) April 10
c) April 11
d) April 12
Click here to View Answer
Answer d) April 12. The United Nations (UN) celebrates the International Day of Human Space Flight on April 12 each year. The International Day of Human Space Flight celebrates the start of the space era for humankind, reaffirming the important contribution of space science and technology in today’s world. The day also aims to promote aspirations to explore and maintain outer space for peaceful purposes.
15. U.S. President Donald Trump has signed the U.S. instrument of ratification for Montenegro’s accession to NATO, what is the capital of Montenegro?
a) Chisinau
b) Podgorica
c) Lilongwe
d) Antananarivo
Click here to View Answer
Answer b) Podgorica. U.S. President Donald Trump has signed the U.S. instrument of ratification for Montenegro’s accession to NATO. Last month the Senate overwhelmingly backed the expansion of NATO to allow Montenegro to join the alliance, hoping to send a message that the United States will push back against Russian efforts to increase its influence in Europe.
16. Indian cricketer ______________is among the eight ambassadors for the ICC Champions Trophy, which starts on June 1 in England
a) Virendar Sehwag
b) Ashish Nehra
c) Yuvraj Singh
d) Harbhajan Singh
Click here to View Answer
Answer d) Harbhajan Singh. Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh is among the eight ambassadors for the ICC Champions Trophy, which starts on June 1 in England. The cricketers will make promotional appearances during the ICC Champions Trophy tour, besides analysing the tournament matches. The eight Ambassadors between them have played 1,774 ODIs, scoring 51,906 runs with 48 centuries, and taking 838 wickets.
17. Former Union minister Akhilesh Das Gupta who passed away recently, he associated with ______________ party
a) Communist Party of India
b) Bharatiya Janata Party
c) Indian National Congress
d) Bahujan Samaj Party
Click here to View Answer
Answer c) Indian National Congress. Former Union minister and Congress leader Akhilesh Das Gupta died in Lucknow following cardiac arrest. He was 56. Gupta, who celebrated his birthday on March 31, suffered a massive heart attack. Gupta was a Rajya Sabha member for three terms till 2014 and Union Minister of State for Steel between 2006 and 2008. Gupta was Mayor of Lucknow from May 1993 to November 1995.
