Current Affairs Quiz: 16 October 2018
1. Who won the 2018 New Academy Prize in Literature, which was formed in protest to the Nobel Literature Prize?
a) Maryse Conde
b) Kazuo Ishiguro
c) Bob Dylan
d) Patrick Modiano
2. India launched the first joint programme for Afghanistan to train its diplomats in partnership with which country?
a) Russia
b) China
c) Nepal
d) Sri Lanka
3. The Museum on Prime Ministers of India will be set up in which state?
a) Uttar Pradesh
b) Gujarat
c) Delhi
d) Maharashtra
4. Paul Gardner Allen, an investor, entrepreneur and philanthropist, passed away on October 15, 2018. He was associated with which company?
a) Infosys
b) Google
c) Intel
d) Microsoft
5. Who was appointed as Director-General of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)?
a) Shekhar C Mande
b) Girish Sahni
c) Vijnana Bharati
d) Sumit Rathore
6. Who won the Fukuoka Arts and Culture Prize 2018?
a) Nooran Sisters
b) Teejan Bai
c) Wadali Brothers
d) Malini Awasthi
7. The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet has approved renaming of which city as Prayagraj?
a) Varanasi
b) Allahabad
c) Lucknow
d) Kanpur
8. Which Indian council has signed two pacts with Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan to promote environmental awareness?
a) ICFRE
b) CSE
c) CEEW
d) NPC
9. India has decided to set up a special desk to facilitate investments from which nation?
a) UAE
b) Kuwait
c) Qatar
d) Jordan
10. The Union Government has launched an air quality warning system to combat air pollution in which city?
a) Bengaluru
b) Chandigarh
c) Mumbai
d) New Delhi
11. When was International Day of Rural Women observed?
a) 13th October
b) 16th October
c) 15th October
d) 14th October
12. The Union Transport Ministry has launched which programme to improve road safety awareness, especially among the youth?
a) Be Safe and Sober on the road programme
b) Don’t Drink and Drive Programme
c) Youth Safety Awareness Programme
d) Youth Road Safety Learners Licence Programme
ANSWERS
1. (a) Maryse Conde
Maryse Conde, a French author of historical fiction, won the 2018 New Academy Prize in Literature, which is formed in protest to the Nobel Literature Prize. Conde will win £ 87000 raised from crowdfunding and donations, and will receive the prize at a ceremony on 9 December 2018, one day before the Nobel Prize ceremony.
2. (b) China
India and China launched their first joint programme for Afghanistan to train its diplomats during October 15-26, 2018 under the aegis of the Trilateral Cooperation between India, China and Afghanistan. The joint training programme is being held after the informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held in April 2018 at China’s Wuhan city.
3. (c) Delhi
Minister of state for culture, Mahesh Sharma and Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri on October 15, 2018 jointly laid the foundation stone for proposed Museum on Prime Ministers of India at Teen Murti Estate, New Delhi.
4. (d) Microsoft
Paul Gardner Allen, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, an investor, entrepreneur and philanthropist, passed away on October 15, 2018. He was 65. He died in Seattle from complications related to Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the less-common Hodgkin’s disease, is a cancer of the lymphatic system.
5. (a) Shekhar C Mande
Dr. Shekhar C Mande was appointed as Director-General of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Secretary of the Department of Scientific and Research (DSIR). The position of CSIR DG fell vacant after Girish Sahni superannuated on August 31, 2018.
6. (b) Teejan Bai
Teejan Bai, the folk artist from Chhattisgarh, won the 2018 Fukuoka Arts and Culture Prize, one of the top honours of Japan. It was the first time she had been formally recognised for her art: Pandavani, a narrative singing of the ancient Indian epic “Mahabharata”.
7. (b) Allahabad
The Uttar Cabinet has approved the proposal of the state government to rename the city of ‘Allahabad’ as ‘Prayagraj’. The decision has been vehemently opposed by the opposition parties. The city of Allahabad was originally known as Prayag in ancient times. It was named Illahabad or the abode of God by Mughal emperor Akbar due to its strategic position as a Sangam of three rivers.
8. (a) ICFRE
The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehradun signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS). The agreements were signed to launch ‘Prakriti’ programme that aims to promote environmental awareness among the students.
9. (a) UAE
India will soon set up a special UAE desk to facilitate investments and resolve any business issues between the two nations. Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu made the announcement after co-chairing the sixth meeting of UAE-India High-Level Joint Task Force on Investments in Mumbai on October 15, 2018.
10. (d) New Delhi
The Union Government unveiled an Air Quality early warning system for the Delhi region. The system has been designed with the help of American and Finnish models to predict extreme air pollution levels. The system will help combat air pollution in the National Capital by getting information 2-5 days in advance.
11. (c) 15th October
The International Day of Rural Women was observed globally on October 15, 2018 with the theme, “Sustainable infrastructure, services and social protection for gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls”. The theme places empowerment of rural women at the heart of fulfilling the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
12. (d) Youth Road Safety Learners Licence Programme
The Road Transport and Highways Ministry has launched the youth road safety learners licence programme to help the government achieve its target of reducing road accidents by 50 percent by 2020. Some of the major factors resulting in high road accidents include rash driving, drunken driving and the lack of adequate safety measures.