CURRENT AFFAIRS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS- JULY 2016

1.    What is the name given to the seventh major version of the Android operating system which is to be officially released on August 22, 2016?
"Nougat" .
Android 7.0 "Nougat" introduces notable changes to the operating system and its development platform, including the ability to display multiple apps on-screen at once in a split-screen view, support for inline replies to notifications, as well as an OpenJDK-based Java environment and support for the Vulkan graphics rendering API, and "seamless" system updates on supported devices.

2.    Which country was unanimously elected as the International Cricket Council’s 39th Associate Member?
Saudi Arabia.

3.    Former India captain who has resigned from his post as media representative in ICC’s prestigious Cricket Committee?
Ravi Shastri.

4.    Name the single-seat, single-engine, lightweight, high-agility supersonic fighter aircraft which has entered into service with the Indian Air Force (IAF) in July 2016?
Tejas.
Tejas is designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force and Navy.

5.    What is the code name given to the project which aims to plug any possible routes for terrorists to infiltrate into India, be it land, air or sea?
Operation Chakravyuh.
Under Operation Chakravyuh, a network of highly-sensitive censors, radars, cameras, optical fibre and automatic guns will be laid along the Pakistan border, which will be linked to a round-the-clock control room. Operation Chakravyuh, which draws inspiration from the impenetrable military formation from the Mahabharata, is actually modelled after an Israeli security mechanism to plug any possible routes for terrorists to infiltrate the country.

6.    Romanian-born American Jewish writer and Nobel Peace Prize laureate (1986) passed away on July 2, 2016?

Elie Wiesel.
He was a professor, political activist, and Holocaust survivor. He was the author of 57 books, written mostly in French and English, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps. 

7.    Who won the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix, formula one car race?
Lewis Hamilton.

8.    What is the name given to the NASA space probe orbiting the planet Jupiter after entering orbit on July 5, 2016?
Juno.
Juno was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on August 5, 2011, as part of the New Frontiers program, and ranged into Jupiter's orbit on July 4, 2016.

9.    Name the Indigenously-built heavyweight anti-submarine torpedo which has been successfully inducted in the navy in July 2016?
Varunastra.
The Varunastra is an Indian advanced heavyweight anti-submarine torpedo, developed by Naval Science and Technological Laboratory of the DRDO for the Indian Navy.

10.    19 new ministers of Modi’s Cabinet:

The Union Council of Ministers was expanded on June 5, 2016 with the induction of 19 new Ministers of State. They are listed below.
Ministers of State:
•    Vijay Goel: Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (Independent Charge)
•    Piyush Goyal: Ministry of Mines (Independent Charge)
•    Anil Madhav Dave: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Independent Charge).
•    Santosh Kumar Gangwar: Ministry of Finance
•    Faggan Singh Kulaste: Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
•    S. Ahluwalia: Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
•    RamdasAthawale: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
•    RajenGohain: Ministry of Railways
•    Jayant Sinha: Ministry of Civil Aviation
•    Arjun Ram Meghwal: Ministry of Finance and Corporate Affairs
•    Mahendra Nath Pandey: Ministry of Human Resource Development
•    Ajay Tamta: Ministry of Textiles
•    Anupriya Patel: Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
•    R. Chaudhary: Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
•    P. Chaudhary: Ministry of Law & Justice
    Cabinet Ministers
•    Venkaiah Naidu: Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
o    Ananth Kumar: Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
o    Prakash Javdekar: Ministry of Human Resource Development
o    Ravi Shankar Prasad: Ministry of Law &Justice.
o    Narendra Singh Tomar: Ministry of Rural Development Ministry
o    SmritiZubin Irani: Ministry of Textiles

11.    Who has been appointed as the chairman of the fourth Kerala Administrative Reforms Commission with Cabinet rank?
V.S. Achuthanandan.

12.    Development economist who has been appointed as the vice-chairman of the State Planning Board (Kerala)?
V.K. Ramachandran.

13.    Olympic sprinter who has been sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for the murder of Reeva Steenkamp in 2013?
Oscar Pistorius.
Pistorius is a South African sprint runner and convicted murderer. Both of Pistorius' legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old. He was the tenth athlete to compete at both the Paralympic Games and Olympic Games, competing in sprint events for below-knee amputees in Paralympic events, and in non-disabled sprint events.

14.    Martial artist who broke the world record for the most number of knuckle push-ups in a minute?
K J Joseph.
Joseph did 85 push-ups on July 8, 2016 and broke the record set by American Ron Cooper in 2015.

15.    Which countries on 8 July 2016 signed four agreements to give new impetus to bilateral co-operation between the two nations?
India and South Africa.
India and South Africa on Friday inked three Memoranda of Understanding and one Programme of Cooperation. The three Memoranda of Understanding are in the fields of ICT (Information and Communications Technology); Tourism and Grassroots Innovation in Science and Technology (S & T).  A Programme of Cooperation in Arts and Culture was the fourth bilateral agreement side between the two sides

16.    Arsenal goalkeeper who announced his retirement from international football with the Czech Republic?
Petr Cech.
Petr Cech retired from international football after playing 14 years for Czech Republic.

17.    Pulitzer Prize Journalist who reported the rise of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, passed away on July 9, 2016?
Sydney H. Schanberg.

The journalist was known for reporting on the fall of Cambodia to the Khmer Rouge after he refused to evacuate the country and his work inspired the film The Killing Fields after he was kidnapped during the Cambodian genocide.

18.    Celebrated humanitarian and Edhi Foundation Chairman who passed away on July 8, 2016?

Abdul Sattar Edhi.
He was a Pakistani philanthropist, ascetic, and humanitarian who founded the Edhi Foundation which runs hospitals, homeless shelters, rehab centres, and orphanages across Pakistan.

19.    Which countries have signed five agreements in July 2016 to accelerate bilateral ties between both nations?
India and Tanzania.
Signed Agreements are MoU(Memorandum of Understanding) for Establishment of Vocational Training Centre at Zanzibar, MoU on Visa waiver agreement for Diplomatic/Official passport holders , MoU on Cooperation in the field of water resource management and development,  Line of Credit (LoC) of US 92 million dollars for rehabilitation and improvement of water supply system in Zanzibar and Agreement on Joint Action Plan (JAP) between National Small Industries Corporation of India (NSIC) and Small Industries Development Organization Tanzania (SIDO).

20.    Wimbledon Winners of 2016:

Wimbledon Men’s Singles Title Winner 2016- Andy Murray (Britain). He defeated Milos Raonic (Canada) in the final.

Wimbledon Women’s Singles Title Winner 2016: Serena Williams. (USA). She defeated Angelique Kerber (Germany) in the final.

Wimbledon Men’s Doubles Title Winners 2016: Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut (France). They defeated Julien Benneteau and Édouard Roger-Vasselin (France) in the final.

Wimbledon Women’s Doubles Title Winners 2016: Serena Williams and Venus Williams (USA). They defeated Tímea Babos (Hungary) and Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhstan) in the final.

Wimbledon Mixed Doubles Title Winners 2016: Henri Kontinen (Finland) and Heather Watson (United Kingdom).
They defeated Robert Farah (Colombia) and Anna-Lena Grönefeld (German) in the final.

21.    Which country has banned the broadcast of Peace TV, a channel run by controversial Indian preacher Dr. Zakir Naik, in the country on allegations that it incited terrorism?
Bangladesh.

22.    Who became the first bullfighter to be killed this century after an 83-stone bull called Lorenzo gored him in the chest as he lay on the ground after up-ending him as he performed at a bullfight in Teruel, east of Madrid?
Victor Barrio.

23.    Who took charge as the first woman chief justice of Nepal's Supreme Court on July 11, 2016?
Sushila Karki.

24.    Which countries inked seven agreements on 11 July 2016 to enhance cooperation and bilateral relations between the two countries?
India and Kenya.

25.    Which country won the Euro-2016 defeating France (1-0) in the final?
Portugal.

26.    Who won the UEFA EURO 2016 adidas Golden Boot with 6 goals?
Antoine Griezmann.

27.    Senior goalkeeper who has been appointed as the captain of the national Hockey team for the Rio Olympics?
P.R .Sreejesh.

28.    A former supermodel who has won a £75m divorce settlement from her billionaire Saudi ex-husband Sheikh Walid Juffali after arguing in the high court that she had to meet her “reasonable needs”?
Christina Estrada.

29.    Who resigned as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Microsoft on 7 July 2016?
Kevin Turner.
Turner would now be joining Citadel Securities as Chief Executive Officer.

30.    An arbitration court has ruled that an Asian country has no historic title over the waters of the South China Sea and that it has breached the Philippines' sovereign rights with its actions. Which is that country?
China.

31.    Which country has been stunned and sickened by a third massacre in 18 months in which a truck driver mowed down night-time crowds celebrating Bastille Day , killing 84 people?
France.

32.     Leader of the Conservative Party who has been appointed as the new Prime Minister of Britain on July 13, 2016?
Theresa Mary May.
She is the second female Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister, following Margaret Thatcher.

33.    The Supreme Court on July 20, 2016 restored the Congress-led government in North East state of India ousted by the Centre in January, 2016. Which is that state?
Arunachal Pradesh.

34.    Which train has become the fastest train in India by clocking a speed of 180 km/hr by covering 84 km in 38 minutes in a trial conducted by Railways on Mathura-Palwal route, surpassing the record of Gatimaan Express?
Talgo.

35.    What is the name of the Autobiography of Sania Mirza, well known tennis player of India?
‘Ace against Odds’.

36.    England captain who broke India great Sunil Gavaskar's record of 9,607 for the most runs as a Test opener while making 81 against Pakistan at Lord's?
Alastair Cook.
The 31-year-old England captain had already become the youngest player in the history of cricket to score 10,000 Test runs but 13 of his innings were not as an opener.

37.    Who is appointed as the chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh on 17 July 2016?
Pema Khandu.
He is the eldest son of former Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu, who died in a helicopter crash on 30 April 2011.

38.    Civilians of which country reclaimed their country in July 2016 from their own military after helping to end coup to overthrow ruling President?
Turkey.
On 15 July 2016, a coup was attempted in Turkey against state institutions, including, but not limited to the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The attempt was carried out by a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces that organized themselves as the Peace at Home Council. They attempted to seize control of several key places in Ankara, Istanbul, and elsewhere, but failed to do so after forces loyal to the state defeated them.

39.    Who beat Tanzanian boxer Francis Cheka to retain his WBO Asia Pacific Super-Middleweight championship-2016?
Vijender Singh.

40.    India’s Chess Grand Master who has won the Fide Women’s Grand Prix trophy in Chendu, China?
Harika Dronavalli.
 It was her maiden career GP title and she won this title by defeating Russia’s Olga Girya.

41.    Pakistan's social media celebrity who was killed allegedly by her brother in Multan in Punjab province, becoming the latest victim of "honour killings" that plague the country?
Qandeel Baloch.
She had received threats from her family to quit modeling and her provocative appearances on social media. Her brother had been threatening her over her Facebook posts and videos.

42.    The Supreme Court has recently accepted the majority of recommendations of which committee covering wide-ranging aspects of Indian cricket at the central and state level?
The Lodha Committee.
In January 2015, the SC appointed a committee under ex-CJI RM Lodha, to determine punishments for those named in the Mudgal Committee report and to recommend reforms for cricket in India.

43.    Karnataka minister who faces harassment charges in the alleged suicide case of Deputy SP Ganpathi, resigned from the ministry on July 18, 2016?
K.J.George.

44.    Legendary Bollywood playback singer and ghazal maestro who passed away on July 18, 2016?
Mubarak Begum Shaikh.
She was a popular playback singer in Bollywood films during the 1950s and 1960s. Her career as a playback singer began in 1949 with the Indian, Hindi-language film Aaiye.  A major hit in her career was the song "Kabhi Tanhaiyon Mein Yun" for composer Snehal Bhatkar in Kidar Sharma's film Hamari Yaad Aayegi which is, till this day, regarded as a classic rendition.

45.    The Rajya Sabha on July 19, 2016 passed a bill that restricts the employment of children below 14 in all occupations and enterprises, except those run by his or her own family. What is the name of that bill?
The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill.

46.    Bollywood actor who is selected as the face of ‘city compost’ campaign, which is a part of the ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’?
Amitabh Bachchan.

47.    Who is appointed as the new Chairman of CBSE on July 14, 2016?
Rakesh Kumar Chaturvedi.
The post of CBSE Chairman had been lying vacant since December 2014.

48.    Who has been appointed as the new chairman of Airports Authority of India (AAI) in July 2016?
Guruprasad Mohapatra.

49.    The oldest litigant in the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri title suit who passed away in Ayodhya recently?
Mohammad Hashim Ansari,
Ansari was the lone survival among six original plaintiffs of Babri Masjid case fighting for the Mosque title on behalf of Sunni Central Waqf Board since 1961.

50.    One of the greatest names in Indian hockey and part of the team that won gold at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, has died July 20 2016.Who is that hockey player?
Mohammed Shahid,

51.    The Government of India has taken out a portion from the remit of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, and has made it a new Ministry. What is the name of the new ministry?
Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeITY)

52.    Name the Fourteen-year old from Chennai who has bagged the prestigious Google Community Impact Award - part of Google Science Fair 2016 - from Asia?
Advay Ramesh.

53.    Who will succeed Antonio Conte as the head coach of Italian Football Team?
Giampiero Ventura

54.    Who became the first Indian captain to hit a double century away from India in a test match?
Virat Kohli.
He go past Mohammad Azharuddin with the highest score by an Indian captain away from home. Azhar had previously scored 192 against New Zealand in Auckland in 1989-90 seasons.

55.    Who has been appointed as the new coach of Spanish Football Team?
Julen Lopetegui.

56.    An Indian painter who lived and worked in France since 1950, passed away on July 6, 2016?
S.H.Raza.
His works are mainly abstracts in oil or acrylic, with a very rich use of color, replete with icons from Indian cosmology as well as its philosophy. He was awarded the Padma Shri and Fellowship of the Lalit Kala Akademi in 1981, Padma Bhushan in 2007, and Padma Vibhushan in 2013. He was conferred with the highest French civilian honour, the Commandeur de la Legion d'honneur (Legion of Honour) on July 14, 2015. He became one of India's priciest modern artist on 10 June 2010 when a seminal work, Saurashtra by the 88-year-old was sold for ₹16.42 crore ($3,486,965) at a Christie's auction. 

57.    Russian adventurer who has broken the record for the fastest circumnavigation of the Earth in a hot air balloon in just over 11 days?
Fedor Konyukhov.
The 65-year-old has broken the 14-year-old record set by American adventurer Steve Fossett, who completed the trip in 13-and-a-half days.

58.    Prime Minister of Nepal who resigned from the post on July 24, 2016, moments before the scheduled voting on a no-confidence motion which he was certain to lose.
KP Sharma Oli.

59.    Telecommunications giant who will buy Yahoo’s core web and advertising business for $4.83 billion and continue to operate them under the Yahoo name?
Verizon Communications Inc.

60.    Who won the Hungarian Grand Prix 2016 Formula One World Championship?
Lewis Hamilton.

61.    Which team clinched the debut title of the Indian Premier Futsal?
Mumbai 5s.

62.    Former Sri Lanka off spinner who has become the first player from his country to be voted into the ICC Hall of Fame?
Muttiah Muralitharan.
Murali is the leading wicket-taker in both Tests and ODIs, and one of only two players to tally over a 1000 wickets in international cricket, in a career that spanned 19 years, from 1992 to 2011.

63.    Who was sworn in as President of Peru on July 28, 2016?
Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.
He previously served as Prime Minister of Peru from 2005 to 2006.

64.    Who have been chosen for the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for 2016?
Bezwada Wilson and T.M. Krishna.
Mr. Krishna will receive the award for "social inclusiveness in culture," while Wilson was named as an awardee for "asserting the inalienable right to a life of human dignity." Bezwada Wilson, a renowned campaigner against manual scavenging is the national convener of the Safai Karmachari Andolan.

65.    What is the name of the Bollywood film in which Australian Cricketer “Brett Lee” plays a lead role?
UnIndian.
Australian cricket legend Brett Lee plays an English teacher who falls in love with a single mother played by Bollywood star Tanishtha Chatterjee.  Anup Sharma is the director of the film.

66.    What is the name of large amphibious flying boat that is being designed and built in China by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC)?
The AVIC AG600, also known as TA-600.

67.    Eminent litterateur and social activist who was honoured with various literary awards such as the Sahitya Akademi Award (in Bengali), Jnanpith Award and Ramon Magsaysay Award along with India's civilian awards Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan, passed away on July 28, 2016?
Mahasweta Devi.
Her notable literary works include Hajar Churashir Maa, Rudali, and Aranyer Adhikar. She won the Jnanpith Award in 1996 and Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1997.

68.    Captain of German Football team who announced his retirement from international football on 29 July 2016?
Bastian Schweinsteiger.

69.    Who became the first India female cricketer to be signed by an overseas Twenty20 league (Big Bash League)?
Harmanpreet Kaur.

70.    Name the American skydiver who has become the first to jump 25,000 feet from a plane without a parachute and land in a net?
Luke Aikins.