Current Affairs MCQ for UPSC Exams - 07 August 2020

Current Affairs MCQ for UPSC Exams - 07 October 2020

Q1 Recently Roger Penrose of Britain, ReinhardGenzel of Germany and Andrea Ghez of the U.S. won the Nobel Physics Prize on Tuesday for their research into what the Nobel committee called “one of the most exotic phenomena in the universe, the black hole”. Which of the following statements regarding the same stands true ?

1) The term “black hole” refers to a point in space where matter is so compressed as to create a gravity field from which even light cannot escape.
2) The scientists based on their calculations proved that black holes super dense objects formed when a heavy star collapses under the weight of its own gravity are a direct consequence of Einstein’s law of gravity.
3) Using the world’s largest telescopes, they discovered an extremely heavy, invisible object around 4 million times greater than the mass of the Sun that pulls on surrounding stars, giving the galaxy its characteristic swirl.
Options :
a) 1 & 2 only
b) 2 & 3 only
c) 1 & 3 only
d) all the above

Q2 India’s External Affairs Minister met the foreign ministers of Quadrilateral or Quad in Tokyo recently.Cooperation on 5G connectivity, cybersecurity,a supply chain initiative for manufacturing, maritime cooperation and infrastructure and connectivity and distribution plans for the COVID-19 vaccine was discussed.

Which of the following countries constitute the ‘QUAD’ groupings ?
1) China
2) Australia
3) Japan
4) Germany
Options :
a) 1 & 2 only
b) 2 & 3 only
c) 3 & 4 only
d) 1 & 4 only

Q3 The World Trade Organization (WTO) on Tuesday revised upwards its forecast for the decline in world merchandise trade at 9.2% in 2020 as against 12.9% drop projected earlier. Which of the following statements regarding the report findings stands true ?

1) As per the report, the pace of expansion could rise sharply once pent up demand is exhausted and business inventories have been replenished.
2) Trade in agricultural products fell less than the world average in the second quarter while the drop in manufactured goods trade (-19%) was comparable to the decline in merchandise trade overall.
3) Trade in other types of electronics also held up during the crisis as households, businesses and governments upgraded computers and information technology infrastructure to facilitate working from home.
Options :
a) 1 & 2 only
b) 2 & 3 only
c) 1 & 3 only
d) all the above

Q4 The Centre will determine the jurisdictions of the Krishna and Godavari river management boards (KRMB and GRMB), Union Water Resources Minister said recently. Which of the following statements with respect to river boards stands true ?

1)Entry 56 of Union List empowers the Union Government for the regulation and development of inter-state rivers and river valleys to the extent declared by Parliament to be expedient in the public interest.
2) The purpose of River boards Act 1956 was to enable the Union Government to create Boards for Interstate Rivers and river valleys in consultation with State Governments. The objective of Boards is to advise on the inter-state basin to prepare development scheme and to prevent the emergence of conflicts.
3) The prime minister of India is the ex-officio chairman of all river boards created under river boards act 1956.
Options :
a) 1 & 2 only
b) 2 & 3 only
c) 1 & 3 only
d) all the above

Q5 ‘PARAM Siddhi – AI’ recently in news is associated with which of the following ?

a) India’s latest planet surveillance satellite based on AI.
b) India’s ArtificiaI Intelligence (AI) based supercomputerfor research and innovation.
c) India-Bangladesh jointly operated missile defence system.
d) India’s mission to Antarctic to study mineral explorations in the region.