31 August 2022

Q1. Recently Japan signed a landmark defence deal in a bid to counter China’s growing influence in the South China Sea and over the Pacific island nations with which of the following countries?

1. Russia
2. Brazil
3. India
4. Australia

D – Explanation:

• Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison have signed a landmark defence deal in a bid to counter China’s growing influence in the South China Sea and over the Pacific island nations. Hence option (d) is correct.

Q2. Which of the following best describes “Banshee”, recently seen in news?

1. Light Machine Gun
2. Anti- tank guided missile
3. Multirole Helicopter
4. Jet Unmanned Aerial Target

D – Explanation

• The second flight test of Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile System (QRSAM) was successfully conducted by DRDO from the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, off the coast of Odisha.
• The first in the series test of QRSAM took place on 13^thof this month. The second flight test was carried out against the high performance Jet Unmanned Aerial Target called Banshee, which simulates an aircraft. Hence option(d) is correct.
• The system is capable of detecting and tracking targets on the move and engaging targets with short halts. It is designed to give air defence coverage for strike columns of the Indian Army, Propelled by a single stage solid propellant rocket motor, the sophisticated missile used all indigenous subsystems. The missile is cannisterised for transportation and launch using a mobile launcher which is capable of carrying six canisterised missiles.first launch test on 13^thNovember proved the Radar and Missile capabilities with direct hit while today’s test demonstrated the warhead performance on proximity detection.

Q3. India is not a member of which of the following international groupings?

1. BRICS
2. Mekong-Ganga Cooperation
3. APEC
4. Shanghai Cooperation

C – Explanation

• The five-nation grouping BRICS has adopted a new counter-terrorism strategy to effectively deal with terrorism. The objective of BRICS counter-terrorism cooperation is to complement and strengthen the existing bilateral and multilateral ties among the BRICS countries, and to make a meaningful contribution to the global efforts of preventing and combating the threat of terrorism.
• BRICS is the acronym coined to associate five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
• Mekong Ganga Cooperation: It comprises six member countries, namely India, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
• Shanghai Cooperation: It comprises of 8 Member States, namely China, India, Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
• The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. It comprises of  Australia · Brunei · Canada · Chile · Hong Kong · Indonesia · Japan · Malaysia · Mexico · New Zealand · Papua New Guinea · Peru · People’s Republic of China · Philippines · Republic of China (Taiwan ).
• Hence option (c) is correct.

Q4. Consider the following statements with respect to Border Area Development Programme (BADP):

1. The BADP was launched by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
2. It is a centrally sponsored scheme

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

C – Explanation

• The Border Area Development Programme (BADP) was launched by the Ministry of Home Affairsin 1986-87 as part of a comprehensive approach to Border Management.BADP was initiated in the border areas of the western region during the Seventh Five Year Plan (1985-90), for ensuring balanced development of border areas through development of infrastructure and promotion of a sense of security among the border population.It is a centrally sponsored scheme. Funds are provided to the states as a non-lapsable special central assistance for the execution of projects relating to infrastructure, livelihood, education, health, agriculture and allied sectors.The States covered are Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.Hence, option (c) is the correct answer.

Q5. Which of the following African country is landlocked?

1. Somalia
2. Kenya
3. Egypt
4. Ethiopia

Answer – D

Q6. Consider the following statements with respect to Wholesale Price Index:

1. It is published by the Office of Economic Adviser, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
2. The base year of All-India WPI is 2004-05

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

A – Explanation

• Wholesale Price Index measures the changes in the prices of goods sold and traded in bulk by wholesale businesses to other businesses.Published by the Office of Economic Adviser, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.It is the most widely used inflation indicator in India.Major criticism for this index is that the general public does not buy products at wholesale price.The base year of All-India WPI has been revised from 2004-05 to 2011-12 in 2017.

Q7. Which of the following wetland is not in Montreux Record:

1. Keoladeo National Park
2. Loktak Lake
3. Bhitarkanika Mangroves

Which of the following is/are correct?

1. 1 and 2 Only
2. 3 Only
3. 1 and 3 Only
4. 2 Only

B – Explanation

• The Montreaux Record is a voluntary mechanism to highlight specific wetland of international importance under the Ramsar convention, but which are facing immediate challenges. In particular, the Montreux Record is a register of listed Ramsar sites where changes in ecological character have occurred, are occurring, or are likely to occur as a result of technological developments, pollution or other human interference.
• At present, two wetlands of India are in Montreux Record:
• Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan) andLoktak Lake (Manipur).Chilika Lake (Odisha) was placed in the record but later removed from it.

Q8. Sri Lanka has handed a 99-year lease to China for which of these ports?

1. Trincomalee Harbour
2. Hambantota Port
3. Colombo Port
4. Port of Point Pedro

B – Explanation

• Sri Lanka handed a 99-year lease to China for its Hambantota deep-sea port because it could not repay loans to Beijing for the harbour in the island’s south.

Q9. Brus/Reangs are recognised as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups in which of these state/s?

1. Manipur
2. Tripura
3. Mizoram
4. Nagaland

Choose the correct option:

1. 2 only
2. 1 and 3 only
3. 2 and 3 only
4. 1, 3 and 4 only

A – Explanation

• The Brus are spread across the northeastern states of Tripura, Assam, Manipur, and Mizoram.In Tripura, they are recognised as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group.75 tribal groups have been categorized by the Ministry of Home Affairs as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).PVTGs reside in 18 States and the UT of A&N Islands.The Ministry of Tribal Affairs implements the Scheme of “Development of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)” exclusively for them.

Q10. Consider the following statements:

1. Minsk Group was established to envisage a peaceful, negotiated resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
2. Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognised as a part of Armenia.
3. The major ethnic group in the Nagorno-Karabakh region is Armenian.

Which of the given statement/s is/are not correct?

1. 1 and 3 only
2. 2 only
3. 1 and 2 only
4. None of the above

B – Explanation

• Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognised as a part of Azerbaijan.The major ethnic group of the region is Armenian.The Minsk Group or the OSCE Minsk Group was established in 1992 by the Conference on Security and Cooperation (CSCE, now Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)) to envisage a peaceful, negotiated resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.It is co-chaired by France, Russia and the USA.