20 Sep
1. _____ has become the first state in India to launch a Health Adalat. A. Kerala B. Gujarat C. Karnataka D. Haryana
Ans. C
BACKGROUND:
Karnataka became the first State in the country to launch a Health Adalat. The Health Adalat was launched by the State Health and Family Welfare Minister U T Khader in Gulbarga, Karnataka on 2 September 2014. It was launched to address health issues at the grassroots level and ensure that all health facilities extended by the government reached all sections of society. During Health Adalat the department will interact with public representatives and general citizen and understand their problems and concern, grievance about the health services and efforts would be made to provide solution then and there. The adalat also aimed at narrowing the gap between the Health Department and the elected representatives who function as a bridge between the government and the people. It will also provide an opportunity to health officials to introspect on the implementation of government programmes. Department of Health and Family Welfare of the State will address the problems and will take necessary steps and conduct the workshops to create awareness about government programmes and their benefits.
2. Sushma Swaraj visited Bahrain recently where she met the King of Bahrain, ________.
Ans. Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
BACKGROUND:
Sushma Swaraj, the Union Minister of External Affairs and Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs visited Bahrain. She was on a two day visit to the country from 6 September to 7 September 2014. This was Swaraj’s first official visit to Bahrain and to the Gulf region. During the official-tour, she met with His Majesty the King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of the Kingdom of Bahrain and also interacted with the top Bahraini leadership. A range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest were discussed during the meet with the leaders. Apart from this, she also attended the inaugural Indian Diaspora Engagement meet for Indian businesses in Bahrain. The meet was organised by Overseas Indian Facilitation Center (OIFC) and was held in Manama. Aim of the meet was to acquaint the Indian Business group with the various investment opportunities in India and also seek investments from the nationals of Bahrain. The OIFC is a public- private initiative of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and Confederation of Indian Industry for promotion of
• Overseas investments into India
• Facilitation of business partnerships
• For assisting States in India to project investment opportunities to overseas Indians
India and Bahrain
India and Bahrain shares a cordial and friendly relation that is marked by close people to people contacts and regular high-level political exchanges. His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa paid his first State visit to India in February 2014. Bahrain as a Gulf nation is a home for 350000 Indian nationals, who work there and contributes to the development of the country. In the Gulf region, Bahrain is an important partner of India and its bilateral trade in 2013-14 exceeded 1.3 billion US dollar.
3. India’s 1st Air Veteran Rally was recently inaugurated by the IAF Chief. Who is the IAF Chief? A. J N Rao B. Arup Raha C. Depak Kapoor D. K S Malik
Ans. B
BACKGROUND:
India’s first Air Veteran Rally was held on 7 September 2014 at the Air Force Auditorium, Subroto Park in New Delhi. The event was inaugurated by the Indian Air Force Chief Marshal Arup Raha. It organised by the Directorate of Air Veterans, Air Headquarters. This event was organised to resolve pension anomalies of the air veterans. The programme commenced with the lighting of the lamp by Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, Chief of the Air Staff (CAS). The inaugural address was given by Air Commodore AK Patra, Principal Director, Directorate of Air Veterans, Air HQs. The event was inaugurated in presence of Air Veterans and four retired Chief of the Air Staff.
4. Who has recently won the 3rd consecutive US Open women’s singles title? A. Serena Williams B. Simona Halep C. Maria Sharapova D. Li Na
Ans. A
BACKGROUND:
World number one Serena Williams on 7 September 2014 won her third consecutive Tennis US Open trophy. To win her third consecutive title and to secure a record-equaling sixth US Open title in US Open, Williams defeated Caroline Wozniazki of Denmark in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. With this, Williams joined the Tennis greats Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova on 18 Grand Slam titles. This win also helped Williams to match with Evert’s total of six championships at the US Open. Williams also became the first woman to win three in a row since Evert’s four-title run from 1975-78. Apart from this, 32-year-old Serena Williams also became the second oldest Grand Slam winner after Navratilova, who had won Wimbledon at the age of 33 in 1990. To be the second oldest old Grand slam winner, Williams surpassed overtook Briton Virginia Wade. In the Men’s Doubles, America’s top seeded Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike clinched their fifth US Open and 16th major title. They defeated the Spanish pair of Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez, 6-3, 6-4.
5. ______ has recently become the first Indian to visit Stratosphere. A. Vikas Mishra B. TN Suresh Kumar C. Naveen Kumar D. Nitesh Bhaskar
Ans. B
BACKGROUND:
TN Suresh Kumar on 15 August 2014 became the first Indian to visit to the stratosphere, the second layer of the Earth’s atmosphere. He traveled to an altitude of 17100 meters in MIG-29 from Sokol Airbase near Nizhny Novgorod in Russia. During the travel to reach the stratosphere in 48 minutes, the aircraft reached to a maximum speed of 1850 km per hour. Kumar, a senior scientist working with the ISRO’s Master Control Facility in Hassan paid a sum of 15 lakh rupees for the travel. Apart from being the first Indian to reach the stratosphere, he is the 259th person of the world to take the flight since an agency conducting space travel in Russia named Country of Tourism Ltd. started the journey called Edge of Space. The agency started the journey six years ago. Kumar is one of the four people, who were selected by ISRO in 1985 to travel to the space, but the process of sending those four selected candidates didn’t happened after an explosion occurred on the space shuttle Challenger in February 1986.
6. Uttarakhand Government has declared 9th September as A. Ganga Diwas B. Paryavan Diwas C. Himalaya Diwas D. Pahad Diwas
Ans. C
BACKGROUND:
Uttarakhand Government officially declared 9 September as Himalaya Diwas. The state will celebrate Himalaya Diwas to spread the message of conservation of the Himalayan ecosystems. The Himalayan day was declared on 9 September 2014 by the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Harish Rawat on the proposal of a senior BJP leader Ajay Bhatt, who is also the leader of the opposition in the state assembly. Rawat in his declaration announced that from 2015 onwards, the state government would celebrate the day. To mark the day, rallies and seminars were organised in various places across the state.
7. Assam government has withdrawn Assamese as official language from_____. A. Barak Valley B. Halflong C. Sibsagar D. Majuli Island
Ans. A
BACKGROUND:
The state government of Assam on 9 September 2014 withdrew the controversial circular regarding the use of Assamese as official language in Barak Valley. However, a fresh circular was issued by the Government of Assam stating that Bengali will continue to be the official language of Barak valley. The circular dated 30 November 2013 created widespread resentment among the people of Barak Valley. Subsequently, the circular was withdrawn as it was not actually meant for Barak valley.
Barak Valley
• Barak Valley is located in the southern region of Assam.
• The official language of Barak valley is Bengali. In fact, the Bengali speaking population constituted a majority in the region.
• It was in 1960-61 that Bengali was made the official language of Barak Valley following the Bengali Language Movement.
• The Bengali Language Movement was a protest against the decision of the Government of Assam to make Assamese the only official language of the state
8. The book 50 years of man in space has been authoured by _____.
Ans. Garik Israelien, Brian May and David J Eicher
BACKGROUND:
50 years of man in space was authoured by Garik Israelien, Brian May and David J Eicher Starmus is a book about the first Starmus festival that took place in 2011. The authors of the book was Garik Israelien, Brian May and David J Eicher. The author of the foreword of the Starmus was Stephen Hawking a theoretical physicist, cosmologist. The Starmus book is a historical document, because it contains the last lecture by Neil Armstrong and talks by the Soviet and Apollo astronauts, as well as the rest of the festival material. The book was in news because Stephen Hawking wrote that the Higgs potential has the worrisome feature that it might become metastable at energies above 100bn gigaelectronvolts (GeV) in foreword of the book.
9. Former Scientist Dr. Noel W. Hinners died recently. He belonged to which organization? A. NASA B. ISRO C. UNESCO D. IUFRO
Ans. A
BACKGROUND:
A former NASA chief scientist Dr. Noel W. Hinners died on 5 September 2014 due to brain tumor. He was 78. He was involved in the scientific exploration of the moon for the Apollo program and later oversaw projects such as the Mars Surveyor Program.
About Noel Hinner
Hinners began his meteoric space career in 1963 by helping plan the lunar exploration and was just 33 when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. He worked on the Apollo program until 1972, when he became the space agency’s director of lunar programs. He later served as the director of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington and the director of the Goddard Space Flight Center. He retired from NASA as its third-ranking executive. At Lockheed Martin, Hinners was vice president of flight systems whose responsibilities included NASA’s Mars Surveyor Program and Stardust, the first program dedicated to exploring a comet. He was a member of the NRC Space Studies Board (1981-1982 & 1989-1996) and chaired its Committee on Human Exploration.
10. Who will be the 42nd Chief Justice of India?
Ans. Justice H.L. Dattu
BACKGROUND:
President Pranab Mukherjee on 3 September 2014 cleared the appointment of Justice Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu as the 42nd Chief Justice of India. Justice Dattu will become the Chief Justice of India after the retirement of CJI R.M. Lodha on 27 September 2014. He would hold the post until his retirement on 2 December 2015.
About Justice H.L. Dattu
• Born on 13 December 1950, he joined up as an advocate in 1975 and began the practise in Bangalore.
• Justice Dattu was elevated as a judge of the Karnataka High Court after his appointment as a senior standing counsel for Income Tax department in 1995.
• In 2007, Justice Dattu became the Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh high court and shortly afterwards in the same year he was appointed as the Chief Justice of Kerala high court.
• Justice Dattu joined the Supreme Court as a judge in 2008.
Justice Dattu could be the last Chief Justice of India who would be appointed through the collegium system of judicial appointments. If the states approve the National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2014 the collegium system will come to an end. Further the Bill before becoming an Act has also to go through legal hurdle. This is because legal fraternity, especially senior Supreme Court advocate Fali Nariman, feels that it comprises Independence of Judiciary which is the basic feature of the Constitution and thence Supreme Court can declare the Act as ultra vire.
11. Which Indian movie has won the best debut award at the Venice Film Festival? A. Jyoti B. Court C. Bhaskar D. A Pigeon
Ans. B
BACKGROUND:
Court, an Indian movie written and directed by Indian writer Chaitanya Tamhane, on 7 September 2014 won the Lion of the Future – Luigi De Laurentiis award for a Debut Feature at the 71st Venice Film Festival. The film that is a multilingual courtroom drama, won the award for its striking narrative style. With this award, the film won a monetary prize of 100000 US dollars that was donated by Filmauro di Aurelio e Luigi De Laurentiis. This amount should be divided between director and producer. Court was also was awarded with the Orizzonti award for best film.
Apart from this several other films also won other awards and they were
• Golden Lion for Best Film: A Pigeon sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (en duva satt på en gren och funderade på tillvaron) by Roy Andersson
• Silver Lion for Best Director: Andrej Koncalovskij for the film the Postman’s White Nights (Belye Nochi Pochtalona Alekseya Tryapitsyna)
• Grand Jury Prize: The Look of Silence by Joshua Oppenheimer
• Coppa Volpi for Best Actor: Adam Driver in the film Hungry Hearts by Saverio Costanzo
• Coppa Volpi for Best Actress: Alba Rohrwacher in the film Hungry Hearts by Saverio Costanzo (Italy)
12. Saakshar Bharat Awards 2014 were presented on the occasion of International Literacy Day. International Literacy Day is observed on ______.
Ans. 8th September
BACKGROUND:
President Pranab Mukherjee on 8 September 2014 presented the Saakshar Bharat Awards 2014 at International Literacy Day Celebrations. The function was organized by Union Ministry of Human Resource Development at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. He gave away 11 Saakshar Bharat Awards 2014 to State, Districts, Blocks, Gram Panchayats, State Resource Centre (SRC) and Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) for their best performance in the field of adult education. One of the recipient of Saakshar Bharat National Award 2014 was G.S.R. K.R. Vijaykumar, the District collector of Prakasam District, Andhra Pradesh. He received the award for turning 4.75 lakh non literates into literates within nine months in the total literacy programme.
Saakshar Bharat Awards 2014 were given in following categories:
1. State- State Literacy Mission Authorities (SLMAs)
2. District- Zilla Lok Shiksha Samitis (ZLSSs)
3. Gram Panchayat- Gram Lok Shiksha Samitis (GLSSs)
4. Resource Support Organisations like University Dept. of Adult & Continuing Education, SRCs,
JSSs, NGOs and other organisations.
Saakshar Bharat Awards
Saakshar Bharat Awards were instituted by the National Literacy Mission Authority, Government of India to encourage institutions working in the field of literacy and skill development. The awards are presented on the occasion of International Literacy Day every year on 8 September 2014.
About Saakshar Bharat
Saakshar Bharat is a centrally sponsored scheme of Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL) and Union Ministry of Human Resource Development. It was launched on 8 September 2009.
Achievements under Saakshar Bharat are:
• Programme was rolled out in rural areas of 383 Low Female Literacy Districts in 25 States and one
Union Territory since 2009.
• 28.39 million learners (including 20.38 million females) successfully passed the basic literacy
assessments conducted from 2010 by National Institute for Open Schooling upto March 2014.
• Certified learners also include 6.66 million Scheduled Castes (23%), 3.58 million Scheduled Tribes
(12.6%) and 2.33 million Minorities (8.2%).
14. ______ has won the MIDORI Prize in Biodiversity 2014. A. Dr. Kamal Bawa B. Dr Jitender Jain C. Dr Vaishali Sikka D. Dr J B Reddy
Ans. A
BACKGROUND:
Dr. Kamal Bawa, an Indian Scientist, on 8 September 2014 won the MIDORI Prize in Biodiversity 2014. Bawa was honoured for his research that included climate change in the Himalayas. The name of the winners along with Kamal Bawa was announced in Tokyo, Japan and Montreal, Canada by the AEON Environmental Foundation and Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat.
Other Awardees of 2014 Midori Prize in Biodiversity
• Dr. Alfred Oteng-Yeboah, Chair, Ghana National Biodiversity Committee, Ghana
• Dr. Bibiana Vila, Principal Researcher, National Research Council (CONICET) and Director, Vicunas, Camelids and Environment (VICAM), Argentina
To support their work in safeguarding biodiversity, the recipients of the award will be given a wooden plaque, a commemorative gift and a monetary prize of 100000 US dollars. The award ceremony will be held on 15 October 2014 in Pyeongchang, South Korea in conjunction with the high-level segment of the 12th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 12). At present, India chairs, COP-11 but will pass the baton to Korea at the COP-12 in South Korea and theme of the year’s COP-12 meet is Biodiversity for Sustainable Development.
MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity
The MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity is a biennial international prize which was established in 2010 at the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the AEON Environmental Foundation. The date of its establishment coincided with the celebration of the International Year of Biodiversity. The MIDORI Prize are given to three individuals for their outstanding contributions for conservation and sustainable use at local and global levels and who have developmentally influenced various biodiversity-related efforts, as well as raising awareness about biodiversity. The MIDORI Prize is co hosted by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and will be a key instrument at the service of the objectives of the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity 2011-2020.
15. _____ has agreed to buy GE Appliances for 3.3 billion US dollars.
Ans. Electrolux
BACKGROUND:
The Swedish company Electrolux agreed to buy a home-appliances unit of General Electric Company of Louisville for 3.3 billion US dollars in cash. The agreement was done on 8 September 2014. This acquisition would enable Electrolux to compete with Whirlpool in US Market. The combination of Electrolux and GE’s appliance businesses would represent a combined market share of over 26% of the American major appliances market according to data from consultancy Euromonitor. It will outdistance Whirlpool, which commands over 25% of the US market. Electrolux said it would continue to use the GE Appliances brand.
About the GE-Electrolux Deal
• GE is selling all the smaller businesses as it is concentrating on its heavy industrial businesses such as jet engines, power turbines, and oil-sector services.
• The deal comes amid a wave of consolidation among makers of home appliances such as dish washers, washing machines, and cookers.
• The GE deal gives the Swedish company a great market position in North America with a combined market share of 40%, on par with that of market leader Whirlpool.
• Electrolux gains economies of scale increasingly important in the appliance sector.
• The purchase of GE’s Appliance’s business – including cookers, refrigerators, air conditioners and water heaters – will more than double Electrolux’s sales in the US market from the 31.9 billion crowns (4.5 billion US dollars) it had in 2013.
• With this deal Electrolux will get access to both North and South America in a very good way and will become very strong in all of the Americas.
16. Who has won the US open Men’s Singles title 2014? A. Roger Federer B. Marin Cilic C. Rafael Nadal D. Novak Djokovic
Ans. B
BACKGROUND:
Cilic for whom this was the first appearance in a Grand Slam final is also the first Croatian to win a major title since compatriot and coach Goran Ivanisevic who won Wimbledon in 2001. Cilic’s previous best finish was a semifinal appearance at the 2010 Australian Open. This was the first time since 2005 Australian Open, that the final of any major tournament final had not witnessed any one of the big four (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray) of tennis.
17. Which state Government has recently recognized transgender as the third gender? A. Bihar B. UP C. West Bengal D. Gujarat
Ans. A
BACKGROUND:
The Bihar government on 9 September 2014 recognised eunuch and transgender as third gender. The cabinet accepted to declare eunuch and transgender as backward class annexure II category which will provide them quota benefit for availing or getting government jobs. Eunuchs and transgender from upper castes will be treated as OBC annexure II and get reservation benefits whereas transgender from scheduled castes and scheduled tribes will remain in the same castes. The Supreme Court delivered the judgement in April 2014 recognising hijras or transgender as third gender and asked the Union Government to treat transgender as socially and economically backward. The court in its judgement said that the transgender should be allowed admission to educational institutions and given employment on the basis that they belonged to the third gender category. They should be considered as OBCs.
18. ICC has suspended Pakistani bowler, ______ for illegal bowling action. A. Farad Ahmed B. Saeed Ajmal C. Bilawal Bhatti D. Junaid Khan
Ans. B
BACKGROUND:
The International Cricket Council (ICC) on 9 September 2014 suspended Saeed Ajmal, the off-spinner of Pakistan, from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect for illegal bowling action. ICC suspended Ajmal after the findings of an independent analysis by the Human Movement Specialists team of ICC. The independent analysis was done at the National Cricket Center in Brisbane on 25 August 2014. The analysis confirmed that the bowling action of Ajmal illegal as his deliveries exceeded the 15 degrees level of tolerance (by which the arm is allowed to bend) that is permitted under the regulations of ICC. On the other hand, the Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Shaharyar Khan said that the board would challenge the decision of ICC. Saeed Ajmal’s bowling action was reported after the first cricket test match against Sri Lanka in Galle in August 2014. As per the ICC statement, Ajmal can apply a re-assessment after modifying his bowling action in accordance with the clause 2.4 of the Regulations for the review of bowlers reported with Suspected Illegal bowling Actions.
Saeed Ajmal in Cricket as a bowler
• Test cricket – he had played 35 Tests and grabbed 178 wickets at an average of 28.10
• One Day International cricket – he had played 111 matches and grabbed 183 wickets at an average of 22.18
• Twenty20 cricket – he had played 63 matches and grabbed 85 wickets at an average of 17.54
Earlier, he was reported for his suspected action in 2009, the year of his debut for his doosra (an action of bowling) but was cleared after tests at the University of Western Australia in Perth.
19. By March 2017, bilateral trade between India and China is expected to go up to over ____
Ans. $ 80 billion
BACKGROUND:
Bilateral trade between India and China is expected to go up to over $ 80 billion by March 2017, according to estimates by PHD Chamber of Commerce. The trade gap between the two countries stood at $ 35 billion in favour of China. The total bilateral trade was at $ 66.4 billion last year.
20. Legendary Nazrul Sangeet singer Firoza Begum died recently. She belonged to which country? A. India B. Bangladesh C. Pakistan D. Sri Lanka
Ans. B
BACKGROUND:
Prominent Bangladeshi Nazrul Sangeet singer Firoza Begum died on 9 September 2014 in Dhaka due to heart and kidney problems. She was 84. She was best known for singing Nazrul Sangeet, a musical work composed by Bengali poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.
About Firoza Begum
• Born in 1930, Firoza Begum was educated in Calcutta in undivided India.
• She was closely linked with poet Kazi Nazrul Islam who is now Bangladesh’s national poet.
• She recorded her first Islamic song by Gramophone record company in 1942.
• In 1949, Firoza and ghazal exponent Talat Mahmud together inaugurated the Dhaka Radio.
• Firoza Begum was honoured with the Independence Day Award in 1979 and the Sheltech Award in 2000.
• Firoza sang Rabindra Sangeet, Adhunik Bangla songs, Gazhal, Kawali and Bhajan for her audience.
21. _____ has announced his retirement from professional snooker. A. Pankaj Advani B. Chitra Magimairaj C. Subhash Agarwal D. Manan Chandra
Ans. A
BACKGROUND:
Pankaj Advani on 5 September 2014 announced to retire from the professional snooker tour. He decided to retire as he was finding it difficult to divide the time between billiards and snooker. However, he will continue to participate in Billiards. He will retire after Indian Snooker Open which is scheduled to be held in Pune from 15 September to 19 September 2014 in which he will compete in the wild card qualifying round. If he qualifies than he will compete in the tournament proper at Mumbai. Besides, after he announced his retirement from pro snooker, Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI) decided to propose his name for the Padma Bhushan, the country’s third highest civilian award, for his contribution to Cue Sports.
About Pankaj Advani
In 2005, he set a world record by becoming the first player to pull off a double whammy. He won both the points and time formats at the IBSF World Championship. In 2012, Advani became the National, Asian and World Billiards Champion in the same year. He also won the IBSF World six Red Snooker Championship. He was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2004, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2006 and Padma Shri in 2009.
22. _____ has won the 2014 US Open men’s doubles title.
Ans. Mike and Bob Bryan
BACKGROUND:
American twin brothers Mike and Bob Bryan on 7 September 2014 won the men’s doubles titles of the US Tennis Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, USA. They defeated 11th seed Spain’s Marc Lopez and Marcel Granollers 6-3 6-4 in the final match of U.S. Open men’s doubles. With this, the world number one pair won their 5th US Tennis Open and 16th Grand Slam title. Overall it was their 100th career title. They are the first pair in tennis world to win 100 titles. Their 99th title came with Cincinnati Masters in August 2014. The Bryan brothers have won at least One Grand Slam for the 10th consecutive year. Before Bryan brothers in 1880 James Dwight and Richard Sears also won five US Open titles in consecutive years.
23. Union Government has recently approved 28 road projects in _____.
Ans. Ladakh (J & K)
BACKGROUND:
Union Government on 10 September 2014 approved 28 rural road projects worth 438 crores rupees for building roads in Leh and Kargil districts of Ladakh region in Jammu and Kashmir. It was announced by Union Minister for Rural Development, Sanitation, Drinking Water & Panchayat Raj, Nitin Gadkari. The rural roads will be built under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY). Under the proposal, a total of 350 km of rural road network will be built. The projects cleared include six proposals in Leh District covering road length of 142 km to be constructed at a cost of 181.4 crores rupees. Another 22 projects in Kargil district were approved to build 207 Kms of rural road at a cost of 256.6 crore rupees.
24. Union Civil Aviation Ministry has recently announced that no-frills airports will be launched in ____cities. A. Four B. Five C. Three D. Seven
Ans. B
BACKGROUND:
Union Civil Aviation Minister Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju on 9 September 2014 announced that the Union Government has identified five locations for development of no-frills airports in India. The selected locations where the no-frills airports will be developed are Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh, Kishangarh in Rajasthan, Jharsuguda in Odisha, Hubli and Belgaum in Karnataka. These no-frills airports (low cost model airports) will be developed to promote regional and remote area connectivity with a focus on promoting tourism and other economic activities. The plan for creation of the no-frills airports has been made by Airports Authority of India (AAI) but final time for completion of the project was not revealed. But as per the directive of new government led by Narendra Modi, the ministry has been asked to prepare a plan for development of at least five no-frills airports by the end of the fiscal. Further, the plan for creation of these airports would extend to fifty. As per the information, these airports will be a new kind and will be developed at an initial cost of 50 crore rupees with limited facilities for seating, lounges and air traffic management. Some more features of these no-frills airports are:
• These will have airstrips that will be long enough to handle turboprops like Q-400 and ATR
• The terminals will be single storied with simple structures
• These airports will have mobile air traffic control units instead of big ATC towers
• These airports will not have conveyor belts and aerobridges
25. What is the name of the ISIS women force which has been established recently? A. Al–Khansaa brigade B. Jamaat E Islami C. Al Quds Brigade D. Alianza Islamia
Ans. A
BACKGROUND:
The Al-Khansaa Brigade is an all-female branch of ISIS. It was established in Raqqa city of Syria. ISIS militants took over the city in August 2014. Up to 60 women are believed to have joined the Al-Khansaa brigade. As per the TRAC, it said the group was set up to expose people suspected of spying on ISIL by disguising themselves in women’s clothing. Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium (TRAC) is a US based think tank. Most of the women in the Al-Khansaa brigade are between 18-24 years. Some of them are supposed to join the main military ranks of the ISIL terrorists.
About Al – Khansaa
Al– Khansaa was a 7th-century Arabic poet. She was born and raised in the Najd region. Najd is the central region of modern-day Saudi Arabia. She was a contemporary of Muhammad, and eventually converted to Islam.
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