CURRENT AFFAIRS UPDATE 9 January to 22 January 2017

1. Ken-Betwa River linking project on 13 January 2017 received environmental, forest and tribal clearances. Consider the following statement in context to Ken-Betwa River linking project.
I. The project aims at addressing the water needs of dry swathes in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh.
II. The NDA government’s ambitious project aims at addressing the water needs of dry swathes in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
III. In the first phase of the project Ken River will be linked with Betwa at an expense of Rs 9500 crore.Which is/are correct?
a) Only I and II
b) Only II and III
c) Only I and III
d) I, II and III

2. India successfully test-fired the Guided Pinaka rocket recently. In this regard, consider the following statements.
I. It was launched from Integrated Test Range launch pad at Chandipur in Odisha.
II. It is also known as Pinaka Rocket Mark-II.
Which is/are correct?
a) Only I
b) Only II
c) Both I and II
d) Neither I nor II

3. The Finance Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on 11 January 2017 presented the Annual State Budget 2017-18 in the legislative assembly. Consider the following statement in context to the budget.
I. It calls for regularization of all 61000 ad-hoc daily wagers employed by the previous government.
II. It proposes to implement the 7th pay commission from 1 April 2017.
III. It proposes to create a social security fund and provide a universal basic income to below the poverty line people.Which is/are correct?
a) Only I and II
b) Only I and III
c) Only II and III
d) I, II and III

4. India-Portugal signed seven agreements on 7 January 2016. Consider the following statements in context to the agreements.
I. They were inked during PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Portugal.
II. Agreement in the field of agriculture and allied sectors were signed.
III. MoU in the sector of defence was inked.Which is/are correct?
a) Only I
b) Only I and II
c) Only II and III
d) I, II and III

5. Consider the following statements related to Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana.
I. It seeks to train and certify Indians who are willing to seek employment abroad.
II. It is a part of the government’s efforts to make India skill capital of the world.
III. It is implemented by the National Skill Development Corporation.Which of them is/are true?
a) I and II only
b) II and III only
c) I and III only
d) I, II and III

6. US President Barack Obama has ended a two-decade-old ‘wet foot, dry foot’ policy that allows migrants of a country who arrive in the US without a visa to become permanent residents. Name the country whose residents were benefited by the policy.
a) Guatemala
b) Mexico
c) Cuba
d) Belize

7. According to official data, the Retail inflation fell to what percent in December 2016.
a) 2.97 per cent
b) 3.41 per cent
c) 3.63 per cent
d) 4.01 per cent

8. According to data released by the Central Statistics Office, the country’s industrial production grew by what percent in November 2016?
a) 2.1 per cent
b) 3.4 per cent
c) 5.7 per cent
d) 6 per cent

9. The world’s largest open air theatre, 11-days Bargarh Dhanu Yatra that concluded in second week of January 2017 with the death King Kansa at the hands of his nephew Lord Krishna is held in which state?
a) Bihar
b) Uttar Pradesh
c) Jharkhand
d) Odisha

10. The World Bank has released January 2017 Global Economic Prospects report on 10 January 2017. Consider the following statements in context to the report.
I. After a post-crisis low 2016, the global economy will accelerate moderately
to 3.7 per cent in 2017.
II. China will see a growth of 6.9 per cent in 2017.
III. Russia is expected to grow at 1.5 per cent in 2017.Which is/are correct?

a) Only III
b) Only I and II
c) Only I and III
d) I, II and III

11. The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards were recently conferred in Bengaluru, Karnataka. In this regard, consider the following statements.
I. The number of awards to be conferred for Pravasi Bhartiya Divas 2017 has been doubled to 30.
II. It is for the first time that an Indian woman living in Saudi Arabia was honoured with the Samman.
Which is/are correct?
a) Only I
b) Only II
c) Both I and II
d) Neither I nor II

12. Which of the following movies won the 74th Golden Globes Best Motion Picture Award in the Musical or Comedy category?
a) Moonlight
b) Nocturnal Animals
c) La La Land
d) FencesANSWER (c) La La Land

13. Who of the following won the Best FIFA Men’s Player 2016 award?
a) Cristiano Ronaldo
b) Lionel Messi
c) Antoine Griezmann
d) None of the above

14. It is in this State Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) touched 900-mark after a gap of 20 years.
a) Punjab
b) Haryana
c) Rajasthan
d) Bihar

15. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently signed agreement with which country for satellite launch technology?
a) Japan
b) USA
c) France
d) China

1. The 62nd Filmfare awards were presented on 14 January 2017. Consider the following statements in context of the Filmfare award.
I. Dangal won awards in best film and Actor category only.
II. Rakesh Roshan bagged the 2016 Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award.
III. Airlift won the award in Screenplay category.Which is/are false?
a) Only III
b) Only I and II
c) Only I and III
d) I, II and III

2. Union Government in recent past launched a mobile app named SEZ India. Consider the following statements in context to the project.
I. It was launched by the Union Finance Ministry under its broader e-Governance initiative.
II. The app will allow SEZ Units and Developers to find information about their transactions on Online System.
III. It will provide contact details of Development Commissioners Office, DG System among others.

Which is/are correct?
a) Only II
b) Only I and II
c) Only II and III
d) I, II and III

ANSWER (c) Only II and III

3. Consider the following statements related to Adoptions Regulations, 2017.
I. The new set of rules will replace the Guidelines Governing Adoption of Children 2015.
II. They were notified by the Union Ministry of Human Resources Development.

Which of these statements is/are true?

a) Only I
b) Only II
c) Both I and II
d) None of them

CURRENT AFFAIRS UPDATE 9 January to 22 January

4. SEBI tightened the norms for merger and amalgamation of an unlisted company with a listed entity in January 2017. Consider the statements in regard to the norms of merger.
I. The unlisted company will have to disclose all the material information in form of an abridged prospectus, similar to what companies file before launching initial public offering (IPO).
II. Post merger, the holdings of public shareholding should not be less than 25 per cent
III. e-voting will be mandatory in cases in cases where the stake of public shareholders reduces by more than 5 per cent in the merged entity.
Which is/are correct?
a) Only III
b) Only I and II
c) Only I and III
d) I, II and III

5. Consider the following statements related to World Economic Outlook Update 2016.
I) It was released by the International Monetary Fund
II) The update slashed India’s GDP growth forecast to 6.6%Which of these statements is/are true?
a) Only I
b) Only II
c) Both I and II
d) Neither I nor II

6. IMD announced the year 2016 as India’s warmest year ever recorded. In this regard, consider the following statements.
I. The documenting of meteorological records began in the year 1901.

II. Before 2016, the warmest year on record was recorded in 2009.

Which is/are correct?
a) Only I
b) Only II
c) Both I and II
d) Neither I nor II

7. Union Cabinet approved amendment in Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS). Against this backdrop, consider the following statements related to M-SIPS.(I) It seeks to strengthen the nanotechnology industry in the country
(II) The scheme was launched in 2012

Which of these statements is/are true?
a) Only I
b) Only II
c) Both I and II
d) Neither I nor II

8. Name the body that was mandated by the Supreme Court to enforce the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in Delhi-NCR.
a) Environment Pollution Control Authority
b) Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority
c) Pollution control authority
d) None of the above

9. The international conference to kick-start peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians was held in
a) Kyoto
b) Berlin
c) Paris
d) London

10. SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 vehicle into space with 10 satellites of a giant of mobile voice and data satellite communications. Name it.
a) Air Power Australia
b) Iridium
c) IEEE Xplore
d) None of the above

ANSWER (b) Iridium

11. Which multilateral agency released the World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2017?
a) World Economic Forum
b) International Labour Organisation
c) International Monetary Fund
d) World Bank Group

12. Who is the author of the book titled ‘Jinnah Often Came to Our House,’ which was recently awarded with The Hindu Prize 2016?
a) Easterine Kire
b) Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar
c) Kiran Doshi
d) Anil Menon

13. The report entitled ‘An economy for the 99 percent’ was released by
a) World Bank Group
b) Oxfam
c) International Monetary Fund
d) New Development Bank

14. The GST Council decided to rollout the Goods and Services Tax on
a) 1 July 2017
b) 1 August 2017
c) 1 September 2017
d) 1 October 2017

15. Name the astronaut who was the last man to walk on Moon and died recently.
a) Eugene Cernan
b) Harrison Schmitt
c) John Young
d) David Scott