UPSC 2021: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz Jan 30 - Feb 05

Which of the following is/are the four pillars of nationalism according to Swami Vivekananda?

1. Consciousness and pride in the ancient glory of India
2. Development of moral and physical strength
3. Awakening of the masses
4. Unity based on common spiritual ideas

Which of the following is/are correct about Raja Ram Mohan Roy?

1. He founded the Brahmo Samaj in 1828.
2. He visited England as an ambassador of the Mughal king Akbar Shah II.

Which of the following statement/s is/are correct?

1. The President addresses a joint sitting at the beginning of each session of the Parliament.
2. The Presidential address highlights the government’s accomplishments from the previous year and sets the broad governance agenda for the coming year.
3. Amendments to the motion of thanks would refer to only matters contained in the Presidential address.

Options:

With respect to the recommendations from the 15^th Finance Commission, which of the following statement/s is/are correct?

1. Income distance accounts for the largest proportion among the criteria for devolution to the states.
2. The 15th Finance Commission (FCC) has increased the share of states in the divisible pool of central taxes by one percentage.
3. Apart from the grant in aids, the 15th FC has also recommended performance-based grants and sector-specific grants.

Options:

Which of the following are advantages for India of ethanol blending with fossil fuels?

1. Help reduce net emissions
2. Improve India’s energy security
3. Improve India’s current account deficit
4. Help stabilize sugar prices in India

Options:

The historic uprising of the peasants at Patharughat was related to

With reference to ‘dugong’, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. It is the only existing species of herbivorous mammal that lives exclusively in the sea.
2. It is found along the entire coast of India.
3. Its IUCN status is Endangered.

Options:

Which of the following statement/s about Lala Lajpat Rai is/are correct?

1. He was influenced by Swami Dayananda Saraswati and joined the Arya Samaj in Lahore.
2. He founded the Home Rule League of America in 1917 in New York.
3. He was the editor of Navjivan.

Options:

Other than the fundamental rights, which of the following parts of the Constitution of India reflect/reflects the principles and provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)?

1. Preamble
2. Directive principles of state policy
3. Fundamental duties

Select the correct answer using the given code below- [UPSC 2020]

Which of the following is/are incorrect?

1. The Speaker of a Legislative Assembly shall accept the resignation tendered by an MLA.
2. The President is bound to accept the resignation tendered by the Vice President.

Which of the following is/are correct?

1. The powers and functions of the State Election Commission are identical to those vested in the Election Commission of India in their respective domains.
2. State Election Commissioner shall not be removed from his office except in the like manner and on the like ground as a Judge of a High Court.

Which of the following pose a greater threat for the free movement of elephant herds?

1. Cattle grazing
2. Coffee and tea plantations
3. Electric fences
4. Expansion of agricultural fields

Which of the following is/are incorrect?

1. The elephant was declared as the National Heritage Animal of India in 2010.
2. Elephants play a key role as a “Keystone Species” in the forest ecosystem.
3. The elephant has been listed in Schedule-1 of the Wildlife Protection Act of India, 1972.

Who among the following Mughal Emperors shifted emphasis from illustrated manuscripts to album and individual portrait? [UPSC 2019]

Which of the following is/are correctly matched?

1. Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA): allows their militaries to use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies as well as provides for deeper cooperation.
2. COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement): provides for interoperability between the two militaries and provides for sale of high-end technology from the US to India.
3. BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement): provides for sharing of high-end military technology, logistics and geospatial maps between two countries.

Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)?

1. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) is the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) implemented by National Skill Development Corporation.
2. Training Partners (TPs) are mandated to organize Kaushal and Rozgar Melas every six months for providing placement assistance to certified ones.
3. The scheme only focusses on individuals without any skills and excludes those with a certain set of skills or with prior learning experience.

Select the Order of Precedence of the following gallantry awards:

1. Param Vir Chakra
2. Ashoka Chakra
3. Mahavir Chakra
4. Kirti Chakra
5. Vir Chakra
6. Shaurya Chakra

Award                                     Criteria

1. Padma Vibhushan            A) exceptional service/performance of the highest order in any field of human endeavour
2. Padma Bhushan               B) distinguished service
3. Padma Shri                        C) distinguished service of higher order
4. Bharat Ratna                     D) exceptional and distinguished service

Which of the above are correctly matched?

Which of the following is/are correct?

1. The recommendations for Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister to the President of India and the recommendations, however, are not binding on the President.
2. The number of Bharat Ratna Awards is restricted to a maximum of three in a particular year.
3. Government has conferred Bharat Ratna Award on 45 persons till date.
4. It is mandatory to award Bharat Ratna every year.

In which of the following areas can the blockchain technology be used?

1. Secure sharing of medical data
2. Music royalties tracking
3. Cross-border payments
4. Voting mechanism
5. Cryptocurrency exchange

Select the correct option from below:

Consider the following activities:

1. Spraying pesticides on a crop field
2. Inspecting the craters of active volcanoes
3. Collecting breath samples from spouting whales for DNA analysis

At the present level of technology, which of the above activities can be successfully carried out by using drones? [UPSC 2020]

Atal Innovation Mission is set up under the [UPSC 2019]

Which of the following is/are the components of the Sagarmala Programme?

1. De-bottlenecking and capacity expansion of existing ports without the need for new ports.
2. Promoting sustainable development of coastal communities through skill development & livelihood generation activities.
3. Enhancing the connectivity of the ports to the hinterland, optimizing cost and time of cargo movement through multi-modal logistics solutions excluding domestic waterways.

Which of the following is correct regarding AMPHEX-21?

1. It is a joint military exercise between India & Maldives conducted in Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
2. The purpose of the exercise is to deepen the security relationship and intelligence sharing between India & Maldives.

Which of the following Military Exercises are conducted between India and its neighbouring countries?

1. Sampriti
2. Varuna
3. Ekuverin
4. Hand in Hand
5. Mitra Shakti

Select the correct answer using the code below:

Which of the following reports are released by the World Economic Forum (WEF)?

1. Global Risks Report
2. Global Social Mobility Report
3. Global Gender Gap Report
4. Global Competitiveness Report
5. World Economic Outlook

The Global Competitiveness Report is published by the [UPSC Prelims 2019]

Which of the following is/are correct?

1. Wage rates for workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005 are notified and revised annually based on Consumer Price Index-Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL) by the Central Government.
2. Every State has its defined Schedule of Rates on the basis of which the work output is defined and used to calculate the wages for MGNREGA beneficiaries.