DAILY GK 20 APRIL
·
Doha’s (Qatar) Hamad International Airport (HIA) has been named
the World’s Best Airport 2024 in
the 2024 Skytrax World Airport
Awards, held at Passenger Terminal EXPO in Frankfurt, Germany
·
The 2023 Airport of the Year and
12-times previous winner, Singapore
Changi Airport (Singapore) secured 2nd place, winning Best
Airport in Asia and the World’s Best Airport Immigration Service.
·
Incheon
Airport (Seoul, South Korea) ranked 3rd,
winning the World’s Most Family Friendly Airport for 2024.
·
Skytrax are specialist Research and
Quality Advisor to the air transport industry.
·
Skytrax
Headquarters– London, UK
2.
SWEDEN
BECOMES 38TH SIGNATORY TO THE ARTEMIS ACCORDS
·
Sweden officially
became the 38th nation to
sign the National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA)’s “Artemis
Accords” which establish a practical set of guidelines for peaceful space exploration and use of outer
space.
·
Switzerland
became
the 37th country to sign
the Artemis Accords.
·
Artemis
Accord:The Artemis Accords was jointly launched by National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and US Department of State in 2020 with an aim of advancing
bilateral and multilateral space cooperation between the signatories.
·
Artemis Accords was formally signed
on 13th October 2020 by 8 founder countries: Australia, Canada,
Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates(UAE), the United Kingdom(UK)
and USA.
·
It is a non-binding agreement with no financial commitments.
3.
ANNUAL
TIME100: MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN THE WORLD 2024
·
TIME,
the 101-year-old global media brand has revealed the 21st edition of annual “TIME 100 most influential
people 2024”
in
the world.
·
The list features a total of 8 people of Indian Origins namely
Alia Bhatt, Dev Patel, Sakshi Malik, Satya Nadella, Ajaypal Singh Banga, Jigar
Shah, Asma Khan, and Priyamvada Natarajan.
4.
FIVE WISDEN CRICKETERS
OF THE YEAR 2024
·
The 2024 edition of the Wisden
Cricketers’ Almanack has revealed its Five
Wisden Cricketers of the Year, highlighting exceptional performances in the
world of cricket.
·
It includes Australia’s Mitchell Starc, Usman Khawaja, and Ash Gardner, and, England’s, Harry Brook and Mark Wood.
·
Australian
Cricketer Travis Head clinched the 2023 Wisden Trophy for his outstanding 163 against India in the
World Test Championship (WTC) final at the Oval in London, UK.
5.
ASI’S ARYABHATA AWARD
·
PavuluriSubba
Rao,
former ISRO scientist and Founder and Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of Ananth
Technologies Limited(ATL) has
been conferred the prestigious Aryabhata
Award by the Astronautical Society of India (ASI).
·
He was also presented with the “Distinguished Fellow” title
by ASI.
·
He received the honor in recognition of
his outstanding lifetime contribution to
the promotion of astronautics in India.
·
Aryabhata
Award was
instituted by Astronautical Society of India (ASI).
·
The award is named in the honour of 5th Century Indian astronomer and
mathematician Aryabhata, and also in commemoration of India’s 1st satellite named Aryabhata, launched in 1975.
·
The recipient of the award receives a
citation and cash prize of Rs
1,00,000.
·
Astronautical
Society of India(ASI) was established in 1990 to foster the
development of astronautics in the country.
·
Headquarters: Bengaluru,
Karnataka
6.
DRDO
CONDUCTS FLIGHT-TEST OF TECHNOLOGY CRUISE MISSILE (ITCM)
·
Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) successfully
conducted flight-test of Indigenous
Technology Cruise Missile (ITCM) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) located at Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.
·
Indigenous
Technology Cruise Missile (ITCM) is equipped with
advanced avionics and software to ensure better and reliable performance.
·
The missile is developed by DRDO’s laboratory
Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) based in Bengaluru,
Karnataka
·
The missile performance was monitored by
various Range Sensors like: Radar, Electro
Optical Tracking System (ETOS) and Telemetry deployed by the ITR
at various locations to ensure complete coverage of the flight path.
·
ADE is a laboratory of DRDO and is
entrusted with the responsibility of conducting research and development in the
field of military aviation.
·
Headquarters: Bengaluru,
Karnataka
·
Established: 1959
7.
WORLD
LIVER DAY 2024 – APRIL 19
·
World
Liver Day (WLD) is annually observed across the globe
on 19 April to raise
awareness about the importance of liver health and to prevent and manage liver
diseases.
·
The theme of World Liver Day 2024 is ‘Be Vigilant,
Get Regular Liver Check-Ups and Prevent Fatty Liver Diseases.’
8.
13TH
EUROPEAN GIRLS’ MATHEMATICAL OLYMPIAD 2024
· The Indian team has secured 2 Silver and
2 Bronze medals in the 13th European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO) 2024.
· This Olympiad was held in Tskaltubo,
Georgia.
9.
INDIA
GIFTS 35 AMBULANCES TO NEPAL
· India donated 35 ambulances and 66 school
buses to various organisations across Nepal, enhancing the local infrastructure
in the health and education sectors.
· Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen
Srivastava handed over the vehicles to the Nepalese officials in the presence
of Finance Minister Barshaman Pun at a ceremony.
10. US PRESIDENT’S GOLD VOLUNTEER
SERVICE HONOUR
· The US President’s Gold Volunteer Service
Award was presented to India's Jain spiritual leader Lokesh Muni.
· This award has been given to him for his
contribution to public welfare and humanity.
· Muni is the Founder of Ahimsa
VishwaBharati and the World Peace Center in India.
11. NATIONAL WOMEN’S CARROM TITLE
· Three-time World Champion Rashmi
Kumari beat K Nagajothi in the women’s final of the 51st National Carrom
championship organised by the Madhya Pradesh Carrom Association.
· The men’s title was bagged by K
Srinivas as he beat S Aditya
12. SALMAN RUSHDIE MEMOIR 'KNIFE'
· Booker Prize-winning author Salman
Rushdie’s memoir "Knife" has been released.
· In 'Knife', Salman Rushdie has an
imaginary conversation with his attacker.
· On this occasion, has spoken in detail
about the moment he was attacked by a man with a knife on a stage in New York
in 2022.
· In this attack, Rushdie's damaged liver
and hands and nerves in his right eye.
13. WORLD HERITAGE DAY 2024: APRIL 18
· Every year, April 18th is celebrated as
World Heritage Day or International Day for monuments and sites.
· The International Council on Monuments
and Sites 1982 suggested that April 18 should be celebrated as World Heritage
Day.
· The United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization in its 22nd general conference in 1983
approved the date.
14. RESERVE BANK OF INDIA LIMITS
SARVODAYA BANK CUSTOMERS' WITHDRAWAL TO RS 15,000
· In a significant move, the Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) has placed several constraints on the Mumbaibased Sarvodaya
Co-operative Bank.
· Starting (April 16, 2024), customers of
the bank are now limited to a maximum withdrawal of Rs 15,000 from their
accounts.
15. PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK 130 YEARS OF
BANKING EXCELLENCE
· Punjab National Bank (PNB), one of the
largest Public Sector Banks in India, celebrated its 130th Foundation Day in
the city and across the country.
· PNB unveiled a commemorative history
book titled "Anarkali Bazaar, Lahore to Dwarka, Delhi - A 130 Years
Saga of Excellence," chronicling the bank's evolution from 1894 to
the present.
· The bank also unveiled the January March
2024 issue of PNB Pratibha, an in-house RajbhashaPatrika.
16. ISL LEAGUE SHIELD
· A dominant Mohun Bagan defeated Mumbai
City FC 2-1 to win their maiden ISL League Shield.
· This was Mohun Bagan's first victory over
the two-time Shield Winners across four seasons
17. PAKISTAN TOPS ASIA WITH HIGHEST
COST OF LIVING
· The Manila-based lending agency Asian
Development Bank (ADB) stated that the inflation rate in Pakistan is
expected to be 25% in the current fiscal year(2024) -the highest in all of
Asia.
· With this inflation rate, Pakistan has
become the most expensive nation in Asia, surpassing its previous status as
the highest in South Asia.
· ADB Established : 1966
· Headquarters : Manila, Philippines
· President :MasatsuguAsakawa
· Membership : 68 members, including
49 regional members (countries in Asia and the Pacific) and 19 non-regional
members (countries outside the region)
18. INDIA POST OPENS THIRD POST OFFICE
IN ANTARCTICA
· India Post opened its third post office
in Antarctica.
· The new post office was inaugurated at
Bharati Station.
· Almost four decades later, letters meant
for Antarctica will now have a new PIN code, MH-1718.
· The inauguration coincided with the 24th
Foundation Day of the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR),
Goa.
· The first post office was
established in 1984 at DakshinGangotri, followed by another in 1990
at Maitri Station.
19. JAN DHAN'S BALANCE RISES 18% TO RS
2.35 TRILLION IN FY24
· Net cash accretion in no-frills Pradhan
Mantri Jan DhanYojana (PMJDY) bank accounts rose to an all-time high of Rs
36,153 crore in 2023-24, which also showed that average cash deposits
per account at a high of Rs 4,524.
· As many as 33 million new PMJDY
accounts were opened in FY24, taking the cumulative PMJDY accounts at
519.5 million.
20. JOINT DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL BUREAU OF
INVESTIGATION
·
Anurag Kumar,
a senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, has been appointed to the
position of Joint Director (JD) at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
· His tenure in this position is approved
until February 24, 2027.
21. INDIA RANKS NUMBER 10 IN CYBERCRIME
·
According to new research surveying
cybercrime experts from around the world, India ranked 10th in cybercrime,
with fraud involving people asking for advance fee payments as the most
common type.
·
An international team of researchers has
prepared a 'World Cyber Crime Index' which ranks nearly 100 countries.
·
Russia and Ukraine are highly
technical cybercrime hubs
·
Nigerian cyber
criminals are engaged in less technical forms of cybercrime.
·
Russia topped the list, and was followed
by Ukraine, China, the US, Nigeria and Romania.
22. 1ST INDIAN TOURIST IN SPACE ON BLUE
ORIGIN'S NS-25 MISSION
·
GopiThotakura,
an entrepreneur and a pilot, is set to become the first Indian to venture
into space as a tourist on Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin’s
NS-25 mission.
·
Thotakura was chosen as one of the 6
crew members for the NS-25 mission, making him the first Indian space
tourist.
·
He will be the 2nd Indian
to venture into space after Indian Army's Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma in
1984.
·
Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian
astronaut when he flew to the Soviet Union’s Salyut-7 space station in 1984
on a Soviet Soyuz T-11 rocket.