Current Affairs Quiz , 05 Apr 2019

1) Penchikalpet forest range is located in the state of

a) Telangana
b) Kerala
c) Goa
d) Tamil Nadu

Answer: a
• Three critically-endangered Indian vultures or Long billed vultures (Gyps indicus) from the famous Palarapu cilff habitat in Penchikalpet forest range of Kumram Bheem Asifabad district died of unknown reasons.
• As a measure to provide enhanced protection to Bejjur vultures and towards better conservation, the Kagaznagar Forest Division had proposed to establish a sanctuary in the area called Jatayu Wildlife Sanctuary.

2) Which of the following is India’s sovereign rating according to Fitch ratings?

a) BBB+
b) AAA
c) BBB-
d) CC

Answer: c
• Ahead of the general elections, Fitch retained India’s sovereign rating at ‘BBB-‘, the lowest investment grade, with stable outlook, saying a weak fiscal position continues to constrain its rating.
• This is the 13th year in a row that global rating agency Fitch has rated India at ‘BBB-‘. It had last upgraded India’s sovereign rating from ‘BB+’ to ‘BBB-‘ with a stable outlook on August 1, 2006.

3) State of Global Air-2019 was recently released by

a) UNEP
b) WHO
c) Germanwatch
d) None of the above

Answer: d
• Two US-based institutes—the Health Effects Institute (HEI) and Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME)—released a detailed report on air quality, “State of Global Air-2019,”
• The report said the life of a South Asian child could be shortened, on average, by 30 months as they are growing up in high levels of air pollution

4) Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN) is an initiative of

a) NITI Aayog
b) Harvard University
c) Ministry of HRD
d) None of the above

Answer: c
• The National Institute of Technology, Tiruchi, launched a five-day programme under the Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN) in Higher Education, aimed at tapping the talent pool of scientists and entrepreneurs.
• Ministry of HRD’s Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN) in Higher Education aims at tapping the talent pool of scientists and entrepreneurs, internationally to encourage their engagement with the institutes of Higher Education in India so as to augment the country’s existing academic resources, accelerate the pace of quality reform, and elevate India’s scientific and technological capacity to global excellence.

5) Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2019 was recently released by

a) UNDP
b) Asian Development Bank
c) IMF
d) Asia Infrastructure Development Bank

Answer: b
• Asian Development Bank (ADB) lowered India’s growth by 40 basis points to 7.2 per cent in fiscal year 2019-20. Still. It will be fastest growing economy in the world. The growth rate in FY 2020-21 likely to be 7.3 per cent.
• ADB, in its flagship publication Asian Development Outlook 2019, mentioned that recent policy measures by the Government to improve the investment climate and boost private consumption and investment will help India to lift economic growth in the next two fiscal years. ADB projection is slightly higher than projections by other agencies which estimated growth rate between 7 to 7.1 per cent.