Current

Affairs
Monthly MCQs Series
January - Part 3
Q1. The Assam govt has signed an MoU with which among the following banks to offer insurance
benefits to state government employees ?
A. State Bank of India Key Benefits:
B. Union Bank of India i. Term Life Insurance offers a minimum coverage of Rs.10 lakh for natural
death, which includes death due to illness or accidents.
C. Bank of Baroda ii. Accidental Death Insurance provides a minimum coverage of Rs.1 crore.
iii. Permanent Total Disability insurance provides coverage of up to Rs.1 crore.
D. Both A & B
iv. Permanent Partial Disability insurance provides coverage of up to Rs.80
E. All A B & C lakh.
v. Air Accidental Insurance provides a minimum coverage of Rs.2 crore for
Ans : Both A & B deaths caused by air crashes.
The agreements aim to provide zero-premium insurance coverage and additional benefits to more than
four lakh permanent state government employees.
Q2. Which among the following personality is not a recipient of Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna
2024 award ?
1.Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2024
A. Manu Bhaker(Shooting)
S. No. Name of the Sportsperson Discipline
B. Harmanpreet Singh (Hockey)
1. Shri Gukesh D Chess
C. Gukesh D(Chess)
2. Shri Harmanpreet Singh Hockey
D. Praveen Kumar(para-athlete ) 3. Shri Praveen Kumar Para-Athletics
E. Vantika Agrawal (Chess) 4. Ms. Manu Bhaker Shooting
Ans : Vantika Agrawal (Chess)
Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award’. (formerly known as ‘Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award)
Award comprises a medallion, a certificate, and a cash prize of Rs 25 Lakh each
Established in : 1991-1992
Its 1st winner was Chess Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand
National Sports Awards 2024 :
A. Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2024,
B. Arjuna Awards (Lifetime Achievement), Arjuna Awards (Lifetime) for outstanding performance in
Sports and Games 2024
C. Dronacharya Award
S. No. Name of the Sportsperson Discipline
D. Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar
1. Shri Sucha Singh Athletics
E. Arjuna Awards,
2. Shri Murlikant Rajaram Petkar Para-
Swimming

Dronacharya Award for outstanding coaches in Sports and Games 2024

1.Regular Category: 2.Lifetime Category:
S. No. Name of the Coach Discipline S. No. Name of the Coach Discipline
1. Shri Subhash Rana Para-Shooting
1. Shri S Muralidharan Badminton
2. Ms. Deepali Deshpande Shooting
2. Shri Armando Agnelo Colaco Football
3. Shri Sandeep Sangwan Hockey

Dronacharya Award comprises a bronze statuette of Dronacharya, a Certificate, a Ceremonial dress, and a Cash prize of
Rs 15 lakh for lifetime achievement and Rs 10 Lakh for regular. Established– 1985 (Regular); 2011(Lifetime)
Arjuna Awards for outstanding performance in Sports and Games 2024
S. No. Name of the Sportsperson Discipline
1. Ms. Jyothi Yarraji Athletics
2. Ms. Annu Rani Athletics
3. Ms. Nitu Boxing
4. Ms. Saweety Boxing
5. Ms. Vantika Agrawal Chess
6. Ms. Salima Tete Hockey
7. Shri Abhishek Hockey
8. Shri Sanjay Hockey
9. Shri Jarmanpreet Singh Hockey
10. Shri Sukhjeet Singh Hockey
11. Shri Rakesh Kumar Para-Archery
12. Ms. Preeti Pal Para-Athletics
13. Ms. Jeevanji Deepthi Para-Athletics
14. Shri Ajeet Singh Para-Athletics
15. Shri Sachin Sarjerao Khilari Para-Athletics
 Arjuna Awards for outstanding performance in Sports and Games 2024

16. Shri Dharambir Para-Athletics 24. Ms. Manisha Ramadass Para-Badminton

17. Shri Pranav Soorma Para-Athletics 25. Shri Kapil Parmar Para-Judo
18. Shri H Hokato Sema Para-Athletics 26. Ms. Mona Agarwal Para-Shooting

19. Ms. Simran Para-Athletics 27. Ms. Rubina Francis Para-Shooting

20. Shri Navdeep Para-Athletics 28. Shri Swapnil Suresh Kusale Shooting

21. Shri Nitesh Kumar Para-Badminton 29. Shri Sarabjot Singh Shooting
30. Shri Abhay Singh Squash
22. Ms.Thulasimathi Murugesan Para-Badminton
31. Shri Sajan Prakash Swimming
23. Ms. Nithya Sre Sumathy Para-Badminton 32. Shri Aman Wrestling
Sivan

Arjuna Award comprises a Bronze statuette of Arjuna, a Certificate, a Ceremonial Dress, and a Cash Prize of Rs 15 lakh.
Established in : 1961
Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar

S. No. Name of the Entity

1. Physical Education Foundation of India

Award : A citation and a Trophy | Established-2009

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy 2024:

S. No. Name of University

1 Chandigarh University Overall winner University

st
2 Lovely Professional University, (PB) 1 runner up University
nd
3 Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar 2 runner up University

Awards– A rolling MAKA trophy and a cash prize of Rs 15 Lakh | Established – 1956-57
 Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports Announces National Sports Awards 2024

President of India to Give Away Awards on 17th January 2025

National Sports Awards are given every year to recognize and reward excellence in sports.
‘Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award’ is given for the spectacular and most outstanding performance in
the field of sports by a sportsperson over the period of the previous four years.
‘Arjuna Award for outstanding performance in Sports and Games’ is given for good performance over a period
of the previous four years and for showing qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and a sense of discipline.
Arjuna Award (Lifetime) is given to honour and motivate those sportspersons who have contributed to sports
by their performance and continue to contribute to promotion of sports even after their retirement from active
sporting career.
‘Dronacharya Award for outstanding coaches in Sports and Games’ is given to coaches for doing outstanding
and meritorious work on a consistent basis and for enabling sportspersons to excel in International events.
The overall top performing university in Khelo India University Games is given the Maulana Abul Kalam
Azad (MAKA) Trophy.
Q3. Name the personality who is appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Unique Identification
Authority of India (UIDAI) wef 2nd January 2025 ?
A. Bhuvnesh Kumar
B. Amit Agrawal
C. Ajay Bhushan Pandey
D. Nandan Nilekani
E. Pankaj Kumar
Ans : Bhuvnesh Kumar
UIDAI : It was established as a statutory authority in 2016 by GoI. HQ : New Delhi, Delhi .
Q4. Recently(in Jan) the Gujarat has approved the decision to divide which district into two, creating
a new district called ‘Vav-Tharad’ as a 34th district ?
A. Bharuch
B. Jamnagar
C. Banas Kantha
D. Morbi
E. Bhavnagar
Ans : Banas Kantha
The Vav-Tharad district will cover an area of 6,257 sq km, while Banas kantha will span 4,486 sq km.
Vav-Tharad district will include eight talukas: Vav, Bhabhar, Tharad, Dhanera, Suigam, Lakhni, Diodar,
and Kankrej, along with four municipalities – Bhabhar, Tharad, Thara, and Dhanera.
Banaskantha district will retain six talukas: Palanpur, Danta, Amirgadh, Dantiwada, Vadgam, and Deesa,
along with two municipalities – Palanpur and Deesa.
Q5. Name the player who won Women’s World Rapid Championship 2024 held in New York , USA ?
A. Koneru Humpy (India)
B. Ju Wenjun (China)
C. Kateryna Lagno (Russia)
D. Lei Tingjie (China)
E. VaishaliRameshbabu(India)
Ans : Koneru Humpy (India) (8.5 points)
She defeated Indonesia’s Irene Sukandar in finals .
World Rapid Championship – Open Section - 1st : Volodar Murzin (Russia) 2nd : Alexander Grischuk
(Russia) 3rd : Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia)
Blitz Championship :
Open section - 1st : Magnus Carlsen (Norway) and Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia) 2nd : Wesley So
(USA) 3rd : Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland)
Women : 1st : Ju Wenjun (China) 2nd : Lei Tingjie (China) 3rd : Vaishali Rameshbabu(India)
Q6. Which team won the 78th Santosh trophy 2024 ?
A. Punjab
B. Goa
C. Kerala
D. West Bengal
E. Meghalaya
Ans : West Bengal
West Bengal defeated Kerala in the finals.
Robi Hansda, from West Bengal team won the Tulsidas Balaram Player of the Match Award and the
Peter Thangaraj Player of the Tournament Award.
He scored the 12 goal in during the National Football Championship .
Q7. A renowned botanist, Dr K.S. Manilal recently(in Jan) passwed away. He was honored with the
Padma Shri in _______ for his contributions in the field of science.
A. 2018
B. 2020
C. 2017
D. 2021
E. 2023
Ans : 2020
Other Awards :
Vishwambhar Puri Medal (1990), Y.D. Tyagi Gold Medal (1998) and the E.K. Janaki Ammal Taxonomy
Award (2003) by GoI .
Q8. Who is recently re-appointed as Non-Executive Chairman of Bandhan Bank ?
A. Rajinder Kumar Babbar
B. Santosh G Nair
C. Rajeev Mantri
D. Anup Kumar Sinha
E. Partha Pratim Sengupta
Ans : Anup Kumar Sinha
Q9. Recently(in Jan) the GoI has formed an expert panel to review and revise the Wholesale Price
Index (WPI) base year from 2011-12 to 2022-23 and develop a new Producer Price Index (PPI).
The Expert Panel is headed by whom ?
A. Ramesh Chand
B. Surjit Bhalla
C. Shamika Ravi
D. Dharmakirti Joshi
E. Nilesh Shah
Ans : Ramesh Chand
The working group is tasked with submitting its final report to the Office of the Economic Adviser,
MoC&I by 30th June, 2026.
The WPI was first introduced in 1942, with the base year set as 1939. Since then, the index has undergone
7 revisions, each updating the base year to better reflect changes in the economy.
The base years for these revisions have been: 1952-53, 1961-62, 1970-71, 1981-82, 1993-94, 2004-05, and
2011-12.
Q10. India's first made in India Surgical Robot ‘SSI Mantra(Multi-Arm Novel Tele Robotic
Assistance) was installed at __________ .
A. Fortis Healthcare, Kargra, Himachal
B. All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Delhi
C. Medanta Hospital, Gurgaon, Haryana
D. Noble Hospitals and Research Centre, Pune, Maharashtra
E. Apollo Hospitals, Amritsar, Punjab
Ans : Noble Hospitals and Research Centre, Pune, Maharashtra
SS Innovations has become the 1st company in India to receive Central Drugs Standard Control
Organisation (CDSCO) approval for Telesurgery and Tele proctoring.
The SSI Mantra system was developed in 2017 by Dr. Sudhir Srivastava, became the 1st Indian-made
surgical robot.
Q11. Which among the following country/ countries officially become full members of the European
Union (EU) led Schengen free-travel zones ?
A. Romania
B. Bulgaria
C. Ireland Bulgaria: Capital- Sofia President- Rumen Radev
D. Cyprus Currency- Bulgarian lev (BGN)
Romania: Capital- Bucharest President- Klaus Werner
E. Both A & B Iohannis Currency- Romanian Leu (RON)
Ans : Both A & B
Schengen Area:
i. It is the world’s largest free travel area that now includes 25 of the 27 EU member states, except Ireland and
Cyprus, and includes 4 members states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA): Iceland, Liechtenstein,
Norway and Switzerland.
ii. It was formed under Schengen Agreement, international treaty which was initially approved by 5 countries:
Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands in Schengen, Luxembourg on June 14, 1985.
Note : The announcement came following the approval of EU ministers for full membership of both these countries in
the meeting held on 12 December, 2024
i.
Q12. The NPCI has extended the deadline for implementing a 30% market share cap for UPI
providers till ______.
A. 31st March 2025
B. 31st December 2025
UPI Apps (Dec’24)
C. 31st July 2025
with highest UPI
D. 31st March 2026 transactions
includes
E. 31st December 2026
Ans : 31st December 2026
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI):
MD & CEO – Dilip Asbe
HQ - Mumbai, Maharashtra
Founded – 2008
❑ In 2020, NPCI initially set a user cap of 1 million for WhatsApp Pay, which was increased to 100
million by November 2022.
❑ In December 2024, NPCI lifted the user limit for onboarding on Meta-owned platform WhatsApp Pay,
allowing it to offer UPI services to over 500 million users in India, enabling them to make UPI
payments.
Q13. Name the personality who is recently(in Jan) appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of
National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) foundation ?
A. Vishal Thakur
B. Jyoti Sharma
C. Nidhi Bhasin
D. Gujan Lal
E. Vikram Patil
Ans : Jyoti Sharma
NASSCOM foundation : HQ - Mumbai, Maharashtra Established in : 2001
Q14. Which among the following company has received SEBI approval to launch a Mutual Fund ?
A. BlackRock Financial Management Inc
B. Jio Financial Services Limited
C. Cosmea Financial Holdings Pvt Limited
D. Schloss Bangalore Limited
E. Fabtech Technologies
Ans : Cosmea Financial Holdings Pvt Limited
Cosmea Financial Holdings Pvt Limited :
Founded in : 2020 HQ - Mumbai Maharashtra Founder and Chairman - Sam Ghosh
Q15. Name the organization that has signed a ‘green loan agreement’ with Japan based SMBC for
Renewable Energy transformation ?
A. Adani Power
B. POWERGRID
C. Tata Power
D. NTPC Limited
E. JSW Energy
Ans : POWERGRID
The loan facility, denominated in Japanese Yen (JPY), is valued at an equivalent of USD 200 million with an
additional greenshoe option of USD 150 million.
Sh. Ashwani K. Gupta, ED (Finance), POWERGRID and Sh. Sriram Kumondur, MD & Head, India
Offshore Banking, SMBC and Sh. Manoj Kaushik, Branch Head, SMBC, Gift City signed the agreement on
behalf of POWERGRID and SMBC.
POWERGRID : CMD - R. K. Tyagi Est - 1989 HQ : Gurugram, Haryana
Q16. Who is appointed as new MD & CEO of TATA AIG General Insurance Company Limited ?
A. Animesh Kumar
B. Tapan Singhel
C. Mayank Bathwal
D. Amit Ganorkar
E. Neelesh Garg
Ans : Amit Ganorkar
Previously he served as Managing Director of Royal Sundaram General Insurance.
He has also held the role of Chief Operating Officer(COO) at TATA AIG General Insurance.
Tata AIG General Insurance : a joint venture company between Tata Group and American International
Group (AIG). HQ : Mumbai, Maharashtra Established in : 2001
Q17. Name the state that has launched “Atlas of Indian Wolf Habitats” to protect biodiversity and
conserve the Indian Wolf ?
A. Rajasthan
B. Tamil Nadu
C. Odisha
D. Himachal Pradesh
E. Gujarat
Ans : Gujarat
The atlas was jointly prepared by the Forest Department of Gujarat in collaboration with Gujarat
Ecological Education and Research Foundation(GEER Foundation).
The Atlas provides detailed information on wolf habitats, including maps highlighting wolf presence and
habitat distribution across 13 districts of the state.
Q18. Which of the following insurance company has acquired a 10% stake in Bima Sugam India
Federation worth Rs. 6.6 crore ?
A. SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
B. Aegon Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
C. Bharti AXA Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
D. HDFC Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
E. IndiaFirst Life Insurance Co. Ltd
Ans : SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
Bima Sugam India Federation :
Md & CEO - Prasun Sikdar HQ - Mumbai, Maharashtra Founded in : 18th June 2024.
Q19. The National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) has invested Rs
_____________ crore in long-term bonds issued by NDR InvIT.
A. Rs 450 crore
B. Rs 550 crore
C. Rs 655 crore
D. Rs 745 crore
E. Rs 835 crore
Ans : Rs 745 crore
The funds raised through 15-year bonds (which are rated AAA/stable by Indian ratings agencies) will be
used to boost growth strategy of NDR InvIT, including the development of industrial parks and
warehousing facilities across key economic corridors of India.
NaBFID : MD - Rajkiran Rai G HQ - Muambai, Maharashtra Founded in - 2021
Q20. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has signed an MoU with with which organization to boost the
medical training and capabilities of Coast Guard medical officers ?
A. AIIMS Raipur
B. AIIMS Rishikesh
C. AIIMS Bhubaneswar
D. AIIMS Jodhpur
E. AIIMS Delhi
Ans : AIIMS Delhi
Signatories : Surgeon Commodore Sanjay Dutta on behalf of the ICG and Dr. Shailendra Kumar,
Comprehensive Resuscitation Training Centre (CRTC) AIIMS Coordinator
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