ENGLISH Quiz 22-01-2021

1.What is India’s rank in the “Global Firepower Index 2021” that ranks the countries based on their potential military strength?

A.4th

B.5th

C.6th

D.7th

2.Who has been appointed as the Chairman of the Somnath Temple Trust?

A.Amit Shah

B.Narendra Modi

C.Vijay Rupani

D.Anandi Ben Patel

3.Who has been assigned the additional charge of the Ministry of AYUSH during the hospitalization and treatment of AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik following a road accident?

A.Smriti Irani

B.Prakash Javadekar

C.Kiren Rijiju

D.Piyush Goyal

4.Renowned personality Dr V Shanta passed away recently, she was a famous ________.

A.Cardiologist

B.Virologist

C.Radiologist

D.Oncologist

5.Which state government has announced to increase the number of days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) from 100 to 150?

A.Uttarakhand

B.Uttar Pradesh

C.Odisha

D.Jharkhand

6.With which country India has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on a basic partnership framework for operation of the ‘specified skilled worker’ (SSW) system?

A.France

B.Japan

C.Germany

D.Russia

7.Who will become the first woman fighter to fly fighter plane in Republic Day parade?

A.Mohana Singh

B.Shivangi Singh

C.Bhavna Kant

D.Avni Chaturvedi

8.Which state will open India’s first labor movement museum?

A.Maharashtra

B.Tamil Nadu

C.Karnataka

D.Kerala

9.Who won the singles title at Yonex Thailand Open?

A.Carolina Marin and Viktor

B.Carolina Marin and Sania

C.Sania and Viktor

D.None of these

10.Which country invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G-7 summit?

A.Nepal

B.Britain

C.China

D.Malaysia

11.Consider the following statements related to Adaptation Gap Report 2020:

1. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has recently released the 5th edition of Adaptation Gap Report 2020.
2. UNEP has recently honoured PM Narendra Modi with “Champions of the Earth” award in the leadership category for his pioneering work in championing the International Solar Alliance and for his unprecedented pledge to eliminate all single-use plastic in India by 2024‟.

Which of the above statement/statements are correct?

A.1 only

B.2 only

C.Both 1 and 2

D.Neither 1 nor 2

12.Consider the following statements related to ‘Jal Utsav’ in Madhya Pradesh:

1. Damhedi village of Anuppur District of Madhya Pradesh celebrated ‘Jal Utsav’ recently to welcome tap water connections in their households.
2. It will provide piped water supply (Har Ghar Jal) to all rural and urban households by 2022.
3. It envisages supply of 55 litres of water per person per day to every rural household through Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) by 2024.

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

13.Consider the following statements related to Exercise Desert Knight 21:

1. The Exercise Desert Knight 21between Indian Air Force (IAF) and French Air and Space Force (Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace) will be held recently at Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
2. It will provide the operational exposure and help in sharing practices towards enhancing combat capability.

Which of the above statement/statements are correct?

A.1 only

B.2 only

C.Both 1 and 2

D.Neither 1 nor 2

14.Consider the following statements:

1. TRIFED signed MoU with IFFDC to work together for tribal livelihood generat.
2. They will also collaborate further to identify and implement CSR initiatives.

Which of the above statement/statements are correct?

A.1 only

B.2 only

C.Both 1 and 2

D.Neither 1 nor 2

1.Answer: A

Explanation

The list of which country has the most powerful army in the world has been released. 133 countries have been included in this list. In which India got the fourth place. The first number is followed by the United States, followed by Russia and China.

Rankings

• The United States topped the index with 904 attack helicopters and eleven aircraft carriers. Also, the country has sixty-eight submarines and 40,000 armoured fighting vehicles.
• The US was followed by Russia with 189 fighter aircrafts and 538 attack helicopters. Russia has 13,000 tanks and 64 submarines.
• China was ranked third with 1,200 combat aircrafts and 327 attack helicopters and seventy-nine submarines. Also, China has 35,000 armoured vehicles.
• India was ranked fourth in the Global Firepower Index with 542 combat aircraft, 17 submarines, 4,730 tanks and 37 attack helicopters.
• Japan was ranked fifth in the Global Firepower Index with 2 helicopter carriers, 27 destroyers.
• South Korea was ranked sixth in the world and North Korea was ranked 28th.

About Global Firepower Index, 2021

• The Global Firepower Index is calculated using fifty individual factors from geography to logistical capability.
• It also includes manpower, land forces, airpower, natural resources, naval forces, logistics and financials.
• Under manpower, the factors considered are total population, paramilitary, reaching military age annually, active reserves and active services.
• Under equipment, the factors considered are trainer fleet, aircraft fleet strength, helicopter fleet, attack fleets, rocket projectors, tank strength, towed artillery, aircraft carriers, naval fleet strength, destroyers, submarines, coastal patrol craft, frigates, mine warfare craft, coastal patrol craft and tanker fleets.
• The finance factors include external debt, defence budget, reserves of foreign exchange and gold and purchasing power parity.

Pakistan

• Pakistan was ranked the tenth most powerful country in the Global Firepower Index.
• Pakistan has surpassed Israel, Indonesia, Iran and Canada in terms of military power.
• Currently Pakistan dedicates 7 billion USD from its annual budget for defence purposes.

2.Answer: B

Explanation

PM Narendra Modi has been unanimously appointed as the chairman of Shree Somnath Trust (SST).After former PM Morarji Desai, Narendra Modi is the second Prime Minister who has been appointed the chairman of the temple trust. As per trust records, PM Modi has become the eighth chairman of the trust. As per the records, Desai had served as the chairman between 1967 and 1995.

The post of the Somnath Trust’s chairman fell vacant after the death of the incumbent, former Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel, in October last year. Patel had served as the chairman for 16 years (2004-2020). Other trustees include BJP leader LK Advani, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Gujarat-based scholar JD Parmar and businessman Harshvardhan Neotia.

3.Answer: C

Explanation

Union Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has been given the additional charge of Ministry of AYUSH. He has been assigned the position temporarily due to hospitalization of AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik following a road accident. This temporary arrangement will be valid till Shripad Naik resumes his work related to AYUSH Ministry. AYUSH: Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy.

4.Answer: D

Explanation

Renowned oncologist Dr V Shanta (93 years) passed away in Chennai, following chest pain.She was known for her work on cancer care and for building the Cancer Institute with her mentor.She was the chairperson of Adyar Cancer Institute in Chennai.Awards: Padma Shri in 1986, Padma Bhushan in 2006, Padma Vibhushan in 2016 and Ramon Magsaysay awards in 2005.She was also the member of the Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission for Health.

5.Answer: A

Explanation

In a move to encourage employment opportunities, Uttarakhand Government has announced that the number of working days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) will be increased from 100 to 150, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said .While addressing the gathering at his office, Rawat said that government will increase the number of working days from 100 to 150 under MGNREGA and the entire cost will be borne by the state government.This decision was taken during a meeting of the State Employment Guarantee Council held .Uttarakhand is expected to conduct Assembly polls in 2022.

6.Answer: B

Explanation

India and Japan have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on a basic partnership framework for the operation of the ‘specified skilled worker’ (SSW) system. SSW is a new status of residence created in Japan in April 2019, to accept foreign nationals who have a certain level of expertise and skill. Indian nationals with certain professional and language skills will be eligible to work under the SSW system. There are 14 specified industry fields that fall under SSW.

About MoC:

• The MoC covers 14 categories of specified skills. The skilled workers from India who meet these skills requirement and Japanese language tests would be eligible for employment in Japan on a contractual basis.
• These workers would be granted the status of Specified Skilled Worker by Japan.
• The 14 specified industry fields include nursing care, building cleaning, material processing, industrial machinery manufacturing, electric and electronic information, construction, shipbuilding and ship-related industry, automobile maintenance, aviation, lodging, agriculture, fisheries, food and beverages manufacturing and food services industry.

7.Answer: C

Explanation

Indian Air Force women fighter pilot Bhavna Kant will become the first woman fighter pilot to attend the Republic Day Parade to be held on 26 January 2021. They will participate in the parade in the tableau of the Indian Air Force (IAF), whose theme is ‘Make in India’.

About Bhawana Kanth:

• At present, Bhawana is posted in Rajasthan and flies the MiG-21 Bison fighter plane.
• Bhawana is also one of the first women fighter pilots to be inducted into the Indian Air Force in the year 2016.
• She was inducted into IAF in 2016 along with Mohana Singh and Avani Chaturvedi.
• Since then 10 women have been commissioned as fighter pilots in IAF.
• Induction of Bhawana and other two women fighters was an experimental scheme of induction of women in IAF’s combat stream introduced in the year 2015.

2021 Republic Day Parade

• The newly inducted Rafale fighter aircraft will also be featured in the 2021 Republic Day parade.
• The aircraft will culminate the flypast by forming the ‘Vertical Charlie’ formation.
• 38 IAF aircraft and 4 Indian Army planes will participate in the flypast of 26th January.
• The flypast will be divided into two blocks. 5 Rafale fighter jets were inducted into the IAF in September 2020.

8.Answer: D

Explanation

India’s first Labour Movement Museum will be launched in Kerala’s houseboat tourism hub, Alappuzha showcasing the history of world labour movement. It will feature huge repository of documents that showed labour movements across the continents and impacted Alappuzha, the cradle of the labour movement in the country. It is launched as part of the LDF government’s second 100-day programme. New Model Cooperative Society Ltd has been converted into the Labour Movement Museum.

9.Answer: A

Explanation

Badminton World Federation (BWF) conducted Yonex Thailand Open Super 1000 badminton tournament from 12 to 17 January 2021.The Yonex Thailand Open Super 1000 badminton tournament was held from 12 January 2021 to 17 January 2021. It was the first badminton tournament of 2021 by Badminton World Federation (BWF).

Winners of Singles Title:

• Men’s Category: Viktor Axelsen (Denmark) defeated Angus Long (Hong Kong) to clinch the Men’s Singles Title.
• Women’s Category: Carolina Marin (Spain) defeated Tai Tzu-Ying (Taiwan) to bag the Women’s Singles Title.

Winners of Doubles Title:

• In the Men’s Doubles, Taiwan’s Lee Yang & Wang Chi-Lin beat Malaysia’s Goh V Shem & Tan Wee Kiong to bag the Doubles Title.
• In the Women’s Doubles, Indonesia’s Greysia Polii & Apriyani Rahayu defeated Thailand’s Jongkolphan Kititharakul & Rawinda Prajongjai to clinch the Doubles Title.

Winners of Mixed Doubles:

• Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai defeated Indonesia’s Praveen Jordan & Melati Daeva Oktavianti to clinch the mixed doubles title.

10.Answer: B

Explanation

The United Kingdom has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the G7 Summit as a guest. The G7 Summit is to be held in June this year. The G7, made up of the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US and the EU, is the only forum where the world’s most influential and open societies and advanced economies are brought together for close-knit discussions.

G 7 Summit 2021

• The G7 group is going to expand this year, now the G7 group will include ten democracies from all over the world. However, the United States proposed to call the summit in 2021 as ‘G 7 + 4’. But the UK wants to organize the summit as G7 + 3 and has proposed it as D10.
• D10 includes ten democracies excluding Russia. This year, Britain has proposed to form a new coalition of democracies. It has proposed to include India, South Korea and Australia in the new alliance with the G7 nations.
• This new alliance is being proposed with a view to discourage China’s monopoly on 5G technology.

Which organizations are called in G-7

• After the formation of G-7, only seven countries participated in its conferences in its initial phase. But a new tradition started in the late 1990s and now many other institutions are also being invited to the G-7 conferences.

The institutions called in its conferences are

1. International Monetary Fund
2. World Bank
3. International Energy Agency
4. World Trade Organization
5. United Nations
6. African Union

 

11.Answer: A       

Explanation

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has recently released the 5th edition of Adaptation Gap Report 2020. UNEP has recently honoured PM Narendra Modi with “Champions of the Earth” award in the leadership category for his pioneering work in championing the International Solar Alliance and for his unprecedented pledge to eliminate all single-use plastic in India by 2022‟.

About Adaptation

• It is one of the critical pillars of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
• It involves increasing capacity and reduction of vulnerability of countries and communities to climate-related disasters.
• This capacity will be built by national efforts and funding mechanisms.

Aim

• The report aims to indicate national and international efforts to advance adaptation.

Finance

• The annual cost of adaptation to the effects of climate change for developing countries is estimated to at least quadruple by 2050.
• The annual adaptation costs in developing countries are much higher at $70 billion, compared to current finance of around $30 billion annually for adaptation.
• Cost of Adaptation includes costs like planning, preparing for, facilitating and implementing adaptation measures.
• Adaptation costs, in actual terms, are higher in developed countries, but the burden of adaptation is greater for developing countries in relation to their gross domestic product.

Rise in Temperature

• The world is heading for at least a 3°C temperature rise this century. Even if countries are successful in limiting global warming to well below 2°C, or even 1.5°C, the poor countries will suffer.

Impact of Pandemic

• The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to hit the ability of countries to plan for finance and implement adaptation actions.
• It will disproportionately affect the most vulnerable countries and population groups.

About the United Nations Environment Programme

• It is the United Nation leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development.
• It is Headquartered at – Nairobi, Kenya

It works on 7 broad thematic areas:

1. Climate change
2. Disasters and conflicts
3. Ecosystem management
4. Environmental governance
5. Chemicals and waste
6. Resource efficiency and
7. Environment under review

Other Reports of UNEP

• Global Environment Outlook
• Emission Gap Report
• Actions on Air Quality& Rise of Environmental Crime Report (along with INTERPOL)

12.Answer: B

Explanation

Damhedi village of Anuppur District of Madhya Pradesh celebrated ‘Jal Utsav’ recently to welcome tap water connections in their households.

About Jal Jeevan Mission

• It is a flagship programme of Union Government is ensuring safe drinking water to every rural household of the country.
• Jal Jeevan Mission has been formed after the restructured and subsumed the ongoing National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) which will provide Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) to every rural household, i.e., Har Ghar Nal Se Jal (HGNSJ) by 2024.

Objective

• It will provide piped water supply (Har Ghar Jal) to all rural and urban households by 2024.
• It envisages supply of 55 litres of water per person per day to every rural household through Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) by 2024.
• Jal Jeevan Mission” was being allocated Rs 3.6 lakh crore in the budget 2020.

Focused area

• The Mission focuses on integrated demand and supply-side management of water at the local level.
• The creation of local infrastructure for source sustainability measures as mandatory elements, like rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge and management of household wastewater for reuse, would be undertaken in convergence with other government programmes/schemes.
• The Jal-Jeevan Mission is set to be based on various water conservation efforts like point recharge, desilting of minor irrigation tanks, use of grey-water for agriculture and source sustainability.
• The Mission is based on a community approach to water and includes extensive Information, Education and Communication as a key component of the Mission.
• The 73rd Amendment to the Constitution of India has placed the subject of drinking water in the 11th Schedule.

Funding Pattern:

The fund sharing pattern between the

• Centre and states are 90:10
• for Himalayan and North-Eastern States, 50:50
• for other states, and 100% for Union Territories.
• The Jal Jeevan Mission will converge with other Central and State Government Schemes to achieve its objectives of sustainable water supply management across the country.

Institutional Arrangement:

• National Jal Jeevan Mission (NJJM) at the Central level
• State Water and Sanitation Mission (SWSM) at the State level
• District Water and Sanitation Mission (DWSM) at the District level
• Village Water Sanitation Committee (VWSC) at Village level

Village Action Plan (VAP):

Every village will prepare a Village Action Plan (VAP) which will have three components:

1. Water source & its maintenance
2. Water supply
3. Grey-water (domestic wastewater) Management.

Need for and significance of the Mission:

• India has occupied 16% of the world population, but only 4% of freshwater resources.
• The major challenges to providing potable drinking water are depleting groundwater level, overexploitation and deteriorating water quality, climate change, etc.
• It is an urgent requirement of water conservation in the country because of the decreasing amount of groundwater level.
• Jal Jeevan Mission will focus on integrated demand and supply management of water at the local level.

13.Answer: C       

Explanation

The Exercise Desert Knight 21between Indian Air Force (IAF) and French Air and Space Force (Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace) will be held recently at Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

About Exercise Desert Knight 21.

• This Exercise has been hosted by the Indian Air Force and the French Air and Space Force (Armée de l’Air et de I’Espace).

What is the aim of this exercise?

• It will provide the operational exposure and help in sharing practices towards enhancing combat capability.

What is unique about this exercise?

• For the first time ever, the Indian skies will be hosting Rafale aircraft by both sides.

Defence Exercises between India and France

1. Varuna – Naval exercise
2. Garuda – Air exercise
3. Shakti – Army exercise

14.Answer: C       

Explanation

TRIFED and IFFDC entered into an MoU to work for tribal livelihood generation.Both the organizations have agreed to partner with each other to organise training programmes for tribal artisans in the area of entrepreneurship skill and business development.They will also collaborate further to identify and implement CSR initiatives. TRIFED has been actively exploring convergences with various like-minded organizations to continue the mission towards tribal empowerment.