April 16, 2025 Current Affairs (English)

April 16, 2025 Current Affairs (English)

1. The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPV&FRA) enables farmers to:

A) Use only certified hybrid seeds
B) Export GMOs
C) Patent indigenous seed varieties
D) Commercialize registered native varieties legally

Answer: D) Commercialize registered native varieties legally

2. What is the primary aim of the Beej Bachao Andolan in Uttarakhand?

A) Promote hybrid rice cultivation
B) Establish high-yielding seed companies
C) Preserve and exchange traditional seeds among villages
D) Train farmers in chemical-based agriculture

Answer: C) Preserve and exchange traditional seeds among villages

3. Which of the following traditional crop varieties is known for thriving in arid regions?

A) Kalanamak Rice
B) Navara Rice
C) Bhalia Wheat
D) Ponni Rice

Answer: C) Bhalia Wheat

4. Which organization maintains India’s central gene bank for conserving traditional seed varieties?

A) PPV&FRA
B) UNEP
C) ICAR-IARI
D) NBPGR

Answer: D) NBPGR (National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources)

5. Under which ministry does the Registrar General of India (RGI) operate?

A) Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
B) Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
C) Ministry of Home Affairs
D) Ministry of Law and Justice

Answer: C) Ministry of Home Affairs

6. What is the maximum time limit for reporting births and deaths under the RGI’s new directive?

A) 30 days
B) 15 days
C) 10 days
D) 21 days

Answer: D) 21 days

7. What major change was introduced in the registration process starting from October 1, 2023?

A) Manual registration became compulsory
B) All registrations to be done only through the State portals
C) Introduction of the Centralised Civil Registration System portal for digital registration
D) Registration of deaths was made optional

Answer: C) Introduction of the Centralised Civil Registration System portal for digital registration

8. What does the Registration of Birth and Death (RBD) Act, 1969, mandate?

A) Optional registration of deaths
B) Annual surveys on population
C) Compulsory registration of all births and deaths
D) Registration of only hospital-based deaths

Answer: C) Compulsory registration of all births and deaths

9. What is the Long Period Average (LPA) of monsoon rainfall in India currently?

A) 100 cm
B) 92 cm
C) 87 cm
D) 75 cm

Answer: C) 87 cm

10. Which of the following climate conditions is typically associated with weak Indian monsoons?

A) La Niña
B) Positive Indian Ocean Dipole
C) Neutral ENSO
D) El Niño

Answer: D) El Niño

11. What is the current ENSO condition as per IMD for 2025?

A) Strong El Niño
B) Neutral with La Niña-like features
C) Strong La Niña
D) Positive ENSO

Answer: B) Neutral with La Niña-like features

12. When was the framework for the Countercyclical Capital Buffer (CCyB) introduced in India by the RBI?

A) January 2008
B) October 2010
C) February 2015
D) April 2019

Answer: C) February 2015

13. The CCyB framework was introduced globally in response to which major event?

A) Asian Financial Crisis
B) Dot-com Bubble Burst
C) 2008 Global Financial Crisis
D) COVID-19 Pandemic

Answer: C) 2008 Global Financial Crisis

14. Which international body endorsed the financial stability measures that included CCyB?

A) International Monetary Fund (IMF)
B) World Bank
C) Basel Committee on Banking Supervision
D) Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

Answer: C) Basel Committee on Banking Supervision

15. What is the primary indicator used by the RBI to decide on activating the CCyB?

A) Inflation rate
B) Credit-to-GDP gap
C) Current account deficit
D) Repo rate

Answer: B) Credit-to-GDP gap

16. What is the name of the quantum computer launched by Bengaluru-based startup QpiAI on World Quantum Day 2025?

A) QpiAI-Vision
B) Indus-QTech
C) QpiAI-Indus
D) BharatQuantum

Answer: C) QpiAI-Indus

17. How many superconducting qubits does QpiAI-Indus feature?

A) 10
B) 25
C) 50
D) 100

Answer: B) 25

18. What is the primary purpose of the RT-LAMP assay developed by SCTIMST?

A) Detecting COVID-19 variants
B) Early and affordable diagnosis of tuberculosis
C) Screening for cancer cells
D) Identifying antibiotic resistance

Answer: B) Early and affordable diagnosis of tuberculosis

19. Compared to RT-PCR, how many primers are used in the rt-LAMP test for amplification?

A) Two
B) Four
C) Six
D) Eight

Answer: C) Six

20. What fluorescent dye is used in the rt-LAMP assay to avoid false negatives?

A) Syto 9
B) Ethidium Bromide
C) Syto 16
D) Crystal Violet

Answer: C) Syto 16