1. What has the Indian Railway Conference Association changed the name of the railway station “Ayodhya Junction”?
(A) Ayodhya Dham Railway Station
(B) Ram Mandir Railway Station
(C) Ayodhya Cantt Railway Station
(D) Sri Ayodhya Ji Railway Station
(E) Ayodhya Teerth Railway Station
Solution: Option A.)
Ans (A)
Ayodhya’s main railway station has been renamed as “Ayodhya Dham” Junction ahead of its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The renaming was done by the general secretary of Indian Railway Conference Association.
The refurbished Ayodhya Dham station has murals of Lord Ram.
Ayodhya Dham station will have modern facilities to meet the demands of tourists.
The design of the station combines modern solutions with Indian temple architecture aesthetics.
In 2021, Uttar Pradesh government renamed Faizabad railway junction as Ayodhya Cantt.
2. Which bank has recently approved the proposal to raise capital worth 7500 crores through QIP or FPO?
(A) Punjab National Bank
(B) HDFC Bank
(C) State Bank of India
(D) Yes Bank
(E) ICICI Bank
Solution: Option A.)
Ans (A)
Punjab National Bank (PNB) plans to raise about Rs 7500-crore equity capital in 2024-25.
The capital will be raised through Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP)/Follow on Public Offer (FPO) or any other permitted mode or a combination of such modes, PNB said in a filing with the stock exchanges.
The country’s second largest public sector bank had Board approval to raise capital worth Rs 12,000 crore in 2023-24.
3. Who has been named as International Event Ambassador for Mumbai Marathon?
(A) Nina Kennedy
(B) Sandi Morris
(C) Katie Moon
(D) Wilma Murto
(E) Jenn Suhr
Solution: Option C.)
Ans (C)
Olympic gold medalist and two-time pole vault World Champion, Katie Moon, has been named the International Event Ambassador for Mumbai Marathon 2024.
Moon has also won gold medals at World Athletics Championships and a top slot in Diamond League in 2023.
Mumbai Marathon, classified as a World Athletics Gold Label Race and one of the world’s top 10 marathons, will be held on January 21, 2024.
4. B P Gopalika has recently taken over as new chief secretary of which state?
(A) Tamil Nadu
(B) Bihar
(C) West Bengal
(D) Punjab
(E) Maharashtra
Solution: Option C.)
Ans (C)
BP Gopalika, the current home secretary and an IAS officer from the 1989 batch, is set to become the new chief secretary of Bengal following the end of incumbent HK Dwivedi’s tenure on December 31.
He worked in the transport, personnel & administrative reforms departments and home department.
He will oversee the Lok Sabha elections in his new role as the administrative head of the state.
5. Life Insurance Corporation of India has appointed whom as the new Chief Risk Officer?
(A) Pawan Agrawal
(B) R Doraiswamy
(C) Sunil Agrawal
(D) S Sunder Krishnan
(E) P Kumaresan
[spoiler title="Show solution"]
Solution: Option D.)
Ans (D)
Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) announces S Sunder Krishnan as the new Chief Risk Officer (CRO).
Krishnan, a chartered accountant, brings 18 years of experience from leadership roles at Reliance Nippon Life Insurance.
He takes over the role from Pratap Chandra Paikray, as confirmed in a regulatory filing by LIC.
6. Who has been appointed as the new Director General of Police for West Bengal?
(A) Rajeev Kumar
(B) Manoj Malaviya
(C) Anup Pandey
(D) Sushil Chandra
(E) Sunil Arora
Solution: Option A.)
Ans (A)
IPS officer Rajeev Kumar has been appointed as the new Director General of Police for West Bengal, succeeding Manoj Malaviya who retired recently.
Kumar previously served as the chief of Kolkata Police, Bidhannagar Police, and also led the CID and STF.
In 2019, CM Banerjee held a protest when a Central Bureau of Investigation team sought to question Kumar over an alleged chit-fund scam.
7. United States has launched Operation Prosperity Guardian to secure –
(A) Caribbean Sea
(B) Red Sea
(C) Caspian Sea
(D) Black Sea
(E) East China Sea
Solution: Option B.)
Ans (B)
Operation Prosperity Guardian is a US-led multinational military operation formed in response to attacks on Red Sea shipping routes, amid the 2023 Israel-Hamas war.
It aims to counter Houthi threats and end their blockade of Israel, with an emphasis on protecting international maritime commerce.
The coalition comprises over 20 members, including ten anonymous participants.
8. India has signed a protocol on consultations with which country for next four years?
(A) Russia
(B) Japan
(C) USA
(D) China
(E) Britain
Solution: Option A.)
Ans (A)
India and Russia have signed a four-year protocol (2024-28) aimed at advancing economic cooperation, energy trade, connectivity, military-technical cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges.
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar’s visit involved talks on various issues including the Indo-Pacific region, Ukraine, and the Israel-Gaza conflict.
This visit led to the above development.
9. On which day, Indian National Congress has celebrated its 139th Foundation Day?
(A) 27th December
(B) 26th December
(C) 28th December
(D) 29th December
(E) 30th December
Solution: Option C.)
Ans (C)
The Indian National Congress celebrated its 139th Foundation Day today, marking its inception on December 28, 1885 – an important event in Indian political history.
It began as a party that simply wanted to influence British policy in India, then transformed to be at the helm of India’s nationalist movement.
The party played an immense role to unshackle India from the British Colonial Raj.
10. Who was the founder of ‘Desia Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam’ (DMDK) who passed away recently?
(A) Shanmuga Pandian
(B) N Vijayakanth
(C) Vijay Prabhakar
(D) C N Annadurai
(E) K Palaniswami
Solution: Option B.)
Ans (B)
Vijayakanth, DMDK founder and Tamil cinema veteran, fondly known as Captain, has passed away due to pneumonia.
He was a successful actor earning the ‘Captain’ title after his 100th film ‘Captain Prabhakaran’ became a hit.
Transitioning to politics, he successfully led DMDK, allying with AIADMK in 2011, and secured the position of Leader of the Opposition.