DAILY GK 26 DEC 2019

DAILY GK 26 DEC 2019

1.    Govt launched good governance index

ü Dr Jitendra Singh launched the ‘Good Governance Index’ (GGI) in New Delhi.

ü Tamil Nadu (TN)won the 1st position in the composite ranking for good governance index (GGI).

ü Himachal Pradesh (HP) topped the ranking in followed North-east and hill category. It was followed by Uttarakhand(2nd), Tripura(3rd).

ü Among the UTs, Puducherry topped the list. It was followed by Chandigarh(2nd), Delhi (3rd).

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DAILY GK 25 DEC 2019

DAILY GK 25 DEC 2019

1)       Kerala semi-high speed rail project

ü  Ministry of Railways , the Central Government has gave its approval for Rs 56,443 crore  worth of 532 km Thiruvananthapuram – Kasaragod in Kerala semi-high speed rail (SHSR) corridor project, named “Silver Line” project.

ü  After the construction of this corridor, the distance between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod will be reduced from 12 hours to 4 hours. Trains on track will run at 200 km per hour.The state Government of Kerala has set a deadline to complete this corridor by 2024.

2)       Report :Trends in tobacco prevalence 2000-2025 

ü  WHO released its 3rd edition of global report on trends in prevalence of tobacco use 2000-2025. As per the report despite decline in tobacco usage, India is off track to achieve 30% reduction in tobacco use by 2025 when compared to its 2010 levels. 163 nations besides India are also not on track in this regard.

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DAILY GK 24 DEC 2019

DAILY GK 24 DEC 2019

1)   Common currency to Eco

ü 8 West African Nations agreed to rename their common currency known as “CFA Franc” to “Eco” to severe the CFA franc’s links to former colonial ruler France. This announcement was made during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Ivory Coast, which is France’s former main colony in West Africa and also the world’s top cocoa producer. The 8 countries are Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo.

     Eco usage will come in to force in 2020.  

2)   US President Trump officially launched space force

ü
The US President Donald Trump has officially launched “US space force (USSF)”, the 1^st new US military service in more than 70 years focusing on warfare in space. Trump has signed the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act to make the formation of the space force into reality.
The space force will be the 6^th official force of the US military,which Trump has described as “separate but equal”. Other forces include the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard.

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DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 22nd-23rd DEC 2019

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 22^nd-23^rd DEC 2019

1.      M.GANDHI’S 150TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY

ü  President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind presided the 2nd meeting of National Committee for Commemoration of the 150th Birth anniversary (October 2) of Mahatma Gandhi ‘Gandhi@150’ which was held in New Delhi.

ü  Also the Prime Minister of Portugal, António Luís Santos da Costa, announced the Portuguese govt’s launch of Gandhi Citizenship Education Prize to perpetuate Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals. The announced prize will be given annually.

2.      ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF ASSOCHAM

ü  PM Modi addressed the annual meeting of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) in New Delhi. This is to celebrate the 100 years of ASSOCHAM.

ü  Theme:  New India Aspiring for 5 trillion USD

ü  PM target’s to achieve 5 Trillion Dollar Economy – To achieve 5 Trillion Dollar Economy by 2024 it is required to boost digital transactions of GST. The government would invest 100 Lakh Crore Rupees in the infrastructural sector and another 25 Lakh Crore Rupees in the Rural Sector in order to achieve the target.

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DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 21st DEC 2019

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 21^TH DEC 2019

1.     ANTI-HIJACKING EXERCISE ‘APHARAN’

ü  Indian Navy(IN), Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and the Cochin Port Trust conducted large scale anti-hijacking exercise codenamed “Apharan” off Kochi coast of Kerala. More than 12 ships and helicopters of IN, ICG, and Cochin port trust participated in the exercise.

2.     NMSARB MEET 2019

ü  Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has organized the 18^th National Maritime Search and Rescue Board (NMSARB) meeting2019 in NewDelhi.

ü  The meet, chaired by K Natarajan -Director General (DG) of Indian Coast Guard and Chairman NMSARB, saw the discussion over policy issues, formulation of guidelines & procedures and assess the efficacy of National Search and Rescue Plan.

3.     AFGHANISTAN RECOGNIZE INDIAN PHARMACOPOEIA

ü  Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has formally recognized Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP), an official book of standards for drugs manufactured & marketed in India in terms of their identity, purity and strength.

ü  1^st nation to recognize IP, which is published by the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) on behalf of the Department of Commerce, and Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

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DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 19TH, 20th DEC 2019

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 19^TH,20th DEC 2019

1.      Fmhas set Rs 1.1 lakh crore monthly GST collection target

ü  Ministry of Finance(MoF) has set Rs 1.1 trillion monthly GST (Goods and Services Tax) target for the remaining four months of the fiscal year(FY 2019-20) and asked tax officials to step up efforts to achieve the goal.

2.      Annual report of ombudsman Schemes for the year 2018-19

ü  According to the annual Report of Ombudsman Schemes for 2018-19,released by Reserve Bank of India(RBI),the volume of complaints received by its 21  Offices of Banking Ombudsman (OBOs) has increased to 1,95,901 complaints in 2018-19 (Fiscal year-FY 19), up by 19.75% (or 32,311 complaints) from the previous year (2017-18), that accounted 1,63,590.

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DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 18TH DEC 2019

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 18^TH  DEC 2019

1.        Mission Antyodaya scheme

ü  Rankings on gram panchayats in the country, on implementation of development and infrastructure programmes under the Mission Antyodaya scheme was released. As per the ranking, Tamil Nadu’s (TN) Molugamboondi gram panchayat topped the ranking for the year 2019.

ü  Bambhaniya GP of Bhavnagar in Gujarat ranked second on the list while four more Gujarat panchayats were tied for third ranks.

2.        Steeling India- 2019: Driving metal intensity in key sectors”

ü  Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) organized the “Steeling India- 2019: Driving metal intensity in key sectors” in New Delhi. DharmendraPradhan, Union Minister for Steel and Petroleum & Natural Gas participated in the event.

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DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 17TH DEC 2019

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 17^TH DEC 2019

1.      PM Modi chaired 1st meeting of National Ganga Council

Ø  PM NarendraModi chaired the 1st meeting of the National Ganga Council (National Council for Rejuvenation, Protection and Management of River Ganga) in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

Ø  The PM alone has personally contributed Rs. 16.53 crores to Clean Ganga Fund, from the amount realized from auction of the gifts he received since 2014 and the prize money of the Seoul Peace Prize in 2018.Holistic thinking process on ‘NamamiGange’ project  evolving to ‘Arth Ganga’ or a sustainable development model with a focus on economic activities related to Ganga river was discussed.

2.      Haryana Police introduce ‘Trakea’ software

Ø  Software named “Trakea-barcoding system of Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL)” introduced to enable foolproof security of the samples collected in Forensic reports. Haryana became the first state in the country to introduce this unique barcoding system. Developed by Amit Mishra, a software engineer who was in Bhondsi jail for 13 months imprisoned on the false dowry death case.

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DAILY GK 14, 15 and 16 DEC 2019

DAILY GK 14, 15 and 16 DEC 2019

1.      India & Vietnam signed MoU for cooperation in education, scientific research

Key Points:

i.MoU signing: MoU was signed by CP Ramnarayan, the Vice-Chancellor of Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT) and Lt General Nguyen Cong Dinh, the President of Vietnam’s Military Technical Academy. The signing was witnessed by defence minister of India and Vietnam’s Chief of the General Staff.

ii.Shri Rajnath Singh held talks with Phan Van Giang on issues related to defence cooperation between New Delhi and Hanoi(Vietnam).

iii.Bilateral discussion with Indian army chief:  Phan Van Giang met Chief of Army Staff(CoAS) General Bipin Rawat and held discussion over the issues of mutual and strategic concern.

iv.Other recent MoU by defence ministry: The other recent Mous signed by India with other countries are as follows:

·        MoU with Uzbekistan: Rajnath Singh signed 3 MoUs with Uzbekistan to enhance cooperation in military ties in November 2019 during his visit to Uzbekistan.

·        MoU with Myanmar:The Defence ministry signed MoU with Myanmar in July 2019, for defence co-operation in areas including reviewing joint exercises and training provided to Myanmar Defence Services in India, strengthening maritime security through joint surveillance and developing new infrastructure.

About the Ministry of Defence (MoD):
Founded- 15 August 1947.
Headquarters- New Delhi.
Minister of State (MoS-Independent charge)- Shri Shripad Yesso Naik.

2.      Mastercard joins hands with Federal bank for additional digital security called ‘Mastercard Identity Check’

On December 12, 2019, Mastercard,an American multinational financial services corporation has tied-up with Federal Bank, a Private Sector, scheduled commercial bank, to provide an additional layer of security function called ‘Mastercard Identity Check’ for digital transactions done by bank’s cardholders.

The new layer of security will be provided by using latest authentication standards of EMV (Europay, MasterCard, Visa) 3-D Secure.

Key Points:

i.The new layer of security will provide a safe and user-friendly way to authenticate cardholders without the use of passwords and also increase the approval rates.

ii.This will greatly benefit the Mastercard cardholders of the bank as they are affected by cart abandonment  while online shopping, fraud risk and conversion rates for e-commerce merchants.

iii.EMV 3-D Secure (3DS): It is a messaging protocol that promotes easy consumer authentication and allows consumers to authenticate themselves with their card issuer when making card-not-present (CNP) e-commerce purchases.

About Mastercard:

Founded– 1966 (as Interbank Card Association) &1979 (as Mastercard) Headquarters– New York, U.S.
President and CEO- Ajaypal Singh Banga

About Federal Bank:

Founded– 02 December 1949 (as Federal Bank)

Headquarters– Kochi, Kerala

MD & CEO– Shyam Srinivasan

Tagline– Your Perfect Banking Partner

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DAILY GK12 – 13 DEC 2019

DAILY GK12 – 13 DEC 2019

1.      7th India Skills Report 2020

ü  As per the report about 46.21% students were found employable or ready to take up jobs in 2019, compared with 33% in 2014, and 47.38% in 2018.Top ranked states in employability: Maharashtra emerged as the top-ranked state in terms of employability. It was followed by Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh(UP) in the second and third rank respectively.

2.      PradhanMantri Mudra Yojana

ü  An amount of Rs. 10.24 lakh crore have been disbursed under the PradhanMantri MUDRA Yojana(PMMY) as on November 1, 2019 as per the ministry of Labour and Employment. The loans under PMMY were sanctioned to 20.84 crore account holders.The scheme provides loan upto 10 lakh to the non-corporate, non-farm small/micro enterprises.

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DAILY GK 11 DEC 2019

DAILY GK 11 DEC 2019

1.        UNDP 2019 human development index

ü  United Nations Development Programme(UNDP) released its report titled “Human Development Report 2019– Beyond income, beyond averages, beyond today: Inequalities in human development in the 21st century”. As per the report India ranked 129th out of 189 countries.The list was topped by Norway.

2.        SIPRI’s Arms Industry Database report

ü  Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released a report on worldwide arms sales titled “The SIPRI Top 100 Arms Producing and Military Services Companies, 2018”. As per the report, arms sales rose up by 4.6% in 2018. India ranked 10th in the overall country ranking while, United States(US) topped the list.

ü  The world’s largest arms maker remains the U.S. firm Lockheed Martin, since 2009.

3.        Unvaccinated children for measles 2018

ü  According to the joint report of WHO and UNICEF published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), India has the 2^nd highest number of children who are not vaccinated against measles with 2.3 million in 2018 (2.9 million in 2017) . Nigeria,an African country tops the list with 2.4 million unvaccinated children.

4.        World’s Leading Sports Tourism Destination

ü  Abu Dhabi, UAE has been selected as the World’s Leading Sports Tourism Destination by the 26th Edition of the World Travel Awards (WTA) 2019 held in Muscat, Oman. Abu Dhabi has been selected for the award for the 7th time in a row.

5.        Right Livelihood Award 2019

ü  Activists Davi Kopenawa, Greta Thunberg, Guo Jianmei and Aminatou Haidar received the Right Livelihood Award 2019, also known as the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’. 

ü  Davi Kopenawa Yanomami from Brazil also called the ‘Dalai Lama of the Rainforest’ received the award for his effort taken in the protection of the Amazon Rainforest .

ü  Guo Jianmei, a lawyer from China has been honoured with the award for her efforts taken in protecting under the Women’s rights in China.

ü  Aminatou Haidar, she is also known as the ‘Gandhi of Western Sahara’. 

ü  Greta Thunberg, from Sweden, a climate activist was selected for inspiring “Fridays for Future”, a global youth-led movement protesting climate change.

6.        NASA found Chandrayaan-2 Moon lander Vikram

ü  NASA found India’s Chandrayaan-2 Vikram lander that crashed on the lunar surface in September 2019. Shanmuga Subramanian from Chennai, Tamil Nadu located the crashed site of Vikram Lander and the first piece of the debris found about 750 metres northwest of the main crash site. NASA credited Subramanian for his findings.

7.        WADA bans Russia for 4 years

ü  WADA’s (World Anti-Doping Agency) Executive Committee has banned Russia from the Olympics and World Championships for 4 years. Russia has been banned, after it’s capital Moscow trying to manipulate laboratory data by deleting and planting fake evidence to help them in their drug test.

8.        Wasim Jaffer,  from Mumbai, Maharashtra  becomes the first Indian to play 150 Ranji Matches.

9.        Abanindranath Tagore’s Book ‘Nalak’, translated to English

ü  Abanindranath Tagore’s Book ‘Nalak’ featuring the journey of life of Gautama Buddha, was translated to English by Urbi Bhaduri, and was published by Niyogi Books. The English translation of the book has no chapters and has been featured in pen and ink style including a theme inspired by Buddhist tankha paintings.

10.     Human Rights Day-10 December 2019

ü  Theme of Human Rights day 2019 is “Youth Standing Up for Human Rights”. 

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