DAILY GK 19-20 APRIL

DAILY GK 19-20 APRIL 

1.       INDIA ACQUIRES WEAPONS WORTH USD 300 MILLION FROM US

·         India is set to clear the proposal to acquire armaments worth over USD 300 million from the United States of America(USA) to arm the Indian Navy’s MH 60 “Romeo” chopper, the multi-role helicopters which will enhance its capabilities to counter enemy warships and submarines.

·         Under this, the fleet of 24 choppers will get additional Hellfire missiles and Mk 54 lightweight torpedoes.

·         The Hellfire missiles are a potent anti-shipping weapon and can be used to take down the targets like tanks, and command posts.

·         Mk 54 lightweight torpedoes are a very effective anti-submarine weapon. They are also equipped onboard the P8I maritime aircraft.

 

2.       INDIAN NAVY CONDUCTS OFFSHORE SECURITY EXERCISE ‘PRASTHAN‘

·         Indian Navy conducted the offshore security exercise Prasthan, a bi-annual co-ordinated exercise along with other defence, state and civilian agencies on the GreatdrillChaaya platform about 30 nautical miles(nm) South West of Mumbai harbour, Maharashtra.

·         The exercise is held every six months, to verify the policies and methods for handling potential emergencies on oil production platforms.

 

3.       ‘SANGATHAN SE SAMRIDDHI’ CAMPAIGN TO BRING MARGINALISED RURAL WOMEN INTO SHGS

·         “Sangathan Se Samriddhi” campaign will empower marginalised rural households by bringing all eligible rural women into Self Help Groups (SHGs).

·         The government is targeting to bring 10 crore women under the purview of SHGs from the existing 9 crores. The number of members has now crossed 9 crores from just over 2.3 crores in 2014.

 

4.       1ST EDITION OF DOGRI VERSION OF CONSTITUTION OF INDIA RELEASED

·         Union Minister KirenRijiju, Ministry of Law and Justice (MoL&J), released the 1st edition of the Dogri version of the Constitution of India at the University of Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).

·         Dogri is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Jammu region of J&K and is one of the 22 official languages recognized by the Indian Constitution.

 

5.       EXERCISE ORION: MULTILATERAL MILITARY EXERCISE

·         Exercise Orion, a Multilateral Military Exercise, was initiated at Mont-de-Marsan, an Air Force base of the French Air and Space Force (FASF) in France.

·         Indian Air Force (IAF) contingent will take part in the exercise

·         Along with IAF and FASF, Air Forces from Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Spain and the United States of America (USA) also participates in the exercise.

 

6.       INDIA DIGITAL PAYMENTS ANNUAL REPORT 2022

·         According to the report by Worldline India titled ‘India Digital Payments Annual Report 2022‘ Unified Payments Interface (UPI) continued to be the most preferred medium for digital payments in 2022 in India with a 70% increase in the number of transactions to over 74.05 billion and a 54% increase in the value of transactions to Rs 126 trillion.

·         A total of 8,792 crore digital payments were undertaken in 2022 worth Rs 149.5 lakh crore.

·         Bengaluru (Karnataka) recorded 29 million transactions valued at Rs 6,500 crore, the highest number of digital transactions across 12 cities in India in 2022.

 

7.       INDIA GIVES USD 500,000 TO UN WOMEN FOR WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

·         India has made a contribution of USD 500,000 (Rs 4.09 crore) to the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, for women empowerment.

·         The cheque for the same was handed over by Ruchira Kamboj, the Permanent Representative of India to the UN, supporting UN Women’s core voluntary budget.

·         UN WomenHeadquarters– New York, United States

 

8.       NATIONAL PANCHAYAT AWARDS 2023

·         The President of India, DroupadiMurmu conferred the National Panchayat Awards 2023 and inaugurated the ‘National Conference on Incentivisation of Panchayats’ in New Delhi, Delhi.

·         The National Panchayat Awards under different categories are conferred annually by the MoPR since 2011 to acknowledge and incentivize the best-performing Panchayats (local self-government bodies) across the country.

·         All the Panchayats will be ranked based on their performance under 9 Localization of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs) themes aggregating 17 SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals).

·         GS NIRNAY App: Union Minister Giriraj Singh launched a mobile application GS NIRNAY (National Initiative for Rural India to Navigate, InnovAte and Resolve PanchaYat decisions), for empowering rural communities during the National Conference.

 

9.       PRAVASI BHARATIYA SAMMAN

·         An Indian-American Rajesh Subramaniam, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FedEx Corporation, the world’s largest express transportation company, has been awarded the PravasiBharatiyaSamman Award 2023, by Taranjit Singh Sandhu, India’s Ambassador to the US, for his contribution to Business.

·         The award was conferred by DroupadiMurmu, President of India, on 10 January 2023, as a part of the celebration of PravasiBharatiya Divas (PBD) 2023 at Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

·         27 Indians living abroad received the PravasiBharatiyaSamman Award in 2023.

·         The PravasiBharatiyaSamman Award is the highest honour conferred on a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) to recognise their achievements and honour their contributions to various fields, both in India and abroad.

 

10.    ‘YUVA PORTAL’ LAUNCHED TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL YOUNG START-UPS

·         “YUVA Portal” and One Week- One Programmelaunched at National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in New Delhi, Delhi, to help in connecting and identifying potential young Start-Ups.

·         YUVA- Young, Upcoming and Versatile Authors.

·         DrJitendra Singh highlighted the 37 Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) Labs spread across India as examples of India’s excellence in technology, innovation, and start-ups.

·         The One Week – One Lab programme will offer the opportunity for the CSIR labs to showcase the work being done by them so that others can avail of it.

 

11.    WORLD’S WEALTHIEST CITIES REPORT 2023

·         The investment migration firm Henley & Partners released its annual ‘World’s Wealthiest Cities Report 2023‘ which is again topped by New York, United States of America (USA) with 340,000 millionaires, 724 centi-millionaires, and 58 billionaires in 2022.

·         New York followed by Tokyo (Japan), California’s Bay Area (USA), London (United Kingdom) and Singapore.

·         The list also featured Mumbai (Maharashtra) at 21st rank with 59,400 millionaires, 238 Centi-millionaires, and 29 Billionaires.

 

12.    UNFPA’S SOWP 2023: INDIA’S POPULATION PEGGED AT 142.8 CRORE

·         According to the State of World Population (SOWP) 2023 titled “8 Billion Lives, Infinite Possibilities: the case for Rights and Choices” published by theUnited Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), India overtakes China to become the most populous nation in the world

·         The population of India has grown by 1.56% in the past year and it is estimated to be 142.86 crore.

·         The population of China is estimated to be 142.57 crore.

·         UNFPAHeadquarters– New York

 

13.    HURUN’S GLOBAL UNICORN INDEX 2023

·         According to the Global Unicorn Index 2023 published by Hurun Research Institute, India is ranked 3rd on the index with 68 unicorns (up 14 compared to 2022).

·         Online educator BYJU’S worth USD 22 billion topped the list of Indian Unicorns, followed by on-demand delivery start-up Swiggy and fantasy sports platform travel-stay finder Dream11 (USD 8 billion each).

·         The United States of America(USA) topped the index with 666 unicorns, up 179 compared to 2022, followed by China in 2nd spot with 316 unicorns (up 15).

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DAILY GK 16-18 APRIL

DAILY GK 16-18 APRIL 

1.       APPI & WORLD BANK FUNDED AHSSOH

·         The Union Minister ParshottamRupala, Ministry for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (MoFAHD), launched projects, ‘Animal Pandemic Preparedness Initiative’ (APPI) and World Bank (WB)-funded ‘Animal Health System Support for One Health’ (AHSSOH), under the aegis of National One Health Mission to improve India’s preparedness and response to potential animal pandemics.

·         AHSSOH is India’s first animal pandemic response plan in collaboration with the World Bank.

·         The collaborative project will be implemented in 5 states over a five-year period as Central sector scheme with a financial provision of Rs 1228.70 Crore.

·         The project aims to cover 151 districts in five participating states, wherein it will target upgradation of 75 district/regional laboratories, upgradation/strengthening 300 veterinary hospitals/dispensaries.

 

2.       INDIA SIGNS MOU WITH UN WFP FOR SENDING WHEAT TO AFGHANISTAN

·         Government of India (GoI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Nations (UN) World Food Programme(WFP), clearing the way for the delivery of 10,000 metric tonnes (the fifth tranche) of wheat for the people of Afghanistan.

·         The fifth tranche [to be supplied through Iran’s Chahbahar port] builds on aid already provided by the WFP for people in need in Afghanistan.

 

3.       GHANA BECOMES 1ST COUNTRY TO APPROVE OXFORD MALARIA VACCINE

·         The Republic of Ghana has become the 1st country to approve a highly effective malaria vaccine “R21/Matrix-M” developed at Oxford University in the United Kingdom (UK).

·         The vaccine was approved by Ghana’s Food and Drug Authority (FDA).

·         The R21/Matrix-M vaccine has been licenced for use in children aged 5-36 months, who are most at risk of dying from malaria.

·         WHO estimates that 619,000 people died from malaria in 2021, the majority of whom were children in Sub-Saharan Africa.

 

4.       SBI REINTRODUCED RETAIL TERM DEPOSIT SCHEME ‘AMRIT KALASH’

·         The State Bank of India (SBI) decided to reintroduce the retail term deposit scheme ‘AMRIT KALASH’.

·         It is a special scheme of 400 days tenor with an interest rate of 7.6% for senior citizens and 7.1% for others.

·         In February 2023, the SBI launched ‘AMRIT KALASH’, the retail term deposit scheme with a specific duration with validity from February 15, 2023, to March 31, 2023.

·         Now the Scheme was reintroduced with validity from April 12, 2023, to June 30, 2023.

·         Domestic retail term deposits, including non-resident Indian (NRI) rupee term deposits (less than Rs.2 crore), new and renewals, term deposits, and special term deposits are eligible for this specific tenure deposit scheme.

 

5.       INDIAN OIL & US-BASED LANZAJET TO SET UP INDIA’S 1ST GREEN AVIATION FUEL FIRM

·         Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) is to set up a joint venture(JV) with United States of America (USA)-based clean energy technology company LanzaJetInc, and multiple domestic airlines for the manufacturing ofSustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

·         The proposed venture will build a plant to manufacture SAF using alcohol-to-jet technology at the Panipat refinery in Haryana at a cost of Rs 3,000 crore.

·         IOCL will hold a 50% stake while LanzaJetInc will hold 25%. The remaining 25% stake would be offered to a bunch of airline companies.

 

6.       BUSINESS LEADER OF THE DECADE AWARD OF AIMA

·         Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of Aditya Birla Group, received the Business Leader of the Decade Award at All India Management Association’s (AIMA) 13th Managing India Awards ceremony in New Delhi

·         T V Narendran, Chairman of Tata Steel Limited, was facilitated with the “AIMA-JRD Tata Corporate Leadership” award.

·         ABB India, the leading engineering services company, bagged the “MNC in India of the Year” award.

·         The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) received the ‘Outstanding PSU of the Year’ award.

·         Sanjiv Bajaj, MD of Bajaj Finserv received the Transformational Business Leader Award

·         Venu Srinivasan, Chairman Emeritus, TVS Motor Company was given the Outstanding Institution Builder Award.

 

7.       RUSSIA CONDUCTS TEST LAUNCH OF ‘ADVANCED’ INTERCONTINENTAL BALLISTIC MISSILE

·         The Russian Defense Ministry executed a successful test launch of an “advanced” Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) of a mobile ground-based missile system from the Kapustin Yar test site in Russia’s southern Astrakhan region.

·         The purpose of the launch was to test the advanced combat equipment of intercontinental ballistic missiles.

 

8.       ASIAN WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS 2023

·         AmanSehrawat, a freestyle wrestler, won India’s 1st gold medal, under the men’s 57kg freestyle category, at the Asian Wrestling Championships 2023.

·         36th edition of Asian Wrestling Championships was held in Astana, Kazakhstan

·         AmanSehrawat won the gold medal by defeating Kyrgyzstan’s AlmazSmanbekov

·         India has won 14 medals(one gold, three silvers and 10 bronze) and is ranked 7th in overall medal tally.

·         Kazakhstan was topped in medal tally followed by Japan and Iran.

 

9.       NATIONAL FIRE SERVICE DAY 2023 – APRIL 14

·         14th April is annually observed as National Fire Service (NFS) Day across India to pay homage to the firefighters who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty and emphasize the importance of fire service.

·         The day is also commemorated as a Martyr’s Day to pay homage to the Fire Service personnel who lost their lives on 14th April 1944 during the massive Bombay explosion at the Victoria Dock in the Mumbai Port.

·         April 14 to 20 is observed as “Fire Service Week”.

·         The theme of National Fire Service Day/week 2023 is “Awareness in Fire Safety for Growth of National Infrastructure” (AGNI)”.

 

10.    THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN AGRIFOOD SYSTEMS REPORT BY FAO

·         As per the ‘The Status Of Women In Agrifood Systems‘ released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), tackling gender inequality in agri-food systems can reduce hunger, boost the economy and reinforce resilience to shocks like climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.

·         There would be increase in the global gross domestic product (GDP) by 1% or nearly $1 trillion if there is no gender gap in farm productivity and the wage gap in agri-food-system employment.

·         Currently, Women earn 82 cents for every dollar earned by men.

·         Globally, 36% of working women are employed in agrifood systems, along with 38% of working men.

·         Prioritizing women in development interventions for small-scale producers could benefit 58 million people with increased income and 235 million people with greater resilience.

·         This could also reduce global food insecurity by 2%, impacting 45 million individuals.

·         Nearly 4 billion individuals depend on agri-food systems as their main source of livelihoods

 

11.    SRI LANKAN DEBT RESTRUCTURING PROGRAMME

·         India, Japan, and France announced a common platform for talks among creditors to address the debt restructuring programme of Sri Lanka

·         It was announced on April 13, 2023, while the representatives of the three creditor countries, i.e. the Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman (India), FM Shunichi Suzuki (Japan), French Director General of the Treasury Emmanuel Moulin, held a press briefing on the margins of the annual spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC , United States.

·         In March 20, 2023, IMF cleared a US$ 3 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) (with a 48-month extended arrangement) for Sri Lanka, potentially unlocking more loans for the debt-ridden nation.

·         India, Japan (as a member of the Paris Club group of creditors), and China were Sri Lanka’s top three bilateral creditors.

 

12.    CGTMSE INCREASED GUARANTEE COVERAGE FOR MSES FROM RS 2 CRORE TO RS 5 CRORE

·         The Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) increased the guarantee coverage ceiling under its Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for MSEs from Rs 2 crore to Rs 5 crore per borrower for credit facilities extended by lending institutions to Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs).

·         The changes are made with respect to the reduction in the loan growth to the MSE segment to 13.2% year-on-year (y-o-y) (as on February 24, 2023) from 24% y-o-y (as on February 25, 2022).

·         Threshold for waiver of legal action was enhanced to Rs10 lakhs from the existing Rs 5 lakhs.

 

13.    US BECAME INDIA’S BIGGEST TRADING PARTNER IN FY23

·         According to the data of the Ministry of Commerce, the United States (US) has emerged as India’s biggest trading partner in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) at USD 128.55 billion followed by China in the second position at USD 113.83 billion.

·         The bilateral trade between India and the US has increased by 7.65% in FY23 due to increasing economic co-operation as against USD 119.5 billion in FY22. It was USD 80.51 billion in FY21.

·         The UAE with US$76.16 billion, was the third largest trading partner of India.

·         Exports to China decreased by about 28 per cent to USD 15.32 billion in 2022-23,whereas the imports increased by 4.16% to $98.51 billion in FY23.

 

14.    MISS INDIA WORLD 2023

·         Nandini Gupta, from (Kota)Rajasthan, won the 59th edition of Femina Miss India World 2023 crown in the grand ceremony held at KhumanLampak Stadium, Imphal, Manipur.

·         Nandini Gupta will now represent India at the 71st edition of Miss World (2023), which is to be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

·         Shreya Poonja of Delhi became the 1st runner-up and ThounaojamStrelaLuwang of Manipur was crowned the 2nd runner-up.

 

15.    FENGYUN-3G: CHINA LAUNCHES 1ST SATELLITE DEDICATED TO MONITORING HEAVY RAINFALLS

·         China launched Fengyun-3G(FY-3G), its first satellite allowing scientists to monitor the Earth’s precipitation from space.

·         With a lifespan of 6 years (2023 – 2029), FY 3G is dedicated to monitoring heavy rainfalls during catastrophic weather conditions in global regions of low- and mid-latitude i.e. it will forecast global meteorological disasters through its powerful tool.

·         This satellite is a continuation of the Global Precipitation Measurement mission (GPM) which is led by Japan and the United States of America(USA).

 

16.    TAIFA-1: KENYA LAUNCHES FIRST OPERATIONAL SATELLITE INTO SPACE

·         Kenya successfully launched its inaugural operational 3U Earth Observation Satellite (EOS) ‘Taifa-1’ (Nation-1, in the Swahili language), using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Base in California, United States of America (USA).

·         KenyaPresident– William Ruto

·         Capital– Nairobi

 

17.    EUROPE SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES JUICE MISSION TO STUDY JUPITER’S ICY MOONS

·         The European Space Agency (ESA) successfully launched the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE), via the Ariane-5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport from Kourou, French Guiana.

·         Juice, a robotic explorer’s, mission was to make detailed observations of the solar system’s biggest planet, Jupiter and three ice-encrusted moons which scientists believed to have underground oceans where sea life could exist.

 

18.    UNDERWATER NUCLEAR ATTACK DRONE “HAEIL-2” TESTED BY NORTH KOREA

·         North Korea made a claim of conducting a test of an underwater nuclear attack drone, which notably had the ability to unleash a “radioactive tsunami”.

·         The “Unmanned Underwater Nuclear Attack Craft” was the name given to the drone, also known as “Haeil” (meaning tsunami).

·         As a sequel,Haeil-2, which is the second underwater nuclear attack drone of North Korea was tested from April 4 to April 7.

·         North KoreaCapital –  Pyongyang

·         President/Supreme Leader- Kim Jong Un

 

19.    WORLD HEMOPHILIA DAY 2023 – APRIL 17

·         World Hemophilia Day is annually observed across the globe on 17th April to create awareness about Hemophilia, an inherited bleeding disorder in which the blood does not clot properly.

·         17th April 2023 marks the 34th World Hemophilia Day.

·         The themeof  World Hemophilia Day 2023 is “Access for All: Prevention of bleeds as the global standard of care”. 

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