WEEKELY BITS WITH EXPLANATIONS (04-10 JULY 2016)

1) Which among the following launched the first sale of so-called masala bonds from 12 July 2016 that is basically a rupee-denominated bond sold overseas? [2] 1. Axis bank 2. HDFC 3. ICICI 4. Federal bank 5. Western union money transfer Expl:- A masala bond is a rupee-denominated bond sold overseas. Such bonds allow an issuer to raise funds in the overseas market without taking on the currency risk typically associated with foreign-currency denominated bonds or loans. HDFC thus became first Indian public issuer of synthetic rupee notes. The synthetic rupee notes are in the nature of rupee denominated bonds as per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines. The bonds will bear a fixed coupon and will have a tenor of 3 years and 1 month. The concept of masala bonds was first spelt out by RBI in April 2015, following which the central bank issued guidelines for the securities in September. The primary idea was to allow Indian companies to raise money through an overseas debt instrument where the currency risk lies with the investor rather than the issuer.

2) The first dedicated base for Indian Navy’s elite force – MARCOS East, was commissioned on 12 July 2016 in the form of ‘INS Karna’. This base has been established at …………? [2] 1. Kochi 2. Visakhapatnam 3. Kolkata 4. Mumbai 5. None Expl:- Indian Navy’s long pursued endeavour of establishing a dedicated base for its Special Operation Forces – MARCOS East (Marine Commandos East) was fulfilled on 12 July 2016 as Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Labna commissioned ‘INS Karna’ at Vishakhapatnam. – This first base for MARCOS East will have capability to operate in all three dimensions of warfare – air, land and sea. – MARCOS East was raised on October 26, 1992 and since then it has been the primary special operations unit in Eastern Naval Command (ENC). The unit has been at the forefront in various operations undertaken by the Navy like Operation Zabardast (Sri Lanka February 1993), Operation Tasha (1990-2009), Operation Leech (1998) and Operation Sagittarius (anti-piracy operations in Malacca Strait). 3) Which Bank acquired Tamil Nadu-based microfinance institution (MFI) Grama Vidiyal recently? [3]

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1. ICICI 2. HDFC 3. IDFC 4. Canara bank 5. SBI Expl:- Grama Vidiyal is the name of a Tamil Nadu based microfinance institution (MFI) that has a customer base of 1.2 million customers with an asset base of Rs.1,500 crore. IDFC Bank has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the transaction. IDFC Bank started banking operations on 1 October 2015, converting itself from an infrastructure focused lender into a universal bank. IDFC was one of two entities that got a banking license from the RBI in 2014 along with Bandhan Bank.

4) World Population Day was observed on…………? [1] 1. 11th July 2. 12th July 3. 13th July 4. 14th July 5. 15th July Expl:- This day is celebrated with an intent to raise awareness of global population issues. The theme for this year is 'Investing in Teenage girls' and focuses on the empowerment of teenage girls. Teenage girls who face a lack of school and early marriage and motherhood which leaves them vulnerable to illness, injury and exploitation. They are denied even their basic rights. These challenges are exacerbated among marginalized girls, such as members of ethnic minorities or those living in poverty or remote areas. The event was established by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989. The theme of the 2015 World Population Day was ‘Vulnerable Populations in Emergencies’. 5) Sushila Karki has been appointed as the first woman chief Justice of which country? [2] 1. Bangladesh 2. Nepal 3. Srilanka 4. Indonesia 5. India Expl:- Sushila Karki has been appointed as the first woman chief Justice with a unanimous decision by the parliamentary panel. Karki (64), who has done her Masters in Political Science from Banaras Hindu University, is famous for her 'zero-tolerance' for corruption.

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Karki was recommended for the top judicial post on April 10 this year by the Judicial Council but her appointment was pending due to delay in the formation of the PHSC for some technical reasons. Currently, 11 nominees are awaiting the PHSC hearing for their appointment as the SC judges. 6) National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) unveiled India's first Centre of Excellence focused on Internet of Things (CoE- IoT) at its Startup Warehouse in which city? [3] 1. Chennai 2. Hyderabad 3. Bengaluru 4. Dispur 5. Bhubaneshwar Expl:- The centre is a joint initiative between the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeITY), Education and Research Network (ERNET) and NASSCOM and will function as an enabler of funding, accelerating, and mentoring for start-ups in this area. It is also supported by Accenture, Cisco, Intel, HCL Technologies, Qualcomm, TCS and L&T Technology Services, among others. 7) Former India international Amal Dutta passed away recently. He was associated to which sport? [2] 1. Volley ball 2. Football 3. Chess 4. Cricket 5. Expl:- Former India international Amal Dutta, the first professional football coach of the country, has passed away at the age of 86 due to age related ailments. A midfielder, who represented India at the 1954 Asian Games, the former Mohun Bagan and East Bengal footballer later made a name for himself as a tactical genius as he pioneered professional coaching in India. Known for his humility and gentle behaviour, Dutta was the brain behind Mohun Bagan's Diamond system -- a 4-1-2-1-2 formation -- in the late 1990s, that had taken the club to a different level. 8) Name the Indian company that emerged as the most transparent company in Berlin-based Transparency International’s survey of the 100 most transparent companies in 15 emerging market countries ? [2] 1. Vodafone 2. Bharati airtel 3. Reliance telecomm 4. BSNL 5. Tech Mahindra

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Expl:- The Berlin-based watchdog Transparency International on 11 July 2016 released the “Transparency In Corporate Reporting Survey 2016” pertaining to transparency in reporting standards of 100 companies in 15 emerging market countries of the world. The survey included all major emerging countries like India, China, Brazil, Russia and Mexico. Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel topped the list. The company took first place with a score of 7.3 out of 10, followed by six units of conglomerate Tata and technology company Wipro. The survey disclosed that while India has the most transparent companies, Chinese firms are the most opaque. Thirty-seven Chinese companies were evaluated, making them the survey’s biggest group, but they had the weakest overall performance. One reason Indian companies came out on top is strict government requirements for financial disclosures, including operations in different countries. 9) Name the Britain’s second female prime minister after Andrea Leadsom, the only other candidate in the race, withdrew her name on 11 July 2016? [2] 1. Mary robinson 2. Theresa May 3. Vista Mary 4. Jessica rany 5. Randy Mickeson Expl:- Theresa May has served as Interior Minister for the past six years. She is now set to become Britain’s second female prime minister after Margaret Thatcher. Energy minister Andrea Leadsom abruptly withdrew from the contest to succeed David Cameron as Britain’s prime minister on 11 July 2016, leaving her rival Theresa May as the only candidate. Leadsom, who has no cabinet experience, was barely known to the British public until she emerged as a prominent voice in the successful campaign for Britain to leave the European Union (EU). 10) Dr. Raghuveer Chaudhari was conferred with the …………Jnanpith Award by President of India, Dr. Pranab Mukherjee on 11 July 2016? [3] 1. 49th 2. 50th 3. 51st 4. 52nd 5. 53rd Expl:- Dr. Raghuveer Chaudhari is a noted novelist, poet and critic of Gujarati language. While his most significant contributions have been in Gujarati language but he has also written Hindi articles. He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1977, for his novel trilogy Uparvas.

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On 11 July 2016 he was conferred with the Jnanpith Award, considered to be India’s highest literary award, by President Dr. Pranab Mukherjee. Chaudhari thus became the 51st recipient of this prestigious award. 11) India ranked …….. on the Networked Readiness Index (NRI) 2016? [1] 1. 91 2. 90 3. 76 4. 67 5. 89 Expl:- India ranked 91 on the Networked Readiness Index (NRI) 2016, a key component of the World Economic Forum's The Global Information Technology Report 2016. The report assesses the state of networked readiness of 139 economies using the NRI and examines the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in driving innovation. India has slipped down two positions to an overall rank of 91, despite improvements in its political and regulatory environment and in its business and innovation environment. However the drop can be attributed to the fact that other countries are progressing at a faster pace. 12) Who among the following named World Class Gymnast by International Gymnastics Federation?[1] 1. Dipa karmakar 2. Deepthi agarwal 3. Rupa settee 4. Kusuma iyyer 5. Prasanna vadrekar Expl:- Karmakar, who recently became the first Indian female gymnast to qualify for the Olympics, has been awarded the honour for her performances in the Gymnastics World Championships held in Glasgow in October-November 2015. She is the first woman in the gymnast history to land the Produnova, one of the most dangerous vaults. She won 10 gold medals at two national games. She received the Arjuna Award in August 2015. 13) The Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) has recommended a green cess of how much % on diesel vehicles for the National Capital Region (NCR)? [1] 1. 20-22% 2. 24-28% 3. 19-21% 4. 24-26% 5. 26-28%

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Expl:- EPCA has recommended a cess of 20% on the cost of vehicles with engines that are smaller than 1,500cc in size, and 22% on those over 1,500cc. Removing the fuel price differential, through the imposition of ECC (environment compensation charge) will be a step in removing the incentive for diesel vehicles which would reduce public health risk as diesel emissions are among the more harmful pollutants. 14) 2016 BRICS Youth Summit was recently held in ………….? [1] 1. Guwahati, Assom 2. Visakhapatnam, AP 3. Hyderabad, telengana 4. Kochi, Kerala 5. Mumbai, Maharashtra Expl:- 2016 BRICS Youth Summit was recently held in Guwahati Assam to bring together the youngsters from five BRIC nations to empower them and strengthen their young minds. Over 50 youth from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa gathered in Guwahati for the event. The BRICS Youth Summit was initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The last summit was held in Russia in 2015. Guwahati was chosen as the venue for the international summit to expose youth from the remote northeast region to international platforms. The theme of this summit was 'Youth as Bridge for Intra-BRICS Exchanges'. This summit was focused on areas like skill development, entrepreneurship, social inclusions, youth volunteerism and youth participation in governance. 15) Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari has launched the National Green Highways mission (NGHM) in………….?[2] 1. Mumbai 2. Delhi 3. Pune 4. Indore 5. Hyderabad Expl- This initiative launched the plantation drive on 1,500 km of National Highways at a cost of about 300 crore rupees. This mission has also launched initiatives like Guidelines for Implementation, Vision Document, Knowledge Reports of the mission, Adopt a Green Highway Program, Kisan Harit Rajmarg Yojana,National Green Highways Mission Mobile App. This mission is launched under the Green highways policy to analyse the vision of developing eco-friendly and green National highways. This mission will generate jobs as greening of 1 km of highway provides employment for 10 people. The government has made it mandatory to set aside 1 percent of the total project cost of any NH contract to a Green Fund corpus that will be used for plantation purposes.

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16) Union government has recently launched how many different projects to give a major boost to Namami Gange at various locations? [2] 1. 113 2. 231 3. 242 4. 254 5. 265 Expl:- Union government has recently launched 231 different projects to give a major boost to Namami Gange at various locations like Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Haryana and Delhi. These projects involve modernization and redevelopment of Ghats and crematoriums, development of sewage infrastructure and treatment, afforestation, tree plantation, pilot drain project, interceptor drain project, trash skimmers and conservation of biodiversity. 400 villages along the river will be developed as Ganga Gram in Phase I under Ganga Gram Yojna. Thirteen IITs have adopted five villages each for development as Ganga Grams. She said training for 328 sarpanchs was completed at Sichawal in Punjab. 17) India & which country have recently inked 4 MoU is major areas of cooperation like the information and communication technology (ICT), grass root innovation and tourism, the Programme of Cooperation will cover segments of arts and culture? [2] 1. Australia 2. South Africa 3. 4. Zambia 5. Venezuela Expl:- These programmes were announced during the meet of PM Narendra Modi and his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma in Johannesburg, South Africa. During the meeting, both the leaders discussed a wide range of bilateral and international issues including reform of the UN Security Council (UNSC). 18) The leaders of 28 NATO allies and many partner nations have started a meet for a landmark ………..Summit? [2] 1. Ottawa 2. Warsaw 3. Canberra 4. Beijing 5. Jakarta Expl:- The agenda of the biannual summit included the situation in Eastern Europe, the risks emanating from the Middle East, reform of NATO's partnership policy, question of enlargement, debate about the future nuclear strategy of the Alliance.

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The leaders agreed to deploy more troops along the eastern borders of Estonia 7 Poland. The leaders have also supported Georgia's membership aspirations 19) Which state Government imposed 14.5 per cent fat tax on Junk Food? [2] 1. Karnataka 2. Kerala 3. Tamilnadu 4. Bihar 5. Puducherry Expl:- The state government of Kerala has announced the Fat Tax on junk food in the market of the state. This will make food items like burgers, pizzas, pasta costlier. The announcement was done in the first budget of LDF government on Friday. 'Fat tax' is something that is prevalent in certain foreign countries like France, Denmark and Hungary but is largely an alien term in India. Kerala govt hopes to collect at least Rs. 10 crore from 14.5% tax on fattening food products like burgers, pizzas, etc. sold in fast food restaurants. The government has also imposed a 'Green tax' for vehicles over 10 years besides levies on various items including packed wheat products like atta, rava and maida. 20) The first ever woman captain of Indian merchant Navy who has received the IMO award for exceptional Bravery at sea is ………..? *2+ 1. Captain Vishalika arora 2. Captain Radhika menon 3. Captain vasundara Menon 4. Captain nityanjali menon 5. Captain Vinuthna Mehta ExL:- Menon will receive the 016 International Maritime Organisation Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea for her role in the dramatic rescue of seven fishermen from a sinking fishing boat in tumultuous seas in the Bay of Bengal in June last year. She is master of oil tanker Sampurna Swarajya. 21) India, and …………. decided to issue joint postage stamps on the theme of folk dances? [ 3] 1. Canada 2. Nepal 3. Portugal 4. Maldives 5. Malaysia Expl:- Department of Post of India and Portugal Post have decided to issue joint postage stamps on the theme of folk dances. Department of Post of India has picked up Dandiya dance of Gujarat. 22) India has decided to enter into a government-to-government pact with the Government of which country to import pulses? [2]

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1. Mauritius 2. Mozambique 3. Kenya 4. 5. Italy Expl:- Mozambique, which has its eastern coast alongside the Indian Ocean, currently faces a shortage of 7.6 millions of tonnes of pulses, a staple protein source for many. India has decided to apply the cooperative model of farming to Mozambique to increase production. Cabinet has approved the signing of an MoU between the two nations on drug demand reduction and prevention of illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursor chemicals and related matters through enhanced cooperation. 23) Which has become India's first state to introduce minimum wages for part time workers? [3] 1. Bihar 2. Gujarath 3. Rajasthan 4. West Bengal 5. Tripura Expl:- As per the official notification, it is mandatory to pay 50% of the prescribed a day minimum wage to a person who works for less than four hours in a day. With this, part-time workers of Rajasthan now come under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. 24) Who has been appointed as the CEO of Zee Learn.? [1] 1. Debshankar Mukhopadhyay 2. Dinesh mohanty 3. Vinay chopra 4. Pawan chauhan 5. None Expl:- Earlier, he was the head of Educational Sales-Financial Services & Insurance, at Manipal Global Education Service. He has served at Max Life Insurance Co. Ltd, Western Union, Scholastic India, Zee Interactive Learning Systems Ltd and DHL Worldwide 25) As per a recent report released by ISRO, how much percent of India's geographical land is under land degradation? [3] 1. 10% 2. 20% 3. 30% 4. 40% 5. 50% Expl:- The study was carried out using data from satellite images.

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The degrading area has increased over 0.5 per cent to 29.3 million hectares during the period. There was high desertification and degradation in Delhi, Tripura, Nagaland, Himachal Pradesh and Mizoram, while Odisha, Telangana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh showed some improvement. ISRO's Space Applications Centre released the findings last month in the form of a 'Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas', combining GIS and remote sensing data. The states where high amount of land is degraded are, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana. 26) National Anti-Doping Agency has signed a 2-year MoU with its which country counterpart and its international parent body-WADA-to bolster its anti-doping programme? [1] 1. Australia 2. Kenya 3. Canada 4. USA 5. UK Expl:- The project plan established by these 3 agencies will ensure that India implements a more effective anti-doping programme that is fully compliant with the WADA Code. WADA's role is to monitor the partnership, including the timeline set for the project, and to assist with the implementation of the work required. The MoU will prove beneficial in testing and results management structures, more timely appeals processes, and a review of the agency's structure to confirm that the current structures enable autonomous operational decision making. 27) Which search Giant acquired a French startup called Moodstock? [1] 1. Google 2. Facebook 3. Yahoo 4. Microsoft 5. None Expl:- Moodstocks caught the US technology giant's eye for its work in computer vision and machine learning, as well for accomplishments in enabling smartphones or other mobile devices to recognize images and objects. The Moodstocks team, described as a small group of researchers and engineers, will join a Google research and development center in Paris. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. 28) SBI Cards and Payment Services (SBI Card), the third-largest card issuer by number, has launched a premium credit card called ,……………? [1] 1. Elite 2. Delite 3. Nite

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4. Slight 5. Flite Expl:- Created on the MasterCard World platform, ELITE is build with several privileges and benefits for high networth individuals (HNIs). The card will come with a joining fee of ₹4,999. All ELITE customers will receive a welcome gift of ₹5,000 in the form of vouchers from popular travel and lifestyle brand. ELITE offers privileges such as 24x7 concierge services, golf course reservations, spa, and limousine or movie ticket bookings which can be availed with just one phone call. Also, ELITE offers lounge access through "priority pass programme" at over 850 airports across the globe for frequent fliers 29) Which country has inducted largest homegrown Y-20 military transport plane? [3] 1. Japan 2. France 3. China 4. Indonesia 5. India Expl:- China has inducted its largest indigenously-built transport aircraft Y-20, a breakthrough in military aviation technology for the PLA that allows the world's largest force to transport cargo and troops over long distances in diverse weather conditions. The Y-20 officially joined the PLA Air Force in Chengdu, is ideal for transporting cargo and personnel over long distances in diverse weather conditions and has a maximum weight limit of 200 tonnes. Besides manufacturing J-15, China's first-generation multipurpose aircraft for the newly- built aircraft carrier, Chinese military has testedJ-31, a fifth generation aircraft, and stealth fighter J-20, which PLA officials claim to be comparable with US versions. 30) Film festival of wild life was recently began in which city? [2] 1. Srinagar 2. Shimla 3. Kochi 4. Kottayam 5. Chennai Expl:- With an intent to highlight environmental issues, Shimla will celebrate a three-day Woodpecker Environment and Wildlife Film Festival at historic Gaiety Theatre. As many as 45 films, including several national Award winning films and five films from Himachal Pradesh would be screened at the festival. Critical environment and wildlife conservation issues like climate change, forest conservation, biodiversity and man-animal conflict and success stories would also be showcased.

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31) A Committee has been formed to examine the desirability and feasibility of having a 'new financial year' which will be headed by former Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) ……….? *1+ 1. Shankar acharya 2. Sunil chauhan 3. Sandeep Mittal 4. Surya rathi 5. Sandhya rathi Expl:- It will examine merits and demerits of various dates for commencement of a financial year and submit its report by December 31. The members of the committee include former Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar, former Finance Secretary Tamil Nadu P V Rajaraman and Centre for Policy Research Senior Fellow Rajiv Kumar 32) Which port becomes India's first port to implement Logistics Data tagging of containers? [1] 1. Jawaharlal Nehru port 2. Mumbai docks 3. Kolkata port 4. Kochi port 5. Visakhapatnam port Expl:- Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust has become the first in India to implement Logistics Data tagging of containers which will help importers and exporters track goods in transit through logistics data bank service. The containers will be attached with a Radio Frequency Identification Tag (RFID) and will be tracked through RFID readers installed at different locations. The tagging system would improve visibility and transparency of EXIM container movement by covering the entire movement through rail or road till the Inland Container Depot and Container Freight Station. Also, it will help in reducing the overall lead time of the container movement across the western corridor and lower the transaction costs incurred by shippers and consignees. 33) India's first Commercial Court & Disputes Resolution Centre inaugurated in which state? [2] 1. Jharkhand 2. Chhattisgarh 3. West Bengal 4. Bihar 5. Gujarath Expl:- Chhattisgarh CM has recently inaugurated India's first Commercial Court and Disputes Resolution Centre. Some facilities available for litigants through the new system includes video-conferencing, e-Court, e-Library, e-Filing and e-Summons. The court also acts as an arbitration centre and meditation centre.

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These ultra-modern facilities available at the court will facilitate the investors in their commercial dealings. 34) The first actor to play Superman heroine Lois Lane, has passed away recently. Name her? [1] 1. Noel Niell 2. Mongin Neoil 3. Steve neill 4. Mark neill 5. Venghen Baurad Expl:- Neill became starred opposite Kirk Alyn (who portrayed Clark Kent) in a 15-chapter serial for Columbia Pictures that played in movie theatres in 1948. She often played the parent or other relative of one of the main characters, including the 1978 Superman feature film, the 1980s TV series Superboy, the 1990s primetime drama Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, and the 2006 film Superman Returns 35) B Sai Praneeth won men's single title at 2016 Grand Prix ………..? [1] 1. Badminton 2. Volleyball 3. Chess 4. Cricket 5. Tennis Expl:- Indian shuttler B Sai Praneeth has won the Canada Open Grand Prix Badminton Men's Singles title at . The fourth-seeded 23-year-old defeated Korea's Lee Hyun Il 21-12 21-10 in the singles final. Top-seeded doubles pair Attri and Reddy defeated and Toby Ng 21-8 21-14. The pair of Attri and Reddy is the first Indian men's doubles pair to qualify for the Rio Olympics. 36) Bengaluru para swimmer Niranjan Mukundan has won eight medals, including three golds, at the recently-concluded IWAS (International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports) U-23 World Games in Prague. In which country it is? [1] 1. Czech republic 2. Congo 3. Bali 4. Cuba 5. Cambodia Expl:- Niranjan was born with a medical condition called Spina Bifida and has clubbed feet. He competes in the S-8 category. He also had the honour of delivering the athletes' oath on behalf of 35 competing countries. He was honoured as the Junior World Champion in 2015 37) World's largest spinning wheel (charkha) was unveiled at which airport? [2] 1. Bengaluru airport 2. Indira Gandhi International airport

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3. Rajiv Gandhi international airport 4. Chatrapathi shivaji airport 5. None Expl:- Union MSME minister has said that the charkha is a symbol of Gandhian values and shows government's priority towards Khadi and Village Industries. The idea behind the installation is to highlight India's quest to foster an egalitarian society as demonstrated by Mahatma Gandhi. 38) Recently which space agency gave its approval to the New Horizons mission to investigate a mysterious object known as 2014 MU69 deep in the Kuiper Belt.? [2] 1. European space agency 2. NASA 3. Russia space agency 4. ISRO 5. None Expl:- 2014 MU69, otherwise known as 1110113Y, is a relatively small KBO discovered in June 2014 by astronomers using the NASA/ ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Estimated to have a diameter of 30 miles, it is considered to be one of the earliest building blocks of the solar system. New Horizons is currently 3.24 billion miles (5.21 billion km) from Earth and 264 million miles (424.9 million km) beyond Pluto, with all systems healthy and operating normally. 39) Centre has appointed R Thiruppathi Venkatasamy as the Accountant General of Economic and Revenue Sector Audit of which state recently? [2] 1. Kerala 2. Tamilnadu 3. AP 4. MP 5. Odisha Expl:- Prior to this appointment, he served as the Senior Deputy Accountant General in the organisation of Comptroller and Auditor General Agartala, Tripura. A 2000 batch officer of Indian Audit and Accounts Service, Venkatasamy is an alumni of University of Minnesota (US) and hails from Virudhunagar district of Tamil Nadu. 40) The Union cabinet has given a nod to set up a major port at Enayam in which state? [1] 1. Tamilnadu 2. AP 3. MP 4. Karanataka 5. Kerala Expl:- The estimated cost of the project is around Rs. 25,000 crores.

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A special purpose vehicle will be formed for development of this project, with initial equity investment from three other major ports in Tamil Nadu namely Chidambaranar Port Trust, Chennai Port Trust, and Kamarajar Port Limited. This port will act as a major gateway container port for Indian cargo that is presently trans- shipped outside the country, but also become a trans-shipment hub for the global East-West trade route. 41) India signed MoU with which country for rural development and poverty alleviation? [3] 1. Malaysia 2. Srilanka 3. Mauritius 4. Bangladesh 5. Nepal Expl:- The Union cabinet recently signed two MoU with Mauritius to create a framework for cooperation between the National Development Unit, Prime Minister's Office of the Republic of Mauritius and the Ministry of Rural Development of the Republic of India in the sphere of rural development. The MoU will facilitate cooperation in the field of rural development and capacity building on the basis of equality. A joint committee on cooperation and rural development will be formed. Both countries have agreed to coordinate and facilitate appropriate technical cooperation, exchange of relevant information and documents in the sphere of rural development, & collaboration to strengthen their human resource capacity 42) The first meeting of the BRICS Working Group on Energy Saving and Energy Efficiency commenced on 4 July in which city? [1] 1. Viasakhapatnam 2. Vijayawada 3. Kochi 4. Kolkata 5. Mumbai Expl:- Hosted by the Union power ministry, it will be attended by all 5 member nations, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. India will showcase its efforts in energy saving and efficiency, particularly the LED street lighting programme and PAT (Performance Achievement & Trade) programme for industrial energy efficiency. 43) The last horse ridden by Napoleon Bonaparte is being restored with stuffing by two taxidermists at the Army Museum in …………? [3] 1. London 2. Ottawa 3. Paris

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4. Moscow 5. Florida Expl:- The white Arabian stallion, Le Vizir, was gifted to Napoleon by an Ottoman sultan in 1802. He sports a brand on his rump made up of an N topped with a crown. One of the emperor's favourites - achieved great victories at Jena and Eylau - he accompanied his master to exile in Elba after Napoleon's first forced abdication in 1814. 44) A new species of spider, which mimics the characteristics of ants, has been discovered in the moist deciduous forest of the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. This is in which state? [3] 1. Karnataka 2. AP 3. Kerala 4. Telengana 5. Goa Expl:- This spider lives along with ants in the corrugated bark of large trees and is difficult to differentiate from ants. This spider belongs to Aetius genus of the ant-mimicking spider family Corinnidae. Researchers assert that while there are over 200 variety of ant-mimicking spiders, a spider so much similar to an ant has been discovered for the first time. This spider has been jointly discovered by researchers of the Centre for Animal Taxonomy and Ecology (CATE) of Christ College, Irinjalakuda, and the Oxford Museum of Natural History, London. 45) Juno, an unmanned NASA spacecraft, is approaching which planet on a $1.1 billion mission to circle the biggest planet in the solar system? [4] 1. Saturn 2. Pluto 3. Venus 4. Jupiter 5. Mercury Expl:- This solar-powered spacecraft will fire its main rocket engine to slow itself down from a speed of 150,000 mph and slip into poisonous atmosphere of Jupiter and orbit for two years. Best known for its Great Red Spot, the planet is marked by cold, windy clouds of ammonia and water that appear red, brown and in beige swirls. The spacecraft is set to bring details about the water figure and atmosphere of the planet. 46) Linda Burney becomes first Indigenous woman elected to which country lower house? [4] 1. Canada 2. USA 3. Malaysia 4. Australia

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5. Argentina Expl:- A former teacher, Linda Burney, 59, is the first female Aboriginal to get elected into Australia's lower house of parliament, winning a seat for the centre-left Labour party after national polls. With this, she joins first Aboriginal MP Ken Wyatt of the conservative Liberal Party who was elected in 2010. Olympian Nova Peris was the first indigenous woman in the upper house of the Parliament. In December 2014, she became the interim leader of the opposition after the resignation of John Roberson. She is an ambassador of the Australian women's Education Foundation. She has been a pioneer in politics having been the first woman Aboriginal to enter the New South Wales state parliament in 2003. 47) Renowned scientist Madhav Dhekane has been appointed as the Director of ………..Inertial Systems Unit? [1] 1. ISRO 2. NASA 3. NGRI 4. CCMB 5. INS Expl:- Dhekane holds an M.Tech degree in Systems and Control from Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai and had joined Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in 1983. He has served various prominent positions in ISRO such as Deputy Director, Control, Guidance & Simulation Entity at VSSC, Chief Controller at VSSC and Associate Director (R&D) at VSSC. 48) Javeline thrower has set a national record with a massive 59.87m throw at the recently- concluded 56th National Inter-state Senior Athletics Championships. Name him/her? [2] 1. Anitha Kulkarni 2. Annu Rani 3. Preethi Malhotra 4. Poonam saxena 5. Vijay bahadur Expl:- The 23-year-old, who hails from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, bettered her previous meet mark with her first round 59.06m at G.M.C. Balayogi Stadium. However, her big throw of the day (59.87m) came in the fourth round that erased her two-year-old Incheon performance of 59.53m. Teammate Suman Devi, who scored with a season best 59.45m registered during her gold winning throw in South Asian Games at Guwahati earlier this year, could only finish in the second place. Haryana girl Sharmila Kumari stood third with 53.80m throw. 49) Which largest two-wheeler maker has signed a 3-year pact with its permanent workers at their Gurgaon plant.? [1]

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1. Hero Motor 2. Bajaj 3. TVS 4. Yamaha 5. None Expl:- The pact is regarding a hike of Rs. 12,500/- which is spread over three years and will be effective from 1st August, 2015 to 31st July, 2018. 50) Which Union Minister has launched the National Mineral Exploration Policy (NMEP) with an intent to explore the new mining areas across the country ? [5] 1. Uma bharathi 2. Sushma swaraj 3. Amith shah 4. Rajnath singh 5. Narendra Singh Tomar Expl:- Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has launched the National Mineral Exploration Policy (NMEP) with an intent to explore the new mining areas across the country and raise contribution of the sector in the country's GDP. The policy was revealed at the inaugural function of the two-day national conclave on 'Mines and Minerals' at Raipur in Chhattisgarh. The event witnessed a participation of over 300 delegates from the country. The policy will help in will help in mapping of the mining areas across the country, thus creating a lot of employment opportunities in mineral rich districts.

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