DAILY GK: 09, 10 JULY 2021

 DAILY GK: 09, 10 JULY 2021

1. VMAN AVIATION SIGNED MOU WITH AIRBUS HELICOPTERS

•      Vman Aviation Services became the first GIFT (Gujarat International Finance Tec) City, Gandhinagar based Aircraft leasing company to sign an Aircraft purchase agreement after placing an order for an Airbus H125 helicopter with France-based Airbus Helicopters SAS.

•      The agreement has been signed under Government’s Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan Initiative.

•      The Government of India is aiming to make GIFT IFSC a hub for aircraft leasing & financing activities

 

2. GOVT SET UP 25-MEMBER DCCI

•      The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has set up a 25-member Development Council for the Cement Industry (DCCI) under the chairmanship of Puneet Dalmia, CMD, Dalmia Bharat Group.

•      The Council will suggest ways to eliminate waste, obtain maximum production, improve quality, reduce costs, and promote standardization of products.

 

3. INDIA TO HAVE 24 ICP ON LAND BORDERS BY 2025: LPAI

•      During a seminar organized by Centre for Social & Economic Progress (CSEP), Aditya Mishra, Chairman of LPAI (Land Ports Authority of India), a statutory body under the Ministry of Home Affairs stated that India will have 24 Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) on land borders by 2025.

•      It will enable better integration of India with the South East Asian region and other regions beyond them.

 

4. OECD REPORT ON JOBS

•      The Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) in its ‘OECD Employment Outlook 2021’ stated that over 22 million jobs were lost in developed nations due to COVID-19.

•      Out of 22 million who remain out of work, 8 million are unemployed and 14 million are considered inactive.

•      The report states that worldwide, 114 million jobs were lost during the pandemic.

 

5. INDIA’S FIRST AI-BASED HOME LOAN SELECTION ENGINE

•      Easiloan Techno Solutions Pvt. Ltd. located in Mumbai, Maharashtra launched ‘Easiloan Instant Match’ application for home loans.

•      This app is the housing finance industry’s first Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology-based selection and recommendation engine for home buyers.

 

6. RBI ANNOUNCED CHANGES IN G-SEC AUCTION METHODOLOGY

•      By reviewing the market conditions and market borrowing program of the government, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has modified the auction methodology of the benchmark securities of tenor 2-year, 3-year, 5-year, 10-year, 14-year tenor and Floating Rate Bonds (FRBs) to uniform price auction method (earlier it was based on multiple price-based auctions).

•      The auction of other benchmark securities such as 30-year and 40-year were unchanged and made to continue as multiple price-based auctions.

 

Read More

DAILY GK: 08 JULY 2021

 DAILY GK: 08 JULY 2021

1. CENTRAL GOVERNMENT CREATES ‘MINISTRY OF CO-OPERATION’

•      The Central Government has created a separate ‘Ministry of Co-operation (Sahkarita Mantralaya)’ to provide a separate administrative, legal and policy framework for strengthening the Co-operative Movement in India.

•      The New Ministry has been carved out from the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture & Agriculture Welfare.

•      The new process will help in realizing the government’s vision of ‘Sahakar se Samriddhi’ (prosperity from cooperation).

•      The New Ministry has been created through the creation of new rules under ‘Government of India (Allocation of Business) Three Hundred and Sixty Second Amendment Rules, 2021’ which amends the ‘Government of India (Allocation of Business Rules), 1961’.

 

2. GOI BRINGS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES UNDER FINANCE MINISTRY

•      President of India Ram Nath Kovind approved the ‘Government of India (Allocation of Business) Three Hundred and Sixty First Amendment Rules, 2021’, which brings the ‘Department of Public Enterprises (Lok Udyam Vibhag)’ which was part of the Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises under the Ministry of Finance.

•      The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) will be the 6th Department in the Finance Ministry.

•      It has been brought under the Finance Ministry to enable better coordination and better facilitate the Government’s Disinvestment programme.

•      The other 5 departments under the Finance Ministry are Economic Affairs, Revenue, Expenditure, Investment & Public Asset Management and Financial Services

 

3. INDIA’S COAL PRODUCTION DECREASES BY 2% IN FY 2021

•      According to the provisional statistics of 2020-21 released by the Ministry of Coal, India’s coal production dropped by 2.02% to 716.08 Million Tonnes (MT) in FY 2020-21 compared to 730.87 MT in FY 2019-20.

•      Chhattisgarh registered the highest coal production of 158.40 MT, followed by Odisha 154.150 MT, Madhya Pradesh 132.531 MT and Jharkhand 119.296 MT.

•      Jharkhand was the top producer of coking coal with an output of 44.38 MT, which was 99.11% of total coking coal production of 44.787 MT.

•      Coal is the backbone of India’s energy system, it contributes nearly 58% of India’s commercial primary energy supply and coal-based power contributes more than 70% of the power generated in India.

 

4.J&K TOPS IN IMPLEMENTING NISHTHA PROGRAMME

•      Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) has trained 80600 Elementary School Teachers through online mode using DIKSHA portal, leading it as India’s top performer under National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA) portal.

•      NISHTHA is theWorld’s largest teacher training program that was launched under Samagra Shiksha scheme in 2019-20.

•      It aims to provide an Integrated Teacher Training Programme for improving the quality of school education.

 

Read More

DAILY GK: 07 JULY 2021

 DAILY GK: 07 JULY 2021

1.‘NISHANK’ LAUNCHES NIPUN BHARAT PROGRAMME

•      Union Minister for Education, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ virtually launched ‘National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat)’ Mission & its Guidelines.

•      It aims to ensure that every child in India attains foundational literacy and numeracy by the end of Grade 3, by 2026-27.

 

2.GOA TO HOST 52ND IFFI

•      Prakash Javadekar announced the dates for 52nd edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which will be held in Goa from 20th to 28th November, 2021.

•      He also released the regulation booklet and the poster of 52nd IFFI.

•      2021 is the 100th Birth anniversary of India’s legendary filmmaker “Satyajit Ray”, to mark this a Special Retrospective was arranged by the Directorate of Films Festivals at 52nd IFFI.

•      A new award – “Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Cinema” will be instituted annually starting from 2021

 

3.4TH TIGER RESERVE OF RAJASTHAN

•      Ramgarh Vishdhari Sanctuary in Bundi, Rajasthan has been sanctioned as the 4th Tiger Reserve of Rajasthan and 52nd Tiger Reserve of India by the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC).

•      The other 3 Tiger Reserves in Rajasthan namely Ranthambore in Sawai Madhopur, Sariska in Alwar, and Mukundra Tiger reserve in Kota are home to 102 Tigers.

 

 

4.AELDRA PROPOSED US BANK ACCOUNT FOR INDIAN STUDENTS

•      Aeldra Financial Inc., a ‘digital neo bank’ proposed a United States (US) bank account with a Master card Global Debit Card for the Indian students who are preparing to get admission in the US.

•      Aeldra requires only a valid Indian passport and other local documents for KYC (know your customer) to open the account (No need for U.S. Social Security Number, U.S. address proof or even a U.S. visa).

 

5.NCDEX LAUNCHED 2 NEW AGRI COMMODITY INDICES – GUAREX, SOYDEX

•      Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), India’s agricultural-commodity exchange, launched India’s 1st sectoral indices in agricultural-commodities space such as GUAREX and SOYDEX.

•      GUAREX and SOYDEX were also India’s first return based agricultural futures index in agricultural-commodities.

•      GUAREX – It is the return based index, it tracks the change in the price of the futures contracts of Guar Seed and Guar Gum Refined Splits on a real-time basis.

•      SOYDEX – It will also trace the price changes in futures contracts of Soybean and Refined Soy Oil.

 

6.ACI DG’S ROLL OF EXCELLENCE 2020

•      Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (KIAB Airport), Karnataka owned by the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), has been inducted into the Airports Council International (ACI) Director General(DG)’s Roll of Excellence for the year 2020.

•      ACI DG’s Roll of Excellence recognises the airports that delivered excellence in customer service by winning multiple ASQ awards over a period of 5 years.

OTHER INDUCTEES OF 2020:

•      Cochin International Airport in Cochin, Kerala, India

•      Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in Guangzhou, China

•      Portland International Jetport in Maine, United States

•      San Antonio International Airport in Texas, United States

•      Toronto Pearson International Airport in Canada

 

7.PRESIDENT RAM NATHKOVIND APPOINTS NEW GOVERNORS FOR 8 STATES

•      President Ram NathKovind appointed new Governors for 8 States.

•      Article 155 of the Indian Constitution states that the Governor of a State shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal.

•      As per Article 159, The Chief Justice of the concerned State High Court administers the oath of office to the Governor.

NEW APPOINTMENTS & TRANSFERS

STATE                                                                                          NEW GOVERNOR

Goa                                                                                                                P.S. SreedharanPillai

(Currently Governor of Mizoram)

Tripura                                                                                           Satyadeo Narain Arya

(Currently Governor of Haryana)

Jharkhand                                                                                     Ramesh Bais

(Currently Governor of Tripura)

Karnataka                                                                                    Thaawar chand Gehlot

(Currently Union Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment)

Haryana                                                                                        Bandaru Dattatraya

(Currently Governor of Himachal Pradesh)

Mizoram                                                                                       Dr. Hari Babu Kambhampati

Madhya Pradesh                                                                         Mangubhai Chhaganbhai Patel

Himachal Pradesh                                                                       Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar

 

8.‘BRAND AMBASSADOR’ OF KHADIPRAKRITK PAINT

•      NitinGadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways & MSME announced himself as the Brand Ambassador of ‘Khadi Prakritk Paint’ (cow dung paint) to promote the paint across the country and encourage the young entrepreneurs to manufacture it.

•      KhadiPrakritk Paint is India’s 1st and only paint made from cow dung

•      He also inaugurated a new automated manufacturing unit of Khadi Prakritik Paint virtually on the campus of Kumarappa National Handmade Paper Institute (KNHPI), Jaipur, Rajasthan, the institute is a unit of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC))

 

9.IBM PRESIDENT AND FORMER RED HAT CEO JIM WHITEHURST QUITS

•      American multinational technology company International Business Machines Corporation(IBM) has announced that Jim Whitehurst has decided to step down as President of the company, Whitehurst former CEO of Red Hat has played a pivotal role in the $34 billion IBM and Red Hat integration deal in 2018 and He will continue to work as senior advisor to Arvind Krishna, Chairman and CEO of IBM.

 

10.WORLD ZOONOSES DAY 2021 – JULY 6

•      World Zoonoses Day is annually observed across the globe on 6th July to create awareness about zoonoses or zoonotic disease, a disease or infection transmitted from vertebrate animals to humans.

•      The day also commemorates the first vaccination administered against zoonotic disease.

•      On 6th July 1885, Louis Pasteur, a French biologist, successfully administered the first vaccination against Rabies, zoonoses disease.

Read More

DAILY GK: 06 JULY 2021

 DAILY GK: 06 JULY 2021

1. CBSE INTRODUCES FINANCIAL LITERACY TEXTBOOK

•      National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in collaboration with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has launched the “Financial Literacy Textbook for Class 6” students, to make children aware of basic financial concepts.

•      The Book was developed by NPCI and edited by CBSE as per the needs of students. They are also working on similar books for Class 7 & 8.

 

2. IOC BUYS CRUDE OIL FROM GUYANA

•      Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) became India’s 1st Public sector refinery to procure crude oil from Guyana, which will be refined in IOC’s Paradip refinery at Odisha.

•      IOC also entered into a contract to procure 3 million tonnes of US crude.

•      India’ is World’s 3rd largest consumer & importer of Crude oil with almost 85% from imports.

•      Historically, India procures oil from Middle eastern countries, and this procurement from Liza oil field in Guyana is a part of India’s diversification strategy.

 

3. PM MODI ADDRESSES COWIN GLOBAL CONCLAVE 2021

•      PM Narendra Modi virtually addressed the CoWIN Global Conclave 2021. Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the event.

•      The conclave was attended by India’s Foreign Secretary H V Shringla, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, and CEO of National Health Authority (NHA), Dr RS Sharma.

•      India is set to offer the CoWIN (COVID-19 Vaccine Intelligence Work) platform as a digital public good to the world to combat COVID-19.

•      For this purpose, an open-source version of the vaccine registration platform will be shared by India for free.

 

4. INDIA’S 2ND LARGEST CRICKET STADIUM

•      India’s 2nd Largest Cricket Stadium & World’s 3rd Largest Cricket Stadium is set to be constructed in Jaipur (also known as Pink City), Rajasthan.

•      The construction of the stadium will cost an estimated INR 290 crore.

•      The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has given a financial grant of INR 100 crore to the Rajasthan Cricket Association for the construction of the Stadium which will have a capacity of 75,000.

 

Read More

DAILY GK QUIZ: 01 - 04 JULY 2021

 DAILY GK QUIZ: 01 - 04 JULY 2021

[Q] Name the organisation that recently released the ‘Study on Not-For-Profit Hospital Model in India’

(a) National Human Rights Commission

(b) Department of Health Research

(c) NITI Aayog

(d) Indian Council of Medical Research

(e) Competition Commission of India

[ANS] c

 

[Q] As per Startup Blink’s Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2021 – India was ranked as ______ best country, while in the City-wise category, ___________ was ranked 10th best city for startups

(a) 20th; Noida

(b) 13th; Bangalore

(c) 23rd; Noida

(d) 20th; Bangalore

(e) 13th; Noida

[ANS] d

 

[Q] Which bank partnered with Amazon Web Services to enhance its digital banking services?

(a) IndusInd Bank

(b) Axis Bank

(c) HDFC Bank

(d) Kotak Mahindra Bank

(e) ICICI Bank

[ANS] b

 

[Q] In June 2021, the Central Government extended the tenure of Amitabh Kant, ________ of NITI Aayog by _________.

(a) CEO; 6-months

(b) Chairman; 2-years

(c) Vice-Chairman; 2-years

(d) Vice- Chairman; 6-months

(e) CEO; 1-years

[ANS] e

 

[Q] The National Postal Worker Day is marked every year on __________ globally in recognition of the contribution made by postal workers in our society.

(a) July 1

(b) July 2

(c) July 3

(d) July 4

(e) July 5

[ANS] a

 

[Q] What is the rank of India in the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) 2020?

(a) 12th

(b) 20th

(c) 17th

(d) 18th

(e) 10th

[ANS] e

 

[Q] Which one of the following is the oldest newspaper in India?

(a) The Hindu

(b) RajyaSamachar

(c) Bombay Samachar

(d) Punjab Kesari

(e) Nava Bharat

[ANS] c

 

[Q] Which of the following film has won the Best Film Award in the Documentary section (Best Biographical) at the Toronto International Women Film Festival, 2021?

(a) Decoding Shankar

(b) 76 Days

(c) Ammonite

(d) Beans

(e) The Disciple

[ANS] a

 

[Q] What is the rank of India in the Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2021 by Startup Blink?

(a) 40th

(b) 35th

(c) 30th

(d) 25th

(e) 20th

[ANS] e

 

[Q] The National Doctors’ Day is organized on __________ annually in India by the Indian Medical Association (IMA).

(a) 05 July

(b) 02 July

(c) 01 July

(d) 04 July

(e) 03 July

[ANS] c

 

[Q] Who among the following has become the youngest-ever chess Grandmaster in the world?

(a) Abhimanyu Mishra

(b) R Praggnanandhaa

(c) Sergey Karjakin

(d) GukeshDommaraju

(e) JavokhirSindarov

[ANS] a

 

[Q] Which of the following country has topped the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) 2020?

(a) Saudi Arabia

(b) United States

(c) United Kingdom

(d) Estonia

(e) Australia

[ANS] b

 

[Q] Who among the following will be the new Vice Chief of Indian Air Force?

(a) Harjit Singh Arora

(b) Vivek Ram Chaudhari

(c) DiwanAtma Ram Nanda

(d) Pratap Chandra Lal

(e) Arjan Singh

[ANS] b

 

[Q] National Chartered Accountants Day or CA Day is celebrated on __________ every year.

(a) July 5

(b) July 4

(c) July 3

(d) July 2

(e) July 1

[ANS] e

 

[Q] In July 2021, Indian navy participated in the 7th Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) at La Reunion in Indian Ocean. Which country hosted the event?

(a) India

(b) Madagascar

(c) Saudi Arabia

(d) France

(e) UAE

[ANS] d

 

[Q] Which one of the following is the first country in the WHO Western Pacific Region to be awarded a malaria-free certification in more than 3 decades?

(a) China

(b) Japan

(c) India

(d) Mongolia

(e) Thailand

[ANS] a

 

[Q] Name the Indian wrestler, who gets two-year ban for doping recently.

(a) YogeshwarDutt

(b) Jeet Rama

(c) Ravinder Singh

(d) Pawan Kumar

(e) Sumit Malik

[ANS] e

 

[Q] Name the author of the book “Nathuram Godse: The True Story of Gandhi’s Assassin”.

(a) Rohit Thakur

(b) Sanjay Sharma

(c) Dhaval Kulkarni

(d) Roshni Singh

(e) RajatTripathi

[ANS] c

 

[Q] Name the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent in the Tokyo Paralympics.

(a) Tarundeep Rai

(b) KT Irfan

(c) Vikas Krishan

(d) FouaadMirza

(e) Mariyappan Thangavelu

[ANS] e

Read More