16,March, 2019 Current Affairs - Daily Current Affairs
16,March,
2019 Current Affairs - Daily Current Affairs
1.
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Santosh Jha
was appointed as the next Ambassador of India to which of the following
country?
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Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Santosh Jha
presently Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India, Washington, has been
appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Uzbekistan. A
press release from the Ministry of External Affairs stated that Jha, an
Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 1993 batch, was expected to take
up the assignment shortly.
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2.
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Who was
awarded with the Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal?
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Answer: Option B
Explanation:
President Ram
Nath Kovind conferred 3 Kirti Chakras and 15 Shaurya Chakras to Armed Forces
Personnel for displaying conspicuous gallantry, indomitable courage and
extreme devotion to duty at the Defence Investiture Ceremony at Rashtrapati
Bhavan, New Delhi.2 Kirti Chakras and 1 Shaurya Chakra were given
posthumously.15 Param Vishisht Seva Medals, 1 Uttam Yudh Seva Medal and 25
Ati Vishisht Seva Medals were also conferred on senior officers of the Armed
Forces for their distinguished service by the President. One of the Param
Vishisht Seva Medal was conferred on Army Chief General Bipin Rawat.Lt. Gen.
Saranjeet Singh was awarded the Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal.
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3.
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Which of the
following organizations has decided to inject liquidity via forex swaps?
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Answer: Option C
Explanation:
The Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) has decided to inject rupee liquidity into the system through
long-term foreign exchange buy/sell swap - a first-of-its-kind instrument
used for liquidity management. The RBI would conduct dollar-rupee buy/sell
swap auction of $5 billion for tenor of 3 years on March 26 to inject rupee
liquidity for longer duration. Under the buy/sell foreign exchange swap, a
bank will sell US dollars to the RBI and simultaneously agree to buy the same
amount of US dollars at the end of the swap period. The liquidity generated
due to the buy/sell USD/INR swap auction could support credit growth and
soften bond yields. The move is seen to lower the dependence on open market
operations which have been a significant amount of the overall borrowing.
According to RBI, the market participants would be required to place their
bids in terms of the premium that they are willing to pay to the Reserve Bank
for the tenor of the swap, expressed in paisa terms up to two decimal places.
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4.
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The mission
Smart India Hackathon 2019 is organised by __________.
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Answer: Option C
Explanation:
Smart India
Hackathon 2019 organised by Ministry of Human Resource and Development in
association with AICTE, i4c and Persistent Systems. It provides an unique
Open Innovation Model for identifying new and disruptive technology
innovations to solve the challenges faced in the country.
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5.
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Who released
the sixth edition of the Global Environment Outlook (2019) 'Healthy Planet,
Healthy People'?
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Answer: Option A
Explanation:
The United
Nation Environment Program (UNEP) has released the sixth edition of the
Global Environment Outlook (2019) titled 'Healthy Planet, Healthy People'.
The report calls on the decision makers to take immediate action to address
pressing environmental issues to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals as
well as other internationally agreed environment goals, such as the Paris
Agreement.
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6.
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Who is the
only Indian athlete in the top 10 rank of ESPN World Fame 100 list 2019?
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Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Indian skipper,
Virat Kohli, stands on the seventh position and is the only Indian athlete in
the top 10 club of this year's ESPN World Fame 100 list, whereas Dhoni is
placed on the 13th position.
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7.
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This IIT
Institute has signed an MoU with Centre for Development of Advanced Computing
for National Supercomputing Mission.
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Answer: Option A
Explanation:
IIT Kharagpur
has signed an MoU with Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC)
to set up a 1.3 Petaflop high-performance computing facility and data centre
funded under the National Supercomputing Mission. The new supercomputing
system would be used for specific challenge domains like cryptography,
chemistry, molecular dynamics, drug discovery, artificial intelligence and
data sciences where the new system would be utilized. National Supercomputing
Mission was initiated in 2015 is being implemented and steered jointly by the
Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Department of Electronics and
Information Technology (Deity) at an estimated cost of Rs.4500 crore over a
period of seven years. The Mission envisages empowering India's national academic
and R&D institutions spread by installing a vast supercomputing grid
comprising of more than 70 high-performance computing facilities.
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8.
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Which country
unveils chatty robots for 2020 Olympics?
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Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Japan's Tokyo
Olympic organisers rolled out a pair of chatty robots they will put to work
to assist wheelchair users at the 2020 Games. Toyota unveiled its Human
Support Robots (HSR) and Delivery Support Robots (DSR), which are set to act
as seat ushers and will fetch food and drinks. The robots will introduce
themselves to customers, who can then place orders on a tablet. The fully
rotating HSR will fetch things for you. It also has an extendable arm that
can pick things up if you drop them.
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9.
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Name the
Insurance company which launches the Special Mentorship Programme 'Wings'.
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Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Aviva Life
Insurance announced the launch of 'Wings', a specially designed mentorship
program to empower the female workforce. Wings program is an initiative of
the SHE division of Aviva Life Insurance for mentoring all the women
employees in Aviva. SHE was started in 2016 by Aviva India's Women Network.
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10.
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President of
India Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the Festival of Innovation and
Entrepreneurship (FINE) in __________.
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Answer: Option D
Explanation:
President of
India Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the Festival of Innovation and
Entrepreneurship (FINE) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. 10th Biennial National
Grassroots Innovation awards were also distributed by the President on the
occasion. The event will provide a platform to the innovators for building
the linkages with potential stakeholders whose support can improve the
prospects in the coming years for the betterment of the society. FINE is a
unique initiative of the Office of the President of India to recognize,
respect and reward grassroots innovations and foster a supportive ecosystem.
President Kovind awards National Grassroots Innovators. For innovations in
new varieties of agriculture crops, Prakash Singh Raghuvanshi from Uttar
Pradesh has been awarded lifetime achievement award.
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11.
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Who is appointed as mediator to resolve disputes of
cricket administration by SC?
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Answer: Option A
Explanation:
Supreme Court appointed senior advocate P. S.
Narasimha, as a mediator for resolving various disputes related to cricket
administration in the country. A bench of Justices S. A. Bobde and A. M.
Spare was informed by P. S. Narasimha that former apex court judge Justice
(retd) D. K. Jain has assumed charge as the ombudsman of Board of Control for
Cricket in India (BCCI). The bench also asked P. S. Narasimha to look into
the dispute relating to release of funds by the court-appointed committee of
administrators to various cricket associations.
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12.
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United Kingdom
has issued new 'black hole' coin in honour of which of the following renowned
personalities?
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Answer: Option D
Explanation:
The UK's Royal
Mint has recently issued a new commemorative 50 pence coin inspired by the
late legendary British physicist Stephen Hawking's seminal work on black
holes. The coin was designed by British engraver and printmaker Edwina Ellis.
The purpose of the commemorative coin is to celebrate the life and
"ground-breaking" achievements of Hawking, who passed away in 2018.
Hence, Hawking joined an elite group of scientists having appeared on
coins-including Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin.
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13.
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Argentina and
__________ will host Copa America 2020.
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Answer: Option B
Explanation:
After South
America's ruling body CONMEBOL once again ruled out a US proposal to host the
tournament, Argentina and Colombia are poised to co-host the 2020 Copa
America. It is for the first time in the modern Copa America era that the
tournament will be split between two countries. The two countries separated
by some 4,350 miles (7,000 kilometers). This year's tournament is to be
staged in Brazil between June 14 and July 7. CONMEBOL is responsible for the
organization and governance of South American football's major international
tournaments. CONMEBOL is a 10 member football associations, it has the fewest
members of all the confederations in FIFA.
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14.
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Who was
appointed as the new chairman of the Agricultural Scientific Recruitment
Board?
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Answer: Option C
Explanation:
The Appointments
Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has named Aditya Kumar Misra, a veterinary
scientist specializing in economically significant diseases of goat, as the
new chairman of the Agricultural Scientific Recruitment Board (ASRB) till 5th
January, 2022. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the his
appointment and he will hold the new post till 5th January, 2022 from the
date he takes the charge.He is the former Vice Chancellor of the GB Pant
University of Agriculture & Technology, India's first full fledged
agricultural university, inaugurated by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in 1960.
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15.
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FIAs director
of Formula One died at 66, in Australia. He was __________.
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Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Charlie Whiting,
who was the FIA's director of Formula One died in Melbourne, Australia at the
age of 66 owing to a pulmonary embolism. He was responsible for officiating
the season-opening 2019 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne but died 3 days
prior to it. His started his career with FIA in 1988 as a technical delegate,
and went on to become an F1 director in 1997. He was born in Kent, United
Kingdom.
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16.
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Which among
the company has received the Best Domestic Water Purifier Award 2018-19?
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Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Kent RO Systems
Pvt. Ltd. has received the Best Domestic Water Purifier Award 2018-19 for its
RO+UV+UF technology at the Water Digest Water Awards function that was held
in New Delhi. The Water Digest Water Awards are given jointly by the Ministry
of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and UNESCO. Kent
had also earlier received awards like Organization of the Year Awards 2017,
Best Domestic Water Purifier Award 2016-17, and Asia's Most Promising Brand
2016.
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17.
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Which state
government plans for cloud seeding project?
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Answer: Option C
Explanation:
The government
of Karnataka is planning for cloud seeding project due to drought and to
influence the upcoming monsoon and capture as much water as possible from the
rain clouds. The State government has called the tenders for cloud seeding
operations to enhance rainfall during the monsoons of 2019 and 2020. The cost
is expected to be Rs.50 crore per year. Earlier Efforts of Karnataka
Karnataka had undertaken a similar exercise through Project Varshadhare in
2017. Cloud Seeding is a process of intervening chemically to induce
precipitation rain or snow from clouds. Cloud seeding aims to facilitate and
accelerate the process by making available chemical nuclei for condensation
to take place. The agents used as nuclei are iodides of silver or potassium,
dry ice (solid carbon dioxide), or liquid propane.
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18.
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What is the
position of India in the highest number of impacted species in hotspots?
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Answer: Option C
Explanation:
A recent study
published in PLOS Biology, an international journal dedicated to biological
science, found that human impacts on species occur across 84% of the earth's
surface and India ranks 16th in such impacts, with 35 species impacted on an
average. Malaysia ranks first among the countries with the highest number of
impacted species (125). A team of scientists led by James Allan (University
of Queensland) found this when they mapped the distribution of eight human
activities - including hunting and conversion of natural habitats for
agriculture - in areas occupied by 5,457 threatened birds, mammals and
amphibians worldwide. Using sources, including the recently-updated Human
Footprint data, they found that a staggering 1,237 species are impacted by
threats in more than 90% of their habitat; 395 species are affected by
threats across their entire range.
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19.
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Which team won
the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Indore?
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Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Karnataka
defeated Maharashtra to win their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at the
Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore. With the win, Karnataka set a record of
most number of wins in a row by an Indian domestic team as they won 14 T20
matches to lift the coveted T20 trophy.
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20.
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2020 Under-17
Women's Football World Cup will be hosted by;
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Answer: Option C
Explanation:
India will host
the Under-17 Women's Football World Cup in 2020. This was announced by the
President of International Football Federation (FIFA) Gianni Infantino after
the council meeting in Miami, USA. This will be the second FIFA tournament
India will be hosting, after the U-17 Men's World Cup in 2017.
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