16th April 2015 Current Affairs Multiple Choice Questions

1) Who was on 6 April 2015 re-appointed as the chairman of the IPL governing council?

(A) Saurav Ganguly

(B) Rajeev Shukla

(C) Sunil Gavaskar

(D) Sandeep Patil

2) Name India's first Scorpene submarine which was recently launched for sea trials?

(A) INS Alleppy

(B) INS Vikrant

(C) INS Kalvari

(D) INS Pigeon

3) Which country will host the fifth meeting of SAARC health ministers in April 2015?

(A) India

(B) Nepal

(C) Sri Lanka

(D) Bangladesh

4) Which state government on 5 April 2015 re-launched the anti-corruption helpline number 1031 to help people register their complaints if they are harassed for bribes?

(A) Haryana

(B) Uttar Pradesh

(C) Delhi

(D) Rajasthan

5) Which airport has recently bagged the prestigious Golden Peacock National Quality Award for the year 2015?

(A) Delhi International Airport Limited

(B) Veer Savarkar International Airport

(C) Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport

(D) Trivandrum International Airport

6) What is the code name of the military operation in Yemen against Shia Houthi group?

(A) Operation Rahat

(B) Operation Thunderbolt

(C) Operation All Out

(D) Operation Decisive Storm

7) Carolina Marin who recently won the women's singles titles of Malaysia Open Super series Premier badminton tournament, is from which country?

(A) Germany

(B) Spain

(C) Switzerland

(D) Malaysia

8) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 6 April 2015 launched National Air Quality Index (AQI) for monitoring the quality of air in major urban centres across the country on a real-time basis.  The AQI has been developed by the Central Pollution Control Board in consultation with?

(A) IIT-Kanpur

(B) IIT-Madras

(C) IIT-Delhi

(D) IIT-Guwahati

9) Who won the 2015 Miami Open Tennis women's singles title on 5 April 2015?

(A) Carla Suarez

(B) Serena Williams

(C) Martina Hingis

(D) Maria Sharapova

10) Who won the 2015 Miami Open Tennis men's singles title on 5 April 2015?

(A) Andy Murray

(B) Roger Federer

(C) Rafael Nadal

(D) Novak Djokovic

Answers

1) Ans. (B) Rajeev Shukla

2) Ans. (C) INS Kalvari

3) Ans. (A) India

4) Ans. (C) Delhi

5) Ans. (A) Delhi International Airport Limited

6) Ans. (D) Operation Decisive Storm

7) Ans. (B) Spain

8) Ans. (A) IIT-Kanpur

9) Ans. (B) Serena Williams

10) Ans. (D) Novak Djokovic

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Daily GK Updates- 16 April 2015

1) The country that shares longest border with India is? - Bangladesh

2) The site of Harappa is located on the bank of river? - Ravi

3) Currency of Japan is? - Yen

4) Which operation was started by the British Government to arrest the leaders of Quit India Movement? - Operation Thunderbolt

5) Who was the President of the ‘Flag Committee’? - J. B. Kriplani

6) Veliconda Hills, which is a part of Eastern Ghats, is situated in? - Andhra Pradesh

7) Every year March 20 is celebrated as what day? - Sparrow Day

8) The gases used in normal welding process are? - Oxygen and Acetylene 

9) The Treaty of Srirangapatna was signed in 1792 between Tipu Sultan and? - Cornwallis

10) Who was the first Muslim president of Indian National Congress? - Badruddin Tyabji

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Daily Current Affairs Updates - 15 April 2015

1) Sachin Tendulkar inducted into Laureus Sports Academy:

--> Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar was inducted as one of the five new members into the prestigious Laureus Sports Academy in a glittering annual award ceremony at the Shanghai Grand theatre on 15 April 2015.

--> Besides Tendulkar, retired Chinese professional basketball player Yao Ming, Kenyan long-distance runner Tegla Loroupe, Chinese gymnast Li Xiaopeng and former Chinese short track speed skater Yang Yang were the other athletes to be inducted into the Laureus academy.

--> Last year, Rahul Dravid was selected as a member of the academy.

--> Laureus World sports Academy is the jury which decides upon the winners for all categories at World Sports awards given out every year.

2) Djokovic won Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award:

--> Novak Djokovic has been named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year at a ceremony on 15 April 2015 in Shanghai, China.

--> Genzebe Dibaba (Ethiopia) - Athletics won the world sportswoman of the year.

--> Germany (men's) football team was named world  team of the year.

3) Govt. formed panel to review Official Secrets Act:

--> A high-level committee formed by the Union government to look into the provisions of the Official Secrets Act in the light of the Right to Information (RTI) Act will meet for the first time in North Block on 16 April 2015.

--> The committee, comprising Home Secretary L.C. Goyal, Law Secretary P.K. Malhotra and Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training, Sanjay Kothari, was constituted in February, but notified only recently.

--> The inter-ministerial committee will be headed by Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth.

4) Janata Parivar announced merger, Mulayam to head new party:

--> Six political parties viz. Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Samajwadi Party (SP), Janata Dal (Secular), Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Samajwadi Janata Party (SJP) on 15 April 2015 announced the formation of a new party by merging themselves.

--> Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh will head the party and the parliamentary board, but the name, flag, symbol, policy and party programme will be finalised by a six-member committee later.

5) Nokia to buy Alcatel-Lucent:

--> Telecom equipment major Nokia will acquire which French telecommunications Alcatel-Lucent for around $16.6 billion.

--> Nokia will give Alcatel-Lucent shareholders 0.55 shares in the combined company for each of their old shares, resulting in 33.5% of the entity being in Alcatel's hands and Nokia having 66.5% if the public exchange offer is fully taken up.

6) Mohan Kumar appointed as new Indian Ambassador to France:

--> Senior diplomat Mohan Kumar, currently India's top envoy to Bahrain, has been appointed the next Ambassador to France to succeed Arun Kumar.

--> A 1981-batch IFS officer, Mohan Kumar is expected to take up his assignment shortly, External Affairs Ministry said.

--> The official announcement for Mohan Kumar's appointment comes six days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to France.

--> Arun Kumar has been appointed the country's Ambassador to the US, replacing S Jaishankar.

7) BHEL, Russian firm INTMA ink pact for power plant in Kazakhstan:

--> State-owned power equipment maker BHEL has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Russian company INTMA, to set up a gas-based power project in Kazakhstan.

--> The MoU will further help BHEL in consolidating its presence in the CIS countries, the company said.

--> BHEL is currently executing 23 major projects in 16 countries and has a presence in more than 75 countries.

--> INTMA is one of the leading general Engineering Procurement and Construction contractors (EPC) in Russia and Kazakhstan.

8) Justice Meenakshi Madan Rai sworn in as first lady judge of Sikkim High Court:

--> Justice Meenakshi Madan Rai was sworn in as the first lady judge of the Sikkim High Court.

--> Governor of Sikkim Srinivas Patil administered the oath of office to her at Raj Bhavan in Gangtok.

9) Assamese Filmmaker Bidyut Chakraborty passed away:

--> Renowned Assamese filmmaker and actor Bidyut Chakraborty died on 15 April 2015.

--> He directed several Assamese movies including Raag-Biraag, Goon Goon Gaane Gaane, Dwaar.

--> Chakraborty even won Indira Gandhi national award for Raag Biraag.

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15th April 2015 Daily GK Updates

1) Which Indian State is the leading Cotton producer? - Gujarat

2) Where are the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee located? - Switzerland

3) In which session of the Indian National Congress was the “Poorna Swaraj” resolution adopted? - Lahore Session in 1929

4) Who is author of “Imagining India”? - Nandan Nilekani

5) The currency of European Union is? - Euro

6) Who gave the title of ‘Mahamana’ to Madan Mohan Malaviya? - Mahatma Gandhi

7) In which part of the Indian Constitution, the Fundamental Duties are enshrined? - Part 4-A

8) Who was the Viceroy at the time of Quit India Movement? - Lord Linlithgow

9) Who was the other Congress leader who joined with Motilal Nehru to start the Swaraj Party in 1923? - Chittaranjan Das

10) Blood group was discovered by? - Landsteiner

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Current Affairs Daily Quiz: 15 April 2015

1) PepsiCo India on 3 April 2015 commissioned first phase of its largest beverage plant in India in which state?

(A) Andhra Pradesh

(B) Karnataka

(C) West Bengal

(D) Kerala

2) Pedro Cateriano Bellido was recently appointed as Prime Minister of which country?

(A) Bolivia

(B) Peru

(C) Chile

(D) Nigeria

3) Which player recently defeated Saina Nehwal in the semi-finals of Malaysia Open Super Series Premier badminton tournament?

(A) Li Xuerui

(B) Saina Nehwal

(C) Carolina Marin

(D) Wang Shixian

4) West Bengal and Bihar Governor K.N. Tripathi recently sworn in as the 16th governor of which northeastern state (additional charge)?

(A) Arunachal Pradesh

(B) Assam

(C) Tripura

(D) Mizoram

5) Union government recently extended ____ months’ time to the states for rolling out the National Food Security Act (NFSA)?

(A) 5

(B) 4

(C) 6

(D) 7

6) Malli Mastan Babu who recently died was a famous?

(A) Volleyball Player

(B) Mountaineer

(C) Sky Diver

(D) Wildlife Photographer

7) Michael Rudenko, a committee member of the Minor Planet Center on 1 April 2015 officially named a minor planet in the name of which Indian sports person?

(A) Sachin Tendulkar

(B) Sania Mirza

(C) Dhyan Chand

(D) Vishwanathan Anand

8) Who has recently become the National Basketball Association's (pre-eminent men's professional basketball league) first player of Indian origin?

(A) Sim Bhullar

(B) Kavi Singh

(C) Prajith Bopara

(D) None of these 

9) Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 2 April 2015 celebrated its  ____th anniversary?

(A) 70th

(B) 60th

(C) 80th

(D) 85th

10) Amaravathi was recently selected by which state government as its new capital city?

(A) Telengana

(B) Karnataka

(C) Odisha

(D) Andhra Pradesh

Answers

1) Ans. (A) Andhra Pradesh

2) Ans. (B) Peru 

3) Ans. (A) Li Xuerui

4) Ans. (D) Mizoram

5) Ans. (C) 6

6) Ans. (B) Mountaineer

7) Ans. (D) Vishwanathan Anand

8) Ans. (A) Sim Bhullar

9) Ans. (C) 80th

10) Ans. (D) Andhra Pradesh

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Daily Current Affairs Updates - 14 April 2015

1) Govt changed name of visa-on-arrival scheme to e-tourist visa:

--> Union home ministry has decided to rename the tourist visa-on-arrival scheme as 'e-tourist visa' scheme with effect from 15 April 2015.

--> The step is aimed at avoiding inconvenience to foreign tourists who, misled by scheme's nomenclature, would fly into India presuming that they would be granted visa on arrival upon landing.

--> Under the 'tourist visa on arrival-electronic travel authorization scheme', a foreign tourist was required to apply for a visa online by uploading his photograph and passport and also paying his visa fee online.

--> The visa authorities would then process his application and send him an electronic travel authorization, or simply e-visa, via e-mail within 72 hours. 

2) Government constituted task force on interlinking of rivers:

--> Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation has constituted a 'Task Force' on Interlinking of Rivers comprising experts and senior officials to look into the issues relating to Interlinking of Rivers ( ILR) in the country.

--> The Task Force would be chaired by BN Navalawala, former Secretary of Ministry of Water Resources.

3) Zomato acquired cloud-based data firm MaplePOS:

--> Restaurant search application Zomato has acquired cloud-based point of sale (POS) product for restaurants MaplePOS, a company statement said on 14 April 2015.

--> Zomato has already renamed the MaplePOS product "Zomato Base", and information on the product is now available.

--> Zomato offers restaurants features such as menu and inventory management, and has a built-in payment solution to accept debit and credit card payments.

4) Turkey begins construction of first nuclear power plant:

--> Turkey on 14 April 2015 began the construction of its first nuclear power plant located at Akkuyu in Mersin province on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

--> It will be built by Akkuyu Project Company, a subsidiary of Russia’s nuclear agency Rosatom.

5) US President Barack Obama nominated Indian-American businesswoman Shamina Singh to key post:

--> US President Barack Obama has nominated prominent Indian-American businesswoman Shamina Singh to a key administration post.

--> Singh has been nominated as the member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service for a term expiring in October 2019.

6) FM transmission of Vividh Bharati launched:

--> The popular ‘Vividh Bharati’ services of All India Radio (AIR) will now be available to listeners in and around Delhi on mobile handsets with the launch of FM transmission of the channel.

--> Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley, who launched the FM transmission, also delivered a message to the listeners of the channel, saying Vividh Bharati services would reach people within a range of 60-65 km with much clarity at all times in all weather conditions.

--> Vividh Bharati offers a mix of film music, skits, short plays and interactive programmes.

--> The I&B minister also said the Doordarshan’s ‘Kisan’ channel could be launched in May. 

7) HDFC announced mobile banking app for Apple Watch:

--> Indian banking giant HDFC has just announced an HDFC mobile banking app, designed specifically for the Apple Watch.

--> Simply titled WatchBanking, the move makes HDFC the first bank, and also the first Indian company to launch an app for the Apple Watch, due to launch in India later this month.

8) HDFC Bank tops mobile banking transactions:

--> HDFC Bank placed at the top spot among all banking entities in mobile banking transactions during January 2015 according to the pertaining data released by RBI on 14 April 2015.

--> It is followed by ICICI Bank, State Bank of India and Axis Bank with respect to mobile banking transactions.

9) Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar’s 124th birth anniversary celebrated:

--> Nation observed 124th birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar on 14 April 2015.

--> Dr. BR Ambedkar is popularly know as the architect of India's Constitution.

--> Rich tributes were paid to the architect of Indian Constitution Dr. Ambedkar in Parliament complex.

--> Throughout his life he worked for the upliftment of dalits and tribals and campaigned against social discrimination.

10) AAP rebels launched Swaraj Abhiyan:

--> Aam Aadmi Party rebels Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan on 14 April 2015 rallied their supporters and announced a separate group called the "Swaraj Abhiyan," pledging to work for alternative politics.

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Daily Current Affairs: 13 April 2015

1) National Judicial Appointments Commission Act notified:

--> Government on 13 April 2015 notified the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, 2014 and the Constitution (Ninety-ninth Amendment) Act, 2014 for bringing in a change in the existing system for appointment of Judges in Supreme Court and High Courts.

--> The Acts provide for a transparent and broad-based process of selection of Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts by the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC).

--> NJAC will be a six-member body, comprising the Chief Justice of India and two of his senior most judges, the law minister and two eminent people.

--> Any two of them can veto any candidature.

--> The eminent people will be nominated after consultations with the CJI, the PM and the Leader of Opposition or the leader of the single largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha. 

2) Sania Mirza officially crowned World No. 1:

--> Sania Mirza on 13 April 2015 officially became the first Indian woman tennis player to be ranked World No. 1 in doubles after WTA unveiled its latest list.

--> The Indian ace has gone up three rungs in the charts with 7660 points to dethrone Italy’s Sara Errani (7640 points).

--> Sania took 470 points from the win with Martina Hingis in the WTA Family Circle Cup in the official list.

3) Union Home Ministry notified Governors (Allowances and Privileges) Amendment Rules, 2015:

--> Union Home Ministry on 10 April 2015 notified amendments to the Governors (Allowances and Privileges) Rules, 1987 and named these rules as Governors (Allowances and Privileges) Amendment Rules, 2015.

--> The amendment notifies 18-set of rules to regulate any foreign visit or domestic visit outside the State by the Governors.

--> As per the new norms laid by the said law, the duration of a governor’s official visits outside the state shall not exceed 20% of the days in a calendar year, i.e., 73 days.

--> As per the new norms, governors must seek the approval of the President and forward their communication in this regard, two weeks in advance for private visits outside the state and seven days in advance for official visits.

4) Is “Airtel Zero” against Net Neutrality?

--> During April 2015, Airtel announced Airtel Zero, a platform that allows consumers free access to select apps and services with the cost of this data traffic being borne by the companies that have signed up.

--> For example, if Flipkart signs up as an Airtel Zero partner, consumers will not be charged for data that they will use while accessing Flipkart, and Airtel will bill Flipkart for that session.

-->  ‘Net Neutrality’ is the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) should treat all traffic on their networks equally.

--> That means users should be able to access all websites at the same speed and cost. No website should be given preferential treatment over another.

5) In a first, DPRK Foreign Minister visited India:

--> In a significant diplomatic engagement between India and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), the Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong met his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj on 13 April 2015.

--> This is the first ever visit at the Foreign Minister level from North Korea to India.

--> Mr. Yong is on a three day visit on the invitation of Ms. Swaraj.

6) Hillary Clinton announced 2016 presidential bid:

--> Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on 12 April 2015 announced that she would be contesting the election for the office of U.S. president in 2016.

--> Hillary Clinton ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008 but lost to Barack Obama.

7) Haryana govt announced cabinet rank for Ramdev:

--> Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on 13 April announced Cabinet-rank status for yoga guru Ramdev, who is the state's brand ambassador.

--> Khattar said Ramdev, who is authorized to promote yoga and ayurveda in the state, would be given the status of Cabinet minister, and a function would be held at Panchkula on April 21 to honour him.

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12th April 2015 Important Daily Current Affairs

1) German Nobel laureate Gunter Grass passed away:

--> Renowned German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature Gunter Grass passed away on 12 April 2015 in the city of Lubeck.

--> The list of his works is very long, and includes "Cat and Mouse" and "Dog Years", which, together with "The Tin Drum", were part of his famous "Gdansk Trilogy"; "Local Anesthetic", "The Flounder", "The Rat", "The Call of the Toad" and "Crabwalk".

--> Gunter Grass was a multi-talented artist, not only a novelist and poet, but also a sculptor and designer who occasionally also designed the covers of his books.

2) Sania Mirza is first Indian to be World No.1 in women's doubles:

--> Sania Mirza on 12 April 2015 created history by becoming the first female tennis player from India to achieve the world number one rank in doubles, following her stupendous title win at the WTA Family Circle Cup with partner Martina Hingis, Charleston.

--> Sania took 470 points from the win to take her tally to 7965 as she jumped past Italy’s Sara Errani (7640) and Roberta Vinci (7640) to sit atop the ranking table.

--> Before Sania, only Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhuapthi had achieved the top rank when they dominated men’s doubles circuit in the late 90s.

--> Sania is also first female player from India to win Grand Slam tournaments.

3) Lewis Hamilton won Chinese Grand Prix:

--> World champion Lewis Hamilton won the Chinese Grand Prix for the second year on 12 April 2015. 

--> Nico Rosberg finished second while Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen finished third and fourth for Ferrari.

--> Williams drivers Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas finished fifth and sixth respectively. 

4) New Zealand won Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament 2015:

--> New Zealand beat Australia in the 24th Sultan Azlan-Shah-Tournament 3-1 in the Shoot-out stages held at Malaysia.

--> New Zealand was put ahead by Penalty-Corner-goal from Andy-Hayward, until 29 minutes before close when Australia equaled the scores.

--> New Zealand won the cup for the second time; first was in 2012 when they beat Argentina.

--> India defeated South Korea 4-1 (6-3) on penalties to win the bronze medal.

--> Azlan Shah Cup is named after ninth King of Malaysia, Sultan Azlan Shah, who is known as the "Father of Malaysian Hockey"

5) Air Pegasus began commercial operations in India:

--> Air Pegasus on 12 April 2015 commenced its commercial operations with flight services to Hubballi and Thiruvananthapuram from its base in Bengaluru, becoming the second regional air operator after Air Costa.

--> Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju launched the operations of the airline promoted by ground handling services provider Decor Aviation.

--> Bangalore-based Air Pegasus recently acquired flying permit from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and is the third new airline to receive the permit from the aviation regulator in last one year, after AirAsia India and Vistara.

6) BHEL commissioned 600-MW thermal unit in Chhattisgarh:

--> Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) announced that it has commissioned another 600 MW unit of a thermal power project in Chhattisgarh.

--> The unit was commissioned at Dainik Bhaskar Power Ltd's (DBPL) upcoming 2x600 MW thermal power project located at Dhabra in Janjgir Champa district of Chhattisgarh.

7) Shooter Jitu Rai won bronze at ISSF World Cup:

--> Ace Indian shooter Jitu Rai has won a bronze medal in the 10 meter Air Pistol (Men) event in the ongoing ISSF World Cup Rifle/ Pistol Shooting competition being held at Changwon in South Korea on 12 April 2015.

--> Jin Jongoh of South Korea has won the gold medal in the same event by scoring 206 points while Naung Ye Tun of Malaysia has won the silver by scoring 201 points.

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