Current Affairs News

1.Who has recently been selected for the 51st Jnanpith award for his contribution to the Indian literature?

1. Aniket Singh
2. Raghuveer Chaudhary
3. Raghuveer Pratap Singh
4. Kuldeep Nair
5. None of these

Ans. Raghuveer Chaudhary

Eminent Gujarati litterateur Raghuveer Chaudhary was on 29 December 2015 selected for the 51st Jnanpith award for his contribution to the Indian literature. The decision was taken in a meeting of the Jnanpith Selection Board chaired by noted scholar Namwar Singh. Other members of the selection board are Shamim Hanfi, Harish Trivedi, Suranjan Das, Ramakant Rath, Chandrakant Patil, Alok Rai, Dinesh Misra and Leeladhar Mandloi.

2.Gaofen-4 dual-use geostationary satellite of which country?

1. Russia
2. Pakistan
3. China
4. Iran
5. None of these

Ans. China

China on 29 December 2015 successfully launched Gaofen-4 Earth observation satellite toward a geostationary orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in the south-western province of Sichuan. The Satellite was launched aboard a Long March-3B carrier rocket. Launched as a part of the China High-resolution Earth Observation System (CHEOS), Gaofen-4 is located at the orbit 36000 kilometres away from the earth and moves synchronously with the earth.

3.Under the "Make in India" initiative, Russian firm Rostech State Corporation has tied up with India's which company to manufacture 200 Kamov 226T light helicopters?

1. DRDO
2. ISRO
3. L & T
4. HAL
5. None of these

Ans. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) 

Under the "Make in India" initiative, Russian firm Rostech State Corporation has tied up with India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to manufacture 200 Kamov 226T light helicopters. The new fleet of Kamovs will replace the ageing Cheetah and Chetak helicopters. The deal is estimated to be worth $1 billion, according to Press Trust of India report. It is believed Rostech will organise the production of the Kamov helicopters for at least 200 units.

4.Rakhi Haldar and Kavita Devi recently bagged gold in their respective weight categories in the Senior National Weightlifting Championships held in _________?

1. Patiala, Punjab
2. Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh
3. Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
4. Sonipat, Haryana
5. None of these

Ans. Patiala, Punjab

Rakhi Haldar and Kavita Devi on 29 December 2015 bagged gold in their respective weight categories in the Senior National Weightlifting Championships held in Patiala, Punjab. Haldar lifted 94 kilograms in the snatch and 119 kilograms in clean and jerk to come up with a total lift of 213 kilograms in Women's 69 kilograms to grab the gold medal. Lalchhanhimi bagged the silver with a total lift of 210 kilograms, while Rajwant Kaur finished with a bronze with an overall effort of 201 kilogram.

5.Gujarat has recently clinched the Vijay Hazare Cricket Trophy by defeating ______?

1. Services
2. Delhi
3. Mumbai
4. Karnataka
5. None of these

Ans. Delhi

Gujarat on 28 December 2015 clinched the Vijay Hazare Cricket Trophy. It is the first time that Gujarat won the trophy. In the final of the limited overs tournament, Gujarat defeated Delhi by 139 runs at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. The 2015–16 Vijay Hazare Trophy was the 14th season of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

6.Union Government has announced to link LPG subsidy to income of consumers in order to ensure that the subsidy benefits go to the targeted group. Henceforth, the LPG subsidy will not be available to LPG consumers if the consumer or his/her spouse has taxable income of more than __?

1. 12 Lakh
2. 7 lakh
3. 10 Lakh rupees
4. 8 Lakh
5. None of these

Ans. 10 Lakh rupees

Union Government has announced to link LPG subsidy to income of consumers in order to ensure that the subsidy benefits go to the targeted group. Henceforth, the LPG subsidy will not be available to LPG consumers if the consumer or his/her spouse has taxable income of more than ten lakh rupees. This income would be as per the previous financial year computed under Income Tax Act, 1961. This decision will be given effect to initially on self-declaration basis of LPG consumers while booking cylinders January 2016.

7.E-office, an initiative which will help provide efficient services to the people by digitizing more than 12,000 files. It was formally launched by the Ministry of?

1. DEITY

2. Science and Technology
3. Finance
4. WCD
5. None of these

Ans. Women and Child Development (WCD)

Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) has introduced e-office, an initiative which will help provide efficient services to the people by digitizing more than 12,000 files. It was formally launched by WCD Minister Maneka Sanjay Gandhi in New Delhi on the lines with the spirit of Good Governance initiative of Union Government. The e-office project of the Ministry was initiated in July, 2015 and more than 12,000 files of the Ministry have been digitized. Various modules of this e-office are Knowledge Management System, File Management System, Leave Management System and Tour Management System.

8.The 18th Session of the India-Iran Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) was recently held at which Place?

1. Hyderabad
2. New Delhi
3. Raipur
4. Jaipur
5. None of these

Ans. New Delhi

The 18th Session of the India-Iran Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) was held on 28 December 2015 in New Delhi. The session was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister of India (EAM) Sushma Swaraj and Ali Tayebnia, Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance of Iran. Both the leaders reviewed the progress in trade and economic cooperation and a number of related matters. They also discussed the possibilities in cooperation in railways, including by supply of rails, rolling stock and signaling.

9.The Union Ministry of Finance recently released the report of the Committee on Revisiting and Revitalising Public Private Partnership (PPP) Model. The 9-member committee was headed by?

1. Vijay Kelkar
2. Arvind subramaniyan
3. K M Mani
4. P Bhaskar
5. None of these

ANS.Vijay Kellar

The committee was constituted on 26 May 2015 to review the experience of PPP Policy and suggest measures to improve capacity building in Government for their effective implementation. More importantly, the committee recognized the PPP Model in infrastructure as a valuable instrument to speed up infrastructure development in India.

10.The Reserve Bank of India released the Report of the Committee on Medium-term Path on Financial Inclusion. The committee was constituted on 15 July 2015 by the RBI with the objective of working out a medium-term (five year) measurable action plan for financial inclusion. The 14-member committee was headed by?  

1. Prakash Mohanty
2. Laxmi Singh
3. Ravi Jhan
4. Deepak Mohanty
5. None of these

Ans. Deepak Mohanty

The Reserve Bank of India on 28 December 2015 released the Report of the Committee on Medium-term Path on Financial Inclusion. The committee was constituted on 15 July 2015 by the RBI with the objective of working out a medium-term (five year) measurable action plan for financial inclusion. The 14-member committee was headed by RBI Executive Director Deepak Mohanty. Banks have to make special efforts to step up account opening for females, and the Government may consider a deposit scheme for the girl child – Sukanya Shiksha - as a welfare measure. Given the predominance of individual account holdings (94 per cent of total credit accounts), a unique biometric identifier such as Aadhaar should be linked to each individual credit account.

11.The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, presided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recently gave Amitabh Kant the additional responsibility of being Chief Executive Officer of ____? 

1. National Development Council (NDC)
2. NABARD
3. NITI Aayog
4. SIDBI
5. None of these

Ans. NITI Aayog

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, presided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on 28 December 2015 gave Amitabh Kant the additional responsibility of being Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog, effective 31 December 2015. Kant will replace the incumbent NITI Aayog CEO Sindhushree Khullar whose extended tenure will end on 31 December 2015.

12.The Best Player of the Year award in sixth edition of Globe Soccer Awards 2015 given to?

1. Sunil Chhetri
2. Neymar da Silva Santos
3. Tim Cahill
4. Lionel Messi
5. None of these

Ans. Lionel Messi

The Globe Soccer on 27 December 2015 presented the sixth edition of Globe Soccer Awards 2015 to the winners at a ceremony held in Dubai, UAE. Awarded for excellences in the field of football, Globe Soccer Awards are the first and only awards for the Best Club Director and the Best Agent of the Year. The awards conferred were based on the performance of the players and football clubs in 2015.

13.Which of the following telecom recently launched 4G telecom service?

1. Vodafone
2. AirTel
3. Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL)
4. Idea
5. None of these

Ans. Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL)

Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL) or Reliance Jio on 27 December 2015 launched 4G telecom service. The service was launched at the Reliance Corporate Park in Navy Mumbai to mark the birth anniversary of Dhirubhai Ambani, founder of the Reliance Industries Limited (RIL). However, at present, it is limited to 85000 employees and their families of the company, while the commercial services are expected to begin by April 2016.

14.Indigenously developed Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile, Astra, was recently successfully test fired. The test was conducted by the Indian Air Force off the coast of Odisha near the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Balasore. This Astra missile was developed by?

1. ISRO
2. DRDO
3. HAL
4. L & T
5. None of these

Ans. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)

Indigenously developed Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile, Astra, was on 25 December 2015 successfully test fired. The test was conducted by the Indian Air Force off the coast of Odisha near the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Balasore. In addition to this air trial, the missile underwent successful ground based trials in early December 2015 near Pune. The tests were aimed at validating the ECCM (electronic counter-counter measure) features of the missile to overcome any jamming.

15.Who has recently been appointed as the CEO of Adani Ports and SEZ (APSEZ) with effect from January 1, 2016?

1. Lallan Singh
2. Prem Singh
3. Karan Adani
4. Ashwani Singh
5. None of these

Ans. Karan Adani

Karan Adani, son of Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani, has been appointed as the CEO of Adani Ports and SEZ (APSEZ) with effect from January 1, 2016. He will take over the top job from outgoing CEO Sudipta Bhattacharya, who is moving to the US as the CEO for North America, APSEZ said in a regulatory filing. The Board has accepted the “resignation of Bhattacharya as the CEO of APSEZ with effect from December 31, 2015”, it added. It also approved the “appointment of Karan, Executive Director (non—board position) as CEO of the company with effect from January 1, 2016,” the filing said.