Daily GK and Current Affairs Quiz – 26th May 2021

Correct Answer: C. $59.64 billion

Explanation:Foreign direct investments (FDI) into the country grew 19 per cent to USD 59.64 billion during 2020-21 on account of measures taken by the government on the fronts of policy reforms, investment facilitation and ease of doing business. Total FDI, including equity, re-invested earnings and capital, rose 10 per cent to the “highest ever” of USD 81.72 billion during 2020-21 as against USD 74.39 billion in 2019-20. In terms of top investor countries, Singapore is at the top with a 29 per cent share. It was followed by the US (23 per cent) and Mauritius (9 per cent) during the last fiscal.FDI equity inflow grew by 19 per cent in 2020-21 (USD 59.64 billion), compared to 2019-20 (USD 49.98 billion).

Correct Answer – D. Maldives

Explanation: Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the opening of a new Consulate General of India in Addu City, the Maldives in 2021. India and Maldives share ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious and commercial links steeped in antiquity. Maldives occupies an important place in the ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’ and the ‘SAGAR’ (Security and Growth for All in the Region) vision of the Government of India.

About the Consulate General:

The opening of a Consulate General in Addu City will help augment India’s diplomatic presence in the Maldives and make it commensurate with the existing and aspired level of engagement.The momentum and energy in the bilateral relationship have reached unprecedented levels under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and President Solih. This is also a forward-looking step in pursuit of our national priority of growth and development or ‘SabkaSaathSabka Vikas’.

Augmentation of India’s diplomatic presence will, inter-alia, provide market access for Indian companies and bolster Indian exports of goods and services. This would have a direct impact in augmenting domestic production and employment in line with our goal of a self-reliant India or ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.

Important Points:

• President of the Maldives: Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
• Capital of Maldives: Male; Currency of the Maldives: Maldivian Rufiyaa.

Correct Answer – C. Israel

Explanation: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has won the Israeli national election, securing a record fifth term in office, after a controversial power-sharing deal with rival-turned-partner Benny Gantz. President Reuven Rivlin officially granted Netanyahu, two-week mandate to form his government, following which, Netanyahu announced the formation of his coalition government on 17 May 2020.

Under the three-year coalition deal:

Netanyahu will serve as Prime Minister for the coming 18 months, which would keep him in power until November 13, 2021.Till then Benny Gantz will serve as the Defence Minister of the country.After 18 months, both of them will swap their roles and Netanyahu will become Defence Minister while Gantz will be the new Prime Minister.

Important Points:

• Capital of Israel: Jerusalem.
• The currency of Israel: Israeli shekel.

Correct Answer – B. Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium

Explanation: The Punjab Government finally announced to rename the Mohali International Hockey Stadium, after triple Olympian and Padma Shri Balbir Singh Sr. The stadium will now be known as Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium. The government also announced to start a scholarship scheme in the legend’s name for meritorious hockey players of the state Balbir Singh Sr played an important role in making the Indian hockey team a three-time Olympics champion. No one has been able to break his Olympics final record till date. He scored five goals in India’s 6-1 victory over the Netherlands in the final of the 1952 Olympic Games. He also was the manager of the 1975 World Cup-winning Indian team. The Punjab Government had honoured the legendary player with the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award in 2019.

Important Points:

• Punjab CM: Captain Amarinder Singh.
• Punjab Governor: V.P.Singh Badnore.

Correct Answer- A. Subodh Jaiswal

Explanation:IPS officer, Subodh Jaiswal has been appointed Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He was the most senior officer among the three shortlisted for the post of CBI Director.Jaiswal, along with KR Chandra and VS Kaumudi, was short-listed out of 109 officers for the top post by the high-powered committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Other members of the committee include Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has based on the panel recommended by the Committee, approved the appointment of Shri Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, IPS (MH: 1985) as Director, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a period of two years from the date of assumption of charge of the office or until further orders whichever is earlier.

Who is Subodh Jaiswal?

• Subodh Jaiswal is a 1985-batch Maharashtra cadre IPS officer who is the chief of CISF. Earlier, he held the post of Mumbai Police Commissioner and Maharashtra DGP.
• He was appointed Mumbai Police Commissioner in 2018 and has also worked with the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in the past. Subodh Jaiswal has also served with the Intelligence Bureau, SPG (Special Protection Group) and R&AW (Research and Analysis Wing) for over a decade.
• The 58-year old officer was the chief of the Special Investigation Team that probed the Rs 20,000 crore fake stamp paper scam also known as the Abdul Karim Telgi scam.
• He was also part of the team that probed the 2006 Malegaon blast case.
• Subodh Jaiswal was awarded the President’s Police Medal for his distinguished service in 2009.

Important Points:

• Central Bureau of Investigation Headquarters: New Delhi.
• Central Bureau of Investigation Founded: 1 April 1963.

Correct Answer – C. Madhya Pradesh

Explanation: Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park will get African Cheetahs as part of India’s first inter-country big cat relocation project.It is the 1st time in the world that a large carnivore will be relocated from one continent to another.As per the plan, 10 African Cheetahs will be brought from South Africa & Namibia and reintroduced in India.The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has approved a budget of INR 1,400 Lakh for the 2021 Fiscal under ‘Project Cheetah’.National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) will release money for the project to Madhya Pradesh and the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in June, 2021.India’s last Cheetah died in Chhattisgarh in 1947.

Correct Answer – C. Prashant Kumar Mishra

Explanation: Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra has been appointed acting Chief Justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court and will take charge from June 1, 2021.The appointment was made in view of the impending retirement of Justice PR Ramachandra Menon who is set to demit office on May 31, 2021.He also served as Advocate General and became a judge of the Chhattisgarh High Court in December 2009.In exercising the powers conferred by Article 223 of the Constitution of India, President Ramnath Govind appointed Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, to perform the duties of the office of the Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court.

Correct Answer – A. National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Explanation: The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration is planning to search for water and other resources on the moon in 2023.The US agency, as part of its Artemis program, is planning to send its first mobile robot to the Moon in late 2023 in search of ice and other resources on and below the lunar surface.The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER will collect data that would help NASA map resources at the lunar South Pole that could one day be harvested for long-term human exploration at the Moon.

Correct Answer – D. Turkey

Explanation: The National Payments Corp. of India (NPCI), has onboarded PayCore, Turkey’s global payment solutions company as one of the certified partners for ‘RuPay SoftPOS’ to drive cashless payments across the country.Along with PayCore, NPCI aims to reduce the investment cost required by banks to reach over the MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) and intends to increase the spread of ‘RuPay SoftPOS’ across India with its network of banks.NPCI partnered with SBI Payments and launched ‘RuPay SoftPoS’ to transform NFC enabled smartphones into Point of Sale (POS) terminals for merchants and retailers.

Correct Answer – A. FlexiLoans.com

Explanation: Fintech lender FlexiLoans.com has partnered with financial services company Vivriti Capital to provide working capital financing to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by disbursing loans worth Rs 300 crore.The partnership will be powered by FlexiLoans.com’s technology and credit underwriting platform ‘BiFrost’, which has been integrated with Vivriti’s Co-lending platform ‘CredAvenue’.The aim of this initiative is to reach out to more than 10,000 MSMEs in the next 12-18 months.These Loans can be applied online and can be received with in-principal approval within 24-48 hours digitally without any manual intervention.

Correct Answer – B. HDFC Bank

Explanation: The country’s largest private sector lender HDFC Bank has deployed mobile ATMs in Bengaluru amid the surge in covid infections in the city.According to the bank, Bengaluru is the 25th city where it has deployed Mobile Automated Teller Machine (ATM).Customers can conduct over 15 types of transactions using the Mobile ATM, which will be operational at each location for a specific period.

HDFC Bank:

• Headquarters – Mumbai.
• Founded In: August 1994.

Correct Answer – D. 2011

Explanation: Two-time Olympian Sushil Kumar, who was arrested by the Delhi Police in connection with the death of wrestler Sagar Dhankar, has been suspended by the Indian Railways until further orders.

Awards received by Sushil Kumar:

• Arjuna Award for Wrestling (2005)
• Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (2008)
• CNN-IBN Indian of the Year in Sports (2010)
• Padma Shri (2011)

Correct Answer – C. Cellular Operators’ Association of India

Explanation:  Mobile phone subscribers may soon be allowed to switch from a postpaid connection to prepaid and vice versa by using an OTP-based authentication and without a need to change SIM card.Industry body Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) has proposed the mechanism to the Dept of Telecom (DoT) and the department has asked telecom operators to carry out proof of concept on the same.The PoC for conversion from prepaid to postpaid and vice versa may be carried out by the telecom service providers as per the procedure.COAI is an Indian non-governmental trade association and advocacy group focused mainly on telecommunications industry.It was constituted in 1995 as a registered, non-governmental society.

Correct Answer – B. Shaji .N.M.

Explanation: Shaji .N.M., fondly called as ‘Tuber Man’ of Kerala has been awarded the India Biodiversity Award 2021 in the individual category of ‘Conservation of domesticated species’.He conserves a wide array of around 200 tuber crops including greater yam, lesser yam, elephant foot yam, sweet potato, cassava and Chinese potato in his farm.He had also received the Plant Genome Savior Reward 2015.

​Kerala:

• Governor – Arif Mohammad Khan.
• Number of Districts – 14.
• Lok Sabha seats – 20.
• Rajya Sabha seats – 9.
• State Animal – Indian elephant.