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Current Affairs Quiz: August 20 2019

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AffairsCloud brings you the complete and important daily Current Affairs August 2019 Quiz to achieve more marks in Banking, Insurance, UPSC, SSC, CLAT, Railways and all other competitive Exams. We have prepared the current affairs quiz question from our daily current affairs 2019 updates.

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Questions Based on Current Affairs August 20 2019

  1. Which ministry released the draft on National Resource Efficiency Policy (NREP) 2019 ?
    1) Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW)
    2) Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MoMSME)
    3) Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC)
    4) Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)
    5) None of these
    Answer – 3) Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC)
    Explanation:
    The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) released a draft on National Resource Efficiency Policy (NREP) 2019. It aims to streamline the efficient use of the resources with minimum negative impact on environment. Idea of the national policy is to drive the country towards circular economy through efficient use of available material resources, based on principle of 6R and ‘green public procurement’. The 6R stands for Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Redesign, Re-manufacture and Refurbish.

  2. Under which act, National Resource Efficiency Authority (NREA) will be constituted ?
    1) Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
    2) Environment (Protection) Act, 1982
    3) Environment (Protection) Act, 1980
    4) Environment (Protection) Act, 1979
    5) None of these
    Answer – 1) Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
    Explanation:
    National Resource Efficiency Authority (NREA) will be constituted under the provisions of Section 3(3) of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. It will be mandated to drive the agenda of resource efficiency across the country. It will have a core working group housed in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and a members group with representations from different ministries, state/union territory, and other stakeholders. It will be supported by an Inter-Ministerial National Resource Advisory Efficiency Board (NREAB) to guide on the aspects critical to its implementation.

  3. Name the head of the committee, that submits its report to Nirmala Sitharaman and suggests to replace the Income Tax Act with a new Direct Tax Code(DTC).
    1) P.K. Dash
    2) Akhilesh Ranjan
    3) Pramod Chandra Mody
    4) Neena Kumar
    5) None of these
    Answer – 2) Akhilesh Ranjan
    Explanation:
    On August 19,2019 a group of experts panel headed by Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) legislative member Akhilesh Ranjan who was appointed as the convener of the task force in November 2018 by the finance ministry,submitted a report to Nirmala Sitharaman(Finance Minister), to replace the Income Tax Act with a new Direct Tax Code(DTC).

  4. Which country’s MoU with India becomes operational on Training and Capacity Building Programme for its Civil Servants ?
    1) Mauritius
    2) Sri Lanka
    3) Seychelles
    4) Maldives
    5) None of these
    Answer – 4) Maldives
    Explanation:
    On August 19, 2019, The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Maldives on Training and Capacity Building Programme for Maldivian Civil Servants was operationalised i. National Center for Good Governance, India and the Civil Services Commission of Maldives had signed an MoU which envisaged capacity building activities for 1000 Civil Servants of Maldives at the National Centre for Good Governance over the next 5 years.

  5. What does ‘U’ stands for in UDAY, which was in news recently ?
    1) Union
    2) Ujala
    3) Utkrisht
    4) Udaan
    5) None of these
    Answer – 3) Utkrisht
    Explanation:
    U stands for Utkrisht.The full form of UDAY is Utkrisht Double-decker Air-conditioned Yatri.

  6. Between which cities does the second luxury double-decker Uday(Utkrisht Double-decker Air-conditioned Yatri) Express will run ?
    1) Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada
    2) Visakhapatnam and Chennai
    3) Visakhapatnam and Bangalore
    4) Vijayawada and Bangalore
    5) None of these
    Answer – 1) Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada
    Explanation:
    In order to cater to the busy route in the East Coast Railway zone, The Indian Railways’ second luxury double-decker Uday(Utkrisht Double-decker Air-conditioned Yatri) Express is to be run between Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada. This was announced on August 19, 2019.

  7. What is the revised retirement age of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) as per the Union Home Minister ?
    1) 65 years
    2) 60 years
    3) 58 years
    4) 59 years
    5) None of these
    Answer – 2) 60 years
    Explanation:
    According to the order of the Union Home Ministry, all Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) personnel will now retire at a uniform age of 60 years. The decision comes in the wake of a January 2019 order of the Delhi High Court where it had called the policy of different age of superannuation as discriminatory and unconstitutional, and said it created two classes in the uniformed forces.

  8. Who visited and reviewed the functioning of Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) and Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) ?
    1) Narendra Modi
    2) Nirmala Sitharaman
    3) Amit Shah
    4) Rajnath Singh
    5) None of these
    Answer – 4) Rajnath Singh
    Explanation:
    On August 19, 2019, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited and reviewed the functioning of Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) and Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR)

  9. Where was the Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) located?
    1) Guwahati, Assam
    2) Kolkata, West Bengal
    3) Gurgaon, Haryana
    4) New Delhi, Delhi
    5) None of these
    Answer – 3) Gurgaon, Haryana
    Explanation:
    On August 19, 2019, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited and reviewed the functioning of Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) and Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) in Gurgaon, Haryana.

  10. Which institute has signed an MoU with National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) to achieve the objective of National Solar Mission through training programmes ?
    1) Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU)
    2) Indian Institute of Technology(IIT) Bombay
    3) Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi
    4) Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT)
    5) None of these
    Answer – 1) Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU)
    Explanation:
    On August 19, 2019, An autonomous Institution of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU) to work jointly to accelerate, expand and achieve the objective of National Solar Mission through training programmes.

  11. Which year is set as target to achieve 100 GW by solar energy ?
    1) 2020
    2) 2022
    3) 2025
    4) 2030
    5) None of these
    Answer – 2) 2022
    Explanation:
    National Solar Mission is an initiative of the Government of India and State Governments to promote solar power as a part of the National Action Plan on Climate Change. On 11 January 2010, The mission was inaugurated by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with a target of 20GW by 2022 which was then increased by the Modi government to 100 GW by 2022.

  12. Where was the Joint Working Group (JWG) between the Defence Ministries of India and China held ?
    1) Kolkata, India
    2) Shanghai, China
    3) New Delhi, India
    4) Beijing, China
    5) None of these
    Answer – 4) Beijing, China
    Explanation:
    In order to improve military to military cooperation, India and China reviewed the situation on the border and agreed on more port calls by each side’s Navies at a meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) between the Defence Ministries in Beijing, China.

  13. Which two countries participate in Hand-in-Hand(HiH)Military exercise ?
    1) India and Bangladesh
    2) India and Russia
    3) India and China
    4) India and Japan
    5) None of these
    Answer – 3) India and China
    Explanation:
    Hand-in-Hand (HiH)Military exercise will be participated by India and China.

  14. Where will be the 8th edition of Hand-in-Hand(HiH)Military exercise 2019 between India & China held in December 2019?
    1) Umroi near Shillong in Meghalaya
    2) Chail near Shimla in Himachal Pradesh
    3) Ajaysar near Ajmer in Rajasthan
    4) Huai Yuan near Chengdu in China
    5) None of these
    Answer – 1) Umroi near Shillong in Meghalaya
    Explanation:
    The 8th edition of Hand-in-Hand (HiH)Military exercise 2019 between India, China will be held in December 2019 at Umroi near Shillong in Meghalaya will focus on transnational counter-terror operations, the establishment of a joint command post, joint combat missions. The 7th edition was held at Chengdu, China in December 2018.

  15. Expand DRR ?
    1) Devaluation Redemption Reserve(DRR)
    2) Debenture Redemption Reserve(DRR)
    3) Default Redemption Reserve(DRR)
    4) Depreciation Redemption Reserve(DRR)
    5) None of these
    Answer – 2) Debenture Redemption Reserve(DRR)
    Explanation:
    The full form of DRR is Debenture Redemption Reserve.

  16. What is the revised Debenture Redemption Reserve(DRR) for the unlisted companies with an objective of reducing the cost of the capital raised by companies?
    1) 10%
    2) 20%
    3) 25%
    4) 30%
    5) None of these
    Answer – 1) 10%
    Explanation:
    On August 19, 2019, Ministry of Corporate Affairs has amended the Companies (Share Capital & Debentures) Rules by removing Debenture Redemption Reserve(DRR) requirement for Listed Companies, NBFCs(Non Banking Financial Company) and HFCs (Housing Finance Companies). The companies will now be exempt from creating a DRR pegged at 25% of the face value of debentures, in respect of listed companies, NBFCs registered with RBI and for HFC registered with National Housing Bank (NHB). For unlisted companies, DRR requirement has been reduced from 25% to 10% of outstanding debentures to safeguard the interest of investors.

  17. Who won the 2019 South Asian Spelling Bee competition ?
    1) Abhijay Kodali
    2) Saketh Sundar
    3) Navneeth Murali
    4) Shruthika Padhy
    5) None of these
    Answer – 3) Navneeth Murali
    Explanation:
    Navneeth Murali, an Indian-American teenager from New Jersey, America, has won the 2019 South Asian Spelling Bee contest and earned a grand cash prize of USD 3,000.Navneeth Murali wins 2019 South Asian Spelling Bee competition.He ousted other competitors in the finals by spelling the word flipe, which means “to strip off by or as if by peeling”.

  18. Which broadcasting company has stated that it will introduce 2 awards namely ‘Neelum Sharma Tejaswini award’ & ‘Achyutananda Sahoo Award’ in memory of Former anchor,Neelum Sharma ?
    1) AIR FM Gold
    2) All India Radio
    3) Doordarshan
    4) Prasar Bharti
    5) None of these
    Answer – 4) Prasar Bharti
    Explanation:
    On August 20, 2019, India’s largest public broadcasting agency, Prasar Bharti’s Chairman A Suryapakash stated that the agency will introduce 2 awards namely ‘Neelum Sharma Tejaswini award’ & ‘Achyutananda Sahoo Award’ in memory of Doordarshan(DD) News Former anchor, Neelum Sharma who passed away due to cancer on August 17, 2019.

  19. Who was appointed as the new MD(Managing Director) and CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of Vodafone Idea ltd on August 20,2019 ?
    1) Vikram Singh Mehta
    2) Ravinder Takkar
    3) Chittaranjan Dua
    4) Sunil Sood
    5) None of these
    Answer – 2) Ravinder Takkar
    Explanation:
    The Board of Vodafone Idea, has appointed Ravinder Takkar, who is currently Vodafone Group’s representative in India, as the new MD(Managing Director) and CEO (Chief Executive Officer) with immediate effect. Takkar replaces CEO Balesh Sharma, who has stepped down citing personal reasons.

  20. Which state government categorized Nicotine as “Class A poison” in order to strengthen the enforcement of the ban on production and sale of electronic cigarettes ?
    1) Karnataka
    2) Maharashtra
    3) Madhya Pradesh
    4) Kerala
    5) None of these
    Answer – 1) Karnataka
    Explanation:
    The Government of Karnataka amended the Karnataka Poisons (Possession and Sale) Rules 2015 and notified Nicotine as “Class A poison” in order to strengthen the enforcement of the ban on production and sale of electronic cigarettes. The new rules are called the Karnataka Poisons (Possession and Sale) Rules, 2019. Key Points: i. The ban was imposed after the study conducted the High Powered Committee on Tobacco Control headed additional Chief Secretary of Karnataka, Vandita Sharma.

  21. Researchers from which institute has invented two distinct and special membranes that can separate oil and water, even under harsh conditions ?
    1) IIT Delhi
    2) IIT Kanpur
    3) IIT Madras
    4) IIT Guwahati
    5) None of these
    Answer – 3) IIT Guwahati
    Explanation:
    On August 19, 2019, the researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, Assam invented two distinct and special membranes that can separate oil and water, even under harsh conditions. This development is expected to be used in applications of oil spill management. The work is published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering journal.

  22. Name the second planet that lies about 63 light years away from Earth, which was discovered by the astronomers from Institute for Planetary sciences and Astrophysics, Grenoble, France (IPAG) .
    1) Tau Boötis b
    2) Gliese 581 b
    3) Kepler-5b
    4) B Pictoris c
    5) None of these
    Answer – 4) B Pictoris c
    Explanation:
    Astronomers at the Institute for Planetary sciences and Astrophysics, Grenoble, France (IPAG) have discovered a 2nd planet called ‘B Pictoris c’. It is roughly around 3,000 times more massive than Earth. It orbits Beta Pictoris star, which is about nearly twice the mass of Sun and lies about 63 light years away from Earth.

  23. Where did 3rd Nation’s Cup 2019 held ?
    1) Russia
    2) Serbia
    3) Malaysia
    4) Thailand
    5) None of these
    Answer – 2) Serbia
    Explanation:
    India’s junior women boxers team has clinched 12 medals(4 gold, 4 silver and 4 bronze medals) at the 3rd Nation”s Cup 2019 held in Sports Hall ,Vrbas, Serbia from August 14-18,2019. 4 Gold medal winner are Tamanna(Haryana) 48 kg, Ambeshori Devi(Manipur) 57 kg, Preeti Dahiya(Haryana) 60 kg, Priyanka (Haryana) 66 kg.

  24. Who topped the latest International Cricket Council(ICC)’s test batsmen rankings?
    1) Virat Kohli
    2) Ben Stokes
    3) Steve Smith
    4) Kane Williamson
    5) None of these
    Answer – 1) Virat Kohli
    Explanation:
    On August 19, 2019, The latest test batsmen rankings were released by the ICC (International Cricket Council). The list was topped by India’s Virat Kohli followed by Australia’s Steve Smith at the second spot overtaking New Zealand captain Kane Williamson.

  25. Which team has won the Dolo-650 Bangalore Cup All India Hockey Tournament 2019 ?
    1) Steel Authority of India(SAIL)
    2) Oil and Natural Gas Corporation(ONGC)
    3) Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL)
    4) Army XI
    5) None of these
    Answer – 3) Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL)
    Explanation:
    Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) won the title in the Dolo-650 Bangalore Cup All India Hockey Tournament 2019 by beating Army XI by 5-0. It was the second title for IOCL in a fortnight after Bangalore Super Division 2019. It was the 4th Edition of the tournament held at the Field Marshal KM Cariappa Hockey Arena, Bangalore.

  26. Who won the men’s singles title in Cincinnati Masters/ Western & Southern Open 2019 ?
    1) Filip Polášek
    2) Ivan Dodig
    3) David Goffin
    4) Daniil Medvedev
    5) None of these
    Answer – 4) Daniil Medvedev
    Explanation:
    The Cincinnati Masters/ Western & Southern Open 2019 was held from August 12-18, 2019 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, a northern suburb of Cincinnati, in the United States. It was the 118th men’s edition and the 91st women’s edition. It was the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour Masters 1000 tournament for men with the prize money $6,735,690 and WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier 5 Tournament for women with the prize money $2,944,486.
    [table]

    CategoryWinnerRunner
    Men’s SinglesDaniil Medvedev (Russia)David Goffin (Belgium)
    Women’s SinglesMadison Keys (America)Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia)
    Men’s DoublesIvan Dodig (Croatia) & Filip Polášek (Slovakia)Juan Sebastián Cabal & Robert Farah (Colombia)
    Women’s DoublesLucie Hradecká (Czech Republic) & Andreja Klepač (Slovakia)Anna-Lena Grönefeld (Germany) & Demi Schuurs (Netherlands)

    [/table]


  27. Who was appointed as the honorary life member of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) on 19th August, 2019?
    1) Stuart Broad
    2) Jonny Bairstow
    3) Mitchell Johnson
    4) Dimuth Karunaratne
    5) None of these
    Answer – 3) Mitchell Johnson
    Explanation:
    On August 19, 2019, The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) stated that Former Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson (37) has been elected as an Honorary Life Member of the MCC, the custodian of the rules of cricket, during the second Test between Australia and England of 2019 Ashes Series at Lords’s London.

  28. Name the Indian Cricketer, whose life time ban was reduced to seven year ban, which comes to end by 2020 .
    1) Ajay Jadeja
    2) S. Sreesanth
    3) Ajay Sharma
    4) Mohammad Azharuddin
    5) None of these
    Answer – 2) S. Sreesanth
    Explanation:
    On August 20, 2019, BCCI Ombudsman DK Jain has ordered for the reduction in the ban of Indian cricketer Shanthakumaran Sreesanth (S. Sreesanth), who was alleged in a match-fixing scandal in 2013. His ban period is now lowered to 7 years by the Supreme Court (SC) which will end by September 2020 setting aside the BCCI disciplinary committee’s order banning him for a lifetime.

  29. Mohammed Zahur ‘Khayyam’ Hashmi passed away recently, he was a ___________ .
    1) Music Director-Composer
    2) Actor – Music Director
    3) Music Director – Producer
    4) Music Ditrector – Director
    5) None of these
    Answer – 1) Music Director-Composer
    Explanation:
    On August 19, 2019, Veteran composer Mohammed Zahur ‘Khayyam’ Hashmi passed away aged 92. Suffering from lung infection he was admitted at a hospital in Mumbai where he died of cardiac arrest.music director-composer Khayyam. He started his career at the age of 17 and composed music for many hit films like ‘Kabhie Kabhie’,’Umrao Jaan, ‘Trishul’, ‘Noorie’ and ‘Shola Aur Shabnam’.He was honoured Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for creative music by the Sangeet Natak Akademi in 2007 and the Padma Bhushan (third highest civilian award) in the year 2011. In 1977, he won 3 Filmfare awards for Best Music for “Kabhie Kabhie” and 1982 for Umrao Jaan, and a lifetime achievement award in 2010.

  30. Whose birth anniversary on August 20 is commemorated as Sadbhavana Diwas (harmony day)?
    1) Morarji Desai
    2) Lal Bahadur Shastri
    3) Indira Gandhi
    4) Rajiv Gandhi
    5) None of these
    Answer – 4) Rajiv Gandhi
    Explanation:
    Every year on August 20, Sadbhavana Diwas (harmony day) is celebrated commemorating the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister (PM) Rajiv Gandhi. This day is observed to encourage the national integration, peace, affection and communal harmony among the Indian people of all religions. 2019 commemorates the 75th birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi. Senior leaders paid tribute to him at a prayer meeting organized at “Veer Bhumi”, a memorial of Rajiv Gandhi in New Delhi.

  31. World Mosquito Day is observed annually on ______ .
    1) August 17
    2) August 18
    3) August 20
    4) August 19
    5) None of these
    Answer – 3) August 20
    Explanation:
    World Mosquito Day is observed on 20 August 2019 to raise awareness about the diseases caused by the female mosquitoes. This day honor the British doctor Sir Ronald Ross’s groundbreaking discovery in 1897 that, female Anopheles mosquitoes transmit malaria between humans. The name, Mosquito comes from Spanish word meaning “little fly”.They spread diseases like malaria, West Nile virus, dengue, chikungunya, Zika among human beings.

Static GK Quiz based on Current Affairs:

  1. Name the Indian Navy Frigate, that visited Spain recently .
    Answer –  INS Tarkash
    Explanation:
    In continuation of the Indian Navy’s overseas deployment to Africa, Europe and Russia, Indian Naval Ship Tarkash made a port call at Cadiz, Spain today, on 19 Aug 19 for a three days visit. The port call by INS Tarkash at Cadiz is a demonstration of India’s warm ties with Spain and its commitment to enhance operational reach, maritime security and its solidarity with friendly nations. INS Tarkash had participated in bilateral exercise KONKAN-19 with Royal Navy ship HMS Defender prior entering Cadiz harbour.

  2. Mount Kangchengyo is located in which city ?
    Answer –  Sikkim
    Explanation:
    A joint team of mountaineers of Eastern and North Eastern Frontiers of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) successfully climbed Mount Kangchengyo on August 14. The team climbed the mountain, which is at an altitude of 6,889 m, from the northern side. The 32-member expedition called ‘Mission Pulkit’ was led by DC Digvijay Singh. A formal ceremony was held at Rajbhawan here, where the team called on Sikkim Governor Ganga Prasad.

  3. Mohammad Shahzad is associated with which sport ?
    Answer –  Cricket
    Explanation:
    Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad has been suspended from all forms of cricket for a period of 12 months for violating ACB’s disciplinary rules, the country’s cricket Board (ACB).

  4. Abohar Wildlife Sanctury is located in which state ?
    Answer – Punjab

  5. Where is the headquarter of National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) located ?
    Answer –  Gurgaon, Haryana