Current Affairs Quiz: 05 March 2015

1) Which mine sweeper of the Indian Navy will be decommissioned in 2015 as announced recently?

(A) INS Kozhikode

(B) INS Kakinada

(C) INS Ratnagiri

(D) INS Alleppey

2) Who has been unanimously elected the president of the BCCI on 2 March 2015?

(A) N. Srinivasan

(B) Jagmohan Dalmiya

(C) Shivlal Yadav

(D) Sharad Pawar

3) Arvind Virmani, who served as the country’s Chief Economic Advisor and Principal Advisor in the Planning Commission, was recently appointed as the Economic Mentor of?

(A) FICCI

(B) ASSOCHAM

(C) NASSCOM

(D) Infosys 

4) Who has been declared the richest man in the world for the 16th time by Forbes magazine's annual ranking of global billionaires released recently?

(A) Warren Buffett

(B) Carlos Slim Helu

(C) Bill Gates

(D) Larry Ellison

5) Which football club recently won League Cup?

(A) Chelsea

(B) Tottenham

(C) Manchester United

(D) Manchester City

6) World’s first electric satellites successfully lifted off by which rocket recently?

(A) Antares rocket

(B) SpaceX rocket

(C) Nighttime rocket

(D) None of these

7) Lok Sabha passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2015 by voice vote on 2 March 2015. The Bill seeks to amend the?

(A) Citizenship Act, 1947

(B) Citizenship Act, 1950

(C) Citizenship Act, 1953

(D) Citizenship Act, 1955

8) Hifikepunye Pohamba has recently won the world's most valuable individual award, the Mo Ibrahim prize for African leadership. Hifikepunye Pohamba is the President of which African country?

(A) South Africa

(B) Kenya

(C) Namibia

(D) Nigeria

9) Who recently won the Argentina Open tennis tournament?

(A) Roger Federer

(B) Rafael Nadal

(C) Andy Murray

(D) Novak Djokovic

10) Sania Mirza of India has recently decided to team up with former World No. 1 Martina Hingis in the US-leg of the WTA Tour circuit. Martina Hingis is from which country?

(A) Switzerland

(B) Serbia

(C) Spain

(D) Slovakia

Answers

1) Ans. (D) INS Alleppey

2) Ans. (B) Jagmohan Dalmiya

3) Ans. (A) FICCI

4) Ans. (C) Bill Gates

5) Ans. (A) Chelsea

6) Ans. (B) SpaceX rocket

7) Ans. (D) Citizenship Act, 1955

8) Ans. (C) Namibia

9) Ans. (B) Rafael Nadal

10) Ans. (A) Switzerland

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Daily Current Affairs: 3 March 2015

1) Opposition gets amendment passed in Rajya Sabha:

--> The government on 3 March 2015 faced an embarrassment in the Rajya Sabha when an amendment moved by the Opposition to the President’s address over corruption and black money was passed.

--> The amendment was moved by the CPI (M) members Sitaram Yechury and P. Rajeeve and it was passed through division of votes after the government’s plea for withdrawal of the step failed.

--> This is the fourth time in Rajya Sabha’s history that an amendment moved by the opposition to the motion of thanks to the President’s address has been passed.

--> The previous times such a thing happened was on January 30, 1980, during Janata Party rule, then on December 29, 1989, during V.P. Singh-led National Front and third time on March 12, 2001 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government was in power.

2) National Electoral Roll Purification and Authentication Programme:

--> Election Commission of India (ECI) on 3 March 2015 launched National Electoral Roll Purification and Authentication Programme (NERPAP) throughout India.

--> The programme was launched with the prime objective to bring a total error-free and authenticated electoral roll.

--> Under the nationwide drive, Election Commission will link electoral photo I-card with Aadhaar number to ensure there is no duplication.

--> The NERPAP is aimed at eliminating duplication of voters in electoral rolls by verifying multiple, bogus and ineligible voters.

3) Bill banning cow-slaughter in Maharashtra gets President's nod:

--> The bill banning the cow slaughter in Maharashtra, pending for the last several years, received the President's assent on 4 March 2015.

--> Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed happiness over President Pranab Mukherjee's decision to give assent to the bill.

--> Maharashtra had banned the slaughter of cows and calves in 1976. The new law extends the ban to bulls and bullocks.

4) Moody's downgraded IOB, Central Bank's deposits:

--> Ratings agency Moody’s has downgraded ratings for Central Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank (IOB)’s local and foreign currency deposits from “Baa3” to “Ba1” following the government’s policy to differentiate between public sectors banks (PSBs) when distributing capital.

5) World's largest Indian tricolour unfurled in Faridabad:

--> The world's largest and tallest Indian tricolour was unfurled at Town Park in Faridabad on 3 March 2015.

--> Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah, Haryana chief minister M L Khattar and Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor were present on the occasion.

--> The flag weighs 48 kilograms and has a 96 feet by 64 feet dimension. It was hoisted at a height of 250 feet (75 meters), making it the largest and the highest hoisted Indian flag in the world. 

6) Mary Kom to quit boxing after Rio Olympics:

--> Olympic medallist pugilist M C Mary Kom on 3 March 2015 said she has decided to quit boxing after the 2016 Rio Olympic Games as her body would not be able to cope with the rigours of the sport any further.

--> Mary Kom said after the Rio Games she will concentrate on her boxing academy set up in Imphal.

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Latest Current Affairs Quiz: 3 March 2015

1) Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on 1 March 2015 took oath as the Chief Minister of which state?

(A) Uttar Pradesh

(B) Jammu and Kashmir

(C) Arunachal Pradesh

(D) Himachal Pradesh

2) Who won the Dubai Open ATP Tennis Championship Men’s single title recently?

(A) Roger Federer

(B) Novak Djokovic

(C) Rafael Nadal

(D) Andy Murray

3) Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar began his 4-nation SAARC Yatra on 1 March 2015. Which country he visited first in the SAARC Yatra?

(A) Pakistan

(B) Bangladesh

(C) Afghanistan

(D) Bhutan

4) New Zealand cricketer Martin Crowe was recently inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame as the ___th member?

(A) 75

(B) 81

(C) 79

(D) 64

5) Which city will host the 2022 Commonwealth Games (CWG) as confirmed recently?

(A) Gold Coast, Australia

(B) Nairobi, Kenya

(C) Lusaka, Zambia

(D) Durban, South Africa

6) National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) on 1 March 2015 celebrated its ___th foundation day?

(A) 25th

(B) 20th

(C) 50th

(D) 75th

7) Zero Discrimination Day was recently observed on?

(A) 28 February

(B) 1 March

(C) 2 March

(D) 24 February

8) Which BJP leader has recently sworn in as the deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir?

(A) Chander Parkash Ganga

(B) Sukhnandan Choudhary

(C) Bali Bhagat

(D) Nirmal Singh 

9) Who was appointed as the new Chairman of the National Book Trust (NBT) on 2 March 2015?

(A) A. Sethumadhavan

(B) M.T Vasudevan Nair

(C) Baldev Sharma

(D) None of these

10) Ola, which is the market leader in the personal transportation space in India has recently acquired?

(A) TaxiForSure

(B) RedBus

(C) Planmytrip

(D) UberTaxi

Answers

1) Ans. (B) Jammu and Kashmir

2) Ans. (A) Roger Federer

3) Ans. (D) Bhutan

4) Ans. (C) 79

5) Ans. (D) Durban, South Africa

6) Ans. (A) 25th

7) Ans. (B) 1 March

8) Ans. (D) Nirmal Singh

9) Ans. (C) Baldev Sharma

10) Ans. (A) TaxiForSure

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Daily Current Affairs Updates: 2 March 2015

1) INS Alleppey to be decommissioned this year:

--> INS Alleppey, one of the seven mine sweepers of the Indian Navy, will be decommissioned this year, leaving 14 ports - of which 12 are identified as key - to be covered by just six ships.

--> Mine sweepers perform the critical job of keeping shipping lines and ports open by detecting and defusing mines planted by the enemy by sea or air.

--> The Indian Navy had acquired 12 mine sweeper vessels from Russia between 1978 and 1988. Of these, four have been decommissioned. INS Alleppey, a Russian Natya Class Mine Sweeper, has been in use since 1980.

--> No mine sweeper vessel has been acquired since 1988. 

2) Jagmohan Dalmiya unanimously elected as the new President of the BCCI:

--> Jagmohan Dalmiya has been unanimously elected the president of the BCCI, more than a decade after he last held the position, at the board's AGM in Chennai on 2 March 2015.

--> Anurag Thakur, who was joint-secretary before has become the new secretary after edging out Sanjay Patel.

--> Amitabha Chodhary was elected the Joint Secretary beating Goa's Chetan Desai, while Haryana's Anirudh Choudhary won the treasurer's position by defeating Rajiv Shukla.

3) Ola acquired India's second-largest cab aggregator TaxiForSure for $ 200 mn:

--> Ola (formerly Olacabs), a mobile app for personal transportation, on 2 March 2015 said it has acquired TaxiForSure, India's second largest cab aggregator, for $200 mn in a cash and equity deal.

--> With this deal, Ola, which has over 1 lakh vehicles on its platform for personal transportation, has further deepened its footprint with TaxiForSure's operator led model.

--> Ola and TaxiForSure will continue to operate as separate entities.

4) Ficci roped in Arvind Virmani as Economic Mentor:

--> Noted economist, Arvind Virmani, who served as the country’s Chief Economic Advisor and Principal Advisor in the Planning Commission, will now mentor Ficci’s public policy & economic work.

5) World’s first electric satellites successfully lifted off by SpaceX rocket:

--> World’s first electric satellites were successfully lifted off by a Space Exploration (SpaceX) Technologies rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, United States.

--> The rocket was carrying two all-electric commercial satellites built by Boeing.

--> The satellites are owned by the French satellite provider Eutelsat and Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS).

6) Bill Gates named world's richest person again:

--> Bill Gates has been declared the richest man in the world for the 16th time by Forbes magazine's annual ranking of global billionaires.

--> The Microsoft founder once again beat Mexican businessman Carlos Slim to the top spot.

--> Legendary US investor Warren Buffett regained third place in the list with a net worth of $72.7bn

7) Chelsea won Tottenham to win League Cup:

--> John Terry set Chelsea up for a 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in League Cup final held on 1 March 2015 as Jose Mourinho claimed the first trophy of his second stint as manager.

--> It was Mourinho's first title since he returned to Stamford Bridge in 2013 and his third League Cup after previous successes with the club in 2005 and 2007.

8) Lok Sabha passed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2015:

--> Lok Sabha on 2 March 2015 passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2015 by voice vote.

--> The Bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 which regulates the acquisition and determination of citizenship and details registration of Overseas Citizens of India and their rights.

9) Namibia President Pohamba won Mo Ibrahim prize:

--> The outgoing Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba has won the world's most valuable individual award, the Mo Ibrahim prize for African leadership.

--> The $5m (£3.2m) award is given each year to an elected leader who governed well, raised living standards and then left office.

--> But the previous award was the fourth in five years to have gone unclaimed.

10) Rafael Nadal defeated Juan Mónaco at Argentina Open:

--> Rafael Nadal won a record-equalling 46th clay-court title and his first on any surface since last June by brushing aside Juan Mónaco in the final of the Argentina Open.

11) Sania Mirza to team up with Martina Hingis:

--> Three-time Grand Slam winner Sania Mirza of India has decided to team up with former World No. 1 Martina Hingis of Switzerland in the US-leg of the WTA Tour circuit after parting ways with women's doubles partner Hsieh Su-wei of Chinese Taipei with whom she featured in the doubles final of the just-concluded Doha Open championship.

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Daily GK Updates: 3 March 2015

1) Blue Mountain National Park is situated in which state of India? - Mizoram

2) Longest muscle in human body? - Sartorius

3) Bhariyas are the major tribes of which state? - Madhya Pradesh

4) What was the total number of members in the Drafting Committee of Constitution? - 7

5) Who was India's Constitutional Advisor? - B N Rao (B N Rao was also the first Indian judge at the International Court of Justice.)

6) The Law of Natural Selection is associated with? - Darwin

7) Which Indian artist decorated the handwritten Copy of the Constitution? - Nandalal Bose

8) Which Article is described as the "Heart and Soul of the Constitution"? - Article 32

9) The oath of office is administered to the Governor by the? - Chief Justice of high court

10) Who is head of Judiciary in the State? - High Court

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Quiz Questions on Budget 2015-16: Part 1

1) On which date Union Budget 2015-16 was presented in Parliament? - 28 February 2015

2) Name the Union Finance Minister who presented the Union Budget 2015-16 in Parliament? - Arun Jaitley

3) Personal Income Tax limit was not changed in Union Budget 2015-16. What is the present Personal I-T exemption limit? - Rs 2.5 lakh

4) Health Insurance Premium deduction hiked from Rs. 15,000 to? - Rs. 25,000 (for senior citizens to Rs. 30,000)

5) Transport allowance exemption hiked to Rs. 1,600, from ____ per month? - Rs. 800

6) PAN card is must for all purchase above ____ rupees as proposed in Budget 2015-16? - Rs. 1 lakh

7) An additional ___% surcharge on people earning over Rs. 1 cr was put forth in the budget 2015-16? - 2%

8) Wht change was made in the Wealth tax? - Wealth tax abolished

9) DTC was dropped in the Budget 2015-16. Expand DTC? - Direct Taxes Code

10) Corporate tax to be reduced from 30% to ___ over next four years? - 25%

11) Mudra banks to be established with capital of Rs.___ crore? - 20000

12) Rs. ____ deduction for contribution to New Pension Scheme? - Rs. 50,000

13) GAAR implementation deferred by 2 years to? - April 2017

14) Service Tax rate hiked to ___% from 12.36%? - 14%

15) Tax free bonds were proposed in budget for? - Roads, railways, irrigation projects
Read Part 2: Click Here

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Current Affairs MCQ: 2 March 2015

1) Growth forecast of 8.1 to ___% for fiscal year 2015-16 was disclosed in the Economic Survey for 2015-16 presented in the Parliament on 27 February 2015 by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley?

(A) 8.2%

(B) 8.3%

(C) 8.4%

(D) 8.5%

2) Name the Britain’s largest state-owned bank, which recently decided to shut down its banking operations in India?

(A) Royal Bank of Scotland

(B) Lloyds Banking Group

(C) Barclays

(D) Standard Chartered 

3) Arun Kumar Singh, a 1979 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, has been recently named India’s next ambassador to the United States. He is presently India's ambassador to?

(A) China

(B) Japan

(C) Australia

(D) France

4) Corporate tax was proposed to be reduced from 30% to ___over next four years, in the Union Budget presented in Parliament on 28 February 2015?

(A) 15%

(B) 28%

(C) 25%

(D) 20%

5) Which dictionary has recently added words "Ride-share" and "unboxing" in the new list released recently?

(A) Cambridge dictionary

(B) Oxford Dictionary

(C) Merriam-Webster Dictionary

(D) None of these

6) Senior Counsel Kannan Ramesh (a 49-year-old Indian-origin lawyer) was recently appointed as a Judicial Commissioner to which country's Supreme Court bench?

(A) Singapore

(B) Malaysia

(C) Indonesia

(D) Bangladesh

7) In the Union Budget 2015-16 presented recently, finance minister has proposed merger of Forwards Markets Commission (FMC) with?

(A) TRAI

(B) PFRDA

(C) RBI

(D) SEBI

8) University of Disability Studies announced in Union Budget 2015-16 will be set up in which state?

(A) Jammu and Kashmir

(B) Andhra Pradesh

(C) Kerala

(D) Tamil Nadu

9) Martin Crowe was on 28 February 2015 inducted into the International Cricket Council’s Cricket Hall of Fame. Martin Crowe was the former cricketer from?

(A) West Indies

(B) New Zealand

(C) Australia

(D) England

10) Jitan Ram Manjhi and his supporters on 28 February 2015 floated a political front named 'Hindustani Awam Morcha' (HAM). Jitan Ram Manjhi was the former Chief Minister of?

(A) Bihar

(B) Haryana

(C) Odisha

(D) Jharkhand

Answers

1) Ans. (D) 8.5%

2) Ans. (A) Royal Bank of Scotland

3) Ans. (D) France

4) Ans. (C) 25%

5) Ans. (B) Oxford Dictionary

6) Ans. (A) Singapore

7) Ans. (D) SEBI

8) Ans. (C) Kerala

9) Ans. (B) New Zealand

10) Ans.  (A) Bihar

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Daily Current Affairs: 1 March 2015

1) Mufti Mohammad Sayeed sworn-in as J&K chief minister:

--> Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on 1 March 2015 took oath as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir in a ceremony that was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party leaders L.K. Advani, M.M. Joshi, Amit Shah.

--> BJP leader Nirmal Singh  took over as state’s Deputy Chief Minister.

--> While the PDP has eleven Cabinet Ministers, including Mr. Sayeed himself, the BJP has six, including separatist-turned mainstream politician Sajjad Lone.

--> With this BJP became part of the government in the State for the first time.

--> Sayeed became J&K Chief Minister for the second time. In 2002, he led a PDP-Congress alliance and was Chief Minister for three years.

2) Martin Crowe inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame:

--> Martin Crowe, former New Zealand captain and player of the ICC Cricket World Cup 1992, was on 28 February 2015 inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

--> Crowe became the third New Zealander, after Sir Richard Hadlee and Debbie Hockley, and the 79th overall to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame when he received his commemorative cap from Mr Wally Edwards, ICC Director and Chairman of Cricket Australia.

--> The induction ceremony was held during the innings break of the New Zealand-Australia match in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 at Eden Park, and was also attended by Mr Stephen Boock, New Zealand Cricket President.

3) Federer won seventh Dubai Crown:

--> Roger Federer of Switzerland won the ATP Tennis Championship Men’s single title held in Dubai.

--> In the final match, he defeated Novak Djokovic of Serbia by score of 6–3, 7–5.

--> It was Roger Federer’s seventh win in Dubai ATP Tennis men’s single’s title.

--> Earlier, he had won in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2012 and 2014.

--> Romanian professional tennis player Simona Halep won the ATP Tennis Championship women’s single title

4) Foreign Secretary visited Bhutan on 1st leg of SAARC Yatra:

--> Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar began his 4-nation SAARC Yatra with a visit to Bhutan on 1 March 2015.

--> The Foreign Secretary called on Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay as he began his Yatra to firm up India's ties with members of the grouping while reviewing regional and bilateral cooperation.

--> Jaishankar also called on King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.

-->  S. Jaishankar will be visiting Bhutan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan under this visit, which has been given the name “SAARC Yatra”

5) Jitan Ram Manjhi launched Hindustani Awam Morcha:

--> Former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and his supporters on 28 February 2015 floated 'Hindustani Awam Morcha' (HAM), a political front to work for the public.

--> The Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) is being seen as the first step to counter Nitish Kumar and his Janata Dal-United ahead of state elections to be held this year.

--> Manjhi, who was made chief minister in May 2014, resigned 20 Feb 2015  after a leadership row involving Nitish Kumar.

6) Durban to host 2022 Commonwealth Games:

--> South African city Durban is set to be the host city of the 2022 Commonwealth Games (CWG) as the lone contender for the quadrennial, 71-member multisport event.

--> South Africa has proposed a 12-day Games starting from July 18, birthday of late president Nelson Mandela.

--> Canadian city Edmonton also wanted to play host to the 2022 Games, but withdrew due to financial constraints.

--> Glasgow hosted the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2018 edition is scheduled for the Australian Gold Coast.

7) PM Narendra Modi addressed Nasscom’s foundation day:

--> Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1 March 2015 emphasized the need for finding innovative solution to tackle cyber threat.

--> Speaking at the silver jubilee celebration of NASSCOM, he said, cyber security is the current challenge faced by the world and asked Indian IT giants to develop technology to deal with the challenge.

--> Highlighting importance of IT, the Prime Minister said, IT changed the way the world looked at India.

--> NASSCOM full form: National Association of Software and Services Companies.

8) Zero Discrimination Day observed:

--> March 1 is observed as Zero Discrimination Day to create awareness to people from all corners of the world, about the evil consequences of discrimination, to celebrate diversity, and to reject discrimination.

--> The theme for 2015 Zero Discrimination Day is Open Up, Reach Out.

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