DAILY GK 24 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 24 JULY 2019

1. UNDER PMKSNY, MORE THAN 7 CRORE 32 LAKH FARMER FAMILIES RECEIVED FIRST TWO INSTALMENTS OF RS 2000 EACH

✔Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, more than 7 crore 32 lakh farmer families across India received the first and second instalments of Rs 2000 each amounting to 14 thousand 646 crore rupees.

✔The list was topped by Uttar Pradesh followed by Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

2. MAHARASHTRA TOPS IN ATM FRAUDS: RBI

✔According to the data of the RBI Maharashtra registered the highest number of ATM frauds in India for the FY 2018-19. It was followed by Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

✔There was an increase in ATM fraud cases up from 911 cases in 2017-18 to 980 in 2018-19.

✔The amount involved was decreased from Rs 65.3 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 21.4 crore in 2018-19.

✔Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura were the only three states which did not report a single incident.

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DAILY GK 23 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 23 JULY 2019

1. LOK SABHA PASSED PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (AMENDMENT) BILL 2019

✔According to the bill, besides a Chief justice of India, a former Supreme Court judge can also be made the chairperson of National Human Rights Commission.

✔The bill also proposes to enable any person to be the chairperson of the State Human Rights Commission who has been a judge of a high court

✔The bill amends the protection of Human Rights Act 1993 to provide that a person who has been Chief Justice of India or a judge of the Supreme Court will be the chairperson of the NHRC.

✔The protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Bill 2019 provides two persons having knowledge of human right to be appointed as the members of the NHRC.

2. LUCKNOW TO HOST ASIA’S BIGGEST ARM SHOW ‘DEFEXPO’ IN FEBRUARY 2020

✔Lucknow will host the 11th biennial edition of DefExpo from February 5 to 8, 2020.

✔The focus of the Expo will be on “Digital transformation of defence”.

✔The main theme of DefExpo India-2020 will be “India: the emerging defence manufacturing hub”.

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DAILY GK 22 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 22 JULY 2019

1. E-POSTAL BALLOT REGISTERED 60.14% TURNOUT IN 2019 LOK SABHA ELECTIONS

✔Using the Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System, out of the 18,02,646 service electors, 10,84,266 e-postal ballots were received indicating 60.14% turnout in Lok Sabha elections 2019.

✔Persons working in paramilitary forces, the military and government officials deployed in diplomatic missions outside India are classified as Service Voters.

✔It was introduced by the Election Commission of India for Lok Sabha elections 2019 with the motto “no voter to be left behind”.

2. AMITA PRASAD TAKES CHARGE AS ‘INLAND WATERWAYS’ AUTHORITY CHIEF AND AK JHA TO LEAD NPC

✔Amita Prasad has been appointed as chairperson of Inland Waterways Authority of India Ministry of Shipping, in the rank and pay of secretary.

✔She replaces Shri Jalaj Shrivastava.

✔Prasad is currently serving as Director-General, National Productivity Council, Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

✔She also served as additional secretary in Ministry of statistics and programming.

✔Arun Kumar Jha, 1985 batch Indian Economic Service officer, has been appointed as National Productivity Council, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, as its Director-General.

✔He replaces Amita Prasad.

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DAILY GK 21 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 21 JULY 2019

1. HRD MINISTRY LAUNCHES NEW UGC SCHEME “PARAMARSH” FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

✔Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Union Minister for Human Resource Development launched a Scheme called “Paramarsh” of University Grants Commission in New Delhi.

✔This scheme aims at mentoring National Accreditation and Assessment Council accreditation aspirant institutions to develop quality assurance in Higher Education.

✔Under the scheme, the prime Mentoring institutions will provide regular mentoring to colleges to help achieve high-quality standards. For mentoring they will get the financial assistance & also the option of appointing an expert, who can be paid a fellowship amount of Rs 31,000 per month.

2. 8TH EDITION OF HAND-IN-HAND MILITARY EXERCISE 2019

✔The 8th edition of Hand-in-Hand Military exercise 2019 between India, China will be held on December 2019 at Umroi near Shillong in Meghalaya.

✔The exercise will focus on transnational counter-terror operations, the establishment of a joint command post, joint combat, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions.

✔The 7th edition was held at Chengdu, China in December 2018.

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DAILY GK 20 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 20 JULY 2019

1. INDIA TO BE FREE OF TUBERCULOSIS BY 2025

✔Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the parliamentarians take up a social cause or an issue of human sensitivity as a mission.

✔India has fixed a deadline of 2025 for eradicating tuberculosis against the global deadline of 2030. He stressed on the need to eradicate them.

✔Union Health Ministry signed a MoU with the Ministries of Defence, Railways and Ayurveda, AYUSH to eliminate TB from India by 2025 in the presence of Minister of State for Health Ashwini K Choubey and Minister of AYUSH Shripad Nayak.

2. ADB LOWERS INDIA’S FY2020 GDP GROWTH FORECAST TO 7%

✔According to ‘Asian Development Outlook 2019, India’s GDP growth expected to grow by 7% in 2019 (FY-Fiscal Year 2020).

✔Growth is expected to increase again to 7.2% in FY21, helped by recent reforms to improve the business climate, strengthen banks and relieve agrarian distress.

✔Due to the manufacturing and agriculture sectors witnessed slowing down over the past year, Fitch also decreases India’s GDP growth forecast for FY20, to 6.6% from 6.8 %.

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DAILY GK 19 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 19 JULY 2019

1. GOVT TO INCREASE COAL PRODUCTION TO ONE BILLION TONE BY 2022-23

✔GoI plan to increase the total production of coal in the country to 1 billion tone by 2022-23. Coal minister said that the gap between demand and supply of coal cannot be bridged completely as there is insufficient domestic availability of coking coal.

2. “FIND THE INCREDIBLE YOU” CAMPAIGN OF THE TOURISM MINISTRY WINS PATA GOLD AWARD 2019

✔The Ministry of Tourism’s campaign, “Find the Incredible you” has won the Pacific Asia Travel Association Gold Award 2019 under the “Marketing – Primary Government Destination” category.

✔It was launched as part of ‘Incredible India 2.0’ Campaign. Series of transformative experiences of foreign through unique storytelling in the format of autobiographies with the tagline “Find the Incredible You were launched under the campaign, which had shifted strategy focus from external experience of tourist destinations to internal experience of travelers themselves.

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DAILY GK 18 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 18 JULY 2019

1. RBI SLAPS A PENALTY ON SBI &UNION BANK FOR VIOLATING VARIOUS NORMS

✔RBI has penalized State Bank of India with Rs.7 crore and Union Bank of India with Rs.10-lakh for violating certain regulatory guidelines.

✔The penalty imposed on SBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2017 reported  non-compliance with the directions issued by the RBI on Income Recognition and Asset Classification norms, code of conduct for opening and operating current accounts and reporting of data on Central Repository of Information on Large Credits, and fraud risk management and classification and reporting of frauds.

✔The RBI imposed the Rs 10 lakh fine on Union Bank of India for lapses in cybersecurity framework.

2. GPF RATES REDUCED BY 10 BPS TO 7.9% FROM 8%

✔Ministry of Finance informed that the rates of the General Provident Fund were reduced by 10 basis points to 7.9% from 8% with effect from July 1, 2019 to September 30, 2019.

✔All government employees who joined service on or before December 31, 2003 contribute to GPF. An officer/employee contributes 6% of his/her basic salary with an equal contribution from the Government.

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DAILY GK 17 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 17 JULY 2019

1. MORE THAN 820 MILLION PEOPLE SUFFER FROM HUNGER: STATE OF FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION IN THE WORLD 2019 REPORT

✔The report named State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2019 produced by the United Nations FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO was released and It stated that in the year 2018, more than 820 million people suffered from hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition worldwide.

✔It is the for the third year in a row the number has risen.

✔At present, globally 1 in every 9 people suffer from hunger.

2. FOUNDATION STONE OF BABA GURU NANAK INTERNATIONAL VARSITY LAID IN PAK

✔The foundation stone of Baba Guru Nanak International University has been laid in Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Baba Guru Nanak Dev, in the Punjab province of Pakistan.

✔The construction of the varsity is part of Pakistan Prime Minister’s vision to facilitate students in Nankana Sahib and other adjoining districts & will help promote religious tourism in Pakistan and also portray country’s good image at international level.

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DAILY GK 16 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 16 JULY 2019

1. THE CITY OF FUZHOU (CHINA) WILL HOST THE 44TH SESSION OF THE WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE IN 2020

✔The Chinese city of Fuzhou will host the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2020.

✔Tian Xuejun, Chinese Vice Minister of Education was elected as chairman of the 44th  session of the committee.

2. SHAH RUKH KHAN TO BE CONFERRED WITH AN HONORARY DOCTORATE BY MELBOURNE’S LA TROBE UNIVERSITY

✔In recognition of the contributions and efforts towards underprivileged children, women’s empowerment through Meer Foundation and for the achievements in the Indian entertainment industry, Shah Rukh Khan, the Bollywood actor, will be felicitated with an Honorary Degree, from Melbourne-based La Trobe University at the 10th edition of Indian Film Festival of Melbourne at Bundoora, Australia.

✔It will be Khan’s first Australian University Award.

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DAILY GK 15 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 15 JULY

1. G. SATHIYAN, ANTHONY AMALRAJ WIN BRONZE IN AUSTRALIAN OPEN

✔In Table Tennis, Indian pair G. Sathiyan and Anthony Amalraj won the bronze at the World Tour Platinum Australian Open. They defeat Korean pair of Jeoung Youngsik and Lee Sangsu.

2. BOXING STAR VIJENDER SINGH CLINCHED HIS 11TH CONSECUTIVE WIN IN US PROFESSIONAL CIRCUIT DEBUT BOUT

✔Indian boxing star Vijender Singh Beniwal clinched his 11th consecutive win in US professional Boxing  against Mike Snider of US in Newark, New Jersey.

✔He won the Olympic medal in boxing at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

3. AMIR KHAN WON THE WBC INTERNATIONAL WELTERWEIGHT TITLE IN THE SUPER BOXING LEAGUE 2019

✔Britain’s Amir Khan, Olympic silver medallist, won the World Boxing Council International Welterweight Title defeating Australian Billy Dib

✔Super Boxing League 2019 held at King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

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DAILY GK 14 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 14 JULY 2019

1. CENTRE TO ESTABLISH FIRST NATIONAL POLICE UNIVERSITY

✔ The Government has proposed to set up the first National Police University in the country which will impart education in policing and internal security.

✔It will conduct undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate academic programmes in specialized subjects.

✔The dedicated universities have been already set up in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Jharkhand for conducting courses in police services and internal security.

2. WOMEN STARTUP SUMMIT 2019 HOSTED BY KERALA

✔Kochi to host India’s largest women startup summit in August 2019. The meet will be open for all women professionals, aspiring entrepreneurs, corporate leaders and startup founders.

✔ ‘Women Startup Summit 2019’ aims at encouraging aspiring women professionals to take up their entrepreneurial journey and developing an inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystem in the State.

3. INDIA TO HOST COP-14 OF UNCCD

✔India will host the 14th Session of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification at India Expo Mart Limited in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

✔It will focus on 3 crucial issues- desertification, land degradation and drought.

✔197 countries are expected to participate in the global conference.

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DAILY GK 13 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 13 JULY 2019

1. WCD IMPLEMENTS A SCHEME FOR WOMEN IN DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES CALLED “SWADHAR GREH”

✔The Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India implementing the Swadhar Greh Scheme for the rehabilitation of women in difficult circumstances so that they could lead their life with dignity.

✔It envisages providing shelter, food, clothing, and health as well as economic and social security for the women who are deserted and without any social and economic support, victims of domestic violence, family tension, and natural disaster.

✔The ministry also implementing Universalisation of Women Helpline Scheme to provide 24 hours emergency and non-emergency response to women affected by violence.

2. “OPERATION THIRST” LAUNCHED BY RPF

✔RPF launched “Operation Thirst” to crack down selling of unauthorised Packaged Drinking Water in the railway premises. During the operation, 1371 persons were arrested for selling of packaged drinking water of unauthorised brands.

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DAILY GK 12 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 12 JULY 2019

1. GOVERNMENT BANNED PRO-KHALISTANI GROUP SIKHS FOR JUSTICE FOR ALLEGED ANTI-NATIONAL ACTIVITIES

✔The Union Cabinet banned the US based Pro-Khalistani group The Sikhs for Justice under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 1967.

✔It propelled the Sikh Referendum 2020 as part of its separatist agenda.

✔SFJ openly supported the cause of Khalistan, a Sikh separatist movement. It challenged the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India.

2. FROM 2020, FRANCE WILL IMPOSE GREEN TAX ON PLANE TICKETS

✔With an aim to fund less-polluting transportation projects, French government announced to impose green tax up to €18 ($20) on plane tickets for all outgoing flights from airports in France with effect from 2020.

✔Tax of €1.5 will be imposed on economy-class tickets on internal flights and those within Europe.

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DAILY GK 11 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 11 JULY 2019

1. INDIA’S FIRST ELEPHANT REHABILITATION CENTRE WILL BE SET UP AT KERALA’S KOTTOOR

✔India’s first elephant rehabilitation centre will be set up by the Kerala State Government in its ecotourism village of Kottoor.

✔Rs.105 crore has been allotted to this project which was launched by Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan.

✔At present, the center has only 15 elephants and it will be increased once work has been completed.

✔Now the state has 507 captive elephants & forest department plans to admit more captive elephants.

2. NEW DELHI’S CONNAUGHT PLACE IS THE 9TH MOST EXPENSIVE OFFICE LOCATION IN THE WORLD

✔According to “Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs survey” by CBRE, an American real estate consulting firm, New Delhi’s Connaught Place was the 9th most expensive office location in the world.

✔For the second year, Hong Kong’s Central district retained the top spot as the world’s most expensive market for prime office rents.

✔London’s West End was ranked 2nd followed by Hong Kong’s Kowloon, New York’s Midtown Manhattan and Beijing’s Finance Street.

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DAILY GK 10 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 10 JULY

1. TWO NEW HEAVY-LIFT CHINOOK HELICOPTERS FOR IAF ARRIVED AT THE MUNDRA PORT, GUJARAT

✔Boeing, American aerospace company, informed the arrival of 2 new heavy-lift CH-47F (I) Chinooks helicopters for the Indian Air Force at the Mundra port in Gujarat.

✔The CH-47 Chinook, advanced multi-mission helicopter, has unsurpassed ability to deliver heavy payloads to high altitudes. It is suitable for operations in the high Himalayas.

✔It was battle-tested in diverse, extreme conditions throughout the world and has proven capability to operate in the wide range of conditions.

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DAILY GK 8 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 8 JULY

1. THE 3RD EDITION OF INTERNATIONAL SUNFLOWER SEED AND OIL CONFERENCE 2019 WILL BE HELD IN MUMBAI

✔India will be hosting the 3rd edition of International Sunflower Seed and Oil Conference 2019 in Maharashtra, Mumbai with the aim to encourage better communications among sunflower oil producers, industry groups, academic researchers and local governments.

✔The 1st edition was held in 2015 at Shanghai, China and the 2nd edition was held in 2017 at Odessa, Ukraine.

✔India is the largest importer of sunflower oil with imports of about 2.8 million tones and globally the import is about 9.6 million tonnes.

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DAILY GK 7 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 7 JULY

1. HIGHLIGHTS OF UNION BUDGET 2019-20

✔Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman made her maiden Budget Speech and presented the Union Budget 2019-20 in the Lok Sabha.

✔She broke away from the tradition when she replaced the conventional leather briefcase with a bright red cloth bag to carry the Budget papers to the Parliament House.

✔ “Gaon, Garib and Kisan” (Village, Poor and Farmer) was the centre of all policies of the Modi 2.0 Government.

✔10-point Vision for the decade

• Building Team India with Jan Bhagidari: Minimum Government Maximum Governance.

• Achieving green Mother Earth and Blue Skies through a pollution-free India.

• Making Digital India reach every sector of the economy.

• Launching Gaganyan, Chandrayan, other Space and Satellite programmes.

• Building physical and social infrastructure.

• Water, water management, clean rivers.

• Blue Economy.

• Self-sufficiency and export of food-grains, pulses, oilseeds, fruits and vegetables.

• Achieving a healthy society via Ayushman Bharat, well-nourished women & children, safety of citizens.

• Emphasis on MSMEs, Start-ups, defence manufacturing, automobiles, electronics, fabs and batteries, and medical devices under Make in India.

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DAILY GK 6 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 6 JULY 2019

1. TOTAL FEMALE ENROLLMENT RATIO IN SECONDARY EDUCATION INCREASED TO 80.29% IN 2016-17: SMRITI IRANI

✔The Union Minister of Women and Child Development, Smriti Irani stated that the Gross Enrolment Ratio of girls in secondary education level has registered an increase of 80.29% in 2016-17 compared to 80.10 % in 2015-16.

✔Between 2015-16 and 2018-19, the sex ratio at birth witnessing an improvement from 923 to 931 at the national level.

✔When compared to the previous financial year 2017-18, SRB is showing an improving trend in 21 states or Union territory’s and stable in three states or UTs for 2018-19.

2. INDIA RANKS 86TH IN MOST POWERFUL PASSPORT INDEX 2019,

✔As per the recently released Henley Passport Index 2019, India ranks 86th in Most Powerful Passport index 2019.

✔Japan and Singapore secured the joint top spot as the most powerful passports in the world.

✔South Korea now holds second place on the index along with Finland and Germany and it is followed by Denmark, Italy, and Luxembourg.

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DAILY GK 5 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 5 JULY 2019

1. UIDAI started its first Aadhaar Seva Kendra in Delhi and Vijayawada

✔The Unique Identification Authority of India has operationalized its first “Aadhaar Seva Kendra” in Delhi and Vijayawada on pilot basis.

✔UIDAI has a plan to set up 114 such centres by the end of 2019 covering 53 Indian cities. The estimated cost of the project is between Rs 300-400 crore. i. It is owned by UIDAI.

✔ASK centres are addition to thousands of centers that are currently being run by post offices and banks and even in government premises (offering similar Aadhaar services).

2. Airtel Payments Bank ties up with Bharti AXA Life Insurance to offer the Bharti AXA Life POS Saral Jeevan Bima Yojana

✔The first live payments bank in the country, Airtel Payments Bank has partnered with Bharti AXA Life Insurance to offer Bharti AXA Life Point of Sale Saral Jeevan Bima Yojana, a pure life term insurance plan up to Rs 5 lakh which is aimed at the under-insured and uninsured segments in India.

✔The policy available at Airtel Payments Bank’s 25,000 retail outlets will be expanded to cover over 60,000 banking points.

✔The customers are offered the option of life cover between 3-5 lakh and it will soon be extended up to Rs 25 lakh.

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DAILY GK 4 JULY

DAILY GK 4 JULY

1. UNION CABINET GIVES NOD TO GRANT OGAS STATUS TO PARAMILITARY FORCES

✔The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the proposal for grant of Organised Group ”A” Service status to Group ”A” executive cadre officers of Central Armed Police Forces  & extended the benefit of Non-Functional Financial Upgradation  and Non-Functional Selection Grade at an enhanced rate of 30%.

✔It will benefit around 1,200 officers and availed by the group ”A” officers of the Central Reserve Police Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force, Border Security Force, Central Industrial Security Force, and the Sashastra Seema Bal.

2. INDIAN AIR FORCE AND ARMÉE DE L’AIR (FRENCH AIR FORCE) PARTICIPATING IN A BILATERAL AIR EXERCISE GARUDA VI AT MONT DE MARSAN IN FRANCE

✔Indian Air Force and Armée de l’Air (French Air Force) are participating in the Garuda VI bilateral exercise at Mont de Marsan in France.

✔The objective of this excercise is to validate the latest defence strategies by enhancing the interoperability level of the French and Indian crews in air defence and ground attack missions.

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