Current Affairs Quiz , 24 Nov 2020

1) After cyclones ‘Amphan’, ‘Nisarga’ and ‘Gati’, ‘Nivar’ is heading towards Karaikal in Puducherry. The name Nivar is suggested by

a) India
b) Bangladesh
c) Iran
d) Pakistan

Answer: c
• Nivar is the third name to be used from the new list of names for North Indian Ocean Cyclones, released in 2020. It was suggested by Iran. ‘Amphan’, which was proposed by Thailand, was the last name in the 2004 series.

2) First state in India where desalination plants is set up?

a) Maharashtra
b) Andhra Pradesh
c) Tamil Nadu
d) Gujarat

Answer: c
• In India, Tamil Nadu has been the pioneer in using this technology, setting up two desalination plants near Chennai in 2010 and then 2013.
• Uddhav Thackeray clears Mumbai’s first desalination plant.

3) The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has short-listed 20 space-based experiment proposals for its proposed ‘Shukrayaan’mission. It aims to study

a) Venus
b) Mars
c) Jupiter
d) Mercury

Answer: a
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has short-listed 20 space-based experiment proposals, including from France, for its proposed Venus orbiter mission ‘Shukrayaan’ to study the planet for more than four years. ISRO was earlier eyeing June, 2023 for the country’s first mission to Venus.

4) Which among the following is correct about Chang’e-5 in China’s space history?

a) first time to automatically sample the lunar surface
b) first time to conduct unmanned docking in lunar orbit
c) first time for a probe to take off from the surface of the Moon
d) all of the above

Answer: d
• The Chang’e-5 mission is expected to realize four “firsts” in China’s space history: the first time for a probe to take off from the surface of the Moon; the first time to automatically sample the lunar surface; the first time to conduct unmanned rendezvous and docking in lunar orbit; and the first time to return to Earth with lunar soil samples in escape velocity.

5) Sakteng Wildlife sanctuary, recently heard in news, is located in

a) Bhutan
b) Bangladesh
c) Nepal
d) Myanmar

Answer: a
• In July this year, Beijing said Sakteng Wildlife sanctuary, situated in eastern Bhutan, belonged to China.
• The claim was made at the 58th meeting of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council where China tried to “oppose” funding to a project for the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary situated in Bhutan saying that it was “disputed” territory.