ANDHRA PRADESH PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION ASSISTANT ENGINEERS EXAM CURRENT AFFAIRS QUESTIONS (EXAM HELD ON: 15-05-2022)

 1) Why was Roberta Metsola in the news in January 2022?

1. She was elected as the president of the World Bank.

2. She was elected as the president of the INTERPOL.

3. She was elected as the president of the European Parliament.

4. She was elected as the president of UNICEF

 

2) Why was Roberta Metsola in the news in January 2022?

1. She was elected as the president of the World Bank.

2. She was elected as the president of the INTERPOL.

3. She was elected as the president of the European Parliament.

4. She was elected as the president of UNICEF.

 

3) Prime Minister Narendra Modi was honoured with the Ngadag Pel gi Khorlo award in December 2021. This is the highest civilian award in which country?

1. Cambodia

2. Indonesia

3. Bhutan

4. Myanmar

 

4) Barbados was declared a new republic after how many years of British rule?

1. 100 years

2. 200 years

3. 300 years

4. 400 years

 

5) The new CEO of Twitter, Parag Agrawal, has graduated from which IIT?

1. IIT-Bombay

2. IIT-Madras

3. IIT-Kharagpur

4. IIT-Delhi

 

6) Which country hosted the G-7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in December 2021?

1. The UK

2. Canada

3. France

4. Italy

 

7) After winning the finals of the men’s singles title at the Australian Open 2021, Rafael Nadal set a new record of winning ______ titles in Grand Slam singles.

1. 21

2. 19

3. 17

4. 15

 

8) In November 2021, India was re-elected to the Executive Board of the United Nations' Cultural and Education Organization (UNESCO) for a term of _______ years.

1. four

2. three

3. five

4. six

 

9)  Which government body has recently (January 2022) constituted a ‘Fly Ash Management and Utilization Mission’ with the objective of coordinating and monitoring the issues related to handling and disposal of fly ash and other associated issues?

1. Central Ground Water Board (CGWB)

2. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)

3. National Green Tribunal (NGT)

4. Indian Forest Service (IFS)

 

10)Which research institute secured the second rank in the National Ranking Index-2020?

 1. IISc, Bangalore

2. CSIR, Delhi

3. NIN, Hyderabad

4. C-DAC, Pune

 

11) How many new high yielding varieties of field crops were released by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research during 2019 to 2021?

1. 462

2. 562

3. 362

4. 262

 

12) The Central Government is set to roll out a digital system called ‘OSM’ from 1 April 2022 in a bid to bring in operational efficiency in storage, movement and distribution of food grains under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). The full form of OSM is:

1. Online Storage Management

2. Output Storage Management

3. Outsource Storage Management

4. Onset Storage Management

 

13) According to the International Trade Administration (ITA), India emerged as the ________ largest manufacturer of mobile handsets in the world in 2021.

1. second

2. third

3. fourth

4. fifth

 

14) On 27 September 2021, DRDO tested a new version of the Akash Missile equipped with an active Radio Frequency (RF) seeker for improved accuracy. What is the name of this new version of Akash missile?

1. Akash Next

2. Akash Prime

3. Akash Apex

4. Akash Blaze

 

 

15)In July 2021, ISRO announced the launch of its geo-imaging satellite that will enable near-real time monitoring of natural disasters, such as floods and cyclones. The name of this satellite is:

1. EOS-03

2. EOS-04

3. EOS-05

4. EOS-06

16) Which state ranked first among the larger states in primary education in the Index on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy 2021?

1. West Bengal

2. Rajasthan

3. Uttar Pradesh

4. Madhya Pradesh

 

17) Which of the following states did NOT get an A++ rank in the Performance Grading Index (PGI) of the States/UTs 2021?

1. Kerala

2. Punjab

3. Tamil Nadu

4. Rajasthan

 

18) For the effective implementation of various schemes and programmes of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, all the major schemes of the Ministry have been classified under how many umbrella schemes?

1. Three

2. Four

3. Five

4. Six

 

19) What amount was allocated for child protection and welfare services under Mission VATSALYA in the 2021-22 Union Budget of India?

1. ₹700 crore

2. ₹900 crore

3. ₹600 crore

4. ₹300 crore

 

20) What amount was allocated for the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry, the ministry that caters to the welfare of the backward classes and those with disabilities, in the Union Budget 2022-23?

1. ₹10,134 crore

2. ₹11,134 crore

3. ₹12,134 crore

4. ₹13,134 crore

 

21) According to the reports of the Ministry of Electronics and IT, approximately how much e-waste was collected and processed in the financial year 2021?

1. 3.54 lakh tonnes

2. 2.54 lakh tonnes

3. 1.54 lakh tonnes

4. 4.54 lakh tonnes

 

22) As of December 2021, what was the total number of Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in India?

1. 23,391

2. 31,391

3. 11,391

4. 41,391

 

23) According to the reports of Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), how many Indians were unemployed as of December 2021?

1. 23 million

2. 33 million

3. 43 million

4. 53 million

 

24)  Recently (January 2022), the Union Cabinet extended the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis for how many more years?

1. One

2. Four

3. Two

4. Three

 

25) The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is a specialised force that is responsible for disaster response and relief. For 2021-22, the budget estimate for the NDRF was:

1. ₹1,409 crore

2. ₹1,309 crore

3. ₹1,109 crore

4. ₹1,209 crore

 

Answers:

(1)  1 (2) 3 (3) 3 (4) 4 (5) 1 (6) 1 (7) 1 (8) 1 (9) 3 (10) 1

(11) 2     (12) 1 (13) 1 (14) 2 (15) 1 (16) 1 (17) 4 (18) 1 (19) 2 (20) 4

(21) 1 (22) 1 (23) 4 (24) 4 (25) 4

List of Chief Election Commissioners of India Since 1950 to 2019

1. Sukumar Sen : 21 March, 1950 to 19 December, 1958

2. K. V. K. Sundaram : 20 December, 1958 to 30 September, 1967
3. S. P. Sen Verma : 1 October, 1967 to 30 September, 1972
4. Nagendra Singh : 1 October, 1972 to 6 February, 1973
5. T. Swaminathan : 7 February, 1973 to 17 June, 1977
6. S. L. Shakdhar : 18 June, 1977 to 17 June, 1982
7. R. K. Trivedi : 18 June, 1982 to 31 December, 1985
8. R. V. S. Peri Sastri : 1 January, 1986 to 25 November, 1990
9. V. S. Ramadevi : 26 November, 1990 to 11 December, 1990
10. T. N. Seshan : 12 December, 1990 to 11 December, 1996
11. M. S. Gill : 12 December, 1996 to 13 June, 2001
12. J. M. Lyngdoh : 14 June, 2001 to 7 February, 2004
13. T. S. Krishnamurthy : 8 February, 2004 to 15 May, 2005
14. B. B. Tandon : 16 May, 2005 to 28 June, 2006
15. N. Gopalaswami : 29 June, 2006 to 20 April, 2009
16. Navin Chawla : 21 April, 2009 to 29 July, 2010
17. S. Y. Quraishi : 30 July, 2010 to 10 June, 2012

18. V. S. Sampath : 10 June, 2012 to 15 January, 2015
19. H. S. Brahma : 15 January, 2015 to 18 April, 2015
20. Nasim Zaidi : 19 April, 2015 to 6 July, 2017
21. Achal Kumar Jyoti : 6 July, 2017 to 22 January, 2018
22. Om Prakash Rawat : 23 January, 2018 to 2 December, 2018

23. Sunil Arora : 2 December, 2018 to Incumbent 

World Presidents and Prime Ministers 2017

A
Afghanistan : Capital - Kabul; President - Mohammad Ashraf Ghani
Albania : Capital - Tirana; President - Bujar Nishani; Prime Minister - Edi Rama
Algeria : Capital - Algiers; President - Abdelaziz Bouteflika; Prime Minister - Abdelmadjid Tebboune
Angola : Capital - Luanda; President - Jose Eduardo Dos Santos
Antigua and Barbuda : Capital - St. John's; Governor General-Sir Rodney Williams, Prime Minister - Gaston Browne
Argentina : Capital - Buenos Aires; President - Mauricio Macri
Armenia : Capital - Yerevan; President - Serzh Sargsyan; Prime Minister - Karen Karapetyan
Aruba : Capital - Oranjestad; Governor-Alfonso Boekhoudt; Prime Minister - Mike Eman
Australia : Capital - Canberra; Governor General-Sir Peter Cosgrove; Prime Minister - Malcolm Turnbull
Austria : Capital - Vienna; President - Alexander Van der Bellen; Chancellor-Christian Kern
Azerbaijan : Capital - Baku; President - Ilham Aliyev; Prime Minister - Artur Rasizade

B
Bahamas, The : Capital - Nassau; Governor General-Marguerite Pindling; Prime Minister - Hubert Minnis

Bahrain : Capital - Manama; King-Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa; Prime Minister - Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa
Bangladesh : Capital - Dhaka; President - Abdul Hamid; Prime Minister - Sheikh Hasina
Barbados : Capital - Bridgetown; Governor General-Elliot Belgrave; Prime Minister - Freundel Stuart
Belarus : Capital - Minsk; President - Aleksandr Lukashenko; Prime Minister - Andrei Kobyakov
Belgium : Capital - City of Brussels; King-Philippe; Prime Minister - Charles Michel
Belize : Capital - Belmopan; Governor General-Sir Colville Young; Prime Minister - Dean Oliver Barrow
Benin : Capital - Porto-Novo; President - Patrice Talon; Prime Minister - Lionel Zinsou
Bhutan - NDE : Capital - Thimphu; King-Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck; Prime Minister-Tshering Tobgay
Bolivia : Capital - Sucre; President - Juan Evo Morales Ayma
Botswana : Capital - Gaborone; President - Seretse Khama Ian Khama
Brazil : Capital - Brasília; President - Michel Temer
Brunei : Capital - Bandar Seri Begawan; Sultan-Sir Hassanal Bolkiah; Crown Prince - Al-Muhtadee Billah  
Bulgaria : Capital - Sofia; President - Rumen Radev; Prime Minister - Boyko Borisov
Burkina Faso : Capital - Ouagadougou; President - (Acting) Roch Marc Christian Kaboré; Prime Minister - Paul Kaba Thieba 
Burundi : Capital - Bujumbura; President - Pierre Nkurunziza

C
Cape Verde : Capital - Praia; President - Jorge Carlos De Almeida Fonseca; Prime Minister - Ulisses Correia e Silva
Cambodia : Capital - Phnom Penh; King-Norodom Sihamoni; Prime Minister - Hun Sen
Cameroon : Capital - Yaoundé; President - Paul Biya; Prime Minister - Philemon Yang
Canada : Ottawa; Governor General-David Johnston; Prime Minister - Justin Trudeau
Central African Republic : Capital - Bangui; President -Faustin-Archange Touadéra; Prime Minister - Simplice Sarandji
Chad : Capital - N'djamena; President - Idriss Deby Itno; Prime Minister - Albert Pahimi Padacke
Chile : Capital - Santiago; President - Michelle Bachelet
China : Capital - Beijing; President - Xi Jinping; Prime Minister - Li Keqiang
Colombia : Capital - Bogotá; President - Juan Manuel Santos
Comoros : Capital - Moroni; President: Azali Assoumani
Congo, Democratic Republic of The : Capital - Kinshasa; President - Joseph Kabila; Prime Minister - Bruno Tshibala
Congo, Republic of The : Capital - Brazzaville; President  - Denis Sassou Nguess; Prime Minister - Clement Mouamba
Cook Islands : Capital - Avarua; Prime Minister - Henry Puna
Costa Rica : Capital - San José; President - Luis Guillermo Solís
Cote D'ivoire : Capital - Yamoussoukro; President - Alassane Dramane Ouattara; Prime minister: Amadou Gon Coulibaly
Croatia : Capital - Zagreb; President - Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic; Prime Minister - Andrej Plenkovic
Cuba - NDE : Capital - Havana; President - Raul Castro; Prime minister: Raul Castro
Cyprus : Capital - Nicosia; President - Nicos Anastasiades
Czech Republic : Capital - Prague; President - Milos Zeman; Prime Minister - Bohuslav Sobotka
D
Denmark : Capital - Copenhagen; Queen-Margrethe II; Prime Minister - Lars Løkke Rasmussen
Djibouti : Capital - Djibouti; President - Ismail Omar Guelleh; Prime Minister - Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed
Dominica : Capital - Roseau; President - Charles Savarin; Prime Minister - Roosevelt Skerrit
Dominican Republic : Capital - Santo Domingo; President - Danilo Medina Sanchez
E
Ecuador : Capital - Quito; President - Lenín Moreno
Egypt : Capital - Cairo - President - Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi; Prime Minister - Sherif Ismail
El Salvador : Capital - San Salvador; President - Salvador Sánchez Cerén
Equatorial Guinea : Capital - Malabo; President - Brig. General Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo; Prime minister: Francisco Pascual Obama Asue
Eritrea : Capital - Asmara; President - Isaias Afwerki
Estonia : Capital - Tallinn; President - Kersti Kaljulaid; Prime Minister - Jüri Ratas
Ethiopia : Capital - Addis Ababa; President - Mulatu Teshome; Prime Minister - Hailemariam Desalegn
F
Fiji : Capital - Suva; President - George Konrote; Prime Minister - Frank Bainimarama
Finland : Capital - Helsinki; President - Sauli Niinisto; Prime Minister - Juha Sipila
France : Capital - Paris; President - Emmanuel Macron; Prime Minister - Edouard Philippe
G
Gabon : Capital - Libreville; President - Ali Ben Bongo Ondimba; Prime Minister - Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet
Gambia, The : Capital - Banjul; President - Adama Barrow
Georgia : Capital - Tbilisi; President - Giorgi Margvelashvili; Prime Minister - Giorgi Kvirikashvili
Germany : Capital - Berlin; President -Frank-Walter Steinmeier; Chancellor-Angela Merkel
Ghana : Capital - Accra; President - Nana Akufo-Addo
Greece : Capital - Athens; President - Prokopis Pavlopoulos; Prime Minister - Alexis Tsipras
Grenada : Capital - St. George's; Governor General-Cecile La Grenade; Prime Minister - Keith Mitchell
Guatemala : Capital - Guatemala City; President - Jimmy Morales
Guinea : Capital - Conakry; President - Alpha Conde; Prime Minister - Mamady Youla
Guinea-Bissau : Capital - Bissau; President - José Mário Vaz; Prime Minister - Umaro Sissoco Embalo
Guyana : Capital - Georgetown; President - David A. Granger; Prime Minister - Moses Nagamootoo
H
Haiti : Capital - Port-Au-Prince; President - Jovenel Moïse; Prime Minister - Jack Guy Lafontant
Honduras : Capital - Tegucigalpa; President - Juan Orlando Hernandez Alvarado
Hungary : Capital - Budapest; President - Janos Ader; Prime Minister - Viktor Orban
I
Iceland : Capital - Reykjavik; President - Guðni Th. Jóhannesson; Prime Minister - Bjarni Benediktsson
India : Capital - New Delhi; President - Ram Nath Kovind; Prime Minister - Narendra Modi
Indonesia : Capital - Jakarta; President - Joko Widodo
Iran - NDE : Capital - Tehran; President - Hassan Rouhani
Iraq : Capital - Baghdad; President - Fuad Masum; Prime Minister - Haider al-Abadi
Ireland : Capital - Dublin; President - Michael Daniel Higgins; Prime Minister - Leo Varadkar
Israel : Capital - Jerusalem; President - Reuven Rivlin; Prime Minister - Binyamin "Bibi" Netanyahu
Italy : Capital - Rome; President - Sergio Mattarella; Prime Minister - Paolo Gentiloni
J
Jamaica : Capital - Kingston; Governor General - Sir Patrick Allen; Prime Minister - Andrew Holness
Japan : Capital - Tokyo; Emperor-Akihito; Prime Minister - Shinzo Abe
Jordan : Capital - Amman; King-Abdallah II; Prime Minister - Hani Al-Mulki
K
Kazakhstan : Capital - Astana; President - Nursultan Nazarbayev; Prime Minister - Bakhytzhan Sagintayev
Kenya : Capital - Nairobi; President - Uhuru Kenyatta
Kiribati : Capital - Tarawa; President - Taneti Mamau
Korea North, NDE : Capital - Pyongyang;  Supreme leader: Kim Jong-un
Korea, South : Capital - Seoul; President - Moon Jae-in; Prime Minister - Lee Nak-yeon
Kosovo : Capital - Pristina; President - Hashim Thaçi; Prime Minister - Isa Mustafa
Kuwait : Capital - Kuwait City; Amir-Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah; Prime Minister - Jaber Mubarak al-Sabah
Kyrgyzstan : Capital - Bishkek; President - Almazbek Atambaev; Prime Minister - Sooronbay Jeenbekov
L
Laos : Capital - Vientiane; President - Bounnhang Vorachith; Prime Minister - Thongloun Sisoulith
Latvia : Capital - Riga; President - Raimonds Vējonis; Prime Minister - Maris Kucinskis
Lebanon : Capital - Beirut; President -Michel Aoun ; Prime Minister - Saad Hariri
Lesotho : Capital - Maseru; King-Letsie III; Prime Minister - Tom Thabane
Liberia : Capital - Monrovia; President - Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Libya : Capital - Tripoli; President - Aguila Salah Issa; Prime Minister - Fayez al-Sarraj
Liechtenstein : Capital - Vaduz; Prince - Hans Adam II; Prime Minister - Adrian Hasler
Lithuania : Capital - Vilnius; President - Dalia Grybauskaite; Prime Minister - Saulius Skvernelis
Luxembourg : Capital - Luxembourg; Monarch - Henri; Prime Minister - Xavier Bettel
M
Macedonia : Capital - Skopje; President - Gjorge Ivanov; Prime Minister - Zoran Zaev
Madagascar : Capital - Antananarivo; President - Hery Martial Rajaonarimampianina Rakotoari; Prime Minister - Olivier Solonandrasana
Malawi : Capital - Lilongwe; President - Peter Mutharika
Malaysia : Capital - Kuala Lumpur; King-Muhammad V; Prime Minister - Najib Razak
Maldives : Capital - Malé; President - Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom
Mali : Capital - Bamako; President - Ibrahim Boubacar Keita; Prime Minister - Abdoulaye Idrissa
Malta : Capital - Valletta; President - Marie Louise Coleiro Preca; Prime Minister - Joseph Muscat
Marshall Islands : Capital - Majuro; President - Hilda Heine
Mauritania : Capital - Nouakchott; President - Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz; Prime Minister - Yahya Ould Hademine
Mauritius : Capital - Port Louis; President - Ameenah Gurib; Prime Minister - Pravind Jugnauth
Mexico : Capital - Mexico City; President - Enrique Pena Nieto
Federated States of Micronesia : Capital - Palikir; President - Peter M. Christian 
Moldova : Capital - Chișinău; President - Igor Dodon; Prime Minister - Pavel Filip
Mongolia : Capital - Ulan Bator; President - Tsakhia Elbegdorj; Prime Minister - Jargaltulgyn Erdenebat
Montenegro : Capital - Podgorica; President - Filip Vujanovic; Prime Minister - Dusko Markovic
Morocco : Capital - Rabat; King-Mohammed VI; Prime Minister - Saadeddine Othmani
Mozambique : Capital - Maputo; President - Filipe Nyusi; Prime Minister - Carlos Agostinho do Rosário
Myanmar : Capital - Naypyidaw; President - Htin Kyaw
N
Namibia : Capital - Windhoek; President - Hage Geingob; Prime Minister - Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila
Nauru : Capital - Yaren ; President - Pushpa Kamal Dahal
Nepal : Capital - Kathmandu; President - Bidhya Devi Bhandari; Prime Minister: Sher Bahadur Deuba
Netherlands : Capital - Amsterdam; King-Willem-Alexander; Prime Minister - Mark Rutte
New Zealand : Capital - Wellington; Governor General- Dame Patsy Reddy; Prime Minister - Bill English
Nicaragua : Capital - Managua; President - Daniel Ortega Saavedra 
Niger : Capital - Niamey; President - Mahamadou Issoufou; Prime Minister - Brigi Rafini
Nigeria : Capital - Abuja; President - Muhammadu Buhari
Norway : Capital - Oslo; King-Harald V; Prime Minister - Erna Solberg
O-P
Oman : Capital - Muscat; Sultan-Qaboos bin Said Al Said; Deputy Prime Minister - Qaboos bin Said al Said
Pakistan : Capital - Islamabad; President - Mamnoon Hussain; Prime Minister - Shahid Khaqan Abbasi
Palau : Capital - Ngerulmud; President - Tommy Remengesau
Panama : Capital - Panama City; President - Juan Carlos Varela
Papua New Guinea : Capital - Port Moresby; Governor General - Bob Dadae; Prime Minister - Peter Paire O'neill
Paraguay : Capital - Asunción; President - Horacio Cartes Jara
Peru : Capital - Lima; President - Pedro Pablo Kuczynski; Prime Minister - Fernando Zavala Lombardi
Philippines : Capital - Manila; President - Rodrigo Duterte
Poland : Capital - Warsaw; President - Andrzej Duda; Prime Minister - Beata Szydło
Portugal : Capital - Lisbon; President - Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa; Prime Minister - António Costa
Q-R
Qatar : Capital - Doha; Emir - Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani; Prime Minister - Abdallah Bin Nasir Bin Khalifa Al Thani
Romania : Capital - Bucharest; President - Klaus Iohannis; Prime Minister - Mihai Tudose
Russia : Capital - Moscow; President - Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; Prime Minister - Dmitriy Anatolyevich Medvedev
Rwanda : Capital - Kigali; President - Paul Kagame; Prime Minister - Anastase Murekezi
S
Saint Kitts and Nevis : Capital - Basseterre; Governor General - Samuel Weymouth Tapley Seaton; Prime Minister - Timothy Harris
Saint Lucia : Capital - Castries; Governor General- Dame Pearlette Louisy; Prime Minister - Allen Chastanet
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines : Capital - Kingstown; Governor General - Sir Frederick Nathaniel Ballantyne; Prime Minister - Ralph Everard Gonsalves
Samoa : Capital - Apia; Prime Minister - Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi
Sao Tome and Principe : Capital - São Tomé; President - Evaristo Carvalho; Prime Minister - Patrice Trovoada
Saudi Arabia : Capital - Riyadh; King-Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Senegal : Capital - Dakar; President - Macky Sall; Prime Minister - Mohammed Dionne
Serbia : Capital - Belgrade; President - Aleksandar Vucic; Prime Minister - Ana Brnabic
Seychelles : Capital - Victoria; President - Danny Faure
Sierra Leone : Capital - Freetown; President - Ernest Bai Koroma
Singapore : Capital - Singapore; President - Tony Tan Keng Yam; Prime Minister - Lee Hsien Loong
Slovakia : Capital - Bratislava; President - Andrej Kiska; Prime Minister - Robert Fico
Slovenia : Capital - Ljubljana; President - Borut Pahor; Prime Minister - Miro Cerar
Solomon Islands : Capital - Honiara; Governor General - Frank Ofagioro Kabui; Prime Minister - Manasseh Sogavare
Somalia : Capital - Mogadishu; President - Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed; Prime Minister - Hassan Ali Khayre
South Africa : Capital - Pretoria, Cape Town, Bloemfontein; President - Jacob Zuma
South Sudan : Capital - Juba; President - Salva Kiir Mayardit
Spain : Capital - Madrid; Monarch - Felipe VI, Prime Minister - Mariano Rajoy
Sri Lanka : Capital - Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte; President - Maithripala Sirisena; Prime Minister - Ranil Wickremesinghe
Sudan : Capital - Khartoum; President - Omar al-Bashir, Prime Minister - Bakri Hassan Saleh
Suriname : Capital - Paramaribo; President - Dési Bouterse
Swaziland : Capital - Lobamba, Mbabane; King-Mswati III; Prime Minister - Barnabus Sibusiso Dlamini
Sweden : Capital - Stockholm; King - Carl XVI Gustaf; Prime Minister - Stefan Löfven
Syria : Capital - Damascus; President - Bashar Al-Asad; Prime Minister - Imad Khamis
T
Taiwan - NDE : Capital - Taipei; President - Tsai Ing-wen
Tajikistan : Capital - Dushanbe; President - Emomali Rahmon; Prime Minister - Kohir Rasulzoda
Tanzania : Capital - Dodoma; President - John Magufuli; Prime Minister - Kassim Majaliwa
Thailand : Capital - Bangkok; Monarch - Maha Vajiralongkorn; Prime Minister - Prayut Chan-o-cha
Timor-East : Capital - Dili; President - Francisco Guterres; Prime Minister - Rui Maria de Araújo
Togo : Capital - Lomé; President - Faure Gnassingbe; Prime Minister - Komi Sélom Klassou
Tonga : Capital - NukuʻAlofa; King-Tupou VI; Prime Minister - Akilisi Pohiva
Trinidad and Tobago : Capital - Port of Spain; President - Anthony Thomas Aquinas Carmona; Prime Minister - Keith Rowley
Tunisia : Capital - Tunis; President - Beji Caid Essebsi; Prime Minister - Youssef Chahed
Turkey : Capital - Ankara; President - Recep Tayyip Erdoğan; Prime Minister - Binali Yıldırım
Turkmenistan : Capital - Ashgabat; President - Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow
Tuvalu : Capital - Funafuti; Governor General - Iakoba Italeli; Prime Minister - Enele Sopoaga
U
Uganda : Capital - Kampala; President -Yoweri Kaguta Museveni; Prime Minister - Ruhakana Rugunda
Ukraine : Capital - Kiev; President - Petro Poroshenko; Prime Minister - Volodymyr Groysman
United Arab Emirates : Capital - Abu Dhabi; President - Khalifa Bin Zayid Al Nuhayyan; Prime Minister - Muhammad Bin Rashid Al Maktum
United States of America : Capital - Washington, D.C., President - Donald Trump
United Kingdom : Capital - London; Queen-Elizabeth II; Prime Minister - Theresa May
Uruguay : Capital - Montevideo; President - Tabaré Vázquez
Uzbekistan : Capital - Tashkent; President - Shavkat Mirziyoyev; Prime Minister - Abdulla Oripov
V
Vanuatu : Capital - Port Vila; President - Baldwin Lonsdale; Prime Minister - Charlot Salwai
Venezuela : Capital - Caracas; President - Nicolas Maduro Moros
Vietnam : Capital - Hanoi; President - Tran Dai Quang; Prime Minister - Nguyen Xuan Phuc
Yemen : Capital - Sana'a; President - Fd. Mar. Abd Rabuh Mansur Hadi; Prime Minister - Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr 
Z
Zambia : Capital - Lusaka; President - Edgar Lungu
Zimbabwe : Capital - Harare; President - Robert Gabriel Mugabe

LED Street Lighting Project

Government of India, through the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) under the Ministry of Power, would be retrofitting 10 lakh conventional street lights with LED lights in Gram Panchayats of 7 districts in Andhra Pradesh.
★ This is the first project for rural LED street lighting in the country under the Government of India's Street Lighting National Project (SLNP).
★ These installations have led to an annual savings of over 7.8 crore kWh, translating into an annual reduction of over 65,000 tonnes of CO2.

Goods and Services Tax (GST)

GST is a unified taxation system which would end multiple taxation across the states and create a level playing field for businesses throughout the country, much like the developed nations. It is a multi-stage destination-based tax which will be collected at every stage, starting from procuring the raw material to selling the final product. The credit of taxes paid at the previous stage(s) will be available for set-off at the next stage of supply. Being destination or a consumption based, the GST will also end multiple taxes levied by Centre and the State Governments like Central Excise, Service Tax, VAT, Central Sales Tax, Octroi, Entry Tax, Luxury Tax and Entertainment Tax etc.  This will lower the overall tax burden on the consumer and will benefit the industry through better cash flows and working capital management. Currently, 17 State and Central levies are being applied on goods as they move from one State to the other.

BENEFITS

Different estimates peg the net advantage to the Gross Domestic Product, up to two percentage points.  The GST regime is also expected to result in better tax compliance, thereby increasing its revenue and narrowing the Budget deficit. All the imported goods will be charged Integrated Goods & Services Tax (IGST) which is equivalent to the Central GST + State GST. This will bring equality with taxation on local products.

Mainly, there will be three types of taxes under the GST regime: Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST), State (or Union Territory) Goods and Services Tax (SGST) and Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST). Tax levied by the Centre on intra-State supply of goods or services would be called the CGST and that to be levied by the States and Union Territories(UTs) would be called the SGST respectively. The IGST would be levied and collected by the Centre on inter-State supply of goods and services. Four supplementary legislations approving these taxes, namely the Central GST Bill, the Integrated GST Bill, The GST (Compensation to States) Bill, and the Union Territory GST Bill were passed by the Lok Sabha in May this year, making the realisation of 1^st July, 2017 deadline a reality.

All the matters related to the GST are dealt upon by the GST Council headed by the Union Finance Minister while all the State Finance Ministers are its Members. The GST Council also has a provision to adjudicate disputes arising out of its recommendation or implementation thereof.

TAX RATES

The GST Council has fixed four broad tax slabs under the new GST system - 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent. On top of the highest slab, there is a cess on luxury and demerit goods to compensate the States for revenue loss in the first five years of GST implementation. Most of the goods and services have been listed under the four slabs, but a few like gold and rough diamonds have exclusive tax rates. Also, some items have been exempted from taxation. The essential items have been kept in the lowest tax bracket, whereas luxury goods and tobacco products will invite higher tax.

17-YEAR-LONG WAIT

Many countries in the world switched to a unified taxation system very early. France was the first country to do so in 1954 and many others followed, some by implementing GST and others by using a different form of Value Added Tax (VAT). In India, the discussion on GST started in the year 2000, in the NDA Government led by the former Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Finally, after 17 years of consensus building, 101^st Constitution Amendment Bill was passed by Parliament in 2016. The States had apprehension of reduction in their revenue and their desire to keep some lucrative goods out of the GST baskets like alcohol, petroleum and real estate among others.

IMPACT ON CONSUMERS

From agarbattis (incense sticks) to luxury cars - all these goods will be taxed under different slabs. Movie tickets costing less than Rs 100 have been kept in the 18% GST slab while those over Rs 100 will attract 28% tax under GST. Tobacco products have been kept under a higher tax bracket. Industries such as textiles and, gems and jewellery are subject to a GST rate of 5%

The Government has shown its strong determination and stuck to implementing the GST with effect from 1^st July, 2017. The road ahead would require a lot of resolve by the implementing agencies like the Goods and Services Network, states and the industry.    To sail through initial hiccups and successfully steer the ship of the economy, the Government needs to show the same determination and courage. A bold initiative like GST taken for the welfare of the country must lead to a grand success.

National Testing Agency (NTA)

The Union Human Resource Development Ministry has announced to set up a National Testing Agency (NTA) department to conduct examinations for higher and secondary.
Note: 
Initially, examinations like IIT, NIT and even university exams will be conducted by the NTA. An open web-based platform 'SWAYAM' will be launched by next month. The two thousand courses will be run for students across the country through SWAYAM.