Current Affairs Quiz: 3 March 2017

These quizzes will help you in answering questions which can/may be asked in the next exam that will be faced by you. The day’s updated quizzes cover the topics like 2017 International Yoga festival, freight sector initiatives by Railways and annual city governance ranking ASCIS 2016 among others.

1. Which of the following freight sector initiatives was/were launched by the Union Government to transform the Indian Railways? a) Long Term Tariff Contracts and Agreements
b) Double Stack Dwarf Containers c) Indian Railway’s Business Plan 2017-18
d) All the Above

2. This city has retained its number one position in the annual city governance ranking ASCIS 2016.
a) Bengaluru
b) Chennai
c) Jaipur
d) Thiruvananthapuram

3. The term SWATHI that was in news refers to a
a) Weapon Locating Radar
b) Injectable Polio Vaccine
c) Portable Weather Monitoring Device
d) Smallest Blood Glucose Monitoring Device

4. Identify the former President of the USA, who authored the book Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief's Tribute to America's Warriors.
a) George W Bush
b) Jimmy Carter
c) Barack Obama
d) Bill Clinton

5. The 2017 International Yoga festival started in which state?
a) Uttarakhand
b) Madhya Pradesh
c) Jharkhand
d) Bihar

6. Who was conferred with the 2017 Harvard Humanitarian of the Year award?
a) Aung San Suu Kyi
b) Robyn Rihanna Fenty
c) Thorbjorn Jagland
d) Bishop Desmond Tutu

7. The week long Swachh Shakti Saptah was inaugurated in which state?
a) Gujarat
b) West Bengal
c) Haryana
d) Assam

8. Which movie won the Audience Award at the Glasgow Film Festival 2017?
a) City of Joy
b) Bhakta Vidur
c) Santa Banta Pvt Ltd
d) Lipstick Under My Burkha

9. Following the murder of North Korean leader’s brother Kim Jong Nam at an airport, which country has decided to cancel visa-free entry for North Koreans?
a) Malaysia
b) Thailand
c) Japan
d) Taiwan

10. Who was elected as the first Prime Minister of Sudan since 1989?
a) Omar Hassan al-Bashir
b) Hassan Saleh
c) Mohamed Al Hassan
d) Fadl el-Sayed Shuiab

11. UK’s House of Lords voted to amend the Brexit Bill. Which among the following was the main reason for the house to delay the bill’s passing?
a) The bill doesn’t guarantee protection to EU citizens living in UK
b) The bill doesn’t guarantee protection to UK citizens living in the EU
c) The bill doesn’t speak the mandate of the people
d) The bill doesn’t fulfil the requirements of the Brexit negotiations  

12. The National Green Tribunal has banned camping activities within 100 m of which prominent Indian River?
a) Yamuna
b) Beas
c) Indus
d) Ganga

13. Name the historic city that was recaptured by the Syrian troops back by Russian jets by the Islamic State (IS) in March 2017.
a) Raqa
b) Palmyra
c) Aleppo
d) None of the above

14. Who of the following was recently appointed as the Secretary-General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)?
a) Arjun Bahadur Thapa
b) Abul Ahsan
c) Amjad Hussain B Sial
d) Sheel Sharma

15. The Union Government recently notified the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Act, 2017. As per the Act, a person can hold how many notes if it is for the purposes of study, research or numismatics?
a) Twenty-five notes
b) Ten notes
c) Twenty notes
d) Fifteen notes

ANSWER 1. (d) All the Above
2. (d) Thiruvananthapuram
3. (a) Weapon Locating Radar
4. (a) George W Bush
5. (a) Uttarakhand
6. (b) Robyn Rihanna Fenty
7. (c) Haryana
8. (d) Lipstick Under My Burkha
9. (a) Malaysia
10. (b) Hassan Saleh
11. (a) The bill doesn’t guarantee protection to EU citizens living in UK
12. (d) Ganga
13. (b) Palmyra
14. (c) Amjad Hussain B Sial
15. (a) Twenty-five notes

Delhi LG approves hike in minimum wages by 37 per cent

Delhi LG approves hike in minimum wages by 37 per cent Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal on 3 March 2017 approved the Delhi government’s proposal to hike the minimum wages of labourers by 37 per cent. However, the notification for its implementation will be issued on 6 March 2017. Once implemented, this hike will be the historic and the highest in the independent India. As per this Delhi Cabinet’s decision, for an unskilled worker the minimum wages will be Rs 13350 per month against the existing Rs 9724 per month. On the other hand, for the semi-skilled and skilled workers, the wages will increase from Rs 10764 to Rs 14698 and from Rs 11830 to Rs 16182 per month, respectively. Key Highlights • The hike in minimum wages will benefit around 50 lakh people in Delhi. • State and district level monitoring committees will also be formed to ensure that employers pay the new minimum wages to the workers. • Employers will also be required to provide online information regarding the payment of minimum wages by them. Earlier, there were inspectors who used to verify whether an employer is paying minimum wages to employees or not. • The Minimum Wages Bill, which is awaiting the Centre’s approval, proposes a penalty of Rs 50000 and jail term up to three years for violation of the provisions of minimum wages. At present, the penalty is Rs 500, while the jail term is six months. Background In August 2016, Delhi government proposed a hike of 50 per cent minimum wages. However, the decision was struck down by the then Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal defended the difference between the last year’s hike and the present 37 per cent by quoting the seasonal variations in the prices of food and other items.