1) In an important international development China and Pakistan launched an ambitious economic corridor project on 20 April 2015 primarily to link their economies and strengthen the bilateral economic relations. The project called “China-Pakistan Economic Corridor” would link China’s western Xinjiang region with which Pakistani port? – Gwadar
Explanation: Gwadar Port is in the southern Pakistan on the Arabia Sea. The “China-Pakistan Economic Corridor” is a huge project to connect Pakistan’s Gwadar port with China’s northwestern autonomous region of Xinjiang. The project would include a network of highways, railways and pipelines and would pass through Pakistan’s backward Baluchistan province with a long history of separatist movements. Costing $46 billion, this project is being considered as a pivot in China-Pakistan relations. The agreement for this project was signed on the occasion of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s landmark state visit of Pakistan, which started on 20 April. It is expected that this project would transform Pakistan into a regional hub and give China a shorter and cheaper route for trade with much of Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
2) Which public sector bank launched “Rupay Platinum Debit Card” on 20 April 2015 by tying up with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)? – IDBI Bank
Explanation: The “Rupay Platinum Debit Card” fulfils the vision of the RBI of offering a domestic, open-loop, multilateral payment system to all banks and financial institutions in India. All transactions under this card scheme will be processed within the country and will be in compliance with the regulatory requirement for debit cards and the PIN has been made mandatory for performing any kind of transactions. This ensures a higher level of security to the customers. The card enables cost-effective, fast and secure access to large number of ATMs, POS terminals, e-commerce websites and participating merchant-establishments across the country.
3) ICICI Bank on 20 April 2015 launched a new payment service called ‘Tap-n-Pay’ which enables customers make over-the-counter payments without using cash. This first-of-its-kind payment service was launched in collaboration with which IT company? – Tech Mahindra
Explanation: ICICI Bank’s ‘Tap-n-Pay’ payment service is based on the near-field communications (NFC) technology. It can be used for merchant payments by merely tapping a NFC-enabled mobile phone or a tag on the counter. One important feature of this service is that it is a close-end one, only for a close group of customers, like canteen payments at the work place, and not universal like a debit or credit card. Any person having any bank account, and not limited to ICICI customers, can avail the service. For making payments, the user will have to bring the NFC tag or the mobile phone near a device at the merchant’s facility and the amount will automatically get debited from the prepaid account, without keying-in any code.
4) A Kolkata-class stealth destroyer warship for the Indian Navy that was launched on 20 April 2015 at Mumbai. It has been designed indigenously and has been fitted with advanced features. It will be known by which name after being commissioned into the Indian Navy? – INS Visakhapatnam
Explanation: The ship, weighing approximately 3,000 tons during the launch, is slated to be christened as ‘INS Visakhapatnam’ on commissioning. It will be the first of P15-B stealth destroyers (under Kolkata-class) and will be propelled by four gas turbines. It is designed to achieve a speed of over 30 knots at a displacement of approximately 7,300 tons. The indigenisation content in P15-B class destroyers is a notch above her illustrious predecessors in line with the ‘Make in India policy’ of the Government. The vessel is expected to be commissioned in the Navy in 2018.
5) In a tragic accident, a promising Bengal batsman passed away on 20 April 2015 owing to an injury sustained during a Cricket Association of Bengal’s (CAB) Senior one-day knock-out match three days ago on 17 April. What was the name of this young cricketer, who was also a former Bengal U-19 captain? – Ankit Keshri
Explanation: Ankit Keshri had captained the Bengal U-19 team in Cooch Behar Trophy and was in the 30-member India U-19 probables list for the 2014 Colts World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. He was also playing for Bengal-A (U-23 side) in CK Nayudu national Championship. He got injured while trying to take a catch during a CAB Senior ODI match between local giants East Bengal and Bhowanipore club. He collided with left-arm pacer Sourav Mondal who too ran on his follow through to take the catch. After being in hospital for three days and showing signs of recovery he passed away on 20 April after a massive cardiac arrest. Thus it was another tragic on-field incident in the game of cricket after Australian Phillip Hughes’ death last November.
6) What is the name of the 21-year old English batsman who made cricketing history by scoring 350 in a one-day club match on 20 April 2015? – Liam Livingstone
Explanation: Liam Livingstone scored 350 off just 138 balls for his team Nantwich in a National Club Championship match against fellow north-west side Caldy. His innings included 34 fours and 27 sixes. Owing to this Nantwich achieved a mammoth total of 579 for seven in just 45 overs. Overwhelmed by what had happened to them in the field, Caldy collapsed to 79 all out as Nantwich won by a huge margin of 500 runs. His astonishing assault is believed to be the highest recorded individual in any form of one-day match, surpassing the 334 not out made by the then 15-year-old Nikhilesh Surendran in an Indian school fixture in Hyderabad in 2008.
