DAILY GK 29 JAN 2020

DAILY GK 29 JAN 2020

1.     ‘Kolkata metro’ to be opened by March 2022 

ü Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) is set to complete its East-West Project, which runs partly under the Hooghly river, West Bengal, by March 2022. It will be India’s first underwater metro. The new metro rail is expected to carry about 900,000 people daily & will take less than a minute to cross a 520-meter underwater tunnel.

ü 74% of the East-West metro project is owned by India’s Railway & remaining 26% by the nation’s Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs.

2.    President Bolsonaro’s 4-day Visit to India

ü The president Brazil, Jair Messias Bolsonaro paid a 4-day official visit to India.

ü The bilateral trade and work target of $15 billion between India and Brazil was set to be achieved by 2022.

3.    Global risk of Noval Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)

ü The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the global risk of Noval Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) that cause serious illnesses ranging from the common cold to Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).

4.    International Children’s Film Festival

ü 13th edition of International Children’s Film Festival was inaugurated in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The theme of International Children’s Film Festival 2020 is ‘Under The World’.

5.    GOI has decided to sell 100 per cent stake of Air India

ü Hardeep Singh Puri has expressed the Indian Government’s decision to sell its 100 per cent stake of Air India (AI).It includes its 100 per cent stake in low-cost airline Air India Express and 50 per cent shareholding in joint venture AISATS Airport Services Private Limited.

6.    Best tableaux awards

ü Defence Minister Rajnath Singh distributed the awards for best tableaux which was conducted on January 26, 2020 in Republic Day event. There were a total of 22 tableaux including 16 from various states and union territories and remaining 6 from various ministries and departments.

ü Best Tableaux Award -Assam’s tableaux displayed with the theme ‘Land of Unique Craftsmanship and Culture’, had showcased the Xattriya tradition in the form of Bhortal Nritya was chosen as the best tableaux.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) won best tableaux for Ministry for showcasing the cutting-edge technology and instruments used by the force to carry out daring rescue operations in flood-hit and disaster hit areas.

ü Jal Shakti Mission won best tableaux among departments for government’s new initiative, ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’, which aims at providing functional tap connection to every rural household by 2024.

7.    Autobiography by Yashwant Sinha

ü Former president of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee released the autobiography of former Finance Minister Shri Yashwant Sinha titled “Relentless” at the India International Centre in New Delhi.

8.    SIPRI report

ü As per the report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has suggested that China is the world’s second largest producer of munitions  behind the United States and ahead of Russia. The data which covered the period from 2015 to 2017.

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DAILY GK 28 JAN 2020

DAILY GK 28 JAN 2020

1.    Ganga-Volga Dialogue of civilizations 2020

ü The 1^st edition of Ganga-Volga Dialogue of Civilizations 2020 based on the theme “Connectivity”, between India & Russia was held in New Delhi.

ü The event was inaugurated by India’s Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan.

ü The dialogue aims to provide a platform for enhancing the special and privileged bilateral partnership between India & Russia.

2.    Padma awards 2020

ü On the eve of 71^st Republic Day, announced the names of Padma awardees for 2020, which is the highest civilian Awards in the country. The Padma Awards are conferred under 3 categorized viz- Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.

ü This time (2020) a total of list had 141 awards – 7 celebrities have been chosen for Padma Vibhushan, 16 celebrities for Padma Bhushan and 118 personalities for Padma Shri.

ü Former Union ministers Arun Jaitley (posthumously), Sushma Swaraj (posthumously), George Fernandes (posthumously) and World champion boxer Mary Kom were awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the India’s 2^nd highest civilian honour while, India’s number one badminton player PV Sindhu has been selected for the Padma Bhushan.

3.    Annual Grammy Awards 2019

ü 62nd edition of the Annual Grammy Awards 2019 was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles city of California in the United States(US). The awards were given in recognition for the best recordings, compositions, and artists. The awards were presented in 84 categories.

ü Former United States(US) first lady Michelle Obama was honoured with the best spoken word album of the year award at the Grammy awards for the book “Becoming”. Singer Lizzo wins 3 grammy awards and dedicated to Basketball star Kobe Bryant who along with his daughter, was killed in a helicopter crash.

4.    Sunil Mehta appointed as CEO of IBA

ü Sunil Mehta, took over as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA).
Mehta will replace VG Kannan, who resigned from office as chief executive of IBA on December 31, 2019.

5.    Kobe Bryant dies in a helicopter crash

ü American basketball legend Kobe Bryant has died along with his 13-years-old daughter Gianna in a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter crash near Calabasas in Southern California. He was 41. 

6.    International Customs Day-January 26, 2020

ü Theme “Customs fostering Sustainability for People, Prosperity and the Planet”. 

7.    India’s 71st Republic Day

ü The day honours the date on which the Constitution of India came into effect i.e. on 26 January 1950.

ü Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro attended as chief guest.

ü A total of 16 states and Union Territories(UTs) and 6 central ministers participated in the Republic Day Parade at Rajpath in New Delhi. Jammu & Kashmir participated in the parade for the 1st time as a union territory.

ü 4th generation army officer Captain Tania Shergill who became the 1st woman officer as Parade Adjutant on Army Day Parade, led the corps of signals under the motto ‘Teevra Chaukas’ (swift and alert).

ü Dhanush gun system Army Air Defence marching contingent took part for 1st time.

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DAILY GK 27 JAN 2020

DAILY GK 27 JAN 2020

1.    26 new Indian English words

ü 10th edition of the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary was launched. In this latest edition 26 new Indian languages words namely Aadhaar, Chawl, dabba, hartal, shaadi were included. Several incorporate words like chatbot, fake news, microplastic & over 1000 new words were included.

2.    India phased out HCFC-141 b chemical

ü India has successfully achieved complete phase out of the Hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC)-141 b. It is a chemical used in foam manufacturing companies and is one of the most potent ozone depleting chemicals after the Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). India took the challenge to phase out HCFC-141b by January 1, 2020.

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DAILY GK 25 JAN 2020

DAILY GK 25 JAN 2020

1.    Summit on women in STEM

ü Department of Biotechnology under the aegis of Ministry of Science & Technology has organized a 2-day long International Summit on Women in STEM–“Visualizing the Future: New Skylines” at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi with the aim to increase the participation of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) field for development of scientific career.

2.    India’s first e-waste clinic

ü India’s first e-waste clinic was opened in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.The e-waste clinic was jointly set up by the Central Pollution Board Control -CPCB and Bhopal Municipal Corporation -BMC.

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DAILY GK 23 – 24 JAN 2020

DAILY GK 23 – 24 JAN 2020

1.    PRAGATI meeting 2020 in New Delhi

ü PM Narendra Modi chaired 32^nd PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation) meeting 2020 and discussed progress of several projects in New Delhi.

ü PM modi reviews progress under insurance schemes- PMJJBY and PMSBY

ü Modi also reviewed the work related to insurance schemes – ‘Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana’ (PMJJBY) and ‘Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana’(PMSBY).

ü The Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and System (CCTNS) project was also reviewed by Modi. It is a comprehensive and integrated system for effective policing through e-governance.

2.    Jharia is the most polluted Indian city

ü The Greenpeace India report for 2018 was released based on the National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP).Jharia in Jharkhand which is known for Coal-belching is the most polluted Indian city with 322 µg/m3 (micrograms per cubic meter) of PM10 (Particulate matter) pollutants in 2018.Dhanbad is the second-most polluted Indian City .

ü Lunglei in Mizoram is the least polluted followed by Meghalaya’s Dowki.

3.    Democracy Index 2019

ü According to the 12^th edition of the ‘Democracy Index 2019: A year of democratic setbacks and popular protest’, released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), India has slipped 10 ranks to 51^st spot with the score of 6.90 in this index.

ü Top & bottom: Norway tops the list with a score of 9.87 while North Korea is at the bottom with 167^th place with 1.08 points.

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DAILY GK 21 JAN 2020

DAILY GK 21 JAN 2020

1.     ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’

ü ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ scheme will be implemented by June 1, 2020  across the country. The announcement was made by the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan.
The scheme is operational in 12 states across the country which includes Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Tripura, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Kerala, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana.

2.    Oxfam Report

ü Oxfam International released a report titled ‘Time to Care:Unpaid and underpaid care work and the global inequality crisis’. As per the report, India’s richest 1% of the population has more than 4 times of wealth held by 953 million people making up for the bottom 70% of the country’s population. 2,153 of total billionaires globally in 2019 had more wealth than the 4.6 billion people who make up 60% of the planet’s population.

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DAILY GK 19 – 20 JAN 2020

DAILY GK 19 – 20 JAN 2020

1.    Centre of Excellence in Blockchain Technology

ü Ravi Shankar Prasad inaugurated the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Blockchain Technology set up by the National Informatics Centre(NIC) in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The CoE has been set up with the aim of providing blockchain as a service and help all stakeholders to benefit from shared learning, experiences and resources.

2.    Gujarat leads in water efficiency

ü According to the rankings of ‘Central and state governmental water departments based on their efficiency targets for 2019’ released by Ministry of Jal Shakti, Gujarat ranked the best for parameters on efficiency targets , while NCTof Delhi remains in the worst-performing state category.

3.    Magh Bihu festival

ü Magh Bihu, an auspicious harvest festival is being celebrated in Assam. Magh Bihu falls in the local month of ‘Magh’ during mid-january. It is also called ‘Bhogali Bihu’ or ‘Maghor Bihu’ as it is celebrated with community feasts after the annual harvest takes place

ü National Parks (NP)- Kaziranga NP, Manas NP, Dibru Saikhowa NP, Nameri NP, Orang NP

4.    New Delhi World Book Fair 2020

ü The 28th edition of the New Delhi World Book Fair 2020 (NDWBF 2020) was held at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi from January 4-12, 2020. It was inaugurated by Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’. The theme of NDWBF 2020 book fair was ‘Gandhi: TheWriters’ Writer’

5.    Global Social Mobility Index 2020

ü World Economic Forum (WEF) released 1st edition of a report titled “The Global Social Mobility Report 2020: Equality, Opportunity and a New Economic Imperative”. The global social mobility index (GSMI) of 82 countries were launched in this report. As per the Index, India ranked in the 76th position with a score of 42.7while Denmark topped the list.

6.    $50mn assistance to SL

ü  National Security Advisor (NSA) of India Ajit Doval  visited Colomo.India pledged to provide $50 million security assistance to Sri Lanka for purchasing equipment for its security forces.

7.    25^th Conference of Speakers

ü A parliamentary delegation headed by Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla has attended the 25^th edition of the Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC) 2020 held in Ottawa,Canada . In 2022, Australia will be the host of commonwealth speakers meeting & Uganda to host 2024 Commonwealth speakers conference with additional CSPOC Standing Committee meetings to be held in Guernsey in 2021 and Trinidad and Tobago in 2023.

8.    WGC Report Outlook 2020

ü RBI has been ranked 6th largest buyer of sovereign gold abroad after it purchased 25.2 tonnes in the first 10 months of 2019 according to World Gold Council(WGC) report titled “Outlook 2020: Global economic trends and their impact on gold”. The central banks of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Poland have purchased more gold than India in 2019.

ü RBI currently holds 625.2 tonnes of gold, that forms 6.6% of its forex reserves.

9.    UN revises India’s GDP growth forecast

ü According to the ‘World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2020’ report released by the United Nations (UN), it has revised the India’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth forecast for the year 2019-20  to 5% from 5.7%.

ü Growth projection for 2020-21 has also been downgraded to 5.8-5.9 % from 6.6%  in the report.

10. Kiran Mazumdar  to receive highest Australian civilian honour

ü Australia has conferred its highest civilian honour, the Order of Australia honour to Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, founder and chairperson of bio-pharmaceutical company Biocon.She is the fourth Indian citizen to be awarded Australia’s highest civilian honour.

11. New Vice Chief of Army Staff

ü Lieutenant General Satinder Kumar Saini appointed as the new Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS). He will take charge on January 25, 2020. He succeeded Lieutenant General Manoj Mukund Naravane, who was promoted as the Chief of Army Staff.

12. New President of AAI

ü Arjun Munda, Minister of Tribal Affairs elected as the President of the suspended Archery Association of India (AAI) for 4 years term. The elections were held as per the Delhi High Court order. 

13. India successfully test-fired SLBM K-4

ü India successfully test fired the Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) K-4 at the Visakhapatnam coast in Andhra Pradesh. The range of K-4 ballistic missile is 3,500 Kilometer. The missile was developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The test was carried out from underwater platform in the sea.

14. 1st woman third Umpire in men’s T20I

ü Jacqueline Williams of Jamaica becomes the first woman third umpire in men’s international cricket match. The 43-year-old Jamaican woman oversaw all 3 matches of the Twenty20 International (T20I)  series in Grenada, West Indies  between West Indies and Ireland.

15. National Immunization Day-January 19, 2020.

ü The Pulse Polio Programme 2020 was conducted as a part of National Immunization Day across the country.

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