FROM THE Content 1. MD’S DESK... ? Union Budget 2020-21 Key points Page-02 Dear Aspirants, This is the information 1. age and knowledge has no limit. Gone are the BANKING & FINANCE days when people used Page- 04 to depend solely on libraries and books to 2. gain knowledge. The means of procuring STATE AFFAIRS knowledge and Page-05 accessing information Anshuman Nayak has undergone a sea B.E. (NIST, 3. change with the advent Berhampur) NATIONAL NEWS MBA (HR) (UBS, of computers, internet Page-07 and smart phones. The Chandigarh) internet is the biggest library ever created in human history and 4. seemingly presents itself as an unlimited and ever GLOBAL NEWS growing store of knowledge and information. Page-09 So when my team approached me with the idea ARIFIN of a current affairs magazine of the 5. first question I asked myself was why? What difference can we make? PEOPLE IN NEWS There are the news papers, a plethora of similar Page- 10 national level magazines and of course the internet which serve the purpose already. 6. The reason I gave my nod was simple. SPORTS (1) With so much of information around, Page-14 there is the problem of overload; I believe there is still a gap to be bridged when it 7. comes to providing precise, succinct and relevant information. AWARDS (2) It need not be a mere current affairs Page-16 magazine but rather it can be a holistic support system for competitive Exam 8. preparation with question banks, tips and Know more about MANIPUR tricks , concepts and practice exercises, general awareness, traditional GK and Page-20 more such similar features. Hence, the result is this magazine whose editorial 9. team is a blend of youth, energy, knowledge GK/CURRENT AFFAIRS QUIZ and experience. As explained earlier, I promise Page-21 my readers two things: (1) This is not going to be just another magazine. This will be a magazine with 10. a difference. FUN TIME LESSON (2) With each new issue, the magazine will Page-32 get better and better with new and innovative features,. So, watch out, enjoy and benefit!! Current Affairs Magazine March 2020 Union Budget 2020-21 Key points v The tax of only 10% will be charged to Rs 5 lakh-7.5 Billion USD. lakh income as against prevailing 20% rate. v The central Govt Debt got reduced in March 2019 v From Rs 7.5 lakh-10 lakh income, a tax rate of 15% to 48.7% of GDP from 52.2% in March 2014. against 20% prevailing rate. v Propose to undertake 16 Action Points including v For income Rs, 10-12.5 lakh, a rate of 20% will be agricultural-related points, water stress-related points. charged as against 30% earlier. v First Action Point includes 3 Model Agricultural- v For income between Rs 12.5 lakh-15 lakh will be taxed related Laws and water stress-related issue. at 25 per cent as against 30%. v Comprehensive measures for 100 water-stressed v For those at Rs 15 lakh plus income, the tax will districts, PM Kusum schemes removed farmers be 30%. dependence, Solar Power generation units will be set v Reducing the corporate tax rates for new companies in up for farmers to make a living out of the barren land. the manufacturing sector to 15%. Similarly, for existing v Kisan Rail through PPP model so that perishable companies, rates lowered at 22% goods can be transported quickly. Krishi Udaan will v FY-21 fiscal deficit target pegged at 3.5% of GDP – be launched by MoCA on international and national FY20 fiscal deficit at 3.8% of GDP vs earlier target routes. of 3.3%. v 16th Action Point Under Deen Dayal Antodaya v Tax on Co-op societies to be reduced to 22% plus Yojana 58 Lakh SHGs has been mobilised, Further surcharge, as against current 30%. expanding. v The government has proposed a 100% tax v 2 broad categories: For sector comprising of concession to sovereign wealth funds on investment agriculture, allied sector, 2.83 lakh crores have been in infrastructure projects. made for 2020-21, 1.6 lakh crores for agriculture For v Concessional tax rate of 15% extended to power rural and Panchayati Raj- 1.23 lakh crores. generation companies. v 112 Aspirational Districts to be covered v Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) shifted to individuals for AYUSHMAN Treatment. instead of companies. v Wellness water and sanitation & Healthcare v Housing made more affordable, tax holiday to Mission Indradhanush expanded to cover. affordable housing developers. v 12 diseases, Fit India Movement, Jal Jeevan Mission, v Additional Rs 1.5 lakh tax benefit on Swachh Bharat Mission. affordable housing loans. v 69,000 crores to the health sector. v Govt to launch system for instant allotment of PAN on v TB haarega, Desh Jeetega” Campaign, Strengthen the basis of Aadhaar. the campaign to end Tuberculosis by 2025. Jan v Customs duty raised on footwear and furniture. Aushadi Kendra Scheme offering 2000 medicines, 300 v Nominal health cess on import of medical equipment surgical by 2024. to be introduced. v The new education policy will be announced soon, v Aadhaar-based verification of taxpayers is being IND-SAT exam proposed in Asian and African country introduced. for foreign university 3.60 lakh crores for Jal Jeevan v Zero-budget farming may not be a good move for mission. New Edu policy soon. Swachh Bharat fertiliser companies. Mission allocation Rs 12,300 crore. v Health cess on import of medical equipment imposed v Augmenting local water resources, promote water in Budget. harvesting in 2020-21, 11,500 crores will be provided. v The government has removed 70 v By 2030, India will have the largest working-age exemptions, deductions with a view to further simplify population in the world. the tax regime. v The new education policy will be announced v The budget has provided an outlay of ¹ 8,000 soon, IND-SAT exam proposed in Asian and African crores for quantum computing over five years to break country for foreign university New Edu policy soon. into this technology. v About 150 higher education institutes will start v FM Sitharaman halves customs duty on import of Apprenticeship embedded degree diploma courses by newsprint, lightweight coated paper to 5%. March 2021. Steps would be taken to enable sourcing v The government has extended concessional to provide higher quality education. Urban Local withholding rate of 5% on interest payment to non- Bodies to provide internship opportunities for young residents up to June 30, 2022. engineers. For deprived students, degree level full- v The government will launch ‘Vivaad Se Vishwas’ fledged online education programme to be started. Scheme to reduce tax litigation. v National Police University and National Foreign v GST as ”the most historic reform”. GST has University will be set up. Medical colleges to be set integrated the country economically, a 10% reduction up at district level to produce more doctors. in overall taxes. v High-Speed Train Mumbai-Ahemadabad would be v India FDI elevated to 284 Billion USD from 190 actively pursued.

2 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020 v 27000 Km Train Track Electrification. v The government raised the insurance cover to Rs 5 v Solar-powered capacity to be set up alongside rail lakh per depositor, which is currently Rs 1 lakh. This tracks. comes after the PMC bank crisis. v To build a seamless national cold supply chain for v Krishi UDAAN scheme will be launched by the perishables, Indian Railways will set up Kisan Aviation Ministry. Rail through PPP model so that perishable goods can v NBFCS and cooperatives are active in be transported quickly. Krishi Udaan will be launched agriculture. NABARD refinance scheme will be by MoCA on international and national routes. expanded. There will be Rs 15 lakh crore agriculture v Rs 27,300 crore for the development and promotion credit availability. of industry and commerce. v New Education policy will be announced soon. v PM Govt allows tech companies to set up Data Centre v Urban local bodies to provide internship to young parks to provide internet to citizens. It allocates Rs engineers for a year so that they come to know how 6,000 crore for BhartatNet. the government functions. v 5600 crores Allocated to nutrition-related programmes v Degree level online education courses will be for FY 2020-21. Nutrition of Children, pregnant introduced which can be provided by colleges in the women, Poshan Abhiyan was launched. top 100 list by National Educational Institute List. v More than 6 lakh Anganwadi workers equipped with v Indian Gold February futures reclaimed the Rs 41,000- smartphones to update the nutritional status of 10 crore mark and could even retest the previous record high households Task Force appointed to mothers. of 41,293 per 10 gram. v For SC and OBC Classes, 85,000 crores allocated v A new scheme NIRVIC will be launched with the aim for FY 2020-21 For ST Classes, 53,700 crores of increasing India’s export credit. It will look into allocated for FY 2020-21 For Senior Citizens & setting up hubs in smaller rural areas and districts. Divyangs, 9,500 crores for 2020-21. The scheme will be launched this year itself. v Indian Institute of Heritage and Culture to be set up. 5 v India will host G20 Presidency in the year 2022 and archaeological sites would be developed as iconic the Finance Ministry is set to allocate Rs 100 crore sites with the onsite museum: Rakhi Garhi Haryana, for the preparations. Hastinapur UP, Shivsagar Assam, Dolavira Assam, v The Ministry of Finance is set to allocate Rs Adichalanur in TN. 28,600 crore for programs meant especially for v 3150 crores allocated to the Ministry of Culture. Tribal women. ”Beti Bachao Beti padhao” is a highly Museum to be set up in Ranchi Jharkhand. The successful scheme, girls registration in school has maritime museum would be set up. surpassed that of boys. v Institute to have a deemed University Status. v Taskforce to be set up to recommend marriageable age v Establish Indian Institute of Heritage & Conservation for women under Culture Ministry. v The government has plans to raise money through v Prepaid Smart Meters by 2023. LIC IPO. The government will thus sell part of its v 16200 Km Gas Grid expanded. holding in the LIC. v Fibre net to link Villages. v The government wishes to institute a charter for the v Data Centre Park across India. taxpayers charter in the statute and ensure taxpayers v FibreLink gram Panchayats. are free against tax harassment. v 1 lakh gram panchayats to be connected with optical v 100 more airports will be developed to provide support fibre technology. to the PM Udaan scheme BY 2024. v Our commitments for Paris agreements will start from v The Finance Ministry will allocate Rs 22,000 crore to 1st Jan 2021 Encourage states to ensure cleaner air- power renewable energy sector in this financial year. 4,400 Crores allocation for the ministry of environment. The govt proposes to expand the national gas grid to v 1 Port to be on Stock Exchange. reach 27,000 km from the current reach of 6,000 km. v Delhi-Mumbai Express-Way. v Nominal growth of GDP estimated for 2020-21 on the v Self Help Groups will be allowed to set up village basis of trends at 10%. Revised estimates of the agriculture storage facilities. Govt will involve rural expenditure for FY 2020-21, 26.99 lakh crores. Receipts youth in coastal areas to boost fish production. estimated at 19.32 lakh crores. v National Recruitment Agency has to be set up. v Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will be completed by 2023. v Common eligibility test to be set up for non-gazetted v Chennai-Bengaluru Expressway to be launched soon. posts. A centre will be put up in each district, especially v Government to set up project preparation facilities for aspirational districts. the infrastructure sector, national logistic policy soon. v FM announces 2 National Science Schemes Genetic v Rs 40,000 cr per annum will be revenue foregone from Database for drug innovation & Quantum Computing new income tax rates for individuals. for advancing our computational n analytical v The net market borrowings would be Rs 4.99 lakh cr capabilities to join an exclusive global league – Rs in fiscal 20 and Rs 5.36 lakh cr in next fiscal. 8000 Cr over 5 years. v Rs 3.50 lakh crore infused as capital in public sector v Proposed to sell the balance holding of the banks in past years. government of India’s IDBI to private retail and v The government has proposed Rs 30,757 crore for institutional investors through the stock exchange. Jammu and Kashmir, and Rs 5,958 crore for Ladakh for fiscal 2020-21. 3 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020 BANKING & FINANCE

Union Cabinet Approves Amendments to fund managers has been raised from Rs 25 Banking Regulation Act to regulate co- crore to Rs 50 crore by the Pension Fund operative banks Regulatory and Development Authority v The Union Cabinet has approved amendments (PFRDA). to the Banking Regulation Act to empower v This will bring pension funds on par with mutual India’s Central Bank (Reserve Bank of India) funds which have to meet a minimum net worth to have better control over urban co-operative requirement of Rs 50 crores as per Securities banks and multi-state cooperative banks. and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) rules. v These amendments will apply to the urban co- IndusInd Bank tops list of ‘Highest increase operative banks and multi-state cooperative in brand value’ banks. v According to ‘The Banker’s Top 500 Banking v In present, cooperative banks are governed by Brands 2020’ report, IndusInd Bank has topped dual control of cooperative societies as well as the list of ‘Highest increase in brand value’ the Reserve Bank of India. While the role of among global banks. cooperative society includes incorporation, v The brand value of Induslnd Bank has increased registration, management, recovery, audit, by 122% over the past 12 months, making it the supersession of board of directors and highest placed for growth in brand value, across liquidation, the central bank’s role is responsible the globe. for regulatory functions. v As a part of the report, the list “Top 50 By Total RBI’s 6th Bi-monthly Monetary Policy 2019- Brand Value by Country” has been topped by 20 released: China, followed by United States (US) at 2nd v RBI keeps repo rate unchanged at 5.15% The position while Canada and the United Kingdom Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy (UK) ranked at 3rd and 4th spots. Japan has Committee has released its 6th Bi-monthly moved up to the fifth spot. India ranked 8th in Monetary Policy 2019-20. this list in comparison to 10th place in 2019. v The repo rate under the liquidity adjustment EIU lowers global growth forecast for 2020 facility (LAF) left unchanged to 5.15%. v The Economist Intelligence Unit has revised v The reverse repo rate under the LAF stands downwards its global growth forecast for 2020 same i.e. 4.90%. to 2.2% from 2.3%. This impact because of v The marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and Novel coronavirus outbreak in China and also the Bank Rate also remains same i.e. 5.40%. the virus starts spreading globally. The virus v RBI has increased the real GDP growth for originated in Wuhan, a city of around 11.3 million fiscal year 2020-21 from 5% to 6%. people in central Hubei province, China, and has Fitch forecasts India’s GDP growth at 5.6% for spread to most provinces in mainland China and Financial Year 2021 overseas. v Fitch Ratings has estimated India’s GDP growth Moody’s cuts India’s 2020 GDP growth of 5.6% in the next FY21 in its India Economic forecast to 5.4% Outlook. v Moody’s Investors Service has cut India’s 2020 v This forecast is lower than the projection made Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth by the government’s Economic Survey. For the forecast to 5.4% from 6.6% and the next current fiscal 2019-20 (FY 20), GDP is projected financial year (2020-21) growth rate estimate at 4.6%. to 5.8% from 6.7%. v Fitch has also estimated that in the fiscal year India becomes 5th largest economy 2022, government debt will remain 70% of total v As per the “World Population Review” report, GDP. India overtakes United Kingdom and France Minimum net worth for pension fund managers to become the 5th-largest world economy in has been raised to Rs 50 cr by PFRDA 2019. India’s economy is the fifth-largest in v The minimum net worth criterion for pension the world with a gross domestic product 4 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020 (GDP) of $2.94 trillion. right usage of Unified Payments Interface Microsoft & SBI join hands to train differently- (UPI) and help create a habitual change, use of abled UPI in their daily life. NPCI has launched the v Microsoft announced a partnership with State campaign in association with the payment Bank of India to train differently-abled people ecosystem players. to find jobs in the banking, financial services “EASE 3.0” launched for tech-enabled banking and insurance (BFSI) sector. for aspiring India NPCI launches UPI awareness campaign “UPI v “Enhanced Access and Service Excellence Chalega” (EASE) 3.0” has been launched by Finance v National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) Minister Nirmala Sitharaman along with the has launched an industry campaign named “UPI EASE 2.0 Annual Report at Indian Banks’ Chalega” to promote UPI as Easy, Safe, and Association function. Instant mode of payment. The “UPI Chalega” v This has been launched for smart, tech-enabled campaign is aimed to guide users towards the banking for aspiring India.

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STATE AFFAIRS

Janasevaka scheme launched by Karnataka private partnership project, is now the 2nd-largest Government operational metro network in the country v To ensure the home delivery of the government covering 69.2 km. With the launch of another services, Karnataka Government has launched 11-km stretch, Hyderabad Metro Rail has a scheme “Janasevaka”. The scheme is initially become the second-largest metro rail network launched in a few municipal corporation wards in the country after Delhi. to ensure home delivery of various services. India’s 1st glass floor suspension bridge to be Madhya Pradesh to employ “Drones” for built in Rishikesh mapping of the villages v The Uttarakhand Government has approved the v Madhya Pradesh government has entered into design of a glass floor suspension bridge, the an agreement with the Survey of India to employ first of its kind in the country to have a floor drones for mapping of villages. The Survey of made of toughened transparent glass. India is the India’s national mapping agency. v This bridge will be built across the River Ganga Drones will be used for the mapping of 55 in Rishikesh. The bridge is as an alternative to thousand villages of the state on a scale of 1:500. the iconic Lakshman Jhula, almost 94 years old, Uttarakhand flags off first Heli Services under which was closed in 2019 due to safety reasons. UDAN The bridge design has been prepared by the v Under the Regional Connectivity Scheme “Ude Public Works Department (PWD). Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN)” of Government Tripura organises its 1st-ever “Hornbill of India, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has Festival” operationalized the first ever helicopter services v The 1st-ever Hornbill festival of Tripura was in the state of Uttarakhand. Under the UDAN celebrated in Agartala. The aim to conserve the 2 bidding process, Heritage Aviation has been striking forest bird “Hornbill” and to boost the given the responsibility of operating the livelihood of the people through tourism. Chief Sahastradhara-Gauchar-Chinyalisaur route. Minister (CM) Biplab Kumar Dev inaugurated Hyderabad Metro Rail becomes 2nd largest the festival at Baramura hill (in western Tripura). metro network in India Largest air quality monitoring network of India v Hyderabad Metro Rail, the world’s largest public- to be installed in Mumbai

5 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020 v The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation v Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched (BMC) has approved the setting up of an air “Yodhav” (Warrior) mobile app (application) at quality monitoring network of 90 stations in Kochi, Kerala. Through this app, the public can Mumbai, Maharashtra. inform police about drug abuse and its Haryana launches ‘Reading Mission’ initiative distribution. The application was introduced by v The state government of Haryana has launched the Kochi city police and the informer’s identity an initiative called ‘Reading Mission- Haryana’. could be kept secret. The initiative was launched to encourage reading NABARD sancti ons Rs 400.64 Cr to boost habit among the young students of the state. infrastructure in J&K v The scheme is on the lines of the ‘Reading v National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Mission 2022’, launched by the central Development (NABARD) has sanctioned government. Under the state’s initiative, monthly 400.64 crore rupees to the Union Territory of book review sessions and mass book reading Jammu and Kashmir. This sanction is for giving are to be organised by students in educational a boost to the infrastructure in the rural areas of institutions. J&K. Arvind Kejriwal takes oath as CM of Delhi Govt. of Andhra Pradesh launched ‘Jagananna v Arvind Kejriwal takes oath as Chief Minister of Vasthi Deevena’ scheme for students Delhi for the third consecutive time in Ramlila v Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Maidan. Mr. Kejriwal had earlier taken the oath Mohan Reddy has launched a scheme named of Chief Minister in 2013 and 2015. ‘Jagananna Vasthi Deevena’. This scheme is 5-day working week for Maharashtra govt for students pursuing various post-Intermediate employees courses to meet hostel and mess expenses. v The Maharashtra government has announced MP becomes 1st state to launch unified vehicle 5-day working week for state government registration card employees. The decision was taken at the state v Madhya Pradesh has become the 1st state in Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister the country to introduce the unified registration Uddhav Thackeray. The new system will be card and the 2nd state to launch the unified applicable from February 29 onwards. driving license after Uttar Pradesh. ‘Pyaar ka Paudha’ campaign launched by Bihar Kerala High Court bans all forms of strikes in govt schools, colleges v ‘Pyaar ka Paudha’ (a plant of love) campaign · The Kerala High Court recently passed an order has been launched by the Bihar government’s and banned all types of political movements in Department of Environment and Forest in Patna. the college and school premises. Banning various This campaign is a small effort will be a big step forms agitations like gherao and sit-in in the towards making the Bihar land green. campuses, the High Court also said no one can Pinarayi Vijayan launches “Yodhavu” mobile be persuaded to participate in such protests. app to combat drug menace

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6 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020 NATIONAL NEWS

Niti Aayog & Nasscom roll out AI modules in SC notify all states to established Gram Nyaya schools layas v The National Association of Software and v The Supreme Court has directed the states to Services Companies (Nasscom), in collaboration establish Gram Nyayalayas within four weeks’. with Niti Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), Gram Nyayalayas are mobile village courts launched an artificial intelligence (AI) based established under Gram Nyayalayas Act,2008. module for students of Indian schools. Indian Army develops world’s first bulletproof v The AI-Base Module will be implemented across helmet 5,000 Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL), empowering v World’s first bulletproof helmet has been 2.5 million students. developed by the Indian Army. The bulletproof India ranked 77th on Sustainability Index helmet can stop an AK-47 bullet round fired from v According to the report commissioned by the a distance of 10 meters. The Ballistic helmet is World Health Organization (WHO), UN developed by An Indian Army Major Anoop Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Lancet Mishra. medical journal and backed by United Nations, India ranks 40th in Global Intellectual Property India has been ranked at 77th position in the Index 2020 Sustainability Index 2020 and 131st on the v India has been ranked 40th out of 53 countries Flourishing Index 2020. on a global intellectual property index 2020. The ISRO to launch Geo Imaging Satellite “GISAT- US, UK, Sweden, France and Germany 1” remained the top five economies on the v The Indian Space Research Organisation will intellectual property index in 2019 retaining their launch the Geo Imaging Satellite “GISAT-1”. spots from the last year. GISAT-1 will be launched by Geosynchronous India ranks 40th in Global Intellectual Property Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F10) from the Index 2020 Second Launch Pad of Satish Dhawan Space v India has been ranked 40th out of 53 countries Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota. The launch on a global intellectual property index 2020. The of GISAT-1 has been tentatively scheduled at US, UK, Sweden, France and Germany 17:43 Hrs IST on March 05, 2020. remained the top five economies on the India-UK joint Air Force Exercise Indra intellectual property index in 2019 retaining their Dhanush Exercise 2020 began spots from the last year. v The 5th edition of the Exercise Indra Dhanush DRDO developing new strike range Pranash 2020 commenced on 24th February. It is a joint ballistic missile air force exercise between Indian Air Force (IAF) v Defence Research and Development and British Royal Air Forces (RAF) has Organisation (DRDO) has started developing a commenced at Air Force Station Hindan in Uttar 200-km strike range tactical ballistic missile Pradesh (UP). ‘Pranash’. India ranked 2nd in producer of Crude Steel v The missile is an advanced version of the 150- v As per World Steel Association data, India km strike range Prahar missile which was being became the second-largest steel producer of developed for tactical missions. crude steel after China 2019, by replacing Japan. v The surface-to-surface ballistic missile will be v India’s crude steel production in 2019 was at of use for the Air Force and Army. It is a solid- 111.2 MT, an increase of 1.7 per cent from 109.3 propellant surface to a surface missile which can MT in 2018. China remains number one with travel at the speed of Mach 2. 996.3 million tonnes in 2019. ISRO to launch 10 Earth Observation Satellites v The United States and Russia rank fourth and in 2020-21 fifth respectively. v The Indian Space Research Organisation has

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revealed in its annual report for 2019-20 that it district of Uttar Pradesh will launch 10 Earth Observation Satellites in v The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has found 2020-21. gold reserves in Sonbhadra district of Uttar v The 10 earth observation (EO) satellites will Pradesh. include categories such as the first Geo Imaging v These reserves are estimated to be around 3000 Satellite, GISAT-1 along with three tonnes which is almost five times of India’s communication satellites and two navigation present gold reserves. The newly found reserves satellites. are valued at Rs 12 lakh crore. Radhakishan Damani becomes India’s 2nd Indian Railway has launched AI based richest person ASKDISHA chatbot v Avenue Supermarts, which is doing business as v The Indian Railways has launched the Hindi D-Mart, founder Radhakishan Damani has now Version of Artificial Intelligence-based chatbot become the 2nd richest Indian after Reliance called “ASKDISHA”. Industries Ltd chairman Mukesh Ambani, with v The hindi version has been launched to further a net worth of $17.8 billion. enhance the customer services rendered and to Delhi’s IGI Airport has become the first single- further strengthen the services of the chatbot. use plastic-free airport of India v The Indian Railways is also planning to launch v “Indira Gandhi International Airport” of Delhi has the chatbot in more languages in the near future. been declared by the Delhi International Airport India & US sign defence deals worth $3 billion Ltd as India’s first single-use plastic-free airport. v India and the United States finalized defence v The airport is also certified as single-use plastic- deals worth 3 billion dollars. India has agreed to free airport by the CII-ITC Centre of Excellence purchase USD 3 billion worth advanced for Sustainable Development. American military equipment including Apache Hindi becomes 3rd most spoken language in and MH-60 Romeo helicopters, which are the the World finest in the world. v Hindi has become the 3rd most spoken language India ranked 3rd in Hurun Global Rich List of the world in 2019 with 615 million speakers 2020 while English stood at the top of the list with v Hurun Report has released the Hurun Global 1,132 million speakers as per the 22nd edition of Rich List 2020. The Hurun Global Rich List 2020 the world language database Ethnologue. is a ranking of the US-Dollar billionaires in the Chinese Mandarin stood at the second position world. The 9th edition of the Hurun Global Rich with 1,117 million speakers. list ranked 2,816 billionaires from 71 countries Gold reserves found by GSI in Sonbhadra and from 2,182 companies.

Rank Country Number of Billionaires 1 China 799 2 USA 626 3 India 137 4 Germany 122 5 UK 119 6 Russia 91 7 Switzerland 88 8 Brazil 69 9 Thailand 57 10 France 51

8 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020 GLOBAL NEWS

Global health Emergency declared over Donald Trump to inaugurate world’s largest Coronavirus by WHO cricket stadium in Ahmedabad v World Health Organization has declared an v The World’s Biggest Cricket Stadium, the Motera international emergency over the novel Stadium in Ahmedabad renamed as the Sardar coronavirus from China. The organization has Vallabhbhai Stadium will be inaugurated by US declared an emergency as the disease has spread President Donald Trump during his visit to India. to 18 other countries apart from China where it The stadium has a capacity of 1.10 lakh people. originated. The Presidential elections of Afghanistan won Maldives rejoins Commonwealth as 54th by Ashraf Ghani member v The independent Election Commission of v Maldives has returned to Commonwealth after Afghanistan has announced Ashraf Ghani as the its exit in 2016 and hence, has become the 54th winner of the Presidential elections of member of the global body. The inclusion of Afghanistan. He has won the Presidential Maldives into Commonwealth become effective elections of Afghanistan for the 2nd time. from one minute past midnight on 1 February just v He defeated his closest opponent Abdullah after the exit of United Kingdom from the Abdullah after winning the 9,23,592 votes or European union. 50.64% of the total votes. Iraqi president appoints Mohammad Tawfiq Pakistan to remain on the FATF Grey List Allawi as prime minister v The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has v Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi was appointed as decided to keep Pakistan on the FATF Grey List Iraq’s new Prime Minister by President Barhim till June 2020. The decision was taken during the Salih. He will replace Adil Abdul-Mahdi who group’s meeting and plenary in Paris. resigned in November 2019 due to anti- v The anti-money laundering watchdog decided to government protests. keep Pakistan on its Grey List for failure to curb ADB approves the funding of $2 million to transfer of funds to terror groups Lashkar-e- combat Novel Coronavirus Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and others. v The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has Leo Varadkar resigns as Prime Minister of approved the funding of USD 2 million to combat Ireland the spread of novel coronavirus (nCoV). v Leo Varadkar resigns as Prime Minister of Ireland v The funds will support the efforts to stop the but chosed to staying on as interim leader while outspread of novel coronavirus (nCoV) by the country’s three main parties battle out supplementing ongoing regional technical deadlocked coalition talks after an inconclusive assistance and strengthening response capacity election. in China, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and v He will continue to play the role until his successor Myanmar. has been appointed. UK’s start-up launches 1st big batch of South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar sworn satellites in as vice president v The UK-based OneWeb company has sent 34 v South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar has been satellites into orbit on a single Soyuz rocket, from sworn in as first vice president. He is formally Baikonur port, Kazakhstan. The aims are to have rejoining the government in the latest effort to the full network in operation by the end of 2021. bring peace to a nation ravaged by war. v The rebel leader returns as first vice president in

9 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020

a transition government which will serve for 36 his resignation to the king. He has also resigned months. President Salva Kiir hailed the official from Bersatu, the political party of which he was ending of the war. chairman. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad Adline Castelino wins Miss Diva Universe resigns 2020 v Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad v Adline Castelino has been crowned as the winner has announced his resignation over political issues. of LIVA Miss Diva Universe 2020 competition. He will act as an interim PM. It is not clear who Aavriti Choudhary of Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh will be the next prime minister. He has submitted crowned as LIVA Miss Diva Supranational 2020.

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PEOPLE IN NEWS

Veteran social a ctivist and feminist writer Vidya Taranjit Sandhu. Bal passes away Deepa Malik becomes president of Paralympic v Social activist, feminist writer and journalist Vidya Committee of India Bal passed away. She was known for her heroic v Para-athlete and India’s lone woman Paralympic oppressive practices involving women. medallist Deepa Malik has been elected as GoI appoints M Ajit Kumar as chairman of president of Paralympic Committee of India. She CBIC was elected unopposed as president in the PCI v The government of India has appointed M Ajit polls held in Bengaluru. Kumar as chairman of the Central Board of Pramod Agrawal takes over as Coal India Indirect Taxes and Customs. The Appointments Chairman Committee of the Cabinet has approved the v Pramod Agrawal assumed charge as the new appointment. chairman and managing director of Coal India Ajay Bisaria becomes India’s next Ambassador Ltd. He was the successor of Anil Kumar Jha to Canada who retired on 31st January 2020. v Ajay Bisaria has been appointed as the next High Jeff Weiner to step down as the Chief Commissioner of India to Canada. He is presently Executive Officer of LinkedIn Corporation served as High Commissioner of India to v LinkedIn Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Pakistan. He will replace Vikas Swarup. Weiner is stepping down in the role. Jeff Weiner BCCI constitutes 3-members in Cricket will become executive chairman after 11 years Advisory Committee as CEO of the Microsoft-owned business. Ryan v The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Roslansky, senior vice president of product, will has announced the appointment of Madan Lal, become CEO as of June 1. Rudra Pratap Singh and Sulakshana Naik as Hollywood actor Kirk Douglas passes away Cricket Advisory Committee(CAC). v The Academy Award winning Hollywood Actor, Gopal Baglay becomes India’s next producer and director Kirk Douglas passed away. Ambassador to Sri Lanka The actor came to limelight in 1940’s and played v Gopal Baglay has been appointed as the next various roles in nearly 100 movies in his 60-year High Commissioner of India to the Democratic career. Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. He will replace C N R Nair has been appointed by Supreme

10 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020 Court to make inventory of ornaments at v Atul Kumar Gupta will be the new President of Sabarimala temple the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAI) v Retired Kerala High Court judge C N for the year 2020-21. Ramachandaran Nair has been appointed by the v Nihar Niranjan Jambusaria has been elected as Supreme Court of India for the formulation of the Vice President of the ICAI for 2020-21. They the inventory and valuation report of ornaments were elected at a meeting of the central council at Sabarimala temple. in New Delhi. Pinelopi Koujianou has resigned from the Padma Shri awardee Wendell Rodricks passes World Bank as the chief economist away v Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg has announced her v Famous Indian fashion designer Wendell Rodricks resignation as the Chief Economist of the World passed away. He was awarded Padma Shri in Bank. Aart Kraay will be the interim WB chief 2014 and also Chevalier de L’ordre des Arts et economist until the appointment of a new Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture in 2015. permanent chief economist. v He wrote books namely: The Greenroom, Kaamya Karthikeyan becomes youngest girl to Poskem: Goans in the shadows, Moda Goa- climb Mt Aconcagua History & Style. v Kaamya Karthikeyan has become the youngest ISRO G Narayanan to head space PSU NSIL girl in the world to summit Mt Aconcagua. Mt v Veteran space scientist G Narayanan has been Aconcagua is the highest peak in South America named the chairman of Indian Space Research and outside of Asia. Organisation’s newly formed commercial entity v Kaamya Karthikeyan is a class VII student and New Space India Ltd (NSIL). summited Argentinian mountain which is 6962 v He was earlier working as deputy director meters tall. (systems reliability and quality assurance) at the Padma Shri awardee Giriraj Kishore passes Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), a away Thiruvananthapuram-based unit of Isro that v Hindi novelist and Padma Shri awardee Giriraj designs, develops liquid propulsion stages for Kishore passed away. He was best known for launch vehicles. his novel “Pehla Girmitiya” that was based on Rajiv Bansal becomes new CMD of Air India Mahatma Gandhi”s stay in South Africa. v Senior IAS officer Rajiv Bansal was named the Veteran Journalist Nandu R Kulkarni passes Chairman and Managing Director of national away carrier Air India. v Veteran journalist Nandu R Kulkarni passed v He succeeds Ashwani Lohani. away recently. He was serving as the Mumbai v Bansal, a 1988 batch officer of the Nagaland bureau chief of “The Statesman” since 1992. cadre, held the post of Additional Secretary, Rishi Sunak appointed as UK’s new Finance Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. Minister Nobel Prize awardee Rajendra Kumar Pachauri v Rishi Sunak has been appointed as the Finance passed away Minister of the United Kingdom. v Former Chairman and Director General of The v He will replace Pakistani Chancellor Sajid Javid. Energy Resources Institute (TERI) Rajindra Robin Singh appointed as UAE’s director of Kumar Pachauri passed away. cricket v Pachauri received the Nobel Peace Prize on v Former Indian Cricket all-rounder Robin Singh behalf of the IPCC, with the former United States was appointed as director of cricket of the United (US) Vice President, Al Gore, for the year 2007. Arab Emirates. He also received Padma Vibhushan in 2008 & v He was appointed by Emirates Cricket Board Padma Bhushan in 2001 from the Government after the dismissal of head coach Douglas Robert of India. Brown. Vinay Dube becomes GoAir new CEO Atul Kumar Gupta is the new ICAI President v GoAir has appointed Vinay Dube, the former

11 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020 chief executive officer (CEO) of Jet Airways, Bhaskar Khulbe & Amarjeet Sinha have been as its new CEO. appointed as Advisers to PM Australia appoints Barry O’Farrell as new high v Retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) commissioner to India officers Amarjeet Sinha and Bhaskar Khulbe v Barry O’Farrell has been appointed by Australia have been appointed as the Advisers to Prime as the next high commissioner to India. He will Minister Narendra Modi by the Appointments succeed Harinder Sidhu as the high Committee of the Cabinet. commissioner to India. v The appointment of the retired administrative Harry Greg the former Manchester United officers as the Advisers to Prime Minister will goalkeeper passes away be on contractual basis. v Harry Gregg, the former Manchester United Sunil Gurbaxani appointed as new MD and goalkeeper passed away. He represented the club CEO of Dhanlaxmi Bank 247 times, including a victory in the FA (Football v The appointment of Sunil Gurbaxani as managing Association Challenge Cup) match against director and CEO of Dhanlaxmi Bank has been Sheffield. approved by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). v He was also awarded an Order of the British v The appointment has been made for a period of Empire (OBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours. three years. Gurbaxani is presently working with Mickey Wright the legendary golfer passes Axis Bank. away Rajlaxmi Singh Deo has been elected as v Mickey Wright, the Legendary women’s golfer president of Rowing Federation of India who won 82 titles of Ladies Professional Golf v Rajlaxmi Singh Deo has been re-elected as the Association (LPGA) Tour during a professional president of the Rowing Federation of India career lasting from 1954 to 1969, passed away. (RFI). Sanjay Kothari appointed as new Central v The presidential elections of the Rowing Vigilance Commissioner Federation of India were conducted under the v Sanjay Kothari has been appointed by a high- observation of Indian Olympic Association powered committee headed by Prime Minister (IOA)’s K Govindraj. He will remain at the post Narendra Modi as the new Central Vigilance for four years till 2024. Commissioner. USIBC appoints Vijay Advani as new Chairman v He was currently serving as the Secretary to of Global Board the President. In other appointments, Bimal Julka v Vijay Advani has been appointed by the US - has been appointed as the Chief Information India Business Council (USIBC) as new Commissioner in the Central Information chairman of its Global Board of Directors. Commission. v The council also announced two new members V L Dutt former FICCI president passed away of the Global Board of Directors Lockheed v V L Dutt, the former Federation of Indian Martin International Senior Vice President Tim Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) Cahill and GE South Asia President & CEO president has passed away. He headed the Mahesh Palashikar. federation in 1991-92 and also served as the Former Indian footballer Ashok Chatterjee chairman of the India Vietnam Joint Business passes away Council of FICCI. v Former Indian footballer Ashok Chatterjee passed Computer scientist Larry Tesler passed away away. He made his international debut when he v Larry Tesler, the computer scientist who came on as a second-half substitute for PK introduced the cut, copy and paste commands Banerjee against Japan in the Merdeka Cup in passed away. The concepts he introduced were 1965. He made 30 appearances for the senior instrumental in the development of text editors national team. and early computer operating systems. Abhay Kumar Singh becomes new CMD of NHPC

12 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020 v Hydropower giant National Hydroelectric Power as its new managing director and chief executive. Corporation (NHPC) announced the appointment He will succeed Satish Pillai of Abhay Kumar Singh as the company’s Jawed Ashraf becomes India’s next Chairman & Managing Director. He will replace Ambassador to France Ratish Kumar. v Jawed Ashraf has been appointed as the next Famous NASA Mathematician Katherine Ambassador of India to France. He is presently Johnson passes away High Commissioner of India to the Republic of v Famous NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Singapore. Administration) mathematician Katherine v He will succeed Vinay Mohan Kwatra. Vinay Johnson passed away at the age of 101. Johnson’s Mohan Kwatra will become the next Ambassador calculations helped put the first man on the Moon of India to Nepal, he will succeed Manjeev Singh in 1969, but she was little known until the Oscar- Puri. nominated 2016 movie that told the stories of Abhishek Singh becomes India’s next three black women who worked at NASA. Ambassador to Venezuela Egypt former President Mohammed Hosni v Abhishek Singh has been appointed as the next Mubarak passes away Ambassador of India to the Bolivarian Republic v Egypt’s former President Mohammed Hosni of Venezuela. Mubarak passed away. He ruled the country for v He is currently serving as Deputy Chief of 30 years. After almost three decades in power, Mission, Embassy of India in Kabul, Afghanistan. Mubarak was forced to resign on February 11, v He will succeed Rajiv Kumar Napal, who passed 2011, following 18 days of protests around the away recently. He is a 2003-batch Indian Foreign country. Service (IFS) officer. Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga to step down World’s oldest man Chitetsu Watanabe passes v Mastercard Chief Executive Officer Ajay Banga away will step down at the start of the next year and v The world’s oldest man, Chitetsu Watanabe of will be replaced by Chief Product Officer Michael Japan, has passed away at 112. He was born on Miebach. March 5th, 1907. He received his Guinness World Rajesh Kumar becomes new MD & CEO of Record certification on February 12, 2020. With CIBIL the death of Chitetsu Watanabe, Britain’s oldest v TransUnion Cibil, the largest credit information man, Bob Weighton, who is 111, has now become bureau appointed Rajesh Kumar of HDFC Bank the oldest person in the world.

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13 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020 SPORTS

Novak Djokovic Wins the men’s singles title Snooker Championship of Australian Open 2020 v Aditya Mehta & Vidya Pillai has won the National v Serbian tennis star, Novak Djokovic has won the Snooker Championship held in pune, men’s singles title of Australian Open 2020. Maharashtra. Aditya Mehta defeated the world v He defeated Austrian tennis star Dominic Thiem champion Pankaj Advani to win the men’s title of in five sets to successfully defend his Australian the National Snooker Championship. While Open men’s singles title in Melbourne, Australia. representing the Petroleum Sports Promotion v This was his 8th title win in the Australia Open. Board (PSPB), he defeated Pankaj Advani with Weightlifter Sambo Lapung wins gold with a score line of 6-2. national record of 188kg Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa Clinched v Weightlifter Sambo Lapung has won the gold 77th Senior National squash championships medal in the men’s 89kg event of the National v Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa won the 77th Weightlifting Championships held in Kolkata. Senior National squash championships in Man’s v He has made a new national record of 188kg in and woman’s category respectively in Chennai. clean and jerk event in men’s 89kg. v The top-ranked Indian players justified their billing v In the women’s event, Rakhi Halder has won the to bag the men’s and women’s titles for a record gold medal in the 64kg event. 13th and 18th time respectively. Bangladesh wins ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup Delhi host Asian Wrestling Championship 2020 2020 v Asian Wrestling Championship 2020 starts in New v Bangladesh has won the ICC U-19 Cricket World Delhi. It will be held at the KD Jadhav Hall of Cup 2020 held in South Africa. Bangladesh Under- Indira Gandhi Stadium. The event will have a total 19 cricket team defeated India Under-19 team of 30 weight classes, 10 each in Freestyle Men, by 3 wickets to win the final of the ICC U-19 Women, and Greco Roman. Cricket World Cup 2020 held at JB Marks Oval, ‘United by Emotion’ chosen as Tokyo 2020 Potchefstroom, South Africa. Olympics motto Ladakh Scouts wins Khelo India Ice Hockey v The Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee has Championship revealed the official Games motto: “United by v The Ladakh Scouts Regimental Centre (LSRC) Emotion”. The motto emphasises the power of Red won the first Men’s section Khelo India Ice sport to bring together people from diverse Hockey tournament 2020. They defeated Indo backgrounds of every kind and allow them to Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) team 3-2 in a nail- connect and celebrate in a way that reaches biting thriller final match. 13 teams participated beyond their differences. in the Khelo India Ice Hockey Championship. Koneru Humpy wins Cairns Cup chess Armand Duplantis breaks Pole Vault World tournament Record v India’s Koneru Humpy wins Cairns Cup chess v Sweden’s Pole Vaulter, Armand Duplantis has tournament held at St.Louis, US (United States). break the Pole Vault World Record set by Renaud She won the title after finishing 6 points off 9 Lavillenie of France in 2014. rounds. Reigning world champion Ju Wenjun v Armand Duplantis break the world record with a finished with 5.5 points secured 2nd place while jump of 20 feet 2.9 inches or 6.17 metres at Russia’s Alexandra Kosteniuk came 3rd who Copernicus Cup in Torun, Poland. Renaud finished with 5 points followed by Ukranian Lavillenie set the previous world record of 6.16 Mariya Muzychek with 5 points and India’s metres in February 2014 in Donetsk, Ukraine. Harika Dronavalli secured 5th with 4.5 points. Aditya Mehta & Vidya Pillai wins National India to host FIFA U-17 Women’s Football World Cup 2020 14 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020 v Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju has unveiled Siva Mahadevan of India secured the 10th place the 5 host cities for the FIFA Under-17 Women’s with six points. Football World Cup 2020 which includes AIBA World Cup 2020 to be held in Russia Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Kolkata v Russia will host the International Boxing and Navi Mumbai. Association (AIBA) Team World Cup 2020. The India to host the Junior Men’s Hockey World tournament will be coinciding with the 75th Cup 2021 anniversary of the victory in World War II under v The Junior Men’s Hockey World Cup 2021 will the motto “Boxing for peace”. be held in India as per the announcement made v This format is expected to make boxing more by International Hockey Federation (FIH) at attractive to spectators and sponsors. Lausanne in Switzerland. India will host Commonwealth Shooting and v This is the second time that India will be hosting Archery Championships 2022 the prestigious tournament which was held in v India will host the Commonwealth Shooting and 2016. Archery Championships in January 2022. The Pragyan Ojha announced retirement from all Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) forms of cricket announced this decision after the Executive Board v Indian left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha has meeting in London. The two events will be held announced his retirement from international and in Chandigarh in January 2022, while the first-class cricket. He represented India in 24 Birmingham Commonwealth Games is scheduled Tests between 2009 and 2013 in which he took from 27th of July to 7th of August, 2022. 113 wickets. In 18 ODIs he played, grabbed 21 11-year-old Jiya Rai creates world record in wickets. He also played six T20 Internationals. open water swimming Ross Taylor becomes world’s first cricketer to v Jiya Rai, the 11-year-old girl created a world play 100 matches in all 3 formats record by becoming the youngest and the fastest v Ross Taylor has reached the landmark feat during specially-abled girl to swim 14 kilometres in open the first international cricket match of India and water in 3 hours 27 minutes and 30 seconds. New Zealand bilateral test series started at Basin v This record creates under the supervision of the Reserve in Wellington. Swimming Association of Maharashtra. v He has become the first player in the cricketing Maria Sharapova announces retirement from world to play 100 matches in all the three formats tennis of the game i.e. One Day International matches, v Five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova T20 International matches and Test matches. has announced her retirement from tennis. The D Gukesh wins 34th Cannes Open in France Russian won her first Grand Slam at Wimbledon Indian Grandmaster in 2004 aged 17 and completed the career slam, v D Gukesh defeated Harutyun Bargseghyan of all four major titles, by winning the French Open France to win the 34th Cannes Open in France. in 2012.

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15 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020 AWARDS

2020 EE British Academy Film Awards: Find ceremony held at the Royal Albert Hall in complete list of winners here London. v The 2020 EE British Academy Film Awards Here is the complete list of winners of 2020 EE (BAFTA) were distributed during the award British Academy Film Awards:

S.No. Category Winner 1 BEST FILM 1917 2 OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM 1917 3 OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH Mark Jenkin (Writer/Director), Kate Byers, Linn WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER Waite (Producers) (Movie: Bait) 4 FILMNOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE Parasite 5 DOCUMENTARY For Sama 6 ANIMATED FILM Klaus 7 DIRECTOR Sam Mendes (1917) 8 ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Han Jin Won, Bong Joon Ho (Parasite) 9 ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Jojo Rabbit 10 LEADING ACTRESS Renee Zellweger(Judy) 11 LEADING ACTOR Joaquin Phoenix(Joker) 12 SUPPORTING ACTRESS Laura Dern (Marriage Story) 13 SUPPORTING ACTOR Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood) 14 ORIGINAL SCORE Joker 15 CASTING Joker 16 CINEMATOGRAPHY 1917 17 EDITING LE MANS ’66 18 PRODUCTION DESIGN 1917 19 COSTUME DESIGN Jacqueline Durran (Little Women) Vivian Baker, Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan 20 MAKE UP & HAIR (Bombshell) 21 SOUND 1917 22 SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS 1917 23 BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION Grandad Was A Romantic Learning To Skateboard In A Warzone (IF 24 BRITISHSHORT FILM YOU’RE A GIRL) 25 EE RISING STAR AWARD Micheal Ward Vinod Shukla wins 1st Mathrubhumi Book of Waheeda Rehman to be honoured with Kishore the Year award Kumar Samman v Noted Hindi poet-novelist and Sahitya Akademi v The Veteran actor Waheeda Rehman will be honouree Vinod Kumar Shukla has won the honoured the Madhya Pradesh government’s inaugural Mathrubhumi Book of the Year award National Kishore Kumar Samman. for his translated book “Blue Is Like Blue”. 16 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020 15.Animated feature film- Toy Story 4 Oscars Award 2020 winners: Full List of 16.Best supporting actor- Brad Pitt, Once Upon Winners a Time…in Hollywood 1. Best Picture- Parasite, Kwak Sin Ae and 17.Best Music (Original Score)- Joker, Hildur Bong Joon Ho, Producers Guonadottir 2. Actor in a Leading Role- Joaquin Phoenix, 18.Best Short Film (Animated)- Hair Love Joker 19.Best Directing Film- Parasite, Bong Joon Ho 3. Actress in a Leading Role- Renee Zellweger, 20.Best Cinematography- 1917, Roger Deakins Judy 21.Best Writing (Original Screenplay)- Parasite 4. Best sound mixing- 1917 22.Best Music (Original Song)- ”(I’m Gonna) 5. Best sound editing- Ford v Ferrari Love Me Again” from Rocketman 6. Best supporting actress- Laura Dern for 23.Visual Effects- 1917 Marriage Story 24.Makeup and Hairstyling- Bombshell 7. Documentary short feature- Learning to Pullela Gopichand honoured with lifetime Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl) achievement award by IOC 8. Documentary feature- American Factory v The Chief National coach for the Indian 9. Best costume design- Jacqueline Durran, Badminton team Pullela Gopichand honour with Little Women Coaches lifetime achievement award by 10.Best production design- Once Upon a International Olympic Committee’s (IOC). Time…in Hollywood v He is the 1st Indian coach to be Honoured with 11. Live-action short film- The Neighbors’ this Lifetime award by the Olympics Committee. Window 13th edition of ESPNcricinfo Awards 2019 12.Best adapted screenplay- Taika Waititi, Jojo announced Rabbit v ESPNcricinfo (sports news website) announced 13.Best original screenplay- Bong Joon-ho, the 13th edition of the Annual ESPNcricinfo Parasite Awards 2019. 14.Animated short film- Hair Love

Sl. Category Winner No. 1. Captain of the year Eoin Morgan (England) 2. Test batting performance of the year Kusal Perera (Sri Lanka) 3. Test bowling performance of the year Kemar Roach (West Indies) 4. ODI batting performance of the year Ben Stokes (England) 5. ODI bowling performance of the year Matt Henry (New Zealand) 6. T20I batting performance of the year Gleen Maxwell (Australia) 7. T20I bowling performance of the year Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka) 8. Debutant of the year Jofra Archer (England) Women’s batting performance of the 9. Meg Lanning (Australia) year Women’s bowling performance of the 10. Ellyse Perry (Australia) year Associate batting performance of the 11. George Munsey (Scotland) year Associate bowling performance of the 12. Bilal Khan (Oman) year 17 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020

FIH honours Manpreet Singh with FIH Men’s David Prize2020 Player of the Year 2019 award v Indian feminist scholar, activist Gita Sen has won v The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has the prestigious Dan David Prize 2020 under awarded Indian men’s hockey team captain & “present” category. She has worked hard in the midfielder Manpreet Singh with “Player of the fields of women’s rights, reproductive and sexual Year for 2019” award. health and poverty eradication. v India’s another midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad 20th Laureus Awards 2020 announced in Berlin has also won the “FIH Male Rising Star of the v The Laureus World Sports Awards is an annual Year” award. award ceremony honouring individuals and teams India’s pioneering feminist Gita Sen wins Dan from the world of sports along with sporting achievements throughout the year.

S. Award Name Winner No. 1 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year: Lewis Hamilton and Lionel Messi 2 Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Simone Biles 3 Laureus World Team of the Year South Africa Men’s Rugby Team Carried on the shoulders of a nation’ – Sachin 4 Laureus Best Sporting Moment Tendulkar 5 Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Egan Bernal 6 Laureus World Comeback of the Year Sophia Flörsch Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a 7 Oksana Masters Disability 8 Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year: Chloe Kim 9 Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award: Dirk Nowitzki Laureus Academy Exceptional Achievement 10 Spanish Basketball Federation Award 11 Laureus Sport for Good Award South Bronx United 65th Amazon Filmfare Awards 2020: Check Ankur Tewari and ‘Kabir Singh’: Mithoon, Complete List of Winners Amaal Mallik, Vishal Mishra, Sachet–Parampara 1. Best Film- ‘Gully Boy’ and Akhil Sachdeva 2. Best Director Zoya Akhtar for ‘Gully Boy’ 11. Best Lyrics- Divine and Ankur Tewari for “Apna 3. Best Film (Critics)- ‘Article 15’ (Anubhav Sinha) Time Aayega” (Gully Boy) and ‘Sonchiriya’ (Abhishek Chaubey) 12.Best Playback Singer (Male)- Arijit Singh for 4. Best Actor In A Leading Role (Male)- Ranveer “Kalank Nahi Ishq Hai Kajal Piya” (Kalank) Singh for ‘Gully Boy’ 13.Best Playback Singer (Female)- Shilpa Rao for 5. Best Actor (Critics)- Ayushmann Khurrana for Ke Ghungroo Toot Gaye (War) ‘Article 15’ 14.Best Debut Director- Aditya Dhar for ‘Uri: The 6. Best Actor In A Leading Role (Female)- Alia Surgical Strike’ Bhatt for ‘Gully Boy’ 15.Best Debut Actor- Abhimanyu Dassani for 7. Best Actress (Critics): Bhumi Pednekar and ‘Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota’ Taapsee Pannu for ‘Saand Ki Aankh’ 16.Best Debut Actress- Ananya Pandey for 8. Best Actor In A Supporting Role (Female)- ‘Student Of The Year 2’ and ‘Pati Patni Aur Amruta Subhash for ‘Gully Boy’ Woh’ 9. Best Actor In A Supporting Role (Male)- 17.Best Original Story- ‘Article 15’ (Anubhav Sinha Siddhant Chaturvedi for ‘Gully Boy’ and Gaurav Solanki) 10.Best Music Album- ‘Gully Boy’: Zoya Akhtar- 18.Best Screenplay- ‘Gully Boy’ (Reema Kagti and

18 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020 Zoya Akhtar) 21.Excellence In Cinema- Govinda 19.Best Dialogue- ‘Gully Boy’ (Vijay Maurya) 22.RD Burman Award For Upcoming Music 20.Lifetime Achievement Award- Ramesh Sippy Talent- Sashwat Sachdev for URI ESPN India Awards 2019

S. No. Award Name Winner Sportsperson of the Year 1 PV Sindhu (Badminton) (Female) 2 Sportsperson of the Year (Male) Saurabh Chaudhary (Pistol shooter) Emerging Sportsperson of the 3 Deepak Punia (Freestyle wrestler) Year 4 Coach of the Year Pullela Gopichand (Badminton) 5 Team of the Year Manu Bhaker-Saurabh Chaudhary (10m air pistol) 6 Lifetime Achievement award Balbir Singh Sr (Hockey) 7 Comeback of the Year Koneru Humpy (Chess player) Differently-abled Athlete of the 8 Manasi Joshi (Badminton) Year 9 Moment of the Year PV Sindhu’s World Championships final win 10 The Courage award Dutee Chand (Athlete)

Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards 2020 announced

S. No. Award Award Winner

1 Best Film Super 30 2 Best Actor Hrithik Roshan (Super 30) 3 Most Promising Actor Kiccha Sudeep Best Actor in Television Series Best Actor 4 Dheeraj Dhoopar in Television Series 5 Best Actress in Television Divyanka Tripathi 6 Most Favourite Television Actor Harshad Chopda Sriti Jha and Shabbir Ahluwalia 7 Most Favourite Jodi in Television Series (Kumkum Bhagya) 8 Best Television Series Kumkum Bhagya 9 Best Playback Singer Male Armaan Malik 10 Best Reality Show Bigg Boss 13

Dr. Niti Kumar to be honoured with SERB Jadav Payeng honoured with Swami Women Excellence Award-2020 Vivekananda Karmayogi Award 2020 v Dr Niti Kumar, a Senior Scientist from Division v Forest Man of India Jadav Payeng will be of Molecular Parasitology and Immunology, awarded Swami Vivekananda Karmayogi CSIR-CDRI, Lucknow will be honoured with Award 2020 in New Delhi. the SERB Women Excellence Award-2020. v He was awarded the 6th Karmayogi Award for v Her research team is testing the protein quality his consistent efforts in creating a real man- control machinery in human malaria parasite made forest through massive reforestation. for exploration of alternative drug targets for The award is composed of a trophy, a recitation and malaria intervention. a reward of Rs 1 lakh

19 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020 Know more about MEGHALAYA

Balphakram National Park, Nongkhyllem Wildlife Sanctuary, The Siju Sanctuary, and Baghmara Sanctuary. Ø Tribal Groups-Other groups include the Hajongs, the Biates, the Koches and related Rajbongshis, the Boros, Dimasa, Kuki, Lakhar, Tiwa (Lalung), Karbi, Rabha and Nepali. Ø About 75% of the population practices Christianity Ø Ø st English is the official language of the state. Formation- 21 Jan,1972 Ø Ø Neighboring States- Assam only Traditional shifting agriculture known locally Ø as Jhum cultivation. Capital- Shilong Ø Ø Governor- Tathagata Roy Rat-hole mining is primarily practiced only Ø in Meghalaya. CM-Conrad Sangma Ø Ø State symbols Meghalaya follow a matrilineal system where State animal Clouded leopard (Neofelis the youngest daughter inherits all the property and she is the caretaker of aged parents. nebulosa) Ø State bird Hill myna (Gracula religiosa) The Armed Forces Special Powers Act State flower Lady’s Slipper (AFSPA) that was passed in 1958 was in operation in Meghalaya. Orchid (Paphiopedilum insigne) Ø State tree Gamhar (Gmelina arborea) The practice of creating Living root Ø bridges can be found in Meghalaya Meghalaya was born out of Assam Ø Ø Rivers-Ganol, Daring, Sanda, Bandra, Bugai, The famous Double-Decker root bridge is found in the village of Nongriat. Dareng, Simsang, Nitai and the Bhupai. Khri, Ø Umtrew, Digaru, Umiam or Barapani, Kynshi Waterfalls- Elephant Falls, Shadthum Falls, (Jadukata), Umngi, Mawpa, Umiam Khwan, Weinia falls, Bishop Falls, Nohkalikai Falls, Langshiang Falls and Sweet Falls. Umngot, Umkhen, Myntdu and Myntang. Ø Ø Important Hills- Garo,Khasi,Jaintia The hot springs at Jakrem Ø The highest point in the Garo Hills is Nokrek near Mawsynram are believed to have curative and medicinal properties. Peak with an altitude of 1515 m. Ø Ø The town of Sohra (Cherrapunji) in the Khasi Nongkhnum Island-second biggest river island in Asia. Hills south of capital Shillong holds the world Ø record for most rain in a calendar month, while Meghalaya is also known for its “sacred the village of Mawsynram, near Sohra groves”(forests that are usually dedicated to local folk deities or tree spirits) (Cherrapunji), holds the record for the most rain Ø in a year. The Mawlynnong village- also referred as Ø But, Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra has ‘God’s own garden’ is the cleanest village in Asia Ø Lakes-Umiam Lake, Thadlaskein Lake replaced Cherrapunji in Meghalaya as the wettest Ø place on Earth, as of August 2019(IMD). Caves- Krem Liat Prah is the longest cave, and Ø ”Me’mang Koksi”- Insect-Eating Pitcher Synrang Pamiang is the deepest cave. Ø Meghalaya-”Scotland of the East” Plant Ø Ø The HOOLOCK GIBBON is found in all In July 2018, the International Commission on districts of Meghalaya. Stratigraphy divided the Holocene epoch into Ø The great Indian hornbill is the largest bird in three, with the late Holocene being called Meghalaya. the Meghalayan age. Ø Protected regions- Nokrek Biosphere Reserve,

20 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020 GK/CURRENT AFFAIRS QUIZ

1. ‘SAMPRITI’ is a joint military training exercise 12. Which global tech firm has launched a short-video between India and which country? making application called ‘Tangi’, which focusses (a) Japan (b) Sri Lanka on creativity? (c) China (d) Bangladesh (a) Microsoft (b) Facebook 2. India recently observed ‘Martyrs’ Day’ on 30th (c) Google (d) Adobe January, to pay homage to which Indian leader? 13. According to the recent Economic Survey 2019-20, (a) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel which state has the cheapest Vegetarian Thali (food (b) Netaji Subash Chandra Bose plate)? (c) Mahatma Gandhi (a) Kerala (b) Jharkhand (d) B.R. Ambedkar (c) Bihar (d) Tripura 3. Which Indian journalist has been chosen as the 14. As per the recent Economic Survey 2019-20, what is recipient of 2019-20 PEN Gauri Lankesh Award? the rank of India globally in number of new firms created? (a) Ravish Kumar(b) Yusuf Jameel (a) 3 (b) 4 (c) 5 (d) 6 (c) N Ram (d) Prannoy Roy 15. Which Indian-American has been appointed as the 4. As per the recent Economic Outlook Survey released new Chairman of the tech company- International by FICCI, what is the estimated median GDP growth Business Machines Corporation (IBM)? forecast for 2019-20? (a) Arvind Krishna (b) Abidali Neemuchwala (a) 5.0% (b) 5.1% (c) 5.2% (d) 5.3% (c) Sundar Pichai (d) Shantanu Narayen 5. Who has been appointed as the new Chairman of the 16. When is the Anti-leprosy day for the year 2020, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, observed across the world? recently? (a) January 26 (b) January 27 (a) Pranab Kumar Das (b) Ajay Bhushan Pandey (c) January 28 (d) January 29 (c) M. Ajit Kumar (d) Atanu Chakraborty 17. The European Union has how many countries in its 6. Ajmal Sultanpuri, who passed away recently, was a bloc, after the exit of the United Kingdom? renowned poet in which language? (a) 26 (b) 27 (c) 28 (d) 29 (a) Hindi (b) Urdu 18. The India International Leather Fair (IILF), 2020 is being held in which city? (c) Marathi (d) Gujarati (a) Bhopal (b) Cuttack 7. The Department of Telecom, India has recently taken (c) Chennai (d) Kochi over process to issue and manage the allocation of 19. Abidali Neemuchwala, who resigned recently, was IMEI. What does IMEI stand for? the Chief Executive Officer of which popular Indian (a) Indian Mobile Equipment Identity IT firm? (b) International Mobile Equipment Identity (a) Infosys (b) TCS (c) Indian Multimedia Equipment Identifier (c) Wipro (d) HCL (d) International Multimedia Equipment Identifier 20. The 250th flight operation under the RCS – UDAN 8. Khadi wrist watches have been recently launched by scheme was recently commenced between the Khadi and Village Industries Commission, in Bhubaneswar and which Indian city? association with which company? (a) Lucknow (b) Varanasi (a) Fossil (b) Titan (c) Timex (d) Casio (c) Patna (d) Prayagraj 9. Who has been appointed as the next ambassador of 21. According to the recent Union Budget 2020-21, India to Nepal? what is the disinvestment target of the Indian (a) Taranjit Singh Sandhu (b) Vijay Gokhale Government for 2020-21? (a) Rs. 1.0 Lakh Crores (c) Vinay Mohan Kwatra(d) Ajit Kumar (b) Rs. 1.1 Lakh Crores 10. Which Indian think tank has been ranked among (c) Rs. 1.2 Lakh Crores the top 30 think tanks globally, as per a recent report? (d) Rs. 1.3 Lakh Crores (a) Observer Research Foundation (ORF) 22. As per the recent Union budget, what is the (b) NITI Aayog estimated fiscal deficit target for 2020-21, expressed (c) Centre for Civil Society (CCS) in per cent of GDP? (d) The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) (a) 3.3% (b) 3.4% (c) 3.5% (d) 3.6% 11. What is the GDP growth rate of India, in 2018-19, as 23. What is the maximum insurance provided for bank per the recent statement from the National Statistical deposits, as per the latest Union budget 20-21? Office (NSO), on January 31,2020? (a) Rs. 1 Lakh (b) Rs. 2 Lakh (a) 6.8% (b) 6.4% (c) 6.2% (d) 6.1% (c) Rs. 2.5 Lakh (d) Rs. 5 Lakh

21 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020 24. What is the name of the new scheme proposed in 35. Which banker of India has been named as the Central the budget, which is to be implemented by the Banker of the Year (Asia-Pacific 2020), by the Banker Aviation Ministry, for transporting agricultural magazine? products? (a) Raghuram Rajan (b) Shaktikanta Das (a) Udan 5.0 scheme (c) Urjit Patel (d) Viral Acharya (b) Kisan Udan Scheme 36. The famous arts festival called ‘Kala Ghoda Arts (c) Krishi Udan Scheme Festival’ is celebrated annually in which Indian city? (d) PM Kisan Udan Scheme (a) New Delhi (b) Mumbai 25. Who clinched the men’s singles title in the recently (c) Kolkata (d) Bengaluru held Australian Open tournament, 2020? 37. The third Defence Attaches conference, 2020 was (a) Roger Federer (b) Rafael Nadal recently held in which city? (c) Novak Djokovic (d) Dominic Thiem (a) Ahmedabad (b) New Delhi 26. Pramod Agrawal was recently appointed as the new (c) Kanpur (d) Lucknow Chairman and Managing Director of which Public 38. The Scientists at Indian Veterinary Research Institute Sector Enterprise? have recently developed a low-cost vaccine for (a) Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) which disease? (b) Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) (a) Bird Flu (b) Swine Fever (c) Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) (c) Foot and Mouth Disease (d) Monkey pox (d) Coal India Limited (CIL) 39. “Babenco: Tell Me When I Die”, which won the 27. The third private train of the IRCTC is set to run ‘Golden Conch Award for Best Documentary Film’ between Varanasi and which Indian city? at the Mumbai International Film Festival 2020, is a (a) Indore (b) Bhopal film of which country? (c) Nagpur (d) Jaipur (a) Canada (b) Brazil 28. Which Indian diplomat was recently appointed as (c) France (d) South Korea India’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka? 40. L&T MBDA Missile Systems (LTMMSL) has (a) Ajay Bisaria recently set up a missile integration facility at which (b) Gopal Baglay state? (c) Vinay Mohan Kwatra (a) Maharashtra (b) Karnataka (d) Taranjit Singh Sandhu (c) Tamil Nadu (d) Kerala 29. Which country has national emergency to tackle 41. Which state government recently launched a scheme the attack of locust swarms? called ‘Janasevaka’ to home-deliver various (a) India (b) Pakistan government services to citizens? (c) Iran (d) Afghanistan (a) Telangana (b) Karnataka 30. In which Indian city, the Indian navy conducted its (c) Madhya Pradesh (d) Gujarat coastal security exercise, ‘Matla Abhiyaan’? 42. The Union Cabinet of India recently approved (a) Cochin (b) Kolkata amendments to bring which category of banks under (c) Mumbai (d) Vishakhapatnam the regulation of Reserve Bank of India? 31. “Sophisticated Analytical & Technical Help (a) Multi-state cooperative banks Institutes (SATHI)” is an initiative of which (b) Land Development Banks Ministry? (c) Primary agricultural societies (a) Ministry of Electronics and Information (d) Nidhi companies Technology 43. Which country’s delegation of educational (b) Ministry of Science and Technology institutions recently visited India and signed (c) Ministry of Skill Development and agreements in the fields of higher education and Entrepreneurship research? (d) Ministry of Human Resource Development (a) Canada (b) Norway 32. Which state bagged the award for ‘Best performance (c) Germany (d) Japan in Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana’, recently 44. Which Indian actor was recently presented with the presented by the Union Minister of Women & Child ‘Kishore Kumar Samman’ Award for 2018, by the Development? Madhya Pradesh government? (a) Madhya Pradesh (b) Andhra Pradesh ( c ) (a) Waheeda Rehman (b) Asha Parekh Karnataka (d) Gujarat (c) Vyjayanthimala (d) Hema Malini 33. Which Indian state has recently declared the disease 45. Pranab Kumar Gogoi, who recently passed away, caused by the novel coronavirus as a “state was a famous personality in which field? calamity”? (a) Sports (b) Literature (a) Tamil Nadu (b) Kerala (c) Arts Politics (c) Karnataka (d) Telangana 46. Which Indian city is set to play host to the 15th East 34. The Hubbali to Dharwad Bus Rapid Transit System Asia Summit conference, 2020? (BRTS) project was recently inaugurated in which state? (a) New Delhi (b) Hyderabad (a) Karnataka (b) Maharashtra (c) Chennai (d) Ahmedabad (c) Madhya Pradesh (d) Telangana 22 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020 47. The flagship biennial Defence exhibition of India 60. Which Indian celebrity is at the top spot in the latest ‘DefExpo’ is organised in which Indian city? brand valuation study by Duff & Phelps? (a) New Delhi (b) Lucknow (a) Akshay Kumar (b) Virat Kohli (c) Bengaluru (d) Hyderabad (c) P V Sindhu (d) Deepika Padukone 48. Which Asian country recently introduced a 61. The first India-Africa Defence Ministers’ Conclave “sustainable development fee” for regional tourists was recently held in which city? including Indian visitors? (a) New Delhi (b) Lucknow (a) Thailand (b) Bhutan (c) Cape town (d) Nairobi (c) Cambodia (d) Sri Lanka 62. Which famous writer was recently selected for the 49. What is the GDP growth rate of India in the 2020-21 Mystic Kalinga Literary Award (Indian and Global fiscal, as estimated by the Moody’s Investors Languages)? Service? (a) Manoj Das (b) Pratibha Ray (a) 6.5% (b) 6.0% (c) 5.5% (d) 5.0% (c) Surendra Mohanty (d) Ramakanta Rath 50. Former world champion Mirabai Chanu, who 63. What is the projected growth rate of India, during recently set a new national record in the National the next financial year 2020-21, as per the recent Weightlifting Championships, belongs to which Monetary policy of RBI? state? (a) 5% (b) 5.5% (c) 6% (d) 6.5% (a) Haryana (b) Uttar Pradesh 64. The fifth India-Russia Military Industrial Conference (c) Manipur (d) Rajasthan was recently organised in which city? 51. What is the rank of India in the recently released (a) Moscow (b) New Delhi International intellectual property index 2020? (c) Lucknow (d) St. Petersburg (a) 36 (b) 40 (c) 42 (d) 44 65. Which organisation is set to release Digital Payments 52. Union Cabinet of India approved Alliance Air to start Index (DPI), which will assess the digitalisation of flight operations between India and which country, payments in the country? by waiving 20-aircraft rule? (a) NITI Aayog (a) Sri Lanka (b) Mauritius (b) National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) (c) Thailand (d) Singapore (c) Reserve Bank of India (RBI) 53. Britain’s Prince Charles has launched a new (d) National Association of Software and Services Children’s protection fund for which Asian country? Companies (NASSCOM) (a) Sri Lanka (b) India 66. Which city plays host to the 22nd India International (c) Bangladesh (d) Nepal Seafood Show, after a gap of 12 years? 54. Which country recently launched the ‘International (a) Vishakhapatnam (b) Goa Religious Freedom Alliance’ for protecting religious (c) Kochi (d) Chennai freedom across the world? 67. Which state/UT has recently renamed its Public (a) Russia (b) United States Health Engineering, Irrigation and Flood Control (c) Japan (d) India Department as the ‘Jal Shakti Department’? 55. Which social-media platform recently announced (a) New Delhi (b) Puducherry that it will label the fake news and remove harmful (c) Jammu and Kashmir(d) Chandigarh data shared on its platform? 68. The indigenous air to ground missile ‘Khagantak’, (a) Whatsapp (b) Twitter which was unveiled during the ongoing DefExpo (c) Instagram (d) Youtube 2020, is built by which firm/organisation? 56. India’s 13th major port is set to be established in (a) Defence Research and Development Organisation which state, as per the recent Cabinet approval? (b) Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (a) Gujarat (b) Kerala (c) JSR Dynamics (c) Maharashtra (d) Tamil Nadu (d) Bharat Electronics Limited 57. Which Indian city was recently certified formally as 69. What is the theme for this year’s International Day a World Heritage site by UNESCO? of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, (a) Varanasi (b) Ahmedabad observed on February 6? (c) Jaipur (d) Nagpur (a) End Female Genital Mutilation 58. The Union Cabinet recently approved to confer the (b) Unleashing Youth Power status of Institution of National Importance (INI) to (c) A Piece of Me how many Indian Institutes of Information (d) Intensify global efforts Technology (IIITs)? 70. Who has been named as the head of the trust for (a) 2 (b) 3 (c) 4 (d) 5 construction of the Ram Temple, which was recently 59. Israel’s Elbit Systems recently signed an MoU with constituted by the Centre? which Indian company for developing an unmanned (a) K. K. Venugopal (b) K Parasaran aerial vehicle? (c) G E Vahanvati (d) Maninder Acharya (a) Hindustan Aeronautics Limited 71. The cybersecurity project codenamed Dejfa, that was (b) Defence Research and Development Organisation recently making news, belongs to which country? (c) Bharat Electronics Limited (a) Pakistan (b) Iran (d) Indian Space Research Organisation (c) Malaysia (d) China 23 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020 72. How many major ports of India are named after 85. Arun-III, is the hydropower project of which country, individuals? to be built with assistance from India? (a) Two (b) Three (c) Four (d) Five (a) Sri Lanka (b) Bangladesh 73. The term “SPICe”, sometimes seen in news, is related (c) Nepal (d) Bhutan to which of the following fields? 86. The Pollution Control Board of which state recently (a) Science & Technology received the national award for e-Governance 2019-20? (b) Environment Protection (a) Odisha (b) Kerala (c) Business & Economy (c) Telangana (d) Andhra Pradesh (d) Defence and Arms Production 87. Which country has reportedly auctioned licenses 74. The term “Batterygate”, recently in news, is related to hunt elephants, to tackle human-animal conflict? to which of the following tech giants? (a) Zimbabwe (b) Namibia (a) Google (b) Samsung (c) Botswana (d) Mozambique (c) Apple (d) Microsoft 88. The book- ‘A Child of Destiny’, which was recently 75. Recently, Esperanza Base on the Antarctic Peninsula released by the Indian Vice President, is an reached a temperature of 18.3 °C , thus becoming autobiography of which Indian educationist? the hottest on record for continental Antarctica. (a) K. Ramakrishna Rao (b) Girishwar Misra Esperanza Base is a research station of which (c) Amit Abraham (d) Devendra Singh country on Antarctica? 89. Which city’s police recently launched an initiative (a) France (b) Portugal called ‘Operation Nakai’ to verify the identity of auto- (c) Argentina (d) England drivers? 76. Seer Goverdhanpur in Uttar Pradesh is the birth place (a) Mumbai (b) Ghaziabad of which Bhakti saint? (c) Hyderabad (d) Lucknow (a) Kabir (b) Dadu 90. Municipal Performance Index (MPI), is an index (c) Ravidas (d) Ramanand recently launched by which organisation/ Ministry? 77. In the wake of the coronavirus fears, recently the (a) NITI Aayog Baltic Dry Index sank to all time low plunging into (b) Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs negative territory. What is tracked by Baltic Dry (c) Ministry of Home Affairs Index? (d) National Development Council (a) Crude Oil Prices (b) Freight Rates 91. Which city is host to the 13th UN Convention on (c) Tourist Arrivals (d) International Flights the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) (COP 78. On February 8, 2020, Thaipoosam festival was 13), 2020? celebrated by the Tamil community around the world. (a) Mumbai (b) Madrid This festival marks birth day of which deity? (c) Gandhinagar(d) Tokyo (a) Thirumal (b) Murugan 92. Recently, the Supreme Court of India upheld the (c) Nataraja (d) Pavadairayan Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes 79. Which Indian crop faces danger due to a fungus (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act. When called Alternaria brassicae as per recent news? was the original act of 1989 amended? (a) Rice (b) Wheat (a) 2016 (b) 2017 (c) 2018 (d) 2019 (c) Mustard (d) Sugarcane 93. American Factory, which won the Oscar for the best 80. Which Hollywood actor is playing Dr. Kalam in his feature-length documentary, was produced by which upcoming biopic? famous American personality? (a) Nuveen Andrews (b) Michael C. Hall (a) Donald Trump (b) Barrack Obama (c) Muhammad Ali (d) Terry O’Quinn (c) Hillary Clinton (d) Tiger Woods 81. Which state has recently launched an initiative to 94. Which bird is named the mascot of UN Convention of establish hotels to provide meals at subsidised price Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) (COP 13)? called ‘Kudumbashree’ hotels? (a) Great Indian Bustard (a) Andhra Pradesh (b) Telangana (b) White-bellied heron (c) Kerala (d) Tamil Nadu (c) Forest owlet 82. Which Metro rail service in India has become the second (d) Lesser Florican largest operational metro rail network in the country? 95. ‘Ajeya Warrior‘ is the joint military exercise (a) Delhi Metro (b) Kochi Metro conducted between India and which country? (c) Hyderabad Metro (d) Chennai Metro (a) Japan (b) United Kingdom 83. What is the profession of Anoop Mishra, who has (c) Israel (d) France been in news recently? 96. Which Union Ministry releases the Public (a) Politician (b) Army Major Enterprises Survey, on the performances of Central (c) Sportsperson (d) Musician Public Sector Enterprises? 84. Which state recently launched “Mukhyamantri (a) Ministry of Finance Parivar Samridhi Yojana”, which provides an annual (b) Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises assistance of Rs 6000 to the needy families? (c) Ministry of Corporate Affairs (a) Odisha (b) Haryana (d) Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises (c) Madhya Pradesh (d) Punjab 24 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020 97. Which state government recently launched the 110. ‘We Think Digital’ is a digital literacy program of ‘Reading Mission’ initiative for students? which global technological company? (a) Odisha (b) Kerala (a) Google (b) Facebook (c) Haryana (d) West Bengal (c) Apple (d) Amazon 98. When is the World Pulses Day observed, across 111. Where is the Headquarters of the International Fund the world? for Agricultural Development (IFAD) located? (a) February 8 (b) February 9 (a) New York (b) Geneva (c) February 10 (d) February 11 (c) Rome (d) Nairobi 99. Which Union Ministry has recently launched the 112. The School Health and Wellness Ambassador web portal for ‘Star rating of Coal mines’? initiative has been launched under which scheme? (a) Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (a) Swachh Bharat Mission (b) Ministry of Coal (b) Ayushman Bharat (c) Ministry of Mines (c) Poshan Abhiyaan (d) Ministry of Earth Sciences (d) Fit India Movement 100. The storm ‘Ciara’ recently hit several countries of 113. What is the theme of the ‘World Radio Day, 2020’, which continent? observed on February 13? (a) Asia (b) Europe (a) Radio and Diversity (c) Australia (d) North America (b) Radio across World 101. The 2nd BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise, (c) Radio and Multilingualism 2020 has been conducted in which city? (d) Connecting through Air (a) Thimphu (b) Bhubaneswar 114. Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana is the flagship (c) Colombo (d) Kathmandu scheme of which Union Ministry? 102. Hakim Ajmal Khan, was an eminent physician in (a) Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate which field of Medicine? Change (a) Homoeopathy (b) Sowa Rigpa (b) Ministry of Tribal Affairs (c) Ayurveda (d) Unani (c) Ministry of Earth Sciences 103. As per the notification of the Ministry of health and (d) Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and family welfare, which component will be treated as Fisheries ‘drugs’ from April 1, 2020? 115. What is the capital package recently approved for (a) Medical devices (b) AYUSH drugs infusion in three state-owned general insurance (c) Alcohol (d) Raw materials for drugs companies? 104. What is the official name of the virus outbreak from (a) Rs. 1000 Cr (b) Rs. 2500 Cr China, as per the World Health Organisation? (c) Rs. 3000 Cr (d) Rs. 5000 Cr (a) COVID-19 (b) CORO-19 116. The Direct Tax ‘Vivad Se Vishwas’ scheme is to cover (c) n-COR -19 (d) NOVEL-19 pending litigation of which tribunal, as per the recent 105. What does ‘GSP’ stand for, in the context of India- approval by the Union Cabinet? US trade? (a) Debt Recovery Tribunal (a) Globalised System of Preferences (b) National Company Law Tribunal (b) Generalized System of Preferences (c) Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate (c) Globalised System of Partners Tribunal (d) Generalized System of Partners (d) Armed Forces Tribunal 106. Who has been appointed as the chairman of the 117. Which product is recently banned in all airports and newly formed space PSU, New Space India Ltd aircrafts, by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (NSIL)? (BCAS)? (a) Satheesh Reddy (b) K Sivan (a) Alcohol (b) e-Cigarettes (c) G Narayanan (d) Kasturi Rangan (c) Drugs (d) Face masks 107. ‘PehleSafety’ is an Internet safety campaign of which 118. Who was recently appointed as the new President major technological company? of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAI)? (a) Facebook (b) Microsoft (a) Atul Kumar Gupta (c) Google (d) Apple (b) Nihar Niranjan Jambusaria 108. Gulmarg, where the National winter games event is (c) Prafulla Chhajed set to be held, is located in which state/UT? (d) N D Gupta (a) Uttarakhand (b) Arunachal Pradesh 119. Wendell Rodricks, who passed away recently, was (c) Sikkim (d) Jammu & Kashmir associated with which field? 109. Which state government recently launched toll-free (a) Cinema (b) Fashion Designing helpline numbers for students to resolve their (c) Politics (d) Business queries by experts? 120. Amit Panghal, who was seen in news recently, is a (a) Odisha (b) Uttar Pradesh famous personality associated with which sports? (c) West Bengal (d) Haryana (a) Archery (b) Boxing (c) Wrestling (d) Tennis

25 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020 121. ‘Apiary on Wheels’ is an initiative of which statutory 133. What is the theme of the 56th Munich Security body of India? Conference (MSC) 2020? (a) National Commission for Women (a) Westlessness (b) National Commission for Minorities (b) Sustainable Development Goals (c) National Green Tribunal (c) We Can Work Together (d) Khadi and Village Industries Commission (d) Security for All 122. ‘Pyaar ka Paudha’ (a plant of love), is a campaign of 134. What is the name of the third corporate passenger which state, for promoting planting of trees? train of India? (a) Madhya Pradesh (b) Arunachal Pradesh (a) Tejas Express (c) Sikkim (d) Bihar (b) Kashi Mahakal Express 123. Rajiv Bansal has been appointed as chairman and (c) Kashi Indore Express managing director of which Indian airline? (d) Kashi Vishwanath Express (a) IndiGo (b) Air India 135. ‘Kambala’, which was in news recently, is a (c) Spice Jet (d) Vistara traditional sport of which state? 124. INS Jamuna of Indian Navy is set to conduct (a) Karnataka (b) Andhra Pradesh hydrographic surveys in which neighbouring (c) Kerala (d) Tamil Nadu country of India? 136. Yash Bharti Award is the highest award of which (a) Sri Lanka (b) Bangladesh Indian state/UT? (c) Myanmar (d) Nepal (a) Madhya Pradesh (b) Odisha 125. Who was recently appointed as the new Finance (c) Uttar Pradesh (d) Punjab Secretary of India? 137. Which state commenced operations of India’s first (a) Rajiv Kumar Inter-City Electric Bus service? (b) Ajay Narayan Jha (a) Karnataka (b) Maharashtra (c) Debasish Panda (c) Odisha (d) Telangana (d) Krishnamurthy Subramaniam 138. As per the recent ‘Military Balance’ report, the 126. Which Indian player was recently named ‘Player of defence modernisation of which country led to higher the Year for 2019’, by the International Hockey military spending by the US? Federation (FIH)? (a) Russia (b) China (a) Manpreet Singh (b) Mandeep Singh (c) Japan (d) India (c) Sreejesh (d) Harmanpreet Singh 139. Udyani Mane, who was in news recently, is an Indian 127. Rishi Sunak recently became the first Indian-origin player of which sports? Finance Minister of which country? (a) Tennis (b) Wrestling (a) United States (b) United Kingdom (c) Golf (d) Badminton (c) New Zealand (d) Japan 140. Which country has recently developed a recovery- 128. Rajinder K Pachauri, who recently passed away, was plasma to treat COVID-19 infected patients? the founder of which Indian research institute? (a) India (b) China (a) The Energy Resources Institute (TERI) (c) Thailand (d) Japan (b) Centre for Science and Environment 141. ‘Yodhavu’ (Warrior), a mobile application for curbing (c) Agharkar Research Institute drug menace, is an initiative of which state? (d) National Institute of Plant Genome Research (a) Karnataka (b) Kerala 129. As of 2020, which Indian Telecom operator is the (c) Andhra Pradesh (d) Telangana second most valuable mobile operator in Asia? 142. The late External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj (a) Jio (b) Bharti Airtel was born in which city, where she was elected as (c) Vodafone Idea (d) BSNL MLA twice? 130. Lethpora, where a memorial to the CRPF personnel (a) Ambala Cantt, Haryana killed in Pulwama attack was inaugurated, is situated (b) Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh in which state/UT? (c) Gandhi Nagar, Gujarat (a) New Delhi (b) Jammu & Kashmir (d) Ludhiana, Punjab (c) Punjab (d) Uttarakhand 143. What is the current accounting year of the Reserve 131. The National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) Bank of India (RBI)? is to be set up in which Indian state? (a) April-March (b) July-June (a) Maharashtra (b) Gujarat (c) January-December (d) May-April (c) Tamil Nadu (d) Kerala 144. What is the objective of the ‘CREDAI Awaas’ mobile 132. Which is the first and only private firm to build and application, recently launched by CREDAI? deliver research ships in India? (a) Redressal of Consumer Grievance (a) Titagarh Wagons Ltd (b) Ease of purchase of Residential properties (b) Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (c) Geo-tagging of Residential properties (c) Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (d) Approval for Residential properties (d) Goa Shipyard

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145. Joshna Chinappa and Saurav Ghosal are associated 157. Which organisation has recently initiated the with which sports? process of capturing district-wise data on origin of (a) Badminton (b) Squash export goods? (c) Tennis (d) Table-Tennis (a) Export and Import Bank of India 146. Which city was host to the India-Bangladesh (b) Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs SAMPRITI-IX joint military exercise? (c) NITI Aayog (a) Umroi (b) Kolkata (d) Export Promotion Council (c) Vishakhapatnam (d) Kochi 158. As per the recent report of World Population Review, 147. As of 2020, which is the only Bollywood movie to what is the rank of India in the ‘Largest Economy of win 13 Filmfare Awards? the World’ list? (a) Uri: The Surgical Strike (b) Article 15 (a) Seventh (b) Sixth (c) Saand Ki Aankh (d) Gully Boy (c) Fifth (d) Fourth 148. What is the theme of Telangana’s biotechnology 159. Which city plays host to the ‘3rd Global Ministerial and life sciences forum ‘BioAsia 2020’? Conference on Road Safety’? (a) Life Science for All (a) Stockholm (b) Oslo (b) Today For Tomorrow (c) Helsinki (d) Warsaw (c) Instrumental Life Sciences 160. What is the name of the storm which hit the United (d) Better Bio-tech Kingdom in February 2020? 149. ‘Appreciate and Commend’ is a scheme of which (a) Habine (b) Dennis state, which aims to honour outstanding Police (c) Kyar (d) Ciara officers? 161. What is the name of the fourth warship delivered by (a) Odisha (b) Rajasthan Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers-GRSE to (c) Punjab (d) Andhra Pradesh the Indian Navy? 150. Which city plays host to ‘GulFood 2020’, the world’s (a) INS Kiltan (b) INS Kamorta largest annual food and beverage trade exhibition? (c) INS Kadmatt (d) INS Kavaratti 162. The ‘Task Force on Blue Economy for Sustainable (a) Riyadh (b) Abu Dhabi Development’ is a collaboration between India and (c) Dubai (d) Doha which country? 151. ERO NET, which was in news recently, is a portal of (a) Switzerland (b) Norway which autonomous organisation of India? (c) Sweden (d) France (a) All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) 163. ‘Berlinale’ is the 70th edition of which famous (b) Election Commission of India (ECI) festival, which is set to be inaugurated in Germany? (c) Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) (a) Berlin Food Festival (d) Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) (b) Berlin Film Festival 152. Who was recently named as the nominee for the (c) Berlin Defence Show proposed Delimitation Commission for Jammu and (d) Berlin Arts Fair Kashmir? 164. Which state government has recently launched a (a) Sunil Arora (b) Sushil Chandra scheme named ‘Nadu-Nedu’, for modernising (c) Om Prakash Rawat (d) A K Jyoti hospitals? 153. The first Bird-ringing station of the country with (a) Telangana (b) Andhra Pradesh support of a state government, is to be built in which (c) Karnataka (d) Tamil Nadu state/ UT? 165. Which country is set to host the men’s edition of (a) Arunachal Pradesh (b) Bihar the junior hockey World Cup 2021? (c) Jharkhand (d) Odisha (a) India (b) Argentina 154. Which Taxi-hailing start-up recently integrated with (c) France (d) Brazil the Himmat application of Delhi Police? 166. Chief Minister Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (a) Ola (b) Uber (c) Didi (d) Lyft (CMAPS) and the Yuva Udyamita Vikas Abhiyan 155. Which global financial institution is set to grant $450 (YUVA) are the schemes of which state government? million loan to India for Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY)? (a) Odisha (b) Madhya Pradesh (a) Asian Development Bank (c) Uttar Pradesh (d) Punjab (b) World Bank 167. Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), (c) Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank was renamed after which former Union Minister? (d) New Development Bank (a) Arun Jaitley (b) Sushma Swaraj 156. Who is the head of the High level expert group on (c) Manohar Parikkar (d) George Fernandes farm exports, recently set up by the 15th Finance 168. As per the ‘State of India’s Birds Report 2020’, which Commission? bird species showed a big increase in population? (a) N K Singh (b) U K Sinha (a) Indian peafowl (b) Great Indian Bustard (c) Tapan Ray (d) Sanjiv Puri (c) Common Ostrich (d) Turkey 169. What is the name of the exhibition, organised by the 27 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020

Ministry of Textiles, for promoting Geographical 181. The “Pandemic Bonds” are issued by which Indication (GI) crafts? multilateral development bank? (a) Shilp Mela (b) Kala Mela (a) World Bank (c) Shilp Kumbh (d) Kala Kumbh (b) Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank 170. Kishori Ballal, who recently passed away, was a (c) European Investment Bank veteran actor of which language? (d) Asian Development Bank (a) Telugu (b) Kannada 182. The Shanidar Cave, a hotspot for Neanderthal (c) Odia (d) Punjabi remains, is located in which country? 171. What is the corpus of the dedicated fund raised from the fines charged from the defaulting pesticides (a) Syria (b) Iraq companies and contributions from the Central and (c) Tajikistan (d) Egypt state governments under the Pesticides 183. Which country is supplier of majority of mined Management Bill, 2020? Cobalt, which is used in cathodes for lithium-ion (a) Rs. 20,000 Crore (b) Rs. 40,000 Crore batteries used in cell phones and Electric vehicles? (c) Rs. 50,000 Crore (d) Rs. 100,000 Crore (a) China 172. Which all three items are not under GST as of (b) Kazhakiistan February 2020? (c) Sudan (a) Fuel, Construction, Alcohol (d) Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (b) Fuel, Movie Tickets, Alcohol 184. What is the current (2020) number of telecom (c) Fuel, Tobacco, Alcohol companies in India? (d) Fuel, Dairy Products, Tobacco (a) 10 (b) 8 (c) 6 (d) 4 173. Under the GST regime, E-Way bill is mandatory of 185. Which country is world’s biggest palm oil importer? the value of inter-state movement of goods is more (a) India (b) China than __? (c) Russia (d) Saudi Arabia (a) Rs. 50,000 (b) Rs. 100,000 186. Currently, which Economic Census is underway in (c) Rs. 200,000 (d) Rs. 250,000 India? 174. What is the highest income tax rate slab in India after Budget 2020-21? (a) 5th (b) 6th (c) 7th (d) 8th (a) 25% (b) 30% (c) 35% (d) 40% 187. As per the National Population Register (NPR), a 175. A paramilitary Sufi group called Ahlu Sunna Waljama, person is “usual resident” who has resided in a local which is recently in news, is fighting with radical area for past how many months / years? islamist group in Civil War of which country? (a) 6 months (b) 1 year (a) Sudan (b) Somalia (c) 18 months (d) 2 years (c) Syria (d) South Sudan 188. Who heads the 12-member “Technology Group” to 176. The term “Operation Car Wash” that was making advise ministries, departments and public sector news recently, is related to which country? undertakings (PSUs) on technology (a) Argentina (b) Brazil implementation? (c) South Africa (d) Russia (a) Dr. R Chidamabaram 177. Recently, Ashraf Ghani was re-elected in the (b) Rishikesh Narayanan Afghanistan Presidential elections. What is the name (c) Dr K Vijay Raghavan of political party of Ashraf Ghani? (d) Bhaskar Saha (a) National Coalition of Afghanistan 189. Which country has highest rate of hepatitis C in the (b) National Congress Party of Afghanistan world and is expected to eradicate the disease in (c) Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin 2020? (d) None 178. The term “Key Starting Material (KSM)”, recently (a) Saudi Arabia (b) China in news, is related to which industry? (c) India (d) Egypt (a) Textile Industry (b) Pharmaceutical Industry 190. The cabinet of which state in India has cleared a bill (c) Cement Industry (d) Paper Industry to enact the “Time-Bound Clearance Act” which shall 179. The Far East Development Fund, which recently ensure time-bound clearance of industrial licenses submitted an expression of interest (EoI) for the for investment projects? beleaguered Jet Airways, is based in which country? (a) Rajasthan (b) Haryana (a) France (b) England (c) Madhya Pradesh (d) Gujarat (c) Russia (d) Germany 191. What is the rank of India in the ‘Global Flourishing 180. Which Supranational union has recently proposed index’ released by WHO Commission and UNICEF? a “framework for trustworthy artificial intelligence”? (a) 91 (b) 111 (c) 121 (d) 131 (a) Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 192. Project Tej, which was in news recently, was launched (b) European Union by which Indian state? (c) Arab League (a) Andhra Pradesh (b) Odisha (d) Gulf Cooperation Council (c) Telangana (d) Uttar Pradesh 28 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020

193. As per the annual ‘Nature Ranking Index-2020", 205. Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission is which Indian institution is ranked in the first place implemented by which Union Ministry? in the country? (a) Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (a) Indian Institute of Science (IISc) (b) Ministry of Rural Development (b) Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (c) Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (CSIR) (d) Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and (c) Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR- Pensions Mumbai) 206. ‘Viewpoints’, which was recently in news, is an (d) Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI) application of which major technological company? 194. In which year, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh were (a) Google (b) Amazon granted Indian statehood? (c) Facebook (d) Apple (a) 1972 (b) 1977 (c) 1982 (d) 1987 207. Which state/UT was host to the ‘National Organic 195. What does CCPA stand for, in the context of Food Festival’, held recently? (a) Lakshadweep (b) Assam Consumer Protection Act 2019? (c) Maharashtra (d) New Delhi (a) Common Consumer Protection Agency 208. India is set to provide grant to which country for (b) Central Consumer Protection Authority up-gradation of plantation schools, for Indian-origin (c) Company- Consumer Protection Authority estate workers? (d) Centralised Consumer Protection Affairs (a) Bangladesh (b) Sri Lanka 196. Who was named as the Ernst and Young (EY) (c) Nepal (d) Laos Entrepreneur of the Year 2019? 209. ‘Thal Sena Bhawan’, which was seen in news (a) Adi Godrej (b) Uday Kotak recently, is to be built in which state/ UT? (c) Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (d) Sridhar Vembu (a) Ladakh (b) Jammu and Kashmir 197. Which city was host to the ‘Symposium on Emerging (c) Chandigarh (d) New Delhi Opportunities for Indian Textiles and Crafts’? 210. India’s first floating jetty has been inaugurated in (a) Varanasi (b) Lucknow which state/UT? (c) New Delhi (d) Hyderabad (a) Andhra Pradesh (b) Goa 198. Which Indian sportsperson won the ESPN’s Female (c) Mumbai (d) Gujarat Sportsperson of the Year award for the third 211. As of February, 2020, which country is India’s top consecutive year? trade partner? (a) Mary Kom (b) P V Sindhu (a) China (b) United States (c) Saina Nehwal (d) Sania Mirza (c) Russia (d) France 199. Which portal of Indian Railways has won the Silver 212. What was overall rank of India in the Asian Wrestling in National e-Governance Award for excellence in Championships, 2020 held in New Delhi? providing citizen-centric delivery? (a) Second (b) Third (a) Where is my Train (b) Rail Suvidha (c) Fourth (d) Fifth (c) Rail Madad (d) Rail Saarthi 213. Which city has recently hosted International Judicial 200. Which city was host to NITI Aayog’s ‘Sustainable Conference? Development Goals (SDG) Conclave 2020’? (a) New Delhi (b) Bhopal (a) New Delhi (b) Guwahati (c) Mumbai (d) Chandigarh 214. What is the upper land-holding limit to become (c) Kolkata (d) Shillong eligible for financial support under PM-KISAN 201. Vellbergia bartholomaei , which was seen in news scheme? recently, belongs to which species? (a) 1 Hectare (b) 2 Hectare (a) Frog (b) Lizard (c) 3 Hectare (d) No limit (c) Spider (d) Snake 215. The recently set up Sanjiv Puri Expert Group is 202. Leo Varadkar, who recently tendered his resignation, looking into which domain? was the Prime Minister of which country? (a) Unorganized Sector (a) France (b) Ireland (b) Farm Exports (c) The Netherlands (d) Greece (c) Manufacturing Industries Service Sector 203. Which state Government has ordered destruction 216. The recently discovered C. gretathunbergae is a of breeding centres of Thai Mangur fish? species of__? (a) Odisha (b) West Bengal (a) Fish (b) Snake (c) Assam (d) Maharashtra (c) Snail (d) Frog 204. Atal Kisan – Majdoor canteens’ scheme is associated 217. Which state has recently ordered the destruction of with which state? ‘Thai Magur’ fish breeding centers? (a) Uttar Pradesh (b) Haryana (a) Gujarat (b) Goa (c) Uttarakhand (d) Madhya Pradesh (c) Tamil Nadu (d) Maharashtra

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218. NRI Sabha, which was recently making news, is an 230. Antihydrogen, which was recently in news, is NGO controlled by which state government? composed of __? (a) Rajasthan (b) Haryana (a) Positron and proton (c) Punjab (d) Uttar Pradesh (b) Nuetron and proton 219. The term “JavaScript sniffers”, that was making (c) Positron and Antiproton news recently, is associated with__? (d)Neutrino and Neutron (a) Authorization Software (b) Malware 231. As of 2020, the largest cricket stadium of the world (c) Encryption Software (d) Firewall is located in which country? 220. What is Ethnologue, that was recently making news? (a) Australia (b) India (a) Database of Languages (c) South Africa (d) New Zealand (b) Database of Heritage Buildings 232. Which country organised a training course on (c) Database of local customs ‘Vessel Search Technique’ for Indian Coast Guard (d) Database of Tribes and Customs personnel at Chennai? 221. The Consumer Protection Act 2019, which is to come (a) Japan (b) Australia into force from April, 2020, makes provisions related (c) Oman (d) Qatar to “class action suits”. This suit can be invoked to__? 233. Which city hosted the four-day ‘International (a) Sue many producers of same product Conference on Banana’ organised by ICAR? (b) Recall an entire batch of faulty products (c) Sue entire management team of the producers of (a) Gandhi Nagar (b) Tiruchirappalli faulty products (c) Cochin (d) Thiruvananthapuram (d) Claim damages for an entire group of consumers 234. Which Indian PSU is set to acquire the government’s of faulty product entire stake in THDC India and North Eastern Electric 222. After initially dropping shooting and archery from Power Corporation Ltd (NEEPCO)? Commonwealth Games, 2022, it has been recently (a) NTPC Limited decided that these two sports will be included and (b) Oil and Natural Gas Corporation will be organized and funded in India as a part of (c) Power Grid Corporation of India Limited Birmingham Commonwealth Games, 2022. What is (d) NHPC Limited the venue of these two sports in India? 235. ‘5G Hackathon’ was recently launched by which (a) New Delhi (b) Chandigarh Union Ministry/ organisation? (c) Bengaluru (d) Hyderabad (a) NITI Aayog 223. In which city, India’s Central Vista project, that was (b) Ministry of Science and Technology recently in news, is coming up? (c) Ministry of Communication (a) New Delhi (b) Mumbai (d) Ministry of Human Resource and Development (c) Hyderabad (d) Bengaluru 236. Which is the only Indian company to feature in the 224. Which of the following African countries has been Fortune’s ‘Top-20 Big Companies to Work For’ list recently listed in the FATF’s grey list? in 2020? (a) Gabon (b) Algeria (a) Infosys (b) TCS (c) Kenya (d) Mauritius (c) Zoho (d) Zomato 225. Who heads the IRDAI committee looking into issue 237. The two species of birds- ‘Red Throated Thrush of indemnity based health insurance products for and Plumbeous Water Redstart’ were recently found life insurance companies? in which state/UT? (a) D Rajkumar (b) Pravin Kumar Purwar (a) Arunachal Pradesh (b) Uttarakhand (c) Pradosh Kumar Rath (d) MR Kumar (c) Ladakh (d) Lakshadweep 226. For the first time, which of the following 238. Which city was the venue of “Microsoft Future supranational banks has listed Masala Bonds in the Decoded – CEO Summit”? Global Securities Market? (a) New Delhi (b) Mumbai (a) World Bank (c) Chennai (d) Gurugram (b) Asian Development Bank 239. Abhay Kumar Singh has been appointed as the (c) Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Chairman & Managing Director of which Indian PSU? (d) African Development Bank (a) NTPC Limited 227. What is the current number of members in the (b) Oil and Natural Gas Corporation BIMSTEC grouping? (a) 5 (b) 6 (c) 7 (d) 8 (c) NHPC Limited 228. In which year, the MoU to establish the ‘BIMSTEC (d) Power Grid Corporation of India Limited grid interconnection’ was signed between the 240. The First anniversary of the launch of which welfare members of BIMSTEC countries? scheme was observed on February 24? (a) 2016 (b) 2017 (c) 2018 (d) 2019 (a) Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maan-Dhan Yojana (PM- 229. The proposed Santusht app is for the beneficiaries KMY) of which scheme? (b) Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM- (a) National Saving Certificates Scheme KISAN) (b) Employees State Insurance (ESI) scheme (c) Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM- (c) PMKISAN SYM) (d) None of them (d) Pradhan Mantri Laghu Vyapari Maan-dhan Yojana 30 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020 241. Which aircraft carrier launched freighter services to 247. Suella Braverman, an Indian-origin minister recently assist shrimp farmers? sworn in as the Attorney General of which country? (a) Alliance Air (b) IndiGo (a) United States (b) United Kingdom (c) SpiceJet (d) Vistara (c) New Zealand (d) Finland 242. Bob Iger, who recently tendered his resignation, was 248. Which country is the first to develop an antibody the Chief Executive Officer of which global firm for test to identify the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)? 15 years? (a) China (b) United States (a) Walt Disney Company (b) Netflix (c) Singapore (d) South Korea (c) Warner Bros (d) Pixar 249. As per the recent ‘Hurun Global Rich List 2020’, 243. As of 2020, what is the Foreign Direct investment which country has the highest number of (FDI) limit, allowed in insurance intermediaries? billionaires? (a) 0% (b) 26% (c) 49% (d) 100% (a) United States (b) China 244. What is the name of the new satellite, scheduled to (c) Russia (d) India be launched by the ISRO on March 5, 2020? 250. ‘Higher Education Leadership Development (a) GISAT-1 (b) GISAT-3 Programme for Administrator’ is a programme (c) GISAT-7 (d) GISAT-11 launched of Union Ministry? 245. Hosni Mubarak, who recently passed away, was the (a) Ministry of Corporate Affairs former President of which country? (b) Ministry of Human Resource Development (a) Greece (b) Egypt (c)Ministry of Skill Development and (c) France (d) Libya Entrepreneurship 246. As per the new agreement signed by the Container (d) Ministry of MSME Corporation of India (Concor) and RZD Logistics JSC (Russian Railways), cargos are to be transported through which country? (a) Pakistan (b) Afghanistan (c) Iran (d) Uzbekistan MCQs (ANSWER KEY) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 dcbacbbbcadcbaaabccb 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 ccdccdabbbbababbbbbc 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 babadcbbccbabbbccdab 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 baccccccbbbcccccbbcc 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 ccbbcdcabbccbabdccbb 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 bdaabccdbbcbabbababb 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 ddbacababbbaabacbbcb 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 babbbadbccbbbbbdbcab 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 dbbbaccadbcaabbbdbcb 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 abddacacdcdcbdbccbcb 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 bbdbbcdbdbbbadbcdcba 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 bbaddcccbcbbbacbcbcb 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 cadabcbcbb

31 www.arifin.in Current Affairs Magazine March 2020 FUN TIME LESSON

Power of Concentration While Swami Vivekananda was in America, while passing through a bridge, he saw that some boys from the bridge were trying to shoot egg shells that were floating in the water below but they missed every time they shoot. Swami ji were watching all that from a distance. After watching this for sometime, he went close to them and took asked boys for gun. Boys hesitated but then gave gun to Swami ji

Swami ji fired twelve times and every time he fired, he hit egg shells. Boys were surprised to see that a monk was able to shoot gun with such precision. Inquisitive boys were surprised to see this and asked, “How were you able to do this?”

Swami ji replied, “Whatever you are doing, put your whole mind to it. If you are shooting then your mind should be only on the target only then you will be able to do this. Once you learn to focus your mind on target then you will never miss it.”

Moral: We should Learn to Focus our Mind and then we will be able to Achieve whatever we wish and Aim for.

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