Correct Answer :   China

China has tested its most powerful non-nuclear weapon, dubbed the "Mother of All Bombs" by official media in a reference to a US munition used in Afghanistan.

Correct Answer :   IIT, Guwahati

Scientists at Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati have developed a simple paper kit that can test freshness of milk and tell how well it has been pasteurized. The kit is sided with smart phone app to ensure that milk is consumed before it turns too sour. The team has prepared a kit by attaching probe discs onto a 2 cm square transparent cellulose acetate film. The probe is then covered with another cellulose acetate film. Colour reaction takes place when milk is injected through a tiny hole in the cover and a smart phone can be used to get the results. It takes just about 15 minutes to detect raw milk from pasteurized one.

Correct Answer :   Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2018

The Parliament passed the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2018 that seeks to do away with the no-detention policy in schools. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, was moved in the Rajya-Sabha by Union minister for Human Resources Development Prakash Javadekar and was passed by a voice vote. It is already passed by the Lower House (Lok-Sabha) on July 18 2018. Under current provisions of the Section 16 of the Act, no student can be detained up to class 8th but as per the amendment, it would be left to the States to decide whether to continue the no-detention policy. 25 states have favoured abolishing the no-detention policy. The bill provides for regular examination in classes V and VIII. The MHRD Minister assured that no child will be excluded from school in case he or she fails and such children will be provided two-month remedial teaching to perform better in another examination to be conducted by their schools. If the students still do not pass the exam, the state government may decide to detain them.

Correct Answer :   Dr. Jitendra Nagpal

The Ministry of Human Resource Development constituted a Task Force to look into the reasons of suicides reported in the JNVs. The Task Force will be headed by Psychiatrist, Dr. Jitendra Nagpal. The Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) are fully residential schools managed and run by the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

Correct Answer :   ICICI Bank

ICICI Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Small Business FinCredit India Pvt Ltd (SBFC) on 4 January 2019. Under the MoU, it will jointly provide loans worth up to Rs 1 crore to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). ICICI Bank will co-originate loan against property with SBFC at a mutually agreed ratio. The loans of up to Rs 1 crore is for a tenure of 15 years.

Correct Answer :   P K Singh

P K Singh was appointed secretary of the Competition Commission of India (CCI). Prior to this, he was adviser (law) to the competition watchdog. After completing 5 years of experience as the adviser to the CCI, according to the norms of the institution, he was chosen as the candidate. His scope of responsibilities include acting as the nodal officer for the Commission, making or receiving all statutory information and entering into the any formal relationships including signing of memorandums with any foreign agency or other agency with prior approval from Commission and government.

Correct Answer :   4th January

The United Nations observed the first official World Braille Day on 4 January. The aim of the day is to raise awareness of the importance of Braille. It also aims to raise awareness about the human rights of visually-impaired and partially-sighted people, The day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in November 2018.

Correct Answer :   Noida

The mega international food and beverage show 'Indus Food 2019' will be held in Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh on 14-15 January 2019. The event is organised jointly by Trade Promotion Council of India and Department of Commerce. The event is a platform to promote India as a strong exporter of food and beverage products to the world. Odisha will participate as a partner state of the event.

Correct Answer :   Jammu & Kashmir

Solar Energy Corporation of India has invited solar power developers to construct 7.5 GW grid connected projects in Leh and Kargil Districts in the state of Jammu & Kashmir under a competitive bidding process. Out of the 7.5 GW capacity, 2.5 GW will be constructed in the Kargil district and 5 GW in Leh district. The tender is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's goal of building 100 gigawatts of solar capacity in the country by 2022.

Correct Answer :   Chang'e-4 lunar probe

Chang'e-4 lunar probe, a Chinese space probe, touched down on the far side of the moon. The probe, which has a lander and a rover, that was launched in December made the soft landing and transmitted the first-ever close-range image of the far side of the moon. It touched down at a targeted area near the moon's south pole in the Von Karman Crater. The purpose of the Chang'e-4 includes astronomical observation, surveying the moon's terrain, landform, and mineral makeup, and measuring the neutron radiation and neutral atoms to study the environment of its far side. The moon is tidally locked to Earth, rotating at the same rate as it orbits our planet, so most of the far side or dark side is never visible to us. Previous spacecraft have seen the far side, but none has landed on it. China's space agency hailed the event as a historic first and a major achievement for the country's space programme.