DAILY GK 21-23 JAN
1.
COMMEMORATIVE
POSTAGE STAMPS & BOOK ON AYODHYA RAM TEMPLE
·
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi has released six special
commemorative postage stamps dedicated
to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya(Uttar Pradesh) and also revealed
a book with stamps issued by various countries portraying Lord Ram.
·
The commemorative
collection comprises six distinct stamps, including depictions of the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple, Lord Ganesh, Lord
Hanuman, Jatayu, Kevatraj, and Ma Shabri.
·
The miniature sheet on the Ram Janmbhoomi
temple was also released, which carries six postage stamps and other designs
associated with Lord Ram.
·
The other designs of
the stamps include the Ram JanmbhoomiMandir, the revered Choupai ‘Mangal Bhavan Amangal Hari’ (lines from
Tulsidas’s epic ‘Ramcharitmanas’), the sun(rays were depicted by using golden
leaves), the symbol of ‘Suryavanshi’
Ram, the sacred Saryu River, and the sculptures in and around the temple.
2.
CABO
VERDE DECLARED A MALARIA-FREE COUNTRY BY WHO
·
The World Health
Organization (WHO) has declared
the Republic of Cabo Verde (also
known as Cabo Verde or Cape Verde) as a Malaria-free country.
·
Cabo Verde became
the third country to be
certified in the WHO African region to eradicate malaria, following Mauritius in 1973 and Algeria in 2019.
·
WHO has awarded the
‘malaria-free’ certification to 43 countries and 1 territory.
·
WHO certifies a country
as malaria-free when it demonstrates the interruption of nationwide malaria
transmission for at least 3
consecutive years.
·
Republic
of Cabo Verde:President РJos̩ Maria Neves
·
Capital
– Praia
·
Currency
– Cape Verdean Escudo
3.
NSE
WORLD’S LARGEST DERIVATIVES EXCHANGE IN 2023 FOR 5TH CONSECUTIVE YEAR
·
According to the
statistics published by the Futures Industry Association (FIA), the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) has emerged as the world’s largest derivatives exchange in 2023 in terms of the number of
contracts traded. NSE has retained the title for the 5th consecutive year.
·
As per the statistics
maintained by the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), NSE ranks 3rd in the world in equity segment by number of trades
(electronic order book) in 2023.
·
NSE was the first exchange in India to implement
electronic or screen-based trading.
·
Market capitalization
of listed companies exceeded USD 4
trillion,Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) listed companies exceeded
the Rs 1,00,000 crore mark
·
For the 1st time, the Nifty 50 index exceeded the 20,000
index levels.
·
The number of unique registered investors on the exchange exceeded 8.5 crores at the end of the calendar
year 2023.
4.
HIGH-LEVEL
COMMITTEE TO SAFEGUARD INTERESTS OF SCHEDULED CASTES
·
The government of India
(GoI) has formed a high-level
Committee to examine administrative measures aimed at protecting the
interests of the most disadvantaged groups within the Scheduled Caste (SC), like Madigas.
·
The committee was
constituted under the direction of Prime Minister(PM) Narendra Modi, with Rajiv Gauba, the Cabinet
Secretary as its Chairman.
·
This initiative is to
address existing disparities within the SC communities and to ensure the fair
and equitable distribution of benefits to SC communities.
·
Composition
of the Committee:The committee will
include key secretaries from Ministry of Home Affairs(MoHA); Department of
Personnel and Training (DoPT); Ministry of Tribal Affairs(MoTA);
Department of Legal Affairs; and Department of Social Justice and Empowerment.
5.
INDIGENOUS
ASTRA MISSILES FOR SUPPLY TO IAF
·
The Minister of
State (MoS) Ajay Bhatt, Ministry of Defence (MoD) flagged off the indigenously
developed and manufactured Astra
Missiles for supply to the Indian Air Force(IAF) at Bharat Dynamics
Limited (BDL)’s Kanchanbagh
Unit in Hyderabad, Telangana.
·
Astra
is a Beyond Visual Range (BVR) class of Air-to-Air
Missile (AAM) system
·
Astra is designed to be
mounted on fighter aircraft.
·
It was developed by the
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and manufactured by BDL.
·
The missile is designed
to engage and destroy highly manoeuvring supersonic aircraft.
6.
NORTH
KOREA TESTS UNDERWATER NUCLEAR WEAPON SYSTEM ‘HAEIL-5-23’
·
North Korean defence
ministry’s think tank has tested a nuclear-capable underwater attack
drone ‘Haeil-5-23’(meaning
tsunami) in the East Sea, also
known as the Sea of Japan.
·
Haeil-5-23, the
unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) attacks by creating a large radioactive wave
by exploding under the water.
·
The test was conducted
in response to the three-day joint military exercises conducted by the navies
of South Korea, the United States of America (USA) and Japan.
7.
HIMALAYAN
WOLF CLASSIFIED AS ‘VULNERABLE’ ON IUCN RED LIST
·
The Himalayan Wolf (Canis lupus; Subspecies: chanco), a crucial lupine predator in
the Himalayas, is classified as ‘Vulnerable’ under
criteria C2a(ii) on the global International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
·
This is the 1st time
the Himalayan wolf has been assessed by the IUCN and the assessment was done on
27 June 2023.
·
UCN
Red List Assessment flags a continuing decline
in the area, extent, and/or quality of Himalayan wolf habitat.
8.
INDIA
BECOMES 1ST VICE CHAIR OF FAO COFI SUB-COMMITTEE
·
India has
been elected as the 1st
Vice-Chair of Sub-Committee on Fisheries Management(SCFM) of the Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations(FAO) Committee on Fisheries (COFI).
·
Dr.
Balaji was elected as the first vice chairperson of the
incoming bureau of the SCFM.
·
India will serve as a
member of the FAO Fisheries Bureau
on Capture Fisheries for the first time in 57 years.
·
Sub-Committee
on Fisheries Management: was established during
the 35th session of the FAO COFI in Rome, Italy.
·
FAO
Director-General– Dr. Qu Dongyu
·
Headquarters–
Rome, Italy
·
Established
in– 1945
9.
GUJARAT’S
KACHCHHI KHAREK FRUIT GETS GI TAG
·
Kachchhi Kharek or
Kutchi dates, the indigenous dates
variety of Kutch in Gujarat got a geographical indication (GI) tag from the Chennai (Tamil Nadu)
based Geographical Indication Registry under the Department for Promotion of
Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT),
Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
·
Kachchhi Kharek is
registered under the goods type of ‘Agriculture’.
·
“KachchhiKharek” is the
product of date palm harvested at Khalal (fresh
stage), when the fruits are in their active colour (red, yellow, or its
variants).
·
GI
Tags: is a sign used on products that have a
specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due
to that origin.
10.
EDUCATIONAL
STUDY MATERIALS IN 22 LANGUAGES BY UTILIZING ‘ANUVADINI’ APP
·
The Government of India (GoI) aims to make study
materials available for all courses under school and higher
education digitally in all 22 languages
listed in the 8th Schedule of the Indian
Constitution through Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based ‘Anuvadini’ mobile
application.
·
Ministry of
Education (MoE) has
instructed the educational regulators and the heads of institutions of national
importance to prepare such study materials within the next three years (by 2027).
·
The initiative is in
line with National Education Policy(NEP)-2020
for promoting multilingualism in education at every level.
·
Anuvadini is a Voice
& Document AI Translation Tool ,supporting 22 regional Indian & foreign languages thereby reducing the language barriers.
·
These books are
available on the electronic – Knowledge Unleashed in Multiple Bharatiya
Languages (e-Kumbh) portal.
11.
PRADHAN MANTRI RASHTRIYA BAL PURASKAR 2024 TO
19 CHILDREN
·
The Ministry of Women
and Child Development (MoWCD) announced the recipients of the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar (PMRBP)
for the year 2024.
·
The 2024 awardees
include 9 boys and 10 girls, from 18
States and Union Territories (UTs) including 2 Aspirational Districts.
·
Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar (PMRBP):earlier
known as the National Child Award is India’s highest honour for children,
awarded annually by the MoWCD.
·
The award is annually
presented to children aged 5-18 from India for their exceptional abilities and
outstanding achievements in 7 fields – Bravery; Sports; Social Service; Science
& Technology; Environment; Arts & Culture; and Innovation.
·
Prize
Value: PMRBP includes a Medal, a
Certificate, a Citation, and a cash prize of Rs 1 Lakh.
12.
NEW
DG OF SASHASTRA SEEMA BAL
·
The Appointments
Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Indian Police Service (IPS)
officer Daljit Singh Chaudhary as
the Director General (DG) of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).
·
Rashmi
Shukla was appointed as the Director General
of Police(DGP) of Maharashtra. She beacame the first woman officer to hold the post.
·
Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB):is
one of India’s Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) established as a Special
Service Bureau in May 1963 in the aftermath of the Chinese aggression in 1962..
·
Headquarters–
New Delhi, Delhi
13.
JAXA
SUCCESSFULLY LANDED SLIM ON LUNAR SURFACE
·
Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Japanese
national air and space agency, successfully landed Smart Lander for
Investigating Moon (SLIM) within
330 feet (100 meters) of its target site on the rim of Shioli Crater.
·
Japan became the 5th nation to soft land on lunar surface after the United States of America (USA),
Russia, China, and India.
·
They are Lunar
Excursion Vehicle-1 (LEV-1) and Lunar Excursion Vehicle-2 (LEV-2).
·
LEV-1 uses
a hopping mechanism and carries a thermometer, radiation monitor, and an
instrument for measuring the slope and elevation.
·
LEV-2 is
a spherical, baseball-sized rover, which splits into 2 halves for surface
exploration until its battery exhausts.
·
Japan:Prime
Minister– Fumio Kishida
·
Currency–
Japanese Yen (JPY)
14.
IRAN’S
IRGC LAUNCHES SORAYYA SATELLITE BY QAEM 100 SATELLITE CARRIER
·
Iran’s Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has launched Sorayya satellite using
a three-stage solid-fuel Qaem 100
satellite carrier, developed by IRGC Aerospace Force.
·
Sorayya is a research
satellite with a mass of approximately 50 kilograms (110 pounds).
·
Iran:
President – Ebrahim Raisi
·
Capital
– Tehran
·
Currency
– Iranian Rial
