15 March 2019 GK Current Affairs

1. Who has been appointed as a mediator for resolving various disputes related to cricket administration within BCCI?

1. Fali Sam Nariman
2. Nitte Santosh Hegde
3. PS Narasimha
4. Sidharth Luthra

Answer: Option C

Explanation: The Supreme Court appointed senior advocate PS Narasimha as a mediator for resolving various disputes related to cricket administration within the cricket body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Narasimha will hear the BCCI’s position, and then make recommendations to the Committee of Administrators (CoA). Narasimha is assisting the apex court as amicus curiae in the BCCI matter. The court restrained all other courts in India from entertaining any matter pertaining to BCCI and state cricket associations.

2.MR Kumar was appointed as the Chairman of which of the following company?

1. BSNL
2. Max Life Insurance
3. Bharti Airtel
4. Life Insurance Corporation

Answer: Option D

Explanation: – The government has appointed MR Kumar as the Chairman of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and Vipin Anand and TC Suseel Kumar as the managing directors (MDs). LIC’s executive board comprises of 1 chairman and 4 managing directors. MR Kumar is currently the Zonal Manager, Delhi at LIC.

3. This country agreed to work expeditiously on operationalizing the Kartapur corridor in Pakistan.

1. India
2. Bangladesh
3. Nepal
4. Myanmar

Answer: Option A

Explanation: India and Pakistan have agreed to work expeditiously on operationalizing the Kartapur corridor. The corridor will facilitate Indian pilgrims to visit the holy shrine of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur in Pakistan. The agreement was reached during the first meeting between the representatives of the two countries held at Attari in Punjab.

4. Which city has topped the Mercer’s index of most liveable cities for the 10th year?

1. Luxembourg
2. Vienna
3. London
4. New York

Answer: Option B

Explanation: The Austrian capital Vienna has topped Mercer’s index of most liveable cities for the 10th year in a row. Zurich in Switzerland, is placed second in the index, while Auckland, Munich and Vancouver came joint third. Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu is ranked at 105 in Mercer’s Quality Of Living Index and is the number one city from India. Luxembourg was named the safest city in a separate personal safety league table. Global consulting firm Mercer surveyed in 231 cities across the globe and were ranked them based on factors such as healthcare, education, public services, recreation, crime, housing and personal freedom. The ranking was based on data analysed between September and November 2018.

5. The theme for World Consumers day 2019 is;

1. Building a digital world consumers can trust
2. Trusted Smart Products
3. Making Digital Marketplaces Fairer
4. Consumer Justice Now!

Answer: Option B

Explanation: World Consumer Rights Day is celebrated every year on 15 March as part of an initiative by Consumer International, a membership organization for consumer groups around the world. The theme for World Consumers day 2019 is “Trusted Smart Products”. World Consumer Rights Day was inspired by President John F Kennedy, who sent a special message to the US Congress on 15th March 1962, in which he formally addressed the issue of consumer rights. He was the first world leader to do so.

6. Which of the following bank has been categorized as a private sector lender following the acquisition of majority stake by Life Insurance Corporation?

1. Axis Bank
2. HDFC Bank
3. IDBI Bank
4. Punjab National Bank

Answer: Option C

Explanation: As per RBI notification, IDBI Bank has been categorized as a private sector lender following the acquisition of majority stake by Life Insurance Corporation. IDBI Bank has been under the prompt corrective action framework of RBI that bans it from corporate lending and branch expansions, salary hikes and other regular activities. In January 2019, LIC completed the process of picking up a controlling 51% stake in the nearly crippled IDBI Bank. IDBI Bank has been categorized as a ‘private sector bank’ with effect from January 21, 2019

7. The 34th edition of Aahar – the International Food and Hospitality Fair begins in which city?

1. Ahmedabad
2. Kolkata
3. Mumbai
4. New Delhi

Answer: Option D

Explanation: The Five day long, 34th edition of Aahar- the International Food and Hospitality Fair which is organized by India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) begins in New Delhi on 12th March 2019. Participants from China, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, Spain, USA and UK are participating in the event. The Food fair features Food Products, Hospitality and decor solutions, confectionery items, Food beverages equipment and machinery from more than 560 National and International Participants.

8. Name the social enterpreneur who won a Commonwealth Youth Award for the Asian region at London.

1. Padmanaban Gopalan
2. Akansha Hazari
3. Ashoka
4. Harish Hande

Answer: Option A

Explanation: A social entrepreneur from Tamil Nadu, Padmanaban Gopalan, founder of No Food Waste, was named the winner of the Commonwealth Youth Award for the Asian region worth 3,000 Pounds at a ceremony at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London. His initiative runs a geo-mapping platform, which allows users to drop food at located “hunger spots” and has so far recovered over 650,000 meals across 14 cities and the platform has been used by over 12,000 volunteers.

9. Which bank celebrated its 114th Foundation Day on 12th March 2019?

1. Indian Bank
2. ICICI Bank
3. Corporation Bank
4. Canara Bank

Answer: Option C

Explanation: Corporation Bank celebrated its 114th Foundation Day on 12th March at various centres of the bank across the nation and undertook 114 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities to mark the day. CEO and MD for the bank P.V Bharathi, Executive Directors Gopal Murli Bhagat and Birupaksha Mishra and other senior officials were present at the occasion. Corp Ease- which is a mobile banking app in 10regional languages, was launched by P.V Bharathi.

10. Which country released coin commemorating annexation of Crimea?

1. Russia
2. Denmark
3. Indonesia
4. Germany

Answer: Option A

Explanation: A new coin that features the Crimea or Kerch Strait Bridge released by Russia’s central bank, to mark Crimea’s reunification with Russia. Two million new five ruble (about $0.08) coins were pressed which depict an outline of the peninsula which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

11. Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old student and activist has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for fighting global warming. She belongs to which country?

1. Finland
2. Sweden
3. Norway
4. Germany

Answer: Option B

Explanation: Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish student and activist has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts in climate activism and fighting global warming. She began her weekly protest in August 2018 by riding her bicycle to the Swedish Parliament with ”School strike for climate” sign. The #FridaysForFuture movement went viral and spread over 80 countries. If she were to win, she would be the youngest recipient since Pakistan’s Malala Yousafzai, who was 17 when she received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.

12. Which of the following was honoured with the Social Enterprise Network (SEN) sustainability award for education by Young Presidents Organisation?

1. National Skill Development Corporation
2. Sona Yukti
3. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yukti.
4. Midas Soft Skills

Answer: Option B

Explanation: Sona Yukti, a skill development institute, was honoured with the Social Enterprise Network (SEN) sustainability award for education by Young Presidents Organisation at its annual event held in Cape Town, South Africa. It is the only Indian organisation to be selected as part of the SEN awards for 2018. The award was given to Sona Yukti for helping over 55,000 economically disadvantaged individuals, mostly women, by training them to achieve highly skilled jobs in marginalised communities. The organisation focuses on providing opportunity for the disadvantaged, in partnership with the government of India, and follows standards set up by the National Skills Development Corporation.

13. India observed Dandi March Day on which date?

1. 11th March
2. 12th March
3. 14th March
4. 15th March

Answer: Option B

Explanation: 12th March 2019 marks the 89th anniversary of the Dandi Satyagraha, an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi had undertaken a 26-day march from March 12, 1930 to April 6, 1930 as a direct action campaign of tax resistance and nonviolent protest against the British salt monopoly.

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