DAILY GK: 07 , 08 SEP 2021

 DAILY GK: 07 , 08 SEP 2021

1.‘SIMBEX’ 2021 HELD IN SOUTH CHINA SEA

      28th Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise ‘SIMBEX-2021’ was held between the Indian Navy and Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) in the southern edge of the South China Sea.

      It was hosted by RSN as ‘at sea only’ i.e. without any physical interactions due to COVID-19.

 

2.OVL & IOC SIGNED MOU WITH RUSSIA’S GAZPROM

      PM Narendra Modi virtually addressed the plenary session of the 6th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) i.e. the 2021 edition of EEF, which was held in Vladivostok, Russia.

      Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri led the Indian delegation of Indian oil and gas companies to have a 5-day visit to Russia.

      ONGC Videsh Ltd and the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), signed a MoU with Russia’s Gazprom for cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector.

      The MoU was signed at the 6th EEF.

 

3.‘INTERNATIONAL ARMY GAMES – 2021’

      Indian Army participated in 7th edition of the International Army Games 2021.

      A 101-member contingent was sent by the Indian army to participate in various army games that were hosted by Russia.

      Participating events – Army Scout Masters Competition (ASMC), Elbrus ring, polar star, sniper frontier and safe route games.

      India finalised deal with Russia for the purchase of around 70,000 AK-203 assault rifles to replace the existing Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) 5.56mm*45mm assault rifle.

 

4.INDIA, MOROCCAN NAVIES CONDUCTED MARITIME EXERCISE

      Indian Navy has conducted the 1st ever Maritime Partnership Exercise with the Moroccan Navy.

      INS Tabar, participated in a Maritime Partnership Exercise.Navy ships that have visited Alexandria for Exercise Bright Star with Egypt are also present for the reception of INS Tabar.

      ‘Exercise Bright Star 2021’: Egypt Army hosted the joint military exercise ‘Bright Star 2021’, the largest multinational military training in the Middle East.

 

5.“SHARED DESTINY-2021”

      The 1st ever joint Military exercise – “Shared Destiny-2021” to be held between China, Pakistan, Mongolia & Thailand at China’s Henan’s Queshan county.

      The military exercise that is organised by China will work on multinational peacekeeping live exercises, in line with the United Nations – “Action for Peacekeeping”.

 

6.BEHLER TURTLE CONSERVATION AWARD 2021

      Indian biologist Shailendra Singh has conferred with 2021 Behler Turtle Conservation Award also known as ‘’Nobel Prize for Turtle Conservation” for bringing three critically endangered turtle conservation species back from the edge of extinction.

      Also referred to as the “Nobel Prize” of Turtle Conservation.

      Note- World Turtle Day is celebrated on 23rd May.

      The KURMA app was launched by the government for the conservation of turtles in India).

 

7.LOVLINA BORGOHAIN NAMED BRAND AMBASSADOR OF SSA

      On the occasion of 60th Teacher’s Day The State Education  Minister of Assam, Ranoj Pegu appointed Olympian Lovlina Borgohain as the brand ambassador of the Samagra Sikhsha Abhiyan(SSA)  in the state of Assam.

      Samagra Shiksha  Abhiyan(SSA), the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for School Education of students from pre-school to class XII, was launched in 2018.

 

8.INTERNATIONAL DAY OF CHARITY 2021 – SEPTEMBER 5

      The United Nations (UN)’s International Day of Charity is annually observed across the globe on 5th September to recognise the role of charity in attenuating humanitarian crises and human suffering across the globe.

 

9.NATIONAL TEACHERS DAY 2021 – SEPTEMBER 5

      National Teachers day is annually observed across India on 5th September to commemorate the birth anniversary of the respected teacher and prolific statesman Bharat Ratna awardee Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, the first Vice president of India and the 2nd President of India. 

      He was born on 5th September 1888 in Tiruttani, Madras Presidency (Now Tamil Nadu).

 

10.SHIKSHAK PARV 2021

      The inaugural conclave of Shikshak Parv 2021 was addressed by PM Narendra Modi through video conferencing on 7 September, during which PM Modi has launched various schemes in the education sector under Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav(75th Anniversary of Indian Independence) such as Indian Sign Language Dictionary, Vidyanjali 2.0, NISHTHA 3.0, Talking Books and School Quality Assessment and Assurance Framework (SQAAF).

      Shikshak Parv 2021

      It is being celebrated from September 5 to 17, 2021 by the Ministry of Education.

      Theme of the ‘Shikshak Parv-2021’ is “Quality and Sustainable Schools: Learnings from Schools in India”.

 

11.CII ‘NATIONAL ENERGY LEADER’ 2021

      Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) led by GMR Group won 2 Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) National Energy Leader 2021 and Excellent Energy Efficient Unit 2021 at the 22nd National Award Ceremony for ‘Excellence in Energy Management” organised by CII Green Business Centre (GBC).

 

12.HYPERSPECTRAL OBSERVATION SATELLITE ‘GEOFAN-502’

      According to a report, the China National Space Administration has launched its hyper spectral observation satellite, called Geofan-502 at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center using the Long March 4 Bingyao 40 carrier rocket.

      The satellite and launch vehicle are developed and produced by the Shanghai Aerospace Technology Research Institute of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

 

13.DUGONG CONSERVATION RESERVE IN PALK BAY

      During the Assembly session of the government of Tamil Nadu, K. Ramachandran, Minister for Environment, Climate Change, and Forests, Government of Tamil Nadu, announced the plan to establish India’s first-ever Dugong (also known as Sea cows) Conservation Reserve in the marine region of Palk Bay, in the southern coastal region of Tamil Nadu.

 

14.OVERVIEW OF 2020 TOKYO PARALYMPICS

      The Indian contingent has won a total of 19 medals with 5 Golds, 8 Silvers and 6 Bronze medals in the 16th edition of Summer Paralympic games that was held between 24th August and 5th September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.

      The 19 medal count is higher than the total number of paralympics medals won by India in all the events since its 1st appearance in the 1968 Paralympic games.

      India has won a total of 12 medals from 1972 to 2016 in Paralympic games, where it had a highest total medal count of 4, both in 2016 and 1984.

      A total of 17 athletes have won 19 medals, with 2 athletes – Avani Lekhara & Singhraj Adhana have won 2 medals each .

      India was ranked 24th in the overall medal tally with 19 medals, while the top 3 positions in the medal tally were occupied by China, Great Britain & USA.

      Suhas Yathiraj – 1st ever IAS Officer to win Paralympic Medal.

 

15.‘VATAN PREM YOJANA’

      State government of Gujarat initiated ‘Vatan Prem Yojana’ which encourages non-resident Indians (NRIs) from Gujarat or people living anywhere in India with Gujarati origins (Non-Resident Gujarat People) to fund development projects in their native villages.

      Under this scheme, the state government envisages to develop public welfare projects worth Rs 1000 crore by December 2022.

      The donor can fund a minimum 60% of projects and the balance up to 40% will be provided by the State government i.e. 60:40 ratio.

16.FIRST SOUTH ASIAN CITY TO LACUNH CAP

      State environment, tourism and protocol minister of Maharashtra, Aaditya Thackeray launched the first ever Climate Action Plan (CAP) for Mumbai, Maharashtra. Mumbai has become the first South Asian city to launch CAP.

      The CAP will ensure better planning and growth for climate resilient infrastructure and mitigation efforts.

      Mumbai has joined C-40 Cities Network December 2020.

      By following the compliance with guidance of C-40, a CAP will be drafted.

 

17.MANDA BUFFALO RECOGNISED AS UNIQUE BUFFALO BREED IN INDIA

      The Indian Council of Agricultural Research – National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources(ICAR-NBAGR), Karnal, Haryana, has recognised the Manda Buffalo of Odisha as the 19th unique breed of buffalo found in India.

      Its accession number is “INDIA_BUFFALO_1500_MANDA_01019”.

      Manda Buffalo are found in the hill ranges of Eastern Ghats and plateau of Koraput region, Odisha.

      The Dharwad Buffalo of Karnataka has also been recognised as a unique breed of buffalo found in India.