Current Affairs Oct 2020


1. Which company has partnered with Amex to provide global benefits and offer exclusive privileges to their premium consumers?

1)         ICICI Card

2)         PNB Card

3)         SBI Card

4)         IOB Card

5)         HDFC Card

Answer - 3) SBI Card Explanation:

SBI Cards & Payment Services Ltd (SBI Cards) partners with American Express Global Network Services (Amex) to provide global benefits and offer exclusive privileges to their premium consumer segments in India.

 

2. Which company has partnered with Bajaj Allianz to launch cyber insurance named ‘Digital Suraksha Group Insurance’?

1)         Flipkart

2)         Amazon

3)         Myntra

4)         Snapdeal

5)         Max

Answer – 1) Flipkart Explanation:

Flipkart and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company partnered to offer ‘Digital Suraksha Group Insurance’ for customers who wish to cover themselves against financial losses resulting from cyber-attacks, cyber frauds, or other such malicious activities on various online platforms.

 

3. India successfully test fired which supersonic cruise missile with a Strike Range of over 400 Kilometers (September 2020)?

1)         Prahaar

2)         Agni

3)         BrahMos

4)         Nirbhay

5)         Prithvi

Answer – 3) BrahMos Explanation:

India successfully test fired the surface-to-surface Supersonic Cruise Missile BrahMos with a Strike Range of over 400 Kilometers from Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, Odisha. It was jointly conducted by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) & BrahMos Aerospace. The Test-firing was carried under the PJ-10 Project of DRDO. It will pay the way for serial production of indigenous components of powerful weapon systems to realise the aim of Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliance).

 

4. Name the wicket keeper who has contributed for the most number of dismissals in T20 Internationals?

1)         Rishab Pant

2)         MS Dhoni

3)         Sushma Verma

4)         Alyssa Healy

5)         None of the Above

Answer - 4) Alyssa Healy

Explanation:

Australian woman cricketer and wicket keeper Alyssa Healy broke the record of “Most Dismissal by Wicket Keeper” by MS Dhoni’s who made 91 dismissals in 98 T20 Internationals(T20Is) for India. Healy has played 114 T20Is for Australia and broke the record with 92 dismissals in the shortest format of the game during the match against New Zealand in the 2nd T20I of the three match series at Allan Border Field at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

 

5. India plans to build 100-bedded Cancer Hospital and 22, 000-seater Cricket Stadium in which country?

1)         Nepal

2)         Mauritius

3)         Mali

4)         Bangladesh

5)         Maldives

Answer – 5) Maldives Explanation:

India will build 100-bedded Cancer Hospital and 22, 000-seater Cricket Stadium, in Hulhumale (Maldives) under USD 800 Million Line of Credit (LoC) extended to Maldives in 2019.The Export-Import Bank (EXIM) of India extended the LOC for development of infrastructure projects in Maldives. The construction of the Hospital will strengthen the bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the Health Sector. India will partner with Housing Development Corporation Limited of Maldives for the development of Central Park and renovation of Arrival Jetty in Hulhumale. It will benefit both the visitors and residents.

 

6. New Development Bank (NDB) has approved USD 241 million for which metro rail project (USD 500 Million approved for Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Project)?

1)         Bengaluru Metro Rail Project

2)         Chennai Metro Rail Project

3)         Delhi Metro Rail Project

4)         Mumbai Metro Rail Project

5)         Kolkata Metro Rail Project

Answer - 4) Mumbai Metro Rail Project Explanation:

New Development Bank (NDB) of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Nations approved USD 241 Million (approximately INR 1760 Crores) for Mumbai Metro Rail Project, and USD 500 Million (approximately INR 3670 Crores) for Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) Project. The loans were approved by the Board of Directors of NDB in the 28th Meeting held in virtual format on September 29, 2020.

 

7. How many banks were excluded from Second Schedule of the RBI Act, 1934 in September 2020?

1) 4

2) 6

3) 3

4) 7

5) 9

Answer – 2) 6 Explanation:

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) excluded six public sector banks (PSBs) from the Second Schedule of the RBI Act, 1934 following their merger with other banks with effect from April 01, 2020. The six banks are Syndicate Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC), United Bank of India, Andhra Bank, Corporation Bank, and Allahabad Bank. OBC and United Bank of India merged into Punjab National Bank; Syndicate Bank into Canara Bank; Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank into Union Bank of India; and Allahabad Bank into Indian Bank.

8. Which bank has signed MoU with Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) to provide digital payment solutions and financing solutions?

1)         State Bank of India

2)         Punjab National Bank

3)         Canara Bank

4)         United Bank of India

5)         Indian Bank

Answer – 1) State Bank of India Explanation:

State Bank of India (SBI) and Hindustan Unilever (HUL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide Digital Payment Solutions and Financing solutions to HUL’s retailers and distributors. The Partnership will accelerate the adoption of digital payments among small-scale entrepreneurs and retailers in all parts of the country. It will be available initially in Mumbai and Bengaluru.

 

9. When was UN’s International Day of Older Persons observed annually?

1)         October 2

2)         September 29

3)         October 1

4)         September 30

5)         October 3

Answer – 3) October 1 Explanation:

United Nations(UN)’s International Day of Older Persons is annually observed across the globe on 1st October to recognize the elderlies as an asset to the society who are capable of contributing to the development process. The 1st October 2020 marks the 30th Anniversary of the International Day of Older Persons. The first International Day of Older Persons was observed and celebrated on 1st October 1991. The theme of the International Day of Older Persons 2020 is “Pandemics: Do They Change How We Address Age and Ageing?”. The decision of the International day of Older persons was preceded by the Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing adopted by the 1982 World Assembly on Ageing, which was also endorsed by the UNGA. On the occasion of the International Day of Older Persons 2020, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare stated that marking the launch year of the Decade of Healthy Ageing (2020-2030) various activities will be undertaken throughout 2020.

 

10. Who heads the 3-member interim committee of directors constituted by RBI to run Dhanlaxmi bank?

1)         P.K Vijayakumar

2)         G. Rajagopalan Nair

3)         G. Subramonia Iyer

4)         A.K. Misra

5)         None of the Above

Answer - 3) G. Subramonia Iyer Explanation:

The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) approved a 3-member interim Committee of Directors (CoD) to exercise the powers of Managing Director(MD) & Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of Dhanlaxmi Bank Ltd till a new MD & CEO takes charge. G. Subramonia Iyer will head(Chairman) the CoD, G. Rajagopalan Nair and P.K Vijayakumar will serve as its members.

 

11. Who has been chosen as the recipient of the “2020 Gandhi Award” of Mahatma Gandhi National Foundation (MGNF)?

1)         Sanjay Singh

2)         Narayana Kurup

3)         M Venkaiah Naidu

4)         Jayashankar Menon

5)         Eby J Jose

Answer - 1) Sanjay Singh Explanation:

Eby J Jose, Chairman of Mahatma Gandhi National Foundation (MGNF) announced that Sanjay Singh, Member of Parliament (MP) of Rajya Sabha and the leader of Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) has been chosen as the recipient of the “2020 Gandhi Award”. He was recognized with the award for being instrumental in the diplomatic intervention of India to remove the image of Mahatma Gandhi on the beer bottles of Malka brewery, an Israeli private company. M Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India will present the 2020 Gandhi Award to Sanjay over an award ceremony at New Delhi in January 2021.

 

12. ISRO plans to launch Venus mission named “Shukrayaan-1” by which year?

1) 2024

2) 2022

3) 2021

4) 2025

5) 2023

Answer - 4) 2025 Explanation:

ISRO is all set to launch its first Venus mission “Shukrayaan-1” in 2025 with participation of French space agency CNES (National Centre for Space Studies; French: Centre national d’etudes spatiales). In this regard, ISRO has selected the VIRAL (Venus Infrared Atmospheric Gases Linker) instrument co-developed with the Russian federal space agency Roscosmos and the LATMOS (Atmospheres, Milieux, Observations Spatiales Laborator) attached to the CNRS. Notably this will be the first time a French payload will be flown on an Indian exploration mission.

 

13. Prime Minister Modi inaugurated world’s longest highway tunnel (connects Manali and Lahaul- Spiti Valley) “Atal Tunnel” in which state/UT?

1)         Ladakh

2)         Arunachal Pradesh

3)         Uttarakhand

4)         Himachal Pradesh

5)         Jammu & Kashmir

Answer - 4) Himachal Pradesh Explanation:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated ‘Atal Tunnel’ – World’s Longest Highway Tunnel in Manali, Himachal Pradesh. The 9.02 Kilometre Long Tunnel has been constructed by Border Roads Organisation (BRO) at a cost of INR 3, 300 crores. It connects Manali and Lahaul-Spiti Valley. The Atal Tunnel, running across the 13,050-ft high Rohtang pass, on the Manali-Leh axis is the highest motorable highway tunnel in the world. The Tunnel has been built by adopting the latest NATM (New Austrian Tunneling Method) technique.

 

14. Gram Sampark Abhiyan is the financial inclusion initiative of which bank (scheme launched by Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar)?

1)         State Bank of India

2)         Punjab National Bank

3)         Canara Bank

4)         United Bank of India

5)         Indian Bank

Answer - 2) Punjab National Bank Explanation:

To commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi i.e. on October 2, 2020, Punjab National Bank (PNB) has launched a 3 months long nationwide campaign of financial inclusion and literacy initiative “Gram Sampark Abhiyan”. It was launched by Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar on the lines of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat”. The campaign is centered on four key themes viz. digital, credit, social security and financial literacy. This campaign will culminate on December 31, 2020 covering 526 districts in 24 states.

 

15. “Dalle Khursani”, the famous chilli based on ‘which’ state got GI tag recently?

1)         Karnataka

2)         Gujarat

3)         Andhra Pradesh

4)         Sikkim

5)         Kerala

Answer – 4) Sikkim Explanation:

On the basis of an application filed by the North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Limited (NERAMAC) on behalf of Sikkim, the red cherry pepper chilli of Sikkim, “Dalle Khursani” earned the geographical indication (GI) tag from the Union Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). It is considered as one of the hottest chilli in the world with medicinal values.

 

16. Housing & Urban Affairs secretary Durga Shanker Mishra has launched API integration between PM SVANidhi Portal and eMudra Portal of ‘which’ Bank?

1)         Indian Overseas Bank

2)         Punjab National Bank

3)         State Bank of India

4)         Canara Bank

5)         Union Bank of India

Answer – 3) State Bank of India Explanation:

Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) launched the API (Application Programming Interface) integration between the PM SVANidhi Portal and the SBI (State Bank of India)’s eMudra portal. This launch is a part of Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme.

 

17. Harvey J. Alter, Charles M. Rice and Michael Houghton has won 2020 Nobel prize in Physiology/medicine for discovering which virus?

1)         GB Virus

2)         Polio Virus

3)         Hepatitis C Virus

4)         Corona Virus

5)         Ebola Virus

Answer – 3) Hepatitis C Virus Explanation:

The Head of the Nobel Committee, Thomas Perlmann announced the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2020 jointly to 2 Americans Harvey J. Alter and Charles M. Rice and one British-born scientist Michael Houghton for discovering the Hepatitis C virus, a major global health problem that causes cirrhosis and liver cancer at the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. Note- The award is the 1st of six prizes being announced. The other prizes include in the fields of physics, chemistry, literature, peace and economics.

 

18. Which country planned to send world’s 1st mining robot ‘Asteroid Mining Robot’ into space by November 2020?

1)         China

2)         India

3)         Russia

4)         Japan

5)         United States Answer – 1) China Explanation:

An IEEE Spectrum report stated that Origin Space, the Beijing-based company is set to send the world’s first mining robot named ‘asteroid mining robot’ into space by November 2020 to identify and extract resources. The mining robot will be launched into space by a Chinese Long March series rocket. The 30-gram spacecraft, NEO-1, is likely to be launched as a secondary payload on a Chinese Long March rocket. This company also has another mission, Yuanwang-1 (‘Look up-1’), nicknamed ‘Little Hubble’, which is to be launched by late 2021 or early 2022.

 

19. India’s 1st ever organic spices seed park will be set up in which state?

1)         Uttarakhand

2)         Sikkim

3)         Gujarat

4)         Madhya Pradesh

5)         Goa

Answer – 3) Gujarat Explanation:

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani released Sanction letters to two Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) for the Country’s First Ever Organic Spices Seed Park in Patan & Banaskantha districts for production of Cumin & Fennel Seeds.

 

20. Name the bank which in partnership with Visa launched the 1st of its kind debit card facility for availing Loan Against Securities (LAS).

1)         State Bank of India

2)         ICICI Bank

3)         HDFC Bank

4)         RBL Bank

5)         Punjab National Bank Answer – 2) ICICI Bank Explanation:

ICICI Bank in partnership with Visa introduced a debit card facility for customers who avail Loan Against Securities (LAS) from the bank. The card is available on the Visa platform. With this introduction, ICICI bank becomes the 1st bank in India to launch this facility after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed banks to issue electronic(e) cards to customers availing an Overdraft (OD) facility, that are only in the nature of personal loan with no specific end-use restriction. Note– New customer who avail LAS will be issued a Debit card.

 

21. Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez have got the 2020 Nobel Prize in which field?

1)         Economics

2)         Medicine

3)         Chemistry

4)         Physics

5)         Literature Answer – 4) Physics Explanation:

Goran K. Hansson, secretary-general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the Nobel Prize in Physics 2020. One half of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics was given to Roger Penrose (United Kingdom- UK) for his discovery that black hole formation is resilient prediction of the general theory of relativity and the other half jointly to Reinhard Genzel(German) and Andrea Ghez(America) for their discovery of a supermassive compact object at the center of our galaxy (Milky Way). The award comprises a gold medal and prize money of 10 million Swedish kronor (more than $1.1 million).

 

22) The ‘Unfinished’ is the memoir of whom?

1)         Alia Bhatt

2)         Priyanka Chopra

3)         Deepika Padukone

4)         Anushka Sharma

5)         Sara Ali Khan

Answer - 2) Priyanka Chopra Explanation:

Actor-producer Priyanka Chopra’s long-awaited book debut, 'Unfinished', will be launched on January 19, 2021, publisher Penguin Random House India announced recently.

 

23. Which bank partnered with Vistara to launch the industry 1st co-branded Forex card for international travelers?

1)         Indian Bank

2)         IndusInd Bank

3)         Yes Bank

4)         Axis Bank

5)         Bank of Maharashtra Answer – 4) Axis Bank Explanation:

Axis Bank Ltd in partnership with Vistara, India’s full service carrier launched a Co-Branded Forex Card, ‘Axis Bank Club Vistara Forex Card’ to cater to the needs of international travelers. This is the 1st-ever collaboration by a bank and an Indian airline for a co-branded forex card. The multicurrency forex card enables customers to travel to international destinations in a cashless and hassle-free manner.

 

24. Who has been appointed as the chairman of State Bank of India with effect from October 7, 2020?

1)         Tapan Singhel

2)         Rajnish Kumar

3)         Ashwini Kumar Tewari

4)         Dinesh Kumar Khara

5)         Padmaja Chunduru

Answer – 4) Dinesh Kumar Khara Explanation:

The Government of India appointed Dinesh Kumar Khara, the current Managing Director of State Bank of India as the new Chairman of SBI for a period of three years effective from 7th October 2020. Dinesh Kumar Khara succeeds Rajnish Kumar as the new Chairman, whose 3-year term ended on 7th October 2020. The appointment of Dinesh Kumar was recommended by the Bank Board Bureau.

 

25. India’s 1st transportation tunnel (underwater) will be constructed below which river?

1)         Tapti

2)         Godavari

3)         Hooghly

4)         Indus

5)         Narmada

Answer - 3) Hooghly Explanation:

The Central Government has approved the revised cost estimates for the construction of the Kolkata East-West Corridor project as per the realigned route. Now the estimated completion cost of the project is Rs. 8575 crores where the Ministry of Railway’s share is Rs.3268.27 crore, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA)’ share as Rs.1148.31 crore and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) loan of Rs.4158.40 crore. The target date for completion of the entire project is December 2021. Notably, the project also envisages construction of 16.6 Km long Metro Railway Corridor including tunnel below ‘river Hooghly’ which is the “1st transportation tunnel in India” under any major river as well as Howrah Station which is one of the deepest Metro stations in India.