Q1: Recently which actor’s ‘Joram’ wins awards at Durban International Film Festival 2023?
a) Vijay Raaz
b) Rajkummar Rao
c) KK Menon
d) Manoj Bajpai
Solution: option d.)
Manoj Bajpayee headliner Joram has won two awards at the Durban International Film Festival.
Manoj bagged the ‘Best Actor’ trophy, and the film’s cinematographer Piyush Puty won the award for ‘Best Cinematography’.
The film is a psychological thriller about a hunted displaced man who is on the run to protect his daughter directed by Devashish Makhija.
Q2: Reliance Industries ranked 88 in the latest Fortune Global 500 list. Which company is on top?
a) Amazon
b) Walmart
c) Apple
d) Alphabet
Solution: option b.)
The 2023 Fortune 500 list was recently revealed, with Walmart topping the list for the eleventh year in a row. It had a mammoth revenue of $611.3 billion in the most recent fiscal year 2022-23. These 10 companies topped the Fortune 500 list of 2023.
1. Walmart
2. Amazon
3. Exxon Mobil
4. Apple
5. UnitedHealth Group
6. CVS Health
7. Berkshire Hathaway
8. Alphabet
9. McKesson
10. Chevron
Q3: Which refinery has become the largest PSU refinery in India for 2022-23?
a) Haldia Refinery
b) MRPL Refinery
c) Odisha Refinery
d) Ranchi Refinery
Solution: option b.)
• Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), a mini Ratna CPSE PSU refinery and a subsidiary of ONGC has become the single largest PSU-Refinery (single location) in the nation for the year 2022-23. MRPL achieved this feat by processing 17.14 Million Metric Tons of Crude oil during the past financial year.
• This is also the highest-ever throughput processed by any single-location PSU refinery in India’s Petroleum refining history.
• MRPL processes 10% of the total Crude oil refined by the PSU petroleum refineries of the Nation.
• MRPL is capable of producing almost a full range of petroleum products like Naphtha, LPG, Motor Spirit, High-Speed Diesel, Kerosene, Aviation Turbine Fuel, Sulphur, Xylene, Bitumen, along with Pet Coke and Polypropylene.
Q4: Who is the author of the book “Kargil: Ek Yatri Ki Jubani”?
a) Rishi Raj
b) Neerja Chaudhary
c) Amitav Ghosh
d) Chetna Maroo
Solution: option a.)
The book and illustrations – “Kargil: Ek Yatri Ki Jubani” – authored by renowned writer Shri Rishi Raj, and published by Prabhat Prakashan, impeccably portray the lives of the heroes of the Kargil War on the canvas of patriotism so that they could be a fountainhead of inspiration for children who could learn the values of the paramount sacrifice made by the Indian Army for the nation.
The book, “Kargil: Ek Yatri Ki Jubani“, fairly dwells on the braveness of soldiers who took back every inch of India’s land by giving a befitting reply to the enemies in the Kargil War which officially ended on July 26, 1999.
Q5: Recently Namdeo Mahanor passed away was a/an _____?
a) Politician
b) Social Activist
c) Poet
d) Actor
Solution: option c.)
Noted Marathi poet and lyricist Namdeo Dhondo Mahanor, popularly known as Na Dho Mahanor, died at a hospital in Maharashtra’s Pune, his family said.
He was 81.
Mahanor was undergoing treatment at Ruby Hospital in Pune and was on life support systems for the last few days, his grandson Shashikant Manohar said.
Mahanor was best known for his poems and lyrics for Marathi movies.
Born in 1942, Namdeo Dhondo Mahanor was awarded Padma Shri in 1991.
He had also been a member of the state legislative council.
Q6: Recently, the Chedibutta saree got a GI tag, is it related to which state?
a) Andhra Pradesh
b) Tamil Nadu
c) Kerala
d) Karnataka
Solution: option b.)
The Geographical Indications Registry granted the GI tag to three famous products from Tamil Nadu.
Jaderi Namakatti:
• Clay sticks with white color, finger-like shape, and smooth texture.
• Made by Jaderi Tiruman (Namakatti)
Chedibutta saree:
• Handloom saree made from art silk and cotton mix fabric, featuring the iconic “plant and flower” motif on the border and pallu.
• Woven by skilled Sowrashtra weavers.
• Veeravanallur town, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu
Kanniyakumari Matti banana:
• Traditional table banana with medicinal value, highly fragrant, sweet with a sub-acid flavour, and powdery nature.
• Kanniyakumari district, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu Capital: Chennai
Tamil Nadu CM: MK Stalin
Tamil Nadu Governor: R.N Ravi
Q7: GST Council put online gaming in which category of Tax levy?
a) 18%
b) 5%
c) 12%
d) 28%
Solution: option d.)
The 51st meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has decided to impose a 28% tax on the full face value of bets placed on online gaming, which will be implemented from 1st October.
GST Council’s Decision and Implementation
The Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman, announced that the 28% GST on online gaming will take effect from 1st October.
The decision aims to provide clarity on the taxation of supplies in casinos, horse racing, and online gaming.
The council recommended amendments in the CGST Act 2017 and IGST Act 2017 to facilitate this implementation.
Q8: ‘Utkarsh’ and ‘Unmesha’ Festivals are related to which state?
a) Tamil Nadu
b) Uttar Pradesh
c) Madhya Pradesh
d) Maharashtra
Solution: option c.)
The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu inaugurated ‘Unmesha’ – International Literature Festival and ‘Utkarsh’ – Festival of Folk and Tribal Performing Arts today (August 3, 2023) at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
Speaking on the occasion, the President said that literature connects with people and also connects people. She stated that only those kinds of literature and arts are meaningful and were created and presented by rising above ‘I’ and ‘mine’. She added that the translation of major works of all Indian languages into other languages would further enrich Indian literature.
Madhya Pradesh Capital: Bhopal
Madhya Pradesh CM: Shivraj Chouhan
Madhya Pradesh Governor: Mangubhai Chhaganbhai Patel
Q9: “Astro-OPD” will be launched in which city?
a) Kedarnath
b) Varanasi
c) Nashik
d) Ujjain
Solution: option b.)
The Sampurnanand Sanskrit University in Varanasi will launch an “Astrology OPD”, where teachers and research students at the university’s astrology department will check people’s horoscopes for an hour every evening.
For the ‘Astro-OPD’, minister of State Ravindra Jaiswal has sanctioned ₹25 laKHS from the MLA fund.
Q10: UAS to open first-of-its-kind agriculture science museum in which city?
a) Mumbai
b) Bengaluru
c) New Delhi
d) Hyderabad
Solution: option b.)
The University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) will be opening a first-of-its-kind museum on its campus in Bengaluru.
Aim: To introduce the evolution of agricultural practices into the lives of students and the general public increasingly cut-off from the experience by the “urban buzz”.
The museum will serve as a one-stop solution where they can get information about agriculture.
Q11: Which Union Minister launched India’s First Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scanner?
a) Anurag Thakur
b) Amit Shah
c) Piyush Goyal
d) Jitendra Singh
Solution: option d.)
Union Minister of State Science & Technology Jitendra Singh launched India’s first Indigenously developed, Affordable Next Generation Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Scanner in New Delhi.
MRI is a type of scan that uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed images of the inside of the body.
Q12: Which state government and UNFPA launch an AI-powered chatbot named ‘Just Ask’?
a) Tamil Nadu
b) Madhya Pradesh
c) Karnataka
d) Andhra Pradesh
Solution: option b.)
The Madhya Pradesh government in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has introduced an AI-powered chatbot named ‘Just Ask’.
The primary goal of this initiative is to provide accurate and easily accessible information related to social issues and sexual and reproductive health and rights, targeting adolescents and young adults.
The interactive nature of a chatbot allows it to engage users in conversation and provide reliable information at no charge.
It is designed to showcase two aspiring role models named Dhruv and Drishti.
Madhya Pradesh Capital: Bhopal
Madhya Pradesh CM: Shivraj Chouhan
Madhya Pradesh Governor: Mangubhai Chhaganbhai Patel
Q13: Who has been appointed as the new director of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC)?
a) Ganesan Kannabiran
b) Neeraj Akhoury
c) Parth Jindal
d) Harshvardhan Bansal
Solution: option a.)
The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) recently announced the appointment of Prof Ganesan Kannabiran as its new director.
The appointment took place on July 28, as per the official statement from NAAC. Prof Kannabiran brings with him a rich experience of over 30 years in the education sector, having served as a senior professor of Information Systems at the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Tiruchirappalli.
Throughout his career, he has held various leadership positions, including the Dean of Research and Consultancy, and Director-in-Charge at NIT Trichy and NIT Puducherry.
Q14: Recently, NABARD sanctioned Rs 1974 Crores for rural road and drinking projects for which state?
a) Chhattisgarh
b) Bihar
c) Madhya Pradesh
d) Rajasthan
Solution: option d.)
NABARD has sanctioned Rs 1,974.07 crore to the Rajasthan government under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) for 2023-24.
NABARD Rajasthan Chief General Manager Dr Rajiv Siwach said Rs 930.44 crore has been sanctioned for three rural drinking water supply projects in Ajmer, Jalore, and Kota districts.
Further, Rs 926.48 crore was sanctioned for the construction of 676 rural roads in the desert and tribal areas of the state.
Earlier, Rs 117.15 crore had been sanctioned for the construction of 104 veterinary hospitals and 431 sub-centres in all districts of the state.
Rajasthan Capital: Jaipur
Rajasthan CM: Ashok Gehlot
Rajasthan Governor: Kalraj Mishra
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is an apex regulatory body for the overall regulation of regional rural banks and apex cooperative banks in India. It is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
FOUNDED: 12 July 1982
The bank has been entrusted with “matters concerning policy, planning, and operations in the field of credit for agriculture and other economic activities in rural areas in India”.
NABARD is active in developing and implementing financial inclusion.
Q15: Which bank recently launched SIB EXIM Current Account?
a) SBI
b) Canara Bank
c) South Indian
d) Indian Bank
Solution: option c.)
South Indian Bank (SIB) has launched SIB EXIM Current Account specially curated for customers involved in the import and export business. The current account is available in two variants SIB EXIM Silver and SIB EXIM Gold with the required Quarterly Forex Throughput (QFT) of $15,000 and $50,000 respectively.
SIB EXIM Current Account offers competitive rates in trade finance transactions, free and unlimited NEFT/RTGS transactions through digital channels, unlimited free cash withdrawals from any SIB branches, free cash deposit limit of up to 15 times of previous month AMB, free issuance of international debit card and a lot more transactional benefits to cater the needs of this segment.
South Indian Bank Limited is a major private sector bank headquartered at Thrissur in Kerala, India.
South Indian Bank MD: Murali Ramakrishna
As of March 31st 2022, the Bank had a network of 935 banking outlets and 1270 ATMs/CRMs spanning 26 States and 4 Union Territories.