DAILY GK 6 NOV 2020

                       DAILY GK 6 NOV 2020

1.     PRASAR BHARATI SIGNED MOU WITH BISAG-N

•     Prasar Bharati, the public broadcaster of India signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-Informatics(BISAG-N) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to enable 51 direct-to-home (DTH) Educational television(TV) channels to all DD Free Dish Viewers.

 

2.       CHACHA CHAUDHARY NAMED AS BRAND AMBASSADOR OF NAMAMI GANGE

•       A three-day long Ganga Utsav 2020 from November 2-4, 2020 was virtually organized by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) amid COVID-19 to spread awareness about river Ganga and the need to keep the river clean and rejuvenated.

•      The 2020 edition marks the 12th anniversary of Ganga being accorded the status of National River, on 4th November 2008.

 

3.       2ND BATCH OF THREE RAFALE FIGHTER JETS LANDED

•          2nd Batch of Three Rafale Fighter Jets landed at the Jamnagar Air Base in Gujarat.

•          The fighter jets took off from Istres air base, France and flew continuously over eight hours covering 3, 700 nautical miles (6, 852 Kilometres) before landing in India.

•          With the arrival of the Three fighter jets, Indian Air Force (IAF) now has 8 Rafale Fighter jets.

•          The Second batch will be stationed at Hasimara Air Force Station, West Bengal.

 

4.       UNITED STATES FORMALLY EXITS PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT

•          United States (US) became the first country to formally exit the Paris Climate Agreement.

•         The formal exit from the agreement happened over a period of three years, after President Donald Trump declared pull-   out from the climate accord in June 2017.

•        US is the second largest emitter of Greenhouse gases in the world (1st – China), accounting for a total of 25 percent of   global greenhouse gas emissions.

•          US had promised to reduce its emissions by 26 percent to 28 percent by the year 2025 from 2005 levels.

 

5.       INDIA SUCCESSFULLY TESTED PINAKA ROCKET SYSTEM

•          India successfully flight tested the Enhanced version of PINAKA Rocket System from the Integrated Test Range (ITR)   at Chandipur, Odisha.

•          It has been indigenously developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

•        The Enhanced variant of the missile will achieve longer range performance compared to earlier versions of the Pinaka   missile and are expected to replace the existing PINAKA Mk-I rockets.

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DAILY GK 5 NOV 2020

 DAILY GK 5 NOV 2020

1. INDIAN RAILWAYS TIES UP WITH ISB

•      Indian Railways (IR) has tied up with Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad to improve its operational efficiency using digital tools such as Artificial Intelligence  (AI) and Data Analytics. Indian School of Business will analyse the data generated by the Indian Railways.

 

2. MEETING OF THE INDIA-UAE

•      India hosted the 8th Meeting of the India-UAE(United Arab Emirates) High Level Joint Task Force on Investments(the Joint Task Force)  virtually due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

•      The meeting was co-chaired by Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Railways, Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Government of India and His Highness Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

 

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DAILY GK 4 NOV. 2020

DAILY GK 4 NOV 2020

1. INDIA’S FIRST SOLAR-POWERED MINIATURE TRAIN LAUNCHED

•      India’s first solar energy-driven miniature train was virtually inaugurated at the Veli Tourist Village in Kerala by state’s Chief Minister (CM) Pinarayi Vijayan.

•      Developed with an outlay of Rs 10 crore, this train is a part of Rs 60 crore projects undertaken to make facilities of the Veli tourist village to international standards.

•      Apart from this, he also dedicated Rs 5 crore Urban Park and Rs 2.5 crore swimming pool at the Veli tourist village which is located on the outskirts of the capital Thiruvananthapuram where the Veli lake meets the Arabian sea.

 

2. ‘MISSION SAGAR-II’

•      Indian Naval Ship (INS) Airavat entered Port Sudan with 100 Tonnes of Food aid as part of Mission Sagar-II. Under Mission ‘SAGAR’ Indian government is providing assistance to Friendly Foreign Countries to overcome natural calamities and COVID-19 pandemic.

•      The mission is being done in close coordination with the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of External Affairs and other agencies of Indian Government.

 

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Daily GK 3 Nov 2020

Daily GK 3 Nov 2020

1. INDIA’S FIRST-EVER E-RESOURCE CENTER ‘NYAY KAUSHAL’

•      CJI Sharad Arvind Bobde inaugurated ‘Nyay Kaushal’ – India’s first ever E-resource centre and a virtual court for the Maharashtra Transport and Traffic Department at Judicial Officers Training Institute in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

•      Nyay Kaushal will facilitate electronic-filing of cases in Supreme Court, High Court and district courts across the country.

•      The virtual court will deal with all traffic challan cases from every corner of Maharashtra online.

 

2. GOVT PROVIDED RS 670CR TO RRB

•      Central Government has provided Rs 670 crore to Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) in order to raise the Capital to Risk (Weighted) Assets Ratio (CRAR) of about one-third of the 43 RRBs who are suffering losses especially from north-eastern and eastern regions and need funds to meet regulatory capital requirement of 9%.

•      This infusion would take care of their capital needs till March 31, 2021.

 

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Daily GK 1, 2 Nov 2020

 Daily GK 1, 2 Nov 2020

1. BEST GOVERNED STATES & UNION TERRITORY

•      Kerala emerged as the Best Governed State in the Large States Category, Goa emerged as the Best Governed State in Small States Category, Chandigarh emerged as the Best Governed Union Territory based on Governance in the 5th edition of Public Affairs Index 2020 (PAI 2020) released by Public Affairs Centre (PAC).

 

2. INDIAN RAILWAYS LAUNCHES ‘MERI SAHELI’ INITIATIVE

•      Indian Railways launched the ‘Meri Saheli’ initiative to ensure safety of women passengers on trains across all zones.

•      Under the initiative, women passengers will be provided safety and security during their entire journey, i.e., from originating station till destination station.

•      Meri Saheli is an initiative of Railway Protection Force (RPF).

 

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Daily GK 31 Oct. 2020

 Daily GK 31 Oct. 2020

1. THREE NEW UNESCO BIOSPHERE RESERVES

•      International Coordinating Council (ICC) of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) programme included Panna Biosphere Reserve (Madhya Pradesh) in India, Fuvahmulah Biosphere Reserve (Maldives) and Addu Atoll Biosphere Reserve (Maldives) to UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

 

2. KABARTAL WETLAND DESIGNATED AS RAMSAR SITE

•      Ramsar Convention declared Kabartal Wetland also known as Kanwar Jheel in Begusarai, Bihar as a site of international importance. Kabartal Wetland has been included in the ‘List of Wetlands of International Importance’ established by Article 2.1 of the convention.

•      After designating Asan Conservation Reserve(ACR), Dehradun, Uttarakhand and Kabartal Wetland, Begusarai, Bihar, as Ramsar sites, the total number of Ramsar Sites in India is 39, the highest in South Asia.

 

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Daily GK 30 Oct. 2020

 Daily GK 30 Oct. 2020

1. UK-INDIA ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL DIALOGUE

•      10th Round of Ministerial the United Kingdom (UK)-India Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) was held virtually where India was represented by Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and Ministry of Finance and UK delegation was led by Chancellor of Exchequer, Rishi Sunak.

 

2. LOAN AGREEMENT WITH JBIC

•      NTPC (formerly known as National Thermal Power Corporation Limited) Limited signed foreign currency loan agreement with Japanese Government’s financial institution, Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC) for JPY (Japanese Yen) 50 billion (approx. USD 482 million or Rs. 3,582 crore) under its Global Action for Reconciling Economic growth and Environment preservation (GREEN) initiative.

•      It should be noted that this is the first funding for NTPC Ltd under JBIC’s GREEN .

•      Apart from NTPC, State Bank of India (SBI) also signed a loan agreement of $1 billion with JBIC under which the latter will provide funds for the manufacturers, suppliers and dealers of Japanese automakers in India.

 

3. GO LIVE ON RBI’S ACCOUNT AGGREGATOR FRAMEWORK

•      IndusInd Bank announced that it has gone live as a Financial Information Provider (FIP) under the new Account Aggregator (AA) Framework of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

•      IndusInd Bank becomes the 1st bank in India to do so.

 

4. ASIA’S SAFEST BANK FOR 12TH CONSECUTIVE YEAR

•      Global Finance, New York based trade publication released the list of World’s 50 Safest Banks 2020 which named DBS Bank, Singapore as the Safest Bank in Asia for the 12th consecutive year.

•      DBS secured the 4th rank as the safest commercial bank in the world and 14th safest bank globally from 2019 and 2018.

•      Global Finance has named State Bank of India(SBI) as the Safest Bank in India.

TOP 3 WORLD’S SAFEST BANK & ASIA’S SAFEST BANK 2020:

Rank                    Top 3  World’s Safest Banks 2020                                            Top 3 Safest Banks in Asia 2020

1                            KfW (Germany)                                                                             DBS Group (Singapore)

2                            Zuercher Kantonalbank (Switzerland)                                         Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation(Singapore)

3                            BNG Bank (Netherlands)                                                              United Overseas Bank(Singapore)

14                          DBS Bank (Singapore)     

 

 

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Daily GK 29 Oct. 2020

 Daily GK 29 Oct. 2020

1. COMMEMORATIVE POSTAGE STAMP ON 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF UN

•     Department of Posts released a commemorative postage stamp on the 75th anniversary of the United Nations (UN) Organisation. Dr. S Jaishankar, Union external affairs minister was the chief guest of the event.

•     Note– Dr. S Jaishankar mentioned the release of the commemorative stamp as a ‘befitting tribute’ to the 75 years of the UN.

 

2. MOU FOR ELECTRONIC EXCHANGE OF CUSTOMS DATA

•     Department of Posts and United States Postal Service (USPS) have inked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Electronic Exchange of Customs data related to postal shipments.

•     This MoU enables Exchange of Electronic Advance Data (EAD) i.e. transmitting and receiving of electronic data of international postal items prior to their physical arrival at the destination resulting in customs clearance of postal items in advance.

 

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Daily GK 22 Oct. 2020

 Daily GK 22 Oct. 2020

1. ‘CURED’ – WEBSITE  FOR INFORMATION ON COVID-19

•      Union Minister for Science & Technology, Harsh Vardhan launched ‘CuRED’ or ‘CSIR Ushered Repurposed Drugs’ (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-CSIR) a website for providing information on Repurposed Drugs for COVID-19.

•      The website provides information regarding clinical trials of diagnostics and devices in which CSIR is involved.

 

2. DDCS WILL BE CREATED IN J&K

•      Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has amended the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act, 1989 under the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019 by removing a provision in Section 10 that requires payment of honorarium to panches and sarpanches (village head) in the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K).

•      The amendment also provides for the creation of District Development Councils (DDCs) in each district of J&K which will have jurisdiction over the entire district excluding areas designated as municipality or Municipal Corporation.

•      The term of the DDCs will be 5 years.

 

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Daily GK 21 Oct. 2020

 Daily GK 21 Oct. 2020

1. INDIA’S FIRST MULTI-MODAL LOGISTIC PARK IN ASSAM VIRTUALLY

•    Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs(Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises) virtually laid the foundation stone for India’s first Multi-modal Logistic Park(MMLP) at Jogighopa in Assam.

•    Rs 693.97 crore park will provide direct air, road, rail and waterways connectivity to the people.

•    The park will be developed under the BharatmalaPariyojana of the Government of India.

 

2. ISRAELI EMBASSY TO HAVE FIRST ‘WATER ATTACHE’ IN INDIA

•    India and Israel share a strategic partnership in water management. In order to boost it further, Israel will have a first separate ‘Water Attache’ in India from January 2021 which will share the former’s best practices and technologies for advancements in India’s water management and agriculture sectors.

•    Notably, water is one of the biggest challenges in India post-COVID.

 

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Daily GK 18th and 19th Oct. 2020

 Daily GK 18 and 19th Oct. 2020

1. MEETING OF MINISTERS OF JUSTICE OF SCO

•    Seventh meeting of Ministers of (Law and) Justice of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Member States was virtually hosted by Indian Minister of Law & Justice, Communication and Electronics & Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad, which saw the adoption of Joint statement by SCO member states.

2. GLOBAL HUNGER INDEX 2020

•    Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe released the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2020 report in which India ranked 94th among 107 countries with a score of 27.2.

•    Although there is improvement in a score as compared to 38.9 in 2000, 37.5 in 2006, and 29.3 in 2012, but it still represents a serious level of hunger.

•    As per the report the worldwide hunger is at “moderate” level but there are nearly 690 million people across the world who are undernourished.

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Daily GK 17 Oct 2020

 

1.  ASIA’S LONGEST BI-DIRECTIONAL ROAD TUNNEL “ZOJILA TUNNEL” IN J&K

•    Nitin Jairam Gadkari of Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) & Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MoMSME) initiated the first blasting process for the construction of one of the longest bi-directional road in Asia i.e. 14.15 Km Zojila Tunnel in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) to provide all-weather connectivity between Srinagar valley and Leh (Ladakh plateau) on National Highway (NH)-1.

•    This geo-strategically sensitive project involves the construction at an altitude of 11578 feet under Zojila pass (presently motorable only for 6 months in a year) on NH-1 connecting Srinagar and Leh through Dras&Kargil.

 

2. MYANMAR TO GET 1ST SUBMARINE “INS SINDHUVIR”

•    The Myanmar Navy is all set to receive its first submarine namely “Indian Naval Ship (INS) Sindhuvir”, a Kilo class submarine which will be handed over by India under its vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) to provide guaranteed security for all maritime partners.

•    Myanmar Navy will initially use INS Sindhuvir for training and orientation purposes for its Navy personnel as it has a capacity of staying underwater for almost 45 days.

 

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DAILY GK 15 OCT 2020

 DAILY GK 15 OCT 2020

 

1. RS.100 COIN TO HONOUR RAJMATA VIJAYARAJESCINDIA

•    PM Narendra Modi released the new coin of Rs.100 denominations to honour the legacy of Rajmata VijayarajeScindia on the occasion of her birth centenary over a virtual event. She was born on 12th October 1919.

•    Prahlad Singh Patel, Union Minister of Culture and the family members of Vijayaraje Scindia participated in the event.

•    She penned her autobiography “The last Maharani of Gwalior” with the support of author Manohar Malgonkar.

              

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Daily GK 6 Oct. 2020

 Daily GK 6 Oct. 2020

1. INTERNATIONAL WEBINAR ON TEXTILE TRADITIONS

•  PM Narendra Modi addressed the first of its kind International Webinar on Textile Traditions organized by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Uttar Pradesh Institute of Design (UPID). 

•  The theme of the International Webinar was “Weaving Relations: Textile Traditions”.

•  The webinar was held to commemorate the 150th Birth Anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi.

 

 2. “DALLEKHURSANI” EARNS GI TAG

•  On the basis of an application filed by the North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Limited (NERAMAC) on behalf of Sikkim, the red cherry pepper chilli of Sikkim, “DalleKhursani” earned the geographical indication (GI) tag from the Union Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

•  It is considered as one of the hottest chilli in the world with medicinal values.

 

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DAILY GK 29 SEPT. 2020

 DAILY GK 29 SEP 2020

1.  PRESIDENT GIVES ASSENT TO 3 FARM BILLS

·     President Ram Nath Kovind gave Assent to Three Bills:

·     The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, 

·     The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Service Bill, 2020 and 

·     The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020. 

·     With the President’s Assent all Three Bills have now become Laws, and have been notified in the official gazette by the Law Ministry.

2. ‘CABLE STAYED BRIDGE’ INAUGURATED IN TELANGANA

·     Telangana inaugurated the cable stayed bridge on DurgamCheruvu constructed across DurgamCheruvu Lake along with a four-lane elevated corridor connecting it with Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad during an event.

·     Union Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs GangapuramKishan Reddy was the chief guest of the event.

·     It is 426 metre long, and 25.8 metre wide, with a total of 52 stay cables. Except the cables, which were procured from Germany, everything else is sourced from India.

·     It is claimed as the “world’s longest pre-cast segmental span” of 233.85 metres in concrete for a cable stayed bridge.

 

3. MUI COLLABORATES WITH UN TO HELP INDIAN SAILORS

·     Maritime Union of India (MUI) has collaborated with the United Nations to assist seafarers who are stranded on ships due to COVID-19 Pandemic. 

·     Through the Seafarers Crisis Action Team (SCAT), MUI will provide round-the-clock advice, counselling and assistance to Indian seafarers and their family members. 

·     Maritime Union of India (MUI) represents Merchant Navy Officers who are its members.

·     We are affiliated to the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), London, U.K. MUI is also affiliated to the Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), New Delhi.

 

4. RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX 2020

·     Mercedes Driver Valtteri Viktor Bottas (Finland) won the Russian Grand Prix 2020 held at Sochi Autodrom, Russia. 

·     Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (Netherlands) finished second, while Mercedes Lewis Hamilton (Britain) finished third in the Russian Grand Prix 2020. 

5. WORLD TOURISM DAY

·     World Tourism Day (WTD) is held annually on September 27 globally to raise awareness on the importance of tourism in the social, cultural, political and economic aspects of any region. 

·     United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has designated 2020 as the Year of Tourism and Rural Development.  Therefore, the 2020 edition of WTD was held with the theme “Tourism and Rural Development”.

·     Also GOI launched SAATHI (System for Assessment, Awareness & Training for Hospitality Industry) Application was to assist the hospitality industry in safe operations covering staff, employees and guests.

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DAILY GK 22 SEPT. 2020

 DAILY GK 22 SEPT.  2020

1.  9 HIGHWAY PROJECTS WORTH RS 14, 528 CRORES IN BIHAR

·        PM  Narendra Modi laid the Foundation Stone for Nine Highway Projects worth Rs 14, 528 Crores in Bihar through video conference.

·        The project includes making six-lane highways, and three bridges on rivers.

·        He also laid foundation of ‘Har Gaon Optical Fibre Cable’ for Internet Services to connect all villages of Bihar.

·        “Har Gaon Optical Fibre Cable” project , under this  about six lakh villages would be provided internet services through optical fibre cable in 1,000 days.

·        This includes all 45,945 villages in Bihar. 

·        It will be executed by the Department of Telecom, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology and Common Service Centres (CSC).

 

2. INDIA LAUNCHES FIRST EVER CARGO FERRY VESSEL “MCP LINZ” TO MALDIVES

·        Minister of State for shipping, Mansukh Mandaviya and Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation of Maldives, Aishath Nahula jointly launched the First Ever Direct Cargo Ferry Service between India and Maldives.

·        It is considered to be the new connectivity effort has begun in Indian Ocean Region.

·        India provided a financial assistance of US$250 million(Indian Rupees of around 1837 crores) at favourable terms to the Government of Maldives

 

3. DMUC TRAINS TO NEPAL RAILWAYS

·        Konkan Railways (operated by Konkan Railway Corporation) handed over two modern Diesel-Electric Multiple Unit (DMUC) trains to Nepal Railways for the Jaynagar-Kurtha Broad Gauge Line.

·        The Rails will run between Jaynagar (Bihar) and Kurtha in Dhanusa district from December, 2020. 

·        The Trains have been manufactured by Integrated Coach Factory, Chennai with modern amenities and latest AC-AC Propulsion Technology.

·        They were procured by Nepal’s Railway Department for a price of  84 Crore 65 Lakhs Nepali Rupees.

 

4. INDIA’S NOMINAL GDP TO GROW BY 19% IN FY22

·        Krishnamurthy Subramanian, chief economic advisor in the finance ministry, Government of India informed that as per the estimate of finance ministry, India’s nominal Gross Domestic Product(GDP) is expected to grow by 19% in FY22(2021-22) on a low base. 

·        NK Singh, chairman of Fifteenth Finance Commission (FFC) stated that this estimate is a bit moderate when compared with some estimates received from experts.

 

5. NARENDRA MODI WON THE IG NOBEL PRIZE 2020

·        Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India won the Medical Education Prize of Ig Nobel Prize 2020 at the 30th First Nobel Prize Ceremony over virtual platform.

·        Modi became the 2nd Prime Minister from India to win the Ig Nobel Prize after Atal Bihari Vajpayee who won the 1998 Peace award for “Aggressively peaceful explosion of atomic bombs”.

·        The government of India and Pakistan won the Ig Nobel Prize 2020 for peace for “having their diplomats surreptitiously ring each other’s doorbells in the middle of the night, and then run away before anyone had a chance to answer the door.”

·        India’s 1st CRISPR COVID-19 test, ‘FELUDA’

·        Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has given regulatory approval for the commercial launch of ‘FELUDA’( FNCAS9 Editor-Limited Uniform Detection Assay), India’s 1st CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) test.

·        It is developed by the scientist of CSIR-IGIB (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research -Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology).

·        As per the agreement as signed by Tata Sons  Private Limited  and CSIR-IGIB in May, 2020, Tata group will manufacture it.

 

6. INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE OBSERVED ON 21ST SEPTEMBER, 2020

·        The theme for 2020 International Day of Peace is “Shaping Peace Together”. 

 

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