APRIL 2021

1. India signed an agreement with which country for cooperation in its first
manned space mission Gaganyaan?
France
 It will enable Indian flight physicians to train at French facilities.
Equipment developed by French space agency CNES, tested and still
operating aboard the International Space Station (ISS) will be made
available to Indian crews.
2. Where has the Community Service Center been established to make the
data available from India's first solar space mission?
Haldwani, Uttarakhand
 Name - Aditya L-1 Support Cell. It is a joint effort of ISRO and ARIES.
ARIES - Arybhata Research Institute for Observational Sciences
3. Who has become the new Chief Election Commissioner of India?
Sushil Chandra
 Sushil Chandra will become the 24th Chief Election Commissioner of
India and will replace Sunil Arora.
4. How many years did RBI limit the tenure of MD, CEO and whole-time
director (WTD) of private sector banks?
15 year
 Upper age limit for these posts to be 70 years. Thereafter, the individual
will be eligible for re-appointment as MD and CEO or WTD in the same
bank, if considered necessary and desirable by the board, after a
minimum gap of three years
16 Which zone of Indian Railways has become the first zone in the country to
be completely electrified?
West-Central Railway Zone HQ - Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh
 The zonal railway now has 3012 Route Km electrified network. Indian
Railways has set a target of complete electrification by 2024. Indian
 Railways has set a target of 2030 to fully transform itself into the Green
Railway.
17 Who became the first Indian woman to conquer Mount Annapurna?
Priyanka Mohite
●Mount Annapurna, the world's 10th highest peak (8,091 metres (26,545 ft)
above sea level)
18 By which name is the railway department running a train for the transport
of liquid medical oxygen and oxygen cylinders?
Oxygen Express
●The first Oxygen Express left Mumbai for Visakhapatnam
19 Recently who chaired the first meeting of the National Startup Advisory
Council?
Piyush Goyal
 Minister of Railways, Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food
& Public Distribution. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal
Trade (DPIIT) had constituted the National Startup Advisory Council
20 Ministry of Agriculture has entered into an agreement with which
company to increase the income of farmers
Microsoft
● Ministry of Agriculture has tied up for a pilot project in 100 villages in 6
states to boost farmers' income through the reduction in input cost and better
post-harvest management
21 Who launched the National Digital repository ‘Poshan Gyan' based on
health and nutrition?
NITI Aayog
NITI Aayog launched it in partnership with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
and Centre for Social and Behaviour Change, Ashoka University
22 Recently who launched an electronic market place 'e-Santa' for water
farmers?
 Piyush Goyal
E-SANTA - Electronic Solution for Augmenting NACSA Farmers Trade in
Aquaculture. This platform will help connect water farmers with buyers .
This will help the farmers to get a fair price and it will help up the exporters to
buy quality products directly from the farmers.
23 Which Union Minister has recently launched the world's first microsensor-
based Explosive Trace Detector called 'Nanosniffer'?
Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank
The Nanosniffer has been developed by NanoSniff Technologies which is an
IIT Bombay incubated startup.
24 'Anamaya'- A tribal Health Collaborative has been launched by which
Union Minister
Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Shri Arjun
Munda, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs.
●This initiative is supported by Piramal Foundation and Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation
25 Which Ministry has started the 'National Driving License Register'?
Road & Transport Ministry (Nitin Gadkari)
●Purpose - With this, it wants all changes in DLs to be done electronically to
prevent duplication or misuse; will also help in updating and accessing the data
on a real-time basis anywhere in the country
26 Modern 'chaff technology' has been developed by which organization?
DRDO
The advanced chaff technology is used worldwide to protect naval ships from
enemy’s radar and Radio Frequency (RF) missile seekers. chaff material
deployed in the air acts as decoy to deflect enemy’s missiles
27 Which IIT institute launched the watch for the blind to know the time?
IIT Kanpur
 It is a haptic watch with a tactile interface that makes it easy for visually
impaired people to read the time easily.
28 Government of India has announced the grant of scholarship to students of
which country under the 'Muktijodha Scholarship Scheme'?
Bangladesh
●In new scheme, scholarship will be given to 2000 students. These will be
students whose ancestors have contributed to the Bangladesh liberation struggle.
29 With the help of India, which country has built the new building of the
Magistrate Court?
Seychelles
●Recently Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi jointly inaugurated a range of
Indian projects in Seychelles during a high-level virtual event with the President
of Seychelles Wavel Ramkalawan.
30 'Vajra Prahar' joint military exercise has started between which two
countries army?
India & America
●Event - in Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh. In 2021, the 11th edition of the Vajra
Prahar practice was held.
31 India recently organized a practice called 'Khanjar' with which country
Kyrgyzstan
●The practice took place in Kyrgyzstan's capital, Bishkek. Edition - 8th
32 Varuna Naval Exercise to be held between India and which countries?
France & UAE (UAE did not participate)
19th edition . From April 25 to 27, the French Navy (Marine Nationale) and
Indian Navy conducted “Varuna 2021” joint naval exercise in the western
Arabian Sea region of the Indian Ocean.
33 Which country's navy patrolled the Indian maritime area without India's
permission?
 Ans:- America (130 nautical miles west of the Lakshadweep Islands, located in
the Arabian Sea)
34 The Union Cabinet has approved the agreement on customs cooperation
with which country?
Ans:- United Kingdom
●The agreement will provide a legal framework for sharing intelligence
between the customs departments of the two countries and Mutual
Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters. India has a exclusive economic
zone EEZ area of 200 nautical miles from the coastline to the sea under Indian
maritime laws.
35 India has signed an agreement with which country to develop the
transmission line of Rooppur power plant?
Bangladesh
● It is being constructed at Rooppur in the Pabna District of Bangladesh, on the
bank of Padma River.Indian companies Larsen and Toubro (L&T) and Transrail
Lighting Ltd are among those awarded contracts for the construction of power
infrastructure related to the Rooppur nuclear power project in Bangladesh.
36 Which central sector scheme has been launched on the National Panchayat
Day 2021?
Ans:- SVAMITVA Scheme
●Objective - The scheme aims to provide an integrated property validation
solution for rural India. Documentation of residential properties will be done
using the latest drone survey technology.
37 What is India’s ranking in the recently released Global Energy Transition
index 2021?
Ans:- 87 out of 115
 It is released by World Economic Forum – HQ: Cologny, Switzerland
Top position – Sweden, 2nd – Norway, Last position – Zimbabwe
38 According to the report released by SIPRI, India stood on which place in
the military spending in the year 2020?
Ans:- 3rd
Released by : Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
1st - America
2nd- China
Military Spender Database - This is a list of countries by military expenditure in
a given year, based on data from the World Bank.
39 What was India's rank in the World Press Freedom Index 2021?
Ans:- 142 (out of 180 countries)
●Top position- Norway
Released by : Reporters Without Borders. World Press Freedom Index: It
intends to reflect the degree of freedom that journalists, news organisations, and
netizens have in each country, and the efforts made by authorities to respect this
freedom.
State News
40 Recently which state health minister launched 'I-Learn App'?
Nagaland
Health minister - S. Pangnyu Phom
●This app has been launched as a capacity building and performance tracking
application for Community Health Officers
41 Recently who launched Antyodaya Parivar Utthan Yojana?
Haryana
●Under the scheme, efforts will be made to uplift one lakh families with low
family income in the state through financial assistance, self employment etc.
42 Who became the first state in the country to give health insurance to
every citizen?
Rajasthan
●The Rajasthan government has started the cashless mediclaim scheme on April
1, under which every family will get up to five lakh health insurance.
43 Recently, India's largest diamond mine has been found at which
place?
Chattarpur (M.P.)
●3.42 crore carat diamonds are estimated to be buried in the forest land of
Chhatarpur district.
44 In which state the country's first agricultural based solar power
plant has been set up?
Rajasthan
● It has been planted in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan.Objective - To provide
easy electricity to farmers for day-to-day agricultural work
45 Which became the first state to give monthly scholarship to school
students?
Sikkim
The Government of Sikkim has signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) with Sri
46 Aurobindo Societyto launch Auro Scholarship programme for school
students of the state.
The Auro Scholar was originally launched at the national level by Union
Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ on November 24, 2020.
47 India's first 'electric vehicle lithium battery plant' will be set up in
which state?
Karnataka
●Lithium-ion battery parts will be made in Karnataka.
48 Which state has decided to provide free travel for buses up to 50 km
for people with disabilities?
Bihar
 49 Which state government has appointed film star Sonu Sood as the
brand ambassador for the Corona vaccination campaign
Punjab
50 Where has India's first vertical forest tower 'Mana Foresta' been
built?
Bengaluru
●It is a multi-storeyed building which is equipped with leaves, bushes, trees and
vines from all sides. This apartment is built with the idea that humans and
nature should be brought closer to each other.
51 Which state has won the E-panchayat Award 2021?
Uttar Pradesh
●Every year, this award is given by the Union Ministry of Panchayat Raj to
those states which ensure maximum use of information technology to keep a tab
on the work done by Gram Panchayats.
52 Italy has launched the first mega food park & food processing
project in which state of India?
Gujarat (Mehsana District)
●Objective - To create synergy between agriculture and industry of both
countries, focus on research and development of new and more efficient
technologies. Italy's PM - Mario Draghi
53 Which state started online yoga session for prisoners?
Tamil Nadu
●Online classes of yoga were started in Tamil Nadu's Central Jail to protect
prisoners from Corona infection and to improve their immunity
54 Which state government has launched 'Jaganna Vidya Deewena
Yojana'?
Andhra Pradesh
●Purpose - to provide scholarships to all those students who are not able to pay
their fees due to financial burden. The scheme mainly focuses on students
pursuing higher education - ITI, B.Tech, B. Pharmacy, MBA, MCA, and B.Ed
Courses.
55 Recently in which state 'Property Ownership Scheme' will be
launched?
Bihar
◆Under this scheme, a survey of land will be done in rural areas. Mapping will
be done. Then people will be given a property card of their property (land and
house), in which they will have complete information related to their land.
56 Which state has started 'HARIHAR NITI' for rehabilitation of
abandoned children?
Haryana
HARIHAR - Homeless Abandoned and surrendered children Rehabilitation
Initiative Haryana
◆Under this policy, abandoned children below the age of 5 years or surrendered
before age of 1 year, who have completed 18 years of age from Child Care
Institutions of the state, will be eligible for the benefit of education,
employment and financial assistance up to 25 years of age or marriage
57 Recently which state government has published data related to
dolphin census?
Odisha
◆ Chilka is India's largest salt water lake on the Odisha coast.
According to the data, the dolphin population in Chilka Lake has doubled this
year as compared to the previous year. The major attractions in Chilka are the
Irrawaddy Dolphins