Daily GK and Current Affairs Quiz – 30th & 31st January 2021

Correct Answer: C. 10th

Explanation: India ranked 10th out of 11 Asia Pacific countries in a newly-launched health index to measure the progress towards personalised healthcare. Singapore(1st), Taiwan (2nd), Japan (3rd) and Australia (4th) also performed well in overall readiness. These include Policy Context, Health Information, Personalised Technologies and Health Services.

About the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report:

• The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report ”Asia-Pacific Personalised Health Index” measures the readiness of 11 health systems across the region–Australia, China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and New Zealand–in adopting personalised healthcare, enabling the right care to be tailored to the right person at the right time.
• The ‘Personalised Health Index’ measures performance against 27 different indicators of personalised health across four categories called ”Vital Signs”.

Correct Answer – D. Maharashtra

Explanation: In Maharashtra, CM Uddhav Thackeray formally launched the Agriculture Pump Power Connection Policy. The government has decided to provide immediate electricity connections to farmers through this policy. He also inaugurated Krishi Urja Abhiyan Policy Web Portal, Solar Energy Land Bank Portal, Maha Krishi Abhiyan App, and ACF App prepared by the power discom Mahavitaran.

Correct Answer – B. Expenditure

Explanation: The government is planning to launch the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) with a revised methodology for FY22. The previous survey in FY18 was discarded due to data quality issues. The CES data is used to calculate poverty and inflation levels, as well as to track economic progress in rural and urban India.

Correct Answer – C. Fareed Zakaria

Explanation:  The book titled “Ten Lessons for a Post–Pandemic World” has been authored by Indian American journalist Fareed Zakaria. He is a CNN host and one of the “top 10 global thinkers of the last decade” (Foreign Policy). The book published by Penguin book speaks about the nature of the post pandemic world and the social, political, technological and economical effects that may take years to develop. The book with 10 lessons includes the acceleration of natural and biological risk, datedness of the political categories, the rise of digital life, globalization and the developing world order split between US and China.

Correct Answer – A. HDFC Life Insurance

Explanation: HDFC Life Insurance has launched a term insurance policy Click 2 Protect Life. The non-linked, non-participating, individual term policy will cater to the changing needs in the different life stages of an individual. The policy has three options, which are the Life & Critical Illness Auto-balance, life protect option, and income plus option.

Correct Answer – B. Pramerica Life Insurance Ltd

Explanation: The Board of Directors of Pramerica Life Insurance Ltd (PLIL) has appointed Kalpana Sampat as the new MD and CEO of the company. In Aug 2018, Kalpana Sampat was appointed as its Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO). Prior to joining PLI, Kalpana was the CEO of Swiss Reinsurance Co. Ltd. She also had a long stint with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance.

Correct Answer – D. Larsen & Toubro

Explanation: Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has bagged ₹2,500-crore contract for a high-speed rail corridor project for Mumbai-Ahmedabad route. The order is to procure, fabricate, assemble, paint and transport 28 bridges. The project was secured through a consortium of L&T and IHI Infrastructure Systems (IIS) of Japan. These bridges will be built over railway lines, rivers, highways, roads and other structures.

Correct Answer – C. Gautam Chikermane

Explanation: Gautam Chikermane, Vice President of Observer Research Foundation authored and edited the book titled “India 2030: The Rise of a Rajasic Nation”, a Collection of Essay which describes about the likes of 20 forecasts by 20 thought leaders from India based on 20 themes. The book was published by Penguin eBury Press. The book features 20 themes on various fields ranging from education to healthcare, science, energy, politics and foreign policy, that predicts the evolution of India in this decade.

The book showcases the numerous aspects of the future that will result in India becoming the world’s 3rd largest economy and regional power. This book will act as a roadmap for policymakers and guide for scholars.

Correct Answer – B. Antony Blinken

Explanation:  The US Senate overwhelmingly confirmed Antony Blinken to be the nation’s 71st secretary of state as lawmakers scrambled to approve President Joe Biden’s Cabinet nominees before impeachment proceedings begin against his predecessor. Blinken will become America’s top diplomat as the world confronts a confluence of threats: the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and a great-power competition that increasingly pits the United States against China on trade, technology and other issues.

Blinken will be charged with unraveling much of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, which made even some of his most ardent Republican supporters squeamish. Trump alienated U.S. allies, from Canada to Germany, and he embraced some of the world’s most brutal dictators, including North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump withdrew from international agreements on arms control, climate change and trade, among other nettlesome global problems.

Correct Answer – C. Dhanlaxmi Bank

Explanation: Board of Directors of Kerala-based Dhanlaxmi Bank have given approval to appoint J K Shivan as managing director and CEO of the Bank. It may be recalled that the shareholders of the Kerala-based had voted against MD & CEO Sunil Gurbaxani On September 30, 2020. Then, in December that year, the lender appointed Shivan as the new MD & CEO. However, the banking regulator, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), had asked the Dhanlaxmi Bank Board to get shareholders’ approval before appointing J K Shivan as the next chief of the bank.

Correct Answer – C. Accenture

Explanation: Four Indian IT services companies have secured spots in the top-10 globally, namely, TCS (3), Infosys (4), HCL (7) and Wipro (9). Accenture has retained the title of world’s most valuable and strongest IT services brand with a brand value of $26 billion. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been ranked third most-valued IT services brand globally, after Accenture and IBM, according to a report by Brand Finance. Third-ranked TCS is rapidly closing the gap with IBM following a healthy 11% brand value increase to USD 15 billion.  Accenture retained the title of world’s most valuable and strongest IT services brand with record brand value of USD 26 billion, while IBM continued at the second place with a brand value of USD 16.1 billion.

Correct Answer – B. Vittorio Storaro

Explanation: The 51st edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) was held from 16 January to 24 January 2021 at Shyamaprasad Stadium near Panaji in Goa. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival was held in hybrid mode, there was the physical and virtual screening of 50 films out of 224 films across various categories. Bangladesh was a country of focus at the festival. Four films of Bangladesh was included in ‘country of focus’ section. The winners of the IFFI awards are listed below:

• Golden Peacock Award for Best Film: Into the Darkness
• Silver Peacock Award for Best Actor (Male): Tzu-Chuan Liu, The Silent Forest
• Silver Peacock Award for Best Actor (Female): Zofia Stafiej, I Never Cry
• Silver Peacock Award for Best Director: Chen-Nien Ko, The Silent Forest
• Best Debut Director Award: Cássio Pereira dos Santos, Valentina
• Special Mention Award: Kripal Kalita, Bridge
• Special Jury Award: Kamin Kalev, February
• ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Award: Ameen Nayfeh’s 200 Meters
• Indian Personality of the Year Award: Biswajit Chatterjee
• Lifetime Achievement: Vittorio Storaro (Italian cinematographer).

Correct Answer – C. Bharti AXA General Insurance

Explanation:  Bharti AXA General Insurance has launched its new app ‘Krishi Sakha’. It will cater to the specific needs of the farmers in the country and guide them in adopting best farming practices and enhancing productivity. It shares relevant information about the scientific way of farming, crop cultivation, sowing, or harvesting of major crops.

Correct Answer: C. 42%

Explanation: In accordance with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, overseas investment by domestic firms fell by over 42% to USD 1.45 billion in December 2020 in comparison to USD 2.51 billion in December 2019. Of the total FDI investment, USD 775.41 million was in the form of equity infusion, USD 382.91 million was in the form of loan, and USD 287.63 million was in the form of issuance of guarantee. In November 2020, the total outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) was also trimmed by 27% to USD 1.06 billion as compared to October 2020.

Correct Answer – C. USD 150,000

Explanation: India has announced a pledge of $150,000 to activities of the Peacebuilding Fund this year and said that 2021 provides the international community with an opportunity to look at peacebuilding in a more focused manner, especially in the context of the Covid pandemic. On India’s peacebuilding efforts at UN, ambassador Tirumurti said, “As the world’s largest democracy, we are conscious of the need to prioritize the building of governance structure to strengthen democracy and the rule of law. India also recognizes the critical role played by women and youth in peacebuilding activities. Strengthening security structures go hand in hand with strengthening civilian structures of good governance.”

Correct Answer – B. 28th January

Explanation: 28th January is celebrated as ‘Data Privacy Day’ in several countries including India, to create awareness and promote privacy and data protection. The main motto is to enhance awareness among businesses and users about protecting the privacy of their personal information online. Recently there has been a hue and cry from different sections of people when WhatsApp has announced data transfer of its users to it’ parent organisation the Facebook.

Correct Answer – B. 86th

Explanation: India has been ranked 86th among 180 countries in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2020, released by Transparency International. This year, India’s rank has slipped six places compared to 2019, when it was ranked at 80th spot. The CPI score for India in 2020 is 40. India is sharing its position jointly with Burkina Faso, Morocco, East Timor, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turkey.

Top Country: New Zealand and Denmark have jointly secured the first position with scores of 88.

Lowest Country: Somalia and South Sudan rank lowest at 179th position with scores of 12.

CPI Index: The CPI index ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and business people. The index uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.

Correct Answer – C. Chandi Prasad Mohanty

Explanation:  Lieutenant General Chandi Prasad Mohanty has been appointed as the new Vice-chief of Army staff. He would assume the office on February 1, 2021, from Lt General SK Saini, who is superannuating on 31 January 2021. Lt General CP Mohanty is an alumnus of Rashtriya Indian Military College, Dehradun, and National Defence Academy. He is a June 1982 batch Infantry Officer from the Rajput Regiment.

Vice-Chief of Army Staff is the deputy head and the second-highest-ranking officer of the Indian Army. The position is held by the senior officer in the rank of Lt-General, of the Commander in Chief grade.

Correct Answer – D. New Zealand

Explanation: India has been ranked at 86th position among 98 countries in the new Coronavirus Performance Index released by Australia-based Lowy Institute. Countries were ranked based on the publicly available and comparable data on Covid-19 response. The Lowy Institute is an independent international policy think tank, located in Sydney. New Zealand, Vietnam and Taiwan are the top three countries respectively in the index. Brazil was ranked at the bottom of the list for worst handling of the pandemic than any other country. China was excluded from the list due to lack of publicly available data.