Daily GK and Current Affairs Quiz – 29th and 30th November 2020

Correct Answer: B. HDFC Bank

Explanation: ICCI (Inventivepreneur Chamber of Commerce and Industries) has signed an MoU with HDFC Bank. Through this association, ICCI will engage, enrol and support various Startups /SMEs /MSMEs to facilitate inter-alia financial and other facilities to/from HDFC Bank. HDFC Bank will offer key business support functions like shared workspaces, digital marketing, web services, etc.

Correct Answer – D. 26 per cent

Explanation: A Reserve Bank of India (RBI) panel has recommended raising the cap on promoter shareholding in private sector banks to 26 per cent of the paid up equity after 15 years of operation from 15 per cent. The panel has also proposed that large corporates may be permitted to promote banks after necessary amendments to the Banking Regulations Act.

The committee, led by PK Mohanty, has also proposed converting of payments banks into a small finance bank. For this, the track record of 3 years of experience as payments bank may be considered as sufficient. As per the report, small finance banks and payments banks may be listed within ‘6 years from the date of reaching net worth equivalent to prevalent entry capital requirement prescribed for universal banks’ or ’10 years from the date of commencement of operations’, whichever is earlier.

Correct Answer – C. Vinisha Umashankar

Explanation: Vinisha Umashankar, a 14-year-old studying in 9th grade at a private school in Tiruvannamalai, has won the prestigious Children’s Climate Prize for designing a mobile ironing cart using solar panels to power a steam iron box rather than conventional charcoal. Vinisha will receive the prize of 100,000 Swedish krona (Rs 8.64 lakh approximately), diploma, and medal from the Sweden-based Children’s Climate Foundation at a digital event. This is the fifth edition of the Children’s Climate Prize — one of the world’s largest international climate awards for young innovators.

Correct Answer – C. 2025

Explanation:  In accordance with the report titled “FDI in India: Now, Next and Beyond” by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Ernst & Young Global Limited (EY), India may attract foreign direct investment (FDI) of $120-160 billion per year by 2025. This is on the condition to increase the FDI to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio between 3-4% from less than 2% now.

Notably, India’s GDP grew 6.8% in the past 10 years with FDI to GDP at 1.8%. India’s GDP growth could also improve to 7-8% growth if the investments come in. The investors ranked India third in terms of attractiveness and 80% of them have planned for investment in India in the next two to three years. Out of them 25% investments are worth over $500 million. States-wise Maharashtra remains the most attractive destination (28%), followed by Karnataka (19%), Delhi (16%) and Gujarat (10%).

Correct Answer – B. ‘Innovations for Sustainable Energy Transition’

Explanation: Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated the 3rd Global Renewable Energy Investors Meet and Expo (RE-INVEST 2020). During the three-day virtual conference, all the leading companies displayed their latest technological development in the field of renewable energy and discuss various options available for energy transition. The theme for RE-Invest 2020 is ‘Innovations for Sustainable Energy Transition’.

Correct Answer – B. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance

Explanation: Muthoot Finance, India’s largest gold loan NBFC, has partenered Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, to provide insurance on gold jewellery. The new product known as ‘Muthoot Gold Shield’ is the gold jewellery insurance scheme launched by Muthoot Finance for its customers. The policy provides insurance coverage for gold jewellery of individual customers. This product is exclusively designed to provide insurance coverage of gold jewellery articles for customers of the company at the time of closure of the gold loan and release of gold ornaments.

Correct Answer – C. Russia

Explanation: Russia successfully test-fired a Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile in the Arctic. The frigate Admiral Gorshkov in the White Sea fired a Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile, hitting a naval target 450 km away in the Barents Sea at a speed of over Mach 8. In Jan 2020, the same frigate test-fired a Tsirkon missile for the first time, striking a ground target over 500 km away.

Correct Answer – C. 29th November

Explanation: The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is an UN-organized day held every year on November 29. It is observed to mark the anniversary of resolution 181, wherein the Assembly adopted the resolution on the partition of Palestine on November 29, 1947.

Correct Answer – C. Jallikattu

Explanation:  Malayalam film “Jallikattu”, directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery, has been selected as India’s official entry for the Best International Feature Film category for the 93rd Academy Awards. Jallikattu is the third Malayalam film after Guru (1997) and Adaminte Makan Abu (2011) to be chosen as the country’s official entry for the Oscars. Jallikattu premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, garnering praise from critics. It was later screened at the Busan International Film Festival and a host of other major venues. In 2019, Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy, starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt, was India’s entry to the Oscars.

Correct Answer – B. 104th

Explanation: The Indian national team have moved up a spot to 104 in the latest FIFA Rankings. The Indian team were ranked 108th in the October 2020 rankings. In two months, India has climbed 5 spots after being 109th in September. Meanwhile, on the global scene, the top six remain unchanged. Belgium continues to lead the rankings followed by France, Brazil, England, Portugal and Spain. Argentina is seventh, having interchanged spots with eighth-placed Uruguay. Mexico and Italy complete the top 10.

Correct Answer – B. Larsen and Toubro

Explanation: Infrastructure major Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has bagged an order worth over Rs 7,000 crore to construct a part of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR), also known as the Bullet Train Project. The scope of the order includes the construction of viaducts, one station, major river bridges, maintenance depots, and other auxiliary works. The approximately 508 km Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project will cover Maharashtra, Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Gujarat, with 12 stations along the route. Upon completion, the high-speed rail will operate at a speed of 320 kmph, covering the entire distance in approximately 2 hours with limited stops and in 3 hours with all stops.

Correct Answer – C. Quarantine

Explanation: Cambridge Dictionary has named ‘quarantine’ as Word of the Year 2020. The word has been named the word of the year based on data that showed that it was one of the most highly searched words on the Cambridge Dictionary this year. Cambridge editors have noticed that people are using the word in a new way this year describing a “general period of time in which people are not allowed to leave their homes or travel freely so that they do not catch or spread a disease.” This new sense of quarantine has now been added to the Cambridge Dictionary.

“Quarantine was the only word to rank in the top five for both search spikes and overall views (more than 183,000 by early November), with the largest spike in searches (28,545) seen in the week of March 18-24, when many countries around the world went into lockdown as a result of Covid-19,” as per an official release.

Correct Answer – A. World Bank Group

Explanation:  Australian-American lawyer, investment banker, and economist James Wolfensohn, who served as the President of the World Bank for 10 years, passed away. He had served as the ninth president of the World Bank Group from 1995 to 2005. Together with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Wolfensohn launched the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative in 1996, a program that eventually provided more than $53 billion in debt relief to 27 of the world’s poorest countries.

Correct Answer: A. TCS

Explanation: Faqir Chand Kohli, known as the father of the Indian Software Industry, passed away in November 2020. Mr Kohli was the founder-CEO of TCS. He joined Tata Electric Co. in 1951 where he helped set up the load dispatching system to manage system operations. He became director of Tata Electric in 1970. He pioneered India’s IT revolution and helped the country build the $190-billion IT industry.