Which city is hosting the 48th Conference of Governors?
Correct Answer: A [New Delhi]
Answer Explanation:
The 48th Conference of Governors has started at Rashtrapati Bhavan in
New Delhi on October 12, 2017. The 2-day conference is being attended
by 27 Governors and 3 Lt. Governors of States and Union Territories. The
two-day Conference will deliberate on distinct agenda items in
different sessions. The theme of the opening session was ‘New
India-2022’. The second session is on the subjects of ‘Higher Education
in States’ and ‘Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to Make Youth
Employable’. In the third session, to take place on October 13, 2017,
Governors will make brief remarks on any special issues pertaining to
their respective States/Union Territories. In the concluding session, a
brief report on the deliberations will be presented by the respective
conveners.
India to sign pact with which country for setting up flexible LNG market?
Correct Answer: B [Japan ]
Answer Explanation:
The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently
approved signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with Japan on
establishing a Liquid, Flexible and Global LNG Market. The MoC will
provides a framework to cooperate in facilitating flexibility in LNG
contracts, abolition of Destination Restriction Clause (DRC) and also
explore possibilities of cooperation in establishing reliable LNG spot
price indices, reflecting true LNG demand and supply. This MoC is
expected to be signed during the forthcoming visit of Hon’ble Minister
for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship during October 16-18, 2017
at Tokyo. Apart from this, India and Japan will also sign MoC for a
Technical Intern Training Program (TITP). The TITP is an ambitious
program to send Indian technical interns to Japan for on the job
training for a period of three to five years.
Who chaired the first meeting of the newly-constituted Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister (EAC-PM)?
Correct Answer: C [Bibey Debroy]
Answer Explanation:
The first-ever meeting of the newly-constituted Economic Advisory
Council to Prime Minister (EAC-PM) was held at NITI Aayog, in New Delhi
on October 11, 2017. It was chaired by Dr. Bibey Debroy. In it, 10
priority areas for reviving growth and employment in the next six months
has been identified. The 10 themes are economic growth, employment and
job creation, informal sector and integration, fiscal framework,
monetary policy, public expenditure, institutions of economic
governance, agriculture and animal husbandry, patterns of consumption
and production and social sector.
Who will head the 2nd National Judicial Pay Commission (NJPC) to look into pay hike issue of lower court judges?
Correct Answer: D [PV Reddi]
Answer Explanation:
The Union Law Ministry has finalized the appointment of a Second
National Judicial Pay Commission to recommend salary hikes for the
21,000 lower court judges in India. The proposed commission will be
headed by former Supreme Court judge PV Reddi. The commission will
submit its recommendations in early 2019 and the hike again is expected
to be given with retrospective effect. The move comes after directions
from the Supreme Court in May. The first judicial pay commission, headed
by Justice Jagannatha Shetty, was set up in March 1996 and it submitted
its report in November 1999. The judges and judicial officers got the
last pay hike in 2010, a three-fold jump, from their salaries decided in
1999. The 2010 hike was applied retrospectively from January 1, 2006.
The current entry level salary for a junior civil judge is Rs 45000
while a senior judge gets nearly Rs 80,000.
Gurbax Singh Sandhu has been honoured with the 2017 National Awards for senior citizens. He is associated with which sports?
Correct Answer: A [Boxing ]
Answer Explanation:
Indian boxing coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu has been honoured with the
2017 National Awards for senior citizens by President Ramnath Kovind.
Sandhu was India’s longest-serving men’s national coach, occupying the
position for two decades before he was handed charge of the women
campers earlier in 2017. He was the chief coach when India won its
maiden Olympic medal in boxing through Vijender Singh in 2008.
Which parliamentary committee on External Affairs has been formed to examine India-China relations?
Correct Answer: B [Shashi Tharoor committee]
Answer Explanation:
The parliamentary committee on External Affairs, which will examine
the relations between India and China, is headed by Congress
parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor. The committee will examine in detail the
issue of cooperation between both the countries in international
organizations including Doklam standoff. The standing committee has also
decided to closely look at India’s “Relations with Myanmar and the
Rohingya situation”, India’s “Act East Policy, including BIMSTEC”, the
“Situation in the Far East: Japan and North Korea”, India’s engagement
with SAARC countries, global terrorism and voting rights for NRIs.
The Balpakram National Park (BNP) is located in which state?
Correct Answer: C [Meghalaya ]
Answer Explanation:
The Balpakram National Park (BNP) is located near the Garo Hills in
Meghalaya and is famous for the golden cat and the barking deer. The
park is often referred to as the “abode of perpetual winds” as well as
the “land of spirits. Beside this, the park is home to wild water
buffalo, red panda, elephant, tiger, etc.
Jemson Ningthoujam is associated with which sports?
Correct Answer: D [Archery ]
Answer Explanation:
The mixed pair of Jemson Ningthoujam and Ankita Bhakat clinched gold
at the 2017 World Archery Youth Championship in Rosario, Argentina.This
is India’s first world title at the youth championships since Deepika
Kumari’s victories in 2009 and 2011. India also bagged one silver and
one bronze in a promising show by the youngsters.
The Andhra Pradesh government has tied up with which financial services company for Vizag Digital Dhan Sankalp (VDDS) project?
Correct Answer: D [Visa]
Answer Explanation:
The Andhra Pradesh government has tied up with financial services
company Visa for Vizag Digital Dhan Sankalp (VDDS) project, which is an
initiative to develop Visakhapatnam into India’s first ‘less cash’ city
as well as a Fintech valley. In collaboration with Visa, the state
government will make efforts to enable digital payments to educational
institutions, small and micro merchants, street market vendors, etc.
Which state government has recently implemented the Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS)?
Correct Answer: D [Himachal Pradesh ]
Answer Explanation:
The Himachal Pradesh government has implemented the Senior Citizen
Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS) to provide easy access to curative
geriatric health care services by way of additional cover. The scheme
will provide top up coverage of Rs. 30,000 per senior citizen to all
existing Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY) smart card holders in
addition to basic coverage of Rs.30,000 in Trust/Society mode. the
targeted beneficiaries of this scheme are RSBY enrolled persons aged 60
years and above. The senior citizens of those families that are eligible
for RSBY but not currently rolled in this scheme will not get benefit
of SCHIS.
