Q1. Researchers from which institute along with Imperial College London, UK, have developed nano meta-grid capable of making LEDs energy-efficient?
IIT Delhi
IIT Kanpur
IIT Roorkee
IIT Guwahati
D. IIT Guwahati
The findings have been recently published in ‘Light: Science & Applications’ journal of the Nature Publishing Group.
‘Meta-grid’ or ‘metamaterial grid’ is a specifically patterned array or grid of nanoparticles acting as metamaterials which are capable of exhibiting extraordinary optical properties.
Q2. Recently, which department launched Pan-India 1000 SARS-CoV-2 RNA genome sequencing programme in collaboration with the national laboratories and clinical organization?
Department of Chemical Engineering
Department of Health and Family Welfare
Department of Science and Technology
Department of Biotechnology
D. Department of Biotechnology
Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan announced the completion of Pan-India 1000 genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2. He also launched the largest network of five dedicated COVID-19 Biorepositories established by Department of Biotechnology.
The Department of Biotechnology had launched a Pan-India 1000 SARS–CoV-2 RNA Genome Sequencing programme in May.
Q3. Recently, PM Narendra Modi inaugurated submarine Optical Fibre Cable, which will connect Chennai and which city?
Vishakhapatnam
Port Blair
Mumbai
Bhubaneswar
B. Port Blair
This connectivity will ensure high-speed broadband connectivity, fast mobile and landline telecom services and will give a big boost to the local economy.
Q4. India and which country has recently signed an agreement for development of five eco-tourism zones?
Maldives
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Mauritius
A. Maldives
India and Maldives recently signed an agreement for development of five eco-tourism zones in Addu city of Maldives. These eco-tourism zones are part of grant projects being implemented under the High-Impact Community Development project (HICDP) scheme which involves a total grant assistance of US$5.5 million to the Maldives.
Q5. Which city becomes first in India to have female icons on traffic signals?
Bengaluru
Kanpur
Mumbai
Chennai
C. Mumbai
Mumbai’s Dadar has become the first city in India to have women symbols on traffic signals and signage, which was installed by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has installed traffic signals that display female icons sporting triangular frock, a shift from the default representation of men.
Q6. NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission in association with which company has released the 2nd edition of Student Entrepreneurship Program?
Google
Microsoft
HCL Technologies
Dell Technologies
D. Dell Technologies
The programme was launched for young innovators of Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) The programme, SEP 2.0, will allow student innovators to work closely with Dell volunteers. They will receive mentor support; prototyping and testing support; end-user feedback; intellectual property registration and patenting of ideas, processes, and products; manufacturing support; as well as the launch support of the product in the market.
The Student Entrepreneurship Programme (SEP) 1.0 was launched in January 2019.
Q7. Recently, PM Narendra Modi inaugurated first ever submarine optical fibre cable project for Andaman & Nicobar Islands worth how much amount?
Rs. 1,545 Crore
Rs. 1,224 Crore
Rs. 2,250 Crore
Rs. 2,142 Crore
B. Rs. 1,224
The Prime Minister had laid the foundation for 2,300-kilometer Chennai – Andaman and Nicobar Islands (CANI) connecting submarine optical fibre cable project. This project will provide high speed broadband connections in the union territory at par with services in the mainland.
It will facilitate ease of living and will also provide better and cheap connectivity to the people of Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
Q8. Recently, which country has decided to construct a standalone war memorial for the Indian soldiers martyred in 1971 War?
Pakistan
Bangladesh
Myanmar
Thailand
B. Bangladesh
Government of Bangladesh has selected 3.5 acres in Ashuganj of Brahmanbaria district, bordering Tripura to construct a standalone war memorial for the Indian soldiers who were killed by Pakistan during the country’s struggle for Independence in 1971.
Q9. Recently, who has launched Swachh Bharat Mission Academy?
Arun Munda
Ravi Shankar Prasad
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat
Narendra Singh Tomar
C. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat
By the end of July 2020, Apple has a market valuation of $1.84 trillion, while Saudi Aramco’s is $1.76 trillion.
During the COVID pandemic, leading tech companies Amazon, Facebook, and Google are growing at very fast pace.
Q10. Recently, who among the following has been conferred with Asian College of Journalism (ACJ) award 2019 for investigative journalism?
Abhisar Sharma
Sushil Chandra Bahuguna
Nitin Sethi
Pratima Mishra
C. Nitin Sethi
Asian College of Journalism(ACJ) award 2019 was conferred upon Journalist Nitin Sethi for investigative journalism and K P Narayana Kumar Memorial Award 2019 for Social Impact Journalism is bestowed upon Journalist Shiv Sahay Singh
The Investigative Journalism Award winner will receive a cash prize of Rs 2 lakhs and the K P Narayana Kumar Memorial Award winner will receive a cash prize of Rs 1 lakhs.
Q1. Recently, the government of India plans to set up 13th Japanese Industrial Township in which state?
Assam
Himachal Pradesh
Mizoram
Odisha
A. Assam
To promote domestic manufacturing and strengthening economic ties between the two countries, India has decided to set up the 13th Japanese industrial township in Assam.
Currently, India has 12 Japanese industrial townships and a 13th is being planned.
Q2. Recently, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) planned to set up the first of its kind training cum production centre of silk in which state?
Karanataka
Assam
Arunachal Pradesh
West Bengal
C. Arunachal Pradesh
KVIC is a statutory body formed in April 1957, under Khadi and Village Industries Commission Act 1956 It is an apex organisation under the Ministry of MSME, with regard to khadi and village industries within India, which seeks to – “plan, promote, facilitate, organise and development of khadi and village.It took over the work of former All India Khadi and Village Industries Board. Its head office is in Mumbai , whereas its six zonal offices in Delhi, Bhopal, Bangalore, Kolkata, Mumbai and Guwahati. It has offices in 28 states for the implementation of its various programmes
Q3. Government of which state has approved the policy of reserving 50% seats for women in the village level community institutions?
Assam
Meghalaya
Manipur
Arunachal Pradesh
B. Meghalaya
The policy developed with an objective to address different grassroot problems related to gender equality and developmental issues and its main intention is to involve the active participation of women.
The policy entails: (a) Position of the Secretary of VEC will be reserved for women members in all VECs on a rotational basis. Adult women who are active community workers with leadership qualities can contest for this post. (b) The position of Chairperson will be reserved for women in VECs where the posts of Chairperson are not held by the traditional heads which will also be on a rotation basis
Q4. Who among the following has been recently appointed as the new Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) of India?
Girish Chandra Murmu
Tushar Mehta
Rupinder Singh
Suri Vikramjit Banerjee
A. Girish Chandra Murmu
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India is an authority, established by Article 148 of the Constitution of India. He is appointed by the President of India following a recommendation by the Prime Minister.
CAG audits all receipts and expenditure of the Government of India and the state governments, including those of bodies and authorities substantially financed by the government.
Q5. Who among the following has been recently appointed as the Chairman of UPSC?
Bhim Sain Bassi
Sujata Mehta
Manoj Soni
Pradeep Kumar Joshi
D. Pradeep Kumar Joshi
Article 315 to 323 of the Indian Constitution deals with the appointment of UPSC members, functions and powers of UPSC. The President of India appoints the UPSC Chairman and other members. Each member holds office for a tenure of 6 years or till he becomes the age of 65 years.
Q6. Recently, which Indian state has become the first state to get ‘Tsunami Ready’ tag for its two coastal villages?
Odisha
West Bengal
Andhra Pradesh
Kerala
A. Odisha
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO has approved the recognition of Venkatraipur and Noliasahi villages of Odisha as Tsunami Ready.
With this recognition, India is the first country to implement Tsunami Ready in the Indian Ocean Region and Odisha is the first state.
Tsunami Ready is a community performance-based programme initiated by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO. Its main aim of is to improve coastal community’s preparedness for tsunami emergencies to minimize the loss of life and property and to ensure a structural and systematic approach in building community preparedness.
Q7. First state to partner with Google to provide learning tools for schools?
Odisha
Kerala
Maharashtra
Uttarakhand
C. Maharashtra
Under the partnership the platform offers a teacher training and free resources around distance learning contracts for educators.
Google will deploy free online learning tools like G Suite for education, Google Classroom, Google Meet to enable remote learning for around 2.3 crore teachers and students of the state.
Q8. Who is the author of the book ‘Amazing Ayodha’?
Neena Rai
Narendra Modi
Preeti Shenoy
Ravinder Singh
A. Neena Rai
The book to tell history of Lord Rama’s birth place.
Ayodhya city is the administrative headquarters of Ayodhya district of UP. It is situated on the banks of river Sarayu.
Q9. Which company has surpassed Saudi Aramco to become world’s most valuable company (in terms of market capitalization)?
Reliance Industries Limited
Microsoft
Apple
Amazon.com, Inc
C. Apple
By the end of July 2020, Apple has a market valuation of $1.84 trillion, while Saudi Aramco’s is $1.76 trillion.
During the COVID pandemic, leading tech companies Amazon, Facebook, and Google are growing at very fast pace.
Q10. Which Indian company is ranked No 2 brand globally in FutureBrand Index 2020 list?
Reliance Industries Limited
Tata Group
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
HDFC
A. Reliance Industries Limited
Apple is top, Samsung is ranked third, followed by Nvidia, Moutai, Nike, Microsoft, ASML, PayPal and Netflix in the FutureBrand Index 2020 list
Q1. Recently, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar launched a 24×7 channel dedicated for Assam. Name of the channel is
Assam TV
Doordarshan Purnvanchal
Doordarshan Assam
NE Doordarshan
C. Doordarshan Assam
Channel telecasting from Doordarshan Kendra Assam situated at Guwahati. DD Assam is a channel exclusive for the state available on DD Free dish DTH, at channel no.0052.
Q2. Which district from Northeast region has been ranked second best in the NITI Aayog’s Aspirational District for the period of February-June 2020?
Kamrup
Ri-Bhoi
Hailakandi
Bishnupur
B. Ri-Bhoi
In January, 2018 the Government of India has launched the ‘Transformation of Aspirational Districts’ initiative with a vision of a New India by 2022 where the focus is to improve India’s ranking under Human Development Index, raising living standards of its citizens and ensuring inclusive growth of all.
Q3. Union minister Prahlad Singh Patel inaugrated “Thenzawl Golf Resort”, which is the first golf course of which Indian state?
Manipur
Nagaland
Mizoram
Tripura
C. Mizoram
The project was sanctioned under the Integrated Development of New Eco Tourism under the Swadesh Darshan-North East Circuit at Thenzawl. The project has been planned and created with an aim to provide fine quality golfing experience and this resort will generate employment for nearby villages and will promote tourism in the state.
Q4. How much amount was contributed by India to the India-UN development partnership fund?
$10.38 million
$15.46 million
$20.70 million
$25.20 million
B. $15.46 million
India has contributed the funds to the United Nations Office for South-south Cooperation (UNOSSC) as a permanent representative of the UN. Of this, 6 million USD to the overall fund and 9.46 million USD has been dedicated to the Commonwealth countries.
India-UN Development Partnership Fund is managed by UNOSSC which was established in 2017 with the aim to contribute to the efforts of developing countries towards the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Q5. Which state/UT planned to develop India’s first snow leopard conservation centre?
Jammu and Kashmir
Himachal Pradesh
Andaman and Nicobar
Uttarakhand
D. Uttarakhand
The aim of the project is to secure livelihoods, conservation, sustainable use and restoration of high range Himalayan ecosystems and also conversation of snow leopards and other endangered species and their habitats, found in Himalayas.
Q6. “India Report on Digital Education, 2020” has been launched virtually by which Ministry?
Ministry of Finance
Ministry of Civil Aviation
Ministry of Human Resource Development
Ministry of Culture
C. Ministry of Human Resource Development
The aim of the initiative is to assist teachers, scholars and students in their pursuit of learning. Some of the major medium to connect to the students were using WhatsApp Group for all the classes, Online classes through YouTube channel, Google meet, Skype etc., Some of the major digital initiatives Like Assam has launched the Biswa Vidya Assam Mobile Application for class 6 to 10. TRIPURA has an application titled ‘EmpowerU Shiksha Darpan’ in order to facilitate student’s appraisal.
Q7. Which company has partnered with Prasar Bharati for AI-enabled Independence Day celebration?
Microsoft
Facebook
IBM
Google
D. Google
Google India has collaborated with Prasar Bharati and Virtual Bharat for AI-enabled Independence Day celebration of India. The participants are only required to sing the National Anthem, then goggle by using Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology will convert that voice into any of the three traditional instruments enlisted by Google – shehnai, sarangi or bansuri.
Q8. Recently, which IIT researchers has received the Gandhian Young Technological Innovation (GYTI) Awards 2020 for generating electricity from wet clothes?
IIT Madras
IIT Bombay
IIT Guwahati
IIT Kharagpur
D. IIT Kharagpur
Another team from the institute was separately granted the same award for addressing the problem of energy conservation and thermal management in wearable and flexible electronic devices.
Q9. Nokia to set up Center of Excellence (CoE) for Networked Robotics at which Indian Institute?
IIT Hyderabad
IISc Bangalore
IIT Delhi
IIIT Bangalore
B. IISc Bangalore
Nokia Center of Excellence (CoE) for networked robotics will promote interdisciplinary research involving robotics, advanced communication technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) to develop socially relevant use cases across areas like emergency management, agriculture and industrial automation.
Q10. Who is appointed as the new Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir?
Girish Chandra Murmu
Rajesh Bhushan
Pradeep Kumar Joshi
Manoj Sinha
D. Manoj Sinha
The Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir is the head of state of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. He is appointed by the President of India. A Council of Ministers led by a Chief Minister is appointed by him from the membership of the legislative assembly. He also has the power to promulgate ordinances which have the same force as the acts of the legislative assembly.
Natasurya Phani Sarma Award to Aishwarya Kakati and Bhabesh Baruah
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal presented Natasurya Phani Sarma Award for the year 2020 to renowned theatre artistes Aishwarya Kakati and Bhabesh Baruah. The award comprises a sarai, commendation, man bastra and a cheque of Rs 2 lakh each.
A financial outlay of Rs 1.5 crore has been earmarked for the preservation of the samadhikshetra of Natasurya Phani Sarma.
The State government would set up a museum in memory of the cultural doyens like Rupkonwar Jyoti Prasad Agarwala, Bishnu Prasad Rabha, Natasurya Phani Sarma and Dr Bhupen Hazarika.
BIOGRAPHY – Phani Sarma (1910–1970)
Phani Sarma was an Indian theatre actor, playwright, film actor and director.
In 1933 Phani Sarma starred in the first Assamese film, Joymati, directed by Jyoti Prasad Agarwala.
He acted in Agarwalla’s second picture Indramalati. And acted and directed Siraj in 1948 and Pioli Phukan in 1955.
Rajesh Bhushan appointed as Union Health Secretary
IAS officer Rajesh Bhushan took charge as the Union health secretary. He will succeed Preeti Sudan.
A 1987 batch Bihar cadre IAS officer, he was appointed Officer on Special Duty in the Ministry of Health in April 2020.
FACTFILE – Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is an Indian government ministry charged with health policy in India and for all government programs relating to family planning in India.
The Minister of Health and Family Welfare holds cabinet rank as a member of the Council of Ministers.
The Ministry publishes the Indian Pharmacopoeia through the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC), an autonomous body for setting standards for drugs, pharmaceuticals and healthcare devices and technologies in India
Andhra Pradesh approves bills for trifurcation of state capital
Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan gave his assent to the AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill, 2020, and the AP Capital Region Development Authority (Repeal) Bill, 2020, passed by the State Legislature.
One bill is for abolition of Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) that was created during the previous Telugu Desam Party (TDP) regime for building the capital in Amaravati, the other is aimed at decentralizing the administration by creating three state capitals.
The government plans to shift the executive capital to Visakhapatnam, judicial capital to Kurnool and retain Amaravati as the legislative capital.
The Governor had reportedly sought legal opinion on the procedure involved in the passage of the bills Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill, 2020 and the Bill to repeal AP Capital Region Development Authority Act, 2014
Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) signs agreement with KVICfor supplies
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) an agreement with the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), becoming the first among the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to get supplies from the Commission.
A total of 1,200 quintal of mustard oil is being procured from the KVIC by the ITBP with a total financial implication of Rs 1.73 crore.
It was decided during a meeting held at the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Directors General of the CAPFs in October last year that the use of terry Khadi uniform and other items of swadeshi origin should be made available to the CAPFs.
The ITBP had suggested that dhurries, blankets, towels, mustard oil, yoga kit, hospital bed sheets, pickels can be purchased for the forces through KVIC.
DIAT develops ‘Aashray’ medical bed isolationto combat COVID-19
Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, (DIAT) has developed ‘Aashray’, a medical bed isolation system to combat COVID-19 by preventing or minimising the spread of the virus.
This medical bed isolation is a low cost, reusable solution to maintain proper isolation of COVID-19 patients by creating a suction or negative pressure near exhale.
The product is modular and portable in design and can be suitable for different requirements such as institutional, hospitals and home/individual quarantine.
Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya second best inNITI Aayog’s Aspirational districts ranking
Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya has ranked second best in the list of aspirational districts ranked by NITI Aayog for the period of 2020 February-June.
While Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh has topped the list of aspirational districts, Bahraich of Uttar Pradesh have been placed at the second and third positions respectively. And Nawada district in Bihar has been ranked fourth and Moga district in Punjab is at the fifth place.
Health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion, skill development and basic infrastructure were the development areas that were taken into consideration for the ranking.
The aspirational districts programme, launched in January 2018, aims to transform districts that have shown relatively lesser progress in key social areas and have emerged as pockets of under-development.
Gujarat to set up Gujarat Skills Development Corporation (GSDC)
With the help of the National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC), the Gujarat government will be setting up the Gujarat Skills Development Corporation (GSDC), with seed fund of Rs 100 crore.
the state government will have 25 per cent share in the corporation, while 24 per cent stakeholding will be that of NSDC. The remaining 51 per cent of the share will be held by 10 private companies in equal proportion.
Gujarat government has already provisioned Rs 30 crore in the budget 2020-21 for the purpose.
The GSDC will be supporting and creating high quality skills training institutes in the state and will carry out activities such as skills financing, CSR lead skilling, capacity building, industry connect, market analytics, international collaboration knowledge and advisory services and NSQF courses, which are presently undertaken by the NSDC.
Hamed Bakayoko is the new Prime Minister of Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara chose Hamed Bakayoko to be the Prime Minster of the country.
FACTFILE – Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d’Ivoire, is a country located on the south coast of West Africa.
Ivory Coast’s capital is Yamoussoukro in the centre of the country, while its largest city is the port city of Abidjan.
Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs receives SKOCH Gold Award
Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs has received SKOCH Gold Award for its Empowerment of Tribals through IT enabled Scholarship Schemes project of Scholarship Divison of the Ministry.
The 66thSKOCH 2020 Competition was entitled “INDIA RESPONDS TO COVID THROUGH DIGITAL GOVERNANCE”.
To assimilate with the larger vision of ‘Digital India’ and to realize the cherished goal of e-governance, MoTA has integrated all 5 Scholarship Schemes with DBT Portal under the guidance of DBT Mission. The portal provides facility to States for data sharing through Web services and States can up-load proposal, UCs and SOE online.
6th BRICS Environment Ministers’ Meeting held in Russia
Environment Ministers of the five BRICS countries i.e. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa participated in the 6th BRICS Environment Ministers’ Meeting which was conducted virtually.
Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar represented India and he expressed that the aspirations of the grouping are similar and best practices among the BRICS nations towards attainment of Sustainable Development Goals should be shared.
India will assume the BRICS Presidency in 2021.
FACTFILE – BRICS
BRICS is the acronym coined for an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Since 2009, the BRICS nations have met annually at formal summits.
The Five BRICS countries represented over 3.1 billion people and four of five members are in the top 10 of the world by population.
These five nations had a combined GDP of US$18.6 trillion which is about 23.2% of the gross world product.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Assam unit and the National Cadet Corps (NCC) Directorate for the Northeastern Region, signed an agreement to engage more NCC volunteers to deal with children’s’ issues in the North East.
These two organizations will involve young people in planning, designing initiatives and communications on critical children issues, and provide them with opportunities to share their stories.
The goal is to reach out to 1 million young people in the North East as change-makers and create spaces for developing their leadership.
Serum Institute gets DCGI nod for clinical trials of Oxford vaccine
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has given approval to Pune’s Serum Institute of India to conduct clinical trials of Oxford University-Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine in India.
The Serum Institute of India(SII) received approval after a thorough evaluation based on the recommendations of the Subject Expert Committee on COVID-19.
The Oxford University-Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine candidate is in the midst of Phase II and III clinical trials in the UK, Phase III trials in Brazil, and Phase I and II clinical trials in South Africa.
MSME Minister approves Khadi Agarbatti Aatmanirbhar Mission
Union Minister for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) Nitin Gadkari has approved a scheme to raise production of ‘agarbatti’ to make India self-reliant on this product.
The Khadi Agarbatti Aatmanirbhar Mission, proposed by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), eyes employment generation as well as making India self-reliant in agarbatti production. It will aid the private incense sticks makers scale up production without any capital investment by them.
The KVIC will provide automatic incense sticks production and powder mixing machines to artisans by the private agarbatti manufacturers who will sign the agreement as business partners.
The KVIC will provide a 25 per cent subsidy and recover in easy instalments the rest cost of machine from artisans every month.
The business partner will provide raw material to artisans and will pay them wages on work basis. The cost of training of artisans will be shared by the KVIC and the private business partner on 75:25 per cent basis.
Hyderabad airport gets UNICEF-funded Mass Fever Screening System
Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) has received a UNICEF-funded a mass fever screening system to further enhance the efficacy of screening of passengers in view of COVID-19 pandemic.
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in coordination with the Asian Development Bank, has provided state-of-the-art thermal scanner funded by the UNICEF.
The system automatically adjusts and adapts to the surrounding ambient temperature without any human intervention. Thus provides easy identification of passengers with elevated temperature, while simplifying operations and minimizing handling.
The Hyderabad Airport continues to handle the international relief flights under the government of India’s largest offshore evacuation programme of Vande Bharat Mission (VBM).
Northern Railway runs first-ever Vyapar Mala Express train to Tripura’s Jirania
The Indian Railways ran a special type of cargo service for transportation of cargo through the first “Vyapar Mala Express”. Traders book part of the goods carrying rake as per their requirement or supply order.
The first “Vyapar Mala Express” which started from Delhi’s Kishanganj station to reach Tripura’s Jirania station.
India’s first snow leopard conservation centre to be set up in Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat announced that India’s first conservation centre for snow leopards is to be set up in the forests of Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand.
The centre to be developed by the Uttarakhand forest department along with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), will work for conservation, restoration of Himalayan ecosystems, and creating livelihoods for local people.
The project also aims at the conservation of other endangered species along with the snow leopards.
Snow leopards are one of the most enigmatic wild cat species due to their reclusive nature. There are around 86 snow leopards in Uttarakhand right now.
In 2017, the central government had launched the six-year ‘SECURE Himalaya’ project, to support the conservation of the significant biodiversity of the mountain regions, including conservation projects of animals and forest resources spread over Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Uttarakhand, and Sikkim.
Andhra Pradesh ties up with India’s FMCG majors to empower women
Andhra Pradesh government signed a pact with three FMCG major – Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), ITC and Procter and Gamble (P&G), for marketing and technology support for economic empowerment of women under two new schemes of the state.
An Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in the virtual presence of Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, HUL Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv Mehta, ITC Executive Director Sanjiv Puri and P&G India CEO Madhusudan Gopalan.
The FMCG companies will give handholding to women under the YSR Cheyutha scheme, to be launched shortly, that aims to provide annual financial assistance of Rs 18,750 for next four years to women of 45-60 years age group belonging to SC/ST and backward class and minorities communities.
They will also help in providing marketing opportunities and technology support to women under this proposed scheme.
The AP government also plans to launch YSR Asara Scheme in September 2020 under which Rs 6,700 crore will be spent annually on 90 lakh women and 9 lakh self-help groups in the state.
Andhra launches virtual campaign ‘E-RakshaBandhan’on cybercrimes against women
Andhra Pradesh CM Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has launched ‘E-RakshaBandhan’ campaign aimed at creating public awareness on cybercrimes against women and children.
The virtual cybercrime awareness programme jointly developed by Andhra Pradesh Police and Crime Investigation Department (CID), will focus on ensuring the safety of women and children in cyber space.
The campaign aims at creating awareness among the public on the sharp rise in cybercrimes, would be conducted through online sessions in the form of webinars, workshops, competition, covering different topics related to cybercrimes.
IIT Madras and Helyxon deploy remote monitoring device for Covid-19 patients
IITMadras’ Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre (HTIC) and Helyxon, a healthcare startup, have developed an AI-backed remote patient monitoring system ‘OXY2 ‘ for Covid-19 to keep tabs on critical parameters like temperature, oxygen saturation, respiratory rate and heart rate.
Equipped with geo-fencing tracking alerts, the OXY2 can keep a tab on the patient’s vital parameters and inform the medical staff about any aberration.
The device is completely self-contained, portable, wireless and can be clipped on to patient’s finger and data is streamed to a central monitoring system or any smart phone.
UAE becomes 1st Arab Nation to open a Nuclear Power Plant
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has begun start-up operations in the initial unit of its first nuclear power plant at the Barakah nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi.
The $22.4 billion Barakah nuclear power plant on the Gulf coast west of Abu Dhabi is being developed by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO).
When fully operational, the four reactors will generate 5,600 megawatts (MW).
To diversify its energy economy, reduce dependence on fossil fuels and project its image as a regional leader in science and technology, the UAE has started this project.
A 24-hour channel Doordarshan Assam dedicated was launched by Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar.
The Doordarshan channel in Assam is part of a new-found focus on northeast region.
Doordarshan Assam would also be contributing in a major way to the educational development of the state like other regional channels and it will be another milestone in the government’s effort to provide online education in regional languages across states.
Doordarshan Assam which will include serials, music programmes, travelogues, reality shows, feature films etc and will have ethnic touch highlighting cuisine, folk culture and tribal life of the state and region.
Nokia Centre of Excellenceto set up robotics lab at IISc Bengaluru
Finnish firm Nokia announced collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru to establish a network robotics laboratory for research on socially relevant use cases based on 5G and emerging technologies.
The Nokia Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Networked Robotics will promote interdisciplinary research involving robotics, advanced communication technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to develop use cases across areas like emergency management, agriculture and industrial automation, engagement and cooperation between academia, start-ups and industry ecosystem partners in research.
The tie-up would to help IISc in capacity building and human resources development in cutting-edge technology of robotics, 5G and autonomous systems.
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diulaunches E-GyanMitra mobile app for online education
Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu has launched E-GyanMitra mobile app for online education.
Through this app, the students from primary till the higher secondary can take online classes and give there tests/exams.
The teachers will post the lectures and quiz for the students and the student can access those lectures, the teacher can monitor the progress of the students learning.
FACTFILE – Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu is a union territory in western India.
It was created through the merger of the former union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu on 26 January 2020.
The UT is made up of four separate geographical entities Dadra, Nagar Haveli, Daman and the island of Diu, which were part of Portuguese India.
Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan launches ‘Vidyarthi Vigyan Manthan 2020-21
Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan launched ‘Vidyarthi Vigyan Manthan, 2020-21, a national programme for popularizing science among school students.
This is a platform to indentify the talented minds with a scientific aptitude in the field of science and to promote the scientific acumen among the students.
Manoj Sinha appointed as new Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir
Former Union Minister Manoj Sinha has been appointed the new Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, after the resignation of Girish Chandra Murmu who is appointed as the new CAG of India.
Manoj Sinha was born on July 1, 1959 in Mohanpura of Ghazipur district of eastern UP.
He has served as the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Communications and Minister of State for Railways in the Government of India.
FACTFILE – Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir
The Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir is the head of state of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The office of lieutenant governor was established after an Act was passed in August 2019 in the Parliament of India, reorganising the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories; Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on 31 October 2019.
Provisions contained within the act created the positions of Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir and Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh.
India contributes over USD 15 million to India-UN Development Partnership Fund
India has contributed around USD 15.5 million to the India-UN Development Partnership Fund, as per its commitment to supporting developing nations in their developmental priorities across all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti handed over a cheque of USD 15.46 million to the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) Director Jorge Chediek.
The tranche of USD 15.46 million includes USD 6 million to the overall fund, in which all the developing countries are eligible for partnership, and USD 9.46 million dedicated to the Commonwealth countries.
FACTFILE – India-UN Development Partnership Fund
The India-UN Development Partnership Fund was started in 2017
It is managed by the UNOSSC and implemented under the leadership of partner developing countries leveraging the strengths of United Nations Agencies, Funds and Programmes.
Till now as many as 55 projects and proposals have been approved to date with a total contribution of USD 41.8 million towards a USD 150 million multi-year pledge.
Union Agriculture Minister launches Sahakar Cooptube NCDC Channel
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched the SahakarCooptube NCDC Channel, a new initiative by National Cooperative Development Corporation.
The Minister also launched guidance videos produced by NCDC on ‘Formation and Registration of a Cooperative’ for eighteen different states in Hindi and regional languages.
Union Government under AtmaNirbhar Bharat has recently announced a series of transformative measures and sector specific financial packages to help agriculture.
The initiatives are steps taken with the objective for India to become food factory of the world.
Punjab to distributing smartphones to HS students
The Punjab Cabinet approved for distribution of 1,73,823 smartphones to students of government schools, who are preparing to take their Class XII board exams with the help of online education amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The phones will be equipped with various smart features such as touch screen, camera and pre-loaded government applications like the ‘e-Sewa App’ with e-content related to Class XI and Class XII, as approved by the Department of School Education.
The Cabinet noted that four months of the academic year 2020-21 had already elapsed without regular on campus classes, and while private schools are conducting online classes, the students of government schools are facing a competitive disadvantage, especially those studying in Class XII.
Union Cabinet approved National Education Policy 2020
The Union Cabinet approved the National Education Policy 2020, with proposal for large scale, transformational reforms in both school and higher education sectors.
This education policy replaces the thirty-four year old National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986.
Based on the foundational pillars of Access, Equity, Quality, Affordability and Accountability, this policy is aligned to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and aims to transform India into a knowledge society and global knowledge superpower by making education more flexible, multidisciplinary and pragmatic.
Some of the important proposals under the new policy are
New Policy aims for Universalization of Education from pre-school to secondary level with 100 % Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in school education by 2030, by bringing 2 crore children, who are out of school children, back into the main stream.
Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education to be raised to 50 % by 2035. For this purpose an additional 3.5 crore seats to be added in higher education
New 5+3+3+4 school curriculum with 12 years of schooling and 3 years of Anganwadi/ Pre-schooling
Emphasis on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, no rigid separation between academic streams, extracurricular, vocational streams in schools. Vocational Education to start from Class 6 with Internships
Assessment reforms with 360 degree Holistic Progress Card, tracking Student Progress for achieving Learning Outcomes.
Higher Education curriculum to have Flexibility of Subjects and Multiple Entry / Exit to be allowed with appropriate certification.
Teaching upto at least Grade 5 to be in mother tongue/ regional language. Promotes Multilingualism in both schools and Higher Education.
Academic Bank of Credits to be established to facilitate Transfer of Credits
National Research Foundation to be established to foster a strong research culture.
National Educational Technology Forum to be created to facilitate and promote use of technology with equity.
To set up a Gender Inclusion Fund,Special Education Zones for disadvantaged regions and groups.
National Institute for Pali, Persian and Prakrit , Indian Institute of Translation and Interpretation to be set up.
Odisha becomes first state to get ‘Tsunami Ready’ tag
Odisha has become the first state to get two coastal villages ‘tsunami ready’, this also makes the India to become the first in the Indian Ocean region to achieve the honour.
Venkatraipur village of Ganjam district and Noliasahi village of Jagatsinghpur district have been acknowledged by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO for greater preparedness to face the tsunami disaster.
In a virtual event to be organised by Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/IOTWMS) Secretariat in Perth, Australia and the Indian Ocean Tsunami Information Centre (IOTIC) in Jakarta, Indonesia, ‘Certificate of Recognition’ will be handed over to the communities of Venkatraipur and Noliasahi as Tsunami Ready villages.
The Indian Ocean Tsunami Ready Programme of IOC-UNESCO is a community performance-based programme that facilitates tsunami preparedness as an active collaboration of the community, community leaders, and national and local emergency management agencies. It aims to improve coastal community preparedness for tsunami emergencies, to minimise the loss of life and property and to ensure structural and systematic approach in building community preparedness.
Regular tsunami mock drills are being conducted in the tsunami-prone villages as a part of International Tsunami Drills and National Tsunami drills. The Early Warning Dissemination System (EWDS) for last-mile connectivity has been set up in the tsunami-prone villages.
Pradeep Kumar Joshi appointed as new Chairman of UPSC
Professor Pradeep Kumar Joshi is appointed as the new chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) that conducts the civil services and other class job selection examinations.
Joshi, currently a member in the Commission, will succeed Arvind Saxena who completes his term as UPSC chairman.
Earlier he was the chairman of both Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commissions. He joined the UPSC as member in May 2015.
Other members of UPSC are Bhim Sain Bassi, Air Marshal A S Bhonsle (retired), Sujata Mehta, Manoj Soni, Smita Nagaraj, M Sathiyavathy Bharat Bhushan Vyas, T C A Anant and Rajiv Nayan Choubey.
FACTFILE – Union Public Service Commission
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is India’s premier central recruiting agency, responsible for appointments to and examinations for All India services and group A & group B of Central services.
The agency’s charter is granted by Part XIV of the Constitution of India, titled as Services Under the Union and the States.
It is also required to be consulted by the Government in matters relating to the appointment, transfer, promotion and disciplinary matters. The commission reports directly to the President and can advise the Government through him.
It was originally established on 1 October 1926 as Public Service Commission, it was later reconstituted as Federal Public Service Commission by the Government of India Act 1935.
UPSC is one of the few institutions which function with both autonomy and freedom.
India’s first Kisan Special Parcel Train flagged off from Devlali Railway Station
Union Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal and Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar flagged off the India’s first Kisan Special Parcel Train ‘ Kisan Rail’ which will transport material between Maharashtra’s Devlali and Bihar’s Danapur Railway station.
The Kisan Rail will carry fruits and vegetables and will make stoppages at several stations and pick-up and deliver them. It will halt at Nasik Road, Manmad, Jalgaon, Bhusaval, Burhanpur, Khandwa, ltarsi, Jabalpur, Satna, Katni, Manikpur, PrayagrajChheoki, PanditDeendayalUpadhyay Nagar and Buxar.
This initiative will help in bringing perishable agricultural products like vegetables, fruits to the market in a short period of time. The Kisan Rail train with frozen containers is expected to build a seamless national cold supply chain for perishables, inclusive of fish, meat and milk.
Maharashtra & Google tie-up to deploy learning tools for schools
The Maharashtra govt announced a partnership with Google that will enable 2.3 crore students and teachers to access the technology giant’s blended learning programmes that combine classroom approach with online learning.
Google will deploy free tools like G Suite for Education, Google Classroom and Google Meet to facilitate remote learning.
The School Education Department will provide individual educators and students with their own G Suite ID to ensure every student – irrespective of their location – experiences continuity in learning.
Andrzej Duda sworn in President of Poland for 2nd term
Andrzej Duda was sworn in as the President of Poland for his second five-year term in office after he was re-elected.
He is the second president in post-communist Poland to win a second five-year term, after Aleksander Kwasniewski from 1995 to 2005.
Duda won the run-off elections with with 51.03 per cent of the votes, while his rival, Warsaw Mayor RafalTrzaskowski received 48.97 per cent.
FACTFILE – Poland
Poland is a country located in Central Europe.
It has an area of 312,696 square kilometres and has a largely temperate seasonal climate.
With a population of nearly 38.5 million people, Poland is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union.
Poland’s capital and largest metropolis is Warsaw.
Q1. Who among the following have been awarded with “Natasurya Phani Sarma Award for the year” 2020?
Dulal Roy and Arati Das Boiragi
Bhola Kakoti and Nipon Goswami
Uaday Shankar Siakia
Aishwarya Kakati and Bhabesh Baruah
D. Aishwarya Kakati and Bhabesh Baruah
The award comprises a sarai, commendation, man bastra and a cheque of Rs 2 lakh each.
Natasurya Phani Sarma had made tremendous contributions to the cultural field of Assam and through his work. He unified the greater Assamese society cutting across linguistic, religious and all other divides.
Q2. Northern Railway today ran it’s first-ever Vyapar Mala Express train from Punjab and was destined to which state?
Manipur
Arunachal Pradesh
Nagaland
Tripura
D. Tripura
This train destined for Jirania in Tripura has 46 wagons. It will help small traders in moving their cargo through Railways, in a short time, cost effective, convenient and environment-friendly mode of transportation.
Q3. Government of India has approved the setting up of the Directorate of AYUSH in which state?
Assam
Meghalaya
Tripura
Manipur
B. Meghalaya
The Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) is purposed with developing education, research and propagation of indigenous alternative medicine systems in India.
The state government has also proposed another 22 health and wellness centres for the current financial year 2020-21.
Q4. The government of India unveiled the new National Education Policy (NEP) that introduced several changes in Indian education system-from school to college level. This new policy will replace
National Education Policy (NEP) 1968
National Education Policy (NEP) 1992
National Education Policy (NEP) 1990
National Education Policy (NEP) 1986
D. National Education Policy (NEP) 1986
The National Education Policy was framed in 1986 and modified in 1992. The Right to Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act) provides for free and compulsory education to all children from the age of six to 14 years. The new draft Policy recommends the extension of the Right to Education Act 2009 to all children between the ages of 3 to 18 years.
Q5. Which Ministry receives SKOCH Gold Award in digital India category for Empowerment of Tribals through IT enabled Scholarship Schemes project?
Ministry of Human Resource Development
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Ministry of Tribal Affairs
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
C. Ministry of Tribal Affairs
The SKOCH Awards were presented over a virtual platform at the 66th SKOCH Summit at New Delhi.
Skoch Award is the highest civilian honour in the country conferred by an independent organisation. The awards recognise leadership and excellence in accelerating socio-economic changes. Conferred to people, projects and institutions.
Q6. Governor of which state has gave his nod to three state-capital bills and CRDA Repeal Bills 2020 recently?
Uttar Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
B. Andhra Pradesh
The new tri-capital plan involves setting up executive, legislative and judicial capitals at Visakhapatnam, Amaravati and Kurnool respectively.
Q7. United Launch Alliance (ULA) and which space agency has recently launched Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Mission to Red Planet?
NASA
ISRO
JAXA
CNES
A. NASA
The main aim of the Mars Perseverance Rover is to seek signs of ancient life and collect rock and soil samples for a possible return to Earth.
Q8. Name the book recently launched by the Union Minister Smriti Irani and Gajendra Singh Shekhawa which contains essays on Swachh Bharat Mission?
Swachh Bharat Sapna
Swachh Bharat Kranti
Swastha Bharat
Nirmal Bharat
B. Swachh Bharat Kranti
‘Swachh Bharat Revolution’ has been translated into Hindi by Shri Parameswaran Iyer, and is published as Swachh Bharat Kranti. The book aims at capturing the remarkable journey of Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) through 35 essays from various stakeholders and contributors of Swachh Bharat Missionwho have shared their perspective on this social revolution.
Q9. Which country will host the 6th annual meeting of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in 2021?
UAE
Denmark
France
China
A. UAE
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank which was proposed by China in 2013 and the initiative was launched at a ceremony in Beijing in 2014. The bank started operation after the agreement entered into force in 2015. The bank currently has 103 members as well as 20 prospective members from around the world. Its aim is to support the building of infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region.
Q10. SABIC chemical plant, which is set to become world’s first-of-its-kind to operate on 100 per cent renewable power, is in which country?
Spain
Qatar
Ukarine
Brazil
A. Spain
SABIC’s polycarbonate facility in Spain is set to become the world’s first large scale chemical production plant which will run entirely on renewable power after a major agreement was signed with , an electricity utility company Iberdrola.
