DAILY GK: 2 FEB 2021

 DAILY GK: 2 FEB 2021

1. CONSTRUCTION OF ARUN HYDROPOWER PROJECT IN NEPAL

•      During the 46th meeting of the Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) chaired by Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli awarded the contract for construction of 679 MW (MegaWatt) Lower Arun Hydropower Project to India’s Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) Ltd under public-private partnership.

•      The project has been awarded to SJVN after a successful International Competitive Bidding.

 

2. INDIA’S TRANSITION TOWARDS EV IN 2020-30

•      According to the report ‘Mobilising Finance for EVs in India: A Toolkit of Solutions to Mitigate Risks and Address Market Barriers, January 2021’ released by NITI Aayog & Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), India’s transition towards Electric Vehicles (EVs) adoption between the years 2020-2030 will need a capital of INR 19.7 Lakh Crores (USD 266 Billion) they will be utilized for construction of vehicles, charging stations.

•      Initiatives taken by Government to improve EV Sector in India

•      Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, with a budget of INR 18, 100 Crore (USD 2.4 Billion) for Advanced Chemistry Cell battery sector.

•      ‘Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME)’ with a budget of INR 1, 000 Crore (USD 135 Million) for improving charging infrastructure.

 

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DAILY GK : 1 FEB 2021

 DAILY GK : 1 FEB 2021

1. INDEGENOUS METRO RACKS AT CHARKOP METRO DEPOT

•      Uddhav Thackeray, Chief Minister of Maharashtra unveiled the first indegeneous metro racks for the new Metro line of Mumbai – Metro 2A and 7 at the Charkop Metro Depot, Mumbai, Maharashtra.

•      The rake was manufactured by Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) and delivered the first ‘Made in India’ rake from the Bengaluru facility of BEML.

 

2. THIRD BATCH OF 3 RAFALE AIRCRAFT

•      The 3rd batch of 3 Rafale Aircrafts which got airborne from Istres Air Base, France landed at an Indian Air Force Base, India.

•      The non-stop flight for 7000 km was supported by the inflight refuelling by Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) , UAE Air Force.

•      With this 3rd set of deliveries the total number of Rafales in the IAF’s inventory became 11.

•      IAF has ordered a total of 36 warplanes at a cost of Rs. 59,000 crores from France in September 2016.

 

3. COVID PERFORMANCE INDEX BY LOWY INSTITUTE

•      According to the ‘COVID Performance Index : Deconstructing Pandemic Responses’ released by Australia based Lowy Institute, India with a score of 24.3 was ranked at 86 out of 98 Countries on basis of its response towards tackling the Pandemic. New Zealand topped the list followed by Vietnam & Taiwan.

•      China was excluded from the rankings due to lack of publicly available data on Testing.

Rank              Country                Average

1                      New Zealand        94.4

2                      Vietnam                                90.8

3                      Taiwan                  86.4

 

4. UN WTO NAMED 2020 AS ‘WORST YEAR ON RECORD’

•      In accordance with the latest United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN-WTO) “World Tourism Barometer”, the year 2020 was the “worst year on record” as global tourism suffered adversely due to international travel bans implemented to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.

•      The world saw a global tourism decline of 74% (-74%) which resulted in 1 billion fewer international arrivals than 2019.

 

5. RBI CANCELS LICENCE OF SHIVAM SAHAKARI BANK LTD

•      The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)cancelled the licence of Shivam Sahakari Bank Ltd, a co-operative bank in Ichalkaranji, Kolhapur, Maharashtra. 

•      Following the cancellation of its license, the bank will stop to carry on the banking business, which includes accepting and repaying deposits as defined in Section 5(b) read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation(BR) Act, 1949.

 

6. BSE ESTABLISHED ‘INNOVATION SANDBOX’ WEB PORTAL

•      BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) has set up an ‘Innovation Sandbox’ web portal, a workflow based platform.

•      It is a testing environment that enables FinTech firms and individuals to do offline testing of their applications.

•      The innovation sandbox is set up as per the guidelines of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

 

7. BRAND FINANCE’S GLOBAL 500 2021

•      As per the Global 500 2021, an annual report on the most valuable and strongest global brands of Brand Finance, Reliance Jio has been ranked in 5th position as world’s strongest brand with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 91.7 out of 100 and  AAA+ brand strength rating.

•      Reliance Jio enters the ranking for the 1st time.

•      The list is topped by WeChat with a BSI score of 95.4 followed by Ferrari with 93.9 BSI score.

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DAILY GK: 31 JAN 2021

DAILY GK: 31 JAN 2021

1. AGREEMENT FOR FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO STARS

•      On the lines of the Cabinet approval to the Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS) project in Oct 2020, a financial support agreement was signed between Ministry of Education (MoE), Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), and World Bank (WB) for the implementation of Rs 5718 crore STARS project on January 29, 2021, .

•      Under the agreement, WB will provide US$ 500 million (approximately Rs. 3700 crore) and the rest will be shared by participating states for a period of 5 years.

•      There are 6 participating states viz. Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Odisha.

 

2. CCEA APPROVES CLOSURE OF SCOOTERS INDIA LIMITED

•      Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the closure of state-owned Scooters India Limited (SIL).

•      The company is being closed as it has been only accumulating losses.

•      SIL was founded in 1972 and is known for its scooters like Lambretta, Lamby, Vijay, Vikram & Lambro.

•      It has manufactured both Two-wheelers and three-wheelers, however since 1997 it discontinued its 2-wheeler manufacturing process.

•      It is based out of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (UP).

 

3. ASIA-PACIFIC PERSONALISED HEALTH INDEX 2020

•      Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report ‘Asia-Pacific Personalised Health Index 2020’ developed by the Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies in partnership with Roche, India with a score of 36 was ranked at 10 out of 11 Asia Pacific Countries in terms of adopting Personalised healthcare & steps taken to provide right care to the needed person at the right time.

•      Singapore topped the Index followed by Taiwan & Japan at 2nd & 3rd positions respectively.

 

4. IN FAC T-81 DECOMMISSIONED

•      Indian Naval Fast Attack Craft (IN FAC) T-81 of the Super Dvora MK II class was decommissioned at  Naval Dockyard, Mumbai, Maharashtra.

•      The 25 meters long vessel with 60 tonnes displacement has served India for more than 20 years.

•      Rear Admiral V Srinivas, Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area was the  Chief Guest on the occasion.

 

5. MARTYRS’ DAY – 30TH JANUARY 2021

•      The Martyrs’ Day which is also known as “Shaheed Diwas” is annually observed across India on 30th January to pay respect to the martyrs who lost their lives during India’s freedom struggle.

•      The day also to mark the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

•      The 30th January 2021 marks the 73rd Martyrs Day or Shaheed Diwas.

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DAILY GK QUIZ: 28, 29 JAN 2021

DAILY GK QUIZ: 28, 29 JAN 2021

[Q] Where is ‘Wahrew Bridge’, India’s Longest Steel Arch Bridge located?

(a) Assam

(b) Meghalaya

(c) Gujarat

(d) Uttarakhand

(e) Jammu & Kashmir

[ANS] b

 

[Q] What was the average daily intake of salt, as per the findings of 1st National Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Monitoring Survey (NNMS)?

(a) 10 gm

(b) 12 gm

(c) 15 gm

(d) 8 gm

(e) 5 gm

[ANS] d

 

[Q] Which country’s Triservice force Contingent participated in India’s 72nd Republic Day Parade?

(a) Sri Lanka

(b) Bhutan

(c) Bangladesh

(d) Nepal

(e) Vietnam

[ANS] c

 

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DAILY GK: 30 JAN 2021

DAILY GK: 30 JAN 2021

1. IJR REPORT 2020

•      According to the 2nd Edition of India Justice Report (IJR) 2020, Maharashtra (5.77 points) regained the Top spot for Better Justice Delivery among 18 Large and mid-sized states (Population over one crore each), it was followed by Tamil Nadu (5.73) & Telangana (5.64).

•      In the Category of 7 small states (Population less than one crore each), Tripura topped the list followed by Sikkim & Goa.

•      The report was released by Tata Trusts.

 

2. LIST OF SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS

•      The Department of Science and Technology (DST), Ministry of Science and Technology has announced that India is currently in 3rd position globally in scientific publication after China and the United States, with 1,35,788 scientific articles in the year 2018.

•      The data is provided by the US agency, the National Science Foundation (NSF).

 

3. UN RELEASES FINDINGS OF ‘PEOPLE’S CLIMATE REPORT’

•      The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released the results of ‘People’s Climate Report’ – World’s Largest Survey of Public Opinion on Climate Change.

•      Around 1.2 Million People participated in the survey, out of which two-thirds of people (64%) believe that Climate Change is a Global Emergency.

•      The Peoples’ Climate Vote is part of the Mission 1.5 campaign launched by UNDP in 2020 for educating people about climate change solutions & asking people about actions needed to be taken for tackling the climate change problem.

•      In India 44% of respondents have voted Conserving Forests & Land as the most effective policy to mitigate Climate Change.

 

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DAILY GK: 29 JAN 2021

 DAILY GK: 29 JAN 2021

1.       MINIMUM SUPPORT PRICE OF COPRA FOR 2021 SEASON

•      Based on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its approval for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of copra for 2021 season.

•      In this regard, Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Fair Average Quality (FAQ) of milling copra is increased by Rs.375 to Rs. 10335/- per quintal for 2021 season from Rs. 9960/- per quintal in 2020.

•      The MSP for ball copra has been increased by Rs.300/-, to Rs. 10,600/- per quintal for 2021 season from Rs. 10300/- per quintal in 2020.

 

2.     UNWFP AND CRB LAUNCHED NUTRITION PROGRAMME IN JAIPUR

•      Cargill in collaboration with the United Nations World Food Programme(UNWFP) and Centre for Responsible Business (CRB) launched a programme to improve nutrition status in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

•      The program is supported by the Department of Women & Child Development, Government of Rajasthan.

•      It is aligned with the Government of India’s National Nutrition Strategy and the Poshan Abhiyan.

 

3.     INDIA TO PROCURE 21 MIG-29 & 12 SUKHOI-30 MKI

•      Indian Government is set to procure 21 MiG(Mikoyan-Gurevich)-29 fighter jets and 12  Sukhoi(Su)-30 MKI aircrafts from Russia.

•      In addition to this, existing 59 MiG-29 aircrafts will also be upgraded.

•      The Request for Proposal (RFP) for the 21 MiG-29 will shortly be issued to Russian state-run defence export arm Rosoboronexport

 

4.     FDI IN INDIA ROSE BY 13% IN 2020

•      In accordance with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)’s 38th Global Investment Trends Monitor, after 1990s, the year 2020 saw a fall down in Global foreign direct investment (FDI) which decreased 42% to $859 billion from $1.5 trillion in 2019.

•      Contrarily, India saw a 13% increase in FDI to $57 billion which is driven by investments in the digital sector.

•      China pocketed a maximum FDI of $163 billion with 4% increase i.e. it became the world’s largest FDI recipient even being a place of COVID-19 evolution.

 

5.     INDIA PLEDGED USD 150,000 TO UN PEACEBUILDING

•      India has pledged USD 150,000 to activities of the United Nations (UN) Peacebuilding Fund (PFB) for 2021.

•      It was announced by India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador TS Tirumurti during a virtual address to the High-Level Replenishment Conference for the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund.

 

6.     GLOBAL CLIMATE RISK INDEX 2021

•      India has improved its ranking to 7th in the 16th edition of “Global Climate Risk Index (CRI) 2021- Who suffers Most from Extreme Weather Events? Weather-related Loss Events in 2019 and 2000 to 2019” from 5th in CRI 2020, which has been released by Germany-based think tank Germanwatch.

•      The list has been topped by Mozambique followed by Zimbabwe, and Bahamas.

•      The index provides a list of worst-hit countries due to extreme weather events in 2019 and 2000-2019.

•      Puerto Rico, Myanmar and Haiti were the top three most affected countries during the 20-year period.

•      In this long term CRI, India featured at number 20.

 

7.     NEW MDS OF SBI

•      The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Swaminathan Janakiraman and Ashwini Kumar Tewari as new Managing Directors(MDs) of State Bank of India (SBI) for a period of 3 years.

•      Swaminthan Janakiraman was serving as the deputy MD(finance) of SBI.

•      Ashwini Kumar Tewari was serving as MD and Chief Executive Officer(CEO)of SBI Card, a subsidiary of SBI.

•      The Banks Board Bureau (BBB) in October 2020 recommended their names for post of MD at SBI.

 

8.     INDIA TO HOST 2022 AFC WOMEN’S WORLD CUP

•      India has got the hosting rights from Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to host 2022’s Women’s Asia Cup.

•      The event is planned to start from 20th January, 2022 to 6th February, 2022.

•      For the first time the event will feature 12 teams from across Asia.

•      Note- Till 2018’s Women’s Asia Cup, which was hosted by Jordan, only 8 teams participated.

 

9.     BOOK, “THE LAW OF EMERGENCY POWERS: COMPARATIVE COMMON LAW PERSPECTIVES”

•      One of the Senior Judges of the Supreme Court of India, Justice N. V. Ramanna, along with 3 other supreme court judges, Surya Kant, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice D. Y. Chandrachud launched a book titled, “The Law of Emergency Powers: Comparative Common Law Perspectives”.

•      The book was jointly authored by Dr. Abhishek Singhvi and Prof. Khagesh Gautam.

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DAILY GK QUIZ: 26, 27 JAN 2021

 DAILY GK QUIZ: 26, 27 JAN 2021

[Q] Where was the 51st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) held?

(a) Mumbai, Maharashtra

(b) Jaipur, Rajasthan

(c) Panaji, Goa

(d) Kochi, Kerala

(e) Udaipur, Rajasthan

[ANS] c

 

[Q] What was India’s vaccination drive that delivers India’s Covishield vaccines to foreign countries as a gift?

(a) Vande Bharat

(b) Covid Suraksha

(c) Vaccine Maitri

(d) Mission Sagar

(e) Vaccine Suraksha

[ANS] c

 

[Q] Who was the chairman of the IFFI 51 International Jury panel?

(a) Pablo Cesar

(b) Abu Bakr Shawky

(c) Priyadarshan

(d) Rubaiyat Hossain

(e) Prasanna Vithanage

[ANS] a

 

[Q] Which institution received the Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2021 award for their contribution in disaster management?

(a) People in Need

(b) Human Empowerment Organisation

(c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

(d) Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society (SEEDS)

(e) Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS)

[ANS] d

 

[Q] Which country participated with Indian Air Force (IAF) in the 1st Bilateral Air Exercise, ‘Exercise Desert Knight-21 (Ex DK-21)’ held at Jodhpur?

(a) Australia

(b) Japan

(c) France

(d) Russia

(e) USA

[ANS] c

 

[Q] What was the theme of 2021’s National Voters Day that was annually observed on January 25th?

(a) Empowering Young and Future Voters

(b) Making Our Voters Empowered, Vigilant, Safe and Informed

(c) Accessible Elections

(d) No Voter to be left behind

(e) Electoral Literacy for Stronger Democracy

[ANS] b

 

[Q] What is the rank of India in the Global Climate Risk Index 2021?

(a) 14

(b) 7

(c) 26

(d) 9

(e) 12

[ANS] b

 

[Q] In 2021, India is observing which edition of the Republic Day?

(a) 72

(b) 75

(c) 73

(d) 71

(e) 74

[ANS] a

 

[Q] The International Customs Day (ICD) is celebrated on which day?

(a) 25 January

(b) 26 January

(c) 24 January

(d) 23 January

(e) 27 January

[ANS] b

 

[Q] Which state has launched the scheme ‘PANKH Abhiyan’ for girls empowerment?

(a) Haryana

(b) Rajasthan

(c) Madhya Pradesh

(d) Himachal Pradesh

(e) Gujarat

[ANS] c

 

[Q] Which country was the largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2020, as per the report of UNCTAD?

(a) United States

(b) Singapore

(c) Japan

(d) China

(e) Germany

[ANS] d

 

[Q] The satellite rideshare mission Transporter-1, was launched by which organisation recently to launch record breaking 143 satellites into space in a single mission?

(a) SpaceX

(b) ISRO

(c) NASA

(d) Blue Origin

(e) CNSA

[ANS] a

 

[Q] The tri-service joint amphibious exercise AMPHEX – 21 was held in which place?

(a) Jammu & Kashmir

(b) Andaman & Nicobar Islands

(c) Uttarakhand

(d) Sikkim

(e) Ladakh

[ANS] b

 

[Q] Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has won the second term as the President of which country?

(a) Austria

(b) Romania

(c) Sweden

(d) Portugal

(e) Spain

[ANS] d

 

[Q] ___________ is the top country in the Global Climate Risk Index 2021, for being worst-hit country by climate change.

(a) Haiti

(b) Myanmar

(c) Bahamas

(d) Zimbabwe

(e) Mozambique

[ANS] e

 

[Q] As per the latest World Economic Outlook report of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the GDP of India has been projected at what per cent in the fiscal 2020-21?

(a) -9%

(b) -8%

(c) -10%

(d) -11%

(e) -12%

[ANS] b

 

[Q] How many Padma awards have been announced for 2021?

(a) 131

(b) 108

(c) 127

(d) 119

(e) 123

[ANS] d

 

[Q] Who has been felicitated with the Indian Personality of the Year Award at the 51st International Film Festival of India (IFFI)?

(a) Biswajit Chatterjee

(b) Mala Sinha

(c) Tarun Majumdar

(d) Soumitra Chatterjee

(e) Kamin Kalev

[ANS] a

 

[Q] What is the projected GDP of India as per United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) in the Calendar year 2021?

(a) 11.0%

(b) 9.6%

(c) 7.3%

(d) 8.4%

(e) 8.9%

[ANS] c

 

[Q] DRDO conducted the first-ever test firing of the Akash-NG missile successfully recently. Akash-NG is a new generation ________missile?

(a) Air-to-Surface

(b) Surface-to-Surface

(c) Air-to-Air

(d) Surface-to-Air

(e) None of these

[ANS] d

 

[Q] Name the individual who has won the Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2021.

(a) Aditya Bahadur

(b) Kumar Munnan Singh

(c) Rajendra Kumar Bhandari

(d) Manoj Kumar Bindal

(e) Ranjeet Singh

[ANS] c

 

[Q] Who among the following has been awarded Padma Vibhushan 2021 in Public Affairs category?

(a) Shinzo Abe

(b) S P Balasubramaniam

(c) Belle Monappa Hegde

(d) Narinder Singh Kapany

(e) Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

[ANS] a

 

[Q] The Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2021 in the institutional category has been conferred upon?

(a) Disaster Mitigation & Management Centre

(b) Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society (SEEDS)

(c) 8th Battalion of the National Disaster Response Force

(d) National Institute of Disaster Management

(e) Indian Institute of Management Lucknow

[ANS] b

 

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