Who has been designated as the new Finance Secretary of India?
Correct Answer: C [Hasmukh Adhia]
Answer Explanation:
Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia has been designated as the new
Finance Secretary of India. Adhia is a 1981 batch IAS officer of Gujarat
cadre. The post was vacant after former Finance and Expenditure
Secretary Ashok Lavasa retired on October 31, 2017. As per the
convention, the senior most Secretary in the Finance Ministry is
designated as the Finance Secretary. Adhia’s appointment comes ahead of
the 10 November GST Council meeting in Guwahati that is likely to see a
revision in the tax rates for some common use items and easier GST
returns filing norms for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
Who will inaugurate the latest conference of States Power Ministers in Bihar?
Correct Answer: D [Raj Kumar Singh]
Answer Explanation:
The 2-day conference of Ministers for Power and New and Renewable
Energy of States and Union Territories will be held at Rajgir in Bihar
from November 10, 2017. The conference will be inaugurated by Union
Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy Raj
Kumar Singh. The objective of the conference is to review the
implementation of various ongoing schemes and deliberate upon a host of
issues pertaining to Power and Renewable Energy sectors. Ministers and
Secretaries of States and senior officials will participate in the
conference.
Which committee has been constituted by the Central Government to probe into NTPC’s Unchahar Thermal Power Plant incident?
Correct Answer: A [PD Siwal committee]
Answer Explanation:
The Union Power Ministry has constituted a 4-member committee to
investigate into the causes of the recent accident that occurred on 1st
November 2017 at NTPC’s Unchahar Thermal Power Plant in Uttar Pradesh’s
Rae Bareli district. The committee, headed by PD Siwal, Member of
Central Electricity Authority, will submit its report to the Ministry of
Power within a month. According to the term of reference of the
committee, it will investigate the causes of the accident and fix
responsibility for lapses, if any. It will also suggest remedial
measures to avoid the recurrence of such incidents in the future. More
than 30 people had lost their lives after a boiler exploded at the
plant.
The Indo-Nepal folk crafts festival has started in which city?
Correct Answer: B [Kathmandu]
Answer Explanation:
A theme based India-Nepal Folk Crafts Festival has started at
Kathmandu, Nepal on November 7, 2017. The 5-day festival is organised by
South Asia Foundation (SAF) in association with Council of Handicrafts
Development Corporations (COHANDS), Embassy of India in Kathmandu,
Embassy of Nepal in New Delhi and BP Koirala India-Nepal Foundation. The
Ministry of Textiles, Government of India (GoI), is sponsoring the
event. The basic objective of the festival is to promote bilateral
relations through crafts and strengthen the relationship between
artisans of India and Nepal. Around 50 artisans will showcase their
crafts during the event. A Khadi- fashion show will also be organized at
India House, Embassy of India in Kathmandu on Nov 10 as part of the
festival.
Which Multi-Agency Group (MAG) has reconstituted by the Union Government to probe into cases of Paradise Papers?
Correct Answer: D [Sushil Chandra group ]
Answer Explanation:
The Union Government has reconstituted Multi-Agency Group (MAG) to
probe into cases of Paradise Papers, which is also probing the Panama
Papers leak. The reconstituted MAG headed by the Sushil Chandra, the
Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), will have
representatives from ED, RBI and Financial Intelligence Unit. The
Paradise Papers revealed that India ranks 19 out of the 180 countries
represented in the data of offshore entities. In all, 714 Indian
entities and individuals figure in the list. The Paradise Papers include
nearly 7 million loan agreements, financial statements, emails, trust
deeds and other paperwork over nearly 50 years from inside Appleby, a
prestigious offshore law firm with offices in Bermuda and other places.
Indians who figure in Paradise Papers include Bollywood star Amitabh
Bachchan, defaulter businessman Vijay Mallya, corporate lobbyist Niira
Radia, film star Sanjay Dutt’s wife Manyata, Union minister Jayant Sinha
and Rajya Sabha MP R K Sinha.
Who has been appointed the new Special Secretary in Union commerce ministry?
Correct Answer: A [Binoy Kumar]
Answer Explanation:
Binoy Kumar, a 1983-batch IAS officer of the Telangana cadre, has
been appointed the new Special Secretary in commerce ministry. He is the
Director General of Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals
(DGS&D), the procurement arm of the central government that closed
on October 31. The closure of the DGS&D follows the governments
shift to the commerce ministry’s e-market platform (GeM) launched in
2016 for public procurement of goods and services. DGS&D has its
origin in the India Stores Department, which was established in 1860 in
London by the British for a centralised purchase of goods for India.
India has pledged to contribute how much amount to UN partnership fund at the 2017 UN Pledging Conference for Development Activities?
Correct Answer: B [$100 million]
Answer Explanation:
India has pledged additional $100 million towards India-UN
Development Partnership Fund to help the poorest nations achieve the
world organisation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to reduce
poverty and raise the quality of life. This contribution would be in
addition to $10.582 million India is contributing to various other UN
programmes. Anjani Kumar, a Counsellor in India’s UN Mission, announced
the multi-year contribution at the 2017 UN Pledging Conference for
Development Activities on November 6, 2017.
Where is the headquarters of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)?
Correct Answer: C [Washington DC]
Answer Explanation:
Recently, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
(ICIJ) has released a global investigation ‘The Paradise Papers’ that
reveals the offshore interests and activities of some of the world’s
most powerful people and companies, including information about at least
31,000 persons or parties. India ranked 19th out of the 180 countries
represented in the data in terms of the number of names. The vast of
financial data could expose the secret wealth of hundreds of rich
Indians, including politicians, corporate heavyweights and entertainment
leaders, who are suspected to have used offshore tax havens to dodge
taxes. In all, there are 714 Indians in the tally in biggest offshore
data leak for alleged tax evasion. The headquarters of the ICIJ is
located at Washington DC, United States.
India has signed how much amount of loan agreement with the World Bank (WB) for Odisha Higher Education Programme for Excellence and Equity (OHEPEE) Project?
Correct Answer: B [$119 million]
Answer Explanation:
India has signed $119 million of financial agreement with the World
Bank (WB) for Odisha Higher Education Programme for Excellence and
Equity (OHEPEE) project. The purpose of the project is to improve the
quality of ‘students’ equitable access to selected institutions and
enhance governance of the higher education system in Odisha. The closing
date for the project is 30th November, 2022.
The Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary (TWS) is located in which state?
Correct Answer: D [Tripura]
Answer Explanation:
The Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary (TWS) is located in South Tripura
District of Tripura and covers an area of about 163.08 square
kilometres. It has a number of perennial water rivulets, water bodies
and grass land. In this sanctuary, there are patches of virgin forests
which are rich in rare vegetation. Indian Gaur (Bison) is an attraction
of this sanctuary. Apart from it, there are varieties of Birds, Deers,
Hollock Gibbon, Golden Langur, Capped Langur, Pheasant and many other
animals and reptiles.
