Daily G.K Bits

1. Who among the following has been chosen for Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize 2015 in the Academic Category? (3)

1. Neelakanta Sastry
2. Vinodh Mehta
3. Ramachandra Guha
4. Pallavi nair
5. None

Expl:-  Historian Ramachandra Guha was on 24 July 2015 chosen for the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize 2015 in the Academic Category. The prize will be conferred upon him on 17 September 2015 in Fukuoka International Congress Center in Japan, following which the awardees will be deliberating lectures at high-schools and universities across the city.

2. Who is the new Director General of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)? (1)

1. Ajay Mathur
2. Ramesh katiyar
3. Arvind saxena
4. Vijay nadur
5. Vurkeri raghava

Expl:- Director General, TERI Dr. R K Pachauri has been removed. He will be replaced by Dr Ajay Mathur. Currently Mr Mathur is Director General of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency.  Dr Pachauri was accused of sexual harassment by his junior colleague. Recently a Delhi court allowed Dr Pachauri access to all TERI offices in the country except the ones in Delhi and Gurgaon.  Pachauri had shared Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 with former US Vice President Al Gore for work on climate issues. He has led and built The Energy and Resources Institute, TERI, over the last 34 years from a concept to a major, financially autonomous, professionally dynamic organization on the global stage

3. Which state Assembly has recently passed Right to Services Bill? (3)

1. Karnataka
2. Kerala
3. Maharashtra
4. Gujarat
5. Madhya Pradesh

Expl:- The Maharashtra assembly on 14^th July passed the historic Right to Services Bill in the absence of the Congress and NCP members. The bill has been unanimously passed by the assembly and will now be tabled in the state council. The bill will empower citizens to avail their rights in stipulated time with less efforts and cost. This bill will pave way for curbing corruption, bringing transparency and empowering citizens. The services will be provided electronically and will be brought on e-Platform

4. The aim of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikash Yojana which was launched by PM Modi is ____ (1)

1. Providing skill training for youth
2. Providing jobs for youth
3. Upgrading skills of retired employees
4. Promoting scientific agriculture
5. None

Expl:- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15^th July launched the Skill India campaign in New Delhi on first ever World Youth Skills Day. The Prime Minister also formally launched the National Skill Development Mission, and unveiled the National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikash Yojana was also rolled out on an all India basis on the occasion. The Prime Minister said the government has waged a war against poverty through skill development. Under this programme the government helps youth in meeting job requirements,  creating self confidence and fill them with renewed vigour. According to the Minister for Skill Development Rajiv Pratap Rudy said, only 3.5 percent of Indian population is skilled and government has set a target to skill 40.02 crore people by 2022.

5. Which of the following states has decided to make IT parks differently abled-friendly? (3)

1. Andhra Pradesh
2. Karnataka
3. Telangana
4. Tamilnadu
5. Maharashtra

Expl:- Telangana will soon be the first State in the country to make its IT and ITES buildings differently abled-friendly. In a first-of-its-kind initiative undertaken by the NASSCOM Foundation, 175 companies based out of two IT parks in Hyderabad will go for retrofitting their buildings to suit the needs of differently abled employees. This would mean that companies will have common areas including cafeterias, restrooms, cubicles and elevators with facilities to aid their current and prospective employees who are differently-abled. From entry and exit gates that have ramps to placing biometric devices at accessible heights and washrooms that have handles for wheelchair-bound people, retrofitting is expected to ensure inclusive work environments. Also, efforts are on to make websites of these companies accessible to such persons by including voice features among others.

6. Who will head the expert group for classification of caste data? (5)

1. Rangarajan
2. Montek Singh Ahluwalia
3. Arvind Subramanyam
4. Smriti Irani
5. Arvind Panagariya

Expl:- The government on 16^th July said it will release the caste census data at an appropriate time. It has set up an expert group headed by NITI Ayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya to collate caste count to classify this caste data.  According to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the expert group will be serviced by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and Tribal Welfare. Other members will be nominated by the two ministries. The Central Government had decided to collect data on Caste through the SECC vide the then Cabinet’s approval dated 19th May, 2011. The SECC was conducted by the respective State/UT Governments.  The field survey on economic data has since been completed and the socio economic data relating to rural areas has been released by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD).

7. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently started a portal NCS. The main aim of this is ____ (1)

1. Career counseling portal
2. Psychological counseling
3. Jobs information
4. New courses information
5. None

Expl:- Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the inaugural session of 46th Indian Labour Conference in New Delhi  launched a career counselling portal NCS. The move is aimed at modernising all government-run employment exchanges and providing an online platform to job seekers and employers. According to a Labour Ministry press release stating way forward for the NCS project, the government has planned integration (of portal) with CBSE database for verification of candidate academic performance. It is also planned to integrate NCS with PAN and TAN database for authentication of employers. Under the NCS project, Labour Ministry is transforming the National Employment Service comprising a network of 978 employment exchanges into NCS by leveraging information technology to improve the delivery of services.

8. Union Government has started Deen Dayal Upadhya Gram Jyoti on ____ (3)

1. July 15^th
2. July 21^st
3. July 25^th
4. July 30^th
5. July 12^th

Expl:- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated NDA government’s Deen Dayal Upadhya Gram Jyoti Yojana in Patna on 25^th July. Through the scheme, the Centre aims to provide uninterrupted electricity supply to each rural household across the nation by 2022. The elements of agricultural and non-agricultural feeders would be separated to restore power units in rural areas. Under the Yojana, there are projects of 76,000 crores rupees out of which subsidy of 63,000 crores rupees will be given by the central government. The Centre has approved a grant of 8,000 crores for the project in Bihar. PM Modi, who is on his maiden visit to Bihar after becoming Prime Minister, also laid foundation of the first phase of the much-awaited Jagdispur-Haldia gas pipeline project. Through this pipeline, LPG customers in Patna will get gas in their homes.

9. How many cricketers discharged in IPL-6 spot fixing case? (5)

1. 12
2. 18
3. 26
4. 9
5. 36

Expl:- Former India capped cricketer S Sreesanth and all the other 35 accused persons in the IPL-6 spot fixing case were discharged by a Delhi court. Other two prominent IPL players — Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan — who were on bail, like Sreesanth, were also discharged in the case. The three cricketers were representing IPL team Rajasthan Royals when the scandal broke. They were arrested in May 2013 for alleged spot fixing in some matches of IPL 6. However the court had granted bail to Sreesanth, and various others accused for lack of evidence against them. Six persons including underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his aide Chhota Shakeel were declared proclaimed offenders.

10. In which state, Armed Forces Preparatory institute for girls has been opened recently? (4)

1. J & K
2. Manipur
3. Mizoram
4. Punjab
5. Rajasthan

Expl:- Defence minister Manohar parrikar on 25^th July dedicated to the nation the state of art Mai Bhago Armed Forces preparatory institute for girls in Mohali. MBAFPI is a project of the Punjab state government to prepare young girls for induction into prestigious National Defence Academy – NDA.  This institute is on the lines of Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute for boys already being run in Mohali.