Q1. Name the NITI Aayog member who will head  the Task force which has been  constituted by the Central government  to closely monitor the   monkeypox virus situation in country ?

1. V. K. Saraswat
2. Ramesh Chand
3. Dr V K Paul
4. Suman Bery
5. None of These 

Q2. In its bid to bolster military ties, Indian Army soldiers are scheduled to hold exercises  in Aug 2022 with the Army personnel of

1. Oman and Vietnam
2. US and Australia
3. UAE and Qatar
4.  Israel and Saudi Arabia
5. None of These

Q3. Name the corporate group which is  planning to spend Rs 3,000 crore on R&D by FY26 and is set to roll out the 'First in India' seating system for Vande Bharat Express trains from Sept 2022?

1. Jindal Group
2. Adani Group
3. Tata Group
4. Reliance Group
5. None of These

Q4. Who among the following has won the  first gold medal for India in Commonwealth Games 2022 ?

1. Mairaj Ahmad Khan
2. Mirabai Chanu
3. Achinta Sheuli
4. Jeremy Lalrinnunga
5. None of These

Q5. Name the Shiv Sena leader and four-time Rajya Sabha member  who has  been sent to four-day custody by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on  Aug 1 in an alleged money-laundering case arising out of the Patra Chawl Goregaon land scam ?

1. Sanjay Raut
2. Vinayak Raut
3. Uddhav Thackeray
4. Aditya Thackeray
5. None of These

Answers

1--------------------  3   Dr V K Paul

2--------------------- 1  Oman and Vietnam

3--------------------  3 Tata Group

4--------------------2   Mirabai Chanu

5---------------------1      Sanjay Raut 

Q1. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi  has asked the state governments to clear power sector companies' dues which are estimated at around

1.  Rs 2.5 lakh crore
2. Rs 3.5 lakh crore
3. Rs 4.8 lakh crore
4. Rs 5.2 lakh crore
5. None of These

Q2. What  rank   India hold in  military spending for the year 2021 according   to the data collated by Stockholm-based defence think-tank SIPRI ?

1. First
2. Second
3. Third
4. Fourth
5. None of These

Q3. Name the African nation  against  which the U.N. Security Council  has voted to relax the arms embargo ?

1. Libya
2. Sudan
3. Somalia
4. Central African Republic
5. None of These

Q4. Who among the following is the India's youngest athlete at Commonwealth Games 2022 ?

1. Abhay Singh
2. Anahat Singh
3. Jeremy Lalrinnunga
4. Achinta Sheuli
5. None of These

Q5.  Who among the following were the lagbearers  of the Indian contingent during the opening ceremony of Commonwealth Games 2022 (CWG) in Birmingham ?

1. PV Sindhu and Manpreet Singh
2. Sakshi Malik and Mirabai Chanu
3. Savita and Mandeep Singh
4. Lovlina Borgohain and  Lakshya Sen
5. None of These

Answers

1----------- 1   Rs 2.5 lakh crore

2--------------3 Third

3------------4 Central African Republic

4---------2   Anahat Singh

5-----------1   PV Sindhu and Manpreet Singh

Chief of Army Staff Gen Manoj Pande has met Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and other top civil and military leaders of Bhutan in Thimphu with a focus on boosting "enduring" strategic ties.

Gen Pande was on a visit to Bhutan in the backdrop of growing concerns in India over China's relentless attempts to expand military infrastructure around Bhutanese territory in the Doklam plateau.

The Army Chief's visit to Bhutan coincided with India's decision to authorise the export of 5,000 metric tonnes of wheat and 10,000 metric tonnes of sugar to Bhutan as per Thimphu's requirements.

Earlier this year, India restricted the export of the two commodities to strengthen India's food security.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi  has asked the state governments to clear power sector companies' dues which are estimated at around Rs 2.5 lakh crore.

The Prime Minister regretted that the state governments are yet to clear subsidy commitments amounting to Rs 75,000 crore to power companies.

About Rs 2.5 lakh crore of companies engaged in electricity generation and distribution are stuck, he said while speaking at the closing function of the 'Ujjwal Bharat Ujjwal Bhavishya – Power @2047' event.

Recalling the days of power shortages, the Prime Minister said that during the last eight years, about 1,70,000 MW of electricity generation capacity has been added.

Power is necessary for the development of the nation, he said, adding the country needs "Rashtraneeti' and not 'Rajneeti".

India, he added, is among the top 4-5 countries of the world in terms of installed solar capacity and also has one of the world's largest solar plants.

Earlier, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of 735 MW Nokh solar project in Rajasthan, Green Hydrogen Mobility Project in Leh and Kawas Green Hydrogen Blending with Natural Gas project in Gujarat.

The plant in Leh would produce green hydrogen for vehicles. Modi also launched Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme and National Solar rooftop portal.

The government  has said that  it is exploring collaboration with a foreign defence major for co-production of engines for a medium combat aircraft.

India is working on an ambitious USD 5 billion project to develop the fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).

"Indigenous capability exists with DRDO and Indian industries for design, development and manufacturing of 80kN combat jet engine," Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said in Lok Sabha. He was replying to a question.

India's confidence for the development of the AMCA saw a significant jump after the development of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas.

Manufactured by state-run aerospace behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), the Tejas aircraft is a potent platform for air combat and offensive air support missions while reconnaissance and anti-ship operations are its secondary roles.

In February last year, the defence ministry sealed a Rs 48,000 crore deal with HAL for procurement of 83 LCA Tejas fighter aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF).

The revision of pension for ex-servicemen under the 'One Rank One Pension' (OROP) is under process, the government said in Lok Sabha.

In responding to a question, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said the revision is being carried out with effect from July 1, 2019. The minister also cited an order by the Supreme Court on the matter.

The government issued notifications in 2015 announcing the implementation of the OROP scheme.

It had a provision for reviewing the pensions every five years.

The OROP implies that a uniform pension be paid to the armed forces personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service regardless of their date of retirement.

India's military spending for the year 2021 was ranked as the third highest in the world, the government said citing data collated by Stockholm-based defence think-tank SIPRI.

Former Philippine President Fidel Valdez Ramos, a US-trained ex-general who saw action in the Korean and Vietnam wars and played a key role in a 1986 pro-democracy uprising that ousted a dictator, has died. He was 94.

The U.N. Security Council voted to relax the arms embargo against the Central African Republic, a disappointment to its government, which sought a complete lifting of the ban on the sale or transfer of weapons and ammunition.

The vote was 10-0 with Russia, China and the council's three African members that supported the lifting of the embargo abstaining.

The mineral-rich but impoverished Central African Republic has faced deadly intercommunal fighting since 2013 when predominantly Muslim Seleka rebels seized power and forced President Francois Bozize from office. Mostly Christian militias later fought back, also targeting civilians in the streets. Untold thousands were killed, and most of the capital’s Muslims fled in fear.

A peace deal between the government and 14 rebel groups was signed in February 2019, but violence erupted after the constitutional court rejected Bozize’s candidacy to run for president in December 2020. President Faustin Archange Touadera won a second term with 53 per cent of the vote, but he continues to face opposition from a rebel coalition linked to Bozize.

The government controls the capital, but much of the country is controlled by armed groups.

In a sign of the Taliban's warming up to India, the Kabul regime has rolled out the red carpet for a batch of Afghan Military cadets who returned to Kabul after completing their training in India.

Around two dozen of Afghan Military cadets, who returned to Kabul, had passed the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Dehradun on June 11.

It is pertinent to mention that all 25 cadets of the Afghan military academy were sent to India before the Taliban came to power, against whom they were taught to fight.

The warm welcome of India-trained Afghan cadets by the Taliban government reflects Kabul's growing closeness to New Delhi.

Taliban-led Afghan government is keen to use the skills of these cadets to maintain security in the country.

Ever since the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan last year, the Afghan National Army has ceased to exist, erasing hopes of any such training possibilities for Afghan cadets in future.

However, with the kind of welcome the cadets received while reaching Kabul, the hopes are raised high for new Afghan cadets coming to India for training.

After the regime change in the country, no new cadets came to IMA for training.

Earlier in February, amid reports of detention and execution of Afghan security personnel by the Taliban, the Indian defence ministry had facilitated a prolonged stay for close to 80 Afghan cadets from various Indian military training institutions.

India also provided them with a 12-month English course under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme.