DAILY GK: 4 MAY 2021

 DAILY GK: 4 MAY 2021

1.INDIA’S 1ST 3D PRINTED HOUSE AT IIT-M

•        Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman virtually inaugurated India’s 1st 3D printed house at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M), Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

•        The single-storey home has been built in just five days over an area of about 600 sq. ft using ‘Concrete 3D Printing”.

•        TVASTA Manufacturing Solutions, a start-up founded by IIT-M alumni in association with Habitat for Humanity’s Terwilliger Centre for Innovation in Shelter built the 3D Printed House.

 

2.MILITARY EXERCISE ‘DEFENDER-EUROPE 21’

•        The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) launched the Joint Multinational Military Exercise  ‘DEFENDER-Europe 21’ in the port of Durres in Albania.

•        ‘DEFENDER-Europe 21’ is led by the United States (US).

•        It is the 1st such large-scale drills since World War-II in the Western Balkans region.

 

3.APPOINTMENT OF 4TH DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF RBI

•        The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet(ACC) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appointed T Rabi Sankar, the Executive Director of RBI as the 4th Deputy Governor of RBI.

•        ACC has cleared his appointment for a period of 3 years or till his date of superannuation.

•        He succeeds B P Kanungo, who retired on 2nd April 2021 after serving one year extension period.

 

4.P C PANT APPOINTED ACTING CHAIRPERSON OF NHRC

•        Justice (retired) Prafulla Chandra Pant, a Former Supreme Court Judge had been appointed as Acting Chairperson of  National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)   with effect from April 25.

•        Justice H.L. Dattu, a former Chief Justice of India, who was serving as Chairperson of NHRC completed his tenure on December 2, 2020.

 

5.STRATOLAUNCH COMPLETES TEST FLIGHT

•        The World’s Largest Aeroplane codenamed ‘Roc’  successfully completed its 2nd Test Flight.

•        The Aeroplane being built by Stratolaunch, an US based Aerospace Company was tested at Mojave Air and Space Port in California, US.

•        The Aeroplane has 2 flights under its belt and has a wingspan of 385 feet (117 feet).

 

6.PORTUGESE GP 2021

•        Mercedes’ driver Lewis Hamilton (Britain) won the Portuguese Grand Prix 2021 of Formula One (F1) held at Algarve International Circuit in Portimao, Portugal. 

•        It is Hamilton’s 97th Career Victory.

 

7.PRANATINAYAK QUALIFIED FOR TOKYO OLYMPICS

•        PranatiNayak, Indian Gymnast from West Bengal, is set to compete at the Tokyo Olympics.

•        She has won the bronze in vault at the Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championship 2019.

•        She has qualified through the Asian quota.

 

8.ICC BANNED NUWANZOYSA

•        International Cricket Council (ICC) banned SriLanka’s former cricket player and coach NuwanZoysa for 6 years from all forms of cricket after found breaching the ICCs anti-corruption code.

 

9.WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY 2021

•        The United Nations(UN)’s World Press Freedom Day is annually observed across the globe on 3rd May.

•        The theme of World Press Freedom Day 2021 is “Information as a Public Good”.

•        MariaRessa, Investigative journalist and media executive from the Philippines has been named the winner of the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize 2021.

 

10.WORLD TUNA DAY 2021

•        The United Nations(UN)’s World Tuna Day is annually observed across the globe on 2nd May to create awareness about the importance of Tuna and to promote sustainable fishing practices.

 

11.WORLD LAUGHTER DAY

•        World Laughter Day is celebrated every year on the first Sunday of May  and this year it falls on 2nd May.

•        The day is celebrated to raise awareness about laughter and its many healing benefits.

 

12.GOVT SET TARGET OF ROAD CONSTRUCTION OF WORTH RS 15 LAKH CR

•        Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said the government has set a target of road construction of worth 15 lakh crore rupees in next two years.

•        Addressing the Indo-U.S. Partnership Vision Summit through video conferencing, Mr Gadkari exuded confidence that the Ministry will achieve a target of 40 kilometres per day of highway construction in the current fiscal.

•        He said that the Government is permitting 100 percent FDI in the road sector.

 

13.LDF ATTAINS 2ND CONSECUTIVE TERM IN KERALA

•        In Kerala, Left Democratic Front (LDA) has retained power for the second consecutive term.

•        PinarayiVijayan government has become the first government to get the second successive term in four decades.

 

14.BJP-LED NDA GETS POWER IN ASSAM FOR 2ND CONSECUTIVE TERM

•        In Assam, BJP-led NDA has retained power for the second consecutive term.

•        The NDA has secured 75 seats in the 126-member assembly.

•        While BJP won 60 seats, its allies AsomGanaParishad bagged 9 seats and UPPL 6 seats.

 

15.TMC COMEBACK TO POWER IN WEST BENGAL

•        In West Bengal, ruling Trinamool Congress has retained power for the third term in a row but Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lost her own Nandigram seat.

•        Trinamool Congress has won 209 seats and leading at 4 seats.

•        BJP has won 76 seats and is leading at one seat.

•        BJP’s SuvenduAdhikari defeated Mamata Banerjee by a margin of 1,956 votes in the key Nandigram constituency.

 

16.TAMIL NADU ELECTION RESULTS 2021

•        After a decade in opposition, the DMK won a convincing victory over arch-rival AIADMK in Tamil Nadu and the ruling party managed to emerge as a formidable opposition, overcoming the burden of ten year anti-incumbency to an extent.

Read More

DAILY GK: 2,3 MAY 2021

 DAILY GK: 2,3 MAY 2021

1.CENTRAL GOVERNMENT ALLOCATES INR 15,000 CRORE TO STATES

•     The Ministry of Finance, Government of India is set to provide an additional amount of INR 15,000 Crore to State Governments as Interest free 50-year loan for spending on Capital projects for the FY 2021-22.

•     The loan will be provided to the States under ‘Scheme of Financial Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure’.

•     The Scheme was launched in 2020.

 

2.INDIAN NAVY LAUNCHES OPERATION SAMUDRASETU-II

•     Indian Navy has launched Operation SamudraSetu-II for shipment of Liquid oxygen-filled cryogenic containers & associated medical equipment to India from other countries.

•     It is part of the ongoing national mission for meeting Oxygen requirements in India. The demand for Oxygen has increased in India due to COVID-19.

•     Operation SamudraSetu was launched in May 2020 as part of the Vande Bharat Mission.

 

3.FRENCH FIRM ALSTOM DELIVERS 100TH ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE TO IR

•     Alstom, a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer successfully manufactured and delivered its 100th Electric Locomotive to the Indian Railways.

•     It is part of the  3.5 Billion Euro (~ INR 25, 000 Crore – during time of signing) contract signed between the Ministry of Railways, India & Alstom in 2015 for delivery of 800 fully electric high-powered double-section locomotives of 12,000 HorsePower (HP).

•     The Locomotives are manufactured at Madhepura plant in Bihar.

•     The plant is India’s largest integrated greenfield manufacturing facility.

 

4.FOOD GRAINS PRODUCTION TARGET AT 307 MILLION TONNES

•     Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar has stated that the Government has set Foodgrains Production target for the crop year 2021-22 at 307 Million Tonnes (MT), the production target for 2020-21 was 301.92 MT.

•     Season wise target – 151.43 MT in Kharif season & 155.88 MT during Rabi season.

 

5.US APPROVES SALE OF 6 P-8I PATROL AIRCRAFT TO INDIA

•     The United States State Department has approved the proposed sale of 6 Poseidon-8I (P-8I) Patrol Aircraft and other equipment to India.

•     The deal is estimated to cost USD 2.42 Billion (~ INR 18, 000 Crore).

•     It is being procured by the Indian Government for use by the Indian Navy.The P-8I Patrol Aircrafts are produced by Boeing, an American Aerospace & Defense Company.

 

6.SIDBI LAUNCHED SHWAS & AROG

•     In order to manage the national emergency and distress caused by COVID 19, the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has launched SHWAS & AROG, two new quick credit delivery schemes to help Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

•     SHWAS (SIDBI assistance to Healthcare sector in War Against the Second wave of COVID-19) – This scheme will fund MSMEs who are engaged in manufacturing of oxygen cylinders, oxy-generators, oxygen concentrators, liquid oxygen or providing services in transportation, storage, refilling to supply of these items.

•     AROG (SIDBI Assistance to MSMEs for Recovery & Organic Growth during COVID-19 pandemic) – will fund for MSMEs engaged in manufacturing of Pulse Oximeters, Permitted drugs (Remdesivir, Fabiflu, Dexamethasone, Azithromycin), Ventilators, and Personal protective equipment(PPEs).

 

7.‘IMMUNE INDIA DEPOSIT SCHEME’

•     The Central Bank of India launched the “Immune India Deposit Scheme” a special deposit scheme to provide an additional interest rate of 25 basis points in addition to the applicable card rate for the vaccinated people.

•     The Immune India Deposit Scheme has a maturity of 1111 days.

•     The senior citizens are also eligible for the extra interest as applicable.

 

8.AMIT BANERJEE APPOINTED AS THE CMD OF BEML LTD

•     The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB), has appointed Amit Banerjee the Director (Rail & Metro Business) of BEML limited, as the new Chairman and Managing Director(CMD) of BEML (Bharat Earth Movers Limited) Limited, a Miniratna Defence Public sector undertakings under the Ministry of Defence.

 

9.SMALLEST BLACKHOLE IN MILKY WAY GALAXY

•     Scientists have discovered the smallest known black hole in the Milky Way Galaxy and the closest black hole to the solar system.

•     This black hole has been nicknamed “the Unicorn”.

•     The black hole is around 3 times the mass of the Sun, is located around 1500 light-years from earth.

 

10.2020-21 LEAGUE CUP TITLE

•     Manchester City clinched a fourth consecutive 2020-21 League Cup or EFL Cup or Carabao Cup Football title after beating Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium, England.

•     It has now matched Liverpool’s record of eight League Cup titles.

 

11.PANDIT DEBU CHAUDHURI PASSES AWAY

•     Sitar Maestro Pandit Devabrata(Debu) Chaudhuri passed away in Delhi due to covid-19.

•     He was born in 1935 in Mymensingh (now in Bangladesh).

•     He was also a teacher and writer, who penned six books.Apart from being an artist he was a disciple of Mushtaq Ali Khan.

 

12.INTERNATIONAL LABOUR DAY 2021

•     The International Labour Day is annually observed across the globe on May 1st to recognise the achievements of the workers and to create awareness about the exploitation of workers.

•     The International Labour Day is also known as International Workers Day or May Day.

 

Read More

DAILY GK: 1 MAY 2021

DAILY GK: 1 MAY 2021

 1. MAXIMUM SUM ASSURED UNDER EDLI SCHEME HIKED

•     Ministry of Labour & Employment implemented the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) board’s decision to increase the maximum sum assured payable under the Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) Scheme, 1976 to Rs 7 lakh from Rs 6 lakh and approved the extension of minimum assurance benefit of Rs 2.5 lakh payable to family members of deceased employees who die while in service.

 

2. INDIA’S CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION FELL BY 5%

•     According to the data of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas(MoPNG), the crude oil production of India fell by 5% to 30.5 million tonnes in FY21 from 32.17 million tonnes in 2019-2020. 

•     The data also shows that Natural Gas production has also fallen by 8% to 28.67 billion cubic metres(BCM) in FY21 from around 31BCM in FY20.

•     The production of petroleum products fell by 11.2% at 233.4 million tonnes.

 

3. IEA REPORT

•     ‘Global EV Outlook 2021’ – the recently released Annual Report of International Energy Agency (IEA) has stated that the sale of Electric Vehicles (EVs) will be more than 30% in new vehicle sales in India by 2030.

•     In 2020 the global car sales fell by 16% in 2020 due to COVID-19, but the Global EV sales increased by 41% to around 3 Million vehicles in 2020.

 

4. HIGH-YIELDING AND PEST-RESISTANT VARIETY OF SOYBEAN

•     High-yielding and pest-resistant variety of soybean named MACS 1407 has been developed by Indian Scientists by the method of conventional cross breeding.

•     This variety of Soya bean has been developed by Scientists from MACS (Maharashtra Association for the Cultivation of Science Research Institute)-Agharkar Research Institute, Pune, in collaboration with Indian Council of Agricultural Research(ICAR), New Delhi.

 

Read More

DAILY GK: 30 APRIL 2021

 DAILY GK: 30 APRIL 2021

1. INDIA, RUSSIA TO ESTABLISH ‘2+2 MINISTERIAL DIALOGUE’

•      PM Narendra Modi & Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to establish a ‘2+2 Ministerial Dialogue’ at the Foreign & Defence Minister level between the two countries.

•      It is expected to boost the Bilateral Strategic partnership between India & Russia.

•      Russia is the 4th Country & 1st Non-Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) member country with which India has established the ‘2+2 Ministerial Dialogue’ mechanism.

 

2.GOVERNMENT OF NCT OF DELHI (AMENDMENT) ACT

•      Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) notified the ‘Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) (Amendment) Act, 2021’.

•      The Act amends the ‘Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991’.

•      The amended act states that  “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act 2021 (15 of 2021), the Central Government hereby appoints the 27th April 2021 as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force,”.

 

Read More

DAILY GK: 29 APRIL 2021

 DAILY GK: 29 APRIL 2021

1. BILATERAL EXERCISE ‘VARUNA-2021’

·         The 19th Edition of the Indian and French Navy Bilateral Exercise ‘VARUNA-2021’ took place in the Arabian Sea.

·         The Indian side was led by Rear Admiral Ajay Kochhar, while the French side was led by Rear Admiral Marc Aussedat, Commander Task Force 473.

 

2. ‘SUPPLY CHAIN RESILIENCE INITIATIVE’

·         During a trilateral Ministerial Meeting, the Trade Ministers of India, Japan & Australia virtually launched the ‘Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI)’.

·         Objective – SCRI aims to build a resilient supply chain with focus on free, transparent trade & investment environment in the Indo-Pacific region.

·         It will reduce the dependency of the 3 countries on China and counter its dominance on Trade.

 

Read More

DAILY GK: 27,28 APRIL 2021

 DAILY GK: 27,28 APRIL 2021

1. INDIA’S FIRST LNG FSRU ARRIVED IN MAHARASHTRA.

•      India’s first Liquified Natural Gas(LNG) Floating Storage and Regasification Unit(FSRU) has arrived at H-Energy’s Jaigarh Terminal in Maharashtra.

•      It sailed from Keppel Shipyard,Singapore.

•      To provide the ability to enhance the pace of natural gas import capability in an environment friendly and efficient manner.

•      To increase the share of natural gas in India’s energy mix from present 6 percent to 15 percent by 2030.

 

2.LEADERS’ SUMMIT ON CLIMATE 2021

•      Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually participated in the Leaders’ Summit on Climate 2021 which was held virtually on April 22-23, 2021.

•      He participated in the summit at the invitation of US President Joseph R. Biden, the summit was hosted by the US.

•      Around 40 world leaders participated in the Summit.

•      Theme of the Summit – ‘Our Collective Sprint to 2030’.

•      On eve of the Leader’s Climate Summit, a group of 43 International Banks have joined a UN-convened pact to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

•      The members will also establish the ‘Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ)’ for mobilising trillions of dollars towards building a global zero emissions economy & delivering the goals of Paris agreement.

 

3.IFSCA ALLOWED NBFC’S INVESTMENT IN GIFT CITY

•      International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA) allowed the Non-Banking Finance Companies(NBFCs) (both local and global) to start their operations in Gujarat’s GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) to enable the local NBFCs to get global exposure.

 

Read More

DAILY GK: 25,26 APRIL 2021

 DAILY GK: 25,26 APRIL 2021

1.“IGBC MISSION ON NET ZERO”

•      The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) launched the “IGBC Mission on Net Zero” on the occasion of World Earth Day (22nd April 2021).

•      Objective – The Mission was launched with an objective to abolish the carbon Emission in India.

•      Target – ‘Net Zero Carbon Emission’ by 2050.

•      India is committed to reduce the emission intensity by 33 to 35% by 2030 over 2005 levels.

 

2.IAF CHIEF RKS BHADAURIA’S VISITED FRANCE

•      Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) of Indian Air Force(IAF), Rakesh Kumar Singh (RKS) Bhadauria visited France for 5 days during his visit he flagged off four Rafale aircraft for India.

•      These jets once inducted into service will complete the first Rafale squadron No. 17 Golden Arrows based at Ambala.

 

3.INDIA BUILDS 3 EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN NEPAL

•      India with Financial Assisitance of Nepalese Rupee(NRs) 98.37 Million(~Rs.6.17 Crore) has build infrastructures of Three Educational Institutions in Palpa of Nepal.

The 3 educational institutes are

•      Shree Rambha Higher Secondary School at Tahun VDC, Palpa District

•      Shree Laxmi Higher Secondary School at Tansen-5,Bandi Pokhara,Palpa District

•      Shree Nava Adarsha Multiple Campus in Palpa District.

 

4.RBI RESTRICTED AMERICAN EXPRESS

•      The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has restricted American Express Banking Corp and Diners Club International Ltd, the payment system operators from on-boarding new domestic customers onto their card networks from May 1, 2021, due to the non-compliance with the directions on Storage of Payment System Data.

•      American Express and Diners Club are authorized to operate card networks in India under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (PSS Act).

 

5.NEW DG OF NADA

•      IAS officer Siddharth Singh Longjam will take over as the Director General(DG) of National Anti Doping Agency(NADA).

•      He will succeed Navin Agarwal.

 

6.NASA LAUNCHED SHIELDS MISSION

•      SpaceX through its Falcon 9 rocket sent 4-astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) on a NASA commercial crew mission, “Crew-2 mission” from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.

•      NASA launched the Spatial Heterodyne Interferometric Emission Line Dynamics Spectrometer (SHIELDS) mission from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

 

7.SUPPLEMENTAL OXYGEN DELIVERY SYSTEM DEVELOPED BY DRDO

•      A SpO2(Blood Oxygen Saturation) based supplemental oxygen delivery system for soldiers serving in extremely high altitude areas & COVID-19 patients has been developed by Defence Bio-Engineering and ElectroMedical Laboratory (DEBEL) located in Bengaluru.

•      It operates under Defence Research and Development Organisation(DRDO).

•      The system delivers supplementary oxygen based on the Blood Saturation levels.

•      This will help soldiers from sinking into a state of Hypoxia.

•      Hypoxia is the state where oxygen reaching the tissues is inadequate to fulfill all the energy requirements of the body.

•      The same condition occurs in COVID-19.

 

8.POTAMOPHYLAX CORONAVIRUS NEW INSECT DISCOVERED

•      Kosovar Biologist Halil Ibrahimi has discovered a new insect species named ‘Potamophylax coronavirus’ in Accursed Mountains (Kosovo’s Western Bjeshket e Nemuna National Park).

•      The insect was named after Coronavirus(Covid-19)

•      The newly found species of Caddisfly is different from those found in the Balkans & it is endemic to the National Park.

 

9.NEW BOOK:“THE LIVING MOUNTAIN”

•      Noted Indian writer Amitav Ghosh has authored a new book titled “The Living Mountain: A Fable for Our Times”.

•      This book was written during the course of the pandemic.

•      It will be Published by Harper Collins India.

•      The Book is written in the Structure of a fable about Mahaparbat, the living mountain.

 

10.WORLD IMMUNIZATION WEEK 2021

•      World Immunization Week is observed annually across the globe in the last week of April to promote the use of vaccines to protect people against diseases.

•      The world Immunisation Week 2021 is observed from 24th April to 30th April 2021.

•      The theme of World Immunization Week 2021 is  “Vaccines bring us closer”.

 

11.INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR MULTILATERALISM AND DIPLOMACY FOR PEACE 2021

•      The United Nations(UN)’s International Day for Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace is annually observed across the globe on 24th April to promote the 3 pillars of the United Nations – Peace and Security; Development; and Human Rights.

 

12.NATIONAL PANCHAYATI RAJ DAY 2021

•      National Panchayati Raj Day or Panchayati Raj Diwas is annually observed across India on 24th April to recognise the work of the Panchayat leaders towards building an Atma Nirbhar Bharat. 

•      The day is annually commemorated by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

•      24th April marks the institution of Panchayat Raj through the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 which came into force in 1993.

 

13.CIL FIRST SOLAR POWER PURCHASE PACT WITH GUVNL

•      Coal India Limited(CIL) has signed its first solar power purchase agreement for the sale of 100 Mw solar power with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL) with a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for 25 years.

•      CIL entered into a PPA and supply the 100 Mw power generated to GUVNL within 18 months with a capital investment of Rs 442 crore.

 

14. PM MODI GREETS US PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN FOR JOINING LEADIT

•      The US has joined the India-Sweden climate initiative, the Leadership Group for Industry Transition, LeadIT.

•      Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed US President Joe Biden for joining LeadIT.

•      The Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT) gathers countries and companies that are committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions from industry by 2050.

 

15. DISTRIBUTION OF E-PROPERTY CARDS UNDER SVAMITVA SCHEME

•      Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the distribution of e-property cards under the SVAMITVA scheme.

•      SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) scheme was launched by the Prime Minister on 24th April last year as a Central Sector Scheme to promote a socio-economically empowered and self-reliant rural India.

 

16. UK NOW READY TO CONSIDER DIGITAL CURRENCY ‘BRITCOIN’

•      British authorities are exploring the possibility of creating a new digital currency that Treasury chief Rishi Sunak indicated could be known as Britcoin“.

•      The Bank of England and the Treasury said that they will work together to assess the benefits of a central bank digital currency, at a time when cash payments are generally on the decline, partly as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Read More