Correct Answer : Option (C) - Nepal

The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank of Nepal, has recently announced the ban of Indian currency notes with denominations above Rs.100. Under the new rule, Nepali citizens cannot carry these denominations to other countries except India. Similarly, Nepalis are also not allowed to bring such notes from other countries. The central bank has issued a circular prohibiting Nepali traveller, banks and financial institutions from holding or carrying and trading Indian bank notes higher than Rs. 100. The central bank said in its circular that Indian denominations of Rs 2,00, Rs 500 and Rs 2000 cannot be carried and used for trading. The decision to ban these notes has come at a time when the NRB has requested the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to allow Nepal to use currency notes with all denominations. At present, only the notes with a denomination of Rs. 100 and below are freely exchangeable in Nepal.

Correct Answer : Option (A) - Anurag Thakur

Himachal Pradesh MP Anurag Thakur has been bestowed with Sansad Ratna Award for his distinguished performance as a parliamentarian under Jury Committee Special Award category. Thakur became the first BJP MP to receive the Jury Committee award. 12 parliamentarians were honored with the Sansad Ratna award, which was set up in 2010 on the suggestion of ex-President APJ Abdul Kalam.

Correct Answer : Option (A) - Andry Rajoelina

Madagascar president, Andry Rajoelina, has sworn into office after taking the oath in Antananarivo before nine judges of the High Constitutional Court. He won nearly 56% to defeat another former president, Marc Ravalomanana.

Correct Answer : Option (B) - Odisha

Odisha's Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced in a video conference on "Ama Gaon, Ama Bikash" a hike of Rs 200 per month in the social security pension under Madhu Babu Pension Yojana (MBPY). The state government launched Madhu Babu Pension Yojana on January 1, 2008, by merging two pension schemes - Old Age Pension and Odisha Disability Pension schemes. According to the new change,the elderly persons aged over 60 years would get a revised old age pension of Rs 500 per month as against Rs 300 and those who are more than 80 years old, the pension would be Rs 700 per month instead of Rs 500 per month and the enhanced pension will come into effect from February 15, 2019.

Correct Answer : Option (D) - Stefan Lofven

In Sweden, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has been elected for a second term on 18th January 2019 after an agreement was struck between the Social Democrats, Greens, Liberals, and Centre Party, and after the Left Party agreed to abstain from voting against Lofven. He is expected to formally present his new government and its full programme on 21st January 2019. It will be one of the weakest administrations in Sweden in 70 years, with just 32.7% of voters having cast ballots for the two parties. Sweden's inconclusive legislative elections in September 2018 had not left either main parliamentary bloc with a majority.

Correct Answer : Option (C) - Gujarat

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is to run a pilot project that will in all likelihood see Gujarat's Ahmedabad and Bhavnagar as the first to do away with manned towers for providing Air Traffic Control (ATC) services at their airports. Earlier, AAI and SAAB signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that the airports would run a pilot deployment of a Remote ATC Tower system where air traffic controllers and the control tower would be replaced by a bank of 16 high-definition, remotely operated, infrared cameras. SAAB India, which is into defence and aviation, will lead the pilot project that is expected to take a year before it becomes operational. The system is projected as a measure that can help AAI save costs. AAI, which manages more than 120 airports, is expected to operationalize more airfields in the coming months, especially with new routes being added under the regional connectivity scheme.

Correct Answer : Option (B) - Gujarat and Tamil Nadu

The Government of India (GoI) has approved setting up of three new naval air squadrons in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu as part of efforts to bolster the Indian Navy's overall strength. Besides this, the Central Government has also sanctioned manpower towards manning additional aircraft in existing Dornier Surveillance Squadrons in Kerala and Andaman Islands. A contract for procurement of 12 Dornier aircraft was signed with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) two years back and their delivery is commencing soon. The new Dornier 228 maritime surveillance aircraft to be delivered to the Navy are fitted with improved 'state of the art' sensors and equipment which includes glass cockpit, advanced surveillance radar, optical sensors and networking features. The aircraft will enhance maritime domain awareness of Indian Navy through round the clock sensor based surveillance and provide targeting data in areas of operation to ward off terror and other threats from sea.The addition will further strengthen Indian Navy's efforts at Coastal Security of India's vast coastline of over 7 thousand kilometres.

Correct Answer : Option (A) - Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu

The Indian Navy inducted two Fast Interceptor Craft (FIC) at Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, to boost coastal security. The vessels were acquired for Sagar Prahari Bal, a unit of the Navy. The boats can carry a variety of armament from heavy machine guns to grenade launchers with the upper deck canopies bullet-proof.

Correct Answer : Option (A) - IDFC First Bank

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved the appointment of V Vaidyanathan as MD and CEO of IDFC First Bank for a period of three years. The Tenure of V Vaidyanathan started from 19th December 2019. V Vaidyanathan is the founder and chairman of Capital First. IDFC Bank and non-banking financial company Capital First completed their merger in December 2018 and created a loan asset book of 1.03 Lakh crore for the merged entity IDFC First bank.

Correct Answer : Option (C) - Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh became the third state after Jharkhand and Gujarat to approve the 10 per cent reservation for economically backward among upper castes in jobs and educational institutions. The Approval was given in a meeting headed by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath. The Reservation for the poor among upper castes came into effect on 14th January 2019, when Parliament passed "The Constitution (124 Amendment) Bill 2019".