Current Affairs Quiz: 13 September 2018

1. The proposed Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) corridor will link Kunming City to which part of India? 
a) Kolkata
b) Gangtok
c) Guwahati
d) Patna

2. Vijay Shankar Vyas, who passed away recently, belonged to which branch?
a) Literature
b) Economics
c) Sports
d) Music

3. Who will head the panel of secretaries to look into the issues raised on draft e-commerce policy?
a) Bimal Jalan
b) Sushil Modi
c) Ramesh Abhishek
d) Suresh Prabhu

4. NITI Aayog collaborated with which organisation to set up a Model International Center for Transformative Artificial Intelligence (ICTAI)?
a) Google
b) Microsoft
c) Amazon
d) Intel

5. Nepal started its first bus service with which Indian state on September 11, 2018?
a) Bihar
b) Jharkhand
c) Delhi
d) West Bengal

6. Which nuclear research reactor was recommissioned with a higher capacity on September 10, 2018?
a) Tarapur
b) Apsara
c) Purnima
d) Dhruva

7. The Union Cabinet has approved which new umbrella scheme to benefit the farmers?
a) PM-AASHA
b) PM-JAASH
c) PM-FMSY
d) PM-FRPS

8. As per UN report on ‘state of food security and nutrition in the world’, which region is worst affected by hunger and undernutrition?
a) Latin America
b) Middle East
c) Africa
d) Asia

9. According to a recent UN report, the level of Hunger rose from 804 million in 2016 to how much in 2017?
a) 821
b) 864
c) 851
d) 915

10. Sardar Singh, who announced his retirement recently, was the former captain of which Indian team?
a) Indian football team
b) Indian kabaddi team
c) Indian hockey team
d) Indian rugby team

11. The European Union Parliament has voted to punish which nation for breaching democratic norms?
a) Spain
b) Italy
c) Greece
d) Hungary

12. Which state government is going to distribute over 1 lakh pump sets to double farmers’ income by 2022?
a) Madhya Pradesh
b) Maharashtra
c) Uttar Pradesh
d) Assam

ANSWERS

1. (a) Kolkata
Chinese Consul-General in Kolkata, Ma Zhanwu on September 12, 2018 announced that China is looking forward to plan bullet trains from Kolkata to Kunming City of China. However, the Chinese diplomat did not reveal the details of the route. The train is expected to traverse through Myanmar and Bangladesh.

2. (b) Economics
Vijay Shankar Vyas, the Padma Bhushan awardee and noted agricultural economist, passed away in Jaipur, Rajasthan on September 12, 2018. He had held several professional and leadership positions in national and international organisations.

3. (c) Ramesh Abhishek
Union Government constituted a group of secretaries to look into the issues raised on some proposals of the draft e-commerce policy. The group will be chaired by Ramesh Abhishek, the secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

4. (d) Intel 
NITI Aayog collaborated with Intel and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) to set up a Model International Center for Transformative Artificial Intelligence (ICTAI). The collaboration aims to bring together fundamental and applied research, innovation and technology development to solve important problems.

5. (a) Bihar
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on September 11, 2018 flagged off the first bus service between Bihar and Nepal. The service will link Bodh Gaya and Patna in Bihar to Kathmandu and Janakpur in Nepal strengthening the relations between India and Nepal.

6. (b) Apsara
India’s oldest research reactor ‘Apsara’, which was shut down permanently in 2009 for repair, was recommissioned with a higher capacity on September 10, 2018 at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay. Apsara is a light water swimming pool-type reactor with a maximum power output of one megawatt thermal (MWt).

7. (a) PM-AASHA
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved a new umbrella scheme ‘Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan’ (PM-AASHA).  The scheme aims to ensure that farmers get remunerative prices for their produce as announced in the Union Budget for 2018.

8. (c) Africa
According to latest UN report, the share of undernourished people in the world population, the prevalence of undernourishment (PoU), is estimated to have reached 10.9 percent in 2017. Africa remains the continent with the highest prevalence of undernourishment, affecting almost 21 percent of the population (more than 256 million people).

9. (a) 821
The UN report on the ‘state of food security and nutrition in the world’ revealed that the number of undernourished people in the world has been on the rise since 2014, reaching an estimated 821 million in 2017, from around 804 million in 2016. The levels are the same as almost a decade ago.

10. (c) Indian hockey team 
Former Indian captain Sardar Singh has announced his retirement from International hockey. He made the decision after a disappointing Asian Games where India failed to defend their title and had to settle for a Bronze medal. The 32-year old player made his senior debut for India against Pakistan in 2006 and since then played over 350 international matches, captaining the team for eight years.

11. (d) Hungary
The European Union legislators have voted overwhelmingly in favour of launching punitive action against the Hungarian government for flouting democratic rules. More than two-thirds of members of the European Parliament backed the censure motion, the first such vote against a member state under EU rules.

12. (d) Assam
The Assam government has decided to distribute over 1 lakh pump sets to double the farmers’ income by 2022. The pump sets will be distributed under NABARD’s Rural Infrastructure Development Project. They will include 60 thousand diesel sets, 11 thousand solar and 30 thousand electrical operated pump sets.