DAILY GK 17,18 MAR

 DAILY GK 17,18 MAR

1.         DAHD’S BASIC ANIMAL HUSBANDRY STATISTICS 2022

·           According to the ‘Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics 2022’, the 23rd series of annual publication of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD), Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying (MoFAHD), India’s milk production increased to 221.06 million tonnes (MT) in the financial year 2021-22 (FY22) from 209.96 MT in FY21 registering an annual growth of 5.29%.

·           Top 5 Milk producing States such as Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh together contribute 53.11% of India’s Milk production.

·           India’s total egg production in FY22 was about 129.60 billion numbers registering a growth of 6.19% compared to FY21.

·           The total meat production in India in FY22 was about 9.29 MT registering an annual growth of 5.62% compared to FY21.

·           The total wool production in India in FY22 was about 33.13 million kgs registering a negative growth rate of 10.30% as compared to FY21.

 

2.         WORLD AIRPORT AWARDS 2023

·           Singapore Changi Airport has been named the “World’s Best Airport” in 2023 at the World Airport Awards 2023 ceremony held at Passenger Terminal EXPO in Amsterdam, Netherlands,

·           The rankings were based on the 2022–2023 World Airport Survey and released by Skytrax, a renowned airline and airport review and ranking site based in the United Kingdom (UK).

·           Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi is awarded a 4-star rating and named the ‘Best Airport in Indiaand South Asia’ and is ranked 36th in 2023. (Rank 37 in 2022).

·           Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad (Telangana) is ranked 65th in 2023 (Rank 63 in 2022). 

·           Bangalore (Karnataka) Airport is ranked 69th in 2023 (Rank 61 in 2022), whereas Mumbai (Maharashtra) Airport is ranked 84th in 2023 (Rank 65 in 2022).

 

3.         CENTRAL BANKING AWARDS 2023

·           Shaktikanta Das, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), was named the “Governor of the Year” for 2023 at the Central Banking Awards 2023 by Central Banking, the international economic research journal.

·           In 2015, RaghuramRajan, the former Governor of the RBI, was conferred the title “Governor of the Year.”

·           Shaktikanta Das, a retired 1980-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre, assumed charge as the 25th Governor of RBI in 2018.

 

4.         2023 PARTNERSHIP FOR HEALTHY CITIES AWARD

·           Bengaluru (Karnataka) was honoured with the 2023 Partnership for Healthy Cities Award, along with Montevideo, Uruguay; Mexico City, Mexico; Vancouver, Canada; and Athens, Greece at the inaugural Partnership for Healthy Cities Summit held in London, United Kingdom (UK).

·           Bengaluru was awarded for its efforts in tobacco control, specifically, reducing smoking in public places and improving compliance with existing mandates on public smoking bans.

 

5.         NEW UN RESIDENT COORDINATOR IN TAJIKISTAN

·           The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointedKavilmadamRamaswami Parvathy (K. R. Parvathy) of India, as UN Resident Coordinator in Tajikistan with the approval of the host government.

·           Resident coordinators, the highest-ranking official in the UN Development System, leads the UN Country Teams and report directly to the secretary-general.

 

6.         NEW PREMIER OF CHINA

·           The National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s Parliament, elected Li Qiang as the country’s new Premier, succeeding Li Keqiang, who has been in charge of the second-largest economy for the past 10 years.

·           The NPC is a ceremonial body that regularly passes the proposals of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC).

·           Li Qiang, a close ally to President Xi Jinping, will be the CPC government’s second-highest-ranking official after Xi, who was recently elected President of China for the third five-year term.

 

7.         NATIONAL VACCINATION DAY 2023 – MARCH 16

·           National Vaccination Day, also known as National Immunization Day, is annually observed across the globe on 16th March to create awareness about the importance of vaccines in human health.

·           National Vaccination Day in India, also known as “Polio Ravivar”.

·           National Vaccination Day in India was introduced in 1995, as a part of the National Polio Eradication Program (NPEP).

·           On March 16, 1995, the first dose of the oral polio vaccine was administered in India as part of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Polio Eradication Initiative, which began in 1988

 

8.         RESHAM KEET BIMA: INDIA’S 1ST SILKWORM INSURANCE

·           ‘ReshamKeetBima’ scheme, India’s first programme to safeguard sericulturists is launched in Uttarakhand.

·           Uttrakhandbecame the first Indian state to launch a Silkworm Insurance Scheme under which crop insurance will be provided to all farmers cultivating silkworms to produce silk.

·           This insurance will save the farmers from bearing the loss of natural calamities.

 

9.         GUJARAT’S BARDA WLS PROPOSED AS 2ND HOME FOR ASIATIC LIONS

·           According to a report entitled “Lion at 2047: A Vision for Amrutkal” prepared by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) for the Gujarat government, the Barda Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS) has been identified as a suitable location for relocating a population of 40 adult and sub-adult Asiatic lions from Gir National Park (NP).

·           The Gujarat government has recommended the Barda WLS as a second home for Asiatic lions (Pantheraleopersica) in Gujarat, approximately 100 kilometres from their current home at Gir NP.

 

10.      ‘EXERCISE SEA DRAGON 23’  AT GUAM, USA

·           The Indian Navy is participating in the 3rd edition of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercise SEA DRAGON 23 with A P8I aircraft.

·           SEA DRAGON 23 is an annual, multinational ASW exercise for Long Range MR (Maritime Reconnaissance) ASW aircraft conducted by the United States Navy.

·           Other countries participating in the exercise SEA DRAGON 23 include Japan, Canada, and South Korea

 

11.      AEGIS GRAHAM BELL AWARDS

·           Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Limited has been honoured with the ‘Innovation in Consumer Tech’ award at the 13th Aegis Graham Bell Awards (AGBA) for its Hello Ujjivan app, India’s 1st visual-voice-vernacular banking app.

·           The 13th edition of the annual Aegis Graham Bell Awards is supported by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology; NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) and Skill India.

·           Hello Ujjivan App provides banks’ MicroBanking and Rural customers with access to banking financial services despite having limited reading and writing skills.

·           The Aegis Graham Bell Awards were established as an honour to the eminent inventor Alexander Graham Bell.

·           The award was established by the Aegis School of Business, Data Science and Cyber Security in 2010 to promote innovations and recognize the outstanding contributions by the innovators.

·           Ujjivan Small Finance Bank LimitedHeadquarters- Bengaluru, Karnataka

 

12.      GIANNI INFANTINO RE-ELECTED AS FIFA PRESIDENT

·           Gianni Infantino ,Swiss football administrator, was re-elected as the president of the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA – FédérationInternationale De Football Association) for the 3rd time at the 73rd FIFA Congress held in Kigali, Rwanda.

·           He has been re-elected as president of FIFA for a 4 year term from 2023 to 2027 after running unopposed at the 73rd FIFA Congress.

·           FIFAHeadquarters– Zurich,  Switzerland

 

13.      IAF INDUCTING ‘VAYULINK’ SYSTEM TO IDENTIFY FRIENDLY FORCES IN COMBAT

·           The Indian armed forces are all set to induct an indigenously developed strategic data link system, the ‘Vayulink’ (Airlink) System, in India’s north-eastern borders to identify friendly forces in war zones.

·           The Vayulink system was developed by Wing Commander Vishal Mishra, an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter pilot.

·           Vayulink system would help increase transparency in the war zone by identifying friendly forces through secure jammer-proof communication, which would provide accurate weather information to pilots before take-off.

 

14.      IRANI CUP CRICKET 2023:

·           Rest of India cricket team captained by Mayank Agarwal won the Z R Irani Cup 2022-2023(59th edition of Irani Cup) defeating Madhya Pradesh, 2021-2022 Ranji Trophy Champions, captained by HimanshuMantri

·           Z R Irani Cup is annually played between the Ranji Trophy champions and the Rest of the Indian team.

 

15.      BOOK “BIPIN: THE MAN BEHIND THE UNIFORM”

·           RachnaBiswatRawat, an Indian journalist and writer, has authored a new book titled “Bipin: The Man Behind the Uniform” which is the story of General BipinRawat’spersonality, his personal life and his principles.

·           This book is a befitting tribute to General BipinRawat, India’s 1st Chief of Defence Staff and one of India’s greatest military leaders, who was killed in a chopper crash in 2021.

 

16.      WORLD SLEEP DAY 2023 – MARCH 17

·           World Sleep Day is annually observed across the globe on Friday before Spring Vernal Equinox to celebrate sleep and acts as a call to action on major issues related to sleep, including medicine, education, social aspects and driving.

·           World Sleep Day 2023 was observed on 17th March 2023. The Spring Vernal Equinox of 2023 was observed on 21st March 2023.

·           The theme of World Sleep Day 2023 is “Sleep is Essential for Health”.

·           The Slogan of World Sleep Day 2023 is “Heard Around the World”

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DAILY GK 15,16 MAR

 DAILY GK 15,16 MAR

1.         INDIA’S 1ST AND WORLD’S 2ND 100% METHANOL-POWERED PROTOTYPE TRUCK

·           The union minister Nitin Gadkari, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways(MoRTH) unveiled India’s first and world’s second 100% methanol-powered 10-tonne prototype truck in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

·           The technologyof converting diesel, petrol and CNG (Compressed natural gas) engines into operating on 100% methanol (M100) is an initiative under a developmental programme undertaken by the NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) along with the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) Ashok Leyland and IISc (Indian Institute of Science) with financial assistance from the Department of Science and Technology(DST).

·           Nitin Gadkari also launched 10 MD15 (15% blending of methanol with diesel) BMTC in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

·           NITI Aayog, IOCL and ARAI (Automotive Research Association of India) Pune, Maharashtra have decided to conduct field trials in three cities with 20 transport buses for a period of three months.

·           MD15 fuel is meeting all legal emission limits. It met a substantial PM (Particulate Matter), HC (hydrocarbons) and CO (carbon monoxide) reduction and also provides an improvement in CO2 (Carbon dioxide) emissions.

·           Methanol is a low-carbon, hydrogen-carrier renewable fuel produced from high ash coal, agricultural residue, CO2 from thermal power plants and natural gas.

 

2.         AUSTRALIAN PM ANTHONY ALBANESE VISIT TO INDIA

·           This was the first official visit he made to India since becoming PM in May 2022 and the first visit by an Australian PM in six years.

·           .Australian PM visited the Sabarmati Ashram, where he paid tribute to the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi.

·           The 4th Commemorative Cricket Test Match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between the Indian and Australian cricket teams was inaugurated at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, by the Prime Ministers of India and Australia, marking the beginning of the visit.

 

3.         SUREKHA YADAV OPERATES VANDE BHARAT EXPRESS

·           Surekha Yadav, hailing from Satara, Maharashtra, Asia’s 1st female loco pilot, became the 1st woman to drive the recently launched semi-high speed Vande Bharat Express train.

·           Surekha Yadav piloted the semi-high-speed train between Solapur station and ChhatrapatiShivajiMaharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

·           Surekha Yadav became India’s 1st female train driver in 1988.

 

4.         NAVAL EXERCISE ‘LA PEROUSE 2023’

·           Exercise La Perouse 2023, the 3rd edition of France-led multilateral (5 nation) naval exercise was held from 13th to 14th March 2023 in the Indian Ocean region (IOR).

·           India, Japan, Australia and the United States of America (USA)and the United Kingdom (UK) Participated

·           Indigenously built guided missile frigate INS (Indian Naval Ship) Sahyadri and fleet tanker INS Jyoti represented India in the Exercise.

·           It is a multilateral naval exercise which has been conducted biennially since 2019.

 

5.         IQAIR WORLD AIR QUALITY REPORT 2022

·           According to the 5th edition of the annual global survey report of IQAir, ‘World Air Quality Report 2022’, Lahore (Pakistan), become the city with the worst air in the world in 2022, (up from 15th in 2021).

·           Chad in central Africa replaced Bangladesh as the country with the most polluted air in 2022 with PM2.5 levels of 89.7 µg/m3 (micrograms per cubic meter).

·           India ranks 8th in the 2022 report with PM2.5 levels of 53.3 µg/m3 (from 58.1 µg/m3 in 2021).

·           Delhi ranked 4th out of 50 of the world’s most polluted cities in terms of PM2.5 levels in 2022.

·           The 2022 report is based on PM2.5 data from 7,323 cities and 131 countries.

·           Chad, Iraq, Pakistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh are the 5 most polluted countries in 2022.

·           The WHO guideline for annual PM2.5 levels is 5 μg/m3.

·           Lahore was the most polluted city in the world, followed by Hotan in China, and Bhiwadi in Rajasthan.

·           New Delhi is the second most polluted capital city in the world, with N’Djamena in Chad topping the list.

·           PM 2.5 is an atmospheric particulate matter of diameter of fewer than 2.5 micrometres, which is around 3% the diameter of a human hair.

·           PM 2.5 particles are small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs and even enter the bloodstream, and long-term exposure to PM 2.5 can lead to lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, and other chronic health conditions.

 

6.         32ND VYAS SAMMAN, 2022

·           Pagalkhana, a satirical Hindi novel authored by DrGyanChaturvedi, a renowned Hindi Writer has been selected for the 32nd Vyas Samman (2022).

·           The works published during 2012-2021 were considered for the Vyas Samman 2022.

·           Vyas Samman award is given annually to an outstanding Hindi literary work by an Indian citizen published during the last 10 years.

·           The award was instituted by the KK Birla Foundation in 1991.

·           DrGyanChaturvedi is an Indian satirist in the Hindi Language known for his satirical novels “Baramasi” and “NarakYathra”. He started writing in his 70s with his 1st published work, Dharmayug.

 

7.         LIC NEW MANAGING DIRECTOR

·           The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, a public sector life insurance company, appointedTablesh Pandey, as Managing Director (MD) of the LIC

·           Currently, the LIC has 4 Managing Directors. The other 3 Managing Directors are M Jagannath, Siddhartha Mohanty (Interim Chairman), and Mini Ipe

 

8.         INDIA CLINCH BORDER-GAVASKAR TROPHY

·           .India has clinched the four-match Test series of India vs Australia Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2023 by 2-1 for the record 11th time. With this, India booked their place into the final of the World Test Championship.

·           Indian Team spinner Ravichandran Ashwin became the second fastest bowler to take 450 Test wickets in 89 matches in terms of Tests played.

 

9.         INTERNATIONAL DAY OF MATHEMATICS 2023 – MARCH 14

·           The theme of IDM 2023 is “Mathematics for Everyone”.

·           The worldwide celebration of IDM is led by the International Mathematical Union (IMU)

·           IMU is an international non-governmental and non-profit scientific organization, with the purpose of promoting international cooperation in mathematics.

·           IMU was founded during the International Congress of Mathematicians in Strasbourg on September 20, 1920.

·           President– Hiraku Nakajima(Japan)

·           Headquarters–  Berlin, Germany (France)

 

10.      INDO-SINGAPORE BILATERAL EXERCISE BOLDKURUKSHETRA

·           The 13th edition of a bilateral armour training exercise between India and the Singapore army, was held at Jodhpur Military Station, Rajasthan, India.

·           The exercise was hosted by Indian Army and it involved soldiers from the 42nd Battalion, Singapore Armoured Regiment, and an Armoured Brigade of the Indian Army.

·           The Exercise is conducted under the scope of the bilateral arrangement for the joint Army exercises and Training between both countries’ Army.

 

11.      ‘YOUNG GLOBAL LEADERS LIST OF 2023’ BY WEF

·           The World Economic Forum (WEF) has announced the newest members of its ‘Young Global Leaders Class of 2023’ to its Forum of Young Global Leaders (YGLs), and six Indians have made the list

·           They areAaditya Thackeray, Leader of Shiv Sena,Madhukeshwar Desai, National Vice President, Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha (BJYM) and Vibin B Joseph, TanviRatna, AakritVaish andSudarshanVenu,

·           The Forum of Young Global Leaders, established in 2004, is a WEF initiative that selects and convenes the world’s most promising leaders under the age of 40 every year.

 

12.      NEW CHAIRPERSON OF PFRDA

·           Deepak Mohanty, the whole-time member (Economics) of Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), was appointed as the Chairperson of PFRDA

·           PFRDA Chairperson holds office for 5 years or till the age of 65 years.

·           Mamta Shankar, IES (1993), Senior Economic Advisor in the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, was appointed as the Whole-Time Member (economics) in PFRDA.

 

13.      DRDO CONDUCTED SUCCESSFUL FLIGHT TESTS OF VSHORADS AND PTO SHAFT

·           The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted two consecutive successful flight tests of Very Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS) missile at the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur, Odisha.

·           DRDO also successfully conducted a maiden flight-test of the Power Take off (PTO) Shaft on Light Combat Aircraft (LCA Tejas) Limited Series Production (LSP) -3 aircraft in Bengaluru (Karnataka).

 

14.      WORLD CONSUMER RIGHTS DAY 2023 – MARCH 15

·           The theme “Empowering consumers through clean energy transitions”.

·           WCRD was inspired by John F Kennedy, the former United States (US) President, who sent a special message to the US Congress on 15th March 1962, in which he formally addressed the issue of consumer rights.

·           Consumer International:Headquarters- London, England, the United Kingdom (UK)

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DAILY GK 12-14 MAR

 DAILY GK 12-14 MAR

1.         US Secretary of Commerce Ms. Gina Raimondo VISIT to New Delhi

·           Ms. Gina Raimondo, United States (US) Secretary of Commerce, visited New Delhi, India, in 2023

·           The India-US Commercial Dialogue 2023 (5th edition), co-chaired by Union Minister Piyush Goyal and US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, is part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the US-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership.

 

2.         Indian Army’s ‘Exercise Chetak Chaukas’

·           The Chetak Corps of the Indian Army conducted “Exercise Chetak Chaukas” with all stakeholders to strengthen Rear Area Security.

·           The exercise focused on planning, preparation, familiarisation&updation of the database.

 

3.         6 DIGIT HUID ON GOLD JEWELLERY MADE MANDATORY FROM 1ST APRIL 2023

·           Department of Consumer Affairs announced that the sale of hallmarked gold jewellery or gold artefacts without a 6 digit alphanumeric HUID (Hallmark Unique Identification) number, consisting of alphabets and numbers, will not be allowed after 31st March 2023 i.e, from 1st April 2023 onwards.

·           Following this, the sale of jewellery with a 4-digit HUID number will also be stopped on April 1.

·           From April 1, 2023, each piece of gold jewellery will have a Bureau of India Standards (BIS) hallmark, purity of gold (for example, 0 22K916), and a 6-digit HUID embossed on it.

 

4.         SIPRI REPORT 2022 ON ARMS IMPORTS

·           As per the report “Trends in International Arms Transfers, 2022“ released by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)(a Swedish think tank), India continued to remain the world’s top arms importer for the five years between 2018 and 2022 despite 11% decline in its imports of arms between 2013-2017 to 2018-2022.

·           With an 11% share of total global arms imports, India was the world’s biggest importer of major arms in 2018–22, a position it has held for the period 1993–2022.

·           Russia was India’s largest arms supplier in both 2013-17 and 2018-22, however, its share of overall Indian arms imports declined from 64% to 45%, with France emerging as the second largest supplierbetween 2018-22.

·           India also imported arms during this five-year period from Israel, South Korea, and South Africa which are among the top arms exporters globally.

·           India was the third-largest arms supplier to Myanmar during this period after Russia and China and comprised 14% of its imports.

 

5.         95TH ACADEMY AWARDS 2023

·           The 95th Academy Awards 2023/Oscars 2023 held at Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, United States (US).

·           The ceremony was hosted by American Television host Jimmy Kimmel (James Christian Kimmel) for the 3rd time, who previously hosted the Oscars in 2017 and 2018.

·           Indian Actress DeepikaPadukone was one of the presenters at Oscars 2023.

·           The song NaatuNaatu from Telugu-language film RRR (Rise, Roar, Revolt) has made history by becoming the first Indian film song to win an Oscar. It won Best Original Song at the 95th Academy Awards 2023.

·           Rahul Sipligunj and KaalaBhairava provided the vocals for the song, which was composed by MM Keeravani with words and music by Chandrabose

·           The Elephant Whisperers became the first Indian film to win an Oscar in the ‘Best Documentary Short film’ category. It was produced by GuneetMonga and directed by KartikiGonsalves.

·           Best Picture-Everything Everywhere All At Once.

·           Best Actor-Brendan Fraser (The Whale)

·           Best Actress- Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

·           Best Director-            Daniel Kwan and Daniel Schienert (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

·           Best International Feature Film -‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ – Germany

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