DAILY GK 26 SEP 2020

 DAILY GK 26 SEP 2020

1.  INDIA, AUSTRALIA CONDUCTED PASSAGE EXERCISE (PASSEX) IN THE EAST INDIAN OCEAN REGION

·        Indian Navy conducted a two-day long Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in the East Indian Ocean Region (IOR) where Indian side was represented by stealth frigate INS Sahyadri and missile corvette INS Karmuk Australian side included HMAS Hobart along with Indian Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA), and helicopters from both the nations. 

·        It should be noted that India-Australia conducts maritime exercise “AUSINDEX” biennially to boost defence cooperation in the maritime domain.

2. FIRST MEDICAL DEVICES PARK TO BE SET UP IN THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

·        Central government approved the setting up four medical device parks in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala on the lines of “Make in India” initiative and to provide world-class products at affordable prices for treatment. 

·        Pinarayi Vijayan laid the foundation stone for one of the first medical devices parks in the country, “MedSpark” at Life Science Park, Thonnakkal, Thiruvananthapuram.

3. INDIA PROVIDED 1.54 BILLION ASSISTANCE TO NEPAL

·        The Nepal earthquake of 2015 also known as “Gorkha earthquake” had severely affected thousands of lives as well as the economy.

·        At that time, India being the Nepal’s immediate neighbour, was the first to respond with Operation Maitri which provided rescue and relief by its armed forces and also announced a post-earthquake reconstruction package of US$ 1 billion (which comprises US$ 250 million grant and US$ 750 million concessional Line of Credit). 

4. WORLD RISK REPORT 2020

·        According to the World Risk Index (WRI) 2020, India has been ranked at the 89th spot among 181 Countries.

·        The World Risk Index is a statistical model for the assessment of global risk of disasters such as earthquakes, storms, floods, droughts and sea-level rise. 

·        According to the Index, Qatar (0.31) had the lowest risk, followed by Malta (0.66) and St. Vincent and the Grenadines (0.81).

Rank	Country	World Risk Index	Category (Based on Risk)
1	Vanuatu	49.74	Very High Risk
2	Tonga	29.72	Very High Risk
181	Qatar	0.31	Very Low Risk
180	Malta	0.66	Very Low Risk

 

5. RBI RELEASED “’TECHNOLOGY VISION FOR CYBER SECURITY’

·        RBI released “’Technology Vision for Cyber Security’ for Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) – 2020-2023”. 

·        It aims to enhance the cyber security in the Urban Co-operative banking sector against the growing Information Technology (IT) and cyber threat environment. 

·        Based on the inputs from diverse stakeholders, the technology vision document was formalised.

 

6. UNIATF AWARD 2020

·        Kerala won the UN Interagency Task Force (UNIATF)UNIATF Award 2020 for its contribution towards the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) related to the non-communicable diseases. 

·        Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of World Health Organisation (WHO) announced the

annual UNIATF Award for the year 2020 on prevention and control of non-communicable diseases. 

This is the first time for Kerala to be recognised by this annual UN Award.

 

7. INDIGENOUS MICROPROCESSOR “MOUSHIK” FOR IOT DEVICES

·        Researchers of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras developed the indigenously made microprocessor “MOUSHIK”, a processor cum “system-on-chip” (SoC)for Internet of Things(IoT) devices.

·        MOUSHIK will support the developing IoT devices which are the integral part of the Smart Cities of Digital India.

·        This project was funded by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

 

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DAILY GK 25 SEPT. 2020

 DAILY GK 25 SEPT. 2020

1.  GOVT RAISED LIMIT FOR USE OF SDRF FUNDS BY STATES

·        State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for COVID specific infrastructure was increased from 35% to 50% to help States with more finances at their disposal to fight the coronavirus.

·        This was announced during the virtual meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chief Ministers of six states and one Union Territory with high Covid-19 caseload viz. Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

·        State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF)Constituted under Section 48 (1) (a) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, it is the primary fund available with State Governments for responses to notified disasters.

 

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DAILY GK 24 SEP 2020

 

DAILY GK 24 SEP 2020

 

1.  JOINT SECURITY PATROL ALONG BORDER IN KAPILVASTU DISTRICT

·        The Security forces of Nepal and India have started a joint security patrol at the Nepal-India Border in Kapilvastu district, Nepal.

·        The patrol has been started with a motive to control the spread of COVID-19 and keep in check the illegal cross-border activities at the Nepal-India Border. 

·        The Krishnanagar Municipality of the Kapilvastu district is a major point of transit along the Nepal-India Border.

2. VIRTUAL G-20 MEETING OF TRADE AND INVESTMENT MINISTERS

·        Virtual G-20 Trade and Investment Ministers under the Saudi Arabia Presidency was held where India was represented by Union Commerce and Industry & Railways Minister, Piyush Vedprakash Goyal. 

·        The objective of the meet was the further strengthening of G20 trade and investment cooperation.

·        During the meet, Piyush Goyal cleared that India is not in a position to accept the concept of Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT) as there is a need for policy to finalize laws around digital trade and data.

 

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DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS 23 SEPT. 2020

 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS 23 SEPT. 2020

1)      Cabinet Approved hike in MSP for RMS 2021-22

·        On the lines of the recommendations of Swaminathan Commission, on September 21, 2020, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved an increase in the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for all mandated Rabi crops for marketing season 2021-22.

·        The decision regarding the increase in MSPs for Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) 2021-22 is taken with the principle of fixing the MSPs at a level of at least 1.5 times of the All-India weighted average Cost of Production under “Pradhan Mantri AnnadataAaySanraksHan Abhiyan” (PM-AASHA) as announced in Union Budget 2018-19.

·        These crops need relatively cool climate during the period of growth but warm climate during the germination of their seed and maturation.Wheat, Barley, Gram, Linseed, Mustard, Masur, Peas, and Potatoes

2)      Operationalise Kishtwar Airstrip

·        On September 20, 2020, the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) inked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Army for the development and operationalization of Airstrip in Kishtwar.
The MoU was signed by Brigadier Vikram Bhan, Commander, 9 Sector Rashtriya  Rifles and S. Katoch, Commissioner Civil Aviation signed the MoU in the presence of LG, Manoj Sinha and Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (MoS), Prime Minister Office (PMO) through video conferencing at Raj Bhava

3)      SEBI constitutes Technical Group on Social Stock Exchange

·        Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) constituted the Technical Group under the Chairmanship of Harsh Kumar Bhanwala, former Chairman of NABARD. The group will develop a framework for onboarding non-profit organisations and for-profit enterprises. 
It will also develop a framework for prescribing disclosure requirements relating to performance and aspects related to social audit and social impact. 

4)      Book- “Voices of Dissent”

·        The New book titled “Voices of Dissent” authored by Historian Romila Thapar will be jointly published by Penguin Random House India and Seagull Books. The book is set to publish in October 2020.
In this book the Romila Thapar speaks about the emergence of various groups like the Jains, Buddhists and Ajivikas who were collectively known as Shramanas and 1st millennium BC.
She explores the ideas of the few Bhakti saints of the 15th and 16th centuries and portrays the major moments of dissents (satyagraha of Mahatma Gandhi) that resulted in establishing a free and democratic India.
She highlights the use of idioms of religion as reflecting social change which resulted in the current politicization of religion.

5)      World Rhino Day – September 22 2020

·        The World Rhino Day is celebrated Internationally on September 22, 2020. World Rhino Day is celebrated annually on September 22 by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) and other international organizations.
Theme for World Rhino Day is “Five Rhino Species Forever”.

 

6)      1st state with Policies on Ethical AI, Blockchain and Cybersecurity

·        Tamil Nadu Chief Minister (CM) Edappadi K Palaniswami released Tamil Nadu Cyber Security Policy 2020, Tamil Nadu Blockchain Policy 2020 and Tamil Nadu Safe and Ethical Artificial Intelligence Policy 2020(Nicknamed as ABC Policies) while participating in the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) ‘Connect 2020’ event through video conference. 
It became the first state in the country to release policies on Ethical AI, Blockchain and Cybersecurity.

 

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DAILY GK 22 SEPT. 2020

 DAILY GK 22 SEPT.  2020

1.  9 HIGHWAY PROJECTS WORTH RS 14, 528 CRORES IN BIHAR

·        PM  Narendra Modi laid the Foundation Stone for Nine Highway Projects worth Rs 14, 528 Crores in Bihar through video conference.

·        The project includes making six-lane highways, and three bridges on rivers.

·        He also laid foundation of ‘Har Gaon Optical Fibre Cable’ for Internet Services to connect all villages of Bihar.

·        “Har Gaon Optical Fibre Cable” project , under this  about six lakh villages would be provided internet services through optical fibre cable in 1,000 days.

·        This includes all 45,945 villages in Bihar. 

·        It will be executed by the Department of Telecom, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology and Common Service Centres (CSC).

 

2. INDIA LAUNCHES FIRST EVER CARGO FERRY VESSEL “MCP LINZ” TO MALDIVES

·        Minister of State for shipping, Mansukh Mandaviya and Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation of Maldives, Aishath Nahula jointly launched the First Ever Direct Cargo Ferry Service between India and Maldives.

·        It is considered to be the new connectivity effort has begun in Indian Ocean Region.

·        India provided a financial assistance of US$250 million(Indian Rupees of around 1837 crores) at favourable terms to the Government of Maldives

 

3. DMUC TRAINS TO NEPAL RAILWAYS

·        Konkan Railways (operated by Konkan Railway Corporation) handed over two modern Diesel-Electric Multiple Unit (DMUC) trains to Nepal Railways for the Jaynagar-Kurtha Broad Gauge Line.

·        The Rails will run between Jaynagar (Bihar) and Kurtha in Dhanusa district from December, 2020. 

·        The Trains have been manufactured by Integrated Coach Factory, Chennai with modern amenities and latest AC-AC Propulsion Technology.

·        They were procured by Nepal’s Railway Department for a price of  84 Crore 65 Lakhs Nepali Rupees.

 

4. INDIA’S NOMINAL GDP TO GROW BY 19% IN FY22

·        Krishnamurthy Subramanian, chief economic advisor in the finance ministry, Government of India informed that as per the estimate of finance ministry, India’s nominal Gross Domestic Product(GDP) is expected to grow by 19% in FY22(2021-22) on a low base. 

·        NK Singh, chairman of Fifteenth Finance Commission (FFC) stated that this estimate is a bit moderate when compared with some estimates received from experts.

 

5. NARENDRA MODI WON THE IG NOBEL PRIZE 2020

·        Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India won the Medical Education Prize of Ig Nobel Prize 2020 at the 30th First Nobel Prize Ceremony over virtual platform.

·        Modi became the 2nd Prime Minister from India to win the Ig Nobel Prize after Atal Bihari Vajpayee who won the 1998 Peace award for “Aggressively peaceful explosion of atomic bombs”.

·        The government of India and Pakistan won the Ig Nobel Prize 2020 for peace for “having their diplomats surreptitiously ring each other’s doorbells in the middle of the night, and then run away before anyone had a chance to answer the door.”

·        India’s 1st CRISPR COVID-19 test, ‘FELUDA’

·        Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has given regulatory approval for the commercial launch of ‘FELUDA’( FNCAS9 Editor-Limited Uniform Detection Assay), India’s 1st CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) test.

·        It is developed by the scientist of CSIR-IGIB (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research -Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology).

·        As per the agreement as signed by Tata Sons  Private Limited  and CSIR-IGIB in May, 2020, Tata group will manufacture it.

 

6. INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE OBSERVED ON 21ST SEPTEMBER, 2020

·        The theme for 2020 International Day of Peace is “Shaping Peace Together”. 

 

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Daily GK Quiz 19 and 20 Sept. 2020

 [Q] Who chairs the expert committee constituted by central government to examine the reports of digital surveillance on prominent Indian nationals (President, Army chief) by Chinese firm?

(a) Aditya Khullar
(b) Mohit Gupta
(c) Gulshan Rai
(d) Rajesh Pant
(e) None of the Above

[ANS] d

 

[Q] Who has been given additional charge as the minister of Food Processing Industries (Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned recently)?
(a) Prakash Javadekar
(b) Narendra Modi
(c) Pralhad Patel
(d) Harsh Vardhan
(e) Narendra Singh Tomar

[ANS] e

 

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