Daily GK and Current Affairs Quiz – 11th December 2020

Correct Answer: D. Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd

Explanation: Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd will roll out of 5G technology in India, implementing the service in the second half of 2021. This was announced by Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani at the fourth edition of India Mobile Congress. It will be powered by the indigenous-developed network, hardware and technology components.

Correct Answer – A. Bala Devi

Explanation: Bala Devi has become the first Indian woman to score in a professional European Football League. She scored in the 85th minute to open her account for Rangers FC. She joined the Scottish club in January 2020 and became the first Indian woman to sign a professional football contract overseas.

Correct Answer – A. Anil Soni

Explanation: WHO has appointed Indian-origin Anil Soni as the Chief Executive Officer for the WHO Foundation. He will assume his role as its inaugural CEO on January 1, 2021. In his new role, he will accelerate the Foundation’s work to invest in innovative, evidence-based initiatives that support WHO in delivering on its mission to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all.

Correct Answer – B. Gorakhpur

Explanation:  At the 37th General Body meeting of Central Zoo Authority chaired by Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar two new zoos the Rajgir Zoo Safari in Nalanda, Bihar and Shaheed Ashfaque Ullah Khan Prani Udyaan in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh were granted recognition. With this, the state of Uttar Pradesh has a total of 9 zoos. The establishment of the zoo is personally monitoring by the Chief Minister of the state. The zoo is situated in the spiritual land of Gorakhpur and has a high visitation.

 The zoo features enclosures for a range of birds, herbivores and carnivores. The zoo aims to create awareness through naturalistic enclosures and create long-lasting visitor experience through state-of-the-art visitor facilities like 4D Theatre, battery-operated train and accessibility to Divyangjan.

Correct Answer – A. Gwalior and Orchha

Explanation: The historical fort cities of Gwalior and Orchha in Madhya Pradesh have been included in the list of UNESCO’s world heritage cities under its urban landscape city programme. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), an agency of the United Nations, aims at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, the sciences, and culture. After getting included in the heritage city list, the face of Gwalior and Orchha will totally change and UNESCO along with the state tourism department will make a master plan for the beautification of the two places.

Correct Answer – C. Invest India

Explanation: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has declared ‘Invest India’ as winner of the 2020 United Nations Investment Promotion Award. The award ceremony took place at UNCTAD Headquarters in Geneva yesterday. The Award recognizes and celebrates the outstanding achievements of the World’s best-practice investment promotion agencies. The evaluation was based on UNCTAD’s assessment of work undertaken by 180 national Investment Promotion Agencies across the world.

Correct Answer – B. 10th

Explanation: India is ranked at 10th place in the ‘Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2021’, released on 7th December 2020. The overall score of India is 63.98. It is for the second time in a row that India emerged among the top 10 countries with higher climate performance from among 58 economies. India was at 9th spot last year in the index. Like CCPI 2020, the first three places in 2021 ranking also remains unoccupied, since none of the countries is on the path compatible with the Paris climate targets, to implement strategies to limit global warming below 2 or even 1.5°C. Sweden (4th) United Kingdom (5th), Denmark (6th), Morocco (7th), Norway (8th), Chile (9th) were among the top 10 rankers in the index. It was also noted that, from the G20 countries, only the EU as a whole, along with the UK and India, ranked among high performers.

Correct Answer – C. 86 cm

Explanation: The world’s highest mountain peak ‘Mount Everest’ has become taller by 86 cm, as per a survey conducted jointly by Nepal and China. The Government of Nepal and China jointly conducted an exercise to measure the world’s highest peak. The new height of Mt Everest has been calculated at 8,848.86 metres, which is 0.86m more than the previous measurement done by India in 1954. In feet, the new elevation is about 29,031 ft, or about 3 ft higher than Nepal’s previous claim. In Tibetan language, Mount Everest is known as Mount Qomolangma while in Nepalese language it is famous as Sagar-Matha.

Some important facts of Mount Everest height:

• The common declaration meant that the two countries have shed their long-standing difference in opinion about the mountain’s height — 29,017 feet (8,844 m) claimed by China and 29,028 ft (8,848 m) by Nepal.
• In 1955, the height of Mount Everest was measured at 8848 m (29,028 feet) by the Survey of India.
• There was also a third estimate, even higher, in 1999, a US team put the elevation at 29,035 feet (nearly 8,850 m). This survey was sponsored by the National Geographic Society, US. The Society uses this measurement, while the rest of the world, except China, had accepted 8,848 m so far.

Correct Answer – B. NTPC Limited

Explanation:  National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC), a PSU under Ministry of Power, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal, for the implementation of Narmada Landscape Restoration Project (NLRP). IIFM Bhopal is an Autonomous Institute under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).

About the Narmada Landscape Restoration Project:

• The NLRP Project involves a grant in aid from NTPC Ltd and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in equal proportions.
• IIFM-Bhopal will be jointly implementing this project with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) [Headquarter-Seoul, South Korea], an intergovernmental organization that promotes sustainable and inclusive economic growth in emerging economies.
• IIFM Bhopal will participate in the project with the grant-in-aid from NTPC, Ltd and GGGI will participate with funding support from USAID.

Correct Answer – A. India

Explanation: The Geneva-based United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has awarded the 2020 United Nations Investment Promotion Award to Invest India, the National Investment Promotion Agency of India. The Invest India was declared the winner from among the 180 global Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs). The response of IPAs to the COVID-19 pandemic was the basis for the evaluation of the 2020 United Nations Investment Promotion Award. The annual award recognizes and celebrates the outstanding achievements and best practices of Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) across the globe.

Correct Answer: D. UNICEF

Explanation: Consulting firm PwC India has collaborated with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and YuWaah (Generation Unlimited in India) to upskill 300 million young Indians over the next 10 years. This collaboration is part of PwC’s global multi-sector partnership with UNICEF and Generation Unlimited to upskill and provide about 1.8 billion youngsters with socio-economic opportunities from school to work by 2030. This partnership will focus on three facets to India’s digital empowerment for youngsters, which are education, skilling and entrepreneurship. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), India is staring at a 29 million skill deficit by 2030.

Correct Answer – D. USD 2.5 million

Explanation: The Manila-based multilateral lending agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD 2.5 million (about Rs 18 crore) technical assistance to support advanced biofuel development in India. The grant will be funded from the Asia Clean Energy Fund, financed by the Government of Japan under the Clean Energy Financing Partnership Facility, and the Republic of Korea’s e-Asia and Knowledge Partnership Fund. The technical assistance (TA) will support the development of advanced bioethanol, bio-compressed natural gas, and biodiesel plants to demonstrate the best practices for suitable feedstock, efficient conversion technology, and sustainable biofuel value chain.

Correct Answer – B. Karad Janata Sahakari Bank Ltd

Explanation:  The Reserve Bank of India has cancelled the licence of Karad Janata Sahakari Bank Ltd in Maharashtra, as it does not have adequate capital and earning prospects. As such, it does not comply with the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. More than 99 per cent of the depositors of the bank will get full payment of their deposits from Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC). With the cancellation of licence and beginning of liquidation proceedings, the process of paying the depositors of Karad Janata Sahakari Bank will be set in motion. On liquidation, every depositor is entitled to repayment of their deposits up to ₹ 5 lakh only from the DICGC. After cancellation of licence from the close of a business hour on December 7, the bank cannot work anymore, which includes taking deposits and repaying deposits.

Correct Answer: B. Hindi writer

Explanation: Veteran Hindi writer Madhukar Gangadhar passed away in a hospital in the National Capital. Mr. Gangadhar was born in Bihar’s Purnia district on 7th January 1932. His last rites will be performed at his native place today. Mr. Gangadhar studied in Purnia Inter College and Patna University and had worked at Patna Akashwani and later also served as the director, AIR Allahabad. He also worked in the capacity of Deputy Director General (DDG), AIR at New Delhi. After serving for 39 years in All India Radio (AIR) he became an independent writer based in Delhi. ‘Motiyo Wale Hath’, ‘Hirna Ki Aankhen’ are some of his most well-known works.