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Dear Readers, Daily Current Affairs Questions Quiz for SBI, IBPS, RBI, RRB, SSC Exam 2020 of 27th September 2020. Daily GK quiz online for bank & competitive exam. Here we have given the Daily Current Affairs Quiz based on the previous days Daily Current Affairs updates. Candidates preparing for IBPS, SBI, RBI, RRB, SSC Exam 2020 & other competitive exams can make use of these Current Affairs Quiz.
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1) International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons is observed on which of the following dates to provide an occasion for the world community to reaffirm its commitment to global nuclear disarmament?
A) September 12
B) September 15
C) September 26
D) September 24
E) September 22
2) What is India’s rank in World Risk Report 2020 developed in cooperation with the United Nations University’s Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNUEHS) and calculated by the International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV)?
A) 81st
B) 82nd
C) 85th
D) 89th
E) 83rd
3) Isher Judge Ahluwalia who passed away recently was the chairman of which of the following institutions?
A) IFPRI
B) ISID
C) NACER
D) CII
E) ICRIER
4) India’s first Regional Rapid Transit System train with a design speed of 180 kmph has been unveiled on which of the following corridors?
A) Delhi-Lucknow-Meerut
B) Delhi-Meerut-Lucknow
C) Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut
D) Delhi-Haryana-Ghaziabad
E) Haryana-Faridabad-Ghaziabad
5) The Asian Development Bank has approved how much amount in loan in order to develop Rajasthan’s secondary towns?
A) 2400 crore
B) 2300 crore
C) 2000 crore
D) 2200 crore
E) 2100 crore
6) Who among the following has been appointed as the head of India women’s cricketers selection committee?
A) Geeta Nayar
B) Neetu David
C) Anshula Das
D) Hemlata Kala
E) Renuka Vashisht
7) Who among the following has been appointed as its advisor by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission?
A) YP Mehta
B) Raghuram Rajan
C) Anant Mehta
D) UK Sinha
E) Sunil Sethi
8) The Merchant Navy union has collaborated with which international institution to assist the stranded Indian seafarers?
A) WMO
B) ICAO
C) UNCLOS
D) UN
E) IMO
9) Which of the following countries chaired the Informal Meeting of SAARC Council of Ministers?
A) Sri Lanka
B) Nepal
C) India
D) Bangladesh
E) Maldives
10) The Navy of which country recently tested a sea to sea missile for use in protecting Mediterranean Sea natural gas platforms?
A) Russia
B) North Korea
C) Israel
D) France
E) Germany
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11) Who among the following has authored the book ‘’The Very, Extremely, Most Naughty Asura Tales for Kids’’?
A) Ravi Subramaniam
B) Arvind Adaiga
C) Arundhati Roy
D) Amitav Ghosh
E) Anand Neelakantan
12) Which company will host the ‘Handicrafts Mela’ from 26 September to 10 October in a bid to support artisans from various parts of the country?
A) PayTM
B) Amazon
C) Flipkart
D) Snapdeal
E) Ebay
13) Who has been roped in by the RBI to promote customer awareness campaigns and prevent gullible account holders from being duped by fraudsters?
A) Saif Ali Khan
B) Akshay Kumar
C) Amitabh Bachan
D) Virat Kohli
E) Kareena Kapoor
14) Who among the following has surpassed MS Dhoni’s record to take top position in the list of wicket keepers with most dismissals in T20i?
A) Rachel Haynes
B) Meg Lanning
C) Ellyse Perry
D) Alyssa Healy
E) Ashleigh Barty
15) Jaswant Singh who passed away recently was the founding member of which of the following political organizations?
A) JDU
B) RJD
C) BJP
D) Congress
E) AIADMK
16) World Tourism Day is observed on which of the following dates to raise awareness on the role of tourism within the international community?
A) September 22
B) September 27
C) September 23
D) September 24
E) September 25
17) The government of which state will provide loans to entrepreneurs between Rs.1 lakh and Rs.20 lakh to revive the tourism sector?
A) Gujarat
B) Uttar Pradesh
C) Haryana
D) Madhya Pradesh
E) Assam
18) The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has notified amendments in the Central Motor Vehicle Rules. The rules will take effect from which of the following dates?
A) October 15, 2020
B) December 15, 2020
C) October 1, 2020
D) November 1, 2020
E) December 1, 2020
19) Who among the following has inaugurated the vaccine portal for covid-19 in a bid to create awareness among the masses?
A) Narendra Singh Tomar
B) Nitin Gadkari
C) Prahlad Patel
D) Harsh Vardhan
E) Amit Shah
20) What is the theme of the G20 Leaders’ Summit which will be held virtually on November 21-22 amidst the covid pandemic?
A) Protecting lives and restoring growth
B) Realising opportunities of the 21st century for all
C) Virtual working in the 21st century
D) Realising opportunities and meeting challenges
E) Meeting challenges in the 21st century
21) Who among the following recently inaugurated the ‘Destination North East-2020’, a four-day event to highlight the Northeast region’s various potentials?
A) Nitin Gadkari
B) Prahlad Patel
C) Narendra Modi
D) Jitendra Singh
E) Amit Shah
22) Which of the following institutions has roped in the Special Protection Group in order to promote ‘Swadeshi’ goods?
A) Assocham
B) CII
C) KVIC
D) NSIC
E) Niti Aayog
23) India has extended a USD 15 Million Grant Assistance to which country for Promoting Buddhist Ties?
A) Philippines
B) Bangladesh
C) Vietnam
D) Sri Lanka
E) Thailand
24) Which of the following defence PSU has recently unveiled its IPO for subscription to the public?
A) Bharat Dynamics
B) Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders
C) Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers
D) Cochin Shipyard
E) Mishra Dhatu Nigam
25) Sebi has recently come out with the guidelines for investment advisers on client segregation and fees. Under the rules an Individual Investment advisor will apply for registration as a non-individual investment adviser on onboarding how many number of clients?
A) 175
B) 75
C) 50
D) 100
E) 150
26) India, US, Japan and Australia recently held a virtual meeting on Indo-Pacific under Quad framework. The grouping was formed in which of the following year?
A) 2014
B) 2018
C) 2016
D) 2017
E) 2015
27) India has inked a MoU with which country to increase cooperation in the area of intellectual property rights (IPRs)?
A) Israel
B) Sweden
C) Denmark
D) France
E) Germany
28) Names of how many scientists have been decided for awarding the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize 2020?
A) 10
B) 13
C) 14
D) 15
E) 12
29) The government of which state is all set to launch a Radio Pathshala program for students upto class 8?
A) Assam
B) Odisha
C) Madhya Pradesh
D) Himachal Pradesh
E) Haryana
30) Which of the following banks has approved a 200 million dollar loan for safe water & sanitation in Bangladesh?
A) ECB
B) NDB
C) AIIB
D) World Bank
E) ADB
Answers :
1) Answer: C
The UN General Assembly commemorates 26 September as the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
This Day provides an occasion for the world community to reaffirm its commitment to global nuclear disarmament as a priority.
2) Answer: D
India has been ranked at the 89th spot among 181 Countries by World Risk Index (WRI) 2020.
WRI has been developed in cooperation with the United Nations University’s Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNUEHS) and calculated by the International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV).
The Pacific island state of Vanuatu leads the index as the country with the highest disaster risk (49.74).
Qatar has the lowest risk (0.31).
In terms of the continents, Oceania ranks first in terms of highest disaster risk, followed by the Americas, Asia and Europe.
3) Answer: E
Eminent economist Isher Judge Ahluwalia, a recipient of India’s third-highest civilian award Padma Bhushan, passed away. She was 74.
Last month, she stepped down as chairman of Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) due to her declining health.
Her two books ‘Industrial Growth in India: Stagnation Since the Mid-Sixties’ (1989, Oxford University Press) and ‘Productivity and Growth in Indian Manufacturing’ (1991, Oxford University Press) are seminal contributions to the literature.
4) Answer: C
The Centre unveiled the first look of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) train that can attain a top speed of 180 kilometres per hour on the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor.
The design is inspired by Delhi’s iconic Lotus Temple and is aligned with PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ policy.
The entire rolling stock of RRTS will be manufactured at Bombardier’s Savli plant in Gujarat and it is a sustainable and energy-efficient green train. With radiating stainless steel outer body, these aerodynamic RRTS trains will be lightweight and fully air-conditioned.
Innovative Train Control Monitoring System (TCMS) technology, as well as its predictive and condition-based monitoring features, which will enhance the fleet’s performance by providing extensive train-to-ground diagnostics.
The other two Phase-I RRTS corridors are Delhi-Gurugram-SNB and Delhi-Panipat.
The first look of RRTS train was unveiled by Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) & Chairman, National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) in presence of Vinay Kumar Singh, Managing Director, NCRTC, all the members of Board of Directors of NCRTC and other senior officials of MoHUA, NCRTC and Bombardier India.
5) Answer: D
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a 300 million dollar (about Rs 2,200 crore) loan to finance inclusive water supply and sanitation infrastructure and services in secondary towns of Rajasthan.
The project is expected to build citywide access for improved water supply services for about 5.7 lakh people and enhanced sanitation services for about 7.2 lakh people in at least 14 secondary towns.
Through the project, water supply systems in at least eight project towns are expected to improve by 2027 with about one lakh households including all urban poor households benefiting from five new or rehabilitated water treatment plants and 1,350 km of distribution networks.
Citywide sanitation systems based on the most cost-effective solutions will also be developed. The project will build on three earlier related projects and sector reforms funded by ADB in Rajasthan.
The project will strengthen the institutional capacity of local governments and Rajasthan Urban Drinking Water, Sewerage, and Infrastructure Corporation Ltd, a corporate entity established with ADB’s technical support.
The project will provide enhanced support to women and vulnerable groups through skills training, paid internships, and community engagement and awareness activities.
6) Answer: B
Neetu David, one of India’s finest women cricketers in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, has been appointed chairman of the women’s selection committee replacing Hemalata Kala.
The other members of the panel are Mithu Mukherjee, Renu Margrate, Arati Vaidya and V Kalpana – all former India players.
Neetu is the second-highest wicket-taker for India in WODIs with 141 scalps and was also the first from India to take 100 ODI wickets.
7) Answer: E
The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has appointed Sunil Sethi, Chairman of the Fashion Design Council of India, as its Advisor.
Sethi’s appointment is for a period of one year. He succeeds fashion designer Ritu Beri whose term expired recently.
Sethi will advise the Commission on latest design interventions in the readymade garments segment as well as promotion of Khadi in India and abroad.
8) Answer: D
India’s oldest union of merchant navy officers MUI has collaborated with the United Nations to assist these sailors.
The Seafarers Crisis Action Team (SCAT) has been established by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), a specialised UN agency and a global standard-setting authority of safety, security and environmental performance of international shipping.
9) Answer: B
The External Affairs Minister of the Republic of India, Dr. S. Jaishankar, participated in the annual Informal Meeting of the SAARC Council of Ministers.
The meeting, chaired by Nepal, was held in virtual mode and saw participation of all SAARC member states.
The last informal meeting of the SAARC Council of Ministers held in New York.
The meeting reviewed regional efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. In particular, participants appreciated the leadership of the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India in convening a video conference of SAARC Leaders to take collaborative measures towards combating the pandemic across the region.
This included the creation of SAARC COVID-19 Emergency Fund, to which all countries have pledged voluntary contributions.
10) Answer: C
The Israeli Navy tested a sea-to-sea missile for use in protecting Mediterranean Sea natural gas platforms.
The new Israeli missile system has precision capabilities with a longer range and expanded offensive options.
The missile successfully struck and sank a decommissioned target vessel meant to simulate an enemy vessel. The missiles will be integrated into the Israeli Navy’s newest Sa’ar-5 and Sa’ar-6 class ships, made in the United States by Huntington Ingalls Industries.
The missile system has not been named. It was developed by Israeli Aerospace Industries, and tested by the Navy and the Defense Ministry’s Weapons Development and Technology Infrastructure Administration, known as MAFAT.
11) Answer: E
“Baahubali” series author Anand Neelakantan has written his debut book in the children’s space which tells some of the most hilarious stories about child asuras and their antics.
Puffin has published “The Very, Extremely, Most Naughty Asura Tales for Kids”, which has full-colour illustrations accompanying the narrative.
He has authored books like “The Rise of Sivagami” (“Baahubali: Before the Beginning”, Book 1); “Asura: Tale of the Vanquished”; “Ajaya: Roll of the Dice”; “Ajaya: Rise of Kali”; “Vanara: The Legend of Baali, Sugreeva and Tara”; and, most recently, “Chaturanga” (“Baahubali: Before the Beginning”, Book 2).
12) Answer: B
Amazon.in will host a virtual ‘Handicrafts Mela’ from September 26-October 10, showcasing more than 270 art and craft forms from various parts of the country.
Over eight lakh artisans and weavers associated with 1,500 Amazon Karigar sellers and 17 government emporiums including Tantuja, Harit Khadi, Tribes India and national-level artisan organisations like Craftmark and Dastkari Haat Samiti will benefit from this mela.
Amazon’s Handicrafts Mela – which will showcasing over 55,000 unique products – will help customers discover and purchase products from artisans and weavers from different parts of the country by visiting specific sections like handloom zone, handicrafts home décor, kitchen items, handmade toys, handcrafted festive collection and others.
13) Answer: C
The Reserve Bank has roped in Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan for the customer awareness campaign to prevent gullible account holders from being duped by fraudsters.
As part of the public awareness initiative of RBI, the regulator keeps informing about dos and don’ts that have to be followed by customers to transact safely and securely.
14) Answer: D
Australia women’s cricket star Alyssa Healy surpassed Dhoni’s record to take the top position in the list of wicket keepers with most dismissals in T20i.
Healy achieved the feat in the 2nd T20I against New Zealand at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane.
Dhoni, who retired from international cricket in August, led Indian team to three ICC trophies – 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy.
In his career, Dhoni achieved 91 dismissals (57 catches + 34 stumpings) as keeper in T20Is, the most by any player.
15) Answer: C
Jaswant Singh, former Union minister, has passed away after a prolonged illness.
Singh served as the Minister for Finance, Minister for Defence and Minister for External Affairs under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
He was a former officer of the Indian Army.
16) Answer: B
Since 1980, the United Nations World Tourism Organization has celebrated World Tourism Day as international observances on September 27.
The 2020 edition of World Tourism Day, with the theme of “Tourism and Rural Development”.
The purpose of this day is to raise awareness on the role of tourism within the international community and to demonstrate how it affects social, cultural, political and economic values worldwide.
17) Answer: E
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal announced a new scheme under which loan up to Rs.20 lakh with interest subsidy would be provided to entrepreneurs to revive the tourism industry.
Under the ‘Paryatan Sanjeevani Scheme’, loans between Rs.1 lakh and Rs.20 lakh will be extended to interested local youths to take up new initiatives so that the tourism sector gets a fresh lease of life amid the coronavirus crisis.
As part of the scheme, the advances will be provided for five years, while the state government will give first year’s interest.
Sonowal also inaugurated another scheme -‘Paryatan Sarathi’, which will provide information about Assam tourism, facilities for bookings, tour packages, hotels along with online payment gateway options.
18) Answer: C
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has notified amendments in Central Motor Vehicle Rules facilitating implementation of Electronic enforcement, Maintenance of Vehicular Documents through Information Technology portal with effect from 1st of next month.
The Ministry stated, use of IT services and electronic monitoring will result in better enforcement of Traffic Rules in the country and will lead to removing harassment of drivers and would facilitate the citizens. The amendment inter-alia provides for the definition for Challan, Portal ed as requirement for providing the services through IT and further the enforcement of electronic monitoring and enforcement. It stated, details of driving licences disqualified or revoked by the licensing authority shall be recorded chronologically in the portal and such record shall be reflected on a regular basis on the portal has been provided for. Thus, the record shall be maintained electronically and further the driver behaviour would be monitored.
The Ministry stated, provisions have been made for the procedure for Production and Obtaining Certificates in physical as well as electronic form, the validity, issuance of such documents and further the date and time stamping of inspection and identity of the Officer to be recorded.
19) Answer: D
Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the vaccine portal for Covid-19 to create awareness among masses.
Portal will disseminate vaccine related information regarding Indian efforts towards vaccine development against COVID-19. Currently 3 vaccines are undergoing clinical trials in India for COVID-19.
In addition, a first of its kind ICMR-NIN web portal also has been developed to collect data which will be useful in the present complicated by COVID-19 pandemic. The Health Minister also released Report ‘What India Eats’ to know the main dietary patterns in India which is important for nutrition and health policy makers to understand distributions in diets within populations.
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi launched a National Clinical Registry for COVID-19. The registry will aim at collecting good quality real time clinical data to inform evidence-based clinical practice, research, formulating guidelines and policy.
20) Answer: B
This year’s G20 leaders summit under the theme of “Realising opportunities of the 21st century for all” will be held in an online format amid the coronavirus pandemic, the G20 Saudi Secretariat stated in a statement.
The summit will be chaired by Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
“The 2020 G20 Leaders’ Summit will be held virtually on November 21-22 and will be chaired by His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud,” the statement says.
According to the release, the summit will focus on protecting lives and restoring growth, by addressing vulnerabilities uncovered during the pandemic and will also focus on fostering international action to realise opportunities of the 21st century for all.
“The G20 Presidency will build on the success of the extraordinary virtual G20 Leaders’ Summit held in March, and on the outcomes of over 100 virtual working groups and ministerial meetings,” as per the statement.
21) Answer: E
Union Home Minister Amit Shah virtually inaugurated ‘Destination North East-2020’, a four-day event to highlight the Northeast region’s various potentials like eco-tourism, culture, heritage and business.
Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region Jitendra Singh and Chief Ministers of North Eastern States participated in the event via video conferencing.
An array of cultural music and dance was showcased at the inaugural function for the four daylong online events held with the theme ‘The Emerging Delightful Destinations’.
The programme will also feature audio-visual presentation of the tourist spots of the States and the region, messages from State icons and achievers, introduction to prominent local entrepreneurs and virtual exhibition of handicraft, traditional fashion and local products.
The ‘Destination North East-2020’ is a calendar event of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region conceptualised with the objective of taking the northeastern region to other parts of the country and bringing them closer together in order to strengthen national integration.
22) Answer: C
Khadi and Village Industries Commission has taken another step towards promoting ‘Swadeshi’ by roping in the Special Protection Group with the drive.
KVIC inaugurated a new Khadi India Sales Outlet within the premises of SPG Residential Complex at Dwarka in Delhi. This outlet will benefit nearly 4,000 families of SPG officers and staff residing in two adjacent residential complexes in the area. SPG is the agency responsible for security of the Prime Minister
The decision to open Khadi sales outlet was taken in order to provide pure and handmade ‘Swadeshi’ goods to the SPG members and their families.
23) Answer: D
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that India has announced USD 15 million grant assistance to Sri Lanka for the promotion of Buddhist ties between the two countries.
“Testifying the long and civilization links and cultural heritage between the two countries, Prime Minister Modi announced grant assistance of USD 15 million for the promotion of Buddhist ties between the two countries,” Amt Narang, the Joint Secretary for Indian Ocean Region Division (IOR) of the MEA stated on India-Sri Lanka virtual Bilateral Summit.
“This grant will help deepen people to people linkage between the two countries in the sphere of Buddhism,” he added.
During the summit, the two leaders also reviewed the entire range of bilateral matters and exchanged views on regional and international issues of common consensus.
“India will facilitate the visit of a delegation of Buddhist pilgrims from Sri Lanka in the first inaugural flight to Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh,” the MEA official stated.
MEA official further stated that External Affairs Ministers S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla also took part in the meeting.
24) Answer: B
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd., a defence PSU, has introduced opening of its preliminary public providing for subscription on September 29, with a value band of Rs.135 – Rs.145 per fairness share.
Minimum bid lot is 103 fairness shares and in multiples thereof.
The IPO will shut on October 1. The supply is being made by a book-building course of. The object is to hold out the disinvestment of 30,599,017 fairness shares by the Government of India, which might be diluting 15.17% of its stake within the firm. On the cheaper price band the problem will fetch Rs.413 crore and on the higher band Rs.444 crore.
25) Answer: E
Markets regulator Sebi has come out with detailed guidelines for investment advisers asking them to ensure segregation of advisory and distribution activities at the client level.
Besides, Sebi has fixed a cap on fee that investment advisers (IA) can charge from clients. It has also put in place a procedural framework pertaining to audit and record-keeping.
Under the rules, an individual IA will apply for registration as non-individual investment adviser on onboarding 150 clients and IA will have to enter into an investment advisory agreement with its clients.
To ensure client-level segregation at the IA’s group level, Sebi stated existing clients who wish to take advisory services will not be eligible for availing distribution services within the group/family of IA, and vice versa for those availing advisory services.
“IA shall enter into an investment advisory agreement with its clients including existing clients latest by April 1, 2021, and submit a report, confirming the same to Sebi latest by June 30, 2021,” the regulator noted.
The IA will have to maintain records of interactions with all clients, including prospective clients (prior to on-boarding), where any conversation related to advice has taken place in the form of SMS or telephonic conversation, among others.
Such records will begin with first interaction with the client and will continue till the completion of advisory services to the client. They need to maintain these records for a period of five years.
The deadline for compliance for these guidelines ranges from January 1, 2021 to April 1, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) noted.
26) Answer: D
Senior officials of India, the US, Japan and Australia held a virtual meeting under the framework of Quadrilateral coalition or “Quad“, focusing on ways to promote peace, security, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. The meeting took place in the backdrop of China’s growing military assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.
The foreign ministers of the four member nations of the “Quad” are set to hold talks in Tokyo next month to further boost their cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
Ten-nation regional grouping Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a major stakeholder in the Indo-Pacific region.
A statement by the US stated the four countries explored ways to work together in the Mekong sub-region, in the South China Sea, and across the Indo-Pacific to support international law, pluralism, regional stability, and post-pandemic recovery efforts.
In November 2017, the four countries gave shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the “Quadrilateral” coalition or “Quad” to develop a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence.
India is also expanding bilateral cooperation with Japan, the US and Australia in the Indo-Pacific region.
27) Answer: C
India and Denmark inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to increase cooperation in the area of intellectual property rights (IPRs) by exchanging best practices and collaborating in training programmes.
The two sides will draw up a biennial work plan to implement the MoU which will include detailed planning for carrying out cooperation activities, including scope of action, the Commerce and Industry Ministry stated in a statement.
The MoU aims to increase IP cooperation between the two countries by way of exchange of best practices, experiences and knowledge on IP awareness among authorities, businesses and research and educational institutions, and collaboration in training programmes, exchange of experts, technical exchanges and outreach activities.
Both the sides would also exchange information and best practices on processes for disposal of applications for patents, trademarks, industrial designs and Geographical Indications, as also for protection, enforcement and use of IP rights.
28) Answer: E
The names of 12 scientists who received the country’s highest science award Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for 2020 were announced during the foundation day of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
The prize is given to Indian scientists below the age of 45 for outstanding research in seven fields—Biology, Chemistry, Environment Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Medicine and Physics.
Feluda was developed by one of the CSIR institutes and was also released—Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology. One of the researchers who developed the testing method, Dr Debjyoti Chakraborty, was awarded the CSIR Young Scientist Award for 2020.
For Biological Sciences, Dr Shubhadeep Chaterjee from the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics and Dr Vatsala Thirumalai at the National Centre for Biological Sciences were awarded. Dr Chaterjee’s work focuses on mechanisms that promote or suppress bacterial disease in plants. Dr Thirumalai works on neural circuits that control movement during development and adulthood in animals.
29) Answer: B
In view of the prevailing pandemic, the Odisha Government is launching Radio Pathshala program for students upto class 8. The program will be broadcast from All India Radio stations in the state for 15 minutes daily.
The School and Mass Education department has turned to All India Radio as an effective medium for learning for about 60 lakh students in the government and aided schools across the state.
More than ten Akshvani Kendras in the state will carry the classes between 10 to 1015 hours daily from Monday to Friday.
The audio of the program will also be made available on the online DIKSHA platform for the students for whom schools have been kept out of bounds since March this year.
The government has already cut the school syllabus down by 30% for the 2020-21 academic session.
30) Answer: D
The World Bank (WB) has approved a 200 million dollar loan for Bangladesh to improve access to safe water and sanitation services in the rural areas of the country. The Bangladesh Rural Water, Sanitation and Hygiene project will help 6 lakh people to have access to clean water through piped water schemes in rural areas.
According to a Press Release issued by the World Bank, the project will also provide sanitation services to over 3.6 million rural people in Bangladesh.
The WB stated that the project will help prevent diseases and protect from pandemics like COVID 19 by providing better access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities at homes and in public places.
The project will also help in setting up more than 2500 handwashing stations in public places with overhead tanks for running water and sanitation facilities. To ensure quality and sustainability of piped water scheme and fecal sludge management, the project will also train local entrepreneurs.
The 30 year concessional credit has a five year grace period. It comes from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA). Bangladesh currently has the largest ongoing IDA program totaling over USD 13.5 billion.
