Current Affairs Recap of the Week: 31 January - 6 February 2016

The 9th Indo-Nepal Combined Battalion level Military Training Exercise Surya Kiran will commence from 8 February 2017 at -Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand
•    4-day National Arogya Fair-2016 began on 5 February 2016 at –Dehradun, Uttarakhand
•    Urban Development Ministry on 5 February 2016 approved projects worth over twelve crore rupees for improving tourist infrastructure in heritage places of - Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh and Warangal in Telangana
•    Mahindra Asset Management Company (AMC) received Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI’s) approval to manage - Mahindra Mutual Fund
•    The Union Government of India on 5 February 2016 announced the repurchase of 1.44 per cent Inflation Indexed Government Stock-2023 through reverse auction for an aggregate amount of - 6500 crore rupees
•    NASA Astronaut Edgar Mitchell, - the sixth man to walk on the Moon, died on 4 February 2016 in West Palm Beach, Florida was - Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 14
•    Union Labour Ministry on 5 February 2016 signed agreements with leading organizations engaged in employment and career related activities to exploit the potential of - National Career Service (NCS) project
•    The Brazilians Club Atletico Paranaense on 5 February 2016 won the inaugural match of the Sait Nagjee International Club Football Tournament drubbing Englands Watford FC 2-0 at – Kozhikode, Kerala
•    Allahabad High Court directed the Uttar Pradesh government to release 4000 cusec of water for Sangam for every bathing festival during - Magh Mela
•    Andhra Pradesh Home Minister N China Rajappa on 5 February 2016 said that the State government has constituted a Commission to provide reservation for - Kapu community
•    Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) will allow online exit of subscribers from National Pension System from – 1 April 2016
•    Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 5 February 2016 inaugurated the Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited (BCPL) at - Lepetkata, Assam
•    In Tamil Nadu, lsland Express train from Kanyakumari to Bangalore derailed on 5 February 2016 at - Natrampalli, Vellore District
•    The 12th South Asian Games began on 5 February 2016 in –Guwahati, Assam 
•    External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on 5 February 2016 went on a two day visit to Sri Lanka today to co-chair - the 9th session of the India-Sri Lanka Joint Commission meeting 
•    The World Health Organisation advised countries against accepting blood donations from people who have travelled to regions affected by - the Zika virus
•    Vice-President Hamid Ansari on 5 February 2016 left for home after concluding a five-day tour of - Thailand and Brunei
•    The Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 5 February 2016 dedicated India's highest wax producing unit using indigenous technology to the nation in - Numaligarh Refinery Limited
•    US Senate committee on 4 February 2016 confirmed nomination of Army Lieutenant General as the commander of the NATO forces in Afghanistan - John Nicholson
•    The State government that on 4 February 2016 lifted the restrictions on visit of foreign tourists to certain tribal areas in the State after three years - Odisha
•    India on 4 February 2016 submitted its Instrument of Ratification of the Convention of Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC), 1997 to - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at Vienna, Austria
•    The Tea Board of India (TBI) in January 2016 issued Version 5.0 of the Plant Protection Code (PPC) by adding two new chemicals in the list of pesticides and chemicals that is permitted for use by Indian tea industry, and they are - Emamectin Benzoate 5 SG and Flubendiamide 20 WG
•    India on 4 February 2016 granted special concession to Pakistani athletes taking part in the 12th South Asian Games by declaring Guwahati and Kolkata as - designated entry points for them
•    The Union Government decided to set up the National Organic Farming Research Institute in this State – Sikkim
•    This company announced acquisition of cement business of Reliance Infrastructure for 4800 crore rupees – Birla Corp
•    This city hosted the Supporting Syria and the Region Conference 2016 to mobilise funds for reconstruction of conflict-hit Syria – London
•    He was appointed as a member of newly constituted Anti-Corruption Unit Oversight Group by the ICC – Rahul Dravid
•    The amount pledged by the Supporting Syria and the Region Conference 2016 towards reconstruction of conflict-hit Syria between 2016 and 2020 – 10.7 billion US dollars
•    The Indian writer who won Sundance Institute Global Filmmaking Award 2016 on 30 January 2016 - Geetu Mohandas
•    As per the NASA’s publication on 4 February 2016, The dwarf planet on which NASA’s New Horizons mission spotted the nitrogen ice glaciers - Pluto
•    World Cancer Day (WCD) 2016 was observed across the world on 4 February 2016. The day was observed with year’s theme – We can. I can.
•    One of the biggest trade deals of the history that was inked by all twelve Pacific Rim countries on 4 February 2016 in New Zealand is -Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement 
•    Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on 3 February 2016 launched the country's first anti-diabetic ayurvedic drug for Diabetes - BGR-34, BGR is acronym for blood glucose regulator
•    Former chief secretary of Gujarat who was appointed vice-president and chief investment officer of the newly-created Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is - DJ Pandian
•    The Budget Session of Parliament will commence on 23 February 2016 and Rail Budget will be presented on - 25 February 2016
•    The Budget Session of Parliament will commence on 23 February 2016 and Economic Survey will be presented on – 26 February 2016
•    The Budget Session of Parliament will commence on 23 February 2016 and General Budget will be presented on – 29 February 2016
•    This country will be receive 3.3 billion Euros in funding from the European Union to cope with Syrian migrants – Turkey
•    The high court bench which called on citizens to refuse to pay taxes if the government fails to curb corruption – Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court
•    This country will host the Cobra Gold 2016 multilateral military exercise in which India’s participation was confirmed – Thailand
•    The city that hosted the 2-day Counter Terrorism Conference 2016 –Jaipur
•    The city in which the 4-day International Fleet Review began on 4 February 2016 – Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh
•    The city in which the Dhirubhai Ambani Centre for Innovation and Research in Aerospace will be set up by the Reliance Defence Ltd –Bengaluru
•    The famous sarangi maestro selected for the prestigious Bhimsen Joshi Classical Music Award for 2015-2016 is - Pandit Ram Narayan
•    The Indian IT Services firm rated as the World’s Most Powerful Brand in IT Services by Brand Finance is - Tata Consultancy Services
•    The documentary film that won the Golden Conch Award for the best documentary film at the MIFF 2016 is - Phum-Shang
•    Name of the vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech to fight the mosquito-borne Zika virus is – ZikaVac
•    India signed a Cooperation Agreement to acquire the status of the Associate Member State of -  European Molecular Biology Organisation 
•    To face the challenges of both home-grown extremism and global Islamic State (IS) threat, a De-radicalisation programme for the minority community was rolled out by – Maharashtra Government 
•    The CPSE that received Miniratna status II on 1 February 2016 -Hospital Services Consultancy Corporation (I) Ltd (HSCC)
•    The organization recommended all governments to rate movies with smoking scenes to protect children and adolescents from tobacco addiction in Geneva on 1 February 2016 - World Health Organisation (WHO)
•    Indian Coast Guard Day was celebrated on February 1 under the auspices of the Coast Guard stations at - Vizhinjam and Fort Kochi
•    He will replace the longtime chief of Google's Internet search business Amit Singhal who is an India-origin on 26 February 2016 - John Giannandre
•    It is a British-based software keyboard maker which was acquired by Microsoft on 4 February 2016 - SwiftKey
•    Capital market regulator SEBI has set up a task force to review the risk management norms for national-level commodity bourses after -the suspension of futures trading for castor seed on NCDEX
•    An SIT was formed by Punjab police to look into allegations of sexual exploitation against Indian Hockey Captain - Sardar Singh
•    The Supreme Court on 3 February 2016 stayed a Bombay High Court order and allowed the Maharashtra government to hold an event at Girgaum Chowpatty beach in Mumbai to kickstart - the 'Make in India Week' programme
•    President Pranab Mukherjee conferred Honorary Rank of General of Indian Army on General Rajendra Chhetri. He is the Chief of the Army Staff of – Nepal
•    The country that saw nine suspected deaths due to Lassa fever –Benin in West Africa
•    The growth of eight core sectors of the Indian economy in December 2015 – 0.9 percent
•    Name of the agreement that was reached between the EU Commission and the USA for transatlantic data flows - The EU-US Privacy Shield
•    The State that extended the Aahar cheap meal scheme to all the districts beginning from March 2016 - Odisha
•    Major General of India who was appointed as the Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) on 2 February 2016 is - Jai Shanker Menon 
•    The 61st National School Athletics championship held at Olympian Rahman Stadium in Kozhikode, Kerala from 29 January 2016 to 2 February 2016 was won by - Kerala
•    Supreme Court on 2 February 2016 appointed a committee to sell assets of Pearls Agrotech Corporation Ltd (PACL) and refund 49 thousand crore rupees to the investors under - former Chief Justice RM Lodha
•    Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Special Collective Incentive Scheme for the economically backward Dalit entrepreneurs was announced on 2 February 2016 in - Maharashtra
•    The former Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor who passed away on 2 February 2016 in Mumbai is – SS  Tarapore
•    The company that replaced Apple Inc. to become the world's most valuable public company is – Alphabet Inc.
•    The Indian film that won the Best First Foreign Film Award conferred by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics for the first time is – Titli
•    The former Lok Sabha Speaker and former Union Agriculture Minister in P. V. Narasimha Rao Ministry who died on 3 February 2016 is - Balram Jakhar
•    The Bollywood actor who was presented with the lifetime achievement award in New Delhi on 2 February 2016 - Amitabh Harivansh Bachchan
•    The veteran Urdu fiction writer and poet who died on 2 February 2016 in Lahore - Intizar Hussain
•    He was appointed as the chief Justice of Gujarat High Court on 3 February 2016 - Justice Ramayyagari Subhash Reddy
•    National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) Ltd. on 2 February 2016 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with -RUSNANO OJSC of Russia
•    The theme of the World Wetlands Day that was observed on 2 February 2016 - Wetlands for our Future – Sustainable Livelihoods
•    India and Afghanistan on 1 February 2016 inked a pact for - Visa-free travel by their diplomats
•    Vietnam on 1 February 2016 formally lifted the ban on import of -Indian Groundnut
•    India’s first underwater restaurant was opened on 1 February 2016 in the city of – Ahmedabad
•    The Union Government appointed Jai Kumar Garg as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of - Corporation Bank
•    An Indian national was in news after being appointed as the Senior Director for the Fragility, Conflict and Violence Group at the World Bank on 1 February 2016 - Saroj Kumar Jha
•    The country that approved a draft Citizenship Law to expand scope for dual citizenship for its citizens on 1 February 2016 – Bangladesh
•    World Bank approved Million US dollars 35 to Improve Citizen Access to Public Services in - Madhya Pradesh, India
•    The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on 29 January 2016 signed two bilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) with - United Kingdom
•    Tamil Nadu Cadre IPS officer who was appointed as the Director General of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) that guards India's frontiers with Nepal and Bhutan on 1 February 2016 is - Archana Ramasundram
•    World Health Organisation (WHO) on 1 February 2016 declared Public Health Emergency of International Concern over the explosive spread of - the mosquito-borne Zika virus
•    Dr Harsh Vardhan on 2 February 2016 inaugurated the construction work of Borehole Geophysics Research Laboratory (BGRL) at -Hazarmachi, Karad of Maharashtra
•    In a match against Nepal, he scored the fastest fifty in the U-19 ICC cricket world cup history - Rishabh Pant
•    1600 officials of this city will undergo lie-detector tests as part of fight against corruption – Moscow
•    This country will host the 1st ever Asia Cup in T-20 format starting from 24 Feb 2016 - Bangladesh
•    The country that granted licence to use gene editing techniques on human embryos – United Kingdom
•    The city that hosted the third Global Ayurveda Festival – Kozhikode, Kerala
•    The social legislation that completed ten years of implementation on 2 February 2016 – The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act, 2005
•    The 30th edition of the Surajkund International Crafts Mela began at Surajkund in Faridabad, Haryana on 1 February 2016 and will continue till - 15 February 2016
•    Vice President Mohd Hamid Ansari on 1 February 2016 went on a five-day tour for - Brunei Darussalam and Thailand 
•    India on 31 January 2016 won the three-match T-20 series against -Australia, 3-0
•    Novak Djokovic on 31 January 2016 won the Australian Open Men’s Singles title by defeating - Andy Murray, 6-1, 7-5, 7-6
•    Ace Indian shuttler on 31 January 2017 won the Men's Singles title of the Syed Modi International Badminton Championships 2016 - Kidambi Srikanth
•    Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on 1 February 2016 tabled interim budget of over 33 thousand 687 crore rupees for - the first six months of the financial year 2016-17
•    To promote 'ease of doing business', Maharashtra government on 31 January 2016 decided to do away with five operational approvals hotel owners currently need to obtain from - the state Home department
•    Myanmar began new Parliament session ending military rule with the first democratically elected government in more than - 50 years
•    The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is observing National Pension System Service Week from 1 February 2016 to attract more subscribers towards - government pension plans
•    Former President APJ Abdul Kalam's book that was launched in Johannesburg on 31 January 2015 is - Transendence
•    Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on 29 January 2016 was selected for the - K Veeramani Award for Social Justice 2015
•    Kamlesh Kumar Pandey on 28 January 2016 was appointed as the -Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities 
•    Veteran wildlife filmmaker who was honoured with the V Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award at the 14th edition of the Mumbai International Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films is -Naresh Bedi
•    Brazilian racing driver who won the 2015-16 MRF Challenge Formula 2000 at Madras Motor Racing Track in Sriperumbudur is - Pietro Fittipaldi
•    India joined hands with NASA to explore its pristine environment as part of the Spaceward Bound programme – Ladakh
•    The national legislature of the country was opened for first democratically elected government in more than 50 years – Myanmar
•    He won the 83rd Senior National Snooker Championship title in Indore, Madhya Preadesh - Aditya Mehta
•    She won the National Snooker Championship in the women’s category in Indore, Madhya Pradesh - Vidya Pillai
•    The number of metro train coaches that the Union Ministry of Shipping exported to Australia on 29 January 2016 - Six 
•    The British television and radio personality, who died on 31 January 2016 in Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom - Terry Wogan
•    The former Indian cricketer, who was appointed as mentor of the Kings XI Punjab team for season 9 of Indian Premier League (IPL) on 1 February 2016 - Virender Sehwag
•    The country with which the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has entered into two bilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) on 29 January 2016 - United Kingdom

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

The Union Cabinet has approved Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, a new crop insurance scheme to boost farming sector in the country. It is farmers’ welfare scheme that aims to reduce the premium burden on farmers and ensure early settlement of crop assurance claim for the full insured sum.

 Highlights of Scheme

 Uniform premium:
Farmers will pay uniform premium of 2 per cent for all Kharif crops and 1.5 percent for all Rabi crops. In case of annual horticultural and commercial crops, farmers will pay 5 per cent premium. These premium rates are very low. Government will pay balance premium to provide full insured amount to the farmers against crop loss on account of natural calamities. 

Government subsidy: 
There will be no upper limit subsidy given by Government even if balance premium is 90 percent. 

Capping the Premium: 
The provision of capping the premium rate has been removed and farmers will get claim against full sum insured without any reduction. It was removed as it resulted in low claims being paid to farmers and was mainly done to limit Government outgo on the premium subsidy. 

Use of technology: 
Government will encourage use of technology especially Smart phones and remote sensing to a great extent. In order to reduce the delays in claim payment to farmers, smart phones will be used to capture and upload data of crop cutting. To reduce the number of crop cutting experiments remote sensing will be used.

 Comment

 The new Crop Insurance Scheme has been formulated in line with One Nation–One Scheme theme.  It replaces existing two schemes viz. National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS) and Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS) by removing their inherent drawbacks (shortcomings) and incorporating the best features of all previous schemes.

AKASH

Akash missile successfully test fired in Chandipuri, Odisha: Interesting facts

The medium-range mobile surface-to-air Akash missile was successfully test fired from complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipuri in Odisha.
As part of a user trial from the ITR, three rounds of test were carried out by the Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel aiming at para-barrel targets. 
Its development plan was initiated in 1984, and after a series of tests and improvements, it has been inducted into the Army.
Here are a few facts you must know about the missile:
1. Akash is a supersonic short range surface-to-air missile capable of neutralising aerial threats.
2. The asset of this missile system is its capability to neutralise multiple aerial targets coming from different directions at the same time.
3. The maximum range of this missile is 25 kilometres and it can neutralise targets at a maximum altitude of 20 kilometres. It is meant for neutralising medium range air targets flying at low or medium height.
4. An Akash missile regiment has six launchers with three missiles each. This defence system consists of surveillance and tracking radars, control centres and ground support systems. This all-weather missile system can work from both static and mobile platforms.
5. Akash has been indigenously built. It is a result of 96 per cent indigenisation, with the design being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation and built by Bharat Dynamics Limited, along with the involvement of Bharat Electronics Limited.
6. The Akash missile will replace the Russian weaponry system that is currently being used by the Army Air Defence Corps.
7. An Air Force variant of the Akash missile has already been inducted.
8. The missile system has been a work in progress for the past few years. It is a part of the five-missile programme of the Integrated Missile Development Programme initiated in 1984.
9. Two regiments have been ordered by the Army initially, each worth about Rs 19,000 crore.
10. Propelled by an Integrated Ramjet Rocket Engine, Akash sustains the speeds without deceleration throughout its flight, without any retardation.

ZIKA VIRUS

Essential Facts About the Zika Virus

For most people, the Zika virus causes only a brief, mild flu-like illness.
But in pregnant women it has been linked to an alarming increase in the rate of the birth defect known as microcephaly — a debilitatingly small head and brain size.
Here are the facts about the Zika virus:
1. The Zika virus is carried by mosquitoes and people, but spread by mosquitoes.
• Zika is an RNA virus related to West Nile, yellow fever, and dengue viruses, and caused by the bite of the Aedes mosquito.
• While you probably can’t give the Zika virus directly to someone else, a mosquito can give it to you and then another mosquito could get it from you — and that second mosquito could pass it on to others.
2.Symptoms of Zika virus infection are usually mild.
Eighty percent of people who become infected never have symptoms.
In those who do, the most common Zika virus symptoms are fever and rash;
it can also cause muscle and joint pain, headache, pain behind the eyes, and conjunctivitis (itchy, red eyes), according to the World Health Organization (WHO)..
No effective treatment is available for Zika infection, but over-the-counter fever or pain medication can be helpful for symptom relief.

3. Unborn babies are most at risk from Zika virus complications.
• When pregnant women are infected with Zika, the unborn child is at risk,
• illness when it strikes women who are pregnant, and it’s producing a horrific effect of microcephaly,”
• Microcephaly may cause mental retardation, as well as delays in speech, movement, and growth.
4. There's no vaccine to protect against the Zika virus.
5. Zika began in Africa and spread rapidly.
• The virus, originally named ZIKV, was first discovered in 1947 in a rhesus macaque in the Zika forest in Uganda. Researchers there found that it lived in mosquitoes, and they learned through experimentation that it could also infect mice.
6. Zika has reached Puerto Rico’s mosquitoes and may keep traveling north.
“Puerto Rico has reported the first locally-acquired Zika virus case in the United States,” says Benjamin Haynes, a CDC spokesperson. The case was reported in December 2015.
7. All U.S. cases of the Zika virus disease are travel-related.

Latest Who is Who

 Head's Of Important Offices in India.
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1. Who is the Present Attorney General =>> Mukul rohatgi
2. Who is the Present Solicitor General =>> Ranjit kumar
3. Who is the Present Comptroller and Auditor General =>> Shashi Kant Sharma
4. Who is the Present Army Chief =>> General Dalbir Singh Suhag
5. Who is the Present Chief of Air staff =>> Arup Raha
6. Who is the Present Chief of Naval Staff =>> vice admiral R K Dhowan
7. Who is the Present Chief Election Commissioner =>> Nasim Zaidi
8. Who is the Present National Human Rights Commission, Chairman =>> Justice Cyriac Joseph
9. Who is the Present National Commission for Woman, Chairperson =>> Lalitha Kumaramangalam
10. Who is the Present Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) =>> Radhakrishna Mathur
11. Who is the present Finance Commission, Chairman =>> Y.V. Reddy
12. Who is the Present ISRO, chairman =>> A. S. Kiran Kumar
13. Who is the present SEBI chairman =>> UK Sinha
14. Who is the present Supreme Court Chief Justice of India =>> T. S. Thakur
15. Who is the chief of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) ?
Answer: Rajinder Khanna
16. Who is the chief of Intelligence Bureau (IB)?
Answer: Dineshwar Sharma
17. Who is the chief of CBI?
Answer: Anil Sinha
18.Who is the present TRAI ( Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) Chairman ?
Answer: RS Sharma
19. who is the present Central Vigilance Commissioner(CVC) ? 
Answer: K.V. Chowdary
20. who is the present Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations ?
Answer: Asoke Kumar Mukerji (Syed Akbaruddin from december 2015)
21 . Who is the present Chairman of Competition Commission of India (CCI)?
Answer: Devender Kumar Sikri
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Heads of important international organizations: World.
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1. Who is the president of World Meteorological Organization ?
Answer: David Grimes
2. Who is the Secretary-General of World Meteorological Organization ?
Answer: Michel Jarraud
3. Who is the secretary general of Asean ?
Answer: Le Luong Minh
4. Who is the Director-General of UNESCO ?
Answer: Irina Bokova
5. Who is the Secretary General of NATO ?
Answer: Jens Stoltenberg
6. Who is the President of the European Council ?
Answer: Donald Tusk
7. Who is the head of the African Union Commission ?
answer: Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma
8. Who is the Executive Director of UN Women ?
Answer: Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
9. Who is Head of World Health Organization ?
Answer: Margaret Chan
10. Who is the Managing Director of IMF?
Answer: Christine Lagarde
11. Who is the President of the World Bank ?
Answer: Jim Yong Kim
12. Who is the Secretary-General of United nations?
Answer: Ban Ki-moon

Current affairs quiz 1/2/16

1. Who on 30 January 2016 won the 2016 Australian Open women’s singles title?
a)    Serena Williams
b)    Angelique Kerber
c)    Li Na
d)    Maria Sharapova

2. On which day Anti-leprosy day was observed in the memory of Mahatma Gandhi?
a)    30 January 2016
b)    29 January 2016
c)    28 January 2016
d)    27 January 2016

3. What was India’s GDP growth for 2014-15 at 2011-12 constant prices as per the first revised estimates released by the CSO on 29 January 2016?
a)    7.1
b)    7.2
c)    7.3
d)    7.4

4. What was India’s GDP growth for 2013-14 at 2011-12 constant prices as per the second revised estimates released by the CSO on 29 January 2016?
a)    6.7
b)    6.8
c)    6.9
d)    7.0

5. From which space port the European Space Agency on 29 January 2016 launched the Eutelsat 9B satellite on-board the ILS Proton Breeze M launch vehicle?
a)    Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
b)    Guiana Space Centre, Kourou
c)    Kennedy Space Center, Florida
d)    Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India

6. The royal family of which country on 29 January 2016 conferred the Prince Mahidol Award for contributions in the field of health and medicine?
a)    Bhutan
b)    Denmark
c)    Saudi Arabia
d)    Thailand

7. Identify the virus. The Union Government on 29 January 2016 formed a technical expert group to deal with it.
a)    Zika
b)    Ebola
c)    Chikungunya
d)    Dengue

8. In which European city the UN hosted peace talks to end the civil war in Syria opened on 29 January 2016?
a)    London
b)    Berlin
c)    Paris
d)    Geneva

9. Which State on 30 January 2016 signed a MoU with the Union Government under the UDAY Scheme to derive overall net benefit of 33000 crore rupees?
a)    Karnataka
b)    Uttar Pradesh
c)    West Bengal
d)    Madhya Pradesh

10. Who among the following on 30 January 2016 assumed command of Southern Naval Command?
a)    Vice Admiral Girish Luthra
b)    Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba
c)    Vice Admiral M P Muralidharan
d)    Vice Admiral Anil Kumar Chopra

Answers

1-(b)    6-(d)
2-(a)    7-(a)
3-(b)    8-(d)
4-(c)    9-(b)
5-(a)    10-(a)