1. Who has been selected for the 2018 Sangita Kalanidhi award of the Music Academy?
[A] S R G Rajanna [B] Aruna Sairam [C] K Oman Kutty [D] Premeela GurumurthyCorrect Answer: B [Aruna Sairam]
Notes:
Aruna Sairam, the renowned Carnatic vocalist, has been selected for the 2018 Sangita Kalanidhi award of the Music Academy. She will preside over the 92nd annual conference to be held between December 15, 2018 and January 1, 2019. The award will be conferred to her on January 1, the day of Sadas. Beside her, Mridhangist Thanjavur R. Ramadoss and vocalist K. Oman Kutty will receive the Sangita Kala Acharya award.T.T.K. Awards will be given to veena player Kalyani Ganesan and nagaswaram player S.R.G. Rajanna. Dr. Premeela Gurumurthy, the Vice Chancellor of Tamil Nadu University for Fine Arts, will get the musicologist award and dancer Shanta Dhananjayan will get the Nritiya Kalanidhi award, which will be conferred on her January 3
2. As per the ‘Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/ GM Crops in 2017’ report, what is India’s rank among countries with world’s largest area under Genetically Modified Crops?
[A] Third [B] Fifth [C] Sixth [D] TenthCorrect Answer: B [Fifth]
Notes:
According to the Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/ GM Crops in 2017 by International Service for the Acquisition of Agra-Biotech Applications (ISAAA), India has the world’s fifth largest cultivated area under genetically modified (GM) crops. However, this entire area is under single crop – cotton. Currently, the country with highest area under transgenic crops, at 75 mh, is the United States. US grows GM soyabean, maize (corn), cotton, alfalfa, canola, sugar-beet, potato, apples, squash and papaya.
3. Who received the Golden Ball award for best player at the 2018 FIFA World Cup?
[A] Luka Modric [B] Kylian Mbappe [C] Harry Kane [D] Thibaut CourtoisCorrect Answer: A [Luka Modric]
Notes:
The French National Football team has clinched the 2018 FIFA World Cup by defeating Croatia 4-2 in a thrilling final match at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on July 15. Croatia were playing in their first World Cup final. They were the smallest country to reach the Final in the modern era. For France, it was a first World Cup crown since winning on home soil in 1998. England’s Harry Kane won the World Cup Golden Boot Award as top scorer with 6 goals. Croatia captain Luka Modric won the Golden Ball award for the World Cup’s best player despite being on the losing side. Kylian Mbappe of France won the Young Player of the Tournament Award after scoring his 4th goal of the competition in the final. Belgium’s Thibaut Courtois won the Golden Glove award for the best goalkeeper. Now, France joined Uruguay and Argentina in winning the World Cup for a second time, after their 1998 triumph over Brazil when Didier Deschamps — now the coach — was the captain.
4. The UNEP has partnered with which technological giant for monitoring impact of human activity on global ecosystem?
[A] Microsoft [B] Google [C] Facebook [D] InfosysCorrect Answer: B [Google]
Notes:
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has partnered with Google to monitor the impacts of human activity on global ecosystems by using sophisticated online tools. The purpose of the partnership is to develop a platform to enable governments, NGO’s and the public to track specific environment-related development targets with a user-friendly Google front-end. The partnership was launched during the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development at the UN headquarters in New York. Initially, the focus will be on fresh-water ecosystems including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes. These areas account for 0.01% of the world’s water but provide habitat for almost 10 per cent of the world’s known species and evidence suggests a rapid loss of freshwater biodiversity. Google will periodically produce geo-spatial maps and data on water-related ecosystems by employing massive parallel Cloud computing technology.
5. The Madhya Pradesh government has recently inaugurated the 250MW NTPC Solar Power Plant in which district?
[A] Panna [B] Mandsaur [C] Indore [D] JabalpurCorrect Answer: B [Mandsaur]
Notes:
The Madhya Pradesh government has inaugurated the state-run power giant National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC)’s 250 MW Solar Power Plant at Suwasra in district Mandsaur.
This project has been set up mainly on non-agricultural land and generation of electricity has been achieved without affecting the natural eco-system with zero carbon emission at an investment of about Rs 1,500 crore. This is one of the biggest solar plant developed using domestically manufactured Solar cells and modules under the Make in India initiative. The Project has been commissioned in June 2017 and generated electricity is being supplied for consumption in Madhya Pradesh, the sole beneficiary.
