1.Who has been sworn-in as the new President of Mali?
[A] Alpha Oumar Konare[B] Dioncounda Traore
[C] Soumaila Cisse
[D] Ibrahim Boubacar Keita
ANSWER: D [Ibrahim Boubacar Keita]
Notes:
Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has been re-elected as the new President of Mali for a five-year term after winning a landslide in a runoff ballot. He picked up 67.17% of the vote against 32.83% for opposition challenger and former finance minister Soumaila Cisse. Keita will take office on September and his immediate challenges include strengthening a 2015 peace accord between the government, its allies, and former Tuareg rebels. Mali is a landlocked nation home to at least 20 ethnic groups where the majority of people live on less than $2 a day.
2.Legendary singer Aretha Franklin, who passed away recently, had performed at the inaugurations of which of the following Presidents of the United States?
[A] George W. Bush[B] Donald Trump
[C] Jimmy Carter
[D] Ronald Reagan
ANSWER: C [Jimmy Carter]
Notes:
Aretha Franklin (76), the legendary US singer and pianist, has passed away in Michigan, U.S on August 16, 2018. The “Queen of Soul” was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and made her debut in 1961. Her style on such hits as “Respect” and “Natural Woman” attracted fans all over the world. She received the Grammy Award 18 times and was the first female vocalist to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Franklin performed at the inaugurations of three Presidents of the United States — Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.
3.Rajabhau Godse, who passed away recently, was associated with which political party?
[A] INC[B] BJP
[C] Shiv Sena
[D] NCP
ANSWER: C [Shiv Sena]
Notes:
Rajabhau Godse (57), the former Shiv Sena Member of Parliament (MP) from Nashik , has passed away in Nasik, Maharashtra on August 17, 2018. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Nashik constituency in 1996. He had also been the city and district unit chief of the Sena after starting his political career as Sarpanch of village Sansari in the district.
4.Which of the following cities is the venue of the 11th World Hindi Conference (WHC) 2018?
[A] New Delhi[B] Port Louis
[C] Johannesburg
[D] Paramaribo
ANSWER: B [Port Louis]
Notes:
The 11th World Hindi Conference 2018 (WHC) has started in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius, with theme “Hindi World and Indian Culture” on August 18. It was organized by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India (GoI) in association with the Government of Mauritius. More than 2000 delegates from India and various countries of the world will deliberate on 8 subtopics on 2018 theme during the 3-day conference. The aim of the Conference is to expand the reach of the Hindi language at a global level. The WHC was started in 1975 to make the Hindi language a medium of service and knowledge and enable it to move forward with the time. Since then, Hindi has made remarkable progress and it has become one of the prominent languages of the world.
5.India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has revised India’s GDP growth to 7.2% for FY19. Ind-Ra belongs to which group?
[A] CRISIL[B] Standard & Poor’s
[C] Moody’s Corporation
[D] Fitch
ANSWER: D [Fitch]
Notes:
India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has revised down India’s GDP growth to 7.2% for FY19 from 7.4% earlier in its latest report titled ‘Mid-year FY19 Outlook’. The key reason for this is the upward revision in the estimation of inflation for 2018-19 due to increasing crude oil prices and the government’s decision to fix the minimum support prices of all kharif crops at 1.5 times the production cost. On rupee, the rating agency stated that in 2018, rupee has already depreciated 7.7% till July in response to elevated global turbulence, worsening of current account, rising inflation and concerns related to fiscal deficit. It expects the aggregate fiscal deficit of the states to moderate to 2.8% of GDP. Ind-Ra is one of the India’s most respected credit rating agency that provides ratings, research and rigorous analytics of market in India. The headquarters of Ind-Ra is located in Mumbai and is belong to Fitch group.
