Current Affairs Questions for CGL Tier-1, CLAT, IBPS PO, LIC Assistant January GA Quiz 20 Directions: Study the following questions carefully and answer the questions given below. 1. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has recently collaborated with _______________ to produce an indigenous engine for the Saras light passenger aircraft being developed by it. A. BHEL B. ISRO C. DRDO D. GAIL E. None of these 2. A new species of bone-eating worm has been discovered by scientists during a study in which they dropped alligator carcasses into the _______________to investigate the deep ocean's ecosystem. A. Gulf of Kutch B. Gulf of Mexico C. Gulf of Alaska D. Gulf of Mannar E. None of these 3. Which of the following financial entities has recently allowed card holders to enable, disable cards for online use, modify transaction limits? A. RBI B. SBI C. PNB D. SIDBI E. None of these 4. Who among the following has won the elections to become the Prime Minister of Malta? A. Chris Fearne B. Robert Abela C. George Abela D. George Vella E. None of these 5. Who among the following has made history as he extended his unbeaten run to 111 successive classical games, breaking the 110-game streak set by Sergei Tiviakov in 2005? A. Magnus Carlsen B. Garry Kasparov C. Viswanathan Anand D. Bobby Fischer E. None of these 6. Which of the following countries has recently finished 2019 as number one shooting nation in world? A. China B. Japan C. India D. Pakistan E. None of these 7. Which of the following banks has recently launched India’s largest API Banking portal with nearly 250 APIs? A. HDFC Bank B. ICICI Bank C. Yes Bank D. HDFC Bank E. None of these 8. Which of the following cities has hosted the 7th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference 2020? A. Gorakhpur B. Kanpur C. Agra D. Lucknow E. None of these 9. On 14th January 2020, the Union Govt. has identifies how many islands of Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshawadeep for holistic development by promoting tourism? A. 26 B. 25 C. 27 D. 28 E. None of these 10. Who among the following has recently become first female third umpire to oversee a men’s international game? A. Claire Polosak B. Jacqueline Williams C. Humaira Farah D. Kathy Cross E. None of these Correct answer: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C B A B A C B D B B Explanation: 1. Hints to Remember Who: CSIR-India, DRDO What: to join hands to develop Saras engine When: published on 19th January 2020 The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) will collaborate with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to produce an indigenous engine for the Saras light passenger aircraft being developed by it. “We will be taking up the project jointly. Designing and developing an aero- engine is a highly complex task,” Dr Shekhar C Mande, Director General, CSIR, said during his visit here. “Apart from the power plants, all major systems of the Saras are indigenous,” he added. The DRDO has been developing the Kaveri engine that was initially meant for the Light Combat Aircraft since the mid-80s, but has not been successful. While some technologies and components were validated, there were problems with some. While various types of aero-engines have been produced under licence in India, an indigenous engine has not been developed. According to some experts, developing a turboprop for a transport aircraft is less complex than developing a jet engine for a fighter. The prototype version of the Saras, being developed by the CSIR’s National Aeronautical Laboratory (NAL), is powered by two Canadian Pratt and Whitney PT6A turboprop engines, that are not only mounted on the rear of the fuselage instead of the wings, but also face rearwards. “The 14-passenger Saras plane, which is undergoing flight trials, will also have the capability to taxi in reverse, a feature that is not very common in aircraft. In the IAF’s inventory, the American C-17 strategic freighter and the German Dornier Do-228 have this feature. Taxiiing in reverse require the jet blast from the engines to be directed forwards but it has technical, environmental and safety concerns when operating in the vicinity of aerodrome terminals or structures. The NAL would be conducting 20 test flights of the Saras before the design is frozen and production would be undertaken by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. The IAF has committed to procure 15 aircraft. Dr Mande, who is a member of Gaganyaan National Advisory Council, the steering body for ISRO’s manned space mission, said the NAL was also deeply involved in testing and devaluating many of the launch vehicle’s components. For the complete information kindly visit given link: https://www.csir.res.in/slider/csir-india-drdo-join-hands-develop-saras-engine 2. Hints to Remember Who: New species of bone-eating worm What: discovered eating alligator carcass When: published on 17th January 2020 A new species of bone-eating worm has been discovered by scientists during a study in which they dropped alligator carcasses into the Gulf of Mexico to investigate the deep ocean's ecosystem. The worm, which has yet to be named, is the first of its kind found in the Gulf of Mexico. The species was discovered when it crawled on the corpse of an alligator on the ocean floor -- and completely consumed its soft tissue within 51 days. For the complete information kindly visit given link: https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2020/January-17th/new-species-of-bone- eating-worm-discovered-eating-alligator-carcass.php 3. Hints to Remember Who: RBI What: allows card holders to enable, disable cards for online use, modify transaction limits When: published on 15th January 2020 To increase security of card (credit and debit) transactions the Reserve Bank of India has directed all banks to give card users the facility to themselves enable/disable their cards for different types of use--online, physical, contact- less domestically or internationally. Card issuers have also been asked to allow card holders to modify transaction limits within the overall card limit for all types of transactions -domestic and international at PoS, ATMs, online transactions and contactless transactions. RBI has directed banks and other card issuers to enable cards only for use at contact based points i.e. ATMs and Point of Sale (Pos) devices within India at the time of issue of the cards. This means that when a card is issued it will, by default, only be usable to physically swipe at a PoS or at a ATM. It would not be enabled for use online or for contact-less transactions. For the complete information kindly visit given link: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/personal-finance-news/rbi- allows-card-holders-to-enable-disable-cards-for-online-use-modify-transaction- limits/articleshow/73273315.cms 4. Hints to Remember Who: Robert Abela What: wins election to be prime minister of Malta and calls for unity after Joseph Muscat's resignation over journalist's murder When: published on 12th January 2020 Robert Abela is set to become Malta’s prime minister after being elected leader of the ruling party, and is seen as a continuity leader in the wake of a scandal over the murder of an investigative journalist. Mr Abela, a 42-year-old lawyer, faces a turbulent political environment after the forced exit of Joseph Muscat in the wake of the controversy. Mr Muscat announced his resignation last month, surrendering to political pressure and widespread public anger over his alleged attempt to protect his allies from a probe into the 2017 killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia. For the complete information kindly visit given link: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/01/12/robert-abela-wins-election- prime-minister-malta-calls-unity/ 5. Hints to Remember Who: Magnus Carlsen What: breaks record for longest unbeaten streak When: published on 19th January 2020 Chess great Magnus Carlsen made history Tuesday as he extended his unbeaten run to 111 successive classical games, breaking the 110-game streak set by Sergei Tiviakov in 2005. Carlsen, the world's No.1 chess player and, such was his prodigious talent, described as the 'Mozart of chess' as a 14-year-old, drew against Jorden van Foreest in the fourth round of the Wijk aan Zee tournament in the Netherlands to break the record. The 29-year-old Norwegian grandmaster achieved his feat while playing against opponents who had a far higher average Fide rating -- the rankings that govern international chess competition -- than Tiviakov's rivals. He had suggested that he might consider the record broken only if he won another two matches as two wins, in the Norwegian League, were against opponents ranked more than 500 points lower than him. For the complete information kindly visit given link: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/15/sport/magnus-carlsen-unbeaten-record- spt-intl/index.html 6. Hints to Remember Who: India What: finished 2019 as number one shooting nation in world When: published on 12th January 2020 On the back of its sparkling show through 2019, India finished the year as the top shooting nation in the world, leapfrogging Olympic heavyweights China and the USA. In terms of overall medals, the tally stood at 21 gold, six silver and three bronze as India topped all the Rifle-Pistol World Cups and Finals in a unforgettable year. A delighted National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) president Raninder Singh tweeted a screenshot of the International Shooting Sport Federation’s (ISSF) overall rankings for 2019.