DAILY GK 25 AUG 2019

DAILY GK 25 AUG 2019

1. GUJARAT TOPS IN NITI AAYOG REPORT ON ‘COMPOSITE WATER MANAGEMENT INDEX2019 (CWMI 2.0)’

✔According to the recently released report,” Composite Water Management Index 2019” for the year 2017-2018 by Government’s think tank NITI Aayog in association with Ministry of Jal Shakti and Ministry of Rural Development Gujarat has again performed better in water management practices to get top spot.

✔Uttar Pradesh(39), Bihar(38), and Jharkhand(34) continued to be in the low-performing category in the chart.

2. NATIONAL FOOD LABORATORY IN GHAZIABAD INAUGURATED BY HARSH VARDHAN

✔Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan inaugurated FSSAI’s National Food Laboratory in Ghaziabad on the occasion of 13th anniversary of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. This national lab is a result of a Public-Private-Partnership, the first-of-its-kind in the food laboratory sector.

✔The lab is equipped with the latest technologies and facilities to conduct analysis as per global accreditation standards for testing and calibration. NFL is one of the two premier referral laboratories under the direct administrative control of the apex food regulator named- Food Safety and Standard Authority of India.

Read More

DAILY GK 24 AUG 2019

DAILY GK 24 AUG 2019

1. FIRST WORLD YOUTH CONFERENCE ON KINDNESS INAUGURATED BY INDIAN PRESIDENT

✔The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the first World Youth Conference on kindness at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. The president addressed the event celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on the theme ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: Gandhi for the Contemporary World’.

✔Its aim is to impart empathy, compassion, mindfulness and critical enquiry to inspire, empower and enable youth to transform building a long-lasting peace in their communities and finding pathways to achieve Sustainable Development Goals.

✔10th edition of UNESCO’s Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development flagship programme ‘the Blue Dot’. It focuses on MGIEP social and emotional learning.

2. INDIA AND THE UNITED STATES HELD A BILATERAL 2+2 INTERSESSIONAL MEETING IN MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA

✔India and the United States held a round of bilateral 2+2 Intersessional meeting in Monterey, California, US.

✔They reviewed the progress and development of bilateral relations in cross-cutting defence, security, and foreign policy areas since the inaugural 2+2 Ministerial meeting of September 2018.

✔They explored further possibilities of cooperation in these fields based on common interest. They discussed on regional developments, and agreed to pursue their quest for a free, open, inclusive, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific.

Read More

DAILY GK 23 AUG 2019

DAILY GK 23 AUG 2019

1. UNION HRD MINISTER LAUNCHES WORLD’S LARGEST TEACHERS’ TRAINING PROGRAMME NISHTHA

✔Union HRD Minister launched the training programme NISHTHA, (National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic Advancement) to improve Learning Outcomes at the Elementary level across the country. This is the largest teachers’ training programme of its kind in the world.

✔NISHTHA to build capacities of 42 Lakh government teachers across the country. The basic objective of this massive training programme ‘NISHTHA’ is to motivate and equip teachers to encourage and foster critical thinking in students.

2. KARNATAKA TOPS IN STATE ROOFTOP SOLAR ATTRACTIVENESS INDEX 2019

✔The State Rooftop Solar Attractiveness Index-SARAL was launched during the Review Planning and Monitoring Meeting with States and State Power Utilities. Karnataka has topped the index which evaluates Indian states based on their attractiveness for rooftop development.

✔SARAL currently captures five key aspects:

• Robustness of policy framework
• Implementation environment
• Investment climate
• Consumer experience
• Business ecosystem

Read More

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).

Read More

DAILY GK 21 AUG 2019

DAILY GK 21 AUG 2019

1. MOU BETWEEN INDIA & MALDIVES ON TRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAMME FOR MALDIVIAN CIVIL SERVANTS OPERATIONALISED

✔The Memorandum of Understanding between India and Maldives on Training and Capacity Building Programme for Maldivian Civil Servants was operationalised

✔National Center for Good Governance, India and the Civil Services Commission of Maldives had signed an MoU which envisaged capacity building activities for 1000 Civil Servants of Maldives at the National Centre for Good Governance over the next 5 years.

✔India will be the nodal institution for designing customized training modules and its implementation taking into account the requirements of the Civil Service Commission of Maldives.

2. INDIAN-AMERICAN TEEN NAVNEETH MURALI WINS 2019 SOUTH ASIAN SPELLING BEE COMPETITION

✔Navneeth Murali, an Indian-American teenager from New Jersey, has won the 2019 South Asian Spelling Bee contest. The prize money for this contest is USD 3,000.

✔The South Asian Spelling Bee is an annual spelling bee platform in the US for children of South Asian descent. The competition is open to any student at or below the age of 14, who has at least one parent or grandparent who is of South Asian descent, or whose lineage can be traced to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and/or Sri Lanka.

Read More

DAILY GK 20 AUG 2019

DAILY GK 20 AUG 2019

1. PRESIDENT RAM NATH GOVIND INAUGURATES BUNKER MUSEUM AT RAJ BHAVAN

✔The president of India, Shri Ram Nath Govind inaugurated the 15,000 square feet underground bunker museum at Raj Bhavan (Governor’s government house) in Mumbai.

✔The president also unveiled the foundation stone for the reconstruction of Jal Bhushan. It is the Governor’s office-cum-residential building with a history of nearly 200 years.

2. GUJARAT TO GET COUNTRY’S FIRST INSTITUTE FOR CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

✔As a boost to the chemical industry in the country, Gujarat is to get the country’s first Central Institute of Chemical Engineering & Technology. The CICET would be built either at Ahmedabad or Surat.

✔A plastic Waste Management Centre in Ahmedabad is to be set up to find out solutions to systematic segregation and recycling of plastic waste.

✔A skill development centre will start functioning at Bhavnagar, Gujarat.

✔Another campus, Central Institute of Plastic Engineering & Technology is to be set up at a cost of ₹54crore in Valsad, Gujarat for the benefit of tribal students and the plastic industry.

Read More

DAILY GK 19 AUG 2019

DAILY GK 19 AUG 2019

1. TWO-DAY INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON TEACHER EDUCATION BY NCTE HELD IN NEW DELHI

✔A 2 day International Conference titled “Journey of Teacher Education: Local to Global” was inaugurated by the Union Minister of Human Resource Development Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ in New Delhi.

✔Ministry of Human Resource Development will launch the world’s biggest project for teacher training named NISHTHA (National Initiative on School Teachers Head Holistic Advancement) on August 22, 2019.

✔40 renowned experts from India and abroad deliberated on the areas like the present scenario of teacher education in the Indian context; innovations in teaching practices; integration of information and communications technology in teaching; inclusive education in teaching-learning environment; and internationalization of teacher education.

2. 28TH BASIC MINISTERIAL MEETING 2019 ON CLIMATE CHANGE HELD IN SAO PAULO, BRAZIL

✔The 28th session of BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India, and China) Ministerial meeting 2019 on Climate Change was held in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Prakash Javadekar represented India for this meeting.

✔Mr. Prakash Javadekar stated that the BASIC Group coming & putting views together is an important aspect of the UN negotiations.

✔China will host the 29th BASIC Ministerial Meeting in 2020.

Read More

DAILY GK 18 AUG 2019

DAILY GK 18 AUG 2019

1. SC CLEARS CHARDHAM PROJECT, WHICH WILL CONNECT 4 HOLY PLACES IN UTTARAKHAND

✔The Supreme Court bench comprising of Justices Rohinton Fali Nariman and Surya Kant has cleared the Chardham highway project, which will connect 4 holy places of Uttarakhand (Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri) through 900 km all-weather roads by modifying an NGT order to form a committee to look into environmental concerns.

2. CHINA SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED A NEW ROCKET FOR COMMERCIAL USE NAMED SMART DRAGON-1

✔A new rocket for commercial use named Smart Dragon-1 with 3 satellites, developed by the China Rocket Company affiliated to the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology was launched successfully from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China.

✔SD-1 has a total length of 19.5 metres, a diameter of 1.2 metres and a take-off weight of about 23.1 tonnes.

✔It is a small-scale solid-propellant carrier rocket capable of sending 200 kg payloads to the solar synchronous orbit at an altitude of 500 km.

Read More

DAILY GK 17 AUG 2019

DAILY GK 17 AUG 2019

1. THE INDIAN NAVY IS TO HOST NAVAL EXERCISE MILAN IN MARCH 2020 IN VIZAG

✔The Indian Navy is to host the multilateral naval exercise named ‘MILAN’ at Visakhapatnam for the year 2020 in the month of March.

✔MILAN is a biennial exercise which was first started in 1995. Until last year the exercise was held at Andaman and Nicobar Command.

2. WORLD’S 1ST MUSEUM DEDICATED TO THE LIFE OF SRI CHAITANYA MAHAPRABHU OPENED IN KOLKATA

✔West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee has opened the World’s 1st museum dedicated to the life of a 16th-century saint and social reformer, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, designed by the National Council of Science Museums in Kolkata, West Bengal.

✔It is named as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu museum.The museum is a 3-storeyed structure. The floors of the museum dedicated to different phases of the saint’s life from his birth, marriage with Vishupria, journey in every part of the country to the period after he attained ”Sanyasa” (sainthood).

Read More

DAILY GK 16 AUG 2019

DAILY GK 16 AUG 2019

1. CORAS OF INDIAN RAILWAYS LAUNCHED BY RAILWAY MINISTER PIYUSH GOYAL

✔Commandos For Railway Security, a special railway unit for the Indian railways and a new establishment manual for the Railway Protection Force was launched by union Railway Minister Shri Piyush Goyal at a function in New Delhi railway station.

✔A state of the art commando training centre is to be established in Jagadhri, Haryana.

2. FIRST EVER SPACE MUSEUM OF INDIA INAUGURATED AT HYDERABAD

✔The first space museum of India opening new attraction to space enthusiasts, was set up at Hyderabad in association with Indian Space Research Organisation. The museum is housed in the Birla Science Museum.

✔It was inaugurated on the celebration on golden jubilee year of the Birla Archaeological and Cultural Research Institute.

Read More

DAILY GK 14 AUG 2019

DAILY GK 14 AUG 2019

1. 33% OF INDIA’S SKILLED YOUTH ARE JOBLESS: PLFS 2017-18

✔An analysis of the unit-level data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey 2017-18, conducted by the NSSO, found that 33% of India’s skilled youth are jobless. 4 out of 10 youth who received vocational training are out of the labour force. Nearly a third of trained young men and more than a third of trained young women were unemployed.

✔In 2017-18, only 1.8% of the population (15-29 years) reported receiving formal vocational/technical training. 42% of the youth who received formal technical training were not part of the labour force.

2. SWACHH SURVEKSHAN 2020 LAUNCHED BY MOS FOR HOUSING SHRI HARDEEP PURI

✔The Minister of State (I/C) for housing and urban affairs Shri Hardeep Singh Puri launched the 5th edition of annual cleanliness survey, Swachh Survekshan 2020. Swachh Survekshan 2020 Toolkit, Swachh Bharat Mission Water PLUS Protocol and Toolkit, Swachh Nagar- an integrated waste management app and Artificial intelligence enabled mSBM app was launched.

✔A special song based on the Swachh Survekshan theme was released. It features Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut, singers Kailash Kher and Monali Thakur.

Read More

DAILY GK 13 AUG 2019

DAILY GK 13 AUG 2019

1. CBDT INCREASES THE MONETARY THRESHOLD LIMIT FOR IT DEPARTMENT FOR FILING APPEALS

✔The Central Board of Direct Taxes increased the monetary limit for an appeal before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal to Rs 50 lakh from Rs 20 lakh. This is done to reduce litigation.

✔High Courts limit has been doubled to Rs 1 crore from Rs 50 lakh.

✔Supreme Court’s limit for filing appeal has been increased from Rs 1 crore to Rs 2 crore.

✔The income-tax department will withdraw 34% of cases stuck in tribunal, 48% of those stuck in High Courts and 54% in the Supreme Court.

2. SAUDI’S ARAMCO WILL BUY 20% OF RIL’S OIL AND CHEMICAL BUSINESS FOR $15 BN

✔Saudi Arabia’s most profitable oil company Saudi Aramco will buy 20 % stake of RIL’s  oil and chemicals business for about $15 billion (approximately Rs 1.06 lakh crore), which will be one of the biggest FDI deal in the country.

✔As part of the deal, Aramco will supply 700,000 barrels per day on a long-term basis of crude oil to Reliance’s twin refineries.

Read More

CURRENT AFFAIRS QUIZ – 13TH AUG 2019

CURRENT AFFAIRS QUIZ – 13^TH AUG 2019

1.        What is the revised minimum period of Child Care Leave (CCL) for the female and single male service officers working in defence sector?

A) 30 days

B) 15 days

C) 5 days

D) 45 days

E) None of these

2.        Which country has decided to set up a Joint Technical committee for optimum utilization of Ganges water with India under the Ganga Water Sharing Treaty 1996?

A) Bangladesh

B) Bhutan

C) Myanmar

D) China

E) None of these

Read More

CURRENT AFFAIRS QUIZ – 12TH AUG 2019

CURRENT AFFAIRS QUIZ – 12^TH AUG 2019

1.        Which state government has launched the Small Savings Incentive Scheme with an objective to stop people from transacting with ‘suspicious’ non-banking private financial institutions?

A) Rajasthan

B) Uttar Pradesh

C) Odisha

D) Assam

E) None of these

2.        Where will the India’s first underwater train project is set to launch?

A) Kolkata, West Bengal

B) Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

C) Guwahati, Assam

D) Mumbai, Maharashtra

E) None of these

3.        Under which river, the India’s first underwater train project is set to launch?

A) Torsa River

B) Hooghly river

C) Teesta River

D) Damodar River

E) None of these

4.        Where was the 2 day 22nd National Conference on e-Governance 2019 held?

A) Mumbai, Maharashtra

B) Shillong, Meghalaya

C) Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

D) New Delhi, Delhi

E) None of these

5.        Name the exercise, which is to be participated by all the members of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) including India and Pakistan.

A) Lamitye VIII

B) Vinbax 1

C) Khanjar V

D) ‘Tsentr (centre)

E) None of these

Read More

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.

Read More

DAILY GK 11 AUG 2019

DAILY GK 11 AUG 2019

1. PRESIDENT RAM NATH KOVIND GIVES ASSENT TO THE MOTOR VEHICLES (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2019

✔President of India Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, to improve road safety and facilitation of the citizens while dealing with transport departments. The Act will amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988

✔The Act provides for the grant of licenses, regulation of cab aggregators, road safety and penalties for violation of these provisions.

✔The Bill proposes a scheme to allow cashless treatment of victims in a road accident during the golden hour. The golden hour is defined as the time period of up to one hour following a traumatic injury, during which the likelihood of preventing death through prompt medical care is the highest.

✔The Bill proposes to increase the minimum compensation for hit and run cases. In case of the death, the compensation has been raised from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 2,00,000, and in case of grievous injury it will be from Rs. 12500 to Rs. 50,000.

Read More

DAILY GK 10 AUG 2019

DAILY GK 10 AUG 2019

1. INDIA’S FIRST UNDERWATER TRAIN WILL BE LAUNCHED IN KOLKATA

✔India’s first underwater train project is set to launch in Kolkata, West Bengal under the Hooghly river.

✔It is a 16-kilometer long Kolkata Metro project. It will connect Salt Sector 5 with Howrah Maidan.

✔The phase-one of the project connecting Salt Lake Sector-5 to Salt Lake Stadium will be operational.

2. MANIPUR TOPS THE RANK IN BREASTFEEDING REPORT RELEASED BY HEALTH MINISTER

✔Manipur has topped the rankings in Breastfeeding and Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices in the country. Health and Family Welfare Minister released a report on Breastfeeding.

✔Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar are at the bottom positions in the report card.

✔The Breastfeeding report card has been developed by devising a composite score based on 3 indicators namely early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding for six months and complementary feeding at 6-8 months of child’s age.

Read More

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

Read More

CURRENT AFFAIRS QUIZ – 10TH AUG 2019

CURRENT AFFAIRS QUIZ – 10^TH AUG 2019

1.        Name the bank that funds the draft Environment and Social Management Framework(ESMF) for integrated coastal management.

A) Reserve Bank of India(RBI)

B) World Bank(WB)

C) Asian Development Bank(ADB)

D) New Development Bank(NDB)

E) None of these

2.        Where was the 7th meeting of India Bangladesh home minister level talks held?

A) Dhaka, Bangladesh

B) New Delhi, India

C) West Bengal, India

D) Khulna, Bangladesh

E) None of these

3.        Which institute has partnered with National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) for developing turbines that can generate electricity by harnessing the ocean waves?

A) Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati

B) Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur

C) Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras

D) Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay

E) None of these

4.        Which country has the highest number of living languages(840 languages), as per Ethnologue, a directory of languages?

A) Papua New Guinea

B) Indonesia

C) Nigeria

D) United States

E) None of these

5.        Which year is designated as United Nations’ International Year of Indigenous Languages with the aim to enhace native tongues in 5 major areas?

A) 2020

B) 2019

C) 2025

D) 2022

E) None of these

6.        Which bank has signed a bancassurance agreement with State Bank of India(SBI)Life Insurance to provide SBI’s suite of insurance products to its customers?

A) Indian Overseas Bank

B) Bank of India

C) Canara Bank

D) Indian Bank

E) None of these

Read More