Current Affairs Quiz – December 15 2016

Current Affairs Quiz

1. Who has been appointed as Chief Executive of the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA)?
a) Arundhati Bhattacharya
b) Mohan V Tanksale
c) Rajeev Rishi
d) V G Kannan

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Answer d) V G Kannan. V G Kannan took charge as Chief Executive of the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA). He succeeds M V Tanksale who demitted office as Chief Executive on August 9, 2016 after being at the helm for three years. Kannan had retired as Managing Director & Group Executive (Associates & Subsidiaries) of State Bank of India on July 31, 2016.

2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been ranked ____ among the world’s top 10 most powerful people, Forbes
a) 7th
b) 8th
c) 9th
d) 10th

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Answer c) 9th . Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been ranked among the top 10 most powerful people in the world by Forbes in a list that has been topped by Russian President Vladimir Putin for a fourth straight year and had US President-elect Donald Trump in the second place. Modi ranks 9th on the Forbes list of 74 of the World’s Most Powerful People.

3. The World Bank Group (WBG) has halted the two concurrent processes initiated by India and Pakistan under the Indus Water Treaty, who is the President of World Bank?
a) Robert B. Zoellick
b) Jim Yong Kim
c) Christine Lagarde
d) Paul Wolfowitz

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Answer b) Jim Yong Kim. The World Bank Group has announced a pause in the separate processes initiated by India and Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty to allow the two countries to consider alternative ways to resolve their disagreements. The announcement temporarily halts the appointment of a Neutral Expert, as requested by India, and the Chairman of the Court of Arbitration, as requested by Pakistan, to resolve issues regarding two hydroelectric power plants under construction by India along the Indus rivers system.

4. The Central Government has announced two new schemes ___________________ and ___________________in order to promote digital payments
a) Lucky Grahak Yojana and DigiDhan Vyapari Yojana
b) Digital Grahak Yojana and Lucky Vyapari Yojana
c) Lucky People Yojana and DigiDhan Retailer Yojana
d) Lucky Gramam Yojana and DigiDhan Digital Yojana

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Answer a) Lucky Grahak Yojana and DigiDhan Vyapari Yojana. Government announced Lucky Grahak Yojana to encourage consumers and DigiDhan Vyapari Yojana to encourage merchants for transition to digital payments. Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant said, National Payment Council of India will announce 15,000 winners of 1000 rupees each for next 100 days, starting from this Christmas.

5. Digital payments platform ____________ has announced partnership with major NHAI toll concessionaries to enable cashless payments at all state, national and city toll plazas
a) Apple pay
b) Paytm
c) Airpay
d) Google wallet

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Answer b) Paytm . Digital payments platform Paytm has announced partnership with major NHAI toll concessionaries like Reliance Infra, Sadhbav, IRB, MEP, L&T and GMR to enable cashless payments at all state, national and city toll plazas. With the partnership, commuters across the country can now pay their toll charges instantly with Paytm by scanning the QR code placed at toll payment counters, using Paytm app.

6. Government of India has extended the facility of e-Tourist Visa for citizens of ___ countries
a) 161
b) 163
c) 175
d) 185

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Answer a) 161. The government has extended the facility of e-Tourist Visa for citizens of 161 countries. Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma said the number of foreign tourist arrivals on e-Tourist Visa (e-TV) during January to November this year was 9,17,446, registering a growth of 168.5 per cent over same period of previous year.

7. Punjab National Bank launched the Bank’s Mobile wallet – PNB Kitty, Who is the MD and CEO of Punjab National Bank?
a) Naina Lal Kidwai
b) Shikha Sharma
c) Usha Ananthasubramanian
d) Chanda Kochhar

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Answer c) Usha Ananthasubramanian. Punjab National Bank launched the Bank’s Mobile wallet – PNB Kitty. PNB Kitty is a digital wallet that enables a smart phone user to undertake on line transactions using the money stored in it i.e. without using debit card / credit card / internet banking and sharing sensitive information like passwords or card details.

8. The Seventh edition of ______________ military exercise between India and Maldives will be held from December 15 to 28 at Kadhdhoo, Laamu Atoll, Maldives
a) EKUVERIN – 2016
b) NOMADIC ELEPHANT – 2016
c) SURYA KIRAN – 2016
d) LAMITYE – 2016

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Answer a) EKUVERIN – 2016 . Seventh edition of Exercise EKUVERIN will be held from 15 to 28 Dec 2016 at Kadhdhoo, Laamu Atoll, Maldives. The Exercise is a 14 day platoon level joint military exercise between the Indian Army & the Maldives National Defence Force conducted on a yearly basis.

9. The Union Cabinet has approved India’s approach to Climate Change Negotiations at the 22nd Conference of Parties (COP) to UNFCCC, Expand UNFCCC?
a) United Nations Framework Commission on Climate Change
b) United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
c) United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change
d) United Nations Framework Concentration on Climate Change

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Answer b) United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Union Cabinet has approved India’s approach to Climate Change Negotiations at the 22nd Conference of Parties (COP) to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), held in Marrakesh, Morocco in November 2016.

10. The Union Cabinet has approved the protocol amending the agreement between India and _____________ for avoidance of double taxation
a) Uzbekistan
b) Bhutan
c) Afghanistan
d) Tajikistan

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Answer d) Tajikistan. The Union Cabinet has approved the protocol amending the agreement between India and Tajikistan for avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income. The protocol, after it enters into force, will enable sharing of information exchanged under Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement, DTAA with other law enforcement agencies for non-tax purposes.

11. Union Cabinet approved signing of an Agreement between India and ____________on cooperation in the field of agriculture and food related industry
a) Kyrgyzstan
b) Jordan
c) Bahrain
d) Turkmenistan

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Answer a) Kyrgyzstan. The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare for Signing of an Agreement between India and Kyrgyzstan on cooperation in the field of agriculture and food related industry.

12. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has added _____________ in its World Heritage List recently
a) Rio Grande do Norte (RN)
b) Rio Grande do Sul (RS)
c) Rondônia (RO)
d) Rio de Janeiro (RJ)

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Answer d) Rio de Janeiro (RJ). Brazil- Rio de Janeiro, nicknamed the Marvelous City, officially entered the UN’s list of world heritage sites in recognition of its soaring granite cliffs, urban rainforest and beaches. The UN cultural body, UNESCO, highlighted the “extraordinary fusion” of man-made and natural beauty in certifying Rio on the world heritage list during a ceremony held at the Christ the Redeemer statue.

13. Who has been named as the world’s most powerful CEO by Forbes?
a) Mark Zuckerberg
b) Larry Page
c) Jeff Bezos
d) Doug McMillon

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Answer b) Larry Page. Google’s parent company Alphabet’s CEO Larry Page has been named the world’s most powerful CEO by Forbes, with his company having a market capitalisation of over $550 billion. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos have been ranked second and third respectively. Tesla’s Elon Musk and Walmart’s Doug McMillon have also featured on the list.

14. Which city has topped a list of the most expensive cities for expatriates in the world?
a) Washington, USA
b) Beijing, China
c) Tokyo, Japan
d) Chennai, India

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Answer c) Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo has topped a list of the most expensive cities for expatriates in the world, ECA International said in a report comparing their global cost of living. Tokyo was followed by Luanda in Angola, while cities in Switzerland and Japan dominated the top 10. Notably, Tokyo was ranked the 12th most expensive city for expatriates last year.

15. E-commerce major ___________successfully made its first-ever fully autonomous drone delivery without any human pilot
a) Amazon
b) Flipkart
c) Snapdeal
d) Shopclues

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Answer a) Amazon. E-commerce major Amazon successfully made its first-ever fully autonomous drone delivery without any human pilot. The delivery was made to an England customer’s farmhouse, who ordered a digital media console and a popcorn packet. It took the drone only 13 minutes to make the delivery. Amazon is testing under 30-minute deliveries via drones that fly below 400 feet.

16. Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has been ranked _____ on the World’s Most Powerful People list for 2016 by Forbes
a) 9th
b) 38th
c) 51st
d) 74th

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Answer b) 38th . Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has been ranked 38 on the World’s Most Powerful People list for 2016 by Forbes. Further, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been ranked 9 on the list, while India-born Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has been ranked 51. Notably, Russian President Vladimir Putin has topped the list for the fourth consecutive year.

17. Who has been appointed as new chairman and managing director of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC)?
a) SK Roy
b) Usha Sangwan
c) VK Sharma
d) Ashwani Kumar

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Answer c) VK Sharma. VK Sharma, the acting chief of Life Insurance Corporation of India, is the new chairman and managing director of the nation’s biggest insurer and investor, for five years. Sharma’s future decisions would be keenly followed by investors as the government has plans to use the behemoth’s funds to build infrastructure.

18. Which airport became India’s first airport to introduce self bag-drop facility?
a) Indira Gandhi International Airport
b) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport
c) Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport
d) Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport

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Answer d) Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International airport became India’s first airport to introduce self bag-drop facility. This will allow passengers who have already checked in online to quickly tag and drop their baggage before heading directly to the gate. This facility is currently available to passengers of Air India, Jet Airways, SpiceJet, and Indigo.

19. Who became the first female cricketer to win both ICC’s ODI and T20I Player of the Year Awards?
a) Suzie Bates
b) Heather Knight
c) Mithali Raj
d) Meg Lanning

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Answer a) Suzie Bates. New Zealand women’s team captain Suzie Bates became the first female cricketer to win both ICC’s ODI and T20I Player of the Year awards. Bates, who had previously won the ODI Player of the Year award in 2013, won her maiden T20I Player of the Year award this year. Bates was 2016’s highest run-scorer in T20Is and second-highest in ODIs.

20. Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly launched Sourav Ganguly Foundation and Cricket School in ______________
a) Mumbai
b) Kolkata
c) Hyderabad
d) Chennai

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Answer b) Kolkata . Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly launched Sourav Ganguly Foundation and Cricket School in Kolkata to boost cricket at the grass-root level in West Bengal. The foundation will be collaborating with various schools across the country and will appoint over 100 coaches to train kids. Free coaching will be provided to aspiring cricketers who come from financially weak backgrounds.

21. Thomas Schelling who passed away recently, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in ____________ in 2005
a) Physics
b) Literature
c) Peace
d) Economics

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Answer d) Economics. Nobel Prize-winning economist Thomas Schelling, who used game theory to explain nuclear strategy, has passed away. Schelling was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics in 2005 along with Robert Aumann. The Nobel committee said the economists’ work “enhanced our understanding of conflict and cooperation through game-theory analysis“. Game theory is the mathematical study of strategies used in competitive situations.

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