DAILY GK 1 SEP 2020

 

DAILY GK 1 SEP 2020

1. 6^TH INTERNATIONAL MILITARY-TECHNICAL FORUM

·        The 6th International Military-Technical Forum “Army-2020” was held between August 23-29, 2020 at the Patriot Park near Moscow, Russia which was organized by Russian Defence Ministry and operated by International Congresses and Exhibitions Ltd. (ICE Ltd).

·        During the forum, Indian Pavilion was inaugurated by Secretary (Defence Production) Raj Kumar.

·        The first regiment of S-400 anti-air system by Russia will be delivered to India by the end of 2021.India has ordered 5 regiments of this system that is designed to take down targets at a range of over 400 km.

 

2. CII-GBC ‘NATIONAL ENERGY LEADER’ AWARD

·        The GMR led Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (Hyderabad International Airport) won the ‘National Energy Leader’ and ‘Excellent Energy Efficient Unit’ awards at the 21st National Awards for ‘Excellence in Energy Management’.

·        It was organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Godrej Green Business Centre (GBC).

 

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DAILY GK 30-31 AUG 2020

DAILY GK 30-31 AUG 2020

1. IT MINISTER RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD LAUNCHED “CHUNAUTI”

·      Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad launched next-generation startup Challenge contest “Chunauti” to encourage startups and software products with special focus on Tier-II towns.

·      This contest is a part of Rs 95 crore programme, spanning over 3 years, will hunt for around 300 startups working in identified areas and to provide them seed funds of up to Rs 25 lakh and other support from government through the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI).

·      The minister also laid the foundation stone of the digital training and skilling center of the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) at Muzaffarpur in Bihar .

 

2. WORLD URDU SESSION 

·      Union Minister for Education Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ addressed the inaugural session of the two-days World Urdu Conference organised by National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL) from August 27-28, 2020.

·      The NCPUL is organizing a two-day World Urdu Webinar titled as ‘Responsibilities of Urdu Writers in the age of Electronic & Social media’.

 

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DAILY GK 29 AUG 2020

 DAILY GK  29 AUG 2020

1. PMJDY COMPLETED SIX YEARS

·        6th anniversary of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY) was observed which was launched on August 28, 2014.

·        On this occasion Nirmala Sitharaman reiterated the importance of this biggest financial inclusion initiative in the world.

·        It has been the foundation stone for the Indian government’s people-centric economic initiatives.

6 Pillars of scheme:

·        Universal access to banking services 

·        Basic savings bank accounts with overdraft facility of Rs. 10,000/- to every household

·        Financial Literacy Program– Promoting savings, use of ATMs, getting ready for credit, availing insurance and pensions, using basic mobile phones for banking

·        Creation of Credit Guarantee Fund – To provide banks some guarantee against defaults

·        Insurance – Accident cover up to Rs. 1,00,000 and life cover of   Rs. 30,000 on account opened between 15 Aug 2014 to 31 January 2015

·        Pension scheme for Unorganized sector

 

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DAILY GK 28 AUG 2020

 DAILY GK 28 AUG 2020

1. GIS-ENABLED LAND BANK SYSTEM

·        Piyush Goyal e-launched the National GIS(Geographic Information System)-enabled Land Bank system for six states. The system is developed by the integration of the Industrial Information System (IIS) with State GIS systems. 

·        The platform will provide a database of industrial areas/clusters across the country and will serve as a one-stop solution to the free and easy accessibility of all industrial information.

·        The minister also discussed about the issues of pushing industrial manufacturing in the country, attracting investments, pushing the approach of ‘One District One Product’ (ODOP), and promoting a National Movement Towards ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’.

 

2. ERICSSON & UNICEF PARTNERED TO MAP SCHOOL INTERNET

·        Ericsson, Swedish Telecom Company, partnered with United Nations Children’s Fund(UNICEF) to map internet connectivity landscape for schools in 35 countries by the end of 2023 to provide digital learning access to the children.

·        This joint initiative is a part of the Giga initiative launched by UNICEF and International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in September 2019 to provide internet connection to every school and their surrounding communities.

 

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DAILY GK 27 AUG 2020

 

DAILY GK 27 AUG 2020

1.  EXPORT PREPAREDNESS INDEX (EPI) 2020

·      NITI Aayog in partnership with Institute of Competitiveness released the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2020, this is the first report to examine export preparedness and performance of the states of India.

·      Gujarat was identified as the top performing state in the category of Coastal state and also topped the Overall rankings.

·      Top 3 in Overall rankings:

Rank	State	Export Preparedness	State Category
1	Gujarat	75.19	Coastal
2	Maharashtra	75.14	Coastal
3	Tamil Nadu	64.93	Coastal

2. MUDRA LOAN SCHEME BENEFICIARIES

·      In accordance with the data provided by the Ministry of Finance to the Rajya Sabha, as of March 31, 2020, women in Tamil Nadu topped the list of loan benefits under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) by availing Rs 58,227 crore loan.

·      They are followed by women in West Bengal (Rs 55,232 crore), Karnataka (Rs 47,714 crore), Bihar (Rs 44,879 crore) and Maharashtra (Rs 42,000 crore).

·      PMMY was launched on April 8, 2015, for providing loans up to Rs 10 lakh to the non-corporate, non-farm small/micro-enterprises. The loans are classified as MUDRA loans under PMMY.

·      These loans are given by Commercial Banks, RRBs (Regional Rural Banks), Small Finance Banks (SFBs), MFIs (Micro Finance Institutions), and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) in the following three categories:

·      Shishu – Allowed loans up to Rs.50,000

·      Kishore – Allowed loans up to Rs.5,00,000

·      Tarun – Allowed loans up to Rs.10,00,000

 

3. WHO DECLARES AFRICA FREE OF WILD POLIOVIRUS 

·      African Continent was declared free of wild polio by the independent body, the Africa Regional Certification Commission(ARCC), which is responsible for certifying the eradication of wild poliovirus in the World Health Organization (WHO) African Region. 

·      The commission led by Professor Rose Gana Fomban Leke, chairperson of ARCC, certified that no cases had occurred on the continent for the past four years, which was one of the criteria for eradication of Wild Poliovirus.

 

4. HSBC INDIA LAUNCHED OMNI COLLECT

·      HSBC India has launched Omni Collect, a one-stop solution in India. It supports businesses to offer multiple payment options on a single platform.

·      It is designed for businesses to easily collect payments through various digital methods, thereby allowing them to easily adapt to the changes in consumer spending.

·      With Omni Collect solution, HSBC India will enable businesses to offer different digital payment modes to their clients and also provide them with a comprehensive view of their collections.

5. Book- ‘CRICKET DRONA’

·      ‘Cricket Drona’ a book on one of India’s most renowned cricket coaches, Vasudev Jagannath Paranjpe will be released on September 2, 2020. The Book is written by Vasudev Paranjpe’s son and current national selector Jatin Paranjpe along with Cricket Journalist Anand Vasu and published by Penguin.

6. WORLD WATER WEEK 2020

·      The World Water Week of the year 2020 is observed as the World Water Week at Home from 24rd August 2020 to 28th August 2020.The World Water Week, organised by Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) has been annually celebrated as the most influential, innovative and dynamic movement for transforming the global water issues.

·      The World Water Week has been celebrated and organised since 1991.

·      The theme of WWWeek at Home 2020 is ‘Water and Climate change: Accelerating Action’.

 

7. 1ST FAST BOWLER TO TAKE 600 TEST WICKETS

·      England pacer James Anderson, has become the first fast bowler in history to take 600 Test wickets in the third Test against Pakistan at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton,England, who is only the fourth bowler in the test cricket to join the 600-Plus Club with the three legendary spinners Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan(800), Australian Shane Warne(708) and Indian Anil Kumble(619).

 

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DAILY GK 26 AUG 2020

 

DAILY GK 26 AUG 2020

1. LINKING OF SUGARCANE PRICES TO SUGAR RATE

·        The final report of the NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog Task Force headed by Ramesh Chand, Niti Aayog Member(Agriculture), “Sugarcane and Sugar Industry” recommended linking of Sugarcane prices to sugar rate to maintain the financial state and stability of the  industry and to clear the arrears of the sugarcane farmers.

·        The report recommended to shift sugarcane cultivation areas to less water intensive crops by providing incentives to the farmers.

·        Currently around 3 lakh hectares are under sugarcane cultivation that produce around 20 lakh tonnes of sugarcane. 

 

2. SATELLITE DATA TO ASSESS CREDIT WORTHINESS OF FARMERS

·        ICICI Bank uses satellite data(imagery from Earth observation satellites) to assess credit worthiness of farmers. ICICI Bank has become the 1st bank in India to use such a technique to measure an array of parameters related to the land, irrigation and crop patterns and use it in combination with demographic and financial parameters to make quick lending decisions for farmers.

·        ICICI Bank has partnered with agri–fintech companies( that specialize in the use of space technology and weather information for commercial use) and has worked with them to build reports with over 40 parameters.

 

3. ‘SHAGUN – GIFT AN INSURANCE’ POLICY

·        SBI General Insurance Co Ltd  launched a 1st of its kind offering, ‘Shagun – Gift an Insurance’, a unique gift of Personal Accident policy which provides  complete financial protection to the insured person against uncertainties such as accidental death and partial or total disabilities, and permanent &  temporary disabilities resulting from an accident. 

·        It is not necessary for the  policy buyer to be related to the insured. It can be availed for up to 1 Year

 

4. INDIA’S 1ST TRADEABLE REAL-TIME BULLION INDEX

·        Multi-Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX), India’s first listed, national-level, electronic exchange, launched futures trading on the country’s first tradeable real-time bullion index, MCX iCOMDEX Bullion , or Bulldex.

·        The index will track the real-time performance of the gold (1kg) and silver (30kg) futures contracts, the flagship future products on the Exchange.

·        Currently, it carries around 70.52% weight for gold and 29.48% for silver. The weights will be rebalanced every January.

 

5. ‘WORLD’S FASTEST HUMAN CALCULATOR’ TITLE

·        Twenty-Year old Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash Jonnalagadda of Hyderabad has bagged the first ever Gold Medal for India in Mental Calculations (MC) World Cup (MCWC) held on August 15, 2020 by Mind Sports Olympiad (MSO). 

·        Bhanu Prakash had secured the gold medal with a score of  167, Lebanese contender Mohammed El Mir secured the Silver Medal with a score 102 and Asmita Pal  from the UAE  bagged the Bronze medal with a score of 100 points.

 

6. G SATHEESH REDDY GETS TWO-YEAR EXTENSION

·        Renowned Aerospace Scientist Dr G. Satheesh Reddy was given a two-year extension as Chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) & as Secretary of the Department of Defence Research & Development(DoDRD) by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
G Satheesh Reddy was appointed to the post in August 2018 for a tenure of two years. 
Satheesh Reddy is one of the Chief Architects behind India’s Mission Shakti, Anti Satellite Missile Test (ASAT).

7. IAF LAUNCHED “MY IAF”

·        Indian Air Force(IAF) Chief of the Air Staff(CAS) Air Chief Marshal (ACM)Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria, launched the mobile application “My IAF”, to provide career related information and details in IAF to the aspirants. 

·        The application was launched as a part of the ‘Digital India Initiative’.

·        It was developed in association with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).

·        The application is available in Google Play Store for mobile with android.

 

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