DAILY GK : 21, 22 JAN 2021

 DAILY GK : 21, 22 JAN 2021

1. AMAZON TO SET UP QUANTUM COMPUTING APPLICATIONS LAB IN INDIA

•      Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) has partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to set up a Quantum Computing Applications Lab in the Country.

•      The lab will be the World’s 1st Quantum Computing Applications Lab to support a National Government’s Mission.

•      India announced National Mission on Quantum Technologies & Applications (NM-QTA) in the Union Budget 2020-21 with a budget of INR 8000 Crore for a period of 5 years to  be implemented by the Department of Science & Technology (DST).

•      Amazon has partnered with Startup India, Sequoia Capital India & Fireside Ventures to launch an Accelerator programme namely ‘Amazon Global Selling Propel (AGSP)’  to help early-stage startups to take their products to Global Audiences.

 

2. 1ST STATE TO GIVE POWER SUBSIDY TO FARMERS THROUGH DBT

•      Madhya Pradesh (MP) has become the first State to give electricity subsidy through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) thereby successfully implementing one out of the three stipulated reforms in the power sector.

•      This achievement has made it eligible for additional borrowing equivalent to 0.15% of its Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).

 

3. MAHARASHTRA GOVT RENAMED NAGPUR’S GOREWADA INTERNATIONAL ZOO

•      Maharashtra Government renamed Gorewada International Zoo as “Balasaheb Thackeray Gorewada International Zoological Park”, in memory of Balasaheb Thackeray, an Indian politician.

•      This zoological park is situated in Nagpur, Maharashtra and covers about 2,000 hectares of the forest land.

 

Read More

DAILY GK : 19 , 20 JAN 2021

 DAILY GK : 19 , 20 JAN 2021

1. STARSTREAK MISSILE SYSTEMS FOR INDIA

•      India’s Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) under the Ministry of Defence and the United Kingdom’s Thales have signed a ‘Teaming Agreement’ to develop STARStreak Air Defence system in India under the ‘Make in India’ programme.

•      This partnership will be supported by both Governments.

•      It should be noted that in 2017 both entities inked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the transfer of technology for STARStreak.

 

2. INDIA’S 1ST AIR TAXI SERVICE

•      Haryana Chief Minister(CM) Manohar Lal Khattar inaugurated India’s 1st air taxi service from Chandigarh to the newly constructed Hisar airport in Haryana under Regional Connectivity Scheme – Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (RCS-UDAN) of Govt of India.

•      The airline Aviation Connectivity & Infrastructure Developers Pvt. Ltd (Air Taxi) will operate the air taxi services and has become the 1st startup airline of India to assist India with this service.

 

3.8 TRAINS TO STATUE OF UNITY

•      PM Narendra Modi virtually flagged off 8 trains from various parts of India to the Statue of Unity in Kevadiya, Gujarat to boost connectivity and Tourism.

•      The trains will connect Kevadiya.

•      Also Kevadiya Railway Station is India’s First Railway Station to be certified as a Green Building.

 

4. NATIONAL YOUTH FESTIVAL 2021

•      The 24th National Youth Festival (NYF) 2021 was held from 12th to 16th January, 2021.

•      Its closing ceremony was addressed by Union Minister of Textiles and Women and Child Development Smriti Zubin Irani in New Delhi in the presence of Union Minister of State (I/C) for Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju.

•      The theme of the NYF 2021 was ‘YUVAAH – Utsah Naye Bharat Ka’.

 

5. SPMCIL PAID RS 215.48 CRORE FINAL DIVIDEND TO GOI

•      The Security Printing & Minting Corporation of India Limited(SPMCIL), paid the final dividend of Rs.215.48 crore to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Government of India for the financial year of 2019-20.

•      The dividend, in compliance with DIPAM guidelines, amounts to 5% of the net worth of the company at 31st March 2020 & 41% of Profit after tax for FY20.

 

6. PROTECT OCEANS BY SUPPORTING BLUE ECONOMY

•      The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) initiated a Clean and Sustainable Ocean Partnership to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the climate goals as advised in the Paris Agreement.

•      In this regard, both entities will support the initiatives in Asia and the Pacific.

 

7. UN WOMEN 2020 ASIA-PACIFIC WEPS REGIONAL AWARDS

•      1st United Nations(UN) Women 2020 Asia-Pacific Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) Regional award winners were announced in a ceremonyin  Bangkok, Thailand.

•      IKEA India Pvt Ltd won this award in Gender-inclusive Workplace category. It is the only winner from India.

•      Tata Power- Delhi Distribution Ltd(DDL) became the 1st Runner Up in the Community & Industry Engagement category of the award.

 

8. YOWERI MUSEVENI RE-ELECTED AS PRESIDENT OF UGANDA

•      Yoweri Museveni has been re-elected as the president of Uganda for the 6th term.

•      He has been president of the country since 29th January 1986, i.e., for about 35 years and becomes one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders.

•      He belongs to the National Resistance Movement(NRM) political party.

 

9. GOI TO SELL 10% OF ITS STAKE IN SAIL

•      Government of India to sell 10% stake in Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) through an Offer for Sale (OFS) route to raise Rs 2,600 crore as part of its disinvestment drive.

•      The Govt sells 206.5 million shares or 5% equity with a 5% greenshoe option.

•      After selling of stake the government will hold 65% from 75%.

 

10. BIHAR 1ST BIRD FESTIVAL ‘KALRAV’

•      Bihar’s 1st state level bird festival ‘Kalrav’ was held in Nagi-Nakti bird Sanctuary, Jamui district, Bihar.

•      It was formally inaugurated by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

•      Aim of the Festival– To create awareness about birds especially migratory birds

 

11. 1G ETHANOL PRODUCTION IN INDIA

•      Department of Food & Public Distribution (DoFPD) has notified a modified scheme to extend financial assistance for producers of “1st Generation” (1G) Ethanol from feed stocks such as Cereals (rice, wheat, barley, corn & sorghum), Sugarcane & Sugar Beet.

•      The Financial Assistance will also be extended to

•      The Main Objective behind the scheme is to achieve 20% Blending of ethanol with Fossil Fuels by 2025 from 2030.

 

12. ‘SAKSHAM 2021’ CAMPAIGN

•      The New Delhi-based Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) launched a month long pan-India campaign ‘SAKSHAM 2021 (Sanrakshan Kshamta Mahotsav)’  to create awareness about the adverse impact of fossil fuels on health and environment, and to convince the consumers of fossil fuels to switch towards cleaner fuels.

•      The tagline of the campaign is ‘Green and Clean Energy’ (Hindi- हरित एवं स्वच्छ ऊर्जा).

 

13. MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS ISSUED IRON- ORE POLICY 2021

•      Ministry of Railways issued Iron-ore policy 2021 that will govern the allocation of rakes (train) and transportation of iron-ore.

•      The aim of the policy is to provide complete logistics support to iron ore customers, thereby helping the iron and steel industry.

•      The Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) will update the features of this new policy in the Rake Allotment System module.

 

14. INDIA’S FIRST LABOUR MOVEMENT MUSEUM

•      India’s First Labour Movement Museum which showcases the history of the World Labour Movement is set to be launched in Alappuzha, Kerala.

•      The museum has been constructed with a budget of INR 9.95 crores & 97% of renovations works in the museum have been completed.

 

15. MOC ON MOVEMENT OF ‘SKILLED WORKERS’

•      In order to enhance cooperation in skills development, India and Japan have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) for operation of the ‘specified skilled worker’ (SSW) system.

•      This MoC paves the way for Indian workers with required skills and pass Japanese language tests to get employment in Japan on a contractual basis.

•      It was signed by Foreign secretary Harsh Shringla and Japan’s ambassador Satoshi Suzuki.

 

16. SKOCH CHALLENGER AWARD 2021 FOR E-GOVERNANCE

•      70th SKOCH Summit (SKOCH Public Policy Forum) was held in New Delhi during which SKOCH Awards 2021 were presented to different ministries.

•      The SKOCH Challenger Award-Best Performance in e-Governance was presented to Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA).

•      The ministry got the SKOCH Challenger Award for the 2nd consecutive year.

•      It was received by Union Minister Arjun Munda, (MoTA).

•      The “SKOCH Challenger Award- Transparency in Governance” was conferred to Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) for recognizing its IT-led initiatives

 

17. BOOK- ‘ABDUL KALAM-NINAIVUGALUKKU MARANAMILLAI’

•      M Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India released a tamil book titled ‘Abdul Kalam-Ninaivugalukku Maranamillai’(immortal memories) at Raj Bhavan in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

•      It is a biography of late former President, Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.

•      The book is authored by  Dr APJM NazemaMaraikayar, managing trustee, Abdul Kalam International Foundation (AIKF) and well-known space scientist, Dr Y.S. Rajan.

Read More

DAILY GK : 17 , 18 JAN 2021

 DAILY GK : 17 , 18 JAN 2021

1. INDIA’S 1ST INDIGENOUSLY DEVELOPED DRIVERLESS METRO

•      Rajnath Singh, unveiled India’s first indigenously designed and developed ‘Driverless Metro Car’ during a function held at the BEML (previously Bharat Earth Movers Limited) manufacturing facility in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

•      The ‘Driverless Metro Car’ are being manufactured by BEML for Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) MRS1 project.

•      The project needs 576 cars which will be supplied by January 2024.

 

2. PRADHAN MANTRI KAUSHAL VIKAS YOJANA 3.0

•      Union Minister for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey launched the Third Phase of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY 3.0) 2020-21 in 600 districts across India and made available around 300 Plus Skill Courses to the youth.

•      PMKVY 3.0 aims to provide training to around 8 Lakh candidates during the period of 2020-21 with an outlay of INR 948.90 Crore.

 

3. HARSH VARDHAN INAUGURATED DOPPLER WEATHER RADARS

•      The 146th Foundation Day of India Meteorological Department (IMD) was held on January 15, 2021 in New Delhi. Dr. Harsh Vardhan inaugurated Doppler Weather Radars at Mukteshwar (Uttarakhand) and Kufri (Himachal Pradesh).

•      Doppler Weather Radars in Uttarakhand is 1st of its kind.

 

4. GRSE SIGNS CONTRACT WITH GUYANA

•      The Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd, Kolkata has signed USD  12.7 Million Contract with the Harbour Department, Ministry of Public Works, Government of Guyana for the construction of an Ocean-going vessel.

•      GRSE is a shipbuilding company in India which is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and was awarded the Miniratna status by Government of India in 2006.

 

5. UN DESA REPORT

•      According to the  ‘International Migration 2020’ report released by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), In 2020, 18 Million persons from India were living outside of their country of birth thus making it the World’s Largest Transnational Community.

•      India is followed by Mexico & Russia (11 Million each), China (10 Million) & the Syrian Arab Republic (8 Million).

 

6. NEW CHAIRMAN OF TEPC

•      Sandeep Aggarwal, the Managing Director (MD) and Promoter of Paramount Communications Limited, has been elected as the new chairman of Telecom Equipment and Services Export Promotion Council(TEPC).

•      He will take over from Shyamal Ghosh, former Telecom Secretary.

Read More

DAILY GK : 15, 16 JAN 2021

 DAILY GK : 15, 16 JAN 2021

1. 83 LCA TEJAS FROM HAL FOR IAF

•      As a part of Atmanirbhar programme, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi approved the procurement of 83 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) at the cost of Rs. 45,696 Crore for Indian Air Force (IAF).

•      These include 73 LCA Tejas Mk-1A fighter aircrafts and 10 LCA Tejas Mk-1 Trainer aircrafts.

•      LCAs are manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

 

2. WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL PASSPORTS 2021

•      A “Henley Passport Index:Q1 2021 Global Ranking” released where India was ranked 85th with visa-free score 58.

•      The visa-free score states that Indian passport holders get to visit 58 countries without a prior visa.

•      India shared its rank with Tajikistan.

•      In 2020, India held 84th position.

•      The index was topped by Japan with visa-free score of 191.

•      It has been holding the position for three consecutive years.

 

3. RBI FORMS WG TO EXAMINE LENDING TRANSACTIONS

•      Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has formulated a 6-member Working Group (WG) to study all aspects of digital lending activities in the regulated financial sector as well as by unregulated players so that an appropriate regulatory approach can be put in place.

•      The group will be chaired by Jayant Kumar Dash, Executive Director, RBI and will submit its report within three months.

 

4. COMMITTEE TO IMPROVE HEALTH INSURANCE IN INDIA

•      India’s insurance regulator IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India) formulated a 10-member advisory committee to improve the product quality and coverage of the health insurance in the country.

•      The committee will be chaired by IRDAI chairman and will have tenure of 1 year.

 

5. INDIA’S 1ST INDIGENOUS MACHINE PISTOL ASMI

•      The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE), Pune (Maharashtra) in collaboration with the Indian Army has developed India’s first indigenous machine pistol ASMI.

•      It will replace the 9mm pistols used by defence forces.

•      Notably it has been developed by a young officer ‘Lt Col Prasad Bansod’ from Infantry School, Mhow in a record time of four months.

 

6. INDIAN ARMED FORCES CELEBRATES VETERAN DAY

•      Indian Armed Forces annually celebrates the Veteran Day on 14th January to recognise the contributions of the veterans of the Indian Armed Forces.

•      The 14th January 2021 marks the celebration of the 5th Veteran Day by the Indian Armed Forces.

•      The day honours and recognises the service of Field Marshal KM Cariappa, OBE, the first Commander in Chief of Indian Armed Forces, who retired from the services on 14th January 1953.

•      Admiral Karambir Singh released the “Swarnim Vijay Varsh” song dedicated to the valor and courage of the Indian soldiers during the 1971 war.

Read More

DAILY GK : 14 JAN 2021

 DAILY GK : 14 JAN 2021

1. PMFBY COMPLETES 5 YEARS OF OPERATION

•      Government of India’s Crop Insurance Scheme – Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) has completed 5 years of its operation.

•      It was launched by the Government on 13th January, 2016.

•      The Scheme is in line with One Nation – One Scheme theme.

•      It replaces 2 existing Crop Insurance schemes – National Agricultural Insurance Scheme & modified NAIS (National Agricultural Insurance Scheme).

•      The scheme was made voluntary for all farmers post revamp in February, 2020.

•      Union Agriculture Ministry has stated that around INR 90, 000 Crore has been disbursed to farmers since the launch of the scheme.

 

2. ‘SEA VIGIL 21’- LARGEST COASTAL DEFENCE EXERCISE

•      The Second Edition of the Biennial Pan-India, Largest Coastal Defence Exercise ‘Sea Vigil-21’ coordinated by Indian Navy.

•      It was conducted along the entire 7516 Km coastline & Exclusive Economic Zone of India.

•      The Defence Exercise involved 13 Coastal States/Union Territories.

•      It also included the fishing and coastal communities.

 

3. INDIA’S 1ST FIRE PARK

•      Naveen Patnaik virtually inaugurated India’s first ‘Fire Park’ at Bhubaneshwar, Odisha.

•      On that occasion CM Patnaik also launched the virtual platform ‘Agnishama Seva’ to provide through which 16 fire related services can be availed.

•      The Fire Park is a first of its kind initiative to provide awareness on fire safety measures, mainly focusing on School and College students.

 

4. INDIA, VIETNAM HOLD DEFENCE SECURITY DIALOGUE

•      13th India-Vietnam Defence Security Dialogue was held virtually.

•      Dr Ajay Kumar, Defence Secretary, Government of India & Lt Gen Nguyen Chi Vinh, Deputy Defence Minister, Socialist Republic of Vietnam co-chaired the meeting.

 

5. COLLABORATATION TO  STOCKPILE A GLOBAL EBOLA VACCINE

•      World’s four leading Health and Humanitarian organisations UNICEF, World Health Organisation (WHO), International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) collaborated to stockpile a global Ebola Vaccine with financial assistance from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

•      The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization has recommended 500,000 doses of Ebola vaccine to be stockpiled, as a precautionary measure to the sudden Ebola outbreak.

 

6. TESLA INC REGISTERS INDIA SUBSIDIARY IN BENGALURU

•      Tesla Inc, United States based Electric car maker has incorporated a fully owned subsidiary in Bengaluru, Karnataka as a first step to establish a Research & Development (R&D) unit in India.

•      It has registered with the Registrar of Companies in Bengaluru, Karnataka as ‘Tesla India Motors and Energy Private Limited’.

•      It is also in the process of setting up a manufacturing plant at Dharwad, Karnataka for producing electric vehicles in India.

 

7. HURUN GLOBAL 500

•      list – a list of 500 most valuable companies across the globe, of Hurun Research features a total of 11 Indian companies.

•      According to the report India secured the 10th rank with 11 companies whose total values grew 14% and reached 805 billion USD (around one third of Indian GDP).

•      Topped by United States with 242 companies.

•      Apple tops the list with a value of 2.1 Trillion USD followed by Microsoft with a value of 1.640 Trillion and Amazon with a value of 1.610 Trillion and Alphabet with 1.2 trillion USD.

 

Rank      Company Name                                  Value(billion USD)             % Change            Country

54           Reliance Industries                              168.8                                      21%                        India

73           Tata Consultancy Services                                139                                         30%                        India

105         HDFC Bank                                         107.5                                      11.5%                    India

 

8. TECH MAHINDRA TO ACQUIRE PTSL

•      IT services major, Tech Mahindra is set to acquire 100% share of Hong Kong based Payments Technology Service Ltd (PTSL) a subsidiary of Fidelity Information Services (FIS) for $9 million (about Rs.66 Crore) to scale its enterprise payments and banking capabilities.

•      In regard to this acquisition, Tech Mahindra had signed an memorandum of understanding (MoU) with FIS.

•      The transaction is expected to completed by 31 March 2021.

 

9. 83 TEJAS MK-1A FOR INDIAN AIR FORCE

•      In a big push to “Make in India”, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Wednesday approved the procurement of 83 Tejas Mk-1A fighter jets for the Indian Air Force from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, in the largest-ever indigenous military aviation deal worth around Rs 48,000 crores.

•      “The CCS today approved the largest indigenous defence procurement deal worth about Rs 48,000 crores to strengthen the IAF’s fleet of home-grown fighter jet LCA-Tejas.

•      This deal will be a game-changer for self-reliance in Indian defence manufacturing,” defence minister Rajnath Singh tweeted.

Read More

DAILY GK : 12 , 13 JAN 2021

 DAILY GK : 12 , 13 JAN 2021

1. CHERRY BLOSSOM MAO FESTIVAL HELD

•      An annual Cherry Blossom Mao Festival was held at Mao in Senapati district, Manipur.

•      It was virtually inaugurated by CM of Manipur Nongthombam Biren Singh from the CM Secretariat in Imphal, amid COVID-19.

•      The festival marked the beginning of pink season in the district.

•      The cherry blossom flower is also known as Prunus cerasoides.

 

 2. ‘SINGLE WINDOW CLEARANCE SYSTEM’ FOR COAL SECTOR

•      Amit Shah virtually launched ‘Single Window Clearance System’ for coal mines.

•      The platform is expected to ease the process of obtaining clearances for the smooth operationalisation of coal mines.

•      It will help in reducing the time taken to grant approvals in the sector.

•      The Unified platform will reduce the need for companies to approach different for operationalisation of coal mines, which is the main cause for delay.

 

3. DIGITAL EVOLUTION SCORECARD 2020

•      3rd edition of Digital Evolution Scorecard 2020 developed by Tufts University’s Fletcher School in partnership with Mastercard was released in which India ranked 4th.

•      The scorecard is topped by China followed by Azerbaijan, Indonesia.

•      It should be noted that India doubled its mobile internet connectivity in the last four years.

•      It will add 350 million smartphones by 2023.

 

Read More