1) “Project 75-I” sometimes seen in the news recently, is associated with which of the following?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : c
The Defence Acquisitions Council (DAC) has recently approved the indigenous construction of six submarines worth 40,000 crore rupees under project 75(India).
It will provide a major boost to submarine design and manufacturing ecosystem in India through the transfer of design, equipment technology and skill sets.
2) Consider the following statements with respect to Strategic Partnership (SP) model in Defence acquisition
It intends to encourage broader participation of the private sector in the manufacture of defence platforms in India.
Only four segments have been identified for acquisition under this Strategic Partnership (SP) route.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : c
Ministry of Defence’s ambitious Strategic Partnership (SP) model aims to provide a significant fillip to the Government’s ‘Make in India’ programme.
It envisages indigenous manufacturing of major defence platforms by an Indian Strategic Partner, who will collaborate with foreign OEM to set up production facilities in the country.
The model has a long term vision of promoting India as a manufacturing hub for defence equipment through transfer of niche technologies and higher Indigenous Content thereby enhancing self-sufficiency for meeting the future requirements of the Armed Forces.
It intends to institutionalise a transparent, objective and functional mechanism to encourage broader participation of the private sector, in addition to DPSUs / OFB, in the manufacture of defence platforms and equipment such as aircraft, submarines, helicopters and armoured vehicles.
The following four segments have been identified for acquisition under Strategic Partnership (SP) route:
Fighter Aircraft
Helicopters
Submarines
Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFVs) / Main Battle Tanks (MBTs).
3) Consider the following statements with respect to Annual Financial Statement
It is not only necessary, but also compulsory.
Though both the Houses of Parliament discuss the Budget, only Lok Sabha votes on it.
Vote-On-Account covers only the expenditure to be incurred.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : d
Under Article 112 of the Constitution, a Statement of Receipts and Payments (estimated) has to be tabled in the Parliament for every financial year.
If the Budget is not passed within the announced date, Article 116 of the Constitution empowers the Lok Sabha to pass the Vote-On-Account, a document which covers only the expenditure incurred.
A “vote-on-account” only deals with the expenditure in Government’s budget, while an “interim budget” includes both expenditure and receipts.
4) Which one of the following best describes the term “Interchange Fee” sometimes seen in the news?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : c
Interchange fee is the amount paid by the issuing bank to the acquiring bank when the customer of the issuer bank uses the latter’s ATM.
Increasing maintenance cost is forcing Indian Public Sector Banks to shut down ATMs, but doing so will only add to their woes as they will consequently incur higher interchange fee.
This is because they are the biggest issuers of debit cards and cardholders will now be forced to use other banks’ ATMs.
5) Consider the following statements with respect to International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
It is an international non-profit organization that undertakes scientific research for development.
Its headquarters is located in Manila, Philippines.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are incorrect?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : b
It is headquartered in Patancheru (Hyderabad, Telangana, India).
6) “Brumadinho dam” sometimes seen in the news recently, is located in which of the following countries?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : d
The Brumadinho dam disaster has occurred recently, when a tailings dam at an iron ore mine in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, Brazil suffered a catastrophic failure.
Global turmoil in the iron ore market followed by this disaster may have come as a blessing for India’s ore miningand pellet-making companies.
7) “Naresh Chandra Task force” is associated with which of the following?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : a
In June 2011, government of India had announced setting up a high-powered task force headed by Naresh Chandra, to review the defense management in the country and make suggestions for implementation of major defense projects.
8) The term “Aber” sometimes seen in the news recently, refers to a
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : b
The central banks of the UAE and Saudi Arabia have launched a common digital currency called "Aber", which will be used in financial settlements between the two countries through Blockchains and Distributed Ledgers technologies.
9) Consider the following statements with respect to VAJRA Scheme
It aims to reverse the brain drain process in India.
It comes under the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : d
The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), a statutory body of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) launched the ‘Visiting Advanced Joint Research (VAJRA) Faculty Scheme’.
It aims to connect the Indian academic and research and development (R&D) systems to the best of global science and scientists for a sustained international collaborative research.
It is a dedicated program exclusively for overseas scientists and academicians with emphasis on Non-resident Indians (NRI) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) / Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) to work as adjunct / visiting faculty for a specific period of time in Indian Public funded academic and research institutions.
10) Central African Republic (CAR), sometimes seen in the news recently is bordered by which of the following?
Kenya
Congo
Sudan
Atlantic Ocean
Select the correct answer using the code given below
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : a
The United Nations Security Council has recently adopted a resolution to extend sanctions against the Central African Republic (CAR) for another year.
CAR is a landlocked country in Central Africa.
It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the south, the Republic of the Congo to the southwest and Cameroon to the west.
