Current Affairs Quiz , 29 Mar 2019

1. In which of the following countries is the world’s longest salt cave located?

1. 1. India
   2. Israel
   3. Indonesia
   4. Australia

Answer: 2

• Israeli researchers revealed that an area near the Dead Sea is home to the world’s longest salt cave, a title previously held by Iran for the Cave of the Three Nudes on Qeshm Island.
• At 10 kilometers long, the Malham salt cave is now the world’s longest salt cave, besting Iran’s 6.4 km cave, and the first to reach a length in the double-digits.
• The Malham Salt Cave is a river cave. Water from a surface stream flowed underground and dissolved the salt, creating caves – a process that is still going on when there is strong rain over Mount Sedom about once a year
  

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2. What is the Asiatic Wild Dog’s (Dhole) status in the IUCN Red List?

1. 1. Endangered
   2. Vulnerable
   3. Near threatened
   4. Least concern

Answer: 1

• A new study has found that expansion of protected areas in the Western Ghats has not helped the lot of Dhole, commonly known as the Asiatic wild dog, even while enabling the recovery of populations of tigers and other big carnivores.
• Dhole is an apex social carnivore in the tropical forests of South and South East Asia
• It is listed as Endangered by the IUCN as populations are decreasing and are estimated at fewer than 2,500 adults. Factors contributing to this decline include habitat loss, loss of prey, competition with other species, persecution due to livestock predation and disease transfer from domestic dogs
  

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3. ‘Dhanush’, recently inducted into the Indian Army, is a/an

1. 1. Anti-tank missile
   2. Howitzer gun
   3. Cruise missile
   4. Helicopter

Answer: 2

• In a major fire-power boost for the country, four indigenous ‘Dhanush’ Howitzer guns were inducted to the Indian Army on Tuesday at a ceremony held at the Ordnance factory in Jabalpur.
• The Dhanush guns have been tested to withstand extreme conditions like rainfall and snow, and have also been built for use in multiple terrains, from plains, to sand and especially in hilly areas
• The Dhanush gun system is based on designs of the Bofors howitzer which was inducted in the Army in 1980s and would be the third type of artillery gun to be inducted into the force after the K-9 Vajra and the M-777 ultra-light howitzers, as per inputs.
• The 155mm x 45mm calibre artillery gun is capable of firing projectiles at a relatively higher angle with a steep angle of descent
  

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4. The book ‘Indian Fiscal Federalism’ was authored by

1. 1. Raghuram Rajan
   2. N K Singh
   3. Y V Reddy
   4. Bimal Jalan

Answer: 3

• Indian Fiscal Federalism was authored by former Reserve Bank of India governor Y. V. Reddy and co-authored G.R Reddy, adviser (finance) to the Telangana government.
  

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5.  Who among the following was recently awarded the Bodley Medal by the University of Oxford?

1. 1. Dr .Manmohan Singh
   2. Dr .Amartya Sen
   3. Dr .Gita Gopinath
   4. Dr .Raghuram Rajan

Answer: 2

• Nobel laureate Amartya Sen was awarded the Bodley Medal by the University of Oxford – an honour that goes back to 1646 – for his outstanding contribution in various fields, including literature, culture, science and communication.
• The medal is awarded by the university’s Bodleian Libraries, some of the oldest and largest libraries in western Europe that houses rare manuscripts and collections linked to India. The medal was instituted in 1646 by Thomas Bodley, founder of the libraries.
  

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