winmeen.

com 2018 NOV 01

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1. Who has been selected for 2018 Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, the highest literacy prize of the
Kerala government?

Ans: M Mukundan

 Noted Malayalam writer M Mukundan has been selected for 2018 Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, the
highest literacy prize of the Kerala government. The award, which carries a cash prize of Rs five
lakh and citation, is being given for his overall contributions to the language and literature. His
popular works inlcude ‘Mayyazhippuzhayude Theerangalil’, ‘Kesavante Vilapangal’, ‘Delhi
Gadhakal’, ‘Appam Chudunna Kunkiyamma’.

2. Who has been appointed as the new Director General (DG) of Indo-Tibetan Border Police?

Ans: S S Deswal

 S S Deswal, a 1984 batch IPS officer of Haryana cadre, has been appointed as the new Director
General (DG) of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) for a period up to his superannuation on August
31, 2021. He succeeded R K Pachnanda. Prior to this post, Deswal was the DG of the Sashastra
Seema Bal (SSB).

 The ITBP was raised on 24 October 1962 under the CRPF Act, in the wake of the Sino-Indian War
of 1962. It is one of the five Central Armed Police Forces of India. Apart from its primary task of
guarding the 3,488-km India-China border, where ITBP troops are deployed at freezing heights of
up to 18,700 feet, the paramilitary force is tasked with rendering a variety of duties in the internal
security domain.

3. Which Indian cricketer has officially been inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame?

Ans: Rahul Dravid

 On November 1, former Indian cricket captain Rahul Dravid has officially been inducted into the
ICC Cricket Hall of Fame for his stupendous achievements in international cricket. In a ceremony
held ahead of the fifth and final ODI between India and West Indies in Thiruvananthapuram,
Dravid was presented with the HoF cap by Sunil Gavaskar. With this, Dravid became only the fifth
player from India to be named in the elite list.

 The other four Indians are former skippers Bishan Singh Bedi, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Anil
Kumble. Dravid, also popularly known as ‘the Wall’ had been a long-standing rock of Indian cricket
for over 15 years. In all, he aggregated 13,288 runs in 164 Tests with 36 centuries and 10,889 runs
in 344 ODIs with 12 centuries.

 He was also a brilliant slip fielder and finished his Test career in 2012 with 210 catches, which is
a world record. He is currently the head coach of India A and India U-19 sides.

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4. Which state government has recently launched “Soura Jalanidhi” scheme?

Ans: Odisha

 Naveen Patnaik, the Chief Minister of Odisha, has recently launched ‘Soura Jalanidhi’ scheme
which aims at increasing use of solar energy for helping farmers in irrigation. ‘Soura Jalanidhi’ is
a dug well based solar pump irrigation system in convergence mode.

 Under the scheme, 5,000 solar pumps will be provided to farmers at a subsidy of 90 per cent to
irrigate 2,500 acres of land. The solar pumps will be given to the beneficiary farmers at a subsidy
of 90%. A total of Rs 27 crore will be spent for the programme.

5. What is the India’s rank in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index 2018?

Ans: 77th

 India has been ranked 77th in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index 2018. With this,
India has jumped 23 places from 2017 in which it was ranked at 100th. In its annual ‘Doing
Business’ 2019 report, World Bank stated that India improved its rank on six out of the 10
parameters relating to starting and doing business in a country.

 The report also recognises India as one of the top 10 improvers in this year’s assessment, for the
2nd successive time. The Index ranks 190 countries across 10 indicators ranged across the lifecycle
of a business from ‘starting a business’ to ‘resolving insolvency’.

 These parameters include ease of starting a business, construction permits, getting electricity,
getting credit, paying taxes, trade across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency.
New Zealand tops the list, followed by Singapore, Denmark, and Hong Kong.

6. Who has become the first Indian to win an Asian Snooker Tour event?

Ans: Pankaj Advani

 19-times world champion Pankaj Advani has won the second leg of Asian Snooker Tour title by
delivering a power-packed performance to outclass China’s Ju Reti 6-1 in the final at Jinan,
China.With this, Advani has become the first Indian to win an Asian Snooker Tour event.

 The IBSF World Billiards and Snooker Championships is less than a fortnight away and the Indian
star cueist is the defending champion in both sports. The new 10-red format of the Tour was well-
received by all players as some fine performances were on display throughout the second leg.
Pankaj Advani will now have to immediately switch to Billiards as Myanmar hosts the prestigious
world championships from November 12 to 27.

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7. Which country has launched the world’s first Sovereign Blue Bond?

Ans: Seychelles

 The Republic of Seychelles has launched the world’s first sovereign blue bond – a financial
instrument designed to support sustainable marine and fisheries projects. The bond developed with
the assistance of the World Bank & was placed to 3 investors: Calvert Impact Capital, Nuveen and
Prudential.

 The blue bond has a US$5m guarantee from the World Bank, and is also supported by a US$5m
concessional loan from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The blue bond demonstrates the
potential for countries to harness capital markets for financing the sustainable use of marine
resources.

8. Which union territory falls under jurisdiction of Calcutta High Court?

Ans: Andaman and Nicobar Islands

 Justice Debasish Kar Gupta has recently been sworn-in as the new chief justice of the Calcutta
High Court. It is the oldest High Court in India and has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal
and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.The seat of the High Court is Kolkata,
capital of West Bengal. The High Court building’s design is based on the Cloth Hall, Ypres, in
Belgium.

9. Which is the only Indian film has been included in BBC’s 100 best foreign language films
list of the 21st century?

Ans: Pather Panchali

 Satyajit Ray’s epic masterpiece ‘Pather Panchali’ has been included in BBC’s 100 best foreign
language films list of the 21st century. Ray’s film, which was released in 1955 and the first in his
‘Apu’ trilogy, is the only Indian film that find its spot in the BBC list and is placed at number 15.

 The list is topped by Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai”. It was culled out from a poll where over
200 critics from 43 countries picked their best foreign language film. According to BBC, 27 of the
highest-rated films were in French, followed by 12 in Mandarin, and 11 each in Italian and Japanese.

 The BBC said that only four of the 100 films have been directed by women. However, it said that
45% of the critics who took part in the poll were women.

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10. Which Indian Sculptor designed the world’s ‘tallest statue’Statue of Unity’?

Ans: Ram V. Sutar

 On October 31, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the ‘Statue of Unity’ in Narmada district
of Gujarat on the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Sardar Patel – who served as the
first Home Minister of independent India – is credited with uniting all 562 princely states in pre-
independent India to build the Republic of India. That is why it is called the ‘Statue of Unity’. It
is the world’s tallest statue, with a height of 182m.

 It located around 3.5 km downstream from the Sardar Sarovar Dam, on islet Sadhu Bet on the bed
of the river Narmada. The statue was designed by 93-year-old acclaimed sculptor Ram V. Sutar,
who is Padma Bhushan awardee. It is built by Larsen & Toubro Ltd at a cost of Rs. 2,989 crore.

 The Statue of Unity is made up of 70,000 tonnes of cement, 18,500 tonnes of reinforcement steel,
6,000 tonnes of structural steel and 1,700 metric tonnes of bronze, which was used for the outer
cladding of the structure.

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