Current Affairs should be given priority in the IAS Preparation. Current Affairs section of the IAS Syllabus is the most dynamic section and is requires a daily update in the whole IAS Preparation. IAS Preparation is the evolution of the perspective. It requires the macro analysis of the current affairs topics which affects the Socio-Economic condition of the nation. Here we are continuing to provide the Current Affairs Questions for the IAS Prelims Exam 2017.
1. India ranked 35th in Logistics Performance Index conducted by which of the following world organisation?
a. World Economic Forum
b. World Bank
c. International Monetary Fund
d. Asian Development Bank
Answer: b
Explanation:
World Bank has released the Logistics Performance Index 2016 titled ‘connecting to compete- 2016: Trade Logistics in the Global Economy.’ The 2016 Logistics Performance Index (LPI) allows for comparisons across 160 countries.
The 2016 LPI is an interactive benchmarking tool created to help countries identify the challenges and opportunities they face in their performance on trade logistics and what they can do to improve their performance.
Germany tops the 2016 rankings and is followed by Luxembourg, Sweden, Netherlands, and Singapore. Hong Kong SAR, China was ranked at 9th position while United States was placed at 10th Position in the list of rankings. Mainland China was placed at 27th position.
2. The Juno spacecraft which successfully entered the Jupiter orbit recently belonged to which space agency?
a. China National Space Administration
b. European Space Agency
c. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
d. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Answer: a
Explanation:
Juno spacecraft of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has successfully entered Jupiter’s orbit. Confirmation of a successful orbit insertion was received from Juno tracking data monitored at the navigation facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
Juno's main aim is to understand the origin and evolution of Jupiter. The spacecraft will also investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere and observe the planet's auroras.
Current Affairs Question of the Month June - July for IAS Exam Preparation
3. Consider the following statements regarding the Interest Subvention Plan recently approved by Union Cabinet of India:
I. This scheme will help farmers getting short term crop loan payable within one year up to 3 lakhs rupees at only 4% per annum.
II. This scheme will help SHGs getting short term loan payable within one year up to 3 lakhs rupees at only 4% per annum.
III. The interest subvention of 2% will be provided to banks for the first year on the restructured amount to provide relief to the farmers affected by natural calamities.
Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct?
a. Only I
b. I and III
c. II and III
d. All of the above
Answer: b
Explanation:
The Union Cabinet has approved the Interest Subvention Scheme for farmers for the year 2016-17. The Government has assigned a sum of 18276 crore rupees for the purpose. This scheme will help farmers getting short term crop loan payable within one year up to 3 lakhs rupees at only 4% per annum.
Key features of the scheme
• The Union Government will provide interest subvention of 5% per annum to all farmers for short term crop loan payable within one year. Therefore, farmers will have to effectively pay only 4% as interest.
• In case farmers do not repay the short term crop loan in time, then they will be eligible for interest subvention of 2% as against 5% available.
• The government will give approximately 18276 crores rupees as interest subvention for 2016-17.
• The Union Government has approved an interest subvention of 2% i.e. an effective interest rate of 7% for loans up to 6 months to give relief to small and marginal farmers who would have to borrow at 9% for the post harvest storage of their produce.
• The interest subvention of 2% will be provided to banks for the first year on the restructured amount to provide relief to the farmers affected by natural calamities.
4. From which of the following ocean the Typhoon Nepartak originated recently?
a. Pacific Ocean
b. Indian Ocean
c. Arctic Ocean
d. Atlantic Ocean
Answer: a
Explanation:
Typhoon Nepartak, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Butchoy, is so far the most intense tropical cyclone in 2016 in terms of atmospheric pressure, which impacted Taiwan and devastated East China with 86 confirmed fatalities.
It caused 3 deaths and NT$677 million (US$21.1 million) of damage in Taiwan. Moreover, Nepartak also had disastrous effects in Fujian, China, causing at least 83 deaths and ¥9.98 billion (US$1.51 billion) of damage.
5. Who among the following has received International Maritime Organization (IMO) Award 2016 for Exceptional Bravery at Sea?
a. Radhika Menon
b. Avani Chaturvedi
c. Bhawana Kanth
d. Mohana Singh
Answer: a
Explanation:
Captain Radhika Menon has been selected for the 2016 International Maritime Organization (IMO) Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea.
Menon has been selected for the prestigious award for her role in the rescue of seven fishermen from a sinking fishing boat in the Bay of Bengal in June 2015. Captain Menon will also be the first female to receive the IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea. The award will be presented to Menon on 21 November 2016 at IMO Headquarters in London, United Kingdom.
Rest three women are the Flying Officers Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh who recently commissioned as India's first three women fighter pilots
6. While conferring the Jnanpith Award, the awardees used to be given a bronze replica of which of the following god or goddesses?
a. Saraswati
b. Durga
c. Lord Krishna
d. Lakshmi
Answer: a
Explanation:
President Pranab Mukherjee on 11 July 2016 conferred the 51st Jnanpith Award on renowned Gujarati writer Dr. Raghuveer Chaudhari at Parliament Library Building, New Delhi. He was awarded with the India's highest literary honour for the year 2015.
He was given a cash prize, a citation plaque and a bronze replica of Goddess Saraswati.
With this, he also became the fourth Gujarati literary artist to receive the prestigious award. The other Gujarati recipients of the award are poet Umashankar Joshi (1967), novelist Pannalal Patel (1985) and poet Rajendra Shah (2001).
7. India has signed a landmark deal named as Rampal Power Station, a 1320 megawatt coal fired power plant with which of the following countries?
a. Pakistan
b. Nepal
c. Bangladesh
d. Bhutan
Answer: c
Explanation:
India and Bangladesh in the month of July 2016 has signed a landmark deal for the construction of Rampal Power Station, a 1320 megawatt coal fired power plant. The Rampal Power Station is the biggest project under bilateral cooperation.
Current Affairs Question Bank for IAS Prelims Exam
Key highlights of the agreement
• The Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Limited (BIFPCL), the joint venture enterprise, signed the deal with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL).
• BHEL was chosen under an open international tender for constructing the super thermal plant at Bangladesh's south-western Rampal near the Sundarbans.
• India's Exim Bank will provide 1.49 billion US dollars for the project.
• The project is scheduled to start generating power in 2019.
8. A Rare Marbled Map butterfly (Cyrestis cocles) has been sighted in Eastern Ghats of which of the following states?
a. Karnataka
b. Andhra Pradesh
c. Tamil Nadu
d. Maharashtra
Answer: b
Explanation:
Rare Marbled Map butterfly was sighted in Eastern Ghats near PM Kota village of Maredumilli mandal in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. This is the first time that the Marbled Map butterfly species, usually found in the north-east, was sighted in South India.
The butterfly was found by a group of green enthusiasts including N. Chandramohan Reddy, an Indian Forest Service officer, while they were exploring the thick forest of the Eastern Ghats of the region. At present, Reddy is working as the managing director of AP Urban Greening and Beautification Corporation Ltd.
A book by Issac Kehimkar titled ‘The Book of Indian Butterflies’ says that the Marbled Map (Cyrestis cocles) is listed as a rare butterfly species. Its availability is confined to forested hills in the region between Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bhutan and Myanmar.
9. Which of the following Indian states became to establish a Happiness Department?
a. Maharashtra
b. Gujarat
c. Madhya Pradesh
d. Haryana
Answer: c
Explanation:
Madhya Pradesh Cabinet has given its approval to set up Happiness Department in the state. The department will work as knowledge resource centre on the subject of happiness.
With this approval, Madhya Pradesh became the first state of the country to set up such a Department.
Apart from the department, the cabinet also decided to establish a state Happiness Institute under the Happiness Department. Initially it will have a budget of three crore 60 lakh rupees.
10. Which of the following Indian sites has been listed in UNESCO’s world Heritage sites in transnational category recently?
a. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
b. khangchendzonga National Park, Sikkim
c. Complexe du Capitole, Chandigarh
d. Mountain Railways of India
Answer: c
Explanation:
The Capitol Complex is Le Corbusier’s most spectacular work. The magnificent edifices, set against the Shivalik peaks, stand “as massive concrete sculptures, representing the monumental character authority that the complex represents. It is the seat of the government of the States of Punjab and Haryana. It comprises three epoch-making master-pieces: the Secretariat, the High Court and the Legislative Assembly. Separated by large piazzas, the subtle and most evocative grouping of these buildings is of breath-taking beauty.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has conferred the heritage status on the Capitol Complex recently. The decision was taken at the 40th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO at Istanbul on Sunday.
