Current Affairs Quiz , 10 Feb 2020

1) Which among the following is not one among Seven Summits of the seven continents?

a) Mount Everest
b) Aconcagua
c) Denali
d) None of the above

Answer: d
• Seven Summits. The ‘Seven Summits’ are comprised of the highest mountains on each of the seven continents of the Earth: Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, Mount Vinson and Carstensz Pyramid.

2) Muktoshri, recently seen in news, is a

a) arsenic-resistant rice variety
b) salt-water tolerant rice variety
c) Vitamin A induced rice variety
d) None of the above

Answer: a
• West Bengal government’s rice research centre has come up with a new variety of rice called Muktoshri that can be grown in arsenic prone areas. It was developed jointly by the Rice Research Station at Chinsurah, coming under West Bengal’s Agriculture Department and the National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow.
• Golden rice is a variety of rice (Oryza sativa) produced through genetic engineering to biosynthesize beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, in the edible parts of rice.
• Scientists from Bose Institute in Kolkata, India developed a salt tolerant transgenic rice variety which, under greenhouse conditions, showed normal growth and grain yield.

3) Mt. Aconcagua is the highest peak in the continent of

a) South America
b) North America
c) Australia
d) Europe

Answer: a
• It is the highest peak of the Andes Mountains in Argentina, South America.
• A 12-year old Mumbai student, Kaamya Karthikeyan has set a record of becoming the youngest in the world to summit Mt. Aconcagua.

4) Which of the following is the only scaly mammal on the planet?

a) Pangolin
b) Alligator
c) Porcupines
d) None of the above

Answer: d
• Pangolin is the only scaly mammal on the planet.
• According to Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), it is also the most illegally traded vertebrate within its class (Mammalia). Chinese pangolin has been listed as “critically endangered” by UN affiliated International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List. Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) has been listed as “endangered” in IUCN Red List. It is also a Schedule I category protected animal, under the Wildlife Protection Act (1972).

5) Which of the following statements about Mandamus is incorrect?

a) It cannot be issued unless the legal duty is of public nature
b) It cannot be issued against a private individual
c) It cannot be issued against President or Governor
d) None of the above

Answer: d
• All the statements are correct.