DAILY GK: 11,12 MAY 2021
1.‘PASSEX’
EXCERCISE IN THE ARABIAN SEA
• The
Indian and Indonesian Navies conducted Passage Exercise (PASSEX) in the
Southern Arabian sea.
• The main
aim of the exercise was to improve interoperability and understanding between
the Navy units of two countries.
• ‘Garuda
Shakti’ is a bilateral exercise between the Special forces of armies of India
& Indonesia.
2.3RD
ARCTIC SCIENCE MINISTERIAL 2021
• Union
Minister for Earth Science Dr Harsh Vardhan virtually represented India in the
3rd Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM3) 2021 held in Tokyo, Japan, it was jointly
organized by Iceland & Japan.
• The ASM3
2021 is the 1st meeting to be held in Asia.
• The
theme for 2021 is ‘Knowledge for a Sustainable Arctic’.
• India’s
vision & long-term plans for the Arctic region
• India is
set to launch ‘NISAR’ (NASA ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) in collaboration
with the US for conducting global measurements of the cause and consequences of
land surface changes using advanced radar imaging.
• India’s
research activities in the Arctic region are coordinated & conducted by
National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa, under the Ministry
of Earth Sciences.
• It has a
permanent research station in the Arctic called ‘Himadri’ in Spitsbergen,
Svalbard, Norway.
3.WORLD’S
LONGEST PEDESTRIAN SUSPENSION BRIDGE
• Portugal
opened the world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge named ‘516 Arouca’ in
Northern Portugal.
• The
516-meter long bridge is built in the AroucaGeopark, which is suspended at 175
metres above the Paiva River.
4.WORLD’S
FASTEST-GROWING RETAILER
• In the
“2021 Ranking of Global retail powerhouses” by Deloitte, millionaire
MukeshAmbani’s Reliance Retail Ltd has been ranked the 2nd fastest-growing
retailer in the world, which is 1 rank down from its 2020 rank (In 2020 it was
ranked 1st).
• Note –
South Korea’s Coupang is the World’s 1st Fastest-Growing Retailers.
• In the
report of the list of Global Powers, Retailing Reliance Retail Ltd was ranked
53rd (ranked 56th in 2020’s list) and it was the only Indian entry in the
global list of 250 retailers.
5.HIMANTABISWASARMA
BECOMES CHIEF MINISTER OF ASSAM
• HimantaBiswaSarma
was sworn in as the 15th Chief Minister
of Assam.
• He has
replaced SarbanandaSonowal.
• Both the
candidates are from BJP(Bharatiya Janata Party).
• He was
administered the oath by Governor JagdishMukhi.
• It has
to be noted that he was appointed based on Article 164 by which the Governor
appoints the Chief Minister.
• The
Governor then appoints the ministers based on the recommendation of the Chief
Minister.
6.SPANISH
GRAND PRIX 2021
• Mercedes
driver Lewis Hamilton (Britain) won the Spanish Grand Prix 2021 for the 6th
time (5th consecutive victory).
• The
Spanish GP was held at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmela, Spain.
• The
victory is also his 98th F1 Race Win (highest-ever in F1).
7.MK
KAUSHIK PASSES AWAY
• Former
India hockey player and coach Maharaj Krishan Kaushik(M K Kaushik) passed away
at the age of 66 after battling COVID-19 in New Delhi.
• He was
born on 2nd May 1955.He was the member of the Indian Hockey team that won the
Gold medal in 1980 Olympics held in Moscow,Russia
8.1ST
INDIAN STATE TO ADOPT AN ONLINE FLOOD REPORTING SYSTEM
• Assam
launched a real-time Digital – Flood Reporting and Information Management
System (FRIMS).
• With
this launch, Assam became the 1st state in India to adopt an online flood
reporting system.
• FRIMS
was developed jointly by Assam State Disaster Management Agency(ASDMA) and
United Nations Children’s Fund(UNICEF).
• Objective:
To capture critical impact indicators during floods as the state is facing a
deluge (severe flood) every year.
9.ANTI-COVID
ORAL DRUG DEVELOPED BY DRDO
• A drug
developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization, DRDO got the
approval for emergency use by the Drugs Controller General of India, DCGI.
• The oral
drug has been developed by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied
Sciences, a lab of DRDO, in collaboration with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories,
Hyderabad.
• Phase
III clinical trial results have shown that this molecule helps in faster
recovery of hospitalized patients and reduces supplemental oxygen dependence.
• The
Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (Inmas) in collaboration with
Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Hyderabad, developed an anti-Covid-19 therapeutic
application of the drug 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG).
10.NITI
AAYOG&MASTERCARD RELEASE REPORT ON DIGITALLY INCLUSIVE BHARAT
• NITI
Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) &Mastercard released a
report titled ‘Connected Commerce: Creating a Roadmap for a Digitally Inclusive
Bharat’.
• FTI
Consulting was the Research and Curation Partner of the report.
• It
identifies the challenges in accelerating digital financial inclusion in India
and provides recommendations for making digital services accessible to 1.3
Billion citizens of India.
• Enabling
Agricultural NBFCs to deploy a ‘phygital’ model (physical+digital) to achieve
better long-term digital outcomes.
• Digitizing
land records also was recommended.
11.THANE
CREEK FLAMINGO SANCTUARY AS ECO-SENSITIVE ZONE (ESZ)
• The
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has notified 48.32
Square Kilometres area around the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary (TCFS), Thane,
Maharashtra as an Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ).
• It is
the 2nd marine sanctuary of Maharashtra after Malvan Sanctuary, Sindhudurg,
Maharashtra.
12.BOOST
OXYGEN SUPPLY IN INDIA’S NE REGION
• The
Government of Japan & United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), India
have partnered to provide oxygen generation plants to the North Eastern (NE)
Region in India.
• The
entities will procure and install 8 Pressure Swing Absorption (PSA) oxygen
generation plants in the states of Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura.
13.SHEIKH
ZAYED BOOK AWARD IN 2021
• Mumbai
born TaheraQutbuddin, Professor of Arabic Literature, Department of NELC,
University of Chicago, won the Sheikh Zayed Book Award in 2021 for her book
titled “Arabic Oration: Art and Function”.
• She
became the first person from India to win the award.
• She won
the award under the Arab Culture in Other Languages category.
14.ARLINE
PACHT GLOBAL VISION AWARD FOR 2021 BY IAWJ
• Justice
Gita Mittal, Former Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir(J&K) received the
Arline Pacht Global Vision Award for 2021 by the International Association of
Women Judges (IAWJ).
• She
became the first India Judge to receive the honour.
• She was
declared as one of the recipients of the award.
• She
shared the award with Justice Margarita Luna Ramos of Mexico.
• Gita
Mittal is currently serving as the Chairperson of the Broadcasting Content
Complaints Council (BCCC), a self-regulatory body for general entertainment
channels established by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF).
• She is
the first woman to hold this post.
15.INDIAN
PEACEKEEPING OFFICER HONORED BY UN
• UN
Secretary General Antonio Guterreshonored Indian UN Peacekeeping officer Yuvraj
Singh, who died in line of duty in 2020, during the UN annual Memorial Service
2021.
• Permanent
Representative of India to UN, T S Tirumurti saluted Yuvraj Singh’s valour and
contribution, and conveyed condolences to the family.
• Corporal
Yuvraj Singh was among the 336 UN personnel who lost their lives in the line of
duty due to the COVID-19 and related circumstances between January 1 and
December 31, 2020.
16.SpaceX
to launch DOGE-1 Satellite
• SpaceX
is set to launch the ‘DOGE-1’ Satellite to the Moon in 2022.
• It will
accept the cryptocurrency ‘Dogecoin’ as full payment for the mission.
• It will
be the 1st ever commercial lunar payload in history to be paid entirely with a
Cryptocurrency.
• The
Satellite is being developed by Geometric Energy Corporation (GEC), and will be
launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon9 rocket.
17.World’s
First AI Ship to Navigate across The Atlantic
• World’s
First Unmanned Vessel named “Mayflower 400” is set to Navigate Across Atlantic.
• It has
been built by the marine research organization ProMare in collaboration with
IBM.
• It will
begin its transatlantic voyage to track aquatic mammals, analyze plastic in the
water, and study marine pollution.
18.National
Technology Day – 11th May 2021
• The
National Technology Day is annually observed across India on 11th May to
celebrate India’s major advancement in the field of Science and Technology.
• The day
marks the anniversary of the 1998 Pokhran Nuclear tests, a series of 5 nuclear
tests conducted by India.
• The
theme of National Technology Day 2021 is “Science and Technology for a
Sustainable Future”.
