Daily GK and Current Affairs Quiz – 17th August 2021

Correct Answer: B. Afghanistan

Explanation: Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani will shortly tender his resignation, as the government has surrendered to the Taliban forces, which entered Kabul and sought the unconditional surrender of the central government. Following this, a new interim government has been announced, which is likely to be headed by Ali Ahamd Jalali, a US-based academic.President Ashraf Ghani fled the country as the Islamist terrorists entered the city, he wanted to avoid bloodshed, while hundreds of Afghans desperate to leave flooded Kabul airport.In Washington, opponents of President Joe Biden’s decision to end America’s longest war, launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.  American diplomats were flown by helicopter to the airport from their embassy in the fortified Wazir Akbar Khan district as Afghan forces, trained for years and equipped by the United States and others at a cost of billions of dollars, melted away.

Important Points for all competitive exams:

• Afghanistan Capital: Kabul.
• Afghanistan Currency: Afghan afghani.
• Afghanistan Official languages: Pashto, Dari.

Correct Answer – E. Nadir Godrej

Explanation: Adi Godrej will step down as the chairman of Godrej Industries on October 01, 2021. He will be replaced by Nadir Godrej, his younger brother. Godrej Industries (GIL) is the holding company of the Godrej group. Presently Nadir Godrej is the Managing Director of Godrej Industries. However, Adi Godrej will continue to serve as the Chairman of Godrej Group.

Important Points for all competitive exams:

• Godrej Industries Founded: 1963;
• Godrej Industries Headquarters: Maharashtra.

Correct Answer – A. SAGO

Explanation: World Health Organization (WHO) has created a new advisory group named, The International Scientific Advisory Group for Origins of Novel Pathogens, or SAGO. The function of SAGO will be to systematically study the emergence of future emerging pathogens with pandemic potential, and advise the development in this regard to WHO.WHO has made an open call for nominations to SAGO from the member countries, thus providing a transparent foundation for the new scientific advisory group. The group will also work towards finding the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Important Points for all competitive exams:

• President of the World Health Organisation: Tedros Adhanom.
• Headquarters of WHO: Geneva, Switzerland.
• WHO founded: 7 April 1948.

Correct Answer – C. IndiGau

Explanation: Dr Jitendra Singh has released India’s first cattle genomic chip ‘IndiGau’ for the conservation of pure varieties of indigenous cattle breeds like, Gir, Kankrej, Sahiwal, Ongole etc. The chip has been developed by scientists of National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NAIB), Hyderabad, an autonomous institution under the aegis of the Department of Biotechnology. The chip will help in achieving the goal of conservation of our own breeds with better characters and help towards doubling farmers’ income by 2022.

Correct Answer – A. SonChiraiya

Explanation: Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs has launched ‘SonChiraiya’, a brand and logo for marketing of the urban Self-Help Group (SHG) products. To make urban SHG products popular, the ministry has signed MoUs with e-Commerce Portals like Amazon and Flipkart, with an underlying narrative of women empowerment. Due to this partnership, more than 2,000 products of nearly 5,000 SHG members have been onboarded on the e-commerce portals.

Significance of SonChiraiya:

This initiative is a significant step of increasing visibility and global access for the products made by urban SHG women. Under the initiative, a variety of professionally packaged and hand-crafted ethnic products will reach the doorsteps of customers worldwide.

Correct Answer – A. Raunak Sadhwani

Explanation: Young Indian Grandmaster Raunak Sadhwani (15 years) has won 19th Spilimbergo Open chess tournament here with seven points from nine rounds.He remained undefeated in the tourney, notching up five wins and four draws.His defeated Italian Joshuaede Cappelletto, Aron Pasti of Hungary, Lorezno Lodici of Italy and France’s Loic Travadon.He was also U-10 Commonwealth Champion in 2015 in New Delhi, India.

Correct Answer – D. Maharashtra

Explanation: Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray has launched e-crop survey initiative with effect from August 15.This project was initially introduced as a pilot in two districts.It is jointly implemented by the departments of revenue and agriculture along with Tata Trust.It will reduce the hardships of the farmers as it would provide them crop-related information without hassles.Govt had already introduced digitized 7/12 document, which is an extract from the ‘Land Register’ that the farmers can now access on their mobile phones.

Correct Answer – C. Archery

Explanation:  Komalika Bari became the new under-21 recurve world Archery champion at the Youth World Championships in Wroclaw, Poland.India’s Junior recurve archers also bagged gold in the men’s and the mixed team event.In U21 men’s recurve team final, Indian team of Dhiraj Bommadevara, Aditya Choudhary, and Parth Sushant Salunkhe clinched gold medal.Indian trio came from behind to clinch the 5-3 win against Spain.Parth Salunkhe later joined Komalika Bari in the mixed team event, to capture another gold for India.

Correct Answer – C. Bengaluru

Explanation: Vice President, M Venkaiah Naidu has laid foundation stone of Innovation and Development Centre of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bengaluru.JNCASR Innovation and Development Centre: It will be developed into a facility where laboratory inventions will be taken forward for scale-up and technology transfer.Scientists will be provided with state-of-the-art processing and prototyping tools to enable translation of inventions.JNCASR is established by Dept of Science and Technology at Jakkur, Bangalore.

Correct Answer – A. Odisha and Telangana

Explanation:  The State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) of Odisha and Telangana have been ranked 1st in The Transparency Index:Rating of Pollution Control Boards on Public Disclosure report released by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a Delhi based non-profit Organisation.It aims to encourage SPCBs/PCCs to disclose their information in the public domain.The report assessed 25 indicators of the data disclosure performance of 29 SPCBs and 6 Pollution Control Commitee’s (PCCs) from across India during the period of 2016-2021.

Correct Answer – A. Malaysia

Explanation: In Malaysia, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and his Cabinet resigned in August 2021, after just 17 months in power.His government has been accused of mishandling Malaysia’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, where infections are now surging. Malaysia is also facing an economic crisis triggered by the pandemic. Muhyiddin would remain as a ‘caretaker’ Prime Minister as it was not appropriate to hold an election during the COVID-19 crisis.

Malaysia:

• Capital – Kuala Lumpur.
• Currency – Malaysian Ringgit

Correct Answer – B. Indonesia

Explanation: Indonesia’s most active volcano Mount Merapi erupted on 16 August 2021. Merapi, close to Indonesia’s cultural capital Yogyakarta on Java island, has been particularly active in recent months and authorities raised its danger level late in 2020. Mount Merapi’s last major eruption in 2010 killed more than 300 people. That was its most powerful eruption since 1930.

Indonesia: 

• Capital – Jakarta.
• Currency – Indonesian rupiah.
• President – Joko Widodo.
• National Sport – Badminton

Correct Answer – B. 17 August

Explanation: Independence Day of Indonesia is celebrated every year on 17 August. Indonesia was declared independent from the Netherlands on this day in 1945. The day is also known as Hari Kemerdekaan and colloquially referred by the people as Tujuhbelasan. Using a combination of both diplomacy and revolutionary fighters, Indonesia was finally granted independence in December 1949.

Indonesia: 

• Capital – Jakarta.
• Currency – Indonesian rupiah.
• President – Joko Widodo.
• National Sport – Badminton

Correct Answer: B. Adani Road Transport Ltd

Explanation: Adani Road Transport Ltd (ARTL) would acquire a 49 percent stake in Maharashtra Border Check Post Network Ltd (MBCPNL). Maharashtra Border Check Post Network Ltd (MBCPNL) is a subsidiary of Sadbhav Infrastructure Project Limited (SIPL). MBCPNL is an important gateway connecting Maharashtra with six neighbouring states, which covers over 20 percent of the commercial road traffic in India.