Important G.K. & Current Affairs Questions – 27th January 2019

Correct Answer – C. Nagpur

Explanation: A special tourist train covering prominent places associated with chief architect of the Indian Constitution Dr BR Ambedkar and Gautam Buddha will embark on its maiden journey on April 14 from Nagpur. The train, ‘Samantha Express’, will be run by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation. A press statement said that IRCTC is running a special Bharat Darshan Tourist Train Samantha Express in memory of the revered leader, Bharat Ratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar covering the prominent places associated with his life and that of Lord Buddha.

Correct Answer – B. Pakistan

Explanation: Cash-strapped Pakistan said that the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) was providing it with a three-year $4.5 billion oil financing facility, which will ease pressure on its balance-of-payments. The finance ministry said that $1.5 billion worth of oil on deferred payment each year by the bank had been agreed upon. The program will continue for three years. The facility was already activated in July 2018 and the ministry said Pakistan received oil worth $100 million in the first phase under the agreement with IDB.

Correct Answer – B. Tripura

Explanation: The Tripura government has unveiled an official logo for the state’s tea to popularise the beverage and to promote the potentiality of tourism. At an event, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said with the launch of the insignia, Tripura tea would be more popular across the country and abroad and it would also promote tourism. The logo features Tripura’s iconic landmark, the “Neermahal” which is the largest and one-of-its-kind water palace in India.
The palace located around 53 km west of Agartala, was built by then Tripura King Bir Bikram Kishore Debbarman Manikya (1908-1947) in the middle of Rudrasagar Lake, as his summer residence.

Correct Answer – D. Mauritius

Explanation: Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, while delivering the keynote address as the chief guest at the inauguration of the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, announced that for the first time, Mauritius will organise Bhojpuri Festival in 2020. The festival will provide a platform to promote the language at international level as well as strengthen inter cultural ties.The country will also host Bhagwad Gita Mahotsav in partnership with the Haryana government in February 2019.

Correct Answer – C. February 2

Explanation: The eighth annual pulicat day wil be observed on February 2 at Pulicat to create awareness among people about the importance of protecting the lagoon. The day is celebrated as the world wetlands day, with activities like catamaran race, rangoli competition,quiz and drawing competition for children, heritage walk and folklore programs. The founder of Art and architecture research development and education Xavier Benedict told that the wetland was one of the northeast monsoon cloud attracting regions in the country. It was a centre of cotton route once

Correct Answer – A. Max Life Insurance

Explanation: Max Life Insurance has surpassed state-owned insurer Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) in terms of claims settlement ratio in FY18, according to the data released by IRDAI. “Four years ago, 50 percent of the rejected claims would be fraudulent claims,” said V Viswanand, Deputy Managing Director, Max Life. “Most fraudulent claims occur due to the lapses in the underwriting process,” he added further. Viswanand said that the insurer has introduced many checks and balances to strengthen the customer application and underwriting process.

Correct Answer – D. IIT Madras

Explanation: Union Science and Technology Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan inaugurated three specialized centers at Madras IIT. The new centers would pursue research on solar power generation and storage, waste water management and solar power based desalination. Dr Harsh Vardhan in his address said, scientific community should base their research more on societal applications. He said India has a leading role in harnessing solar power.

Correct Answer – B. Aparna Kumar

Explanation: Aparna Kumar has become the first woman IPS DIG and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) officer to successfully complete the South Pole expedition. Kumar has successfully reached the South Pole after covering 111 kilometres of walking on the snow. She also carried equipment weighing 35 Kilograms along with her. She has already scaled the top six mountain peaks of the six continents of the globe

Correct Answer – A. Karthyayini Amma

Explanation: The Commonwealth of Learning is an inter-governmental organisation of The Commonwealth in Canada. It aims to promote distance education among its 53 member nations. Amma’s learning methods and her story will now be seen in a number of publications across the member countries. Balasubramanian, Vice-President, Commonwealth of Learning, visited Amma to know her learning methods. Later, he presented her with the award on behalf of the Commonwealth, reports Matrubhumi. Amma, who hails from Muttam, Alappuzha district in Kerala, used to work as a domestic help to raise her kids.

Correct Answer  – E. None of these

Explanation: With a few days to go before the Narendra Modi government presents its interim Budget on February 1, the Prime Minister on Wednesday entrusted Railway Minister Piyush Goyal with ministerial portfolios of finance and corporate affairs till Arun Jaitley comes back from the US. Jaitley underwent a surgery in the US on Tuesday. With doctors having advised him two weeks’ rest, Goyal is set to present the interim Budget — the final Budget of the Modi-led government’s current tenure, which comes less than 90 days before the Lok Sabha polls and could contain key announcements.