General Awareness Apr 2017 – Part -1 Answer the following question by choosing the best option from the choices given. 1. In April of 2017, the annual Meeting of the New Development Bank was held in New Delhi. Which edition is this annual meeting of the group? 1: first 4: second 2: third 5: None of the above 3: fourth Ans: 4 Solution: The agenda for 2017: The first seminar was under the theme of “Financing Sustainable Development" which will address the role of governments in financing development and, in particular, sustainable infrastructure. The second seminar was under the theme of “Urban Planning and Sustainable Infrastructure Development” which will look into how the urban development could improve the lives of people. The New Development Bank was created with an objective of financing infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries. Former ICICI Bank Chairperson K V Kamath is the President of the bank. 2. In April of 2017, P V Sindhu has defeated the Olympic champion Carolina Marin to win her maiden India Open Super Series title. Identify the nation that Carolina Marin represents. 1: New Zealand 4: France 2: United Kingdom 5: None of the above 3: Spain Ans: 3 Solution: Carolina Marin is a badminton player from Spain. She became world champion in women's singles in 2014 and 2015. She won her first women's singles gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics after defeating P. V. Sindhu. The Indian badminton player had last defeated Marin in the BWF Super Series in Dubai in the year 2016. © CETS www.conduiraonline.com Replication or other unauthorized use of this material is prohibited. Page 1 of 14 P V Sindhu became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic silver medal in the 2016 Summer Olympics. In 2013, she became the first ever Indian women's singles player to win a medal at the Badminton World Championships. In March 2015, she was conferred with the Padma Shri. India Open Super Series is officially titled as the Yonex-Sunrise India Open. It is an annual badminton event, which has been held in India since 2008. In 2011, the tournament was upgraded to the BWF Superseries tournament. Since then, the competition has been held annually at the Siri Fort Sports Complex in New Delhi. The Men's singles title of the 2017 India Open was won by Viktor Axelsen. 3. In April of 2017, India and Malaysia have signed a certain number of agreements to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two nations. What is the number of agreements that we are referring to? 1: 9 4: 10 2: 7 5: None of the above 3: 4 Ans: 2 Solution: These MoUs/agreements were signed during the Malaysian Prime Minister Mohd Najib Bin Tun Abdul Razak’s visit to India. List of Agreements/ Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) exchanged during the State Visit of Prime Minister of Malaysia to India: Air Services Agreement; MoU on Cooperation in the proposed development of a Urea and Ammonia Manufacturing Plant in Malaysia; MoU on Cooperation in the Field of Sports; MoU for cooperation in training and others; MoU on Mutual Recognition of the Educational Qualifications; MoU for collaboration in technology development in the field of Palm Oil and MoU on the implementation of 4th Generation Technology Park in AP. 4. In April of 2017, the Union Cabinet has approved the signing of an agreement between the Ministry of Rural Development and Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) for the establishment of a CIRDAP Centre at National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj. Where will this centre be located? 1: Hyderabad 4: Bhopal 2: Chennai 5: None of the above 3: Anand Ans: 1 © CETS www.conduiraonline.com Replication or other unauthorized use of this material is prohibited. Page 2 of 14 Solution: The new centre at Hyderabad would help the NIRD & PR to enhance its position in the region through connections with other institutes in the CIRDAP member countries and help it create its own storehouse of institutional knowledge. CIRDAP is a regional Inter - Governmental and autonomous institution. It was jointly established on 6 July 1979 by the countries of the Asia-Pacific region and UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in coordination with several other UN bodies and donors. India is one of the key founding members of this Organisation. The headquarters of the institution is located at Dhaka in Bangladesh. The main objective of the body is to promote regional cooperation and act as a serving institution for its member countries for promotion of integrated rural development through research action, training and information dissemination. 5. As in April of 2017, tax evasion of over Rs 5 crore under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime would be a: 1: Bailable offence 4: serious economic fraud offence 2: non-bailable offence 5: None of the above 3: economic offence Ans: 2 Solution: The new regime also empowers police to make an arrest without warrant. The Central GST (CGST) Act has defined offences related to taxable good or services. The act provides that if the offences will be cognizable and non-bailable when the taxable goods and/or services where the amount of tax evaded or the amount of input tax credit wrongly availed or the amount of refund wrongly taken exceeds Rs 5 crore. The Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC) in its 223-page frequently asked questions (FAQ) on GST said other offences under the act are non-cognizable and bailable. 6. In April of 2017, Leander Paes, along with Canadian Adil Shamasdin, has won the Leon Challenger Tour tennis tournament's Men's Doubles trophy. Identify the nation that is the venue for this. 1: Australia 4: South Africa 2: Dubai 5: None of the above 3: Mexico Ans: 3 Solution: Leon is a city in Mexico. The Torneo Internacional Challenger Leon is a professional tennis tournament that is played on outdoor hard courts. With this win, Paes grabbed his 20th ATP Challenger title. The Indian player has now won at least one title every year for the past 26 years. Leander Paes is an Indian professional tennis player. He is considered to be one of the best doubles and mixed doubles players of all time. He has achieved a career Grand Slam in each discipline. © CETS www.conduiraonline.com Replication or other unauthorized use of this material is prohibited. Page 3 of 14 7. In April of 2017, the Union government has launched PowerTex India, a comprehensive scheme for the development of the powerloom sector. Identify the focus states that will benefit the most from this scheme. 1: Tamil Nadu 4: Both options (1) and (2) 2: Maharashtra 5: Both options (2) and (3) 3: Andhra Pradesh Ans: 4 Solution: The scheme was launched by Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani through a video conference at Bhiwandi in Thane district, Maharashtra with a simultaneous launch in 45 other locations across the country including Surat, Erode, Malegaon, Bengaluru, Varanasi and Bhagalpur. The scheme would especially benefit Maharastra and Tamil Nadu. It comprises new research and development in power loom textiles along with new markets, branding, subsidies and welfare schemes for the workers. It is meant to especially benefit the small power loom weavers. The powerloom sector alone employs over 44 lakh people. In all, it has nine components including In-situ up- gradation of Plain Powerlooms, Group Workshed Scheme (GWS), Common Facility Centre (CFC), Yarn Bank Scheme, Tex Venture Capital Fund, Grant-in-Aid and Modernisation & Upgradation of Powerloom Service Centres (PSCs). It also includes two new schemes, Pradhan Mantri Credit Scheme (PMCS) for powerloom weavers and solar energy scheme (SEC) for powerlooms. 8. In April of 2017, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Chenani-Nashri tunnel, India’s longest highway tunnel in Jammu & Kashmir. What is the speciality of this considering the Asia? 1: Asia's longest bi-directional highways tunnel 4: Asia's most unsafe highways tunnel 2: Asia's longest highways tunnel 5: None of the above 3: Asia's longest tunnel Ans: 1 Solution: This 9 km long twin-tube tunnel is an ideal example of the government’s ‘Make in India’ and ‘Skill India’ initiative. PM Modi also announced to invest around Rs 7000 crore in highways projects in Jammu and Kashmir in the next two years. A ring road will be built around Jammu at a cost of Rs 2100 crore and another one around Srinagar at a cost of Rs 2200 crore. Moreover, Zojila tunnel is also under construction between Leh and Ladakh at a cost of Rs 6000 crore. © CETS www.conduiraonline.com Replication or other unauthorized use of this material is prohibited. Page 4 of 14 India’s longest Chenani-Nashri tunnel is 9 km long all-weather tunnel between Udhampur and Ramban in Jammu & Kashmir is not only India’s longest highways tunnel but also Asia’s longest bi-directional highways tunnel. Built at an elevation of 1200 metres on one of the most difficult Himalayan terrains, the tunnel will cut the travel time between Jammu and Srinagar by two hours, bypassing about 41 km of road length. It will also ensure an all weather passage on a route that often sees heavy traffic jams and disruptions due to landslides and snow. 9. Identify the winner of the 2017 Miami Open Men's Singles title. 1: Andy Murray 4: Novak Djokovic 2: Roger Federer 5: None of the above 3: Rafael Nadal Ans: 2 Solution: Roger Federer defeated Rafael Nadal to win the title.