Current Affairs Quiz
1. Who took charge as the new Chief of Staff, Western Naval Command?
a) Karambir Singh
b) Surendar Singh
c) Ajendra Bahadur Singh
d) Bimal Verma Singh
Click here to View Answer
Answer c) Ajendra Bahadur Singh. Vice Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh took over as the new Chief of Staff, Western Naval Command from Vice Admiral Ravneet Singh. He is a specialist in Navigation and Aircraft Direction and his important specialist appointments include Navigating Officer of INS Kamorta, during Operation Pawan in 1987 and the destroyer INS Ranjit, besides being the Fleet Navigating Officer of Western Fleet during Operation Parakram in 2001-02.
2. Which state government launched the ‘Mukhyamantri Kalakar Sahayata Jojana’ (MMKSJ) – an assistance scheme for Artists in the state?
a) Maharashtra
b) Odisha
c) Rajasthan
d) Kerala
Click here to View Answer
Answer b) Odisha. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched the ‘Mukhyamantri Kalakar Sahayata Jojana’ (MMKSJ) – an assistance scheme for Artists in the state. Around 50,000 artists will be benefited from this. The Union Government decided to give Rs 1,200 per month as artist assistance. Under the new scheme, a male artist can avail assistance after attaining the age of 50 years instead of the existing 60 years.
3. __________is developing a blockchain platform to rival world’s second biggest crypto Ethereum and is seeking to raise $1.2 billion through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO)
a) Google
b) Microsoft
c) Hike
d) Telegram
Click here to View Answer
Answer d) Telegram. Messaging app Telegram is developing a blockchain platform to rival world’s second biggest crypto Ethereum and is seeking to raise $1.2 billion through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO). Called the ‘Telegram Open Network’ (TON), it is designed to host a new generation of cryptocurrencies and decentralised applications. The investors will receive TON tokens called Grams for participating in ICO.
4. Which state government is planning to link the Public Distribution System (PDS) with Aadhaar across all the 52,000 ration shops in the state by March End?
a) Maharashtra
b) Tamil Nadu
c) Gujarat
d) Bihar
Click here to View Answer
Answer a) Maharashtra. The Maharashtra government is planning to link the Public Distribution System (PDS) with Aadhaar across all the 52,000 ration shops in the state by March end. This comes after the pilot project implemented in Nagpur helped the government save around ₹14 crore. The government has estimated that the move will help save around ₹800 crore.
5. Which state government has signed a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) to bring normalcy in the state through education reforms?
a) Haryana
b) Jammu and Kashmir
c) Meghalaya
d) Assam
Click here to View Answer
Answer b) Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir government has signed a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) to bring normalcy in the state through education reforms. Under the MoU titled, ‘School Education Transformation Roadmap’, signed between the state’s Department of School Education and Union Minister of Human Resource Development (MHRD), over 9,000 J-K students could participate in an exchange programme. Among other measures, Information Communication Technology (ICT) and digital platforms would also be set up in the state’s schools.
6. Digital invoice discounting marketplace – Invoicemart has tied up with ____________ to discount invoices for MSMEs
a) Bank of Baroda
b) Canara Bank
c) Dena Bank
d) Andra Bank
Click here to View Answer
Answer a) Bank of Baroda. Digital invoice discounting marketplace – Invoicemart has tied up with state-run lender Bank of Baroda to discount invoices for MSMEs. Buyers and sellers registered in the marketplace will now be able to access funding from Bank of Baroda. Invoicemart is a joint venture between Axis Bank Ltd and junction services ltd. Bank of Baroda had recently announced that it was stepping up its focus on supply chain financing. TReDS is an online mechanism that helps MSMEs unlock working capital without the hassle of applying for loans.
7. Which country for the first time, took part in a meeting of the international military cooperation departments of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)?
a) Pakistan
b) India
c) Sri Lanka
d) Nepal
Click here to View Answer
Answer b) India. India, for the first time, took part in a meeting of the international military cooperation departments of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) since joining the bloc last year. This is the first meeting attended by India in the field of defence cooperation under the SCO framework.
8. Which company will acquire 12.60% stake in digital wallet startup Mobikwik?
a) Mahindra and Mahindra
b) TCS
c) Honda
d) Bajaj Finance
Click here to View Answer
Answer d) Bajaj Finance. Bajaj Finance said it will acquire 12.60% stake in digital wallet startup Mobikwik, in contrast to earlier stated 10.83% stake. Bajaj attributed it to the change in the conversion price of compulsory convertible cumulative preference shares. Earlier it was reported that the deal would value Mobikwik at around $327 million for 10.83% stake.
9. Which country participated as partner country in the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) for second year in a row?
a) Germany
b) China
c) Italy
d) Spain
Click here to View Answer
Answer c) Italy. Italy participated as partner country in the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) for second year in a row. A delegation of over 30 companies from Italy mostly from transport, infrastructure, metals and leather sectors will be present at the two-day annual investment summit to be held on January 16 and 17. The Italian delegation to be headed by Lorenzo Angeloni, Italian Ambassador to India, will mark the common will to strengthen bilateral cooperation and open celebrations for 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
10. NK Trikha who passed away recently was a/an
a) Journalist
b) Actor
c) Politician
d) Freedom Fighter
Click here to View Answer
Answer a) Journalist. Veteran journalist NK Trikha has passed away. Trikha had worked at the Times of India Group’s Hindi newspaper ‘Navbharat Times’ for a long time and was also the editor of its Lucknow edition. He also served as a member of the Press Council of India and he was twice president of the National Union of Journalists (India).
