DAILY GK: 10, 11 JAN 2021

 DAILY GK: 10, 11 JAN 2021

1.  ‘EDUCON-2020’

•      Virtual International Akhand Conference ‘EDUCON 2020’ held which was inaugurated by Union Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Ministry of Education (MoE).

•      The Chief Guest of Valedictory Ceremony was Prof Dhirendra Pal Singh, Chairman, University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi.

•      Its theme was Envisioning Education for Transforming Youth to Restore Global Peace.

 

2. MILESTONES ACHIEVED BY MOES IN 2020

•      One major milestone achieved by MoES in 2020 was the release of Flash Flood Guidance Services (FFGS), which is the 1st of its kind for South Asian countries namely India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

•      MoES has listed out its significant milestones accomplished in 2020 under 5 major schemes –

•      ACROSS – Atmospheric and Climate Research-Modelling Observing Systems and Services

•      O-SMART – Ocean Services, Modelling Application, Resources and Technology

•      PACER – Polar and Cryosphere Research

•      SAGE – Seismology and Geoscience Research

•      REACHOUT

 

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DAILY GK: 9 JAN 2021

 DAILY GK: 9 JAN 2021

1. CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN LOGISTICS SKILL

•      Flipkart has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Logistics Skill Sector Council (LSC).

•      It is LSC’s first-of-its-kind industry partnership with Flipkart to set up the industry-first Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

•      LSC is an organisation set up by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) through National Skill Development Corporation of India (NSDC) and Karnataka Skill Development Centre (KSDC).

•      Government of India promulgated a Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 by amending the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019 to merge the Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) cadre of All India Services Officers like IAS, IPS & Indian Forest Service (IFoS) with the Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre.

•      With this, officers from the Union Territories & above mentioned States can now be placed in J&K and vice versa.

•      The ordinance was signed by President Ram Nath Kovind amended section 13 & 88 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019, it was issued by the Ministry of Law & Justice.

 

2. INDIA SET TO HEAD 3 IMPORTANT COMMITTEES OF UNSC

•      Permanent Representative of India to United Nations (UN) TS Tirumurti announced that India will head 3 Important Committees of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) – Counter-Terrorism Committee (for 2022), Taliban Sanctions Committee (also called the 1988 Sanctions Committee) & Libya Sanctions Committee.

•      India began its 8th Term as a non-permanent member of the UNSC for 2 years(2021-2022).

•      Mexico, Kenya, Norway & Ireland also joined India as non-permanent members.

 

3. OVERVIEW OF ISRO’S PLAN FOR THE DECADE 2021-30

•      K. Sivan, Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have chalked out the plan for the Decade 2021-30.

•      It has listed both Short-term vision & Long-term visions.

•      First Developmental Flight of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) planned to be launched in March, 2021.

•      Operational Geo-Imaging capability expected to be launched in 2021.

•      Chandrayaan-3 – Third Lunar Mission of ISRO expected to be launched by late 2021 or early 2022.

•      Aditya-L1 – First Solar Mission of ISRO expected to be launched in 2022.

•      Launching of the First Indian Data Relay Satellite, expected to be launched in early 2021.

•      The Gaganyaan Programme India’s First unmanned flight is set to be launched in 2022.

 

 

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DAILY GK: 8 JAN 2021

 DAILY GK: 8 JAN 2021

1. LASI WAVE-1 REPORT 2020

•      Union Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan released the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) Wave-1 Report 2020 based on full–scale national.

•      It is India’s first and the world’s largest survey providing base for designing national and state level programmes and policies for ageing population in India.

•      The information obtained from LASI has covered four domains viz. Health, Health care and Health care financing, Economic, and Social.

•      Initiative towards Better Health Care for Elderly People.

•      Andhra Pradesh (AP) topped the Measured prevalence (%) of low vision (near and/or distance) among elderly age 60 and above with 66.4%.

•      Uttar Pradesh (UP) topped the Prevalence (%) of blindness among elderly age 60 and above.

•      Chhattisgarh topped in the prevalence of undernutrition (underweight) among older adults aged 45 and above.

•      Chandigarh has maximum prevalence of overnutrition (overweight/obesity) among older adults aged 45 and above.

 

2. REWARI-MADAR FREIGHT CORRIDOR SECTION OF WDFC

•      PM Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated the 306-Km long New Rewari in Haryana-New Madar in Rajasthan section of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) & flagged off the World’s 1st Double Stack Long Haul 1.5 Km Container Train hauled by electric traction from Atela in Haryana – Kishangarh in Rajasthan.

•      It will ensure interruption free connectivity with the western ports of Kandla, Pipavav, Mundhra, and Dahej in Gujarat.

•      Japan International Cooperation Agency is funding WDFC.

 

3. WORLD’S LARGEST FLOATING SOLAR ENERGY PROJECT

•      World’s Largest Floating 600 Megawatt (MW) Solar Energy Project which is under construction at Omkareshwar dam on Narmada river in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh is set to begin power generation by the year 2022-23.

•      The production of electricity will be in about 2000- hectare water areas and the Floating panels will be installed in the backwaters of Omkareshwar dam.

 

4. CDSCO GIVES APPROVAL TO VACCINES OF M/S SII & M/S BHARAT BIOTECH

•      The Committee of Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) gave approval to M/s Serum Institute of India(SII), Pune, Maharashtra for  Covishield,  a Recombinant Chimpanzee Adenovirus vector vaccine, it encoded the SARS-CoV-2 Spike (S) glycoprotein with technology transfer from AstraZeneca/Oxford University and to M/s Bharat Biotech for COVAXIN, Whole Virion Inactivated Coronavirus Vaccine for restricted use in India in emergency situations.

 

5. INDIA’S 1ST UCB TO CONVERT INTO SFB

•      The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has issued a scheduled commercial banking license to Shivalik Mercantile Co-operative Bank (SMCB) Ltd to carry on business as a Small Finance Bank(SFB) under its ‘Scheme on voluntary transition of Urban Co-operative Bank(UCB) into a Small Finance Bank’.

•      It is the 1st UCB in India to transit to SFB under the scheme.

•      SMCB is renamed as Shivalik Small Finance Bank (SSFB).

•      The bank expects to commence business as a SFB by April 2021.

 

6. IRDAI’S 3 STANDARD INSURANCE PRODUCTS TO COVER RISK OF FIRED

•      Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has mandated General Insurance Companies to offer 3 standard Insurance Products  namely – Bharat Griha Raksha, Bharat Sookshma Udyam Suraksha & Bharat Laghu Udyam Suraksha to cover risk of fire & allied perils from April 1, 2021.

•      The 3 policies will replace the Standard Fire and Special Perils (SFSP) Policy.

•      Bharat Griha Raksha (meant for Home Building and Home Contents)

•      Bharat Sookshma Udyam Suraksha (meant for enterprises where the total value at risk is upto Rs. 5 Crore)

•      Bharat Laghu Udyam Suraksha (meant for enterprises where the total value at risk is more than Rs. 5 Crore and upto Rs. 50 crore).

 

7. COMMITTEE TO PROTECT LANGUAGE, CULTURE OF LADAKH

•      Central Government has decided to form a committee to protect the language, culture and land of the Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh.

•      The committee will be headed by the Minister of State (MoS) Gangapuram Kishan Reddy and will include elected representatives from Ladakh, members of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) and ex-officio members representing the Government of India and the Ladakh administration.

 

8. BOOK “RIGHT UNDER YOUR NOSE”

•      The book titled ‘Right Under Your Nose’ is authored by Reserve Bank of India(RBI) Manager R Giridharan.

•      This is his debut Book. The book is published by Rupa Publications India Pvt Ltd.

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DAILY GK QUIZ: 8 JAN 2021

 DAILY GK QUIZ: 8 JAN 2021

[Q] Which Organisation recently signed a loan worth USD 105 Million to Government of India for development of Inland Water Transport in West Bengal, on January, 2021?

(a) International Monetary Fund

(b) Asian Development Bank

(c) European Central Bank

(d) New Development Bank

(e) World Bank

[ANS] e

 

[Q] Who will chair the Advisory Council that will be responsible for managing the implementation of RBI’s Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) Scheme?

(a) BP Kanungo

(b) Shaktikanta Das

(c) M. Rajeshwar Rao

(d) M. D. Patra

(e) M.K. Jain

[ANS] a

 

[Q] Who was appointed as the 1st Deputy General Secretary of All India Football Federation (AIFF)?

(a) P. K. Banerjee

(b) I.M. Vijayan

(c) Abhishek Yadav

(d) Chuni Goswami

(e) Pronay Halder

[ANS] c

 

[Q] When was World Day of War Orphans observed annually across the globe?

(a) January 6

(b) December 4

(c) January 4

(d) December 30

(e) January 2

[ANS] a

 

[Q] Name the first urban co-operative bank of India to receive a licence from RBI to transition to Small Finance Bank (SFB).

(a) Municipal Cooperative Bank

(b) Vijay Cooperative Bank

(c) Shivalik Mercantile Cooperative Bank

(d) New India Cooperative Bank

(e) Bara Banki Cooperative Bank

[ANS] c

 

[Q] Which financial institution has signed a loan agreement worth USD 646 million with India two road projects in Andhra Pradesh?

(a) World Bank

(b) New Development Bank

(c) Asian Development Bank

(d) IMF

(e) Euro Development Bank

[ANS] b

 

[Q] Which country is developing the world’s first wood-based space satellite, to combat the growing problem of space debris?

(a) France

(b) United States

(c) China

(d) India

(e) Japan

[ANS] e

 

[Q] The Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) is a ______digit number.

(a) 12

(b) 10

(c) 15

(d) 20

(e) 25

[ANS] d

 

[Q] The Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) defence system was tested by India recently. It has been developed by DRDO in collaboration with which country?

(a) Syria

(b) Israel

(c) Germany

(d) United States

(e) Iran

[ANS] b

 

[Q] What is the estimated GDP growth projection of the global economy by the World Bank for 2021?

(a) 4%

(b) 5%

(c) 6%

(d) 7%

(e) 3%

[ANS] a

 

[Q] The world’s oldest living first-class cricketer _________ has passed away at the age of 100.

(a) Don Smith

(b) Alan Burgess

(c) Ronald Draper

(d) Ken Archer

(e) Neil Harvey

[ANS] b

 

[Q] Name the author of the book “India’s 71-Year Test: The Journey to Triumph in Australia”.

(a) Mohan Verma

(b) Vishal K. Raju

(c) R. Kaushik

(d) Rakesh Tripathi

(e) Dharmendra Veer Singh

[ANS] c

 

[Q] Who among the following has been appointed as the Chief Justice (CJ) of Andhra Pradesh High Court?

(a) Vinay Kumar

(b) Arup Kumar Goswami

(c) Rajat Agrawal

(d) Rahul Kaushik

(e) Mhd. Iqbal Khan

[ANS] b

 

[Q] Name the first female match official in a men’s Test match when she takes up the fourth umpire’s role.

(a) G. S. Lakshmi

(b) Eloise Sheridan

(c) Claire Polosak

(d) Lauren Agenbag

(e) Humaira Farah

[ANS] c

 

[Q] President-elect Joe Biden will nominate federal appeals judge __________ to be the next U.S. attorney general.

(a) Michael B Mukasey

(b) William Pelham

(c) Merrick Garland

(d) Ashcroft John David

(e) Janet Reno

[ANS] c

 

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DAILY GK QUIZ: 7 JAN 2021

 DAILY GK QUIZ: 7 JAN 2021

[Q] India flagged off the 40th Indian Scientific Expedition to _______ from the Mormugao Port, Goa on January, 2021.

(a) Pacific Ocean

(b) Indian Ocean

(c) Arctic

(d) Antarctica

(e) Mariana Trench

[ANS] d

 

[Q] What was the permissible Trans-Fatty Acids (TFA) level in oil & fat set by FSSAI for 2021?

(a) 5%

(b) 7%

(c) 2%

(d) 4%

(e) 3%

[ANS] e

 

[Q] Which country is planning to launch World’s 1st wood-based space satellite by 2023 to combat the problem of space junk?

(a) India

(b) France

(c) USA

(d) Japan

(e) China

[ANS] d

 

[Q] Who among the following took charge as Deputy Chief of Army Staff recently?

(a) Birender Singh Dhanoa

(b) Karambir Singh

(c) Shantanu Dayal

(d) Ram Dass Katari

(e) Bipin Rawat

[ANS] c

 

[Q] Recently, Indian Army to deploy fully-armed indigenous boats at Pangong lake. This Lake situated in_____________________________.

(a) Ladakh

(b) Assam

(c) Jammu & Kashmir

(d) Manipur

(e) Arunachal Pradesh

[ANS] a

 

[Q] The World Bank has signed a $105 million project with the Government of India and the Government of __________ to improve the inland water transport infrastructure.

(a) Tamil Nadu

(b) Goa

(c) West Bengal

(d) Andhra Pradesh

(e) Maharashtra

[ANS] c

 

[Q] The Journalist Day is observed by Maharashtra State Government on ____________ every year in the memory of late journalist Balshastri Jambhekar.

(a) 5th January

(b) 6th January

(c) 7th January

(d) 8th January

(e) 9th January

[ANS] b

 

[Q] The ________ scientific expedition to Antarctica is set to leave on January 5,2021.

(a) 41st

(b) 39th

(c) 42nd

(d) 40th

(e) 43rd

[ANS] d

 

[Q] According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index 2021, Who is the Richest Person in Asia?

(a) Zhong Shanshan

(b) Hui Ka Yan

(c) Jack Ma

(d) Mukesh Ambani

(e) Ma Huateng

[ANS] a

 

[Q] Name the chairperson of the International Jury for 51st edition of International Film Festival of India.

(a) Prasanna Vithanage

(b) Pablo Cesar

(c) Abu Bakr Shawky

(d) Priyadarshan

(e) Rubaiyat Hossain

[ANS] b

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DAILY GK: 7 DEC 2021

 DAILY GK: 7 DEC 2021

1. IMPLEMENTATION of Advanced Biodigester Mk-II Technology

•      DRDO & Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation (MAHA-METRO) signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) through which DRDO will provide technical support for the implementation of advanced biodigester Mk-II technology for treatment of human waste (night soil) in the metro rail network.

•      The biodigester units (a non-sewered sanitation technology) will help in conserving water & protecting the environment.

 

2. HARSH VARDHAN INAUGURATES CEPI CENTRALIZED NETWORK LAB

•      Dr. Harsh Vardhan virtually inaugurated the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) Laboratory at the Translational Health Science & Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad.

•      This is the 1st of its Kind in India & one of the Seven labs of the Global network.

•      The lab is part of the Global network developed by CEPI Foundation, the immediation mission of the CEPI Lab at THSTI will be to assess the quality of vaccines being developed  against COVID-19.

 

3. UJALA PROGRAMMES MARKS THEIR 6TH ANNIVERSARY

•      UnnatJyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) and Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) of Government of India marks their 6th anniversary.

•      Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) implements these programmes since their inception on January 5, 2015.

•      EESL, under UJALA has distributed more than  36.69 crore Light-Emitting Diode(LED) bulbs across India.EESL, with SLNP installed about  1.14 crore LED streetlights across India.

 

4. RBI TO INTRODUCE LEI IN RTGS/NEFT

•      Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the introduction of Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) for all payment transactions of Rs 50 crore and above undertaken by entities through Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT).

•      The directions for the same have been issued by RBI under Section 10 (2) read with Section 18 of Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (Act 51 of 2007).

•      The LEI system will be effective from April 1, 2021.

•      It is a unique 20-digit global reference number to identify legal entities participating in financial transactions.

•      It makes the identification of an entity easy in the global database.

 

5. RBI ANNOUNCES OPERATIONALIZATION OF PIDF SCHEME

•      RBI announced Operationalization of the Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) Scheme with an initial corpus of INR 345 Crores for three years starting from January 1, 2021 & may be extended for two more years depending upon the progress.

•      An Advisory Council (AC) under the chairmanship of RBI Deputy Governor BP Kanungo will be responsible for managing the functioning of PIDF.

•      Objective:To increase the number of Payment Acceptance Devices in the country.To increase payments acceptance infrastructure by adding 30 Lakh touch points – 10 Lakh Physical & 20 Lakh Digital Payment acceptance devices each year.

 

6. INDIA EXPECTED TO GROW AT 5.4 % IN FISCAL YEAR 2021-22

•      According to the Global Economic Prospects (GEP-January 2021) report released by the World Bank (WB), India is expected to grow at 5.4% in the Financial Year (FY) 2021-22 & 5.2% in FY 2022-23 after an expected contraction of 9.6% in FY 2020/21.

•      The report also highlighted that the Global Economy is expected to expand by 4% in 2021.

•      The major causes of India’s contraction are sharp declines in household spending & private investment.

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