1. Alongside unveiling the postal stamps of Ram Lalla of Ayodhya and Lord Buddha from Luang Prabang, what was another key event during S. Jaishankar’s visit to Vientiane?
(A) ASEAN meeting
(B) Trade Agreement
(C) Cultural center
(D) Joint venture
(E) Scholarship program
Solution: Option A.)
Ans (A)
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar unveiled the first postage stamp on Ram Lalla of Ayodhya during his three-day visit to Vientiane, the capital city of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
He was in Vientiane to attend ASEAN related foreign minister meeting.
One postal stamp depicted Ram Lalla’s idol from Ayodhya, and the other was released to commemorate Lord Buddha from Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang is the ancient capital of Lao.
In Laos, Ramanaya is known as Ramakien, or the story of Phra Lak Phra Ram, and it is performed during important cultural events.
2. Which position was Banwarilal Purohit holding in addition to being Governor of Punjab before his resignation was accepted on 28 July 2024?
(A) Governor of Haryana
(B) Administrator of Chandigarh
(C) Chief Minister of Gujarat
(D) Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry
(E) Foreign Minister of India
Solution: Option B.)
Ans (B)
On 28 July 2024, President Droupadi Murmu appointed new Governors to nine states and a Lieutenant Governor to Puducherry. The President also accepted Banwarilal Purohit’s resignation as Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh.
Jishnu Dev Varma has been appointed as the Governor of Telangana.
Om Prakash Mathur is now the Governor of Sikkim.
Santosh Kumar Gangwar has been appointed as the Governor of Jharkhand.
Ramen Deka will serve as the Governor of Chhattisgarh.
C H Vijayashankar has been appointed as the Governor of Meghalaya.
Haribhau Kisanrao Bagde is now the Governor of Rajasthan.
C.P. Radhakrishnan has been appointed as the Governor of Maharashtra. He was previously the Governor of Jharkhand with additional charge of Telangana.
Gulab Chand Kataria has been appointed as the Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh. He was previously the Governor of Assam.
Lakshman Prasad Acharya is now the Governor of Assam and has also been given the additional charge of Governor of Manipur. He was previously the Governor of Sikkim.
K. Kailashnathan has been appointed as the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry.
3. Recently, who won the first medal for India at the 33rd Summer Olympics being held in Paris, France?
(A) Anjali Bhagwat
(B) Ashi Chouksey
(C) Manu Bhaker
(D) Preeti Rajak
(E) Darshna Rathore
Solution: Option C.)
Ans (C)
Manu Bhaker of Haryana opened the medal account for India at the 33rd Summer Olympics, being held in Paris, France.
She won the bronze medal in the 10-meter air pistol event held on 28 July 2024.
She became the first Indian women shooter to win a medal in the shooting event at the Summer Olympics.
The 33rd Summer Olympics in Paris is being held from 26 July to 11 August 2024.
A strong 117 Indian contingent is taking part in the Paris Olympics, with a maximum of 29 competing in athletics and 21 in shooting.
The Paris Olympics features 32 sporting disciplines and India is participating in 16 disciplines.
4. Which team won the Women’s Cricket Asia Cup on 28 July 2024 by defeating India in the final?
(A) Bangladesh
(B) Pakistan
(C) Australia
(D) Sri Lanka
(E) England
Solution: Option D.)
Ans (D)
The Sri Lankan women’s cricket team, as the host, achieved a surprising victory over the favored and defending champion Indian women’s team to claim their first Women’s Cricket Asia Cup.
The final match of the 9th Women’s Cricket Asia Cup took place on 28 July 2024 at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla, Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka triumphed over India by 8 wickets, with 8 balls remaining.
With this win, Sri Lanka became the third team to secure the Women’s Cricket Asia Cup title, following India, which has won it seven times, and Bangladesh, which has won it once.
All matches of this tournament were held at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium. In the semi-finals, India defeated Bangladesh, while Sri Lanka overcame Pakistan to advance to the final.
5. What is the theme of the 2024 International Tiger Day?
(A) Call for Action
(B) Indian Tiger Conservation
(C) Tiger Trails
(D) Tiger survival is in our hands
(E) Tiger: power of creation
Solution: Option A.)
Ans (A)
Since 2010, every year, 29 July is observed as International Tiger Day.
The theme of the 2024 International Tiger Day is Call for Action.
The 13 countries, including India, participating in the summit decided to observe 29 July as International Tiger Day to increase public awareness of the tigers’ declining numbers, implement serious conservation measures, and prevent their extinction.
They launched TX2 – the global goal to double the number of wild tigers by the year 2022.
The first Tiger Day was observed on 29 July 2010.
State-wise, the maximum number of tigers is found in Madhya Pradesh (785), followed by Karnataka (563), Uttarakhand (560), and Maharashtra (444).
Amongst the Tiger Reserves maximum 260 is in Jim Corbett followed by Bandipur (150), Nagarhole (141), Bandhavgarh (135), Dudhwa (135), Mudumalai(114), Kanha (105), Kaziranga (104), Sundarbans (100), Tadoba (97), Sathyamangalam (85), and Pench-MP (77).
6. Who recently took charge as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)?
(A) Arun Kumar
(B) Rajesh Kumar
(C) Suresh Singh
(D) Manoj Mittal
(E) Vikram Sharma
Solution: Option D.)
Ans (D)
Manoj Mittal takes charge as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), following his appointment by the Government of India.
He has over 33 years of extensive experience in the Finance sector, including his previous tenures as Managing Director and CEO at the Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) and Deputy Managing Director at SIDBI.
SIDBI was established on April 2, 1990, under an act of the Indian Parliament. SIDBI is mandated to serve as the Principal Financial Institution for executing the triple agenda of promotion, financing, and development of the MSME sector and coordination of the functions of the various Institutions engaged in similar activities.
7. Which Indian state recently announced reservation for Agniveers in the recruitment of jail and forest guards and state police?
(A) Uttar Pradesh
(B) Maharashtra
(C) Rajasthan
(D) Karnataka
(E) Tamil Nadu
Solution: Option C.)
Ans (C)
The Rajasthan government will provide reservation for Agniveers in the recruitment of jail and forest guards and state police.
However, the percentage of reservations in these services for Angiveers was not disclosed.
The Centre in 2022 unveiled the Agnipath scheme for the recruitment of youths aged between 17-and-a-half and 21 in the Army, Navy, and Air Force, largely on a four-year contractual basis.
8. Which Indian startup recently launched India’s first privately developed rocket, Vikram-S, under Mission Prarambh?
(A) Agnikul Cosmos
(B) SatSure
(C) Astrogate Labs
(D) Skyroot Aerospace
(E) Axiom Space
Solution: Option D.)
Ans (D)
Skyroot Aerospace is an Indian startup based in Hyderabad.
It launched India’s first privately developed rocket, Vikram-S under Mission Prarambh.
Developed with significant support from ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation).
Backed by IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre), which facilitates private-sector space activities in India.
9. What is the maximum amount of collateral-free loan offered under the Revised Adarsh Kaushal Loan Scheme for advanced skill courses?
(A) Rs 5 lakh
(B) Rs 7.5 lakh
(C) Rs 10 lakh
(D) Rs 12 lakh
(E) Rs 15 lakh
Solution: Option B.)
Ans (B)
The Revised Adarsh Kaushal Loan Scheme offers collateral-free loans up to Rs 7.5 lakh to youth for advanced skill courses, making high-level, high-fee training accessible.
NBFCs, Micro Finance Institutions, and Small Finance Banks are now eligible lenders, supported by a guarantee against default up to 75% of the loan disbursed.
It is aimed at creating a future-ready workforce.
10. Which asteroid will be studied by the Ramses project, a collaboration between ISRO and ESA, and is expected to pass 32,000 km from Earth in 2029?
(A) Apophis
(B) Vesta
(C) Ceres
(D) Eros
(E) Bennu
Solution: Option A.)
Ans (A)
ISRO and ESA will collaborate on the Ramses project to study the 375-meter asteroid Apophis, which will pass 32,000 km from Earth in 2029.
The mission aims to monitor Apophis closely to understand potential Earth threats.
Ramses is the name of the spacecraft that will approach Asteroid Apophis and closely follow it.
ISRO chief – S Somanath