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Dear Readers, Daily Current Affairs Questions Quiz for SBI, IBPS, RBI, RRB, SSC Exam 2020 of 16th October 2020. Daily GK quiz online for bank & competitive exam. Here we have given the Daily Current Affairs Quiz based on the previous days Daily Current Affairs updates. Candidates preparing for IBPS, SBI, RBI, RRB, SSC Exam 2020 & other competitive exams can make use of these Current Affairs Quiz.
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1) Global Handwashing Day is observed on which of the following dates to motivate and mobilize people around the world to improve their hand washing habits?
A) October 11
B) October 12
C) October 15
D) October 13
E) October 14
2) Which of the following cities is all set to host the international gymnastics event in November?
A) Stockholm
B) Tokyo
C) Moscow
D) Texas
E) Shanghai
3) Bhanu Athaiya who passed away recently at the age of 91 was an eminent _______.
A) Cricketer
B) Hockey player
C) Physician
D) Actor
E) Costume designer
4) The Union Cabinet has approved a Special package worth _______ crore in the UTs of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh for a period of five year till FY 2023-24.
A) 375
B) 520
C) 450
D) 500
E) 475
5) Who among the following has launched the second phase of “Thalassemia Bal Sewa Yojna” for underprivileged thalassemic patients?
A) Narendra Modi
B) Amit Shah
C) Nitin Gadkari
D) Dr Harsh Vardhan
E) Piyush Goyal
6) Which of the following ministries has launched the ARHC portal to provide dignified and affordable living spaces to varied groups of urban migrants?
A) Ministry of Commerce
B) Ministry of Corporate Affairs
C) Ministry of Finance
D) Ministry of Earth Sciences
E) Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs
7) What is the theme of the International Day of Rural Women observed on 15th October every year?
A) The critical role and contribution of rural women,
B) Growing international recognition of the centrality of women’s land rights
C) Challenges and opportunities in climate-resilient agriculture for gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls
D) Building rural women’s resilience in the wake of COVID-19
E) Rural women and girls building resilience
8) The government of which state is all set to launch its own SC post-matric scholarship scheme?
A) Madhya Pradesh
B) Haryana
C) Punjab
D) Chhattisgarh
E) Uttar Pradesh
9) John R Reid who passed away at the age of 92 was a former cricketer from which country?
A) West Indies
B) New Zealand
C) Australia
D) South Africa
E) England
10) Which of the following companies has launched car and bike insurance in association with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance?
A) BharatPe
B) OlaPe
C) PayTm
D) Freecharge
E) PhonePe
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11) World Food Day is observed on which of the following dates to mark the founding of the FAO of the UN in 1945?
A) October 11
B) October 12
C) October 16
D) October 13
E) October 14
12) IRDAI has asked life insurance companies to launch a standard term insurance policy named _________ by January 1, 2021 to help customers make informed decisions.
A) Surakshit Jeevan Yojana
B) Asan Bima Yojana
C) Sahayta Bima
D) Saral Jeevan Bima
E) Sankalp Jeevan Bima
13) Sooronbai Jeenbekov who resigned recently was the President of which country?
A) Turkmenistan
B) Tajikistan
C) Kazakhstan
D) Uzbekistan
E) Kyrgyzstan
14) Who among the following has written the Book “Mr Prime Minister, We Shrank the Dragon”?
A) Sonia Salwalka
B) Preeti Shenoy
C) Pradeep Goorha
D) Arun Tiwary
E) Robin Sharma
15) Who among the following has inaugurated the 1st edition of Lectures designed to introduce India to foreign diplomats posted in New Delhi?
A) MS Rao
B) V Prasad
C) Harsh Vardhan Shringla
D) Raveesh Kumar
E) Anurag Srivastava
16) Films Division is streaming the documentary on which of the following personalities on its website and YouTube Channel?
A) Indira Gandhi
B) Atal Bihari Vajapayee
C) Sardar Patel
D) APJ Abdul Kalam
E) Pranab Mukherjee
17) Name the 2nd vaccine approved by Russia after Sputnik V in order to treat covid-19.
A) LabVac
B) Brace
C) Raps
D) MenAcy
E) EpiVacCorona
18) The government of which state has decided to set up a women help desk in every police station of the state?
A) Bihar
B) Uttar Pradesh
C) Haryana
D) Chhattisgarh
E) Madhya Pradesh
19) The Government of which state/UT has launched the ‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’ initiative?
A) Chattisgarh
B) Uttar Pradesh
C) Delhi
D) Chandigarh
E) Madhya Pradesh
20) Who among the following inaugurated Asia’s longest ZojiLa Tunnel works virtually by igniting ceremonial blasts?
A) Narendra Modi
B) Prahlad Patel
C) Amit Shah
D) Anurag Thakur
E) Nitin Gadkari
21) The J&K Government has inked an MoU with which company to provide a platform for local artisans, craftsmen, weavers to reach customers worldwide?
A) ITC
B) Ebay
C) Amazon
D) Flipkart
E) Snapdeal
22) Who among the following has been awarded the prestigious Sandra Neese Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his work in the US for meeting the needs of children and youth experiencing homelessness?
A) Naresh Gupta
B) Rakesh Alhuwalia
C) Harish Kotecha
D) Ravish Singh
E) Anand Mehta
23) Which of the following countries has been designated as the Vice-Chair of OECD Working Group on Good Laboratory Practice?
A) Germany
B) Japan
C) France
D) US
E) India
24) Which of the following companies has collaborated with cement manufacturers across the country to supply fly ash?
A) NHPC
B) NTPC
C) ONGC
D) BHEL
E) PGCIL
25) Which of the following institutions has approved the acquisition of solar projects of Adani Green Energy Ten Limited by Adani Green Energy Twenty-Three Ltd?
A) SEBI
B) IRDAI
C) CCI
D) RBI
E) SIDBI
26) Name the app launched by Stellapps for dairy farmers in Rajasthan.
A) DairyDigital
B) DairyPay
C) CowPay
D) GoCow
E) mooPay
27) Which of the following Banks has inked an MoU with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and with Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for payment of subsidy to street vendors under the Centre’s SVANidhi Scheme?
A) SBI
B) Bandhan Bank
C) Axis Bank
D) IDBI
E) Indian Bank
28) Which of the following companies has launched a new fund offering dealing passive funds?
A) IDFC Mutual Fund
B) Axis Mutual Fund
C) UTI
D) DHFL
E) Franklin Templeton
29) According to the recently released WHO report on TB, India has seen a _____ percent in TB cases.
A) 15-20
B) 35-40
C) 30-35
D) 25-30
E) 20-25
Answers :
1) Answer: C
Global Handwashing Day occurs on 15 October of each year.
It is an international handwashing promotion campaign to motivate and mobilize people around the world to improve their hand washing habits.
The theme of Global Handwashing Day 2020 is ‘Hand Hygiene for All’.
2) Answer: B
Tokyo will host an international gymnastics tournament on Nov. 8.
The event is sanctioned by the International Gymnastics Federation and will feature 32 athletes from Japan, China, Russia and the United States.
Other international sporting events scheduled to be held in Japan in the coming months, including the Judo Tokyo Grand Slam and the Tokyo Marathon, have been cancelled or postponed due to restrictions on travel.
3) Answer: E
Costume designer Bhanu Athaiya, India’s first Oscar winner, passed away in Mumbai. She was 91.
Bhanu Athaiya won the Best Costume Design Oscar for her work in the 1982 film Gandhi.
In 2012, Banu Athaiya returned her Oscar to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for safe-keeping.
4) Answer: B
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved a Special Package worth Rs. 520 crore in the UTs of J&K and Ladakh for a period of five years till FY 2023-24 and ensure funding of DeendayalAntyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) in the UTs of Jammu and Kashmir & Ladakh on a demand driven basis without linking allocation with poverty ratio during this extended period.
5) Answer: D
Union health minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan, launched the second phase of “Thalassemia Bal Sewa Yojna” for the underprivileged thalassemic patients, virtually from Nirman Bhawan.
Launched in 2017, this scheme is a Coal India CSR funded Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) programme that aims to provide a one-time cure opportunity for haemoglobinopathies like thalassaemia and sickle cell disease for patients who have a matched family donor.
The CSR initiative was targeted to provide financial assistance to a total of 200 patients by providing a package cost not exceeding Rs. 10 lakhs per HSCT.
6) Answer: E
Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri launched ARHC portal arhc.mohua.gov.in, via a webinar.
The initiative has been taken up to provide dignified and affordable living spaces to varied groups of urban migrants/ poor including industrial & construction workers, migrants working with market/trade associations, educational/health institutions, hospitality sector, long term tourists/ visitors, students etc.
On the occasion, a National Report on ANGIKAAR – a campaign for change management for PMAY (U) beneficiaries through a 3 C strategy- Community Engagement, Convergence and Communication was also launched by Shri Hardeep S. Puri. The report is a recollection of various activities under the campaign. A short movie ‘ANGIKAAR 2019…a reminiscence’ that encapsulates the journey of the campaign so far, was also released.
The goals and objectives of ANGIKAAR followed the ethos of Gandhian philosophy on cleanliness, hygiene and sanitation.
7) Answer: D
International Day of Rural Women celebrated every year on 15 October.
This day was created in 1995 by Civil society organizations at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing and was declared an official UN Day in 2007 by the UN General Assembly.
The theme for International Day of Rural Women 2020 is “Building rural women’s resilience in the wake of COVID-19.”
8) Answer: C
The Punjab Cabinet to launch its own Scheduled Caste Post Matric Scholarship Scheme in place of the Centre’s scheme, in order to facilitate students to pursue higher education in government and private institutions.
With this, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh announced an increase in income criteria from earlier Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 4 lakh to accommodate more Scheduled Caste (SC) students.
The Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by the Chief Minister, approved the Dr BR Ambedkar SC Post Matric Scholarship Scheme, to be effective from 2021-22.
The scheme will be applicable to persons belonging to the SC, who are domiciled in Punjab and have done matriculation from Punjab and Chandigarh.
All Central, state government and private institutions in Punjab and Chandigarh will be covered under the scheme.
The total financial implication of the proposal is estimated to be about Rs 600 crore. Of this, the tentative liability of the government institutions would be about Rs 168 crore and the remaining Rs 432 crore would be borne by the private educational institutions and the government.
9) Answer: B
John Richard Reid, former New Zealand great and their oldest surviving Test player, has passed away at the age of 92 in Auckland.
Reid was the first cricketer to lead New Zealand to a Test victory, when they beat the Windies by 190 runs in Auckland in 1956. He was also the captain when New Zealand defeated South Africa in 1962 to claim their first overseas Test win.
10) Answer: E
Flipkart-owned PhonePe launched car and bike insurance products on its platform in association with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance.
PhonePe users can also customise their car insurance plan based on their needs with a range of value-added offerings such as zero depreciation, 24X7 roadside assistance, and engine protection among others.
With this launch, over 230 million registered PhonePe users can now insure their vehicles seamlessly in under 2 minutes, without the need for any documents to be uploaded before the purchase, and also view their policy documents instantly on the app
11) Answer: C
World Food Day is an international day celebrated every year around the world on 16 October in honor of the date of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1945.
This year WorldFoodDay marks the 75th Anniversary of the founding of FAO, with a view to looking towards the future we need to build together and the theme “Grow, nourish, sustain. Together. Our actions are our future.”
12) Answer: D
Regulator IRDAI asked life insurance companies to launch a standard term insurance policy ‘Saral Jeevan Bima’ by January 1, 2021 to help customers make informed decisions.
The Saral Jeevan Bima will be a pure term life insurance product that can be purchased by people in the age group of 18 to 65 years and will have a policy term of 4 to 40 years, guidelines issued by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
The sum assured for the term life insurance policy will range from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh (in multiples of Rs 50,000).
13) Answer: E
The president of Kyrgyzstan Sooronbai Jeenbekov has stepped down after nearly two weeks of mass protests following a disputed election.
Jeenbekov is the third president to be overthrown in a popular uprising since Kyrgyzstan gained independence in 1991.
Jeenbekov accepted Japarov as the new prime minister earlier this week.
14) Answer: C
Pradeep Goorha, is all set for the release of his second book “Mr Prime Minister, We Shrank the Dragon”.
The book, though fiction, is inspired by reality revolving around the currently developing story on India’s northern borders along with the perennially neglected Pakistan’s illegal occupation of PoK, Gilgit-Baltistan, and how these could be solved at this opportune time.
His 1st book ‘Survival Redux’, a historical fiction published in 2016 in the USA.
15) Answer: C
The first edition of Lectures designed to introduce India to foreign diplomats posted in New Delhi was inaugurated today by Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla.
It has been named as Sushma Swaraj Lectures 2020.
MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava stated, 45 foreign diplomats are attending the lectures which will give them an introduction to Indian history, polity, culture and economy.
16) Answer: D
The 89th Birth Anniversary of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who served as the 11th President of India is being celebrated. In its tribute, Films Division is streaming the 52-minute English documentary titled ‘People’s President’ on its website and YouTube Channel.
Directed by Pankaj Vyas, the documentary is dedicated to Dr Kalam’s life and work including the Missile Man’s pivotal role in the success of Indian aerospace science programme.
Watching the biopic, the viewer can experience Dr. Kalam’s strong spirit of nationalism and scientific temper, all the while inspiring generations with his simplicity, intellect and wisdom.
17) Answer: E
In a significant development, Russia announced that it has granted regulatory approval to another coronavirus COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine named EpiVacCorona comes after Russia recently granted similar approval to its first COVID-19 vaccine named Sputnik V. Notably, Sputnik V is also the first vaccine candidate in the world to attain regulatory approval.
Developed by Siberia-based Vector Institute, EpiVacCorona completed its early-stage human trials in September. The pharmaceutical company is yet to publish the results of human trials and Phase III trial of this vaccine is yet to begin.
Novosibirsk-based Vektor Centre has registered a second coronavirus vaccine, EpiVacCorona. Unlike with the first Russian vaccine, Sputnik V, which is an adenovirus vector-based vaccine, the new one is a promising synthetic vaccine based on peptide,” the Russian government stated.
Sputnik V, which was developed by Gamaleya Institute in Moscow, was licensed for use in Russia in August. Sputnik V was also registered before Phase III trials just like EpiVacCorona. A human trial of Sputnik V is currently underway in Moscow for it.
18) Answer: B
In a major decision related to women security in the state, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered women to establish women help desks in each and every police station of the state.
The official press release says that generally women hesitate in registering their complaints with male cops in police stations. Keeping this in mind, Women police personnel will be given the charge of these women help desks so that every woman in state can register her complaint freely and fearlessly.
Government has directed to implement this order with immediate effect. The women police personnel deputed on helpdesk will not only listen to the complaints of women but will always be ready to help them anytime. Government had earlier established pink booths at various intersections of Lucknow.
Women Cops are also deployed at major Crossings in various big cities including state capital Lucknow. It has also made arrangements to drop working women to their homes at odd hours.
19) Answer: C
In a bid to tackle air pollution in the national capital, the Delhi government launched the ‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’ initiative.
The initiative part of ‘Yuddh, Pradushan Ke Viruddh’ campaign promotes switching off the engine of the vehicles while waiting at the red signals.
“Delhi has one crore registered vehicle, even if 10 lakh vehicles turn off ignition at traffic signals, around 1.5 tonnes of PM10 will go down in a year and the PM 2.5 will decrease by 0.4 tonnes,” stated Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
Every time vehicles stop at the red signal, it has been noticed that drivers do not turn the engine off. These vehicles, even when they are at the red sign, emit pollution while idling, he added.
“One car spends around 15 to 20 minutes at the red signal on an average and utilizes around 200 mL of fuel. But if you switch off the engine at the red signals, you can save Rs. 7000 per month,” stated Kejriwal.
In the coming days, the Delhi government also plans to launch a massive awareness campaign regarding this.
20) Answer: E
In Ladakh Union Territory, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Mr Nitin Gadkari initiated Asia’s longest ZojiLa Tunnel works virtually, by igniting ceremonial blasts.
The 15 years old languishing project finally took off with twin blasts at East portals of Meenamarg and Baltal.
At a height of 3000 meters in the Peerpanjal mountain range, construction of Zojila tunnel is a historic necessity to provide an all weather road connectivity between Ladakh and the rest of the world.
Minister Nitin Gadkari also sets a target for the National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) and the contractor to complete the construction before 2024.
ZojiLa is a challenging and dangerous route especially during the winters. This pass on national Highway One gets closed nearly six months in a year.
In completion, the single tube ZojiLa Tunnel will have a bi-directional two lane with a design speed of 80 kilometers in the tunnel.
The tunnel also will have all necessary safety features and avalanche protection structures, catch dams, snow galleries and deflector dams to give all weather and safe road connectivity.
The Rs. 4,430 crore Tunnel will reduce the travel time in the stretch from three and half hours to just 15 minutes.
21) Answer: D
In a significant step to promote the rural economy and to boost the sale of genuine products of Jammu & Kashmir, the JK Government signed an historic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with online store Flipkart to provide a platform for local artisans, craftsmen, weavers to reach customers across the globe.
He stated that partnership with the e-commerce marketplace like Flipkart will enable the local artisans, craftsmen and weavers to reach global markets and also provide an appropriate opportunity for the momentous growth and development of the respective sectors.
The Lt Governor also underscored the steps the Government of J&K has taken in the recent past for improving the financial conditions of artisans and weavers like enhancement in loan to Rs 2 lacs under Artisans Credit card scheme.
This e-marketing channel shall involve and benefit artisans and weavers both in organized and unorganized sector and for the first six months, Flipkart will not charge any fee from the artisans and weavers.
22) Answer: C
Indian-origin philanthropist Harish Kotecha has been awarded the prestigious Sandra Neese Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his work in the US for meeting the needs of children and youth experiencing homelessness.
The lifetime achievement award from the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) was presented to Kotecha, who is founder and president of Hindu Charities for America (HC4A), at its 32nd annual conference on October 9, a statement stated.
The Sandra Neese Lifetime Achievement Award is presented annually to honour people who have worked tirelessly to ensure that all children may have what most take for granted: safety, shelter, and a future and that young people without shelter may find the promise of tomorrow.
NAECHY’s Board of Directors were impressed with “ (Kotecha’s) ability to transform a singular movement into a replicable programme that is now established in 4 major cities,” the statement stated.
It also awards vocational training scholarships to low-income, nontraditional students. Over 550 students have received vocational training scholarships that have pulled them out of poverty into well-paying and meaningful careers.
23) Answer: E
India has been designated the Vice-Chair of Good Laboratory Practice, GLP Working Group of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), recognising the contribution of the Indian GLP programme.
Good Laboratory Practice is a quality system, which has been evolved by OECD to ensure that safety data generated on various chemicals like industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals, cosmetic products and medical devices can be relied upon by regulatory authorities.
The Department of Science and Technology had established the National GLP Compliance Monitoring Authority (NGCMA) with the approval of the Union Cabinet in April, 2002. NGCMA is the National body which grants GLP certification to test facilities conducting safety studies on new chemicals of the mentioned categories in accordance with OECD Council norms.
24) Answer: B
NTPC Limited has started to collaborate with cement manufacturers across the country to supply fly ash as part of its endeavour to achieve 100 percent utilization of the by-product produced during power generation.
The power producer is leveraging Indian Railways’ sprawling network to transport fly ash in an economical and environment friendly manner. Power Ministry stated, NTPC Rihand is the first power plant in Uttar Pradesh to send conditioned fly ash to cement manufacturers. The plant recently transported three thousand 834 Metric Tonnes of conditioned fly ash to Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Limited plant at Nagaon, Assam.
During the financial year 2019-20, almost 44.33 Million Tonnes of fly ash was utilized for various productive purposes. NTPC produces approximately 65 Million Tonnes of Ash annually, out of which 80 per cent is Fly Ash.
Presently, about 73 per cent of total ash is being utilized for production of cement and fly ash bricks, road embankment construction, mine filling and low-lying land development.
25) Answer: C
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the acquisition of solar energy generation assets of Adani Green Energy Ten Limited (AGE10L) by Adani Green Energy Twenty-Three Ltd (AGE23L). An official statement stated these approvals are under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002.
AGE23L is a joint venture company, jointly controlled by Total Solar Singapore Limited and Adani Green Energy Limited. AGE23L (through its subsidiaries) is engaged in the business of solar power generation in the country.
The assets proposed to be acquired consist of TN Urja Private Limited, Essel Urja Private Limited, PN Renewable Energy Limited, PN Clean Energy Limited, KN Indi Vijayapura Solar Energy Private Limited and KN Bijapura Solar Energy Private Limited.
KN Muddebihal Solar Energy Private Limited, KN Sindagi Solar Energy Private Limited, Essel Bagalkot Solar Energy Private Limited and Essel Gulbarga Solar Power Private Limited are also in the list of companies to be acquired.
Adani Green Energy Ten Limited (AGE10L) is the holding company of the companies that are being acquired, the statement added.
26) Answer: E
Digital technology solutions provider Stellapps announced the launch of a first-of-its-kind, fully-automated direct payment platform — ‘mooPay’ — for dairy farmers in Rajasthan.
The platform is one of the fintech solutions the company has developed for dairies and dairy farmers. mooPay acts as a payment gateway for dairies to make payments to every registered farmer, removing the risks and costs of transferring money to hundreds of thousands of farmers in hundreds of villages.
mooPay enables dairy officials to transfer milk payments digitally to member farmers from the dairies’ existing bank account to farmers’ savings bank account.
27) Answer: E
Public sector Indian Bank has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and with Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for payment of subsidy to street vendors under the Centre’s SVANidhi Scheme.
The Centre introduced the Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (SVANidhi Scheme) to provide loans to the vendors and hawkers, among others.
“Indian Bank has developed an integrated online system to make payments of interest subvention and cash incentives to all street vendor-beneficiaries across the country through the Direct Benefit Transfer,” Chunduru stated.
She stated the bank had completed a digitisation programme for Deendayal Atyoday Yojana mostly self-employment programme, a revolving fund for Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and employment through skill development training.
The MoU was signed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs joint secretary (NULM) Sanjay Kumar and Indian Bank’s New Delhi field general manager Vikas Kumar, among others, in the capital, a bank statement stated.
28) Answer: B
Passive investing has been gaining ground in India primarily due to broader participation of retirement trusts and increasing investor awareness. Axis Mutual Fund has launched a new fund offer – Axis Banking ETF (Exchange Traded Fund).
The new fund offers will be open for subscription between October 16 and 29.
The ETF offers investors an opportunity to invest in the biggest banks. Passive funds are designed to track the performance of an index. They achieve this by replicating the portfolio of the underlying index.
Axis Banking ETF is designed to track the performance of the 12 largest banks listed on the NSE. Only banking stocks that are allowed to trade in the F & O segment are eligible to be constituent of the index. Currently, the index has 83.3 percent exposure to private banks and 11.7 per cent to PSU banks.
29) Answer: D
Disruptions in services caused by the Covid-19 pandemic have led to further setbacks and according to a new report, there has been a 25 to 30 per cent drop in tuberculosis (TB) case notifications across three high-burden countries – India, Indonesia and the Philippines – between January and June 2020 compared to the same period a year before.
The Global TB report, released by the World Health Organisation, has collated data from over 200 countries that has shown significant reductions in TB case notifications. These reductions in case notifications could lead to a dramatic increase in additional TB deaths, according to WHO modelling. Their analysis of the pandemic’s impact on TB mortality indicates that a 50 per cent drop in the detection of TB cases over three months will lead to almost 4,00,000 more people dying from TB.
Notifications of new people diagnosed with TB and relapse cases in the country increased from 1.2 million in 2013 to 2.2 million in 2019. This followed the introduction of a national policy of mandatory notification in 2012, and the roll out (also since 2012) of a nationwide web- and case-based reporting system (called ‘Nikshay’), which facilitates reporting of detected cases by care providers in the public and private sectors.
