1. Who among the following actors won the Best Performance by an Actor Award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards?

A. Nawazuddin Siddiqui B. Manoj Bajpayee C. Randeep Hooda D. Ranveer Singh

Answer - Option B
Explanation - • Manoj Bajpayee has bagged the Best Performance by an Actor Award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards for his role in ‘Bhonsle.’
• The Hindi feature ‘Bhonsle’ narrates the story of a police constable (Bajpayee), who tries to fight the struggles of migrants and their battles with the local politicians.
• The movie was directed by Devashish Makhija.
2. Which country’s floating school project has won the Aga Khan Architecture Award 2019?

A. Sri Lanka B. India C. Indonesia D. Bangladesh

Answer - Option D
Explanation - • Bangladesh’s Floating school project (in South Kanarchor) ‘The Arcadia Education Project’ wins the Aga Khan Architecture Award.
• The project involved the construction of a school in an area that is underwater during the monsoon months.
• The architect (Saif Ul Haque) designed this school which remains on the ground during the dry season and floats on water when the area is submerged in water during monsoon.
• The school also serves as a shelter, a daycare center and a vocational training center for the local people.
• The Aga Khan Award for Architecture is presented in three-year cycles and has a monetary prize totaling US$1 million that is shared by multiple winning projects.
• It recognizes projects, teams, and stakeholders in addition to buildings and people.
3. Who among the following has won the Davis Cup title 2019?

A. Denis Shapovalov B. Rafael Nadal C. Novak Djokovic D. Dominic Thiem

Answer - Option B
Explanation - • Rafael Nadal (world number-one) has clinched 6th Davis Cup title for Spain after beating Denis Shapovalov of Canada in front of a jubilant home crowd in Caja Mágica Madrid, Spain
• Nadal (33-year) defeated Shapovalov 6-3, 7-6 (9-7) to clinch Spain’s 2-0 win against Canada.
• Rafael Nadal received the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for his performance in the tournament after he won 8 of the 8 matches he participated in.
• In 2019, Nadal won the French Open and the US Open, made the Australian Open final and reached the Wimbledon semi-final.
4. Which city finds top position among the Indian cities in the first-ever Prosperity & Inclusion City Seal and Awards (PICSA) Index?

A. Bengaluru B. New Delhi C. Mumbai D. Indore

Answer - Option A
Explanation - • The first-ever Prosperity & Inclusion City Seal and Awards (PICSA) Index, released in the Basque Country capital of Bilbao in northern Spain.
• The Index is designed to showcase not only the quantity of economic growth of a city but also its quality and distribution across populations.
• Bangalore stood at 83rd rank, while Delhi and Mumbai ranked 101 and 107 among 113 cities in the world in terms of economic and social inclusivity.
• Zurich (number-1) scores strongly across all measures, particularly on the quality of life, work, housing, leisure, safety, and education - with the Swiss higher education system attaining an especially high score.
• Austrian capital (number- 2) scores close to top marks on healthcare. Copenhagen, Luxembourg and Helsinki complete the top five.
5. Which state government has launched an immunization campaign against Filaria?

A. Gujarat B. Madhya Pradesh C. Andhra Pradesh D. Uttar Pradesh

Answer - Option D
Explanation - • Uttar Pradesh Health & Family Welfare Minister Jai Pratap Singh has launched a massive immunization campaign against the filariasis or Filaria.
• Under this campaign, more than 65 thousand teams of health workers will distribute medicines to around 6.5 crore people till 10 December.
• This year, the state’s 19 districts have been divided into double drug and triple-drug categories in which they will be provided DEC tablet, Albendazole, and ivermectin.
• The union government has set the year 2021 as the deadline for complete eradication of filaria in the country.

1. What is India’s rank in the International Institute of Management Development’s (IMD) World Talent Ranking (WTR) report for the year 2019?

A. 56th B. 57th C. 58th D. 59th

Answer - Option D
Explanation - * The International Institute of Management Development’s (IMD) World Talent Ranking (WTR) report for the year 2019 was released.
* In the released report, India was ranked at 59th position, a slip by 6 places on a global annual list of 63 countries.
* The top 10 countries that followed Switzerland (1st) were Denmark (2nd), Sweden (3rd), Austria (4th), Luxembourg (5th), Norway(6th), Iceland (7th), Finland (8th), Netherlands (9th) and Singapore (10th).
2. Which of the following Indian companies was conferred with the ‘Golden Peacock Award for Sustainability’ 2019 for its efforts in providing cleaner and green energy, in order to minimize environmental impact?

A. NTPC Ltd. B. NHPC Ltd. C. Power Grid Corporation India Ltd. D. Tata Power Company Ltd.

Answer - Option A
Explanation - • India’s largest power generation company National Thermal Power Corporation Limited was conferred with the ‘Golden Peacock Award for Sustainability’ 2019 award.
The award is provided for its efforts in providing cleaner and green energy, in order to minimize environmental impact.
• The award was conferred during the 19th International Conference on Corporate Governance & Sustainability held in London, United Kingdom (UK).
3. What is the theme of 2019 Africa Industrialization Day?

A. ‘Neo African Industrialization growth engine of world economy’ B. ‘Positioning African Industry to Supply the AfCFTA Market’ C. ‘African industry stimulating the world economy’ D. ‘African Industry the growth engine of the third industrial revolution

Answer - Option B
Explanation - * Africa Industrialization Day is the day when a large number of African governments and organisations gather to examine various ways to stimulate the industrialisation process in Africa.
* The theme of 2019 is ‘Positioning African Industry to Supply the AfCFTA Market’.
* On 22 March 2018, 44 member States of the African Union signed the Agreement Establishing an African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), thus creating a single African market for goods and services.
4. Who will receive the ‘Indira Gandhi Peace Prize’ for the year 2019?

A. Manmohan Singh B. Kailash Satyarthi C. David Attenborough D. Greta Thunburg

Answer - Option C
Explanation - • Renowned naturalist & broadcaster Sir David Attenborough (93-years) will receive the 2019 Indira Gandhi Peace Prize for his tireless work to preserve and protect biodiversity.
• This prestigious award (named after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi) has been accorded annually by Indira Gandhi Trust since 1986.
• Sir Attenborough was unanimously chosen for the award by an international jury chaired by the ex-president of India, Pranab Mukherjee.
• The 2017 Prize had gone to former Prime Minister of India (14th), Manmohan Singh.
5. Famous cricket umpire Simon Taufel released his book titled “Finding the Gaps” in Kolkata. He held from which country?

A. England B. Australia C. New Zealand D. South Africa

Answer - Option B
Explanation - • Former Australian cricket umpire Simon Taufel released his book titled “Finding The Gaps” in Kolkata.
• Simon Taufel (retired in 2012) is a five-time ICC Umpire of the Year (between 2004 and 2008) and part of ICC’s Elite Panel of Umpires.
• The Australian stood in his first One-Day International in 1999, and his first Test in 2000.

1. Which of the following films will be the opening film at the 50th IFFI-2019?

A. Lilli B. Despite the Fog C. Odiyan D. Varathan

Answer - Option B
Explanation - * The International Film Festival of India 2019 (IFFI 2019) opened with the Italian Film Despite The Fog.
* The film, directed by Goran Paskaljevic, is about the issues related to the refugees in Italy.
* In Europe today, there are more than 10,000 kids abandoned, half of them were in Italy at some time
2. The 2nd edition of the South Asia Safety Summit 2019 was held in which of the following cities?

A. New Delhi, India B. Katmandu, Nepal C. Columbo, Sri Lanka D. Male, Maldives

Answer - Option A
Explanation - • The second edition of South Asia Safety Summit was recently held in New Delhi.
• It was orgnaised by Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) and Facebook.
• It was organized to highlight issue of safety while individuals and communities are connected on the digital platform.
3. Which famous cricketer won the PETA ‘Person of the Year’ award - 2019?

A. Rohit Sharma B.Virat Kohli C. Mayank Agarwal D. MS Dhoni

Answer - Option B
Explanation - • India captain Virat Kohli has been named People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India’s Person of the Year for 2019 for his animal advocacy efforts.
• Virat Kohli’s efforts to improve conditions for animals include sending a letter to officials asking for the release of an elephant used for rides at Amer Fort.
• People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia.
• Its slogan is ‘Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way’.
4. Which country will host the Multilateral Naval Exercise ‘MILAN 2020’ to be held in March 2020?

A. France B. United Kingdom C. South Africa D. India

Answer - Option D
Explanation - • The Indian Navy will host military drill 'Milan 2020' in March which will witness the participation of several countries.
• MILAN stands for ‘Multilateral Naval Exercise’.
• 41 nations from South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe that share defence cooperation with India have been invited for the drill.
5. Which state government has approved the Arundhati scheme to provide 1 Tola Gold to Brides belonging to the economically weaker sections of the society free of cost?

A. Andhra Pradesh B. Tamil Nadu C. Assam D. West Bengal

Answer - Option C
Explanation - * Assam state's cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal approved Arundhati scheme to provide 1 Tola Gold to Brides free of cost.
* This scheme to give 1 tola Gold (11.66 grams) to brides parents belonging to the economically weaker sections of the society, whose annual income is below Rs 5 lakh.
* The objective of the scheme to reduce child marriage under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act that a girl in India cant get married before the age of 18 and a boy cant get married before 21 years of age
* This scheme can be availed by formal registration of the marriage under the Special Marriage (Assam) Rules, 1954 at the time of marriage.
* This is only limited to the weaker section of the society.