ENGLISH QUIZ 20.07.2020

1.Consider the following statements:

1.Disabled are entitled to same benefits of SC/ST quota: Supreme Court.

2.The college insisted that disabled persons too need to meet the general qualifying standard of 20%            in the aptitude test, whereas SC/ST candidates were given a relaxation to 35%.

Which of the above statement/statements are correct?

A. 1 only

B. 2 only

C. Both 1 and 2

D. Neither 1 nor 2

2.Consider the following statements related to Padmanabhaswamy Temple:

1.In its recent judgment, the Supreme Court upheld the Shebait rights of the Travancore royal family           in the administration of Shree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Kerala.

2.The central legal question was whether Utradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma, the younger brother             of Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, the last Ruler of Travancore, could claim to be the “Ruler of             Travancore” after the death of the ruler in 1994.

3.Padmanabhaswamy Temple is a Hindu temple located in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A. 1 and 2 are correct

B. 1 and 3 are correct

C. 2 and 3 are correct

D. All of the above

3.Consider the following statements:

1.Retail inflation in India firmed up in June and came in at above the upper tolerance band of 6% set           by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

2.The rise in CPI reading came despite a fall in food inflation, which cooled to a nine-month low of                7.87% in June from 5.2% in May.

Which of the above statement/statements are correct?

A. 1 only

B. 2 only

C. Both 1 and 2

D. Neither 1 nor 2

4.Consider the following statements related to Comet C/2020 F3 Neowise:

1.The recently discovered comet called C/2020 F3, also known as NEOWISE after the NASA                           telescope that discovered it, will make its closest approach to the Earth on July 22.

2.Comets or “dirty snowballs” are mostly made of dust, rocks and ice, the remnants from the time                  the solar system was formed over 2.6 billion years ago.

3.They are thought to be remnants of the formation of the Solar System.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A. 1 and 2 are correct

B. 1 and 3 are correct

C. 2 and 3 are correct

D. All of the above

5.India’s first cable-stayed Indian Railways bridge namely “Anji Khad Bridge” is being built by which company which will connect Katra and Reasi in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)?

A. Konkan Railway Corporation Limited

B. Rail Vikas Nigam Limited

C. Balaji Railroad Systems Limited

D. IRCON International Limited

6.Who has been honoured with the Lifetime achievement award by the football club – Mohun Bagan Athletic Club?

A. Ashok Kumar

B. Gurbux Singh

C. Palash Nandi

D. Baichung Bhutia

7.The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has disbursed Rs 2.51 crore of grant assistance to Self Help Groups (SHGs) for promotion, skill development and digitisation of records in which state?

A. Andra Pradesh

B. Maharashtra

C. Karnataka

D. Tamil Nadu

8.Who has inaugurated the 5th edition of the conference on “Aerospace and Defence Manufacturing Technologies“?

A. Nirmala Sitharaman

B. Nitin Gadkari

C. Harshvardhan

D. Shripad Yesso Nayak

9.The Airports Authority of India (AAI) signed an MoU) with which public sector undertaking to collaborate and support the emerging global opportunities in the airport business?

A. Bharat Electronics Ltd.

B. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited

C. NTPC Limited

D. Engineers India Limited

10.Brahm Vasudeva who passed away recently was a veteran _____.

A. Journalist

B. Chairman of Hawkins Cookers

C. Cricketer

D. Indian ceramist

11.Which of the following financial institutions has organised its first ‘Digital Choupal’ to mark its 39th foundation day?

A. NABARD

B. SIDBI

C. SBI

D. RBI

12.Who has been awarded the von Karman Award?

A. Ashok Kumar

B. Sivan

C. Gurbax Singh

D. Palash Nandi

13.Who among the following has been appointed as Chairman of Axis Bank?

A. Rahul Johri

B. Rahul Amin

C. Hemang Amin

D. Hemang Johri

14.The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) India joined hands with which of the following organization to jointly develop UNICEF’s “#Reimagine Campaign” to support the most vulnerable populations and children during the COVID-19 response and its after-math in India?

A. CII

B. ASSOCHAM

C. NITI Aayog

D. FICCI

 ANSWERS:-

Answer: 1)A      

Explanation

The Supreme Court, in a significant decision, confirmed that persons suffering from disabilities are also socially backward and entitled to the same benefits of relaxation as Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe candidates in public employment and education.The Court has upheld a 2012 judgment of the Delhi High Court in Anamol Bhandari (minor) through his father/Natural Guardian v. Delhi Technological University in a significant decision.

What was the case?

• A petition was filed Aryan Raj, a special needs person, against the Government College of Arts, Chandigarh.
• The college denied Mr. Raj relaxation in minimum qualifying marks in the Painting and Applied Art course.
• The college insisted that disabled persons too need to meet the general qualifying standard of 40% in the aptitude test, whereas SC/ST candidates were given a relaxation to 35%.

Decision of supreme court

• In considering the appeal against the order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in this regard, the Supreme Court clarified that the High Court’s decision on the aspect of bifurcation is correct.
• Apart from this, the Supreme Court also agreed on the decision of the High Court regarding the Aptitude Test, in which the High Court refused to give exemption in the Aptitude Test.
• However, the Supreme Court in the year 2012 Anmol Bhandari (Minor) v. Delhi Technological University (DTU) suit sought to follow the principle laid down by the Delhi High Court, in which the High Court had admitted that persons with disabilities are socially backward. And hence they are entitled to get the same benefits as SC / ST candidates.
• Citing the prospectus, the Supreme Court said that since SC / ST candidates require 35 percent marks to pass the Aptitude Test, this rule is now applicable in the case of disabled students as well. Will happen.

What needs to be done?

• New academic courses should be crafted to specifically cater to the needs of intellectually disabled persons.
• The subject experts should examine the feasibility of creating a course which caters to the specific needs of such persons.
• They may also examine increasing the number of seats in the discipline of Painting and Applied Art with a view to accommodating such students.

Answer: 2)B

Explanation

In its recent judgment, the Supreme Court upheld the Shebait rights of the Travancore royal family in the administration of Shree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Kerala.

What was the case?

• The central legal question was whether Utradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma, the younger brother of Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, the last Ruler of Travancore, could claim to be the “Ruler of Travancore” after the death of the ruler in 1991.
• The court examined this claim within the limited meaning of that term according to the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act, 1950 to claim ownership, control and management of the ancient Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple.

Padmanabhaswamy Temple

• It is a Hindu temple located in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
• The temple is built in an intricate fusion of the Chera style and the Dravidian style of architecture, featuring high walls, and a 16th-century gopura.
• The principal deity Padmanabhaswamy (Vishnu) is enshrined in the “Anantha Shayana” posture, the eternal yogic sleep on the serpent Adi Shesha.

Background:

• As per the Instrument of Accession signed between the princely states and the Government of India, the administration of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple was vested in trust in the Ruler of Travancore, since 1949.
• In 1971, privy purses to the former royals were abolished through a constitutional amendment stripping their entitlements and privileges.
• In 1991, when the last ruler of Travancore, Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, passed away, his brother Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma took over the temple management.
• This created a furore that he had no legal right to claim the control or management of the temple.
• However, the royal family continued to manage the affairs of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple till the Kerala High Court in 2011 ruled that the family cannot continue to exert its shebait rights.

Judgement:

• The Supreme Court (SC) reversed the 2011 Kerala High Court decision, which had directed the Kerala government to set up a trust to control the management and assets of the temple.
• The High Court (HC) had ruled that the successor to the erstwhile royals could not claim to be in control of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple after the amendment of definition of ‘Ruler’ in Article 366 (22) of the Constitution of India.
• The definition of Ruler was amended by the Twenty Sixth (Constitutional) Amendment Act, 1971, which abolished the privy purses.
• Article 366 (22) reads, “Ruler” means the Prince, Chief or other person who, at any time before the commencement of the Twenty Sixth (Constitutional) Amendment Act, 1971, was recognised as the Ruler of an Indian State or was recognised as the successor of such Ruler.

Answer: 3)A      

Explanation

Retail inflation in India firmed up in June and came in at above the upper tolerance band of 6% set by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). The CPI inflation stood at 6.09% in June, up from 5.84% in March, which was the last official headline inflation number released by the Statistics Department. The rise in CPI reading came despite a fall in food inflation, which cooled to a nine-month low of 7.87% in June from 9.2% in May.

Retail Inflation Rate:

• An increase or fall in the value of selected goods or services over a given period of time is called inflation.
• When expressed in percentage as inflation, it is called inflation rate or retail inflation rate.
• In simple words, it shows the speed of price fluctuations.

Reasons for increasing retail inflation rate:

• The rise in retail inflation rate has been observed due to increase in prices of food items.
• Retail inflation has increased mainly due to increase in prices of pulses and other food products, which increased by 16.68 percent in June.
• 22% growth has been observed on meat and fish products, 12.27% increase on oil and fat products and 11.74% increase in prices of spices.

Answer: 4)B

Explanation

The recently discovered comet called C/2020 F3, also known as NEOWISE after the NASA telescope that discovered it, will make its closest approach to the Earth on July 22. On the day, the comet, which takes 6,800 years to complete one lap around its orbit, will be at a distance of 64 million miles or 103 million kilometers while crossing Earth’s outside orbit.

What are comets?

• Comets or “dirty snowballs” are mostly made of dust, rocks and ice, the remnants from the time the solar system was formed over 4.6 billion years ago.
• They are thought to be remnants of the formation of the Solar System.
• In the distant past, people thought of comets as “long-haired” stars that would appear unpredictably in the sky.

NEOWISE Telescope

• The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer is a NASA infrared-wavelength astronomical space telescope launched in December 2009 and placed in hibernation mode in February 2011.
• In 2013, the spacecraft was reactivated and was renamed as NEOWISE.
• It was assigned a new mission in whom it helps to assist NASA’s efforts to identify and characterize the population of near-Earth objects (NEO).

Answer: 5)A

Explanation

India’s first cable-stayed Indian Railways bridge namely “Anji Khad Bridge” being developed by Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) is all set to connect Katra and Reasi in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The cable-stayed railway bridge is a part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, which passes through the Young Himalayas. Konkan Railway Corporation Limited a Government of India undertaking. Notably, the USBRL project also involves the Chenab river bridge. The Chenab Bridge once completed, will become the world’s highest rail bridge. The total length of the Anji Khad Bridge is 473.25 metres.

Answer: 6)B

Explanation

Indian hockey great Gurbux Singh and former Bengal cricketer and coach Palash Nandi will be conferred with the prestigious Mohun Bagan Ratna this year. Last year Keshav Datt became the first sportsperson from a non-footballing background to get the award. The awards are given on July 29 every year which is celebrated as Mohun Bagan Day. July 29 was the date of Bagan’s IFA Shield triumph in 1911 when they defeated East Yorkshire Regiment 2-1.

Answer: 7)C

Explanation

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has disbursed Rs 2.51 crore of grant assistance to Self Help Groups (SHGs) for promotion, skill development and digitisation of records in Karnataka. This funding is a part of EShakti or Digitisation of SHGs an initiative of Micro Credit and Innovations Department (mCID) of NABARD. The project is being implemented in 250 districts across the country. In Karnataka, the project E-Shakti for is under implementation in seven districts. So far, 1.17 lakh SHGs are digitised. The cumulative grant assistance of Rs 6.47 crore was released for SHG promotion.

Answer: 8)D

Explanation

Minister of State for Defence Shripad Yesso Naik has inaugurated 5th edition Aerospace and Defence Manufacturing Technologies conference in Delhi. Theme of the conference: ‘Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Mission’. It was organised by Tamil Nadu Technology Development & Promotion Centre (TNTDPC), Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers and CII. The conference focused on growth and development of defence and Indian civil Aviation MRO market to reach 70 billion Dollar by 2030.

Answer: 9)A

Explanation

Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) has signed MoU to tap the emerging global markets in airport for the Asia-Pacific region. The partnership will provide support and a common platform for both the companies to work together lifting civil aviation industry in the future. This will enable BEL in execution of MEA projects outside India as well as tapping domestic civil aviation market into South-East Asian, African and Latin American market.

Answer: 10)B

Explanation

He was holding the leadership role in Hawkins from last 52 years in a regulatory filing. Vasudeva was appointed on the company’s board in 1968 as Vice Chairman and Managing Director and became the Wholetime Chairman and Managing Director in 1984. He was the Non-Executive Chairman and advisor to the company since 2006. Hawkins Cookers HQs: Mumbai. CEO: Subhadip Dutta Choudhury.

Answer: 11)A

Explanation

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has organised ‘Digital Choupal’ to mark its 39th foundation day . The event was attended by participants of different NABARD projects. NABARD announced Rs 5,000 crore refinance scheme for financial institutions. Refinance scheme will offer finance to NABARD’s 2,150 watershed development projects. It also funded Rs 5,000 crore to transform Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) into multi service centres.

watershed program

• The watershed program was started in 1994-95. The main objective of this program is to conserve water with soil erosion by reducing the speed of rainwater flow, reducing soil depressions in water, and stopping the raindrops on the land surface for water conservation and soil conservation.
• With the increase in ground water level, it should be used later in irrigation and other works.
• The effects of drought on crops and livestock can be reduced to a great extent by watershed management programs in drought-affected and desert regions.
• Water conservation will help in stopping the process of desertification by creating ecological balance. In the watershed management plan, emphasis has been laid on the use of modern technology along with traditional techniques of water conservation.
• Under this, modern technology is being emphasized for effective prevention of water wastage in irrigation.

Answer: 12)B

Explanation

ISRO’s chief Dr Kailasavadivoo Sivan has been named for the 2020 Von Karman Award of the International Academy of Astronautics. The award will be given in March 2021 in Paris. Charles Elachi was the recipient of the award in 2019. The award is named after Theodore von Karman who was an aerospace engineer and notably known for his key advances in aerodynamics. It was established in 1982 and is given annually to recognize outstanding lifetime achievements in science.

Answer: 13)C

Explanation

Hemang Amin has been appointed as the interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). He will replace Rahul Johri who recently resigned from the position. Hemang Amin is presently serving as the Chief Operating Officer of the Indian Premier League since 2015 and joined IPL operations team in June 2010. BCCI will appoint new CEO in the next two months.

BCCI President: Sourav Ganguly

Answer: 14)D

Explanation

UNICEF INDIA has partnered with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s (FICCI), Socio-Economic Development Foundation (SEDF) for #Reimagine Campaign. The campaign will support children and vulnerable population during COVID-19 response and post pandemic in India. It will also help curb long-term damage to business operations and employment. FICCI SEDF will leverage cash and core assets to mobilize funds for the campaign.

President FICCI: Sangita Reddy.