1. What is the name of the Buddhist festival celebrated recently in Sikkim to mark the enlightenment of Lord Buddha?
(A) Saga Dawa
(B) Sonam Lochar
(C) Losar
(D) Buddha Sankranti
(E) Sakewa
Solution: Option A.)
Ans (A)
Sikkim is celebrating the festival of Saga Dawa on the occasion of Buddha Purnima.
The Saga Dawa, also known as the ‘Triple Blessed Festival’, falls annually on the 15th day of the fourth month of the Tibetan Buddhist calendar.
Saga means the fourth and Dawa means month in Tibetan.
Drupka Tshechi festival marks the first preaching of Lord Buddha to his first five disciples at Sarnath.
The festival is held on the 4th day of the 6th month of the Tibetan lunar calendar.
2. Which country has become the 99th member of the International Solar Alliance?
(A) Portugal
(B) Spain
(C) Italy
(D) Germany
(E) Serbia
Solution: Option B.)
Ans (B)
Spain has become the 99th member of the International Solar Alliance (ISA).
Spain has ratified the International Solar Alliance Instrument of Ratification and has deposited it with the ISA Head of Depository.
India and France conceived the idea of the International Solar Alliance as part of the effort to mobilize the countries to use solar energy to counter global warming and climate change.
The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French president Francoise Hollande agreed to set up the International Solar Alliance during the side-lines of the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Paris in 2015.
3. Where was the first Asian Relay Championships 2024 held?
(A) Jakarta
(B) New Delhi
(C) Hanoi
(D) Bangkok
(E) Beijing
Solution: Option D.)
Ans (D)
The Indian athletic contingent finished the first Asian Relay Championships with three medals – one gold and two silver.
The first Asian Relay Championships was held in Bangkok, Thailand, in May 2024.
The Indian mixed relay team won the gold medal in the 4×400-meter event.
With a new national record of 3 minutes 14.1 seconds, the Indian team of Muhammed Ajmal, Jyothika Sri Dandi, Amoj Jacob, and Subha Venkatesan won the gold medal.
4. According to the Wildlife Institute of India, which state has the maximum population of Gangetic river dolphins in India?
(A) Bihar
(B) Uttar Pradesh
(C) Madhya Pradesh
(D) West Bengal
(E) Haryana
Solution: Option B.)
Ans (B)
According to a recent report by the Wildlife Institute of India, there are more than 4000 dolphins in the Gangetic River basin.
Out of the 4000 river dolphins found in the Ganga River, and its tributaries, more than 2000 have been found in Uttar Pradesh alone.
In Uttar Pradesh, the dolphins are mainly found in the Chambal River.
Ganges river dolphin also known as blind dolphin, Ganges susu or Hihu’s scientific name is Platanista gangetica.
Historically, the Gangetic dolphin was found in the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems.
Within India, it is mainly found in the mainstream of the Ganga River and its tributaries, Ghaghra, Kosi, Gandak, Chambal, Rupnarayan, and Yamuna.
5. Which Indian-origin professor was recently awarded the prestigious Shaw Prize in Astronomy?
(A) Srinivas R Kulkarni
(B) Ashok Mohanty
(C) Vivek R Ranjan
(D) Gururaj Deshpande
(E) Chandrakant R Narayan
Solution: Option A.)
Ans (A)
For his outstanding contributions to the field of astronomy, Indian-origin professor Srinivas R Kulkarni has been awarded the prestigious Shaw Prize in Astronomy for 2024.
Currently, he is working as a professor at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
The Shaw Prize is an important award given in the field of astronomy.
6. The President of the United Arab Emirates presented the First Class Independence Medal to the Ambassador of which country?
(A) India
(B) Pakistan
(C) Paraguay
(D) Portugal
(E) Greece
Solution: Option C.)
Ans (C)
The President of the United Arab Emirates conferred the First Class Independence Medal to Paraguayan Ambassador Jose Aguero Avila on the occasion of the completion of his tenure as ambassador to the country. Paraguay is a landlocked country in South America.
7. Jyoti Atre, who has recently become the oldest Indian woman to scale Mt. Everest, hails from which state?
(A) Madhya Pradesh
(B) Tamil Nadu
(C) Andhra Pradesh
(D) Telangana
(E) Uttar Pradesh
[spoiler title="Show solution"]
Solution: Option A.)
Ans (A)
Bhopal’s Jyoti Atre, at 55, became the oldest Indian woman to summit Mount Everest, reaching an altitude of 8,848.86 meters on her second attempt after the weather derailed her in the 2023 climb, at 8,160 meters.
She was part of a 15-member team led by Bolivian climber David Hugo Ayaviri Quispe.
Jyoti broke the record held by 53-year-old Sangeeta Bahl, who summited Everest on May 19, 2018.
8. Who has been taken oath as a Member of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) in May 2024?
(A) Jishnu Barua
(B) Ramesh Babu V
(C) Arun Goyal
(D) Pravas Singh
(E) Harpreet Pruthi
Solution: Option B.)
Ans (B)
Shri Ramesh Babu V has taken the oath of office and secrecy as a Member of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) in May 2024.
The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission was established by the Government of India under the provisions of the Electricity Regulatory Commissions Act, of 1998.
CERC is the central regulatory body for the Indian power sector, mandated by the Electricity Act, of 2003.
9. Who has been appointed as the MD and CEO of IndiaFirst Life Insurance?
(A) Shailendra Singh
(B) Sandeep Kagzi
(C) Hemant Kaul
(D) Rushabh Gandhi
(E) Harita Gupta
Solution: Option D.)
Ans (D)
The board of IndiaFirst Life Insurance has approved the promotion of Rushabh Gandhi, the current Deputy Chief Executive Officer, to the position of Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD and CEO).
Gandhi will succeed R M Vishakha, the outgoing Managing Director and CEO, who will retire on June 30, 2024.
10. Which record related to Mount Everest has been set recently by mountaineer Kamirita Sherpa?
(A) She is the first person to climb without oxygen
(B) She is the oldest person to reach the top
(C) She is the first person to reach the peak 30 times
(D) She is the first person to reach the peak alone
(E) She is the first person to climb the mountain twice in 15 days.
Solution: Option C.)
Ans (C)
Nepalese mountaineer Kamirita Sherpa climbed Mount Everest twice in ten days, achieving his 30th ascent in May 2024.
Kamirita is the first person to reach the peak 30 times, surpassing his previous record of 29 ascents set in May 2024.
Last year on 23 May, Kamirita successfully climbed Mount Everest for the 28th time
Head of the Everest camp of the Tourism Department – Khimlal Gautam