DAILY GK 4 SEPT 2019

DAILY GK 4 SEPT 2019

1)       WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia’

ü  Dr. Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the ‘72nd Session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia’ in New Delhi

ü  Dr PoonamKhetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia Region were present.

2)       First ASEAN-U.S. Maritime Exercise

ü  The United States (US) and 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries began their first Asean-US Maritime Exercise (AUMX) at the Sattahip Naval Base in Thailand.

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DAILY GK 3 SEPT 2019

DAILY GK 3 SEPT 2019

1)       India’s longest electrified rail tunnel

ü  Vice President of India inaugurated the longest electrified railway tunnel (6.7km) between Cherlopalli and Rapuru in Andhra Pradesh.

2)       New logo of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC)

ü  The Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting (I&B), Shri Prakash Javadekar has unveiled the new logo and certificate design of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

ü  The design of the new logo has been designed by designer Rohit Devgan in collaboration with the technical support team of National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL).

3)       CGHS Bhawan inaugurated

ü  Dr Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) Bhawan in R K Puram in New Delhi.

ü  CGHS services should be made available in 100 cities by 2022. Under Ayushman Bharat, 150000 Health and Wellness Centres are planned to come up by 2022.

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DAILY GK 1, 2 SEPTEMBER 2019

DAILY GK 1, 2 SEPTEMBER 2019

1.        Global Happiness Survey

ü  “Global Happiness Survey” is conducted by Ipsos

ü  India is ranked 9th with 77% on happiness index among 28 global markets.

ü  Australia & Canada topped the Survey.

2.        India will overtake China as importer of coking coal

ü  As per Fitch Solutions Macro Research, India will overtake China as the largest importer of coking coal by 2025. China also roughly produced two-thirds of global coking coal.

3.        SBI’s MD Anshula Kant Resigned

ü  She is now  appointment as the MD and Chief Financial Officer(CFO) of World Bank Group.

4.        IPS Vivek Kumar Johri takes over as Director-General of BSF

5.        India clinched SAFF U-15 Championship 2019

ü The India Under-15 team has defeated Nepal with 7-0 score in the final of the SAFF (South Asian Football Federation) U-15 Championship 2019 held in Kalyani Stadium, West Bengal.

6.        36th National Games

ü  The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) decided that 36^th  National Games will be held in Goa from October 20 – November 4, 2020.

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DAILY GK 31 AUGUST 2019

DAILY GK 31 AUGUST 2019

1)       ADB going to provide $12 Billion to India

ü  Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Mr. Takehiko Nakao announced  $12 billion to India over the next 3 years (2020-22) in support of new flagship initiatives.

2)       Community Radio Sammelan

ü  The 7th Community Radio Sammelan 2019 was held in New Delhi.

ü  The theme of this year’s Sammelan is ‘Community Radio for SDGs’ (Sustainable Development Goals).

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DAILY GK 29 August 2019

DAILY GK 29 August 2019

1.       IIP to covert Plastic waste into diesel

·        The Union Minister of Science and Technology Shri Harsh Vardhan, inaugurated a plant at the Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP) in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, that converts plastic waste into diesel.

2.       World’s first ever facial BSID launched

·       India launched the world’s first ever Biometric Seafarer Identity Document (BSID) which captures the facial biometric data of seafarers.

·        BSID project was formed in collaboration with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC), Mumbai.

3.       CoP of CITES held in Geneva

·       The 18^th meeting of Conference of the Parties (CoP18) of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was held in Geneva, Switzerland.

·       183 CITES member nations participated in the meeting.

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DAILY GK 28 AUGUST 2019

DAILY GK 28 AUGUST 2019

1)   National Digital Library of India

• Under the National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT), Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) launched the National Digital Library of India project.
• National Digital Library has been integrated with Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG) App.

2) Narendra Modi’s Visit to France, UAE and Bahrain

     Visit to France

·        MoU signed by India with France: Implementing arrangement between Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and CNES France for Joint Maritime Domain Awareness.

·        PM addressed the Indian community at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

·        He also met his French counterpart Edouard Philippe.

     Visit to United Arab Emirates (UAE)

·        PM Narendra Modi launched RuPay card in Abu Dhabi. India has already launched the RuPay card in Singapore and Bhutan.

·        PM Modi claimed that the UAE can help India in achieving its ambitious dream of achieving a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25.

·        UAE honoured PM Narendra Modi with highest civilian award ‘Order Of Zayed’

·        Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Abu Dhabi crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan jointly released a commemorative stamp of Mahatma Gandhi ahead of his 150th birth anniversary.

     Visit to Bahrain

·        Prime Minister Narendra Modi was honoured with “The King Hamad Order of the Renaissance.”

·        PM launched the $4.2 million redevelopment project of the 200-year-old Lord Sri Krishna temple in Manama.

3   G7 Summit 2019
The 45^th G7 Summit for the year 2019 was held in Biarritz, France from 24 to 26 August, 2019. The next G7 Summit (46^th) for the year 2020 will be held in the United States.

     About G7

• The Core G7 Members countries are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, United States and European Union.
• Invited Guests countries were Australia, Burkina Faso, Chile, Egypt, India, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Spain.
• World leaders at the G7 summit in France pledged to spend a total amount of $22 million to fight the raging wildfires in the Amazon in South America that are threatening the world’s biggest rainforest.

2)   China and Pakistan joint exercise ‘Shaheen-VIII’

·        The air forces of China and Pakistan began joint exercise Labelled  ‘Shaheen-VIII’ in the Chinese city of Holton, close to Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir(J&K).

3)   Canara Bank OTP for ATM cash withdrawals

·        Canara Bank, has launched India’s first one-time password (OTP) facility for ATM withdrawals over Rs.10,000 in a day.

4)   World’s first floating nuclear reactor

• The world’s first floating nuclear reactor Akademik Lomonosov was launched by Russia and had set up on a 5000 km journey to northeastern Siberia.
• Owned by Rosatom(Russian state nuclear energy corporation), the work for the nuclear reactor began in 2006 &  is expected to start its operation by the end of 2019.

5)   Arun Jaitley Stadium

• The governing body of Cricket activities, the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) has decided to rename the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi as Arun Jaitley Stadium in the memory of the cricket body’s former president who passed away on August 24, 2019.

6)   2019 British MotoGP race

• Spain born motorcycle racer Alex Rins of Suzuki motors won the 2019 GoPro British Grand Prix MotoGP race at Silverstone circuit, United Kingdom(UK) overthrowing Honda’s Marc Marquez to second place.

7)   India’s first woman DGP passed away

• India’s first woman DGP, Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya, passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra. She was born in Himachal Pradesh.She was the second woman IPS officer of India after Kiran Bedi.
• She was appointed the DGP of Uttarakhand in the year 2004.
  
  

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DAILY GK 22 AUG 2019

DAILY GK 22 AUG 2019

1. INDIAN PRESIDENT LAUNCHES PLANTATION DRIVE IN NEW DELHI

✔The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind planted Maulsari sapling in the Rashtrapati Bhavan Estate (New Delhi). It was done as part of the ‘Van Mahotsav’ celebrations.

✔The President’s Secretariat, will be planting 3,252 trees and 2,962 shrubs for the next few weeks in the President’s Estate which is spread over 330 acres, as part of this Van Mahotsav drive.

2. ‘HOUSING FOR ALL’ WILL BE ACHIEVED 2 YEARS IN ADVANCE BY 2020: HARDEEP SINGH PURI

✔Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri stated that the central Government is committed to achieve its target of providing ‘Housing for all’ under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in two years before the deadline by 2020.

✔The central government decided to build 1.12 crore houses by 2022, of these around 84 lakh houses have been sanctioned to date & the remaining will be sanctioned by the end of 2019.

✔As per the estimation, about 600 million people would be residing in cities by 2030, the year in which India is expected to meet the sustainable development goals set by the UN (United Nations).

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DAILY GK 12 AUG 2019

DAILY GK 12 AUG 2019

1. DEFENCE MINISTRY EXTENDS BENEFITS OF CHILD CARE LEAVE TO SINGLE MALE SERVICE PERSONNEL

✔Defence Minister of India, Rajnath Singh has approved the extension of Child Care Leave benefits to single male service personnel and further, the minimum period of CCL has been reduced to 5 days instead of 15 days.

✔Till now, women officers of defence forces are given up to 15 days to care for children up to the age of 22, with a 40 % disability. Not only female employees but now Single male service personnel also will be given 5 days leave from the earlier limit of 15 days to care for their children (irrespective of age).

2. MSCI ADDED HDFC LIFE INSURANCE TO ITS GLOBAL STANDARD INDEX

✔Morgan Stanley Capital International Inc, One of the world’s biggest index compilers, has added HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd. to its Global Standard Index and removed Union Bank of India from its India Smallcap Index.

✔After the announcement, the stocks of HDFC Life gained more than 5 % intraday to hit a record high of Rs 545 & the shares of Union Bank corrected 2 % at Rs 62.40.

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DAILY GK 9 AUG 2019

DAILY GK 9 AUG 2019

1. IIT MADRAS PARTNERS WITH NIOT FOR OCEAN WAVE ELECTRICITY HARNESSING

✔The Indian Institute of Technology Madras partnered with National Institute of Ocean Technology to harness electricity from ocean waves. Both institutions will together develop turbines that can harness the power of ocean waves to generate electricity.

✔The research is being headed at IIT Madras. The partnership is aimed at meeting renewable energy and climate change objectives of the government of India.

2. PAPUA NEW GUINEA HAS THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF ‘LIVING’ LANGUAGES IN THE WORLD, INDIA RANKS 4TH

✔Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea, Country in Oceania tops the list with 840 living languages, while India ranks 4th position with 453.

✔The other nations in the top 5 positions include Indonesia (2nd ) with 710 living languages and Nigeria (3rd with 524) and US (United States) came 5th with 335.

✔The year 2019 is designated as United Nations’ International Year of Indigenous Languages with the aim to enhace native tongues in 5 major areas which includes,

• Creation of favourable conditions for knowledge-sharing and dissemination of good practices with regards to indigenous languages.
• Increasing understanding, reconciliation and international cooperation
• Integration of indigenous languages into standard setting
• Empowerment through capacity building.
• Growth and development via elaboration of new knowledge

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DAILY GK 6 AUG 2019

DAILY GK 6 AUG 2019

1. CENTRE TO REPEAL OF ARTICLE 370 AND 35A THAT GRANTS SPECIAL STATUS TO J&K

✔Government announced to repeal Article 370 [except the first clause 370 (1)] and Article 35A which grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).

✔Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Bill, 2019 in Rajya Sabha which seeks to bifurcate the state of Jammu and Kashmir into 2 Union territories – J&K a Union Territory with Legislature, and Ladakh Union Territory without Legislature.

✔President Ram Nath Kovind in “concurrence” with the “Jammu and Kashmir government” promulgated Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019 which states that provisions of the Indian Constitution are applicable in the state. It comes into force “at once”, and shall supersede the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954.

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DAILY GK 30 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 30 JULY 2019

1. AVERAGE MONTHLY INCOME PER AGRICULTURAL HOUSEHOLD LESS THAN RS. 6500: AGRICULTURE MINISTRY

✔Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar stated that the average monthly income per agricultural household from all sources is Rs. 6,426 in the country based on survey conducted by NSSO.  

✔In April 2016, The Government had constituted an inter-ministerial committee to examine the issues relating to doubling of farmers’ income and recommend strategies to achieve that goal.

✔In September 2018, the Committee has submitted its Report to the Government & it considered the estimates of agricultural household’s income obtained from NSSO 70th round unit-level data as the base level income. The Committee has kept 2015-16 as the base year.

2. “PINK COACHES” INTRODUCED FOR WOMEN BY THE NORTHEAST FRONTIER RAILWAY ZONE

✔The Northeast Frontier Railway zone has introduced pink colored SLR coach for women. These pink coaches will help women passengers to identify their coach during rush hours.

✔Railway Police Force and ticket checking staff will be deployed by the railway authorities to stabilize the new system.

✔Initially a total of 8 trains in Rangiya district have begun the operations. They are- 6 trains between New Bongaigaon and Guwahati & 2 trains between Rangiya and Murkongselek.

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DAILY GK 29 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 29 JULY

1. Ministry of Mines organizes workshop called ‘Waste To Wealth’ on effective utilization of ‘Red Mud’ in New Delhi

✔The Ministry of Mines in association with the Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre Nagpur, has organized a workshop called ‘Waste To Wealth’ on productive utilization of ‘Red Mud’ in New Delhi.

✔The workshop discussed the present status regarding the generation of red mud and its safe disposal and utilization.

✔Deliberations were held to focus efforts for productive utilization of red mud with necessary government support, which will be a win-win situation for all the stakeholders. A road-map will also be prepared based on these Deliberations.

2. BRICS Foreign Ministers Meeting 2019 held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

✔Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa Foreign Ministers Meet was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

✔India was represented by Gen. (retd) VK Singh who is the Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways.

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DAILY GK 28 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 28 JULY 2019

1. India, Saudi Arabia held discussions on bilateral hydrocarbon cooperation

✔Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel held a meeting with Mr Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia and Chairman of Saudi Aramco in New Delhi.

✔They discussed on improving India-Saudi Arabia hydrocarbon cooperation in order to strengthen the existing overall strategic partnership between the two countries.

✔Minister Al-Falih stressed on the need for capitalizing on the growing momentum in bilateral hydrocarbon cooperation.

✔Mr Pradhan discussed the current developments in the global oil and gas markets, raised India’s concerns on the recent increase in Asian Premium and the decision of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Plus members on extending production cuts, leading to oil price volatility and highlighted the adverse impact of these developments on the Indian economy.

2. Western Railways first printing press heritage gallery opened at Mahalaxmi, Mumbai

✔Western Railways opened its first printing press heritage gallery named Western Railway Mahalaxmi General Stores Depot at Mahalaxmi in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It was inaugurated by V P Pathak, Member of the Railway Board.

✔It became the first press in Indian Railways to portray a heritage gallery of the printing and allied machines used in the Western Railway Printing Press since 1948.

3. 23 self-styled and unrecognized universities announced by the University Grants Commission

✔The University Grants Commission which coordinates, determines and maintains standards of higher education, has released a list of 23 universities which are declared “self-styled” and “unrecognized“. These universities contradict the UGC Act 1956.

✔Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of unrecognized universities – 8

✔It is followed by Delhi having 7 fake Universities.

✔Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Puducherry have 1 fake university each while West Bengal and Odisha have two fake universities each

4. INS Tarkash reached Saint Petersburg, Russia to take part in the Russian Navy Day parade

✔INS Tarkash which was constructed for the Indian Navy by Russia reached Saint Petersburg, Russia to take part in the Russian Navy Day parade celebrated on 28 July.

✔The Indian delegation is led by Vice Admiral Ajith Kumar, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command and INS Tarkash.

✔More than 40 ships, 40 planes and helicopters, and a total of 4000 service men will take part in the Navy day celebration.

5. Jordan opens its first underwater military museum

✔Jordan, an Arab country in Western Asia, opened its first Underwater Military Museum Dive Site, off its Red Sea coast, Aqaba.

✔The objective of the museum is to offer a new type of museum experience combining sports, environment and exhibits for divers, snorkelers and visitors on glass-bottomed boats.

✔It has several tanks, an ambulance, a military crane, a troop carrier, an anti-aircraft battery, guns, Jordanian Armed Forces AH-1 Cobra Helicopter, 19 decommissioned pieces of military hardware, submerged at depths up to 28 metres.

6. Indian government’s NHA and NATHEALTH signs MoU under Ayushman Bharat scheme

✔The National Health Authority and the Healthcare Federation of India signed MoU to improve efficiency of Service Delivery under Ayushman Bharat scheme which is also called as Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.

✔Under the vision of “Health for All”, this collaboration will provide and enable interface for testing healthcare innovation ecosystem, adopting, funding, and providing mentorship in creating channels for scaling these innovations.

7. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury appointed as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee

✔Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla appointed Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Congress floor leader in Lok Sabha as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.

✔It comprises of total 22 members which include 15 members from Lok Sabha and 7 members from Rajya Sabha.

8. Apple to acquire Intel’s smartphone modem business for a transaction value of $1 billion

✔Apple and Intel signed an agreement where Apple will acquire the majority of Intel’s smartphone modem business for $1 billion.

✔2,200 Intel employees will join Apple, along with intellectual property, equipment and leases.

9. Iran test-launched a medium-range missile Shahab-3

✔Iran test-launched a medium-range ballistic missile inside its borders- Shahab-3.

✔It is derived from a North Korean missile called the Nodong-A and can fly 1,150 to 2,000 kilometers, or up to 1,242 miles, depending on the variant.

10. Overview of ISSF Junior World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun 2019 held in Suhl, Germany

✔International Shooting Sport Federation Junior World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun 2019 was held at the Shooting Center, Suhl, Germany.

✔India won 4 Gold in team event & 6 in Individual event, 4 Silver in team event & 5 in Individual event and 3 Bronze in team event & 2 in Individual event.

✔India tops the medal tally followed by China, Germany, USA and Russia.

11. Hungarian teenager Kristof Milak broke the men’s 200 meters butterfly world record

✔A 19year-old swimmer Kristof Milak of Hungary broke men’s 200 metres butterfly world record to win the gold medal at the 18th FINA World swimming championships 2019 held in Gwangju, South Korea.

✔Milak was followed by Japan’s Daiya Seto and South African Chad le Clos.

✔At the 2018 European Aquatics Championships, he won the gold medal in the men’s 200-metre butterfly event.

12. Byju’s Replaces Oppo as new sponsor of Indian team till 2022

✔An e-learning platform, Byju’s will be the official Team India sponsor for a period of three years.

✔Byju’s will now be seen on the Indian team jersey from September 15 when India starts its South Africa tour.

13. Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India, released book titled ‘New-Age Technology and Industrial Revolution 4.0’

✔The Vice President of India Shri Venkaiah Naidu released book titled ‘New-Age Technology and Industrial Revolution 4.0’ in New Delhi.

✔It is authored by Rajya Sabha Member, Dr Narendra Jadhav.

✔The launch was co-hosted by The Dialogue, a Delhi based think-tank which works on the intersection of technology, society and public-policy.

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