1. Which party has won a clear parliamentary majority in the 2017 French legislative elections?
a) The Socialist Party
b) The National Front
c) En Marche
d) The Conservative Republican Party
2. Name the interplanetary mission by ISRO that completed 1000 Earth days in its orbit on 19 June 2017.
1. Chandrayaan-1
2. Mangalayaan
3. ASTROSAT
4. Cartosat-2E
3. The implementation of the ‘National Mission on Cultural Mapping of India’ was launched by Dr. Mahesh Sharma. Consider the statements in relation to the mission.
I. It was launched in a block level mega talent hunt programme named Sanskritik Pratibha Khoj Samaroh.
II. The Mission is part of the ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ umbrella.
III. Ministry of Culture launched it in the year of commemoration of the birth centenary of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay, who hailed from Mathura.
Which is/are correct?
a) Only III
b) Only I and II
c) Only I and III
d) I, II and III
4. The Union Government is planning to set up an academy to promote a Bhasha, a dialect of Hindi that is spoken in four to five districts of a state. Name the Bhasha.
a) Maithili
b) Braj
c) Bhojpuri
d) Maghi
5. Who of the following was recently conferred with the Member of the Order of the British Empire?
a) Sachin Tendulkar
b) Anand Mehta
c) Kumar Iyer
d) Annabel Mehta
6. Who of the following was recently re-nominated by India for another term as the Judge of the International Court of Justice?
a) Girish Thakorlal Nanavati
b) Harish Salve
c) Dalveer Bhandari
d) H.L. Dattu
7. Name the Syrian refugee who was recently appointed as the UNICEF Goodwill Amabassador.
a) Muzoon Almellehan
b) Zaatari Ahmed
c) Rabiya Almellehan
d) None of the above
8. Which country has unveiled the world’s first railless train that runs on a virtual track?
a) Russia
b) China
c) Japan
d) Germany
9. Name the father of India's Nuclear Fusion who died recently.
a) CNR Rao
b) Predhiman Krishan Kaw
c) Jayant Narlikar
d) Roddam Narasimha
10. Which airline company has been adjudged the World’s Best Airline of 2017?
a) Singapore Airlines
b) Qatar Airways
c) Emirates
d) Etihad Airways
11. The National space agency ISRO on 23 June 2017 successfully launched India’s ‘Cartosat-2 Series’ satellite and these many co-passenger payloads.
a) 20
b) 30
c) 40
d) 50
12. Name the state that had appealed its employees to contribute a day’s salary to provide financial assistance to families of farmers in the suicide-prone regions of the state.
a) Madhya Pradesh
b) Uttar Pradesh
c) Chhatishgarh
d) Maharashtra
13. Which state’s forest ministry is going to launch a mobile app named ‘My Plant’ on 1 July 2017?
a) Karnataka
b) Maharashtra
c) West Bengal
d) Kerala
14. Writers under this category won maximum awards at the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar 2017.
a) Short Stories
b) Essays
c) Poetry
d) Biographies
15. Which of the following Indian anti-hunger activist is chosen for the prestigious Queen’s Young Leaders Award?
a) Zehra Ali Yavar Jung
b) Avinash Pol
c) Sivananda Rajaram
d) Ankit Kawatra
Answers with Explanation -
1) (c) En Marche
French President Emmanuel Macron's En Marche has won a clear parliamentary majority in the 2017 legislative elections, just weeks after his own presidential victory. With nearly all votes counted, Macron's En Marche alongside its Democratic Movement (MoDem) allies, has won more than 300 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly.
2) (b) Mangalayaan
Indian Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) also called Mangalyaan completed 1000 Earth days in its orbit on 19 June 2017. The interplanetary mission of ISRO was launched on 5 November 2013. It was inserted into Martian orbit on 24 September 2014 in its first attempt.
3) (d) I, II and III
Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (Independent charge) for Culture & Tourism on 17 June 2017 launched the implementation of the ‘National Mission on Cultural Mapping of India’ at Goverdhan Block, Mathura District of Uttar Pradesh. The national mission on cultural mapping was launched in a day long, Block level mega talent hunt programme (Sanskritik Pratibha Khoj Samaroh). This Mission is part of the ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ umbrella. Ministry of Culture launched it in the year of commemoration of the birth centenary of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay, who hailed from Mathura.
4) (b) Braj
The government is planning to set up an academy to promote Braj Bhasha, a dialect of Hindi which is spoken by people primarily in Braj region including Agra, Mathura, Etah and Aligarh. Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma said this during the launch of "Culture Mapping of India" programme at Mathura. He said that the Braj Sahitya Academy most likely will be set up in Mathura.
5) (d) Annabel Mehta
Sachin Tendulkar’s mother-in-law and social activist Annabel Mehta, a British national, has been awarded the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for her work and service to the underprivileged. The award will be presented to her at Buckingham Palace in London later in 2017.
6) (c) Dalveer Bhandari
India decided to re-nominate Dalveer Bhandari for another term as the Judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The nomination papers of Bhandari were filed on 19 June 2017 in New York.
7) (a) Muzoon Almellehan
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on 19 June 2017 announced the appointment of Muzoon Almellehan, a 19-year-old education activist and Syrian refugee, as its newest and youngest Goodwill Ambassador. The appointment makes her the first person with official refugee status to become an Ambassador for UNICEF.
8) (b) China
China has unveiled the world's first ‘railless train’ that runs on a virtual track making use of a sensor technology instead of metal rails. This Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit (ART) has been developed by China's CRRC Zhuzhou Institute. It is a part of China's attempts to develop an ‘intelligent rail express system’.
9) (b) Predhiman Krishan Kaw
The father of India's nuclear fusion reactor research programme, Prof Predhiman Krishan Kaw, died on 18 June 2017. He was the founder director of Institute for Plasma Research (IPR), Gandhinagar, an institute that catapulted India to being one among the seven member entities that is building the world's largest fusion experiment.
10) (b) Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways was announced as the World’s Best Airline on 20 June 2017 at the SKYTRAX 2017 World Airline Awards. Voted Best Airline by travellers across the world in the annual passenger survey, the Doha based carrier has now won the prestigious Airline of the Year title for a fourth time. Qatar Airways enjoyed further success by winning major awards for the World’s Best Business Class, the World’s Best First Class Lounge and as the Best Airline in the Middle East.
11) (b) 30
The National space agency, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), on 23 June 2017 successfully launched India’s ‘Cartosat-2 Series’ satellite and 30 other co-passenger payloads. The satellite and its co-passengers were launched by its highly reliable polar satellite launch vehicle PSLV C-38 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota at 9.29 am. The 30 nano-satellites include 29 belonging to foreign customers from 14 countries and one domestic payload of a private educational institution from Kanyakumari district.
12) (d) Maharashtra
The Maharashtra government on 22 June 2017 issued a notification appealing its employees to contribute a day's salary to provide financial assistance to families of farmers in the suicide-prone regions of the state.
13) (b) Maharashtra
Maharashtra Forest Minister, Sudhir Mungantiwar announced on 23 June 2017 that the government plans to launch a mobile app named ‘My Plant’ on 1 July 2017. The app would help in recording data regarding tree plantations in the state.
14) (c) Poetry
The Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar 2017 was dominated by regional language poets, who took away sixteen awards for their exceptional poetry works. The other awardees included five authors for short stories, two for biographies and one for essay.
15) (d) Ankit Kawatra
Anti-hunger activist Ankit Kawatra, who has been committed to solving hunger and malnutrition in India, is all set to receive the prestigious Queen’s Young Leaders Award with 60 others from all 53 Commonwealth countries.
