October current affairs questions:

Q.1) which state accounts for the highest number of

endemic flowering plants species as revealed by a recent
publication by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI)?

a) Maharashtra
b) Tamil Nadu
c) Kerala
d) Meghalaya
Q.1) Solution (b)
Q.2)
Consider the following statements about
melamine:
1. It is a by-product of the coal industry.
1. It is high in nitrogen.
2. It is adulterated in milk and food products to
increase its protein content.
Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct?
a) Only 1 and 2
b) Only 2 and 3
c) Only 1 and 3
d) all of the above
Q.2) Solution (a)
Melamine is a by-product of the coal industry. It
is a chemical compound with numerous
industrial uses, including the production of
plastics, dishware, kitchenware, commercial
filters,
laminates,
adhesives,
molding
compounds, coatings and flame retardants.
Melamine ((1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triamine) is high
in nitrogen (C3N6H6) It is this characteristic
that has led to its illegal addition to food and
feed for the purpose of increasing the apparent
protein content of food and feed products.
Q.3) Recently India has launched satellite GSAT-18
Consider the following statements about GSAT-18:
1. It is a communication satellite operated by
INSAT system.
2. It was launched from Sriharikota by PSLV C34
3. It is Indias heaviest satellite till date.
Which of the following statements is/are correct?
a) Only 1
b) 1 and 3
c) 1 and 2
d) All of the above
Q.3) Solution (b)
GSAT-18 is a planned Indian communications
satellite.

Built by ISRO and operated by INSAT, it will

carry 24 C-band, 12 extended C-band, and 12
Ku-band transponders.
It was launched by Ariane 5 VA-231 from
Kourou, French Guiana. GSAT-18, India's
heaviest satellite to date at 3,404 kg.

Q.4) Consider the following statements about

Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment
Council (TIFAC):
1. It is an autonomous body under the Department
of Science & Technology
2. Technology Vision Document 2035 is
produced by TIFAC.
Which of the following statements is/are correct?
a) Only 1
b) Only 2
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
Q.4) Solution (c)
It is an autonomous organization set up in 1988
under the Department of Science & Technology
to look ahead in technologies, assess the
technology trajectories, and support technology
innovation by network actions in select
technology areas of national importance.
In 1993, TIFAC embarked upon the major task
of formulating a Technology Vision for the
country in various emerging technology areas.
Technology Vision 2035 (TV 2035), a vision
produced by the Technology Information,
Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC).
Q.5) Recently an Indian glacier research facility was
established in the Himalayas. Consider the following
statements:
1. It was established by the National Centre for
Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR)
2. It will serve as the base for Terrestrial Laser
Scanners and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to
digitise glacier movements and snow cover
variations.
Which of the following statements is/are correct?
a) Only 1
b) Only 2
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
Q.5) Solution (c)

Q.6) Recently the government launched the Single

Window Interface for Facilitating Trade (SWIFT).
Consider the following statements about SWIFT:
1. It is launched by Central Board of Excise and
Customs (CBEC)
2. It compiles the information required for
Customs, FSSAI, plant, quarantine, animal
quarantine, drug controller, wildlife controller
bureau and textiles committee.
Which of the following statements is/are correct?
a) Only 1
b) Only 2
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
Q.6) Solution (c)

Q.7)
Recently Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has
detected Great Balls of Fire (GBF) near a red giant.
Consider the following statements
1. Red giants are stars that are nearing the end of their
fuel supplies and have begun to puff up and expand
2. HST is a space telescope launched by NASA in
collaboration with European Space Agency
Which of the following statements is/are correct?
a) Only 1
b) Only 2
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
Q.7) Solution (c)
The Great Balls of Fire (GBF) are mysterious,
super-hot blobs of gas which were detected by
the Hubble Space Telescope over the weekend.
Each as massive as planet Mars and zooming so
fast through space that they would travel from
earth to the moon in 30 minutes, the GBF have
continued once every 8.5 years for at least the
past 400 years.
The fireballs present a puzzle to astronomers.
The gas balls were observed near a red giant
called V Hydrae, about 1,200 light years away
from earth.
Red giants are stars that are nearing the end of
their fuel supplies and have begun to puff up and
expand. HST is a space telescope that was
launched in 1990 by NASA in collaboration
with European Space Agency.

Q.8)
Consider the following statements about
contingent convertible capital instruments (CoCos):
1. They are also known as Additional Tier 1 bonds.
2. They are hybrid bonds that combine debt and
equity elements.
Which of the following statements is/are incorrect?
a) Only 1
b) Only 2
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
Q.8) Solution (d)
1. The contingent convertible capital instruments
(CoCos) also known as Additional Tier 1 bonds
are hybrid bonds that combines debt and equity
elements.
2. Its defining characteristic is that it may be
converted into shares if the CET1 capital ratio
drops below a specific level.
3. A contingent convertible bond, also known as
CoCo or Additional Tier 1 Capital (AT1) is a
hybrid issue that combines debt (yielding
interests for the investor) and capital (have the
capacity to absorb losses) properties.
4. These instruments are perpetual (they have no
set maturity date), although the issuer reserves
the option to call the bond five years after the
bond is issued. Coupon payments corresponding
to this type of issues can be cancelled upon
request by the issuer (coupon is noncumulative).
5. The main characteristic of this type of bond is
that, if the specific trigger conditions indicated
in the issue prospectus are met, they can be
converted into shares. The most common trigger
conditions include the CET1 (Common Equity
Tier 1) ratio dropping below a specific value.
Therefore, these issues are exclusively aimed at
institutional investors.
Q.9) Gaza strip is frequently in news. It is
a) A landlocked region in Middle East
b) Part of Egypt
c) A landlocked region in North Africa
d) None
Q.9) Solution (d)
Gaza, together with the West Bank, comprise the
Palestinian territories claimed by the
Palestinians as the State of Palestine.
The territories of Gaza and the West Bank are
separated from each other by Israeli territory.

It is not a landlocked region - eastern coast of

the Mediterranean Sea that borders Egypt and
Israel.

Q.10) FDI is prohibited in which of the following?

1. Lottery Business including Government /private
lottery, online lotteries, etc.
2. Business of Chit funds.
3. Trading in Transferable Development Rights
(TDRs).
4. Manufacturing of Cigars, Cheroots and
cigarettes of tobacco.
5. Real Estate Business (other than construction
development) or Construction of Farm Houses.
Select the correct code given below:
a) 1, 2 and 4 only
b) 1, 3 and 5 only
c) 1, 2 and 5 only
d) All of the above
Q.10) Solution (d)
Q.11) Consider the following statements about Eastern
Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC)
The corridor covers states of Punjab, Haryana,
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West
Bengal.
The double track and single track segment will
be electrified and it is a metre gauge corridor.
Select the correct statement(s)
a) Only 1
b) Only 2
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither nor 2
Q.11) Solution (a)
The corridor covers states of Punjab, Haryana,
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West
Bengal.
It is going to be a broad gauge corridor. The
Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor with a route
length of 1856 km consists of two distinct
segments: an electrified double-track segment of
1409 km between Dankuni in West Bengal &
Khurja in Uttar Pradesh & an electrified singletrack segment of 447 km between Ludhiana
(Dhandarikalan) - Khurja - Dadri in the state of
Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Q.12) which of the following regional organization

is/are members of Financial Action Task Force (FATF):
a) Gulf Cooperation Council
b) European Union
c) Both (a) and (b)
d) None
Q.12) Solution (c)
Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an intergovernmental body established in 1989 to
combat money laundering, terrorist financing
and other related threats.
It comprises 35 member jurisdiction and 2
regional organizations (Gulf Cooperation
Council and EU). Israel and Saudi Arabia has
observer status.
Q.13) Consider the following statements about
Chandrayaan 2
1. It consists of an Orbiter, Lander and a Rover.
2. It is joint venture of ISRO and ROSCOSMOS.
Select the correct statements:
a) Only 1
b) Only 2
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
Q.13) Solution (a)
Chandrayaan 2, Indias second mission to the
Moon, is an advanced version of the previous
Chandrayaan-1 mission.
It consists of an Orbiter, Lander and Rover
configuration. It is planned to be launched as a
composite stack into the Earth Parking Orbit
(EPO) of 170 X 18,500 km by GSLV-Mk II.
The Orbiter carries the combined stack up to
moon till the Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI).
The combined stack is then inserted into a lunar
orbit of 100 km x 100 km. The Lander is
separated from the Orbiter in this orbit.
It was agreed that Russian Space Agency
ROSCOSMOS would be responsible for lunar
Lander and ISRO will be responsible for Orbiter
and Rover as well as Launch by GSLV. Later,
due to a shift in the programmatic alignment of
this mission, it was decided that the Lunar
Lander development would be done by ISRO
and Chandrayaan-2 will be totally an Indian
mission.

Q.14)
Which of the following regions is called as
Third Pole:
a) Andean Mountains
b) Heard Island glaciers
c) Svalbard in Norway
d) None of the above
Q.14) Solution (d)
The region that encompasses the HimalayaHindu Kush mountain range and the Tibetan
Plateau is widely known as the Third Pole
because its ice fields contain the largest reserve
of fresh water outside the Polar Regions.
This region is the source of the 10 major river
systems that provide irrigation, power and
drinking water for over 1.3 billion people in
Asia nearly 20% of the worlds population.
Q.15) Which organisation released the recent report
Global Urban Ambient Air Pollution Database 2016?
a) World Health Organization
b) United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
c) United Nations Development Programme
d) Mdecins Sans Frontires
Q.15) Solution (a)
WHO released report Global Urban Ambient
Air Pollution Database (update 2016) The
Report says Delhi is no longer the most polluted
city in the world.
Delhi now stands 11th among 3,000 cities in 103
countries (in terms of fine particulate matter or
PM 2.5) Four Indian cities are among the
worlds 10 most polluted Delhis place as the
most polluted is taken by Zabol, in Iran. Gwalior
and Allahabad, meanwhile, come a close second
and third in terms of PM 2.5, while Patna and
Raipur are ranked 6th and 7th.
Q.16)
ExoMars, a two-part Martian astrobiology
project to search for evidence of life on Mars is a joint
mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and which
of the following:
a) NASA
b) ISRO
c) SpaceX
d) ROSCOMOS
Q.16) Solution (d)
ExoMars (Exobiology on Mars) is a two-part
Martian astrobiology project to search for
evidence of life on Mars, a joint mission of the

European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian

space agency Roscosmos.
Q.17) Consider the following about Macro Vulnerability
Index (MVI).
1. It adds together the rate of inflation, current account
deficit and fiscal deficit of a country.
2. The Index value can be compared across countries for
different time periods to gauge their relative
vulnerability.
Select the correct answer:
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) None of the above
Q.17) Solution (c)
Macroeconomic
Vulnerability Index,
as
mentioned in the Mid-Year Economic Analysis
2014- 2015, released by Ministry of Finance
recently, adds together the rate of inflation,
current account deficit and fiscal deficit of a
country.
The Index value can be compared across
countries for different time periods to gauge
their relative vulnerability.
The ministry has done a comparison of the
fragile
five
countriesBrazil,
India,
Indonesia, South Africa and Turkey.
Q.18)
The Sajha Abhiyan of the Rajasthan
Government is concerned with:
a) Complete elimination of child marriages
b) Open jails
c) 24/7 electrified villages
d) None of the above
Q.18) Solution (a)
The Sajha Abhiyan of the Rajasthan
Government, UNFPA and UNICEF, has flagged
off a yatra for complete elimination of Child
Marriages in the state.
Q.19) Which of the following nations are members of
the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical
and Economic Cooperation as well as the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations?
1. Sri Lanka
2. Myanmar
3. Bangladesh
4. Maldives

5. Thailand
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
a) 1 ,2 and 3 only
b) 2 ,3 and 4 only
c) 2 only
d) All of the above
Q.19) Solution (c)
Members of ASEAN: Myanmar, Thailand,
Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei,
Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore.
Members of BIMSTEC: India, Bhutan, Nepal,
Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Q.20)
The first ever Global Conference on Voter
Education titled Voter Education for Inclusive,
Informed and Ethical Participation is being organised
by the Election Commission of India in association with
the:
a) Association of Democratic Reforms.
b) United Nations Development Programs
c) Centre for the Study of Developing Societies
d) World Constitution and Parliament Association
Q.20) Solution: b.
The first ever Global Conference on Voter
Education titled Voter Education for Inclusive,
Informed and Ethical Participation is being
organized by the Election Commission of India
in association with UNDP from 19th to 21st
October, 2016 at New Delhi.
The main purpose of the conference is to learn
from the experiences of Election Management
Bodies.
Q.21) Schiaparelli an entry, descent and landing
demonstrator module is a vehicle destined for Mars. It
is a project by:
a) The European Space Agency (ESA) and Russia
b) NASA and the ESA
c) China
d) Russia and Japan
Q.21) Solution: (a)
There are growing fears a European probe that
attempted to land on Mars on Wednesday has
been lost. Tracking of the Schiaparelli robots
radio signals was dropped less than a minute
before it was expected to touch down on the Red
Planets surface.
The Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) satellite is really
the key part of the mission formally called

ExoMars 2016 a joint endeavour with the

Russian space agency (Roscosmos).
The TGO is going to spend the coming years
studying the behaviour of gases such as
methane, water vapour and nitrogen dioxide in
the Red Planets atmosphere.
officials here have underlined the fact that
Schiaparelli was always viewed within the
agency as a technology demonstrator a project
to give Europe the learning experience and the
confidence to go ahead and land a more
ambitious six-wheeled rover on Mars in 2021.

Q.22) With reference to CITES the Convention on

International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora consider the following statements:
1. It accords protection to animal and plant species
when traded only as live specimens.
2. It is an international agreement between
governments.
3. The Convention is legally binding on the Parties.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) all of the above
Q.22) solution (b)
CITES (the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora)
is an
international
agreement
between
governments. Its aim is to ensure that
international trade in specimens of wild animals
and plants does not threaten their survival.
Today, it accords varying degrees of protection
to more than 35,000 species of animals and
plants, whether they are traded as live
specimens, fur coats or dried herbs.
It is an international agreement to which States
(countries) adhere voluntarily. Although CITES
is legally binding on the Parties in other words
they have to implement the Convention it does
not take the place of national laws. Rather it
provides a framework to be respected by each
Party, which has to adopt its own domestic
legislation to ensure that CITES is implemented
at the national level.