Q. Bihari Puraskar, which was seen in the news, is associated with which field?
[1] Administration
[2] Sports
[3] Literature
[4] Culture
Answer: 3
The Bihari Puraskar is one of the three literary awards instituted by KK Birla Foundation in 1991. Named after the famous poet Bihari, the award for Rajasthani authors carries a cash prize of ₹2.5 lakh, a plaque and a citation.
Q. Braj Basi Lal, who passed away recently, was associated with which field?
[A] Music
[B] Archaeology
[C] Literature
[D] Business
Answer: B [Archaeology]
Notes:
Veteran Archaeologist Braj Basi Lal, passed away recently at the age of 101. He served as the Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India from 1968 to 1972.
He excavated several landmark sites, including Hastinapura (Uttar Pradesh), Sisupalgarh (Odisha), Purana Qila (Delhi) and Kalibangan (Rajasthan). He also led an excavation at the then disputed site in Ayodhya. The archaeologist was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2000.
Q. Which Industrialist has been conferred France’s top civilian honour — The Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur?
[A] Adi Godrej
[B] Cyrus Poonawalla
[C] Swati Piramal
[D] Gautam Adani
Answer: C [Swati Piramal]
Notes:
Indian scientist and industrialist Dr Swati Piramal has been conferred France’s top civilian honour -The Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur.
The vice-chairperson of the Piramal Group was conferred the Knight of the Legion of Honour for her contributions in the fields of business and industry, science, medicine, and towards strengthening Indo-French ties.
Q. Which Indian author and poet is the recipient of Hermann Kesten Prize by Germnay-based PEN Centre?
[A] Arundhati Roy
[B] Meena Kandasamy
[C] Om Prakash Valmiki
[D] Raj Gowthaman
Answer: B [Meena Kandasamy]
Notes:
Indian author and poet Meena Kandasamy has been announced as this year’s recipient of the Hermann Kesten Prize by the PEN Centre in Germany.
The Hermann Kesten Prize honours personalities who stand up for the rights of persecuted authors and journalists. Her notable works include The Gypsy Goddess, When I Hit You: Or, A Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife, Ayaankali, Tamil Tigresses and poems such as Touch, and Ms Militancy.
Read more: [Class 6-12] Subject Wise NCERT Notes Pdf Download | UPSC Civil Services Exam 2024
Q. Which country’s scientist has been elected as the Vice President of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF)?
[A] China
[B] India
[C] Ukraine
[D] Bangladesh
Answer: B [India]
Notes:
Dr. A K Anil Kumar, Senior Scientist in ISRO is elected as the Vice President of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), during its Annual Conference held in Paris.
International Astronautical Federation (IAF) is the world’s leading space advocacy body with 433 members in 72 countries. IAF encourages development of astronautics for peaceful purposes and supports dissemination of scientific information.
Q. ‘Center for Civil Liberties’, which was awarded 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, is based in which country?
[A] Afghanistan
[B] Iran
[C] Ukraine
[D] China
Answer: C [Ukraine]
Notes:
2022 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, Russian human rights organisation Memorial and Ukrainian human rights organisation ‘Center for Civil Liberties’.
As per the Norwegian Nobel Committee, they have promoted the right to criticise power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens. They have made an effort to document war crimes, human right abuses and the abuse of power.
Q. The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences 2022 was awarded to three scientists for their research in which field?
[A] Behavioural Economics
[B] Global Poverty
[C] Banks and Financial Crises
[D] Quantitative Methods
Answer: C [Banks and Financial Crises]
Notes:
The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to Ben S Bernanke, the former chair of the US Federal Reserve, Douglas W Diamond and Philip H Dybvig of USA for research into banks and financial crises.
As per the committee, ‘the laureates have provided a foundation for our modern understanding of why banks are needed, why they’re vulnerable, and what to do about it’.
Q. Who has been appointed as the head of the Civil 20 (C20), official engagement group of the Group of 20 (G20) by India?
[A] Sri Ravishankar
[B] Mata Amritanandamayi Devi
[C] Ranjan Gogoi
[D] Sunil Arora
Answer: B [Mata Amritanandamayi Devi]
Notes:
Spiritual leader Mata Amritanandamayi Devi has been appointed the Chair of the country’s Civil 20 (C20), an official engagement group of the Group of 20 (G20), by the Indian government.
India will assume the Presidency of the G20 for one year from December 1, 2022 to November 30, 2023. The C20 is the platform of G-20, for civil-society organisations (CSOs) to bring forth non-government and non-business voices to the G20 leaders.
Q. Who is known as the ‘Steel Man of India’?
[A] O P Jindal
[B] Jamshed J Irani
[C] Jamsetji Tata
[D] Lakshmi Mittal
Answer: B [Jamshed J Irani]
Notes:
Jamshed J Irani, also known as the steel man of India, passed away recently in Jamshedpur in the age of 86.
He served as the Managing Director of Tata Steel in 1992 before retiring in 2001. Irani retired from the board of Tata Steel in June 2011, leaving behind a legacy of 43 years. He was conferred the Padma Bhushan in 2007 for his contribution to industry. Dr Irani was also the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Government of India in 2008 for his services in metallurgy.
Q. Ela Bhatt, who passed away recently, was the founder of which flagship institution?
[A] SEWA
[B] AICTU
[C] CII
[D] FICCI
Answer: A [SEWA]
Notes:
Renowned women’s rights activist Ela Bhatt, who is also the founder of SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association), passed away recently.
SEWA was formed as a trade union of women working in the unorganized sector, which now has two million members. The 89-year-old, also a Padma Bhushan recipient, was a pioneer in the field of women empowerment and received international recognition.
Q. Who has been appointed as the Secretary of the Department of Financial Services (DFS) in November 2022?
[A] Vivek Joshi
[B] Subash Chandra Garg
[C] Urjit Patel
[D] M K Jain
Answer: A [Vivek Joshi]
Notes:
Senior bureaucrat Vivek Joshi took charge as the Secretary of the Department of Financial Services (DFS) under the Ministry of Finance.
He replaced Sanjay Malhotra who is set to take over as Revenue Secretary. Prior to this appointment, Vivek Joshi, a 1989 batch IAS officer, was the Registrar General and Census Commissioner under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Q. ‘Ezhuthachan Puraskaram 2022’ is the award instituted by which state government?
[A] Karnataka
[B] Tamil Nadu
[C] Kerala
[D] Odisha
Answer: C [Kerala]
Notes:
‘Ezhuthachan Puraskaram’ is the Kerala state government’s highest literary honour, named after Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan, a 16th century devotional poet.
This year, Noted Malayalam fiction writer Sethu has been selected for the Ezhuthachan Award 2022, in recognition of his overall contribution to Malayalam language and literature. The writer is also a recipient of the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award and Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award.
Q. Who has been appointed as the ‘Chief Executive Officer’ of public broadcaster Prasar Bharati?
[A] Gaurav Dwivedi
[B] Abhishek Singh
[C] Saurabh Garg
[D] Rajesh Bansal
Answer: A [Gaurav Dwivedi]
Notes:
Senior IAS officer Gaurav Dwivedi was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of public broadcaster Prasar Bharati.
Dwivedi will have a five-year tenure from the date he assumes charge. Shashi Shekhar Vempati was the CEO of Prasar Bharati for five year tenure from 2017 to 2022. Earlier, Dwivedi was the Chief Executive Officer of MyGovIndia platform.
Q. Which country won the Leadership in Family Planning (EXCELL) Awards-2022?
[A] China
[B] India
[C] Indonesia
[D] Pakistan
Answer: B [India]
Notes:
India is the only country to win the Leadership in Family Planning (EXCELL) Awards-2022 in the ‘country category’ at the International Conference on Family Planning held in Pattaya city, Thailand.
As per NFHS-5 data, overall Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) has increased from 54 percent to 67 percent in the country. Unmet needs of family planning have witnessed a decline from 13 per cent to 9 per cent.
Q. Which institution won the ‘2021 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development’?
[A] Children For You
[B] Pratham
[C] Vanavil
[D] Give India Foundation
Answer: B [Pratham]
Notes:
The ‘2021 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development’ was presented to Pratham, an NGO functioning in the field of education.
Former Vice-President Hamid Ansari presented the award, in recognition of Pratham’s work in ensuring quality education for children of the country, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Q. Which Union Ministry presents the ‘National Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar 2021-22’?
[A] Ministry of Jal Shakti
[B] Ministry of Education
[C] Ministry of Youth affairs and Sports
[D] Ministry of Women and Child Development
Answer: B [Ministry of Education]
Notes:
The Ministry of Education announced that 39 schools from across the nation have received the Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar for the 2021–22 academic year.
Of the 8.23 lakh entries, 28 government and aided institutions and 11 private schools were chosen. Schools are evaluated for the award based on six broad criteria- Covid-19 (preparedness and response), hand-washing with soap, toilets, operation and maintenance, behavioural change, and water.