1. With whom has the Election Commission started the ‘‘Mera Pehla Vote Desh Ke campaign?
(A) Ministry of Home Affairs
(B) Ministry of Education
(C) Ministry of Panchayati Raj
(D) Ministry of External Affairs
(E) Ministry of Social Development
Solution: Option B.)
Ans (B)
In view of the Lok Sabha elections, to increase the inclination towards voting among the youth who are voting for the first time, the Election Commission in collaboration with the Education Ministry has started the campaign ‘Mera Pehla Vote Desh Ke Liye’.
Under this, a campaign is being run in higher educational institutions between 28 February and 6 March.
The commission was established in 1950 and originally only had one Chief Election Commissioner.
Two additional Commissioners were appointed to the commission for the first time on 16 October 1989 (on the eve of the 1989 General Election), but they had a very short tenure, ending on 1 January 1990.
2. With which country has the Ministry of AYUSH signed an agreement to promote Ayurveda?
(A) Cambodia
(B) Nepal
(C) Thailand
(D) Brazil
(E) Vietnam
Solution: Option C.)
Ans (C)
The National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur under the Ministry of AYUSH and the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine of Thailand have signed an MoU for cooperation in Ayurveda and Thai traditional medicine.
This agreement was reached during the 10th meeting of the India-Thailand Joint Commission held at Hyderabad House, New Delhi.
3. Who was recently appointed as the Chairperson of Lokpal by President Draupadi Murmu?
(A) Pinaki Chandra Ghosh
(B) Kapil Sibal
(C) Ajay Manikrao Khanvilkar
(D) Prashant Bhushan
(E) Venkate Gopala Gowda
Solution: Option C.)
Ans (C)
President Draupadi Murmu has appointed former SC judge Justice Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar as the Chairperson of Lokpal.
This post has been vacant for the last two years.
The previous Chairman Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghosh completed his tenure on May 27, 2022.
Justice Khanwilkar served as a judge of the Supreme Court from 13 May 2016 to 29 July 2022.
4. When and when is the ‘Annual Financial Literacy’ week being organized by RBI?
(A) 26 February to 29 February
(B) 26 February to 1 March
(C) 27 February to 2 March
(D) 28 February to 3 March
(E) 29 February to 4 March
Solution: Option B.)
Ans (B)
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is promoting financial literacy among the youth through its annual Financial Literacy Week (FLW) campaign held from February 26 to March 1, 2024.
This year’s theme is “Make a Right Start – Become Financially Smart”.
Presently the Governor of RBI is Shaktikanta Das.
5. When is National Science Day celebrated every year?
(A) 25 February
(B) 26 February
(C) 27 February
(D) 28 February
(E) 29 February
Solution: Option D.)
Ans (D)
National Science Day is celebrated every year on 28 February in India. This day is celebrated all over India to give importance to the remarkable work done by Indian scientist Chandrashekhar Venkata Raman in the field of science.
The theme of National Science Day 2024 is ‘Indigenous Technologies for Viksit Bharat’.
The first National Science Day was celebrated on 28 February 1987.
6. What did SBI Researchers report about India’s poverty rate for the year 2022-23?
(A) Increased to 15%
(B) Remained constant at 10%
(C) Declined to 4.5-5%
(D) Rose to 20%
(E) Increased to 10%
Solution: Option C.)
Ans (C)
India’s headline poverty rate stood between 4.5 and 5 percent in 2022-23, according to a recent study released by the State Bank of India (SBI).
Rural poverty declined to 7.2 percent in 2022-23 from 25.7 percent in 2011-12, while urban poverty declined to 4.6 percent from 13.7 percent during the same period.
This significant decline in rural poverty indicates the impact of government programs targeting those at the bottom of the pyramid.
The SBI report estimated the new poverty line at Rs 1,622 for rural areas and Rs 1,929 for urban areas, based on the recommendations of an expert group.
Earlier, a World Bank paper had shown that India’s poverty rate had declined to 11.6 percent for rural areas and 6.3 percent for urban areas in 2018-19.
7. Who won the 7th edition of the Romain Rolland Book Prize for the Bengali translation of “Stalin’s Couch”, a French novel about the Soviet ruler’s final years?
(A) Amitav Ghosh
(B) Arundhati Roy
(C) Jhumpa Lahiri
(D) Vikram Seth
(E) Pankaj Kumar Chatterjee
Solution: Option E.)
Ans (E)
Pankaj Kumar Chatterjee won the 7th edition of the Romain Rolland Book Prize for the Bengali translation of “Stalin’s Couch”, a French novel about the Soviet ruler’s final years.
Pankaj Kumar Chatterjee’s Bengali translation of Jean-Daniel Baltassat’s ‘Le Divan de Staline’ titled ‘Staliner Divan’ has won the Romain Rolland Book Prize.
Established in 2017, the Romain Rolland Book Prize recognizes the finest translation of a French title into any Indian language, including English, with the aim of promoting Francophone literature among Indian readers.
Pankaj Kumar Chatterjee’s translation was published by New Bharat Sahitya Kutir, Kolkata.
This is the second time a Bengali title has received the award, with the first being the translation of Kamel Daoud’s ‘Meursault, contre-enquĂªte’ as ‘Myorso Birudhyo Saksho’ by Trinanjan Chakraborty, published in 2022 by Patra Bharati.
8. How many artists were selected for the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards for the years 2022 & 2023?
v(A) 33
(B) 47
(C) 59
(D) 81
(E) 92
Solution: Option E.)
Ans (E)
92 artists were selected for the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards for the years 2022 & 2023.
The General Council of Sangeet Natak Akademi unanimously elected six eminent personalities in the field of performing arts as Akademi Fellows (Akademi Ratna) during its meeting held on February 21 and 22, 2024.
The Fellowship of the Akademi is a prestigious and rare honor restricted to 40 individuals at any given time.
Additionally, the General Council selected ninety-two artists from various fields such as Music, Dance, Theatre, Traditional/Folk/Tribal Music/Dance/ Theatre, Puppetry, and Overall contribution/scholarship in the Performing Arts for the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) for the years 2022 & 2023.
9. Which state’s government announced the decision to abandon the Pharma City project, initially proposed, in favor of building 10 ‘Pharma Villages’?
(A) Telangana
(B) Tamil Nadu
(C) Maharashtra
(D) Karnataka
(E) Meghalaya
Solution: Option A.)
Ans (A)
Telangana’s government announced the decision to abandon the Pharma City project, initially proposed, in favor of building 10 ‘Pharma Villages’.
The Congress-led government in Telangana announced its decision to abandon the Hyderabad Pharma City project, initially proposed by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) regime.
Instead, the government plans to build 10 ‘Pharma Villages’ across the state, with Vikarabad, Medak, and Nalgonda identified as the first locations.
The Pharma City project aimed to cover a vast 10,000-acre area and was projected to be the largest pharma manufacturing cluster.
Industries and IT Minister, D. Sridhar Babu, cited multiple challenges hindering the Pharma City project’s progress, including environmental concerns, conflicts with farmers, and legal issues related to land procurement.
10. Which country will repeal a world-first law banning tobacco sales for future generations, despite warnings from researchers and campaigners?
(A) Canada
(B) New Zealand
(C) Australia
(D) Sweden
(E) India
Solution: Option B.)
Ans (B)
New Zealand will repeal a world-first law banning tobacco sales for future generations, despite warnings from researchers and campaigners.
New Zealand announced the repeal of a world-first law banning tobacco sales for future generations.
The law, set to take effect in July, aimed to implement the toughest anti-tobacco rules globally, including banning sales to individuals born after Jan. 1, 2009, reducing nicotine content in tobacco products, and significantly decreasing the number of tobacco retailers.
The repeal will be enacted by the new coalition government elected in October, without seeking public comment, as a matter of urgency.