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Chief Editor

Dr. Kanchan Deep Chaudhary

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MARCH-2019

CONTENTS

Mission Shakti…………..........2

India‟s First Lokpal…………...3

Current Affairs Bullets………..4

Latest in General Knowledge…6

Appointments

Awards & Honors

Books & Authors

Constitutional/Law

Defense

Economic Scenario

Ecology & Environment

Places

Report & Index

Software & Telecom

Persons in News………………12

Current Topics – India………..13

Current Topics – World……....16

Static GK Capsules……...........18

Latest in Sports………………..20

Current Affairs MCQs………...22

Answer Key of MCQs………...28

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All disputes subject to Jodhpur jurisdiction only.







Current Affairs Bullets

The state integral coach factory which becomes

the world‟s largest rail coach manufacturer –

Chennai

The GDP growth rate for FY20 as projected by

Fitch – 6.8%

The first woman to win Abel Prize for

Mathematics – Karen Uhlenbeck

India‟s ranking in World Happiness Report 2019

released by United Nations Sustainable

Development Solutions Network – 140th

The country that recently banned the sale of

assault rifles and semi-automatic weapon – New

Zealand

India‟s 1st Transgender Election Ambassador –

Gauri Sawant

The country which signed an MoU with India on

Digital Education Initiatives – Afghanistan

The Indian Institute of Technology that signed an

MoU with ISRO to set up an ISRO-IITR Space

Technology Cell (STC) – IIT Roorkee

The first-ever Coast Guard ship to visit Sabang,

Indonesia – Vijit

The Prime Minister of Guinea who visited India

to participate at a key India-Africa business

conclave – Ibrahima Kassory Fofana

The first BRICS Sherpa meeting under the

Presidency of Brazil concluded at – Curitiba in

Brazil

The cyclone that hit Mozambique, Zimbabwe

and Malawi – Idai

The top three Indian brands of 2019 according to

a report published by Interbrand – Tata,

Reliance and Airtel

The cardless withdrawal of cash that has been

launched by State Bank of India (SBI) – YONO

Cash

The bank that received no objection from the

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the voluntary

amalgamation of Gruh Finance Ltd – Bandhan

Bank

The Chief Minister of Goa who passed away recently

– Manohar Parrikar

The first woman appointed as the Managing

Director (MD) and CEO of Corporation Bank –

PV Bharathi

The Special Olympics World Games 2019 were

held in – UAE

The Third Pillar: How Markets and the State

Leave the Community Behind has been authored

by – Raghuram Rajan

The bank whose market capitalization hit 52

week high, crossing Rs. 6tn mark – HDFC Bank

The first Lokayukta of Mizoram appointed

recently – C Lalsawta

GST collection in Feb 2019 stood at – Rs.

97,247 cr

Index of Industrial Production (IIP) in Jan 2019 –

1.7 percent

Retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index

(CPI) in Feb 2019 – 2.57 percent

The US and Taliban negotiators held a

ministerial level meeting in – Doha, Qatar

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation

(DGCA) decided to ground – Boeing 737 Max8

The ranking of India in the list of the countries

with the largest gold reserves – 11th

The country which is largest holder of gold – US

The present President of Algeria – Abdelaziz

Bouteflika

The country which will become a net exporter of

crude oil from 2021, according to the

International Energy Agency (IEA) – US

Winner of the men‟s singles title of 2019 All

England Open Badminton Championships –

Kento Momota – Winner of the women‟s singles title – Chen

Yufei

India launched its third IT corridor in – China

The app launched by the Ministry of Housing

and Urban Affairs to help the public in getting

the necessary information on fingertips – e-

Dharti

The Organization for Economic co-operation

and Development (OECD) has reduced the world

economic growth forecasts for the year 2019 to –

3.3 percent

The scheme launched by the Govt. of West

Bengal to encourage entrepreneurship among

youth in the state – Yuvashree Plan II or

Yuvashree Arpan scheme

The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)

appointed as its Director – Ajit Kumar

Mohanty

The agriculture web portal which has been

dedicated to enhancing knowledge on rice

production techniques, agricultural technologies,

best production practices and state agriculture

facts – Rice Knowledge Bank-Assam



The state govt. of Tripura has launched a one-

month project to provide training to school

teachers, called – Notun Disha

The bilateral joint exercise held between India

and Oman – Al Nagah III

The space agency which has announced to carry

out first all-female spacewalk at the International

Space Stations (ISS) – NASA

The journalist named for the Chameli Devi Jain

Award for 2018 Outstanding Woman Journalist –

Priyanka Dubey

The former RBI governor chosen for the

„Yashwantrao Chavan National Award 2018‟ for

his contribution to economic development –

Raghuram Rajan

Income Tax exemption limit on gratuity has been

doubled to – Rs. 20 lakh

The public sector bank awarded the Best Bank

Award by the Tamil Nadu govt. – Indian Bank

International Women‟s Day (IWD) is observed

on – Mar 08

– The theme of IWD 2019 – Think Equal, Build

Smart, Innovate for Change

The state govt which has announced the increase

of the reservation quotas for the OBCs –

Madhya Pradesh

The interest subvention or subsidy for short-term

crop loans that has been notified by RBI during

2018-19 and 2019-20 under the interest

subvention scheme – 2 percent

The public sector bank that signed a

bancassurance deal with private life insurer

HDFC Life Insurance Company – United Bank

of India

The ancient tribal language which has been

included by Madhya Pradesh govt in the primary

education curriculum of the state‟s tribal-

dominated districts – Gondi

The amount approved by the Union Cabinet to

the proposed interest subsidy to sugar mills as

part of the ethanol blending programme – Rs.

3,355 cr

The new denomination of coin, which will come

in 12-edged polygon (dodecagon) shape – Rs. 20

The city adjudged India‟s cleanest city for the

third straight year under Swachh Survekshan

Awards – Indore

The new director-general of the National

Archives of India – PV Ramesh

The country which recently joined the

International Criminal Court based in The

Hague, Netherlands – Malaysia

The Indian cricketer appointed as the new

Chairman of the ICC Cricket committee – Anil

Kumble

The district named as the top aspirational district

according to the Delta ranking report released by

NITI Aayog – Hailakandi, Assam

The country‟s largest online lending platform

with loan sanctions exceeding over Rs. 35,000

crore – PSBloansin59minutes.com

Winner of the first Bhagwan Mahavir Ahimsa

Puraskar – Abhinandan Varthaman

The state whose disaster management authority,

bagged the SKOCH Award, 2018 – Odisha

The Indian wrestler who claimed gold for India

at the Dan Kovlov 2019 event – Pooja Dhanda

Exercise Red Flag is an advanced aerial combat

training exercise held several times a year by the

Air Force of – The United States

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declared

„April 2019-March 2020‟ as – Construction-

Technology year

The growth rate for the calendar year 2019 and

2020 as projected by Moody‟s Global Macro

Outlook for 2019 and 2020 – 7.3 percent

The non-executive chairman appointed in Bank

of Baroda – Hasmukh Adhia

AK-203 rifle manufacturing unit has been

inaugurated in – Amethi

A Centre for Disability Sports is to come up at –

Gwalior

The new managing director and chief executive

officer of private sector lender Yes Bank –

Ravneet Gill

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj

participated in the plenary session of the foreign

ministers‟ meet of the OIC states in – Abu

Dhabi

The Chairman of the National Commission for

Backward Classes – Bhagwan Lal Sahni

GDP growth has been revised in FY 2018-19 to

– 7 percent

A new railways zone for Andhra Pradesh –

Southern Coast Railway

The bank that topped in the EASE Reforms

Index for Public Sector Banks – Punjab

National Bank (PNB)

Head of the panel to examine issues related to off

shore rupee markets – Usha Thorat

The first batsman ever to smash 500 or more

sixes in international cricket – Chris Gayle



The Indian company recognized as one of

World‟s Most Ethical Companies by the

Ethisphere Institute for 2019 – Tata Steel

The scheme launched on National Science Day

(Feb 28) to fund Science Projects – STARS

The central bank which has recently signed a

Bilateral Swap Arrangement (BSA) with Reserve

Bank of India (RBI) – Bank of Japan

Titanwala Museum showcases the hand block

printing of the Chhipa community in –

Rajasthan

The first Indian cricketers to cross 8,000 runs in

T20s – Suresh Raina

India‟s ranking in Inclusive Internet Index 2019,

prepared by the Economist Intelligence Unit

(EIU) for Facebook – 47th

The Chairman of National Book Trust (NBT) –

Govind Prasad Sharma

The commission launched by the Assam govt to

protect parents of govt employees – PRANAM

Winner of the International Gandhi Peace Prize

for the year 2018 – Yohei Sasakawa

The bank which has tied up with Germany‟s Kfw

Development Bank for funding of $ 113mn to

refinance solar projects – Bank of Baroda

The Russia, India, China (RIC) Foreign

Ministers meeting was held recently in –

Wuzhen

The Best Picture Oscar at the 91st Academy

Awards – Green Book

– Best Actor – Rami Malek (Bohemian

Rhapsody)

– Best Actress – Olivia Colman (The Favourite)

Latest In General Knowledge

Anniversaries & Days

March 8 : International Women‟s Day

March 8 : International Literacy Day

March 15 : World Disabled Day

March 15 : World Consumer Rights Day

March 18 : Ordnance Factories Day (India)

March 21 : World Forestry Day

March 21 : International Day for

Elimination of Racial Discrimination

March 22 : World Day for Water

March 23 : World Meteorological Day

March 24 : World TB Day

Appointments

Justice P.C. Ghose becomes India‟s first

Lokpal: Former Supreme Court judge Justice

(retd.) Mr. Pinaki Chandra Ghose took oath as

the first Lokpal of the country on March 23,

2019. Besides Justice (retd.) Mr. Ghose, other

four judicial members are Justice (retd.) Mr.

Dilip B. Bhosale, Justice (retd.) Mr. P.K.

Mohanty, Justice (retd.) Ms. Abhilasha Kumari

and Justice (retd.) Mr. A.K. Tripathi. The non-

judicial members include former Sashastra

Seema Bal chief Ms. Archana Ramasundaram,

ex-Maharashtra Chief Secretary Mr. Dinesh

Kumar Jain, Mr. Mahender Singh and Mr. I.P.

Gautam, The appointment of Justice Ghose has

come nearly five years after the Lokpal Act was

notified on January 16, 2014. The law provides

for a Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in

States to probe cases of corruption against top

public servants including the Prime Minister and

Chief Ministers.

Vice Admiral Karambir Singh appointed next

Navy Chief: Vice Admiral Karambir Singh was

appointed the next Chief of Naval Staff on

March 23, 2019. Mr. Singh will succeed Admiral

Sunil Lanba who retires on May 31, 2019. At

present, Vice Admiral Singh is serving as the

Flag Officer Commanding in Chief of the

Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam. He

is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy,



Khadakwasla. He is a graduate of Defence

Services Staff Collage, Wellington; Collage of

Naval Warfare, Mumbai. In his 36-year-old

career, the officer has commanded an Indian

Coast Guard Ship, a Naval Missile Corvette as

well as Guided Missile Destroyers.

Pramod Sawant appointed as CM of Goa: BJP

MLA and Assembly Speaker Mr. Pramod

Sawant was sworn in as the new chief Minister

of Goa on March 19, 2019. A day after Mr.

Manohar Parrikar passed away at the age of 63

after battling pancreatic cancer, Mr. Sawant was

sworn in by the Governor of Goa Ms. Mridula

Sinha at Raj Bhavan at 1.50 am. The Governor

also administered the oath of office to 11 other

Ministers, including those from BJP‟s allies

MGP and the GFP. As per the power-sharing

arrangement reached with the allies, an MLA

each from two small parties backing the BJP in

the coastal state were made Deputy Chief

Minister. They are Goa Forward Party (GFP)

chief Mr. Vijai Sardesai and Maharashtrawadi

Gomantak Party MLA Mr. Sudin Dhavlikar.

Subhash Chandra Garg appointed as new

Finance Secretary: Economic Affairs Secretary

Mr. Subhash Chandra Garg was appointed as the

Finance Secretary on March 8, 2019. The

Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed

by Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi has

approved designating Mr. Garg as the Finance

Secretary. Mr. Garg, a 1983 batch IAS Officer of

Rajasthan cadre, has been working as the

Secretary in Department of Economic Affairs

since June 2017. He succeeds Mr. Ajay Narayan

Jha who superannuated on February 28, 2019.

Padma Lakshmi appointed UNDP Goodwill

Ambassador: Indian-American television

personality and food expert Ms. Padma Lakshmi

was appointed by the United Nations

Development Programme (UNDP) as its newest

Goodwill Ambassador on March 8, 2019,

supporting the agency‟s fight against inequality

and discrimination around the world. In her new

role, the Emmy-nominated television personality

and award-winning author will mobilize support

for the Sustainable Development Goals with a

focus on fighting inequality, discrimination and

empowering the disenfranchised.

Books & Authors

Rise of Saffron Power; Reflections on Indian

Politics - International Women‟s Day

The Long Drive Home - By Rishad Saam

Mehta, Westland

A Stronger Truth – By Ashok Alexander,

Juggernaut

India‟s New Capitalists - By Harish

Damodaran, Hachette

Milk Teeth - By Amritha Mahale, Westland

Democracy on the Road: A 25-years Journey

Through India - Ruchir Sharma, Penguin

The Woman‟s Courtyard - By Khadija Mastur,

Penguin

Defence

IAF inducts four Chinook heavy-lift

helicopters: Four Chinook heavy-lift helicopters

made in the US were inducted into the Indian Air

Force (IAF) on March 25, 2019. The first four of

the 15 CH-47F (I) Chinook helicopters, which

were ordered from Boeing in September 2015,

were commissioned into the IAF‟s 126

Helicopter Unit (HU) in Chandigarh. After

inducting the helicopters, IAF Chief Air Marshal

B.S. Dhanoa said that induction of Chinook will

be a game changer the way the Rafale is going to

be in the fighter fleet. The Chinook, twin-engine,

tandem rotor, is multi-role, vertical-lift platform,

which is used for transporting troops, artillery,

equipment and fuel. The helicopter can carry out

military operations not only during the day but at

night too.

Indian Navy‟s Nuclear, Biological and

Chemical Training Facility launched: The

Indian Navy‟s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical

Training Facility (NBCTF) was inaugurated at

INS Shivaji in Mumbai by Chief of Naval Staff

Admiral Sunil Lanba on March 25, 2019. The

NBCTF, christened “Abhedya”, Sanskrit for

impenetrable, will help train personnel of naval

ships fitted with nuclear, biological and chemical

detection and protection systems. It will provide

realistic training to naval personnel in detection,

protection against and decontamination of

nuclear, biological and chemical agents. During

the event, Admiral Lanba launched the INS

Shivaji‟s website on the Indian Navy portal and

also released the platinum jubilee logo, with the



theme “Propelling the Indian Navy since 1945”

for the premier technical training establishment.

Four indigenous „Dhanush‟ Howitzers

inducted into Indian Army: In a major fire-

power boost for the country, four indigenous

„Dhanush‟ Howitzer guns were inducted into the

Indian Army at a ceremony held at the Ordnance

factory in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, on March

26, 2019. The Dhanush guns have been tested to

withstand extreme conditions like rainfall and

snow, and have also been built for use in

multiple terrains, from plains to sand and

especially in hilly areas. The Dhanush gun

system is based on designs of the Bofors

howitzer which was inducted into the Army in

1980s and would be the third type of artillery gun

to be inducted into the force after the K-9 Vajra

and the M-777 ultra-light howitzers, as per

inputs. The 155mm x 45mm caliber artillery gun

is capable of firing projectiles at a relatively

higher angle with a steep angle of descent.

DRDO carries out successful tests of the

Pinaka multi-barrel rocket system: The

Defence Research and Development

Organization (DRDO) carried out back-to-back

successful tests of the Pinaka multi-barrel rocket

system, a fact that shows that the Indian Army

has a high precision, reliable and capable

weapons system to supplement artillery guns.

Two successful trials were conducted on March

11, 2019 following which another test was

carried out by DRDO a day later. The three

successful trials have met DRDO‟s mission

objectives, the Defence Ministry said in a

statement. The trials were conducted in Pokharan

in Rajasthan. The role of guided Pinka is key to

avoiding any collateral damage. Pinaka is a

rocket system that has the capability to nullify

the targeted area. The Indian Army used Pinaka

Mark I in the 1999 Kargil war. The name of the

rocket derives from Pinaka which is the bow of

Lord Shiva.

Ecology & Environment

Extreme weather, strong signs of global

warming marked 2018: UN Report: World

Meteorological Organization‟s Statement on the

State of the Global Climate was released by UN

Secretary-General Mr. Antonio Guterres in New

York on March 28, 2019, on the sidelines of a

high-level meeting on climate and sustainable

development. The report stated that the sea levels

rose at a record pace in 2018, vast ocean

stretches continued to become acidic, posing a

threat to marine biodiversity, and most monitored

glaciers are retreating, highlighting how the

world was regressing on key climate indicators.

The record sea level increase, ocean acidification

and very high land and ocean temperatures over

the last four years is linked to rising

anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

IUCN lists hump-backed Mahseer as critically

endangered: The hump-backed Mahseer – a

large freshwater fish also called the tiger of the

water and found only in the Cauvery river basin

(including Kerala‟s Pambar, Kabini and Bhavani

rivers) – is now “Critically Endangered”: more

threatened than the tiger is, as per the

International Union for Conservation of Nature‟s

Red List of Threatened Species. The fish is one

of the 229 species added to the Red List in

November 2018; this update also reveals that the

threat status of 12 other Indian species, including

great hornbills, has increased. Five other species

have also made it to threatened categories: two

wild orchids, the Arabian scad (a marine fish)

and two wild coffee species found only in a few

localities in the Western Ghats.

Economic Scene

Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank merge with Bank

of Baroda: As per the Reserve Bank of India

(RBI) notification dated March 30, 2019, all

branches of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank will

function as branches of Bank of Baroda from

April 1, 2019. Customers, including depositors

of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank will be treated as

customers of Bank of Baroda (BoB) with effect

from the said date. The consolidated bank will be

the second largest public sector bank in the

country. It will have a wider geographical reach

with more than 9,500 branches, over 13,400

automatic teller machines (ATMs), and 85,000

employees serving 120 million customer and

business mix of Rs. 15 lakh crore with deposits

and advances of Rs. 875 lakh crore and Rs. 6.25

lakh crore, respectively.

GST net overshoots estimates in FY2018-19:

Goods and Service Tax (GST) collection touched

Rs. 11.77 lakh crore in financial year 2018-19,



exceeding the revised budget estimates, with

record realization of Rs. 1.06 lakh crore in March

2019 alone. March 2019 saw the highest ever

monthly return filing since GST rollout on July

1, 2017, at 75.95 lakh, reflecting improved

compliance. Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitley

said in a tweet that the record collection in March

2019 of the GST touching Rs. 1,06,577 crore

indicates the expansion in both manufacturing

and consumption. In a statement, the Finance

Ministry said that the monthly average of GST

revenue during 2018-19 is Rs. 98,114 crore,

9.2% higher than the previous fiscal.

Oxfam flags gender pay gap, lack of quality

jobs in India: Lack of quality jobs and

increasing wage disparity are key markers of

inequality in the Indian labour market, Oxfam

India‟s latest report, „Mind The GAP – State of

Employment in India‟ has said. Pointing to a

decline in rural jobs, the report also says

regressive social norms continue to hamper

women‟s participation in the workforce. On an

average, women are paid 34% less than similarly

qualified male workers for performing the same

tasks. As per the report, in the year 2015, 92% of

women and 82% of men earned a monthly wage

less than Rs. 10,000 in India.

FinTech Conclave 2019 held in Delhi: To

shape India‟s continued ascendancy in FinTech,

build the narrative for future strategy and policy

efforts, and to deliberate steps for comprehensive

financial inclusion, NITI Aayog organized a day-

long FinTech Conclave in New Delhi recently.

The Conclave featured representatives from

across the financial space – Central Ministers,

regulators, bankers, startups, investors, service

providers and entrepreneurs. Mr. Shaktikanta

Das, Governor of RBI, inaugurated the Conclave

in the presence of Mr. Amitabh kant, CEO, NITI

Aayog and Mr. Subhash Chandra Garg,

Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs,

Ministry of Finance. India is one of the fastest

growing FinTech markets globally and industry

research has projected that $1 trillion or 60% of

retail and SME credit will be digitally disbursed

by 2029. The Indian FinTech ecosystem is the

third largest in the globe.

Honours & Awards

NATIONAL

Gallantry and Distinguished Service awards:

Hon‟ble President Mr. Ram Nath Kovind

conferred Gallantry Awards and Distinguished

Service Decorations on Armed Forces Personnel

for displaying conspicuous gallantry, indomitable

courage and extreme devotion to duty, on March

19, 2019. Among the dignitaries present on the

occasion were Prime Minister Mr. Narendra

Modi and chiefs of the three armed forces. Two

Kirti Chakras and two Shaurya Chakras were

given posthumously. The President also

conferred thirteen Param Vishisht Seva Medals,

two Uttam Yudh Seva Medals and twenty-six Ati

Vishisht Seva Medals to senior officers of the

Armed Forces for distinguished service of an

exceptional order.

60th National Academy Awards: The Lalit

Kala Academy (LKA) announced 15 winners of

the 60th Annual Academy Awards in Mumbai on

March 22, 2019. All the awardees will be

honoured with a plaque, a shawl and prize money

of Rs. 1 lakh at the 60th National Exhibition of

Art at the National Gallery of Modern Art

(NGMA) and Sir JJ School of Art. The awardess

selected by the two-tier jury are Mr. Chandan

Kumar Samal (Odisha), Ms. Gouri Vemula

(Telangana), Mr. Hemant Rao (Madhya

Pradesh), Mr. Hiren Kumar Chotu Bhai Patel

(Gujarat), Ms. Jaya Jena (Odisha), Mr. Jayesh

K.K. (Kerala), Mr. Jitendra Suresh Sutar

(Maharashtra), Mr. Douglas Maryan John

(Maharashtra), Mr. Pratap Chandra Chakraborty

(West Bengal), Ms. Rashmi Singh (Uttar

Pradesh), Mr. Sachin Kashinath Chaudhari

(Maharashtra), Mr. Sunil Kumar Viswakarma

(Uttar Pradesh), Ms. Tabassum Khan (Bihar),

Mr. T. Vasudeo Taranath Kamath (Maharashtra)

and Ms. Veenita Sadguru Chendvankar (Goa).

64th Filmfare Awards: The 64th Filmfare

Award ceremony was held on March 23, 2019 in

Mumbai. Raazi and Andhadhun won five awards

each, with the former winning Best Film, Best

Director (for Meghna Gulzar) and Best Actress

(for Alia Bhatt). Badhaai Ho and Padmaavat won

four awards each, Tumbbad won three, and Sanju

won two awards. The awardees are –

Best Film : Raazi

Best Director : Meghan Gulzar (Raazi)

Best Actor : Ranbir Kapur (Sanju)

Best Actress : Alia Bhatt (Raazi)



Best Supporting Actor : Vicky Kaushal (Sanju),

Gajraj Rao (Badhaai Ho) (tie)

Best Supporting Actress : Surekha Sikri

(Badhaai Ho)

Best Male Debut : Ishaan Khatter (Beyond the

Clouds)

Best Femal Debut : Sara Ali Khan (Kedarnath)

Best Music Director : Sanjay Leela Bhansali

(Padmaavat)

Best Lyricist : Gulzar : “Ae Watan” (Raazi)

Best Playback Singer - Male : Arjit Singh –

“Ae Watan” (Raazi)

Best Playback Singer – Female: Shreya Ghoshal

– “Ghoomar” (Padmaavat)

Critics Award

Best Film : Andhadhun

Best Actor : Ayushmann Khurrana (Andhadhun),

Ranveer Singh (Padmaavat) (tie)

Best Actress : Neena Gupta (Badhaai Ho)

INTERNATIONAL

Order of Zayed: The UAE government

announced on April 4, 2019 that it will confer the

country‟s highest civilian award, the „Order of

Zayed‟, on PM Mr. Narendra Modi. The honour

is in recognition of the Indian government‟s

effort under Mr. Modi‟s leadership to develop

the strategic partnership between India and the

UAE.

Turing Award 2018: Three researchers have

won the 2018 Turing Award, known as the

“Nobel Prize of computing”, for conceptual and

engineering breakthrough in Artificial

Intelligence (AI). Mr. Yoshua Bengio, Mr.

Geoffrey Hinton and Mr. Yann LeCun were

named the recipients of the award on March 27,

2019 by the Association for Computing

Machinery (ACM). Mr. Bengio is a Professor at

the University of Montreal in Canada, Mr.

Hinton is the Vice-President and Engineering

Fellow, Google and Professor Emeritus at the

University of Toronto, and Mr. LeCun is a

Professor at New York University and Vice-

President and Chief AI Scientist at Facebook.

The award, which carries a $1 million prize, is

named after Alan M. Turing, British

Mathematician who articulated the mathematical

foundation and limits of computing.

Abel Prize 2019: Mathematician Ms. Karen

Uhlenbeck has become the first woman to win

the Abel Prize, sometimes called the Nobel Prize

of Mathematics. She has been awarded on March

19, 2019 the 6 million Norwegian kroner

($700,000) prize for her work in the fields of

gauge theory and geometric analysis, which have

been credited with far-reaching impact in both

Mathematics and Physics. Gauge theory

underpins much of the modern theoretical

physics, and is integral to cutting-edge research

in particle physics, general relativity and string

theory. Her work laid the foundations for the one

of the major milestones of 20th-century physics,

the unification of two of the four fundamental

forces of nature: electromagnetism and the weak

nuclear force. First awarded in 2003, the Abel

Prize is presented by the King of Norway to a

Mathematician who has made extraordinary

contributions to the field.

The Grand Order of the king of Tomislav:

Hon‟ble President Mr. Ram Nath Kovind was

honoured with the highest civilian award of

Croatia – the Grand Order of the King of

Tomislav on March 26, 2019. Mr. Kovind was in

the European country as a part of his eight-day

three-nation visit to Croatia, Bolivia and Chile to

further strengthen bilateral ties between India

and the three countries. The civilian order is

awarded to heads of state for their important

contribution towards the development of State

relations between Croatia and their respective

countries.

2019 Templeton Prize: Professor Marcelo

Gleiser, the Appleton Professor of Natural

Philosophy and a Professor of Physics and

Astronomy, is the winner of the 2019 Templeton

Prize. Professor Gleiser joins an eminent roster

of 48 past awardees, including Mother Teresa,

Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama.

The prize carries a monetary award of 1.1 million

British pounds, or about $ 1.4 million. The award

was established in 1972 by the late investor and

philanthropist Sir John Templeton.

Global Teacher Award 2019: A science teacher

from rural Kenya who donates most of his salary

to help poorer students has been crowned the

world‟s best teacher and awarded a $1 million

prize, beating 10,000 nominations from 179

countries. Mr. Peter Tabichi, a Maths and

Physics teacher at Keriko Secondary School in

Pwani village in a remote part of Kenya‟s Rift



Valley, won the Varkey Foundation Global

Teacher Prize 2019 at a ceremony in Dubai on

March 24, 2019. Mr. Tabichi gives away 80% of

his income to help the poorest students.

Windham-Campbell Prize: Delhi-based

journalist and author Mr. Raghu Karnad was

announced as one of the eight recipients of Yale

University‟s Windham-Campbell Prize 2019, in

London on March 13, 2019. One of the world‟s

most lucrative literary awards, the prize is open

to English language writers from across the

world, with each winner receiving $165,000 to

support their writing. Mr. Karnad was named as

a winner in the non-fiction category of the prize

for his debut book, „Farthest Field: An Indian

Story of the Second World War‟, published in

2015. Panning across Singapore, Eritrea, Libya,

El Alamein, Basra, Arakan and Imphal, the

Farthest Field tells the story of three men from

the same family serving in the Indian Army

during World War II. Calling it an “epic of un-

forgetting”, the prize lauded Mr. Karnad‟s

writing for combining forensic archival research

with “imaginative fire and unsettling national

and colonial histories”.

Inventions & Discoveries

IIT Madras converts petroleum waste

Toluene into useful product: Using platinum

nanocatalyst, a two-member team at the Indian

Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has

successfully converted petroleum waste-product

Toluene into Benzoic acid. Benzoic acid is used

as a food preservative (E210) and medicine for

fungal/bacterial infection. Toluene is converted

into benzoic acid through selective and

controlled oxidation in the presence of a catalyst-

Binaphthyl-stabilised platinum nanoparticles (Pt-

BNP). The team led by Mr. G. Sekar from the

institute‟s Department of Chemistry has used

water as solvent to make it environment-friendly.

Also, a green oxidant (70% aqueous tert-butyl

hydroperoxide or TBHP) is used for converting

toluene into benzoic acid. The results of the

study were published in the journal Applied

Catalysis B: Environmental.

Places

Christchurch, New Zealand: At least 49 people

were killed and 50 injured in shooting at Al Noor

and Linwood mosques in Christchurch, New

Zealand, on March 15, 2019. A few Indians are

also amongst those injured. 9 Indians are also

missing after the shooting. The gunmen live-

streamed the shooting on social media. New

Zealand Prime Minister Ms. Jacinda Ardern

called the massacre as one of the “darkest days”

of the country. A total of three men and one

woman have been arrested. One man, aged 28,

who is an Australian-born citizen has been

charged with murder. The Bangladesh cricket

team, which was scheduled to play the third and

final Test match against New Zealand, had a

narrow escape as they were about to pray in the

Al Noor mosque, which is situated near the

stadium.

Reports & Indexes

India‟s carbon dioxide emissions up 5%: India

emitted 2,299 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in

2018, a 4.8% rise from 2018, according to a

report by the International Energy Agency (IEA)

released on March 26, 2019. India‟s emissions

growth in 2019 was higher than that of the

United States and China – the two biggest

emitters in the world and this was primarily due

to a rise in coal consumption. China, the United

States and India together accounted for nearly

70% of the rise in energy demand. India‟s per

capita emissions were about 40% of the global

average and contributed 7% to the global carbon

dioxide burden. The United States, the largest

emitter, was responsible for 14%. As per its

commitments to the United Nations Framework

Convention on Climate Change, India has

promised to reduce the emissions intensity of its

economy by 2030, compared to 2005 levels. It

has also committed to having 40% of its energy

from renewable sources by 2030 and as a part of

this, install 100 GW of solar power by 2022.

Space

ISRO launches EMISAT and 28 other

satellites from US, Spain: The Indian Space

Research Organization (ISRO) launched the

EMISAT satellite along with 28 other satellites

from other nations, including 24 from the US

from the Sriharikota launch station on April 1,

2019. The mission would witness the ISRO

placing payloads in three orbits and conducting

space experiments for the first time. The



EMISAT satellite is aimed at electromagnetic

measurement. ISRO‟s third generation

workhorse Polar Satelite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)

was used in the launch. This was PSLV‟s 47th

flight. The mission marks several firsts to the

credit of the space agency as it would manoeuvre

satellites in various orbits and orbital

experiments including on maritime satellite

applications. The other 28 international satellites

– 25 3U type, two 6U type and one 2U type nano

satellites – are from Lithuania (two), Spain (1),

Switzerland (1) and the United States (24).

India successfully carries out the test of anti-

satelite missile: Prime Minister Mr. Narendra

Modi announced on March 27, 2019 that India

has successfully tested its first anti-satellite

missile system, code-named „Mission Shakti‟.

India has entered its name as an elite space

power. An anti-satellite weapon ASAT,

successfully targeted a live satellite on a low

earth orbit (LEO), PM Mr. Modi said. The Prime

Minister also stated that shooting down a LEO

satellite is a rare achievement and was completed

successfully within three minutes of launch. The

mission was led by the Defence Research and

Development Organization (DRDO), aimed at

strengthening India‟s overall security. Mr. Modi

said that India‟s action was not directed against

any country or international laws or treaty.

Software & Telecom

With 1.5 billion users a month, Gmail turns

15: Google‟s email service Gmail that has nearly

1.5 billion monthly active users turned 15 on

April 1, 2019. Google is reportedly testing a set

of new inbox features like pinned messages,

reminders and category bundles for the new

Gmail for Android. Gmail started with an initial

storage capacity of one gigabyte per user on

April 1, 2004. Now, Gmail allows 15GB free

storage. Users can receive emails up to 50 MB in

size, including attachments, while they can send

emails up to 25 MB in Size. In order to send

larger files, users can insert files from Google

Drive into the message. A year after Gmail, the

company launched Google Maps which is now

the leading map service on the web. Google also

bought Android and YouTube, the biggest

mobile operating system and video-sharing site.

The company built the Chrome browser, which

replaced Microsoft‟s Internet Explorer as the

preferred choice of the end users.

Persons in News

Narendra Modi: Amidst the heat of an intense

election campaign, the good news for Prime

Minister Mr. Narendra Modi came from

overseas. The United Arab Emirates, or UAE,

announced on April 4, 2019, its decision to

confer the country‟s highest civil honour, the

“Order of Zayed” also known as Zayed Medal, to

Mr. Modi for the pivotal role he played in giving

a big boost to bilateral strategic ties. Coming in a

row after the Seoul Peace Prize a few months

ago, the Medal, that too from a Muslim nation,

reaffirms Indian Prime Minister‟s growing

international stature.

Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern: New Zealand

Prime Minister Ms. Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern

has been praised for her leadership in the wake of

the horror that gripped Christchurch following a

terrorist attack that killed 50 people. A gunman,

along with two associates, opened fire at two

mosques in the city on March 14, 2019 and

planted explosive devices in two vehicles, before

being arrested by police along with two

associates. Ms. Ardern‟s staunch rejection of the

“extremist ideology” behind the attacks, which

she said had “no place in New Zealand society”,

was applauded by those watching events unfold

from around the world.

Vice Admiral Karambir Singh: Vice Admiral

Karambir Singh was appointed the next Chief of

Naval Staff on March 23, 2019. He will succeed

Admiral Sunil Lanba who retires on May 31,

2019. At present, Vice Admiral Singh is serving

as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the

Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam. His

appointment was in news as he was made the

Chief of Naval Staff, superseding Vice Admiral

Bimal Verma, who heads the strategically

important Andaman and Nicobar Command.

Vice Admiral Singh will be the Navy‟s first

helicopter pilot to head the force.

Mukesh Ambani: Richest Indian Mr. Mukesh

Ambani jumped six positions to rank 13th on

Forbes World‟s Billionaire list released on



March 5, 2019. But he was in news for one more

reason as Mr. Ambani provided support to his

brother Mr. Anil Ambani and paid off his debt of

Rs. 5.5 billion on March 18, 2019, a day before

the Supreme Court‟s deadline. The debt was

owed to Swedish telecom equipment company

Ericsson and had been run up by Mr. Anil

Ambani‟s telecoms group Reliance

Communications. Mr. Anil Ambani thanked his

brother Mr. Mukesh Ambani and his wife Ms.

Nita for helping him repay the dues. The Ambani

brothers public feud over control of the Reliance

empire after their father‟s death in 2002 led to a

split in the conglomerate.

Saalumarada Thimmakka: Ms. Saalumarada

Thimmakka (107), the oldest Indian

environmentalist who has earned the nickname

of „Vriksha Mathe‟ (mother of trees) for planting

8,000 trees-including over 400 banyan trees-was

honoured with Padma Shri Award along with

other personalities at Rashtrapati Bhavan on

March 16, 2019. She was in news when Hon‟ble

President Mr. Ram Nath Kovind, 33 years

younger to Ms. Thimmakka, asked her to face

the camera after giving her the award, she

touched his forehead to bless him. Her move

brought a smile on the faces of the President,

Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi and all the

guests who applauded for her.

Azim Premji: Wipro Ltd. Chairperson Mr. Azim

Premji on March 13, 2019 gave away 34% of his

shares in the company, worth $7.5 billion (Rs.

52,750 crore) to charitable causes. With this

action, the total value of the philanthropic

endowment corpus contributed by Mr. Premji is

$21 billion (Rs. 1.45 lakh crore), which includes

67% of economic ownership of Wipro Ltd. This

money will go towards the Azim Premji

Foundation which works for largely

disadvantaged communities across the country.

Usman Tariq Khwaza: Australian cricketer

Usman Khawaja hit his maiden ODI hundred as

Australia clinched the third one-day international

against India by 32 runs in Ranchi on March 8,

2019. Khawaja again scored a ton in the fifth

ODI against India at Delhi‟s Feroz Shah Kotla

ground on March 13, 2019 helping Australia to

clinch the series. Khaweja was adjudged Man of

the Match in both the matches and also the Man

of the Series. He became the first Australian

cricketer to score two centuries in a series against

India and also became the first International

cricketer to score maximum runs (383) against

India on Indian soil in an ODI series.

Irfan Ramzan Sheikh: Irfan Ramzan Sheikh, a

16-year old Kashmiri teen who took on three

armed terrorists to fend off an attack on his

family received the Shaurya Chakra from

Hon‟ble President Mr. Ram Nath Kovind on

March 19, 2019. Sheikh was 14-year-old when

he fought terrorists and forced them to flee when

they attacked his residence in Shopian district of

J&K two years ago. Shaurya Chakra is usually

awarded to armed forces and para-military

personnel for “gallantry otherwise in the face of

the enemy”.

Abdul Aziz: Mr. Abdul Aziz, a 48-year-old

Afghan refugee, is being hailed as a hero for

chasing the Christchurch gunman out of the

Linwood Mosque in New Zealand on March 14,

2019 after the attacker opened fire. Mr. Aziz,

who was with his family, chased the attacker

outside with a credit card machine and grabbed

one of the man‟s guns before the attacker sped

off. Mr. Aziz‟s courage prevented more deaths as

he led the gunman in a cat-and-mouse chase

before scaring him into speeding away in his car.

CURRENT TOPICS: INDIA

Justice P.C. Ghose Becomes India‟s First

Lokpal: Six years after the law prescribing

constitution of the Lokpal, the anticorruption

ombudsman, was passed, India‟s first Lokpal

came into existence with all 9 members under the

chairmanship of former Supreme Court judge

Justice Mr. Pinaki Chandra Ghose took charge

on March 27, 2019. While Hon‟ble President Mr.

Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of office

to Justice Mr. Ghose, rest of the members, 4

judicial and 4 non-judicial, were administered the

oath of office by Justice Mr. Ghose himself. The

judicial members include Justice Mr. Dilip B.

Bhosale, Mr. Pradeep Kumar Mohanty, Ms.

Abhilasha Kumari and Mr. Ajay Kumar Tripathi

while the non-judicial members are Ms. Archana

Ramasundaram, Mr. Dinesh Kumar Jain, Mr.

Mahendra Singh and Mr. Indrajeet Prasad



Gautam. The Chairperson and members shall

hold office for a term of five years or till they

attain the age of 70 years.

ISRO Scores Many Firsts With The Launch

Of EMISAT: The Indian Space Research

Organization (ISRO) successfully launched the

EMISAT, an Indian satellite, along with 28 other

foreign satellites. ISRO‟s four-stage Polar

Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C45 blasted off

from the second launch pad at Satish Dhawan

Space Centre in Harikota at 9.27 A.M. on April

1, 2019. About 17 minutes into the launch, the

EMISAT, weighing 436 kg and around 50 metres

tall, was successfully placed in its orbit. The

launch used ISRO‟s third generation workhorse

PSLV which took its 47th flight.

During the initiative, all the other 28 customer

satellites, together weighing about 220 kg, were

also released by lowering the fourth stage to

around 504 km orbit. Again, the fourth stage was

reignited and further lowered to 485 km orbit to

serve as an orbital platform for carrying out

space borne experimentations for the first time in

ISRO‟s history. This is also the first time that it

has been envisaged to provide a micro-gravity

environment for research organizations and

academic institutes to perform experiments.

India Puts On Hold Meeting With Pakistan

On Kartarpur Corridor: India raised strong

objections over the presence of Khalistani

separatists in a Committee formed by Pakistan

government on Kartarpur Corridor and put on

hold a meeting, slated for April 2, 2019, between

both the countries till a satisfactory answer is

received over its objections from the other side.

The Ministry of External Affairs, on March 29,

2019, summoned the Pakistan Deputy High

Commissioner and registered its strong protest

over inclusion of two Khalistani separatists,

namely Bhishen Singh and Gopal Singh Chawla,

who is also known to be close to the LeT chief

Hafiz Saeed, in the 10-member committee after

the list was officially provided by Pakistan.

Questioning Pakistan‟s “intentions”, India also

said that the proposed Gurudwara Kartarpur

Sahib Corridor “Should not be used for anti-India

propaganda” and Pakistan must clearly show that

how it would like to bridge the “substantive

gaps” between the two countries on pilgrims

movement to the shrine.

Pramod Sawant Takes Oath As New Chief

Minister Of Goa: Mr. Pramod Sawant, former

Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly and

Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Sankhelim in

north Goa, is the new Chief Minister of Goa. He

was sworn in as the 11th Chief Minister of Goa,

succeeding Mr. Manohar Parrikar, who died after

a prolonged battle with advanced pancreatic

cancer. Mr. Sawant was administered the oath of

office and secrecy at the Raj Bhavan by

Governor Ms. Mridula Sinha at 1.45 AM on

March 19, 2019. Along with him, Mr. Sudin

Ramkrishna Dhavalikar (later dropped) of the

Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and

Mr. Vijai Sardesai of the Goa Forward Party

(GFP) were sworn in as Deputy Chief Ministers.

The entire cabinet of the late Manohar Parikkar

has been retained.

Centre Allows States To Put Enemy

Properties To „Public Use‟: The Centre has

allowed the State government to put to “public

use” some enemy properties that were left behind

by people who migrated to Pakistan since the

Partition and to China after the 1962 Sino-Indian

war. The move comes amid the Central

Government‟s efforts to sell more than 9,400

enemy properties, worth over Rs. 1 lakh crore,

and Rs. 3,000 crore worth of enemy shares, a

government official said on March 11, 2019. The

guidelines for disposal of the Enemy Property

Order, 2018, has been amended to facilitate

“usages of enemy property by the State

government exclusively for public use”.

Enemy properties are those properties that were

left behind by the people who took citizenship of

Pakistan and China. There are 9,280 such

properties left behind by Pakistani nationals and

126 by Chinese nationals. Of the total properties

left behind by those who took Pakistani

citizenship, 4,991 are located in Uttar Pradesh,

the highest in the country. West Bengal has

2,735 such estates and Delhi 487. The highest

number of properties left by Chinese nationals is

in Meghalaya (57), while West Bengal has 29

such properties and Assam 7. “The estimated

value of all enemy properties is approximately

Rs. 1 lakh crore”, Union Minister of State for

Home Mr. Hansraj Gangaram Ahir had told the

Rajya Sabha in 2018.

Elections For The 17th Lok Sabha To Be Held

In 7 Phases: Elections for the 17th Lok Sabha



will be held in 7 phases beginning with the first

phase on April 11 and ending with the last phase

on May 19, 2019. Results will be announced on

May 23, 2019 after counting of votes. People in

17 States will cast their votes on a single day

while three States namely Uttar Pradesh, Bihar

and West Bengal will go through polling on all

seven phases. One single constituency –

Anantnag in Jammu & Kashmir – would vote in

three phases due to security reasons. Elections

for four State Assemblies – Andhra Pradesh,

Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim – will

also be held simultaneously with respective Lok

Sabha polls. Election process is scheduled to be

completed by May 27, 2019. Chief Election

Commissioner Mr. Sunil Arora announced the

elaborate election schedule on March 10, 2019 in

a press conference. The model code of conduct,

which bars the government to announce any

policy move that may influence voter‟s decision,

came into effect immediately after announcement

of the election schedule.

Prime Minister Unveils One Nation One

Card: The Central Government launched

National Common Mobility Card (NCMC)

dubbed as „One Nation One card‟. The inter-

operable transport card would allow the holders

to pay for their bus travel, toll taxes, parking

charges, retail shopping and even withdraw

money from the ATMs. Prime Minister Mr.

Narendra Modi, launching the card while

inaugurating first phase of the metro train

services in Ahmedabad on March 4, 2019, said

that “this card runs on RuPay card and it will

eliminate all travel related problems. Many a

time, we do not have change to pay in cash while

travelling in metro, bus or train, or for toll and

parking. To overcome this issue, an automatic

fare collection system was introduced. Our

dream of „One Nation One Card‟ has been

realised. With the advent of this indigenously

developed and one-of-its-kind card, the country

is no longer required to be dependent on foreign

technology. Now we have this Made in India

card while only a select few countries in the

world have this technology of NCMC”.

Indore Bags The Cleanest City Award For

Third Year In A Row: Indore in Madhya

Pradesh has been adjudged as the cleanest city of

India for the third straight year in the Central

Government‟s cleanliness survey. The second

and third positions in the category were grabbed

by Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh and Mysore in

Karnataka. Two other cities from Madhya

Pradesh – Ujjain and Dewas- have secured 4th

and 10th spots respectively in the top 10 cleanest

cities in the country. Two cities from Gujarat –

Ahmedabad (6th) and Rajkot (9th) – have found

place in top 10. The 5th place has gone to New

Delhi Municipal Council area while 7th and 8th

spots have been secured by Navi Mumbai in

Maharashtra and Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh

respectively. The Swachh Survekshan Awards

2019 were conferred by the Hon‟ble President

Mr. Ram Nath Kovind at a ceremony in New

Delhi on March 6, 2019.

While Chhattisgarh has been adjudged as the

Best Performing State in the cleanliness drive,

Jharkhand and Maharashtra have secured second

and third spots respectively. Among the State/UT

capitals, after Bhopal at the No. 1 spot, Chennai,

the capital of Tamil Nadu, and Ranchi, the

capital of Jharkhand, have secured second and

third spot respectively. While Gauchar in

Uttarakhand has been adjudged the „Best Ganga

Town‟, the „Cleanest Big City‟ award has been

bagged by Ahmedabad and Raipur is the „Fastest

Moving Big City‟. In the category of 1 lakh plus

population cities, Dewas in Madhya Pradesh has

registered the highest progress to make a jump

from 68th position in 2018 to 10th in 2019.

Rajkot has taken the second spot, registering the

highest progress from 35th spot in 2018 to 9th in

2019 Survey, while Ambikapur has registered the

third highest jump from 11th position in 2018 to

2nd in 2019.

The Supreme Court Appoints Mediation

Panel On Ayodhya Dispute: The Supreme court

referred the Ayodhya land dispute for mediation

under its own watch and appointed a 3-member

committee to mediate and find a permanent

solution to the 70-year title suit. Former judge of

the apex court Justice F.M. Ibrahim kalifulla has

been appointed the Chairman of the mediation

committee which has Mr. Sri Sri Ravishankar,

spiritual guru and founder of Art of Living, and

Mr. Sriram Panchu, senior advocate and expert

on mediation, as members. The mediators have

the liberty to co-opt more members to the panel.

They can also seek further legal assistance as and

when required. The committee has to sit in

Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, itself where the land is

situated, and complete the task assigned to it



within eight weeks. In four weeks of the

mediation, the committee has to give a report to

the apex court appraising it of the progress. This

is the first time when mediation is being

attempted to in the Ayodhya dispute through a

legal procedure under the monitoring of the

court. Earlier, though, there had been a number

of attempts towards meditation at social and

political level, they never succeeded.

CURRENT TOPICS: WORLD

US Approves Sale Of 24 MH-60 Romeo

Seahawk Helicopters To India: The US has

approved the sale of 24 multi-role MH-60

„Romeo‟ Seahawk helicopters to India at an

estimated cost of $2.4 billion. The Trump

Administration, on April 1, 2019, notified the

Congress that it has approved sale of 24 MH-60R

multi-mission helicopters, which will provide the

Indian defence forces the capability to perform

anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare

missions. In its notification, the State Department

told the Congress that the proposed sale will

support the foreign policy and national security

of the US by helping to strengthen the US-Indian

strategic relationship. The sale of helicopters will

improve the security of a major defensive partner

which continues to be an important force for

political stability, peace and economic progress

in the Indo-Pacific and South Asia region, it said.

The Last Bastion Of IS In Syria Falls To US-

Backed Syrian Forces: The last bastion of the

dreaded terrorist organization, the Islamic State

(IS), has fallen to the US-backed Syrian forces

on the banks of Euphrates river near the village

of Baghouz in Eastern part of Syria. Syrian

Democratic Forces (SDF) waved their yellow

flag in Baghouz and announced elimination of

five-year-old rule of a self-proclaimed

“caliphate”. Though, the threat of the jihadists

remains as their sleeper cells are still present

around the world.

Italy Becomes First G-7 Nation To Join

China‟s BRI: Southern European country Italy,

officially the Italian Republic, has become first

member nation of the G-7, the Group of Seven

major economies of the world, to join China‟s

ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Under

the joint initiative, China will help Italy rebuild

its ports located in the middle of the

Mediterranean Sea. A memorandum of

understanding (MoU) was signed in this regard

between the two countries during the visit of

Chinese President, Mr. Xi Jinping to Rome, the

capital city of Italy, on March 23, 2019. With the

MoU, Italy hopes that Chinese investment in its

ports will help to revive the country‟s sagging

economy, in turn China gains crucial inroads in

Europe with Italy‟s involvement in its

controversial initiatives. Italy decided to go

ahead with the deal ignoring the US warnings

and EU worries with regard to China‟s growing

interference in Europe.

Italy has decided to join the BRI at a time when

China and the US are engaged in a trade war.

The US had urged Italy not to “lend legitimacy”

to China‟s “infrastructure vanity project”, an

obvious reference to the BRI, which Italy has

chosen to ignore. The European Union allies also

fear that the Italy‟s closer ties with Beijing could

see China gain access to sensitive technologies

and critical transport hubs in Europe.

Slovaks Elect Ms. Zuzana Caputova As First

Woman President: Ms. Zuzana Caputova, a

liberal environmental activist and a political

newcomer, was elected the first female President

of Slovakia, riding to victory on a wave of Public

outrage against corruption in government. With

58.4% of the votes, according to a final tally of

election results announced on March 31, 2019,

Ms. Caputova edged out her ruling party rival

Mr. Maros Sefcovic, a diplomat backed by the

country‟s governing Smer-Social Democracy

Party, who could secure only 41.6% votes. Mr.

Sefcovic is also the Vice-President of European

Commission. Ms. Caputova will be the fifth

President of Slovakia since the country gained

Independence in 1993. She will be sworn in on

June 15, 2019 when the current President, Mr.

Andrej Kiska, completes his term of office.

Maldives Reiterates Its Commitment To

“India First” Policy: The Maldives reiterated its

commitment to “India First” Policy as the two

countries signed three agreements covering

cooperation in areas such as community

development projects and renewable energy. The

Indian Ocean Archipelago reaffirmed its

commitment towards India during the two-day



Maldives visit by External Affairs Minister Ms.

Sushma Swaraj, on March 17-18, 2019. A joint

statement issued at the end of the visit quoted her

Maldivian counterpart Mr. Abdulla Shahid as

saying that his government will remain sensitive

towards India‟s security and strategic concerns

and work closely with India on all issues. Ms.

Swaraj, on her part, said that India stands ready

to fully support Maldives in its social-economic

development in line with the “neighbourhood

first” policy of the country.

US President Signs Decree Recognising Israeli

Sovereignty Over Golan Heights: The US

President, Mr. Donald Trump, signed a decree

which recognized Israel‟s sovereignty over the

Golan Heights, territory that Israel seized from

Syria in the 1967 Middle East war. Israeli Prime

Minister Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu was present

by Mr. Trump‟s side on March 25, 2019 in

Washington, when he signed the proclamation

saying the United States recognizes Israeli

sovereignty over the Golan Heights. The move

came just a fortnight ahead of a closely contested

election, on April 9, that Mr. Netanyahu faces in

his country. Israel annexed the Golan Heights in

1981 from Syria, in a move that is not recognized

internationally. Syria termed Mr. Trump‟s

decision “a blatant attack on its sovereignty” and

vowed to recover the area through all available

means. A spokesman for United Nations

Secretary General Mr. Antonio Guterres said that

he was “clear that the Status of Golan Heights

has not changed”. For decades, Washington took

the same line as the UN, but on March 21, 2019,

Mr. Trump announced, in a tweet, his plan to

overturn decades of US policy.

India Slips To 140th Rank In UN Happiness

Index: Indians are not as happy as they were in

the previous year of 2018. India has further

slipped down by 7 places in comparison to their

ranking last year in the World Happiness Index

Report 2019. India falls in the bottom half,

ranking at the 140th spot of the 156 countries in

the list. The country is way behind Pakistan,

China, and also trails to Bangladesh. Finland

tops the chart for the second year in succession to

remain the happiest country in the world. The

Nordic country is followed by Denmark,

Norway, Iceland and the Netherland to complete

the top 5 happiest nations. The 7th World

Happiness Index Report, which ranks 156

countries of the world on “how happy their

citizens perceive themselves to be”, was released

by the Sustainable Development Solutions

Network for the United Nations on March 20,

2019.

UK Launches New International Education

Strategy Benefitting Indian Students: In a

move that may benefit Indian students in

particular, the United Kingdom government is set

to allow foreign undergraduate and Masters‟

students the chance to stay in the country to look

for work for six months after completion of their

degrees. The new improved post-study visa

regime has been announced as part of a new

“International Education Strategy” launched by

the UK government on March 16, 2019 in

preparing for its post-Brexit policies. The

strategy is aimed at increasing the total number

of international students from around the world

choosing to study in the UK higher education

system from the current level of 4,60,000 to

6,00,000 each year by 2030. Indian students, who

account for a major chunk of application from

outside the European Union (EU) after China,

are believed to be particularly sensitive to the

post-study work option of being able to gain

work experience following their degree courses

at UK universities.

Under the plans, undergraduate and Master‟s

students will also have three months before

graduating, during which they can find work and

change from a study visa to a work visa. At

present, the process to switch from a student to

work visa while in the UK is extremely complex.

Besides, Ph.D. students will be able to stay in the

UK for up to an year to find work after

graduating. Additionally, international graduates

will be given two years after graduating, during

which they can apply to switch their UK study

visa to a UK work visa from outside the UK.

“During the post-study leave period, students

will have unrestricted access to work”, the

strategy paper notes.

Terrorist Attack On Two New Zealand

Mosques Leaves 50 Dead: At least 50 people

were killed in shootings at two mosques in the

New Zealand city of Christchurch, on March

15, 2019, in what appeared to be a carefully

planned “terrorist” attack that included a

lengthy anti-immigrant manifesto and live

streaming of the carnage. More than 48 people,



including seven Indians, were seriously

wounded in the racist rampage. Most of the

affected people were immigrants or refugees,

particularly Muslims. One person, a self-

proclaimed white racist who described himself

as a 28-year-old Australian, named as Brenton

Tarrant, was arrested and charged with murder

while three others were detained in what Prime

Minister Ms. Jacinda Ardern called “one of

New Zealand‟s darkest days”. “It is clear that

this can now only be described as a terrorist

attack; it is an abnormal event of unprecedented

violence; this has no place in New Zealand; it

has effected many members of immigrant

communities, New Zealand is their home, they

are ours”, Ms. Ardern said.

Us To Help Build Six Nuclear Power Plants In

India: In a major boost to non-fossil fuel

energy projects, India and the US agreed to

build six nuclear power plants in India. The

agreement came following talks in Washington

between visiting Indian Foreign Secretary Mr.

Vijay Gokhale and Ms. Andrea Thompson, the

US Under-Secretary of State for Arms Control

and International Security.

“They committed to strengthen bilateral security

and civil nuclear cooperation, including the

establishment of six US nuclear power plants in

India”, the joint statement issued after 9th round

of Indo-US strategic security dialogue on March

13, 2019 said, without specifying further details.

The dialogue saw both the countries committing

themselves to stop the proliferation of weapons

of mass massacre and not let them fall into the

hands of non-state actors. The announcement to

build six nuclear plants has opened up many

possibilities.

China Blocks Fourth Attempt To Ban JeM

Chief Masood Azhar: China has once again

blocked a bid to designate terrorist organization

Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar

as a global terrorist by United Nations Security

Council (UNSC). This was the fourth time in last

10 years when China, a veto-wielding member of

the UNSC, decided to put its might with

Pakistan-based terrorist, ignoring overwhelming

world opinion. On March 13, 2019, when most

of the member countries of 15-member UNSC

were in favour of the proposal against JeM chief,

China at the last moment blocked it. India

expressed its disappointment and maintained that

it will continue to pursue all available avenues to

ensure that terrorist leaders who are involved in

heinous attacks on Indian citizens are brought to

justice. In an equally harsh reaction, the US said,

“China‟s opposition to designate Masood Azhar

as international terrorist runs counter to the

mutual goal of achieving regional peace and

stability that the US and China share”.

The Proposal to designate Masood Azhar a

global terrorist was first brought in the UNSC in

2009 after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. China

has used its veto power to stymie the proposal in

2016, 2017 and 2018 too. Once declared as a

global terrorist by the UNSC, Azhar would not

be able to travel to different countries, all his

properties world over would be confiscated, no

member country of the UN, including Pakistan,

would be able to provide him any assistance,

shelter and weaponry without inviting sanctions

of the world body.

China Hikes Defence Budget By 7.5% To

$177.61 Billion: China, the world‟s second

largest military spender after the US, announced

a 7.5% increase in its defence budget for the year

2019, hiking it to a whopping $177.61 billion,

over three times that of India. China, which

increased its defence budget in double digits till

2015, has been lowering to single digit hikes

since 2016. China‟s budgeted defence spending

growth rate stood at 7.6% in 2016, 7% in 2017

and 8.1% in 2018. With this year‟s increase,

China‟s defence spending moved closer to the

$200 billion mark, making it the highest spender

on defence after the United States.

Static GK Capsule

Indian Polity and Constitution

The Vice-President of India shall be ex-officio

chairman of the Council of States (Rajya

Sabha) under – Article 89 (1)

Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is three-fold –

1. Original, 2. Appellate and, 3. Advisory

Which Article of the Constitution of India says

that the Prime Minister shall be appointed by

the President of India? – Article 75 (1)

Article 371-A of the Indian Constitution makes

special provision for the state of – Nagaland



Which Article deals with the special provision

with respect to the State of Sikkim? – Article

371 (F)

The feature of „advisory jurisdiction of the

Supreme Court has been borrowed from the

Constitution of – Canada

Which part of Indian Constitution envisages a

three-tier system of Panchayati Raj? – Part IX

The Prime Minister is the channel of

communication between the – Council of

Ministers and the President

The veto power of the President of India is a

combination of – the absolute, suspensive and

pocket vetoes

The impeachment of the President of India is a –

Quasi judicial procedure

Indian National Movement

Which great freedom figher was referred to as

„Bacha Khan‟ and „Badshah Khan‟? – Khan

Abdul Gaffar Khan

Who was the author of „History of British India‟?

– James Mill

Under which Act were the Muslims provided

separate electorates in British India? – Minto-

Morley Reforms, 1909

Where did the famous „Indigo Revolt‟ take

place? – Bengal

Who was associated with the newspaper,

„Mooknayak‟? – Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

„Abhinav Bharat‟ founded in 1904 was a –

Secret organization of revolutionary activities

„Soz-e Watan‟, a short story collection by an

Indian writer was banned by the British

government for its anti-British content. „Soz-e-

watan‟ was written by – Munshi Premchand

Who was the British Governor-General in India

when the Champaran Satyagraha took place? –

Lord Chelmsford

Gandhiji‟s Champaran Movement was for –

Solving the problems of Indigo workers

Who was the British Governor-General in India

at the time of Gandhiji‟s historic „Dandi March‟?

– Lord Irwin

History and Culture of India

Which Rock Edict of Asoka mentions the

Kalinga war? – Rock Edict XIII

Raja Rajeshwara temple at Tanjore is the finest

example – The Chola architecture

Mahatma Buddha‟s renunciation of his family

and home in search of truth is called –

Mahabhinshkraman

English traveller William Hawkins visited India

during the time of Mughal emperor – Jahangir

King Krishnadevaraya of the Vijaynagar empire

was a contemporary of – Babur

Who is the author of the books „Tughlaqnama‟

and „Khazain-ul-Futuh‟? – Amir Khusrau

Who was the founder of the Young Bengal

Movement in Calcutta (Now Kolkata)? – Henry

Vivien Derozio

Which was the first newspaper published in India

– Bengal Gazette

„Razmnama‟ was the name of the Persian

translation of – Mahabharata

Which Portuguese governor in India introduced

„The Policy of Blue Water‟? – Almeida

Geography (India and the World)

The voseges mountain ranges separate France

from – Germany

The Sub-tropical high pressure belt is the source

for the – Trade winds

Convectional rainfall occurs through thick, dark

and extensive – Cumulonimbus clouds

Indian monsoon is the best example of –

orographic rainfall

Amarkantak is the place of origin of rivers –

Sone, Narmada and Mahanadi

„Purna‟ is the most important tributary of the

river – Tapti

Paradip, Tuticorin and Port Blair ports of India

are located in – The Bay of Bengal

The term „Cold Wall‟ is associated with – Gulf

Stream

Chorographical map is also known as – Atlas

Map

Landform map is also known as –

Morphographic map

Science & Technology

The unit of electrical resistance of a conductor is

– ohm

When beams of red, blue and green lights fall on

the same spot, the colour of the light becomes –

White

Which organ of the human body does the

Alzheimer‟s disease affect? – Brain



Nucleus of helium contains – Two protons and

two neutrons

The branch of Physics that deals with the motion

of a very small particle is called – Quantum

Mechanics

An accurate ammeter must have a resistance of –

Very low value

Colour vision in human eyes is the function of

photoreceptor cells named – Cones

Clove is obtained from – Flower bud

The concept of expanding universe is based on –

Doppler effect

A spinning neutron star is known as – Pulsar

Latest in Sports

BADMINTON

Sai Praneeth loses in final of Swiss Open:

India‟s Sai Praneeth fell short of creating history

after losing in the finals of Men‟s singles in the

Swiss Open Badminton Tournament. Sai

Praneeth who had upset World No. 5 and

Olympic champion Chen Long in the semi-final,

lost to Shi Yuqi of China. Winners of the Swiss

Open Badminton Tournament 2019.

Men‟s Singles: Shi Yuqi (China)

Women‟s Singles: Chen Yufei (China)

Men‟s Doubles: Fajar Alfian and Muhammad

Rian Ardianto (Indonesia)

Women‟s Doubles: Mathias Bay Smidt and

Rikke Soby Hansen (Denmark)

Kento Momota wins historic first All England

Open title: World No. 1 Kento Momota became

the first Japanese man to win the All England

Open badminton championships when he beat

Denmark‟s Viktor Axelsen 2-1 in the men‟s

singles final. Momota, the reigning world

champion and Asian champion, was stretched to

three games by the 2017 world champion at the

Arena Birmingham but prevailed 21-11, 15-21,

21-15 in badminton‟s oldest tournament.

Momota lost four straight points at the start of

the third-game decider in which he was forced to

play defensively, but held his nerve and started

exerting better control and hitting a flurry of

close-range hairpin net shots after the score line

reached 9-9.

The 24-year-old Japanese took a 12-11 lead and

then won seven straight points en route to

victory. The win was the first for Japan in the All

England men‟s singles since the country‟s first

player competed in 1963.

BOXING

38th GeeBee Boxing Tournament: The 38th

GeeBee Boxing Tournament was held at

Helsinki, Finland. The Indian medal winners

from the tournament are listed below: The lone

gold medal for India was won by Kavinder Singh

Bisht. He won against Indian counterpart

Mohammed Hussamuddin in summit clash in the

56kg category. Mohammed Hussamuddin settled

for silver. Other Silver medals for India were

won by Govind Kumar Sahani (49kg), Shiva

Thapa (60kg) and Dinesh Dagar (69kg). Bronze

Medalists were Sachin Siwach (52kg), Sumit

Sangwan (91kg) and Naveen Kumar (+91kg)

after their respective semi-final loss. India signed

off from the 38th GeeBee Boxing Tournament

with one gold, four silver and three bronze

medals.

CRICKET

Cricket set for Asian Games return in 2022:

Cricket is set for a return at the Asian Games

after the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) on

March 3, 2019 included it in the sports

programme for the 2022 edition in Hangzhou.

The decision was taken at the OCA‟s General

Assembly in Bangkok.

Cricket was dropped from the 2018 Asian Games

in Indonesia after featuring in 2010 and 2014,

albeit without the presence of game‟s

powerhouse India. India opted out of the

quadrennial event owing to the team‟s congested

scheduling.

In all probability, the T20 format will be played

at the Asian Games, like it happened during the

2010 and 2014 edition in Guangzhou and

Incheon respectively.

Delhi Capitals appoint Sourav Ganguly as

advisor: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly

was on March 14, 2019 appointed advisor of

Delhi Capitals for the upcoming edition of Indian

Premier League (IPL). In his new role, Ganguly



will work closely with the team‟s head coach

Ricky Ponting.

Sourav is one of the most astute minds in world

cricket. A lot of what we see in Indian cricket

today was born because of Sourav. His

aggression, positivity and never say die attitude

are traits we want the Delhi Capitals team to

imbibe. It is truly an honour that Sourav has

chosen Delhi as his IPL team.

Australia beat India by 35 runs to win fifth

ODI and series: Australia scripted a memorable

ODI series victory against India after winning the

fifth match in Delhi on March 13, 2019. The

visitors, who had gone down 0-2 earlier,

managed to win their third successive ODI to

seal the series 3-2. Australia rode on a fine

century by Usman Khawaja to post 272/9. In

reply, India‟s middle-order disappointed once

again. Usman Khawaja was declared Player of

the Tournament.

JP Duminy to retire from ODIs after ICC

World Cup 2019: South African all-rounder JP

Duminy announced that he would retire from

ODIs after the ICC World Cup in England.

Duminy will, however continue to be available

for South Africa in T20 Internationals. Duminy,

who announced his retirement from Test and first

class cricket in 2017, said “the time is right” to

close this chapter of his international career.

Duminy said “I have been privileged to live out

my dream playing a sport I love, and I am

forever grateful for the support I have received

from my team mates, coaches, family, friends

and fans throughout the years.

FORMULA ONE

Valtteri Bottas dominates Australian Grand

Prix to win Formula One opener: Valtteri

Bottas capitalized on a late pitstop to upset his

world champion team mate Lewis Hamilton and

clinch the season opening Australian Formula

One Grand Prix for Mercedes in Melbourne on

March 17, 2019. Starting second behind pole-

sitter Hamilton, Bottas got the jump on the

Briton during a typically messy start at Albert

Park and ended up cruising to his fourth win by

some 20.80 seconds after delaying a tyre-change.

MISCELLANEOUS

Oceania nations, including Australia, to

compete at 2022 Asian Games: Oceania

nations, including sporting powerhouse

Australia, have been invited to compete in

Olympic team events such as football and

basketball at the 2022 Asian Games for the first

time. The decision came at a meeting of the

Olympic Council of Asia in Bangkok late on

Sunday, with Australia welcoming the move as

“a very positive outcome”.

The invitation to the Games in China‟s

Hangzhou is limited to volleyball, beach

volleyball, basketball and football and fencing,

ruling out sports such as swimming and track

cycling which Australia would be expected to

dominate. It culminates a long Australian-led

drive for stronger ties with the Olympic Council

of Asia.

2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games

held at Abu Dhabi: The 2019 Special Olympics

World Summer Games was a multi-sport event

for athletes with intellectual disabilities in the

tradition of the Special Olympics movement. It

was held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

from March 14-21, 2019. ESPN offered

international coverage of the games. Opening

ceremony was held at Zayed Sports City Stadium

which also held the FIFA Club World Cup with

Real Madrid and AFC Asian Cup with Qatar.

The closing ceremony took place on 21 March

2019 at the Zayed Sports City Stadium where the

Special Olympics flag was handed over from

Abu Dhabi to Are/Ostersund, Jamtland County,

Sweden as the hosts of the 2021 Special

Olympics World Winter Games.

India bags 188 medals at Special Olympics; PCB pays compensation to BCCI: India has so

far won a total of 188 medals at the Special

Olympics World Games, which is being held in

UAE‟s capital city Abu Dhabi. India‟s medal

tally comprises 50 gold, 63 silver and 75 bronze

medals.

Held in West Asia for the first time, 7,500

athletes from 190 countries across the world are

taking part in the 15th edition of the Games,

which boasts of 24 Olympic-style sporting

events. Team India is the second largest

contingent after the host UAE with 378 athletes.



Indian Paddlers create history! Indian paddlers

have made history in table tennis by clinching

four gold medals and one silver medal.

While in the women‟s singles event, India‟s Anu

Chennekota‟s won her maiden Special Olympics

World Games gold in the 16-21 years‟ division-3

category, another Indian Sabita Yadav won a

singles gold in division-4 category and Reshma

Shaikh claimed silver following a narrow loss to

Sabita in the final.

In the men‟s event, Karnataka‟s Sandesh Krishna

and Maharashtra‟s Akash Tukuram clinched gold

in men‟s singles in different divisions of the 18-

21 years‟ category.

India to host FIFA U-17 Women‟s World Cup

2020: Gianni Infantino, the President of

International Football Federation (FIFA), on

March 15, 2019 announced that India will host

the U-17 Women‟s World Cup in 2020. The

2020 World Cup will be the seventh edition of

the U-17 Women‟s tournament. The

announcement was made during the FIFA

Council meeting in Miami, USA.

Current Affairs MCQs

1. India lost to which country in the 2019 Sultan

Azlan Shah Hockey tournament?

(a) Japan (b) Indonesia

(c) South Korea (d) China

2. Recently, how many varieties of Indian coffee

have been awarded GI tag that will enhance its

visibility globally?

(a) 3 (b) 5 (c) 7 (d) 8

3. The 12th Asian Airgun Championships held

in which city?

(a) Beijing (b) Tokyo

(c) Taipei (d) New Delhi

4. Which company launched two new India

specific tools „Candidate Connect‟ and „Share

you Voted?

(a) Google (b) WhatsApp

(c) Facebook (d) PayTm

5. Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba

commissioned a state-of-the-art „Nuclear,

Biological, Chemical Training Facility-

ABHEDYA‟ in which State?

(a) Maharashtra (b) Andhra Pradesh

(c) Uttar Pradesh (d) Odisha

6. Which company launches Bharat

Consumption Scheme?

(a) IDBI Federal (b) HDFC Ergo

(c) Reliance (d) ICICI Prudential

7. Who was elected as President of Comoros?

(a) Azali Assoumani (b) Yoweri Museveni

(c) Idi Amin (d) Mohammad Abdel Fateh

8. Who received Croatia‟s highest civilian

honor, the Grand Order of the king of Tomislav?

(a) Arun Jaitley (b) Narendra Modi

(c) Sumitra Mahajan (d) Ram Nath Kovind

9. Recently, writer Ashita passed away. She was

the writer of which language?

(a) Tamil (b) Hindi

(c) Bengali (d) Malayalam

10. The Mumbai based company Linkus

Infratech has launched a hyper-local connectivity

app called „Bhonga‟ in which city?

(a) Mumbai (b) Pune

(c) Chennai (d) New Delhi

11. Who was appointed as Goa‟s new Deputy

Chief Minister?

(a) Rahul Dev (b) Kamal Nath

(c) Vijay Sardesai (d) Manohar Ajgaonkar

12. What is the rank of India on a global energy

transition index compiled by World Economic

forum (WEF)?

(a) 75th (b) 76th

(c) 77th (d) 78th

13. In which city/UT, NITI Aayog organized a

day-long FinTech Conclave?

(a) Pune (b) Bengaluru

(c) New Delhi (d) Mumbai

14. A yarn bank has been set-up in which city to

benefit the State‟s weavers?

(a) Nashik (b) Nagpur

(c) Pune (d) Mysore

15. Who won the Sportsperson of the year award

at the Telangana Sports Journalist Association

awards held at the Park?



(a) Sania Mirza (b) Virat Kohli

(c) KL Rahul (d) Saina Nehwal

16. Who has been appointed as the mediator to

resolve dispute of cricket administration in

BCCI?

(a) SA Bobde (b) AM Spare

(c) DK Jain (d) PS Narasimha

17. Who is the newly appointed Chairman of life

LIC?

(a) MR Kumar (b) R. Chandrasekaran

(c) Hemant Bhargava (d) Subhash Chandra Garg

18. The „Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided

Missile (MPATGM)‟ has been developed by

(a) ISRO (b) BARC (c) DRDO (d) CSIR

19. „Sirsi Supari‟ which has obtained the GI tag

is a cultivation of which State in India?

(a) Goa (b) Jammu & Kashmir

(c) Sikkim (d) Karnataka

20. Which company was announced as official

sponsor for the upcoming men‟s cricket World

Cup 2019?

(a) DLF (b) Vivo

(c) PepsiCo (d) GoDaddy

21. Who has been appointed as the new

chairman of the Agricultural Scientific

Recruitment Board?

(a) SN Rao (b) Pranab Kumar Verma

(c) Aditya Kumar Mishra (d) Arnav Sen Dixit

22. What was the rank secured by India‟s

Kidambi Srikanth in the men‟s singles list in the

latest BWF world ranking?

(a) 4th (b) 5th

(c) 8th (d) 16th

23. With which among the following countries

has India signed a deal to lease nuclear-powered

attack submarine Chakra III?

(a) The USA (b) France

(c) Russia (d) Germany

24. What is the name of the newly appointed

Chief Scientist of the World Health Organization

(WHO)?

(a) Eesha Karavada (b) Balram Bhargava

(c) Padmini Rout (d) Soumya Swaminathan

25. Which State has launched the Atal Aahar

Yojana to provide food at subsidized rate to the

construction workers?

(a) Rajasthan (b) Uttar Pradesh

(c) Maharashtra (d) Andhra Pradesh

26. Who among the following has been

appointed as the new Goodwill Ambassador of

the UNDP?

(a) Anushka Sharma (b) Padma Lakshmi

(c) Hilaria Baldwin (d) Shanina Shaik

27. Prime Minister Narendra Modi renamed

Chennai Central Railway Station after which of

the following leader?

(a) J. Jayalalitha (b) Atal Bihari Vajpayee

(c) MG Ramachandran(d) Karunanidhi

28. French Space Agency CNES and ISRO

signed an agreement in Bengaluru, to develop

which of the following system?

(a) ISRO Inertial System

(b) National Remote Sensing System

(c) Laboratory for Electro-Optics Systems

(LEOS)

(d) Space-based maritime surveillance system

29. Which of the following state government

launched Yuvashree Arpan scheme for

financially assisting young entrepreneurs with

Rs. 1 lakh?

(a) Odisha (b) Maharashtra

(c) Andhra Pradesh (d) West Bengal

30. OECD forecast the global economy growth

rate to ……. in 2019?

(a) 3.3% (b) 3.5% (c) 3.7% (d) 3.9%

31. Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan resigns

from his post. He was the Governor of

(a) Mizoram (b) Meghalaya

(c) Himachal Pradesh (d) Tamil Nadu

32. Which organization created a new Guinness

World Record for the longest single moving line

bicycle parade?

(a) CISF (b) WRAG

(c) SEBI (d) IPCL

33. Which programme PM Narendar Modi

launched to ensure seamless travel across the

country?

(a) National Nation Card



(b) Bharat Card

(c) One Nation, One Card

(d) Common Mobility Card

34. Who has been re-appointed as the chairman

of the ICC Cricket Committee?

(a) VVS Laxman (b) Rahul Dravid

(c) Sourav Ganguly (d) Anil Kumble

35. What is the name of the country that hosted

the 2019 North Korea-United States Hanoi

Summit?

(a) United States (b) North Korea

(c) Singapore (d) Vietnam

36. „Sampriti 2019‟ is a joint military exercise

between which of the following countries?

(a) India and Bangladesh (b) India and USA

(c) India and Russia (d) India and Singapore

37. Which city/UT has topped the list of most

polluted cities according to study conducted by

environment NGO Greenspace India?

(a) Kanpur (b) Gurugram

(c) Delhi (d) Lucknow

38. The „Mukhya Mantri Karigar Sahayata‟

scheme for craftsmen has been launched by

which State?

(a) Gujarat (b) Uttar Pradesh

(c) Odisha (d) Rajasthan

39. The first monorail system in India has been

inaugurated in which city?

(a) Bengaluru (b) Mumbai

(c) Kolkata (d) New Delhi

40. The SAUNI water scheme project has been

launched in which States by PM Modi?

(a) Karnataka (b) Tamil Nadu

(c) Uttar Pradesh (d) Gujarat

41. Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated

the 61 km smart fencing project BOLD-QIT

along the borders of which country?

(a) Indo-Pakistan (b) Indo-Bangladesh

(c) Indo-Nepal (d) Indo-Myanmar

42. Which bank has launched doorstep banking

service for senior citizens over 70 years of age

and differently-abeld customers?

(a) BOB (b) SBI (c) IDBI (d) PNB

43. Who has been selected for prestigious

„Kusumagraj‟ national award for literature?

(a) Ved Rahi (b)VV Nath

(c) SS Jain Nath (d) VV Shirwadkar

44. Which team won the Bombay Gold Cup

Hockey Team crown 2019?

(a) Indian Oil (b) ONGC

(c) Punjab and Sind Bank (d) Bank of Baroda

45. The United States Special Forces Group

holded exercise with India‟s National Security

Guard in Which city?

(a) Mumbai (b) Hyderabad

(c) Chennai (d) Lucknow

46. Name the first Bank in India to cross the

market capitalization of Rs. 6 trillion?

(a) State Bank of India (b) HDFC Bank

(c) ICICI Bank (d) Punjab National Bank

47. Who is the Chairman and Managing

Director of Housing and Urban Development

Corporation Limited?

(a) M. Nagaraj (b) M. Ravi Kanth

(c) Amrit Abhijat (d) Rakesh Kumar Arora

48. The 2020 Summer Olympics is to be held in

(a) Beijing (China) (b) Berlin (Germany)

(c) Los Angeles (California) (d) Tokyo (Japan)

49. Krishan kumari Kohli becomes the first

Thari Hindu woman to be elected to the Senate

of

(a) Saudi Arabia (b) Pakistan

(c) Bangladesh (d) Indonesia

50. Who will be awarded with Kusumagraj

Rashtriya Sahitya Purushkar?

(a) Ved Rahi (b) Dinesh Karthick

(c) Ramesh Kumar (d) Rajesh Sharma

51. Which country bans Boeing 737 MAX 8

Planes after the Ethiopian Airlines crash?

(a) India (b) Pakistan

(c) Saudi Arabia (d) Indonesia

52. Who became the 61st Chess Grandmaster of

India?

(a) Abhijeet Gupta

(b) Krishnan Sasikiran

(c) Penatala Hari Krishna

(d) Iniyan Panneerselvam



53. Who has been appointed as Director of

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre?

(a) Ajit Kumar Mohanty

(b) Brajendra Tripathi

(c) Mukesh Lakhera

(d) Ramesh Singh Tyagi

54. Google launched which reading tutor

application in India for kids?

(a) Vachan (b) Diya

(c) Bolo (d) Shaurya

55. Where was the first Space Dialogue between

India and Japan held?

(a) West Bengal (b) Maharashtra

(c) New Delhi (d) Punjab

56. Marayoor jaggery gets GI tag from the

Central government. It belongs to

(a) Andhra Pradesh (b) West Bengal

(c) Kerala (d) Karnataka

57. Who is the winner of the 2019 Pritzker

Prize?

(a) Chiyo Miyako (b) Arata Isozaki

(c) Kane Tanaka (d) Masazo Nonaka

58. Who is the author of the book „Gauri-The

Urge to Fly‟?

(a) Raju Desale (b) Rhythm Wagholikar

(c) Jayesh Bapu Ahire (d) Shahrukh Sayyed

59. Who among the following has been given

the additional charge as the Governor of

Mizoram?

(a) Jagdish Mukhi (b) Kaptan Singh Solanki

(c) Ganga Prasad (d) Tathagata Roy

60. Name the book, which is a compilation of

selected speeches of PM Narendra Modi released

by Union Minister Arun Jaitley?

(a) Prime Minister Vision

(b) Vision of Prime Minister

(c) Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas

(d) Speeches of Prime Minister

61. The RBI has eased business guidelines for

which of the following ATM‟s to source cash

directly from the central bank?

(a) White Label ATM

(b) Green Label ATM

(c) Yellow Label ATM

(d) Pink Label ATM

62. Two new benches of National Company

Law Tribunal (NCLT) is established in which of

the following city?

(a) Amaravati and Patna

(b) Kochi and Jaipur

(c) Cuttack and Amritsar

(d) Indore and Amaravati

63. Which Bank extends loan worth Rs. 4100

crores for Visakhapatnam (Vizag) Metro Rail

Project?

(a) Korea Exim Bank

(b) World Bank

(c) Asian Development Bank (ADB)

(d) Japan Central Bank

64. Name the first Indian bank that will make

use of repo rate as a benchmark to set the interest

rates of savings deposit and short-term loans?

(a) ICICI Bank

(b) Punjab National Bank

(c) State Bank of India

(d) Axis Bank

65. The National Women Livelihood Meet 2019

was held in which city?

(a) Greater Noida (b) Kanpur

(c) Ghaziabad (d) Varanasi

66. Who is the head of the mediator panel

constituted by Supreme Court to settle Ram

Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case?

(a) Justice S. Abdul Nazeer

(b) Justice Ashok Bhushan

(c) Justice SA Bobde

(d) Justice FMI Kalifulla

67. The Civil Terminal of Hindon Airport was

inaugurated in which city by PM Modi?

(a) Varanasi (b) Delhi

(c) Ghaziabad (d) Prayagraj

68. Who among the following has been

conferred with Honorary Doctorate by the UN

founded University of Peace?

(a) Narendra Modi (b) Ram Nath Kovind

(c) M. Venkaiah Naidu (d) Sushma Swaraj

69. Which state government set-up North East

Skill centre in collaboration with the Singapore

based ITE Education Services?



(a) Arunachal Pradesh (b) Assam

(c) Sikkim (d) Nagaland

70. ISRO signed agreement with which country

to set-up a joint maritime surveillance system in

the country?

(a) France (b) Russia

(c) Japan (d) China

71. Which airport has won the 2018 Airport

service Quality awards as the leading airport in

size and region?

(a) Jolly Grant Airport

(b) Indira Gandhi Airport

(c) Biju Patnaik Airport

(d) Sardar Vallabhbhai Airport

72. Who is the author of the book “Designing

Destiny: The Heartfulness way”?

(a) Ruskin Bond (b) Kamlesh Patel

(c) Khushwant Singh (d) Amrita Pritam

73. When was World Civil Defence Day

celebrated?

(a) March 1 (b) March 5

(c) March 2 (d) March 4

74. Which state has been launched The Mukhya

Mantri Anchal Amrit Yojana to provide free milk

to children of Anganwadi Centers?

(a) Uttarakhand (b) Madhya Pradesh

(c) Rajasthan (d) Uttar Pradesh

75. Which of the following country joined as the

124th member of the International Criminal

Court (ICC)?

(a) Singapore (b) Belarus

(c) Turkey (d) Malaysia

76. Who was declared as the youngest ever self-

made billionaire by Forbes magazine 2019?

(a) Evan Spiegel

(b) Nita Dalal Mukesh Ambani

(c) Gustav Magnar Witzoe

(d) Kylie Jenner

77. The new Rs. 20 coin to be launched by the

government of India for circulation will be

polygon in shape with how many edges?

(a) 8 (b) 10 (c) 12 (d) 14

78. Who among the following has been selected

for the „Yashwantrao Chavan National Award

2018‟?

(a) Raghuram Rajan (b) Hasmukh Adhia

(c) P. Chidambaram (d) Narendra Modi

79. The e-Dharti App has been launched by

which Ministry?

(a) Ministry of Road Transport and Highways

(b) Ministry of Defence

(c) Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs

(d) Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare

80. The „Yuvashree Arpan‟ Scheme has been

launched by which State to help youths in setting

an enterprise?

(a) Odisha (b) Haryana

(c) West Bengal (d) Uttar Pradesh

81. Who has been chosen for the Chameli Devi

Jain Award for an Outstanding Woman

Journalist for the year 2018?

(a) Shereen Bhan (b) Mini Menon

(c) Pushpa Girimaji (d) Priyanka Dubey

82. Who was conferred with the 2019 National

STEM Education Award?

(a) Raman (b) Kavya Kopparapu

(c) Raja Gopal Chari (d) Radha Krishnan

83. Who is the author of the book „Simplicity &

Wisdom‟?

(a) Rahul Bajaj (b) Baijayant Panda

(c) Lagadapati Rajagopal (b) Dinesh Shahra

84. Who was among the following Indians who

have been named in the “World 100 Most

Influential People in Climate Policy for 2019”

for taking steps in order to combat climate

change?

(a) Piyush Goyal (b) Arun Jaitley

(c) Smriti Irani (d) Amit Shah

85. The National Common Mobility Card

(NCMC) for India has been developed by

(a) TCS (b) SBI

(c) NPCI (d) SEBI

86. The „Azaadi ke Diwane‟ museum has been

inaugurated in which place?

(a) Assam (b) Delhi

(c) Gujarat (d) Rajasthan



87. Who was appointed as the chairman of

Coordination Committee for 2022 Asian Games?

(a) Kumar Birla (b) Randhir Singh

(c) Shantanu Narayen (d) Pierre Nanterme

88. Kaja Kallas appointed as the first female

Prime Minister of which of the following

country?

(a) Ukraine (b) Spain

(c) Estonia (d) Iraq

89. Name the Fighter aircraft of Indian Air

Force (IAF) that Shot Down Pakistani Military

Drone in Bikaner Sector Near Indo-Pak Border?

(a) MIG-29 (b) Mirage 2000

(c) MIG-27 (d) Sukhoi-30

90. Which Organization/Company has become

the official partner of VIVO IPL 2019?

(a) Ashok Leyland (b) Tata Motors

(c) TCS (d) Vernalis

91. Who won the Men‟s Singles title in Mexican

Open 2019 (Tennis)?

(a) John McEnroe (b) Mischa Zverev

(c) Alexander Zverev (d) Nick Kyrgios

92. Former Deputy Prime Minister Bharat

Mohan Adhikari passed away. He belongs to

(a) Russia (b) Nepal

(c) The USA (d) Bangladesh

93. Who is the author of „The Great

Disappointment: How Narendra Modi

Squandered a Unique Opportunity to transform

the Indian Economy?

(a) Ahzez Khan

(b) Arvind Subramaniyam

(c) Salman Rushdie

(d) Salman Aneez Soz

94. Who was appointed as next chief of Naval

Staff?

(a) Sunil Lamba (b) Ravneet Singh Gill

(c) Karnabir Singh (d) Madan Singh

95. What is the rank of India in the UN World

Happiness Report 2019?

(a) 108th (b) 105th

(c) 135th

(d) 140th

96. Which country has won SAFF Women‟s

Championship 2019?

(a) Pakistan (b) India

(c) Nepal (b) China

97. Which country recently lose the rights to

host Davis Cup and Fed Cup 2019?

(a) India (b) Thailand

(c) Pakistan (d) China

98. What is the theme of this year‟s World

Water Day 2019?

(a) Life without water

(b) Leaving no one behind

(c) Water and Sustainable Energy

(d) Water and Life

99. The Special Olympics World Summer

Games was held in which city?

(a) Mumbai (b) Abu Dhabi

(c) London (d) Astana

100. Who was chosen the recipient of Hans

Kilian award for the year 2019?

(a) Rahul Tamrakar

(b) Prabhakar Gill

(c) Manoj Singh

(d) Ashis Nandy



Answer Key CLATFOCUS March - 2019

Q. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Ans. C B C C A D A D D A

Q. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

Ans. D B C D D D A C D D

Q. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30.

Ans. C C C D C B C D D A

Q. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40.

Ans. A A C D D A C C B D

Q. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50.

Ans. B B A A B B B D B A

Q. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60.

Ans. A D A C C C B B A C

Q. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70.

Ans. A D A C D D C C B D

Q. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80.

Ans. D B A A D D C A C C

Q. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90.

Ans. D B D A C B B C D B

Q. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. 100.

Ans. D B D C D B A B B D

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