Current Affair subscription: January 2019

Question 1: India revoked 'Most Favoured Nation' (MFN) status to which country?

Answer: Pakistan

In international economic relations and international politics, "most favoured nation" (MFN) is a status or level of treatment accorded by one state to another in international trade. The term means the country which is the recipient of this treatment must nominally receive equal trade advantages as the "most favoured nation" by the country granting such treatment. (Trade advantages include low tariffs or high import quotas.) In effect, a country that has been accorded MFN status may not be treated less advantageously than any other country with MFN status by the promising country. There is a debate in legal circles whether MFN clauses in bilateral investment treaties include only substantive rules or also procedural protections.

India's gave MFN status to Pakistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam. Pakistan used to be an MFN, which was highly controversial due to Pakistan's alleged involvement in terrorist activity primarily in South Asia as well as its long-standing dispute with India regarding Kashmir, and the status was finally withdrawn on 15th February 2019 in response to the Pulwama attack.

Question 2: Which country won the Border–Gavaskar cricket Trophy in year 2018-2019?

Answer: India

The Border–Gavaskar Trophy is a Test cricket series played between India and Australia. It is currently played via the International Cricket Council's future tours program, with varying lengths of time between matches. If the series is drawn, then the country holding the trophy previously retains it. The series is named after Australia's Allan Border and India's Sunil Gavaskar, both of whom have scored over 10,000 Test runs in their career, captained their respective teams, and were world record holders for most runs scored in Test match cricket.

India currently holds the trophy after regaining the trophy from Australia in the 2017 series which they won 2–1, then retaining it in the 2018–19 series which they won by the same margin. The first edition was held in 1996 in which India won by seven wickets. The series is mostly a four test series with the exceptions being the first four editions and 2010. Sachin Tendulkar is the most successful batsman with 3262 runs from 65 innings for India.[2] Indian bowler, Anil Kumble is the most successful bowler in the series with 111 wickets over 20 matches at an average of 30.32

Question 3: What is the service rank of Abhinandan Varthaman in Indian Air Force (in year 2019)?

Answer: Wing Commander

Abhinandan Varthaman (born 21 June 1983) is an Indian fighter pilot and officer (Wing Commander) in the Indian Air Force who pilots a MiG-21 Bison fighter aircraft. He received widespread media recognition when he shot down a Pakistani F-16[3][4] before being shot down in an aerial dogfight, captured and held for three days in Pakistan during the 2019 India-Pakistan standoff.

Question 4: Who is defence minitster in Indian government (in year 2019)?

Asnwer: Nirmala Sitharaman

Nirmala Sitharaman (born 18 August 1959) is an Indian politician of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), serving as the Minister of Defence since 2017 and has served as Member of the Rajya Sabha, upper house of the Indian Parliament, since 2016. Sitharaman is India's second female defence minister. She has served as the Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs under the Ministry of Finance and the Minister for Commerce and Industry with independent charge. Prior to that, she has served as a national spokesperson for the BJP.

Question 5: What is the national origin of Dassault Rafale aircraft manufacturer?

Answer: France

Dassault Aviation SA is an international French aircraft manufacturer of military, regional, and business jets, and is a subsidiary of Dassault Group. It was founded in 1929 by Marcel Bloch as Société des Avions Marcel Bloch or "MB". After World War II, Marcel Bloch changed his name to Marcel Dassault, and the name of the company was changed to Avions Marcel Dassault on 20 January 1947. In 1971 Dassault acquired Breguet, forming Avions Marcel Dassault-Breguet Aviation (AMD-BA). In 1990 the company was renamed Dassault Aviation. The Dassault Aviation Group is headed by Éric Trappier since 9 January 2013.

The Dassault Rafale (literally meaning "gust of wind", and "burst of fire" in a more military sense) is a French twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Equipped with a wide range of weapons, the Rafale is intended to perform air supremacy, interdiction, aerial reconnaissance, ground support, in-depth strike, anti-ship strike and nuclear deterrence missions. The Rafale is referred to as an "omnirole" aircraft by Dassault.