Current Affairs Quiz Questions and Answers 2020 || 29 Aug 2020 ||

Current Affairs Quiz Questions and Answers 2020

29 AUG 2020

(Q.01) Name the mobile app which was launched by Indian Air Force?
1) Proud IAF
2) Bharat IAF
3) My IAF
4) IAF Duty

Ans. :-(3) My IAF

Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal (ACM)Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria, launched the mobile application “My IAF”, to provide career related information and details in IAF to the aspirants. The application was launched as a part of the ‘Digital India Initiative’. It was developed in association with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).

About Indian Air Force(IAF):
Chief of the Air Staff (CAS)– Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria,
Headquarters– New Delhi.
Motto– Touch the sky with Glory
About Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC):
Director General– Dr.Hemant Darbari
Headquarters– Pune, Maharashtra

(Q.02) Union minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari has inaugurated 45 new highway projects in which state recently?
1) Maharashtra
2) Madhya Pradesh
3) Uttar Pradesh
4) West Bengal

Ans. :-(2) Madhya Pradesh

Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways inaugurated and laid foundation stones for 45 highway projects in Madhya Pradesh (MP) during a virtual event. He also announced that Rs.700 crores from the Central Road Fund (CRF) will be utilised for the road sector of Madhya Pradesh.

(Q.03) Name the person who headed the NITI Aayog task force which recommended linking of Sugarcane prices to sugar rate.
1) Ravindra Pratap Singh
2) Padmavathi Ravi
3) V.K. Paul
4) Ramesh Chand

Ans. :-(4) Ramesh Chand

The final report of the NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog Task Force headed by Ramesh Chand, NITI Aayog Member(Agriculture), “Sugarcane and Sugar Industry” recommended linking of Sugarcane prices to sugar rate to maintain the financial state and stability of the industry and to clear the arrears of the sugarcane farmers. This report of the task force was finalized in March 2020 and published on August 20. To support the sugar mills with the cost of production, including the interest and maintenance cost the report recommends a onetime increase in the minimum sugar price to Rs.33 per kilogram.

About NITI Aayog:
Chairman– Narendra Modi
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– Amitabh Kant
Headquarter– New Delhi

(Q.04) Find the organization which has launched a debt and credit guarantee product ‘Structured Finance and Partial Guarantee Programme to NBFC-MFIs’ (signed a pact with Vivriti Capital and Ujjivan Small Finance Bank).
1) Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
2) Competition Commission of India (CCI)
3) National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (NABARD)
4) Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)

Ans. :-(3) National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (NABARD)

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has introduced, ‘Structured Finance and Partial Guarantee Program for Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFC)-Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs)’, a dedicated debt and credit guarantee product to ensure uninterrupted flow of credit to the last mile in rural areas hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. NABARD has signed a pact with Vivriti Capital and Ujjivan Small Finance Bank on 14 August 2020 to introduce the initiative, which will enhance sustainable finance access to microenterprises and low-income households.

About NABARD:
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Chairman– G R Chintala
About Ujjivan Small Finance Bank:
HeadOffice– Bengaluru, Karnataka
MD & Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– Nitin Chugh
Tagline– We believe in your belief

(Q.05) Which is 1st bank in India to use satellite data to access credit worthiness of farmers?
1) ICICI Bank
2) Bank of Baroda
3) State Bank of India
4) HDFC Bank

Ans. :-(1) ICICI Bank

ICICI Bank uses satellite data (imagery from Earth observation satellites) to assess credit worthiness of farmers. ICICI Bank has become the 1st bank in India to use such a technique to measure an array of parameters related to the land, irrigation and crop patterns and use it in combination with demographic and financial parameters to make quick lending decisions for farmers.

About ICICI Bank:
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD & CEO– Sandeep Bakhshi
Tagline– Hum Hai Na, Khayal Apka

(Q.06) Name the company which has partnered with Goals101.ai to create targeted and personalized offers for customers.
1) Visa
2) Rupay
3) American Express
4) Mastercard

Ans. :-(4) Mastercard

Mastercard has entered into an alliance with Goals101.ai, the leading bank-tech and Artificial Intelligence(AI) company. Through this alliance, Goals101.ai connects merchants and issuers using big data, AI and automation to create targeted and personalized offers for Bank cardholders. This helps banks to improve their communications performance and makes the banking experience more personalized, real-time and relevant for their customers. Through this partnership, Mastercard and Goals101.ai will launch a section within the platform called ‘For You’ which will unify all the bank channels and properties into one.

About Mastercard:
Headquarters– New York, United States
Chief Executive Officer– Ajay Banga(Michael Miebach will succeed him by Jan1, 2021)
About Goals101.ai:
Headquarters- New Delhi, India
Chairman & MD- Visham Sikand

(Q.07) Which general insurance company has launched the first of its kind ‘Shagun – Gift an Insurance’ policy recently?
1) HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company
2) SBI General Insurance Company
3) IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Company
4) United India General Insurance Company

Ans. :-(2) SBI General Insurance Company

SBI General Insurance Co Ltd launched a 1st of its kind offering, ‘Shagun – Gift an Insurance’, a unique gift of Personal Accident policy which provides complete financial protection to the insured person against uncertainties such as accidental death and partial or total disabilities, and permanent & temporary disabilities resulting from an accident.

About SBI General Insurance Co Ltd:
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD and CEO– Prakash Chandra(P.C.) Kandpal 

(Q.08) Which company has partnered with NITI Aayog’s Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) to support women entrepreneurs in India?
1) Tata Consultancy Services
2) Tech Mahindra
3) Mphasis
4) MindTree

Ans. :- (2) Tech Mahindra

IT (Information Technology) services major Tech Mahindra joined hands with NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog’s Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) to support Indian women entrepreneurs. In this regard, Tech Mahindra has partnered with the winners of Women Transforming India (WTI) Awards, to provide mentorship. WTI awards is an initiative of the WEP to recognise women leaders in entrepreneurship across various sectors like healthcare and life sciences, agritech and education, among others.

About Tech Mahindra:
Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– Chander Prakash Gurnani
Headquarter– Pune, Maharashtra
About NITI Aayog:
Chairman– Prime Minister of India (Narendra Modi)
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– Amitabh Kant
Headquarters– New Delhi

(Q.09) Multi-Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) has launched India’s first real-time bullion index named MCX iCOMDEX Bullion or Bulldex. Where is the HQ of MCX located?
1) Bengaluru
2) Gurugram
3) New Delhi
4) Mumbai

Ans. :-(4) Mumbai

Multi-Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX), India’s first listed, national-level, electronic exchange, launched futures trading on the country’s first tradeable real-time bullion index, MCX iCOMDEX Bullion, or Bulldex. The index will track the real-time performance of the gold (1kg) and silver (30kg) futures contracts, the flagship future products on the Exchange.

About Multi-Commodity Exchange of India Ltd:
Headquarters-Mumbai, Maharashtra 
Chairman– Saurabh Chandra
MD & CEO- P.S. Reddy

(Q.10) Which state government has signed MoU with Micro Tek new technologies to set up electronics manufacturing unit in the state (August 2020)?
1) Maharashtra
2) Chhattisgarh
3) Himachal Pradesh
4) Odisha

Ans. :-(3) Himachal Pradesh

The Government of Himachal Pradesh (HP) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) worth Rs110 Crores with Micro Tek New Technologies Private Ltd for setting up an Electronics Manufacturing Unit at Baddi, Solan District, Himachal Pradesh. The MoU was signed by Director of Industries, Himachal Pradesh, Hans Raj Sharma and Subodh Gupta, Chairman of MicroTek New Technologies Private Ltd.

About Himachal Pradesh:
Chief Minister – Jai Ram Thakur
Governor – Bandaru Dattatreya
National Parks  – Great Himalayan National Park, Pin Valley National Park, Khirganga, Inderkila, Simbalbara

(Q.11) Name the Indian who has bagged the first-ever gold for India in Mental Calculation World Championship (August 2020).
1) Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash
2) Priyanshi Somani
3) Devesh Srivastava
4) Rhea Shah

Ans. :-(1) Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash

Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash Jonnalagadda of Hyderabad has bagged the first ever Gold Medal for India in Mental Calculations (MC) World Cup (MCWC) held on August 15, 2020 by Mind Sports Olympiad (MSO). Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash is a student of Mathematics (Honors) at Delhi University’s St Stephen College and holds 4 World Records and 50 Limca records for being the fastest human calculator in the world.

(Q.12) Axis bank plans to acquire _____ equity share capital in Max Life Insurance.
1) 15%
2) 17%
3) 19%
4) 13%

Ans. :-(2) 17%

Axis Bank Ltd (Axis Bank) to acquire 17% (17.002%) of the equity share capital in Max Life Insurance (Max Life), instead of 29%. After the transaction, the total ownership of Axis bank in Max Life will be 18%. The parties have executed definitive agreements. Axis Bank and Max Life will approach the respective regulatory authorities, with revised applications for their consideration and approval.

About Axis Bank Ltd:
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD & CEO– Amitabh Chaudhry
Tagline– Badhti Ka naam Zindagi
About Max Life Insurance Company:
Headquarters– New Delhi, India
MD & CEO – Prashant Tripathy

(Q.13) Pascal Lissouba who passed away in August 2020 is the former president of which country?
1) Burundi
2) Rwanda
3) Zambia
4) Congo

Ans. :-(4) Congo

Pascal Lissouba, former President of Republic of Congo, which is also known as Congo-Brazzaville passed away at the age of 88 in Southern France due to illness. He was born in Tsinguidi, Republic of Congo. He belonged to the Pan-African Union for Social Democracy (UADS) party.

About  Republic of Congo(Congo-Brazzaville):
President– Denis Sassou Nguesso
Prime Minister– Clément Mouamba
Capital– Brazzaville

(Q.14) India’s first multi-wavelength satellite observatory, ‘ASTROSAT’ has detected an UV light from “AUDFs01” galaxy recently. The study was published in which journal?
1) Nature Astronomy
2) Astronomy and Astrophysics
3) Astrophysical Journal
4) New Astronomy

Ans. :-(1) Nature Astronomy

In accordance with the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune, Maharashtra, India’s first multi- wavelength satellite observatory, ASTROSAT, has detected an extreme ultraviolet (UV) light from a galaxy called “AUDFs01” which is 9.3 billion light-years away from Earth. The galaxy is located in the Hubble Extreme Deep field (XDF). The study is published in “Nature Astronomy”.

About Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA):
Director– Dr Somak Raychaudhury
Location – Pune, Maharashtra

(Q.15) The students of which IIT has discovered ‘2020 QG’, the closest known asteroid to fly by Earth?
1) IIT Bombay
2) IIT Madras
3) IIT Delhi
4) IIT Guwahati

Ans. :-(1) IIT Bombay

On August 16, an SUV-sized asteroid soared just 2,950 km above the surface of Earth. IIT Bombay students Kunal Deshmukh and Kritti Sharma, working on a research project, discovered this object just hours later using data from the robotic Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) in California. Designated 2020 QG, it is the closest-known asteroid to fly by Earth without impacting the planet. The previous known record-holder is asteroid 2011 CQ1, discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey in 2011.