List of top Current Affairs Questions

The gaming industry witnessed its largest acquisition in recent history involving the following major entities:

Which of the following countries is NOT a member of SAARC?

Which of the following countries have neither signed nor ratified the Rome Statute?
I. India 
II. United States of America 
III. Russian Federation 
IV. Azerbaijan 
Choose the most appropriate answer.

India recently hosted the G20 Conference in New Delhi as it served as the President for the coalition. Which of the following is the only country to have permanent guest invitee status at the G20?

A big roadblock towards concluding Brexit was the failure of the UK and the EU to agree on transport of goods to Ireland (a member of the EU) through Northern Ireland (one of the constituent countries of the UK). This problem was resolved with the conclusion of the Windsor framework, effectively the final step in the Brexit process. Which of the following statements about the Windsor Framework are accurate?
I. It is a tripartite agreement between England, Northern Ireland, and the United Kingdom. 
II. The agreement proposes to establish red and green lanes for goods moving into Northern Ireland to reduce checks and paperwork related hurdles on such goods. 
III. The agreement does not provide for separation of goods entering Northern Ireland from those entering Ireland.
IV. The agreement is concluded between the United Kingdom and the European Union.
Choose the most appropriate answer.

Which of the following statements about BRICS is not incorrect?
I. South Africa is not an original member of the BRICS coalition. 
II. The bloc was started as an attempt to strategically assist the United States of America as allies. 
III. The BRICS member countries represent at least 40% of the world’s population. 
IV. The acronym for the bloc was coined in 2001 by then Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O’Neill in a research paper that underlined the growth potential of Brazil, Russia, India and China. 
Choose the most appropriate answer.

Omar al-Bashir was the first Head of State to be indicted by the International Criminal Court. He was indicted by the Court in relation to which of the following incidents?

Which of the following global companies is not led by a CEO of Indian origin?

The G20 Summit in India brought together leaders from the World’s major economies to address pressing global issues. India used this platform to underscore its commitment to fostering global growth and stability. Which of the following areas was NOT a focus of the summit ?

The ‘Five Eyes Alliance’ is a global intelligence network, pooling resources and sharing sensitive information to collectively secure peace and combat global threat. The following countries make up the alliance:

A key Indian foreign policy initiative is the ‘Act East Policy’. Which statement correctly captures its objective ?

The Indian Premier League is a professional T20 cricket league. It was established in 2008, and has since become one of the most popular cricketing leagues in the world. Which of the following player has played for the same team (franchise) since the inaugural edition?

The NASA OSIRIS-REx mission (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security – Regolith Explorer) recently brought back a capsule of rocks and dust collected from:

Which international agreements remain central in efforts to enable a permanent solution to the geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine?

The ‘COP26’ conference has been a significant global event. What is its primary focus?

A key thrust area for the Supreme Court of India has been towards securing diversity and inclusion in its ranks. Who was the first woman judge of the Supreme Court of India?

The 18th G20 Summit, in which the heads of states and governments will meet, on September 9 and 10 will be held in India’s national capital New Delhi. Over 25 world leaders along with other delegates are going to attend this mega event.
One of the largest multilateral summits, the G20 Summit presents a significant diplomatic opportunity for India, which will convene with the adoption of a joint declaration by all the member states/
India assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1 last year. The 18th G20 Summit in New Delhi is scheduled to be held on September 9-10. ……
The Group of Twenty (G20) comprises 19 countries …. and the European Union. The G20 members represent around 85% of the global GDP, over 75% of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.
World leaders from several countries and institutions will mark their presence at the event. They include US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron.
However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has opted out of the summit and foreign minister Sergei Lavrov will represent the country in his place. Chinese President Xi Jinping has also decided to skip the event and will send country’s Premier Li Qiang instead, according to sources.
The G20 Summit 2023 is being held under the theme – Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (One Earth. One Family. One Future) – centered around the value of all life including human, animal, plant, and microorganisms and their interconnectedness on the planet Earth and in the wider universe.
India’s presidency of the summit holds significance as it aims to become a voice for the ‘less developed’ global South in a world dominated by developed nations of the West. It is also likely to take up the issue of border tension with China. India, for its part, may attempt to straighten out its diplomatic intricacies with the West after it faced challenges due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. [Extracted, with edits and revisions, from “India gears up for G20 Summit: Check event venue, guest list, special invitees”, Hindustan Times]

Today, India has become the fourth country in the world to touch the surface of the moon. This success becomes even greater when we look at the place from where India had started its journey. There was a time when India did not have the required technology and there was no support either. We used to be among the ‘Third World’ countries, standing in the third row. Today, India has become the fifth largest economy in the world. Today, from trade to technology, India is among the countries standing in the first row. In this journey from third row to first row, institutions like ISRO have played a major role. Today, you have taken ‘Make in India’ to the moon.
I have seen the photo in which our moon lander has firmly set its foot on the moon like Angad. On one hand is the confidence of Vikram while on the other hand is the bravery of Pragyan. Our Pragyan is continuously leaving its footprints on the moon. The pictures taken from different cameras, which have just been released, and I have had the privilege of seeing, are indeed amazing. For the first time, since the beginning of human civilization, for the first time in the history of lakhs of years on the earth, man is looking at the pictures of that place with his own eyes. India has done the work of showing these pictures to the world! All the scientists like you have done it. Today, the whole world is acknowledging the significance of India’s scientific spirit, our technology and our scientific temperament. Chandrayaan Maha Abhiyan is a success not only for India but for the entire humanity.
[Extracted from the Speech made by the Prime Minister of India Shri. Narendra Modi on the occasion of the landing of Chandrayaan 3 on 26th August 2023]

On 7th October 2023, an armed conflict broke out between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip[o] after the latter launched a multi-pronged invasion of southern Israel. After clearing Hamas militants, the Israeli military retaliated by conducting an extensive aerial bombardment campaign on Gazan targets and followed up with a largescale ground invasion of Gaza. More than 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians, and more than 10,000 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting. Over 240 Israelis and foreign nationals were taken hostage and brought into the Gaza Strip.
The Hamas-led attack began in the morning of 7th October, as Palestinian militants in Gaza launched a barrage of over 5,000 rockets against Israeli cities and kibbutzim while some 3,000 Palestinian militants breached the Gaza-Israel barrier. Over 1,000 Israeli civilians were killed in more than a dozen massacres, including the Re’im music festival massacre, and military bases were attacked. Over 200 civilians and Israeli soldiers were captured or abducted and taken to the Gaza Strip. At least 44 countries, mostly from the Western world, characterized the massacres of civilians as terrorism. Hamas declared that the invasion was carried out in response to the ‘‘desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque’’, the Gaza Strip blockade, the construction of Israeli settlements, and Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Israel declared a state of war on 8th October, and its response to the attack has seen the most significant military escalation in the region since the Yom Kippur War. The current hostilities constitute the fifth war of the Gaza–Israel conflict, which is part of the broader Israeli– Palestinian conflict. In 2023, before the offensive started, an uptick in Israeli–Palestinian 11 * UG violence saw at least 247 Palestinians, 32 Israelis, and two foreigners killed. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, as of 6 November, over 10,000 Palestinians had been killed, including 79 UNRWA staff. Israel dropped a total of 6,000 bombs during the first six days of the conflict—nearly double the number of bombs dropped by the American-led CJTF—OIR in one month during the War against the Islamic State. There has been widespread killing of civilians, and human rights groups and a panel of United Nations special rapporteurs have accused both Israel and Hamas of war crimes.

The National Education Policy, 2020, excluded the following disciplines from its ambit

Recently the IMF approved a loan of US$ 2.9 billion to

The 2022 G20 Meeting was held in November 2022 in

The name of the privately built rocket that was launched from Sriharikota in November 2022 is

Which among the following states admitted more foreign tourists in 2021 ?