20,December, 2018 Current Affairs - Daily Current Affairs

20,December, 2018 Current Affairs - Daily Current Affairs

1. Belgium Prime Minister, who has resigned amid pressure on his government over his support for the UN global pact on migration.

A.            Julius Maada Bio

B.            Peter Mutharika

C.            Jorge Bom Jesus

D.            Charles Michel

Answer: Option D

Explanation:

Belgium Prime Minister Charles Michel resigned amid pressure on his government because of his support for the UN global pact on migration. Due to the migration spat, Belgium Prime Minister lost the backing of coalition partner nationalist New Flemish Alliance and opposition parties refused to support his minority government during the debate in the parliament.

2. India's largest Cancer hospital 'National Cancer Institute' was opened in __________.

A.            Uttarkhand

B.            Odisha

C.            Haryana

D.            Assam

Answer: Option C

Explanation:

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) at Haryana's Jhajjar area, opened its OPD (out-patient department) services around five years after its foundation stone was laid by the then prime minister Manmohan Singh in 2014. The hospital is expected to be fully operational by December 2020. The 710-bed hospital is being built at a cost of Rs 2, 035 crore. NCI is being headed by Dr G K Rath who is also the chief of Institute Rotary Cancer hospital at AIIMS.

3. Which Institute launched an e-library of ancient religious and historical works in Pune?

A.            Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute

B.            BORI

C.            Agharkar Research Institute

D.            Indian Institute of Science Education and Research

Answer: Option B

Explanation:

The Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) launched an e-library of ancient religious and historical works. BORI houses one of South Asia's largest and most invaluable agglomeration of rare manuscripts. Nearly 1,000 rare books and manuscripts in Sanskrit and its related languages are presently available for readers worldwide to savor in this first phase of digitization. Three fully-automated Zeutschel high-resolution German scanners were specially procured by the institute at a cost of Rs.15 lakh each.

4. Who has been awarded the UN Human Rights Prize for 2018?

A.            Asma Jahangir

B.            Yarabati Bhaskar Rao

C.            Syed Ghayorul Hasan Rizvi

D.            Pinaki Chandra Ghose

Answer: Option A

Explanation:

Asma Jahangir, the late Pakistan lawyer, and human rights activist, has been awarded the UN Human Rights Prize for 2018. Her daughter Munizae Jahangir received the prestigious award on behalf of her mother. Jahangir was announced as one of the four winners of the quinquennial prize in October. Other awardees included women's rights activist in Tanzania, Rebeca Gyumi; activist for the rights of indigenous Brazilian communities, Joenia Wapichana, and Ireland's human rights organization, Front Line Defenders.

5. The Union Cabinet of India approved the MoU with this country in the field of education, recently.

A.            South Korea

B.            Afghanistan

C.            Russia

D.            Brazil

Answer: Option B

Explanation:

The Union cabinet approved the MoU with Afghanistan in the field of education which will allow students from that country to use courses devised in India. It will facilitate students and faculty of educational institutions in Afghanistan to register and use the SWAYAM courses. SWAYAM is a government of India programme designed to achieve access, equity and quality in education.

6. The theme of World Arabic Language Day 2018 celebrated on 18th December 2018 is;

A.            Arabic in Science and Technology

B.            Arabic Language and Youth

C.            Arabic language and the World

D.            Uniqueness of Arabic

Answer: Option B

Explanation:

World Arabic Language Day is celebrated every year on 18 December since 2012. The date coincides with the day in 1973 that the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted Arabic as the sixth official language of the Organization. "Arabic Language and Youth" is the theme of World Arabic Language Day celebrations in 2018, which are held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, on 18 December.

7. 'Sangeet Kala Sangam' was organised by the Ministry of;

A.            Rural Development

B.            Home Affairs

C.            Women and Child Development

D.            Human Resource Development

Answer: Option D

Explanation:

'Sangeet Kala Sangam' was organised by Ministry of Human Resource Development on 18 December 2018. Sangeet Kala Sangam provides a national platform for the art and music teachers of Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas. The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) and Navoday Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) are two organisations of the HRD Ministry.

8. Which word has been chosen by Merriam-Webster as its 2018 word of the year?

A.            Stalemate

B.            Nano

C.            Meme

D.            Justice

Answer: Option D

Explanation:

Merriam-Webster has chosen "justice" as its 2018 word of the year due to the concept of justice was at the center of many of our national debates in the past year: racial justice, social justice, criminal justice, economic justice. Already the word follows "toxic" picked by Oxford Dictionaries, and "misinformation" plucked by Dictonary.com as their 2018 word of the year.

9. Name of the non-banking financial company which merged with IDFC Bank.

A.            Capital First Ltd

B.            Bajaj Finance Limited

C.            Tata Capital Financial Services

D.            Power Finance Corporation

Answer: Option A

Explanation:

Private sector IDFC Bank and Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) Capital First have announced completion of their merger to create IDFC First Bank. Capital First Founder and Chairman V Vaidyanathan has been appointed Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the merged entity. IDFC Bank Founder, MD and CEO Rajiv Lall will serve as Part-Time Chairman of IDFC First Bank. It will serve 7.2 million customers through its 203 bank branches, 129 ATMs, 454 rural business correspondent centres across the country's urban and rural geographies.

10. The Ministry of External Affairs appointed Harsh Vardhan Shringla as the new Ambassador of India to __________.

A.            Iceland

B.            Switzerland

C.            United States of America

D.            Romania

Answer: Option C

Explanation:

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) appointed Harsh Vardhan Shringla as the new Ambassador of India to the United States of America. Shringla is currently serving as the High Commissioner in Bangladesh. He would be succeeding Navtej Singh Sarna.

11. Who has been appointed as the Chairman of Capgemini India on 18 December 2018?

A.            Thomas Buberl

B.            Srinivas Kandula

C.            Ashok Vemuri

D.            Narendra Patni

Answer: Option B

Explanation:

Capgemini appointed Srinivas Kandula as the Chairman of Capgemini India on 18 December 2018. Ashwin Yardi was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Capgemini India. Ashwin Yardi is the former Chief Operating Officer of Capgemini India. Capgemini is a French multinational professional service and business consulting corporation headquartered in Paris, France.

12. India, Nepal and this country plans to form a joint task force that would allow free movement of wildlife across political boundaries and check smuggling of wildlife across the Kanchenjunga Landscape.

A.            Bhutan

B.            Sri Lanka

C.            Bangladesh

D.            Myanmar

Answer: Option A

Explanation:

The governments of India, Nepal and Bhutan are planning to form a joint task force that would allow free movement of wildlife across political boundaries and check smuggling of wildlife across the Kanchenjunga Landscape, a trans-boundary region spread across Nepal, India and Bhutan. Earlier this month, the forest officials and representatives of non-government organisation of the three countries mulled up the proposal after visiting parts of the landscape and later held a meeting at Siliguri in north Bengal.

13. Name of the player who become the youngest crorepati in IPL after being bought by RCB for ₹1.5 crore in IPL auction 2019.

A.            Mayank Markande

B.            Avesh Khan

C.            Prayas Ray Barman

D.            Shubman Gill

Answer: Option C

Explanation:

Royal Challengers Bangalore roped in the youngster Prayas Ray Barman for Rs 1.5 Cr from a base price Rs 20 lakh. Bengal's 16-year-old leg-spinner Prayas Barman made his professional cricket debut for Bengal in September, taking 11 wickets in nine Vijay Hazare Trophy matches at an economy rate of 4.45.

14. This country plans to introduce a tax system named 'GAFA tax' on internet firms from 1 January 2019.

A.            USA

B.            Spain

C.            France

D.            Switzerland

Answer: Option C

Explanation:

France will introduce its own tax on large internet and technology companies from 1 January 2019. The name of the tax is 'GAFA tax' which was named after Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon. The aim of imposing the tax is to ensure that the global giants pay a fair share of taxes on their massive business operations in Europe.

15. Indian Armed Forces inaugurate the Tri Services Cycling and Trekking Expedition in which of the following state?

A.            Uttarkhand

B.            Rajasthan

C.            Sikkim

D.            Jammu and Kashmir

Answer: Option C

Explanation:

The Indian Armed Forces inaugurated Tri Services Cycling and Trekking Expedition in Sikkim. Tri Services Adventure Expedition will be conducted from December 17, 2018 to January 05, 2019. The expedition was undertaken by a Tri Services team comprising of three Officers, three warrant rank officers and thirteen soldiers from the Army, Navy and Air Force.

16. Which state government has launched 'Shiksha Setu' app to ensure better connectivity with college students?

A.            Punjab

B.            Andra Pradesh

C.            Uttar Pradesh

D.            Haryana

Answer: Option D

Explanation:

The Haryana Government has launched 'Shiksha Setu' app to ensure better connectivity with college students. It will provide students information on attendance, fee, online admission and scholarships of all government colleges of the state. The app will provide instant updates of important notices, circulars and other programmes to students and teachers, while allowing the former to pay their fee online. During admissions, the students would be able to check the status of seats or course in every college in the state and will also get access to information such as details of scholarships and eligibility conditions among others. Apart from this, the students will also get instant information on assignments and notifications.

17. Which Indian Atomic Power Station created a world record for continuous operation for 941 days?

A.            Kaiga

B.            Tarapur

C.            Rawatbhata

D.            Kakrapar

Answer: Option A

Explanation:

A 220-MW unit of Nuclear Power Corporation of India's (NPCIL) Kaiga Atomic Power Station has created a world record for continuous operation for 941 days. The previous world record of 940 days held by Heysham 2 Unit-8 of the United Kingdom. Kaiga Atomic Energy Station is the third greatest nuclear electricity plant in India. Tarapur (1400 MW) of Maharashtra is the biggest and Rawatbhata (1180 MW) of Rajatshan is the 2nd most significant energy plant in India. It provides electric power to Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

18. Which of the following is launched to improve data relay and communication links with its remote sensing earth observation satellites?

A.            IDRSS

B.            IRSCS

C.            IRDSS

D.            ISDTS

Answer: Option A

Explanation:

On 16th December 2018,India launched the Indian Data Relay Satellite System (IDRSS) to improve data relay and communication links with its remote sensing earth observation satellites. The two-satellite IDRSS will maintain continuous communication link with India's remote sensing earth observation satellites. The first one is expected to be launched in 2019. The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III) would carry three Indian astronauts to the space in 2022.

19. Assam Government approved to waive off what per cent of loan of farmers of maximum upto Rs.25000 under the state's Debt Relief Scheme?

A.            15%

B.            18%

C.            22%

D.            25%

Answer: Option D

Explanation:

Assam Government spokesperson and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary announced that government has approved to waive off 25 per cent of loan of farmers of maximum upto Rs.25000 under the state's Debt Relief Scheme. The state government approved the cost of Rs.600 crore to help around eight lakh farmers loan of the state. The state government will provide up to Rs 10,000 subsidy on loans taken from Kisan Credit Card (KCC).The Government has also approved an interest relief scheme for farmers to take loans at zero interest from next financial years.

20. Karnataka Bank Partners with this firm for the Home Loans.

A.            BankBazaar

B.            Kalaari Capital

C.            Paisabazaar

D.            Rubique

Answer: Option C

Explanation:

Paisabazaar.com, India's largest online marketplace for financial products, and Karnataka Bank announced a strategic partnership to offer the bank's home loan product to customers on the Paisabazaar platform. Through this partnership, consumers will now be able to choose and apply for a home loan from Karnataka Bank, directly through the Paisabazaar platform.