22,February, 2019 Current Affairs - Daily Current Affairs
22,February, 2019 Current Affairs - Daily
Current Affairs
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1.
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Which country
unveiled the world's first female AI news anchor?
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Answer: Option A
Explanation:
Chinese news
agency Xinhua unveiled the world's first female AI news anchor Xin Xiaomeng.
She has been developed in collaboration with Sogou Inc, a search engine
company. Earlier, Xinhua also developed Qiu Hao, the world's first male AI
news anchor at the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen held in November 2018,
who is capable of mimicking human facial expressions and mannerisms while
reading out news-reports.
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2.
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Which of the
following flight recently set new World record by reaching a record ground
speed of 1,289 kmph?
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Answer: Option C
Explanation:
Virgin Atlantic
flight from Los Angeles to London reached the ground speed of 1289 km per
hour, which is faster than the speed of sound (1234.37 km per hour). In 2018,
a Norwegian Air flight broke records by peaking at 1248 kmph.
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3.
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The Supreme
Court appointed whom as the first ombudsman under the new BCCI.
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Answer: Option A
Explanation:
The Supreme
Court appointed a retired judge of the court Justice D.K. Jain as the first
ombudsman under the new BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India)
Constitution approved by the court in a judgment. Bringing a quietus to the
quibbling between the Committee of Administrators (CoA) which runs the BCCI
and the State bodies that form the Board, a Bench of Justices S.A. Bobde and
A.M. Sapre decided to take things into their own hands on the advice of
amicus curiae and senior advocate P.S. Narasimha.
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4.
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Who is the
head of Group of Ministers (GoM) on the affordable housing category?
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Answer: Option B
Explanation:
A Group of
Ministers (GoM) headed by Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, which
has favoured 3% on the affordable housing category, down from 8%, has
submitted its report to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council for taking
it up and decide on it in the meeting to be held on 20th February 2019. The
Council might also consider reducing tax on cement from 28%to 18% to boost
the realty sector in the meeting.GST is currently levied at 12%on premium
housing and 8% on affordable housing on payments made for under-construction
properties, where completion certificate has not been issued at the time of
sale.No GST is charged if a property is bought after the issue of completion
certificate.
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5.
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Who won the
Gold medal in Men's 49 Kg category in 70th International Boxing Tournament
Strandja 2019 held at Sofia, Bulgaria?
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Answer: Option A
Explanation:
70th
International Boxing Tournament Strandja 2019, hosted by European Boxing
Confederation(EUBC) was held at Sofia, Bulgaria. Russia topped the medals
tally with 9 medals (5 Gold and 4 Bronze), followed by India at 2nd rank with
7 medals (3 Gold, 1 Silver, 3 Bronze) and USA at 3rd with 8 medals (2 Gold, 1
Silver, 5 Bronze).Asian Games Gold medallist, Amit Phangal, claimed a second
successive Gold by defeating Kazakhstan's Temirtas Zhussupov by pulling off a
dominating 5-0 triumph in the Men's 49 KG category.Former junior world
champion, Nikhat Zareen (Women's 51 KG) and Meena Kumari Devi (Women's 54
KG),became the first set of Indian Women Boxers to clinch Gold medals in
Sofia.Manju Rani (Women's 48kg) settled for a Silver after being defeated by
Josie Gabuco of Philippines.Pwilao Basumatari (Women's 64kg), Neeraj (Women's
60kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (Women's 69kg) had settled for Bronze medals.
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6.
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ICC banned UAE
Coach Irfan Ansari from all forms of Cricket for the period of __________
years.
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Answer: Option C
Explanation:
International
Cricket Council (ICC) banned(United Arab Emirates) UAE-based coach Irfan
Ansari for a period of 10 years, from all forms of Cricket as he was found
guilty of making a "corrupt approach" to Pakistan captain Sarfaraz
Ahmed in 2017. ICC Anti-Corruption Tribunal found him guilty of breaching
three counts of the Anti-Corruption Code during a hearing.
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7.
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Where did Prime
Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of the River Front
Development project during his state visit to Bihar?
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Answer: Option C
Explanation:
PM Narendra Modi
inaugurated the first phase of the River Front Development at Patna and the
Patna City Gas Distribution Project(CGD). Patna River Front, unveiled by the
PM,includes 16 ghats, 1 crematorium, 4.9 km promenade, community-cum-cultural
centre, audio-visual theatre and eco centre build at a cost of 243.27 crore.
He inaugurated the City Gas Distribution (CGD) network in Patna and first
phase of the Jagdishpur - Haldia & Bokaro - Dhamra Natural Gas Pipeline
Project (JHBDPL), popularly known as 'Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga'. The
foundation stone of Phase 1 of 'Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga' had been laid by
the Prime Minister in July 2015 in Patna and the section from Phulpur - Dobhi
- Barauni with spurlines to Patna&Varanasi of length 585 km has been
completed.
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8.
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Name the
Indian Who has been appointed as the president of the AIBA Foundation?
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Answer: Option C
Explanation:
Ajay Singh,
president of the Boxing Federation of India has been selected as the
president of the Foundation Board for Better Boxing of AIBA (International
Boxing Association). He has been elected to the post for a tenure of 4 years.
AIBA formed the Foundation Board for Better Boxing in the last meeting of its
Executive Committee to formulate an action plan for global development of the
sport in future.
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9.
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Which two
countries signed an MoU to establish a business center for ICT incubators?
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Answer: Option B
Explanation:
India and Sri Lanka
signed an MoU to establish a business center for ICT incubators in Jaffna (a
city in Sri Lanka) through the grant of 25 crore Sri Lankan rupees from
India. The MoU was signed by High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Mr.
Taranjit Singh Sandhu, and Secretary, Ministry of Development Strategies and
International Trade Mr. S. T. Kodikara in Colombo in presence of Sri Lankan
Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe.
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10.
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The Cabinet
Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved
a scheme for Farmer's welfare. It was named as;
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Answer: Option B
Explanation:
The Cabinet
Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
approved the launch of 'Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan' (KUSUM
Yojana) with the objective of providing financial and water security to
farmers. The Central Government will provide a total financial support of Rs
34,422 crore for the scheme.
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11.
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This company
has received the production of 114 'Dhanush' artillery guns recently.
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Answer: Option A
Explanation:
A clearance for
bulk production of 114 'Dhanush' artillery guns has been received by the
Ordnance Factory Board (OFB). It is the first long-range artillery gun to be
produced in India. It portrays the success story of the 'Make in India'
initiative. It has an inertial navigation-based sighting system, auto-laying
facility, on-board ballistic computation and an advanced day and night direct
firing system. Its self-propulsion unit allows it to negotiate and deploy
itself in mountainous terrains with ease.
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12.
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Which of the
following telescopes has recently helped to discover 300000 new galaxies?
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Answer: Option B
Explanation:
An international
team of more than 200 astronomers from 18 countries has published the first
phase of a major new radio sky survey at unprecedented sensitivity using the
Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) telescope in the journal Astronomy &
Astrophysics. The survey discovered 3,00,000 hidden galaxies using radio
astronomy in a tiny corner of the northern hemisphere at low radio frequency.
It is believed that these findings will help shed new light on some of the
Universe's deepest secrets. This includes the physics of black holes as well
as research into how galaxy clusters evolve. The LOFAR telescope is operated
by ASTRON in The Netherlands and is considered to be the world's leading telescope
of its type. It is made up of a network of radio antenna across seven
countries, forming the equivalent of a 1,300-km diameter satellite dish. It
is capable of detecting light source beyond the power of optical instruments.
Radio astronomy allows scientists to detect radiation produced when massive
celestial objects interact.
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13.
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__________ and
Hughes India signed an agreement for Helicopter SATCOM Solutions.
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Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Navratna Defence
PSU, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Hughes India have entered into a
Teaming Agreement for design, development, supply, installation, integration
and commissioning of Satellite Communication solutions for helicopters under
the Ministry of Defence, Government of India at Aero India 2019, Bengaluru.
Director (Marketing), BEL, Ms Anandi Ramalingam and President, Hughes India
Shri Partho Banerjee signed the MoU in the presence of Director (Other
Units), BEL, Shri Nataraj Krishnappa.
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14.
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8-time world
champion, Squash queen Nicol David set to retire at the end of the 2018-19
Professional Squash Association (PSA). She belongs to the country of;
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Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Malaysian squash
queen, 35-year-old and 8-time world champion, Nicol David, announced that she
will be retiring at the end of the 2018-19 Professional Squash Association
(PSA) season in June 2019. She had a successful career with 81 PSA titles
from 102 finals and held the World no. 1 spot for a record 109 months
consecutively from 2006 to 2015.
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15.
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Which Indian
Personality was conferred with the Seoul Peace Prize in South Korea?
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Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi was conferred with the Seoul Peace Prize during his two-day
visit to South Korea. The award was first announced by the Seoul Peace Prize
Cultural Foundation in October 2018. Former Secretary-General of the United
Nations Kofi Annan and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are among previous
recipients of the award.
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16.
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Which IT
company tops in the global Top Employer as per the report of Top Employers
Institute?
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Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Tata Consultancy
Services (TCS) ranked by the Top Employers Institute as global Top Employer
for the third year in a row. It is the only firm among the top 10 IT services
brands which has received this certification. TCS has the most
employee-friendly workplace policies, good work culture and has done large
investments for the skill development of its 4.17 lakh employees globally. It
has also been tagged as the number one top employer in four regions- North
America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East and as a top employer in 29
other nations.
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17.
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Attaukal
Ponkala festival, world's largest religious congregation of women was hosted
by which of the following city?
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Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Thiruvananthapuram
in Kerala shall host the "Attaukal Ponkala" festival-one of the
largest religious gathering of women on a single day.The festival involves
preparation of 'Pongala'- a mixture of rice, jaggery and scraped coconut
cooked in fresh earthen or metal pots, by lakhs of women, in order to worship
the presiding deity of Attukal Bhagavathy temple. All the offices and
institutions across the city observe a holiday on this day.
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18.
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Which Ministry
sponsored the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) AIIMS, New
Delhi for their report on "Magnitude of Substance Use in India"?
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Answer: Option A
Explanation:
A report
"Magnitude of Substance Use in India" by National Drug Dependence
Treatment Centre (NDDTC) of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences
(AIIMS), New Delhi sponsored by the Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment was submitted to the Union Minister for Social Justice and
Empowerment Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot in Delhi. A"National Survey on
Extent and Pattern of Substance Use in India"was conducted by the
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment through the NDDTC of AIIMS, New
Delhi in both the national and stated levels.Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot stated
that in order to deal with the issue of drug abuse and to formulate
guidelines and prepare an action plan, the State governments and all other
stake holders including NGOs and drug de-addiction centres will be consulted.
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19.
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Name the
SuperComputer that was unveiled in IIT-BHU by Prime Minister Narendra Modi?
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Answer: Option A
Explanation:
PM Narendra Modi
inaugurated supercomputer 'Param Shivay' at IIT-BHU.The supercomputer of 833
teraflop capacity built at the cost of Rs 32.5 crore. Additional Information:
India's first supercomputer called PARAM 8000 was launched in 1991. He
released commemorative postage stamp on completion of 100 Years of IIT BHU.
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20.
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The Future of
Indian Banking conference was organised by;
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Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Dr. Rajiv Kumar,
Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, inaugurated a conference on "The Future of
Indian Banking" with the Foundation for Economic Growth and Welfare
(EGROW Foundation). The conference aims to increase and elevate the discourse
on the banking sector in India, and help develop insights to inform the
continued evolution of the Indian banking sector for optimally supporting the
growing credit needs of the Indian economy.
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