#561

Which province launched the 'Kisan Card' scheme in 2024 to provide direct subsidies to farmers?

(a) Sindh

(b) Punjab

(c) Balochistan

(d) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Explanation: The Punjab government launched the Kisan Card to facilitate farmers with direct subsidies on inputs like fertilizer and seeds, and access to low-interest loans.

#562

In 2024, Pakistan finalized a preferential trade agreement (PTA) protocol with which Central Asian nation?

(a) Kazakhstan

(b) Turkmenistan

(c) Uzbekistan

(d) Kyrgyzstan

Explanation: Pakistan and Uzbekistan have been actively implementing and refining their Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and Transit Trade Agreement to boost regional commerce.

#563

The tax-to-GDP ratio of Pakistan reached what level in FY 2024-25 for the first time in a decade?

(a) 8.5%

(b) 9.2%

(c) 10.3%

(d) 12.5%

Explanation: Driven by aggressive taxation measures, the FBR's tax-to-GDP ratio crossed into double digits, reaching approximately 10.3% in FY 2024-25.

#564

Which export sector faced the removal of the fixed 1% final tax regime in the 2024-25 Budget?

(a) Exporters (General)

(b) IT Freelancers only

(c) Surgical Instruments only

(d) Sports Goods only

Explanation: The 2024-25 budget shifted exporters from a fixed 1% final tax regime to the normal tax regime (29% corporate tax + super tax), treating the 1% payment only as a minimum tax.

#565

What is the new Advance Withholding Tax rate for non-filer retailers and wholesalers in the 2024-25 Budget?

(a) 1%

(b) 2.25%

(c) 5%

(d) 10%

Explanation: To penalize non-compliance, the Advance Withholding Tax for non-filer distributors, wholesalers, and retailers was increased from 1% to 2.25%.

#566

The 'Winter Package 2024' offered relief on which utility to encourage consumption?

(a) Natural Gas

(b) Electricity (Incremental usage)

(c) Water

(d) Internet

Explanation: The government offered a reduced tariff on incremental electricity consumption during winter months to encourage the use of surplus power capacity and reduce reliance on gas heating.

#567

The 'National Firewall' implemented in 2024 serves what primary purpose?

(a) Physical border security

(b) Internet traffic monitoring and content filtering

(c) Financial transaction processing

(d) Weather forecasting

Explanation: The National Firewall was installed to monitor internet traffic, filter content considered 'propaganda' or fake news, and manage cybersecurity threats.

#568

Which item saw its Advance Tax increased for vehicle registration based on engine capacity in the 2024-25 Budget?

(a) Electric Vehicles

(b) Motorcycles

(c) Luxury Cars (2000cc and above)

(d) Bicycles

Explanation: The budget significantly increased the Advance Tax on the registration of vehicles with engine capacities of 2000cc and above to tax luxury consumption.

#569

Which province passed the controversial 'Defamation Act 2024'?

(a) Sindh

(b) Punjab

(c) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

(d) Balochistan

Explanation: The Punjab Assembly passed the Defamation Act 2024, aiming to curb disinformation on social media, though it faced criticism from journalists and civil society.

#570

Pakistan's ranking in the 'Global Gender Gap Index 2024' was:

(a) Top 10

(b) Middle 50

(c) 145th (Second lowest)

(d) Top 100

Explanation: Pakistan ranked 145th out of 146 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index 2024, indicating significant disparity.

#571

Under the new 'Visa Policy 2024', Pakistan abolished visa fees for citizens of how many countries?

(a) 50

(b) 90

(c) 126

(d) 10

Explanation: To boost tourism and business, Pakistan abolished visa fees for citizens of 126 countries and simplified the electronic visa application process.

#572

In late 2024, Google released which experimental AI model series designed specifically for the 'agentic era'?

(a) Gemini 1.5 Pro

(b) Gemini 2.0

(c) PaLM 3

(d) Gemma Ultra

Explanation: Google released the first models in its Gemini 2.0 experimental series in December 2024, positioning them as models designed for the 'agentic era' with enhanced capabilities for taking actions and executing multi-step plans.

#573

Which experimental Google model, released in 2024, is a 'foundation world model' capable of generating playable 3D environments?

(a) Sora

(b) Genie 2

(c) Luma

(d) Dreamix

Explanation: Genie 2 is a foundation world model introduced by Google in 2024. It is capable of generating an endless variety of action-controllable, playable 3D environments, useful for training embodied AI agents.

#574

Which company's 'AlphaChip' reinforcement learning method was highlighted in 2024 for transforming chip floorplanning?

(a) NVIDIA

(b) Google

(c) Intel

(d) AMD

Explanation: Google highlighted its 'AlphaChip' method in 2024, which uses reinforcement learning to accelerate and optimize the floorplanning process for computer chips, improving design efficiency.

#575

Which AI tool released by OpenAI in late 2024 is capable of generating realistic video from text instructions?

(a) DALL-E 3

(b) Sora

(c) Veo

(d) Make-A-Video

Explanation: Sora is a text-to-video AI model released by OpenAI in December 2024 (publicly demoed earlier in the year) that can create realistic and imaginative scenes from text instructions.

#576

Which company released the 'Llama' series of open-source language models, with significant updates in 2024 and 2025?

(a) Google

(b) Meta

(c) Microsoft

(d) Amazon

Explanation: Meta Platforms released the Llama series of models (including Llama 3 in 2024), which became a standard for open-source large language models in the AI community.

#577

Which major milestone did SpaceX's Starship achieve for the first time during its fifth flight test in late 2024/early 2025?

(a) Reaching the Moon

(b) Successful catch of the Super Heavy booster by the launch tower arms

(c) Deploying 100 Starlink satellites

(d) Docking with the ISS

Explanation: During the fifth flight test, SpaceX successfully caught the Super Heavy booster using the 'Mechazilla' launch tower arms, a historic feat for reusable rocket technology.

#578

ISRO's 'Proba-3' mission, launched in late 2024, is a collaboration with ESA to demonstrate what technology?

(a) Soft lunar landing

(b) Precise formation flying to create a solar coronagraph

(c) Reusable launch vehicle return

(d) Mars atmospheric entry

Explanation: Proba-3 is an ESA mission launched by ISRO to demonstrate precise formation flying, where two satellites fly in tandem to form an artificial solar eclipse (coronagraph).

#579

The JAXA 'Martian Moons eXploration' (MMX) mission, originally targeted for 2024, was officially delayed in the 2025 timeframe to launch in which year?

(a) 2025

(b) 2026

(d) 2030

Explanation: Due to issues with the H3 launch vehicle, JAXA postponed the MMX mission launch from 2024 to the next available Mars window in 2026.

#580

Which ISRO mission launched in late 2024/early 2025 is designed to demonstrate autonomous docking capabilities in orbit?

(a) Gaganyaan-1

(b) SPADEX

(c) Chandrayaan-4

(d) Mangalyaan-2

Explanation: SPADEX (Space Docking Experiment) is the ISRO mission designed to demonstrate autonomous rendezvous and docking between two spacecraft.

May 2024 Current Affairs MCQs & Solutions