November 9, 2017 - Current Affairs Quiz - Current Affairs MCQ

Answer – 3. Natalie Portman
Explanation
Organisers announced that, Natalie Portman has been awarded Israel’s 2018 Genesis Prize in recognition of her commitment to social causes and deep connection to her Jewish and Israeli roots. The Genesis Prize is granted each year to a person recognised as an inspiration to the next generation of Jews through professional achievement and commitment to Jewish values. It consists of $1 million cash. Natalie Portman is an Oscar award winning actress. She was born in Israel and moved to the United States as a young girl. She won the 2011 Best Actress Academy Award.

Answer – 3. France
Explanation
International Energy Agency (IEA) Ministerial meeting was held in Paris, Franceon 7th and 8th November, 2017. Energy security, clean energy technology and government-industry dialogue on investment and digitalization were the key focus areas for this meeting. Indian delegation to IEA Ministerial Meeting, Paris was led by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, Raj Kumar Singh.

Answer – 3. Meghalaya
Explanation
The Government of Meghalaya kick-started the 2nd India International Cherry Blossom Festival on Wednesday at the 5th Ground, Polo Grounds, Shillong wherein the Meghalaya Minister for Forests & Environment, Clement Marak was the Chief Guest. The Festival is being held in association with the Institute of Bio-resources & Sustainable Development (IBSD), Government of India and Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Government of India.

Answer – 5. Mumbai
Explanation
United Arab Emirates (UAE’s) second largest bank, Emirates NBD has started operations in India by opening a branch in Mumbai. Emirates NBD, has a plan to invest USD 100 million capital into its Indian operations over a period of time. The Mumbai branch is Emirates NBD’s fifth international branch outside of its UAE.

Answer – 2. Saina Nehwal
Explanation
Saina Nehwal and HS Prannoy won titles in Senior National Badminton Championship 2017, in Nagpur. Saina Nehwal, a former world number one, defeated PV Sindhu, the Olympic and World Championship silver medallist by 21-17, 27-25 in the finals of women singles. Saina won the women’s singles title. HS Prannoy defeated Kidambi Srikanth by 21-15, 16-21, 21-7 in the men’s singles finals. HS Prannoy won the men’s singles title.

Answer – 1. 9th Nov
Explanation
Legal Services Day is celebrated every year on 9th of November in all states and authorities of India. At this day variety of legal literacy camps and functions are organized at many places in New Delhi. This day was first coined by the Supreme Court in the year 1995 to offer help and support to the weaker and poor group of sections of people which may be women, disabled persons, Scheduled Tribes, children, Scheduled Castes, human trafficking victims and natural calamities victims.

Answer – 4. New Delhi
Explanation
The Nordic-Baltic embassies are set to host the first ever youth film festival of the European nations at India Habitat Centre in New Delhi from 13 – 18 November 2017. The Nordic-Baltic youth film festival is organized by Nordic-Baltic embassies in collaboration with the India Habitat Centre. The Nordic-Baltic countries are Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden.

Answer – 2. Aadhaar Card
Explanation
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA) has announced that linking of Aadhaar number to insurance policies is now a mandatory requirement under Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Second Amendment Rules, 2017. This norm of linking Aadhaar number to insurance policies will apply to new customers as well as existing policy holders. Besides, it will apply not only to life insurance policies but also to general insurance policies.

Answer – 4. Priti Patel
Explanation
Britain’s first Indian-origin Cabinet Minister Priti Patel resigned as International Development Secretary due to controversies over her unauthorised secret meetings with Israeli politicians. Priti Patel’s resignation is followed by controversies around a dozen undisclosed meetings she had with other Israelis, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for which she had been forced to apologise. She is a 45 year old Gujarati-origin politician. She was promoted as secretary of state in the department for international development in 2016.

Answer – 1. Cinema
Explanation
Karin Dor, who played the red-haired villainess Helga Brandt in the 1967 James died on 06thNov 2017 in a nursing home in Munich. Dor became popular in the 1960’s for playing heroines in Karl May and Edgar Wallace films but is best remembered for playing an assassin sent to kill James Bond, played by Sean Connery – in 1967 film You Only Live Twice.

Answer – 3. Bangladesh
Explanation
Adani Power has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Adani Power (Jharkhand) has inked long-term pact with Bangladesh Power Development Board to supply electricity from its upcoming 1,600 MW plant at Godda in Jharkhand. Adani Power (Jharkhand) Limited has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for net capacity of 1,496 MW with Bangladesh Power Development Board for 25 year.

Answer – 3. Hong Kong
Explanation
A report published by Euromonitor International, said that, Hong Kong remains the world’s most visited city by international travellers. The report on top 100 city destinations was published by market research firm Euromonitor International. It said that, 25.7 million arrivals are expected in Hong Kong this year, making it the World’s top city for international visits. The Thai capital Bangkok retains second place, but its popularity has grown faster than Hong Kong’s, with arrivals at 21.3 million.

Answer – 2. Chennai
Explanation
Chennai has been included in United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO’s) Creative Cities Network for its rich musical tradition. Chennai is the third Indian city to be included in UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network. Jaipur and Varanasi have already featured in the network for their contributions to music and folk arts.

Answer – 1. Greater Noida
Explanation
Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, Radha Mohan Singh inaugurated the three-day Organic World Congress – 2017 at India Expo Centre in Greater Noida. 1,400 representatives from 110 countries, and 2000 delegates from India participated in the Organic World Congress – 2017. The goal is to move from organic India to the organic world. The Organic World Congress (OWC) is organized once every three years in a different country. The International Federation of Organic Farming Movements (IFOAM) and Organic Farming Association of India (OFAI) are organizing the event.

Answer – 3. IDFC Bank
Explanation
IDFC Bank entered into a strategic partnership with digital payments solution company MobiKwik to launch a co-branded virtual Visa prepaid card for customers of MobiKwik. By next week, IDFC Bank – Mobikwik Visa virtual pre-paid card facility will be available to all MobiKwik users on Android as well as iOS platform. To use the co-branded pre-paid card, the Mobikiwk user need not be a customer of IDFC Bank.

Answer – 2. Uber
Explanation
Uber unveiled a partnership with NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) to develop flying taxis priced competitively with standard Uber journeys. Uber has also announced that, Los Angeles will join two other previously revealed “UberAIR” pilot schemes in Dallas Fort-Worth, Texas, and Dubai. The first demonstration flights are expected in 2020 and will move into commercial operations by 2023, with plenty of time for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Answer – 1. Seoul
Explanation
Delhi Government signed a twin city agreement with the Seoul (South Korea) Metropolitan Government with an objective to strengthen cooperation between two cities in the fields of smart city, e-governance, climate change and transportation. This agreement, referred to as ‘Establishment of Friendship City Relationship’ was signed between Park Won Soon, Mayor of Seoul (South Korea) Metropolitan Government and Delhi and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Answer – 4. Bengaluru
Explanation
According to a report based on a survey by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), published on November 7, 2017, India’s Silicon Valley – Bengaluru has been adjudged as the best city among 45 cities for the confidence of its businesses in their ability to go digital.

Answer – 3. Third
Explanation
Unity Technologies, said that, India is now ranked third in global gaming installs, surpassing Brazil and Russia. Unity Technologies, said that, the latest market research shows that, India has risen from the 9th position in January 2017 to the 3rd spot in global gaming install rankings. It has surpassed Brazil and Russia in the global rankings. This is due to a drastic increase in India’s adoption of high-end mobile devices with larger RAM size.

Answer – 1. China
Explanation
A report by non-governmental environmental organisation Greenpeace has stated that, China will either shut down or reduce operations at several steel plants for the next 5 months to reduce pollution in Beijing. A number of steel plants in northern China, which usually faces heavy to severe winter pollution every year, will be shut down before Christmas as part of the green strategy. The new measures will come to effect in mid-November 2017, and will continue through the winter. This move aims to cut wintertime particulate pollution by 15%.

Answer – 5. Bangladesh
Explanation
Bandhan Express’ a passenger train between Kolkata and Bangladesh’s southwestern industrial city of Khulna was inaugurated on November 9, 2017. ’Bandhan Express’ was jointly flagged off (through video conferencing) by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. It is a fully air-conditioned passenger train and will run every Thursday from both Kolkata and Khulna.

Answer – 2. 20%
Explanation
Indian government doubled the import duty on wheat to 20 per cent to restrict cheap shipments and thereby provide price support to farmers in the ongoing Rabi season. This decision has been taken as government wants to give positive price signal and encourage farmers to grow wheat in more area. Moreover, Indian Government wants to avoid wheat growers to shift to other crops due to low prices owing to excess supply available at cheaper rates.

Answer – 2. Ravinder Singh
Explanation
Ravinder Singh Bhalla has become the first ever Sikh mayor of New Jersey’s Hoboken city. He is the first Sikh to hold elected office in New Jersey. Within days of being associated with “terrorism” in a flyer during the run up to the mayoral election, Ravinder Singh Bhalla has become the first Sikh mayor of Hoboken city of New Jersey in the US.

Answer – 1. Chennai
Explanation
India’s second Technology and Innovation Support Center (TISC) will be set up at the Centre for Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR) in Anna University, Chennai. To set up this Center, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) under Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry has signed an Institutional agreement with Anna University. This center will be set up under the World Intellectual Property Organizations (WIPO) Technology and Innovation Support Center (TISC) program.

Answer – 3. Wild Banana
Explanation
A new species of wild banana named ‘Musa paramjitiana’ has been discovered in Andaman and Nicobar islands. The new species of wild banana has been named after Paramjit Singh, director of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI). This discovery has been published in the Nordic Journal of Botany. The species was found in North Andaman’s Krishnapuri forest, 6 kilometres away from human habitation.

Answer – 5. Uttarakhand
Explanation
On 9th November 2017, Uttarakhand celebrated its 17th formation day. Uttarakhand was formed on 9th November 2000 as the 27th state. It was separated from Uttar Pradesh. Numbers of events were organized across the state to celebrate the 17th formulation day. The main event was held at Police line in Dehradun, where ceremonial parade was presented by Uttarakhand police.

Answer – 5. USA
Explanation
The US has announced a grant of nearly USD 500,000 for organisations which can come up with ideas and projects to promote religious freedom in India and Sri Lanka. The Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, US, has said that, it aims to reduce religiously-motivated violence and discrimination in India through its USD 493,827 programme.