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Assam Current Affairs – September 08-14, 2020

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Assam Current Affairs & GK – September 08-14, 2020

( Covers all important Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of September 08-14, 2020)

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September 08, 2020

Union Govt to launch nutrition drive for Severely Acute Malnourished (SAM) children

  • The Centre will launch a drive to identify Severely Acute Malnourished (SAM) children and ensure their adequate nutrition and care during ongoing POSHAN Maah 2020.

  • The drive will have a long-term impact on the health of such children and would improve the country’s nutrition indicators as well.

  • Union Govt is also developing Bharatiya Poshan Krishi Kosh – a repository of an indigenous crop of every region, every district of India.

  • Malnutrition in children is a mammoth health issue the country is facing. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) – 4, 2015-16, every second child in India suffers from at least one form of nutrition failure, which translates to about 77 million undernourished children in India.

  • In the last decade, severe acute malnutrition has increased from 6.4 per cent (NFHS-3, 2005-06) to 7.5 per cent (NFHS -4, 2015-16) in India.

India enters elite club of hypersonic missile nations of US, Russia and China

  • Recently, India has successfully flight-tested hypersonic technology that will pave the way towards the development of missiles travelling at six times the speed of sound.

  • With this technological feat, India enters an elite club to become a member of the hypersonic regime, which includes the United States, Russia and China.

  • This is a step towards the manufacture of advanced Hypersonic Vehicles. India became the fourth country after the United States, Russia and China to get this technology.

  • The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully demonstrated the Hypersonic air-breathing scramjet technology with the flight test of Hypersonic Technology Demonstration Vehicle (HSTDV) from Launch Complex at Wheeler Island.

FACTFILE – Hypersonic

  • In aerodynamics, a hypersonic speed is one that greatly exceeds the speed of sound, often stated as starting at speeds of Mach 5 and above.

  • Hypersonic flight is flight through the atmosphere below about 90 km at speeds above Mach 5, a speed where dissociation of air begins to become significant and high heat loads exist.

Andhra Pradesh launches schemes to boost women, child health

  • Andhra Pradesh CM Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has launched two new food schemes – YSR Sampoorna Poshana and YSR Sampoorna Poshana Plus – aimed at fortifying the health of thousands of pregnant and nursing women and children.

  • More than 30 lakh women and children across the state will stand to benefit from monthly supply of rations.

  • As part of YSR Sampoorna Poshana Plus scheme, eight Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) centres and 52 Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) centres will distribute nutritious meals in 77 tribal mandals through 8,320 Anganwadi centres, covering 3.8 lakh beneficiaries.

  • YSR Sampoorna Poshana Plus scheme will be implemented in the Anganwadi centres to provide supplementary nutrition to newborn babies, including pregnant women suffering from anaemia.

  • YSR Sampoorna Poshana Plus Scheme will cost the government Rs 307 crore, covering 3.8 lakh beneficiaries in 77 tribal mandals.

  • YSR Sampoorna Poshana Scheme is set to distribute nutritious meals through 47,287 anganwadi centres across the state.

Indira Gandhi Peace Prize 2019 presented to broadcaster David Attenborough

  • Noted broadcaster and natural historian David Attenborough has been presented the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize 2019 by the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust.

  • Attenborough has been given the prize for “revealing the wonders of the natural world, educating and entertaining generations of people through his films and books for tirelessly working to awaken humankind to the need to preserve and protect the biodiversity on our planet, and advocating the necessity to live a sustainable and harmonious way of life, working with rather than against nature.

FACTFILE – Indira Gandhi Peace Prize

  • The Indira Gandhi Peace Prize or the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development is the prestigious award accorded annually by Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust to individuals or organisations in recognition of creative efforts toward promoting international peace, development and a new international economic order; ensuring that scientific discoveries are used for the larger good of humanity, and enlarging the scope of freedom.

  • The prize carries a cash award of 2.5 million Indian rupees and a citation.

September 09, 2020

Union Agriculture Minister launches 22 bamboo clusters in 9 states, National Bamboo Mission logo

  • Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched 22 bamboo clusters in nine states, India is now gearing up to increase exports of bamboo products.

  • The bamboo clusters will be set up in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, Assam, Nagaland, Tripura, Uttarakhand and Karnataka.

  • Among the measures taken to promote the sector, the government amended the Indian Forest Act 1927 in 2017 to remove bamboo from the category of trees. Consequently, now anyone can undertake cultivation and business in bamboo and its products.

  • Further, import policy has also been modified to ensure progress of bamboo industry in the country.

  • The government launched the restructured NBM in 2018-19 for holistic development of complete value chain of the sector.

  • The Mission is being implemented in a hub (industry) and spoke model, with the main goal of connecting farmers and to increase supply of appropriate raw material to domestic industry.

Karnataka launches India’s first integrated air ambulance service

  • Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa unveiled the country’s first integrated air ambulance service jointly launched by the International Critical Air Transfer Team (ICATT) and the Kyathi.

  • ICATT, a team comprising emergency medical service experts, and Kyathi, an aviation technology firm, have come together to start the country’s first integrated air-ambulance service.

  • ICATT-Kyathi’s fixed wing aircraft is capable of long distance emergency medical transportation, combined with helicopter and land ambulance services providing last mile connectivity.

  • The fixed wing air ambulance will be stationed at the HAL airport in Bengaluru. The ambulance is equipped with state-of-the-art German Isolation Pod. ICATT-Kyathi will also enable safe transportation for critical Covd-19 patients.

India ranks 4th in renewable energy

  • India has scaled its non-fossil fuel-based power generation to 134 GW, which is about 35 per cent of the nation’s total power generation and it is expected to increase it to 220 GW by 2022.

  • India is providing capacity-building support to ISA members through its ITEC training programme. It has also set up a Project Preparation Facility to develop bankable solar energy projects in ISA member-countries with the help of EXIM Bank of India.

  • Five Public Sector Undertakings under his Ministry will join ISA’s Coalition for Sustainable Climate Action (ISA-CSCA) as corporate partners. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, and GAIL (India) Limited will contribute to ISA Corpus Fund.

  • In 2018, India announced about USD 1.4 billion worth of lines of credit (LOCs) for covering 27 solar projects across 15 countries.

FACTFILE – International Solar Alliance

  • It is a treaty-based international intergovernmental organisation which was jointly launched by India and France on 30th November 2015 during the 21st session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP-21) in Paris, France.

  • It was conceived as a coalition of solar-resource-rich countries (which lie either completely or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn) to address their special energy needs.

  • It aim to lower the cost of technology and finance and thereby facilitate deployment of over 1,000 GW of solar energy and mobilize more than USD 1,000 billion into solar power by 2030 in member countries.

  • Headquarter: Gurugram in Haryana, India.

  • As of June 2020, the ISA Framework Agreement has been signed by 86 countries, with 68 having also deposited instruments of ratification.

ADB extends $500 million credit for Delhi-Meerut RRTS Corridor

  • The Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed an agreement with the Indian government to extend a $500 million loan for building the 82-km, high-speed Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor.

  • This will be the first tranche of total $1 billion facility that the multilateral funding agency had agreed for the infrastructure project that will improve regional connectivity and mobility in India’s national capital region (NCR).

  • The first tranche of the loan will support construction of the first of three priority rail corridors planned under the NCR Regional Plan 2021 to connect Delhi to other cities in adjoining states.

  • The first tranche financing will be used for constructing electrified tracks, signalling systems, multimodal hubs and stations with design features that are friendly to elderly, women, children and the disabled.

  • A $3 million grant from ADB’s Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction will support various activities, including provision of visual, hearing and mobility aids, such as wheelchairs for differently abled persons.

  • The ADB-administered multi-donor Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund will provide $2.89 million to support innovations in building information modeling, universal access design features, TOD and VCF.

 

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September 10, 2020

Assam CM flags off ferry service in Jorhat

  • Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal flagged off Kokilamukh- Kartik Sapori ferry service across the Brahmaputra at Kokilamukh in Jorhat.

  • Students and traders who need to visit the town on a regular basis will mostly be benefitted by the service, which will be run by IWT.

  • The Chief Minister said that the government had been working for all-round development of the State and improving transportation services was one of the key areas.

Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra announced a 15-point programme

  • Giving priority to the education of tribal girls and aiming to free Rajasthan from the curse of child marriages, Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra announced a 15-point programme.

  • The Governor said that each girl in the state should be provided education till she turns 18, adding that at least 10 employment fairs will be organised in Rajasthan via Corporate Social Responsibility wherein employment vans will bring jobs under the ‘Rozgar Apke Dwar’ initiative.

  • The 15-point programme also envisions Constitution Parks/Constitution Pillars in universities and a museum in Raj Bhavan.

  • The aim was to bring maternal and infant mortality rates (children below 5) in the tribal areas on par with the national rate and effective implementation of the National Nutrition Mission.

  • To make people aware about non-communicable and lifestyle-related diseases, to build first-aid centres through CSR in scheduled areas.

  • There is a plan to create an alumni network of state-funded universities to ensure maximum donation to the Governor’s Relief Fund.

  • The other points include development of STEAM-C (Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, Mathematics-Computer) education system in the state for employment and skill development, the establishment of incubation centres in scheduled areas in collaboration with state-funded universities.

South India’s first Kisan Rail flagged off from Andhra Pradesh

  • Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar have virtually flagged off South India’s first Kisan Rail from Ananthapur to New Delhi.

  • The second Kisan Rail is shipping 214 tonnes of tomatoes, 138 tonnes of bananas, 32 tonnes of sweet oranges, 11 tonnes of papaya, 8 tonnes of melons and 3 tonnes of mangoes to Delhi, from Rayalaseema town.

  • The state government had taken up several initiatives in the agriculture sector for the benefit of farmers, such as providing minimum support price (MSP) by introducing market intervention fund.

  • Nearly 312 lakh metric tonnes of horticulture produce is being harvested across the state in 17 lakh hectares, with 16 per cent share of fruit production in the country.

  • AP Chief Minister made a special request to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, explaining the crisis state farmers are confronting, which eventually led to the creation of South India’s first Kisan Rail originating from AP.

Tamil Nadu releases policy for electronics & hardware manufacturing

  • Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswamy released the state’s Electronic Hardware Manufacturing Policy-2020, with the target for the manufacturing of electronic goods worth US$ 100-billion by the year 2025.

  • This policy envisages making the state contribute 25 per cent of the country’s total electronic hardware export. It aims at attracting semiconductor fabrication units to the state.

  • Providing a 30-per cent capital subsidy, 50 per cent grant for taking land on lease, 5-per cent interest grant for term loans and a monthly financial aid for the first-time trainees in the sector for six months at the rate of Rs. 4,000 for men and Rs. 6,000 for women are some of the features of the new policy.

  • Mobile phones, LED’s, fabless chips, printed circuit boards, solar photovoltaic cells and medical and automobile electronics are some of the areas that are being given focus in the new policy.

September 11, 2020

Kerala tops India’s literacy rate chart with 96.2% rate

  • As per National Statistical Office (NSO) survey report, with 96.2 percent literacy, Kerala has once again emerged as the most literate state in the country.

  • The report on “Household Social Consumption: Education in India as part of the 75th round of National Sample Survey – from July 2017 to June 2018‟ provides for state-wise detail of literacy rate among the persons aged seven years and above.

  • After Kerala, Delhi has the best literacy rate at 88.7 percent, followed by Uttarakhand’s 87.6 percent, Himachal Pradesh‟s 86.6 percent, and Assam’s at 85.9 percent.

  • Andhra Pradesh featured at the bottom with a rate of 66.4 percent, while, Rajasthan is the second-worst performer with a literacy rate at 69.7 percent, followed by Bihar at 70.9 percent, Telangana at 72.8 percent, Uttar Pradesh at 73 percent, and Madhya Pradesh at 73.7 percent.

  • The study has pegged the overall literacy rate in the country at about 77.7 percent.

PM Modi inaugurates Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana to enhance income of dairy farmers, fisheries

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana and e-Gopala App, a comprehensive breed improvement marketplace and information portal for direct use of farmers, which will do away with the role of middlemen in procurement and purchase.

  • The project has been started in 21 states and Rs 20,000 crore will be spend in the next four-five years. An amount of Rs 1,700 cr has been initiated to start the project.

  • The Department of Fisheries has approved Rs 1,723 crore worth of proposals for 21 states and Union Territories in phase-I under the PMMSY.

  • The PMMSY is a flagship scheme for focused and sustainable development of the fisheries sector with an estimated investment of Rs 20,050 crore, as a part of the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ package.

  • An investment of about Rs 12,340 crore is proposed for beneficiary-oriented activities in Marine, Inland fisheries and Aquaculture while about Rs 7,710 crore are proposed for Fisheries Infrastructure.

  • The PMMSY aims at enhancing fish production by an additional 70 lakh tonne by 2024-25, increasing fisheries export earnings to Rs 1,00,000 crore by 2024-25.

India, Japan ink mutual military logistics agreement

  • India and Japan have inked a landmark agreement that will allow their militaries to access each other’s bases for logistics support.

  • The agreement provides for creation of an enabling framework for closer cooperation and interoperability, besides allowing militaries of the two countries to use each other’s bases and facilities for repair and replenishment of supplies.

  • The defence ministry said the pact will enhance the interoperability between the armed forces, resulting in further expansion of bilateral defence engagement under the Indo-Japan special strategic and global partnership.

  • The agreement establishes the enabling framework for closer cooperation between the armed forces of India and Japan in the reciprocal provision of supplies and services.

  • India has already signed similar agreements with the US, France, Australia and Singapore.

  • India has been signing MLSAs with countries primarily eyeing deeper maritime cooperation which is important considering China’s rapid military expansionism in the Indo-Pacific, Indian Ocean and South China Sea.

Microsoft joins NASSCOM to skill 10 lakh students in AI

  • Microsoft joined hands with industry-driven learning ecosystem Nasscom FutureSkills to launch a nation-wide initiative “AI Classroom Series” that aims to skill 10 lakh students in Artificial Intelligence (AI) by 2021.

  • The online classes will include live demos, hands-on workshops and assignments through self-learning, virtual instructor-led training, and mentoring.

  • These introductory sessions on AI will be available for undergraduate students at no cost and will cover the basics of data science, machine learning models on Azure, and understanding of cognitive services to build intelligent solutions.

  • The partnership with NASSCOM FutureSkills is an extension of Microsoft’s global skilling initiative to help 25 million people worldwide acquire new digital skills, needed to thrive in a digital economy.

  • The partnership will also steer collaboration with various academic institutes and colleges to integrate new Cloud and AI technologies into the curriculum.

 

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September 12, 2020

Reliance Industries becomes world’s 40th most valuable firm

  • Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has become the

  • world’s 40th most valuable firm as it became the first Indian company to cross USD 210 billion in market capitalisation intra-day.

  • This is the first time that an Indian company has crossed the USD 200 billion market capitalisation milestone. It is ranked ahead of companies including Oracle, PepsiCo, SAP, Exxon Mobil, Novartis and Pfizer.

  • RIL is also ranked among Asia’s top 10 most valuable companies.

FACTFILE – Reliance Industries Limited (RIL)

  • Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Mumbai, India.

  • RIL owns businesses across India engaged in energy, petrochemicals, textiles, natural resources, retail, and telecommunications.

  • RIL is one of the most profitable companies in India, the largest publicly traded company in India by market capitalisation, and the largest company in India as measured by revenue after recently surpassing the government-controlled Indian Oil Corporation.

  • The company is ranked 96th on the Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s biggest corporations as of 2020. It is ranked 8th among the Top 250 Global Energy Companies by Platts as of 2016.

  • Reliance continues to be India’s largest exporter, accounting for 8% of India’s total merchandise exports with a value of ₹1,47,755 crore and access to markets in 108 countries.

Telangana Assembly passes bills for landmark land reforms

  • The Telangana Assembly passed various Bills to bring major reforms in the state’s Revenue Department by reducing human interface for land transactions. Accordingly, the state govt has scrapped the posts of Village Revenue Officers (VROs) and Village Revenue Assistants (VRAs).

  • With the new enactments, record of rights relating to lands will be maintained in electronic form in the Telangana Land Records Management System for ensuring hassle-free revenue administration.

  • The new Revenue Act will remove discretionary powers vested with the officials at different levels and ensure transparent and corruption-free land dealings.

  • Under the new Revenue Act, land mutation or change of land title ownership will be done online via the Dharani portal. This will also allow people to access records of agricultural and non-agricultural land online.

Major health scheme for J&K announced

  • Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha announced a major health scheme under which all residents of the union territory will be given health insurance.

  • The scheme, under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), will provide an annual health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh per household on a floating basis.

  • It will also cover diseases like cancer and kidney disease, as well as coronavirus disease (COVID-19). In addition, all treatments for oncology, cardiology, and nephrology will be covered.

Andhra CM launches ‘YSR Asara’ to free women from debt trap

  • Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the ‘YSR Asara’ scheme, which will benefit 87 lakh women belonging to 8.71 lakh self-help groups (SHGs).

  • The scheme promises to deposit money in the bank accounts of eligible women, amounting to Rs 27,168 crore in total, in four instalments.

  • According to the state govt, the outstanding loans of eligible women on the cut-off date were determined to be amounting to Rs 25,383 crore.

  • Most of these women hailing from poor families were compelled to take these loans for education, healthcare, care of elderly people at home, daily needs and other emergencies. This resulted in getting them into a vicious cycle of debts due to their incapability to cope with the exorbitant rates of interest.

September 13, 2020

Assam Govt announced infrastructure development projects worth around Rs 12,000 crore

  • The Assam state Govt announced a slew of infrastructure development projects worth around Rs 12,000 crore, including the setting up of four new medical colleges, nine women colleges, six degree colleges, ten law colleges, two flyovers and statewide road corridors in the state.

  • An outlay of around Rs 12,000 crore would be the highest ever capital investment in the history of Assam.

  • From December 2020, actual works would start for establishing the four new medical colleges at Biswanath Chariali, Charaideo, Goalpara and Guwahati.

  • In collaboration with Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital (MMCH) and Kalapahar TB Hospital, the second medical college in Guwahati would be constructed to make it a best and largest one in entire eastern India in terms of size, services and treatment facilities.

Scientists develop Anti-bacterial Graphene face masks

  • The scientists have successfully produced graphene masks with an anti-bacterial efficiency of 80 per cent, which can be enhanced to almost 100 per cent with exposure to sunlight for around 10 minutes.

  • The graphene masks are easily produced at low cost and can help to resolve the problems of sourcing raw materials and disposing of non-biodegradable masks.

  • The researchers revealed that commonly used surgical masks are not anti-bacterial. And thus, this may lead to the risk of secondary transmission of bacterial infection when people touch the contaminated surfaces of the used masks or discard them improperly.

  • The research team tested their laser-induced graphene with E. coli, and it achieved high anti-bacterial efficiency of about 82 per cent. These laser-induced graphene showed a superior anti-bacterial capacity for aerosolised bacteria.

  • The team is currently working with laboratories in mainland China to test the graphene material with two species of human coronaviruses.

India’s first sea bass hatchery start-up comes up in Karnataka

  • Three young students of Bachelor of Fisheries Science (BFSc) at the Mangalore Fisheries College, A.H. Kaushik, V.S. Karthik Gowda, and S.V. Sachin, saw some shrimp farmers in Andhra Pradesh.

  • The ICAR-Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA) announced the signing of an MoU with the start-up at Karnataka’s Kumta for transfer of sea bass seed production technology.

  • This is the first attempt in the country in setting up a sea bass hatchery in private sector on a start-up mode.

  • The ICAR-CIBA charged Rs 5 lakh for transfer of technology and 10 per cent royalty on the net profit of the company.

  • Canares Aquaculture will get the sea bass eggs or fries and brooder from the ICAR-CIBA, rear it in its tanks for about two-and-half months and then sell it to the farmers.

 

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September 14, 2020

Assam to expand Kaziranga National Park area

  • Assam state govt has approved to expand the Kaziranga National Park by 3053 hectares. This would make the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve to grow to 1085.53 sq km. Presently, the core area of the national park is 430 sq km.

This increase in area of KNP will benefit:

  • It would help to provide connectivity to Orang and Nameri National Parks across river Brahmaputra.

  • It also provides connectivity to the hills of Karbi Anglong to the south of the park.

  • These additional areas are encroachment-evicted areas and suitable wildlife habitat on river islands that are vulnerable to encroachment.

  • It would also lead to the reduction in human-wildlife negative interactions.

FACTFILE – Kaziranga National Park (KNP)

  • Kaziranga National Park is one of India’s oldest reserve areas, located in Golaghat and Nagaon, in the Karbi Anglong district of Assam in northeast India.

  • The park was declared ‘protected’ after Mary Curzon, Wife of Lord Curzon, failed to spot a single rhinoceros in the area.

  • The park has elephants, swamp deer, wild water buffalo, etc. It also has a wide range of flora. It also contains 15 threatened species of fauna.

  • It also has many species of birds and is designated as an ‘Important Bird Area’ by Birdlife International.

FACTFILE – National Parks in Asaam

  • Assam has five national parks—Kaziranga National Park, Manas National Park, Nameri National Park, Dibru-Saikhowa National Park and Orang National Park.

India becomes member of UN body ECOSOC

  • India has been elected as a member of the United Nation’s Commission on Status of Women, a body of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

  • India will be a member of United Nation’s Commission on Status of Women for four years, 2021 to 2025.

  • India, Afghanistan and China had contested the elections to the Commission on Status of Women. Even as India and Afghanistan won the ballot among the 54 members, China could not cross the half-way mark.

  • The Economic and Social Council is at the heart of the United Nations system to advance the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental.

FACTFILE – The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)

  • It is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the main UN organs within the United Nations.

  • CSW has been described as the UN organ promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women. Every year, representatives of Member States gather at United Nations Headquarters in New York to evaluate progress gender equality, identify challenges, set global standards and formulate concrete policies to promote gender equality and advancement of women worldwide.

  • It is the central platform for fostering debate and innovative thinking, forging consensus on ways forward, and coordinating efforts to achieve internationally agreed goals.

  • It is also responsible for the follow-up to major UN conferences and summits.

NSO’s Report on the Digital Divide

  • Recently, National Statistical Organisation (NSO) published the report on ‘household social consumption’ in its 75th round of the survey which was conducted between 2017-2018. The report shows that digital divide have increased across States, cities and villages, and income groups.

Key Findings of the report

  • One in 10 households have access to computer across the country.

  • Quarter of all homes have Internet connection which is accessed through fixed or mobile network using smartphones.

  • Cities have 42% Internet-enabled homes while in rural India 15% are connected to the internet.

  • Delhi has the highest Internet access covering 55% of the households.

  • Kerala emerges to have the least inequality where 39% of the poorest rural homes and 67% of the richest urban homes have Internet.

  • Odisha have the lowest internet penetration with one in 10 household have access to internet.

  • 20% of Indians above the age of 5 years have basic digital literacy.

Digital divide – It means uneven distribution of access and use of internet and technologies among the group. This term was first used by Lloyd Morrisett.

Internet as Fundamental Right – Kerala High Court in 2019 had declared the right to Internet access is a fundamental right that forms the part of the right to privacy and the right to education under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Various Government Initiatives to reduce the digital divide

  • Bharat Net Programme that acts as the infrastructural backbone to provide Internet access all across the country.

  • National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM) have been launched to empower at least one person per household with digital literacy skills by 2020.

 

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Assam Current Affairs and GK Quiz – Set 304: September 10 -12, 2020

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Assam Current Affairs and GK Quiz – Set 304: September 10 – 12, 2020

( Daily and Monthly Assam Current Affairs & GK Quiz & MCQ for APSC Exams and various Assam exams)

Assam 2020 Yearbook | Quiz Home Page | Quiz Monthly – July 2020 | Current Affairs Monthly – July 2020Current Affairs Assam Quiz - Assam exam

Q1. Assam State Rural Livelihood Mission (ASRLM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with which small finance bank to work in cohesion in support of Bank Linkage?

  1. Janalakshmi Small Finance Bank
  2. Utkarsh Small Finance Bank
  3. North East Small Finance Bank
  4. Capital Small Finance Bank.
C. North East Small Finance Bank

Assam State Rural Livelihood Mission (ASRLM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with North East Small Finance Bank (NESFB) on Saturday to work in cohesion in support of Bank Linkage of the Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Producer Groups/ Enterprises under ASRLM. ASRLM is the first amongst all the State Livelihood Missions to initiate the signing of MoU with the new generation small finance banks.

 

Q2. Which country has been elected as a member of the United Nation’s Commission on Status of Women for the period 2021-2025?

  1. US
  2. India
  3. Australia
  4. UAE
B. India

 

Q3. India and which country signed an agreement for reciprocal provision of supplies and services between the armed forces?

  1. China
  2. Bangladesh
  3. Japan
  4. Sri Lanka
C. Japan

India and Japan signed an agreement for reciprocal provision of supplies and services between the armed forces. The agreement establishes the enabling framework for closer cooperation between the Armed Forces of India and Japan in reciprocal provision of supplies and services while engaged in bilateral training activities, United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, Humanitarian International Relief and other mutually agreed activities.

 

 

Q4. What is the rank of India in the Global Economic Freedom Index, 2020?

  1. 79th
  2. 105th
  3. 93rd
  4. 108th
B. 105th 

The Economic Freedom of the World 2020 Annual Report by Canada’s Fraser Institute has been released in India in conjunction with the New Delhi-based think tank Centre For Civil Society. This is the 24th edition of Economic Freedom of the World.

The country was at the 79th spot in last year’s rankings. Hong Kong topped the rankings.

 

 

Q5. The government of which state has recently launched India’s Biggest “Piggery Mission”?

  1. Nagaland
  2. Assam
  3. Meghalaya
  4. Tripura

C. Meghalaya

The main objective of the Piggery Mission is to reduce the annual import of Pork worth Rs 150 Crore and make Meghalaya self-sufficient (“Aatma Nirbhar”) in pork production over the next 3 years.

 

Q6. According to the Living Planet Report 2020 released by the World Wide Fund for Nature what is the average decline in global vertebrate species populations, between 1970 and 2016?

  1. 68%
  2. 50%
  3. 34%
  4. 72%
A. 68%

World Wildlife Fund for Nature is the world’s leading conservation organization. It was established in 1961 and is headquartered at Gland, Switzerland. Its objective is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on Earth.

 

Q7. Which state topped the list of states counted for the well-being of children as per the ‘State of Young Child in India’ report released by Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu recently?

  1. Assam
  2. Kerala
  3. Tripura
  4. Goa
B. Kerala

The Young Child Outcomes Index (YCOI) measures health, nutrition and cognitive growth with help of indicators such as infant mortality rate, stunting and net attendance at the primary school level. Kerala, Goa, Tripura, Tamil Nadu and Mizoram are among the top five States.

 

Q8. Which among the following religious place was recently granted Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration?

  1. Tirupati
  2. Vaishno Devi
  3. Konark
  4. Golden Temple

D. Golden Temple

The Union government has granted a Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence to Sri Harmandir Sahib at Amritsar in Punjab for five years. It will now enable the Golden Temple to receive foreign donations.

 

Q9. Who won the women’s singles title in US Open Tennis 2020?

  1. Naomi Osaka
  2. Victoria Azarenka
  3. Jennifer Brady
  4. Serena Williams
A. Naomi Osaka

 

Q10. India’s first integrated air ambulance service has been launched in which state?

  1. Karnataka
  2. Odisha
  3. Gujarat
  4. Uttarakhand
A. Karnataka

The Integrated Ambulance Service is India’s first air ambulance operating from South India to provide service for medical emergencies. It is combined with helicopter and land ambulance services which will offer last-mile connectivity.

 

APSC Prelims 2020 Test Series

 

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Assam Current Affairs and GK Quiz – Set 303: September 07 -09, 2020

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Assam Current Affairs and GK Quiz – Set 303: September 07 – 09, 2020

( Daily and Monthly Assam Current Affairs & GK Quiz & MCQ for APSC Exams and various Assam exams)

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Q1. The first Children’s newspaper ‘The Young Minds’ was recently launched in which state?

  1. Assam
  2. Kerala
  3. Mizoram
  4. Tripura
A. Assam

This newspaper will help to promote creative thinking among children and inculcate in them the habit to read and write. This weekly newspaper will include content that will help engage children in activities such as games, puzzles, riddles, fun facts and news, vocabulary, science and maths experiments. It will also provide kids with a platform to get their arts and write-ups published and win prizes by participating in monthly contests.

 

Q2. Assam is paired with which state under Ek Bharat Shresht Bharat?

  1. Madhya Pradesh
  2. Bihar
  3. Rajasthan
  4. West Bengal
C. Rajasthan

Assam paired with Rajasthan under Ek Bharat Shresht Bharat. Both the states are known for sports, tourism, foods, culture and heritage.

The objective of Ek Bharat Shresht Bharat is to promote the spirit of national integration through a deep and structured engagement between all Indian States and Union Territories through a year-long planned engagement between States.

.

 

Q3. Who has been recently awarded with Bhupen Hazarika Samanway Award for his valuable contributions in the cultural field of Assam?

  1. Jatin Goswami
  2. Santanta Tanty
  3. Kula Saikkia
  4. Chandana Goswami
A. Jatin Goswami

Bhupen Hazarika Samanway Award instituted by the Bhupen Hazarika Cultural Trust was today conferred on Nrityacharya Jatin Goswami for his valuable contributions in the cultural field of Assam. The award carrying a memento, a citation, a cheleng chador, gamosa, baan kanhi (bell-metal dish), a bouquet and a collection of books was given to the Sattriya exponent by trust members.

 

 

Q4. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated Sri Sri Uttar Kamalabari Sakha Satra and Cultural Research Centre at the district of Assam?

  1. Dhemaji
  2. Majuli
  3. Jorhat
  4. Dibrugarh
C. Jorhat

 

Q5. What is the rank of Assam in terms of literacy rate among other states in India as per the report on education released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) recently?

  1. Third
  2. Fifth
  3. Ninth
  4. Seventh

B. Fifth 

The report on ”Household Social Consumption: Education in India as part of 75th round of National Sample Survey – from July 2017 to June 2018” has positioned Assam in the fifth rank with a literacy rate of 85.9 percent in India.

Kerala with 96.2 per cent literacy, has once again emerged as the most literate state in the country, followed by Delhi at 88.7%, Uttarakhand at 87.6%, Himachal Pradesh at 86.6% and Assam’s at 85.9 per cent.

 

Q6. Who has been awarded the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize for 2019?

  1. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
  2. David Attenborough
  3. Ela Bhatt
  4. Man Mohan Singh
B. David Attenborough

The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development is an annual prestigious award accorded annually to individuals or organisations in recognition of creative efforts toward promoting international peace, development and a new international economic order; ensuring that scientific discoveries are used for the larger good of humanity, and enlarging the scope of freedom.

It is conferred every year by Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust since 1986. It consists of a citation and a monetary award of Rs. 25 lakh.

 

Q7. Which state topped in ease of doing business 2019 ranking?

  1. Uttar Pradesh
  2. Haryana
  3. Telangana
  4. Andhra Pradesh
D. Andhra Pradesh

This ranking is based on implementation of business reform action plan. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman released the 2019 rankings, Andhra Pradesh retains top spot in ease of doing business 2019 ranking while Uttar Pradesh and Telangana bagged the second and third positions respectively.

 

Q8. Who among the following has won the Italian Grand Prix for 2020?

  1. Pierre Gasly
  2. Lewis Hamilton
  3. N Roseberg
  4. S Vettel

A. Pierre Gasly

The 2020 Italian Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Gran Premio Heineken d’Italia 2020) which was held at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Monza, Italy.

 

Q9. Recently, India has initiated an anti-dumping investigation on imports of vitamin C from which country?

  1. Russia
  2. Brazil
  3. China
  4. Mexico
C. China

 

Q10. Who represented India at virtual G20 Education Ministers Meet, which is recently hosted by Saudi Arabia?

  1. Smriti Irani
  2. Amit Shah
  3. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank
  4. Arjun Munda
C. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank

The G20 is made up of 19 countries and the European Union. The 19 countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, and the US.

 

APSC Prelims 2020 Test Series

 

 

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Assam Current Affairs and GK Quiz – Set 301: September 01 -03, 2020

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Assam Current Affairs and GK Quiz – Set 301: September 01 – 03, 2020

( Daily and Monthly Assam Current Affairs & GK Quiz & MCQ for APSC Exams and various Assam exams)

Assam 2020 Yearbook | Quiz Home Page | Quiz Monthly – July 2020 | Current Affairs Monthly – July 2020Current Affairs Assam Quiz - Assam exam

Q1. Recently, which IIT collaborates with the University of Pardubice, Czech Republic for data protection project?

  1. IIT Madras
  2. IIT Guwahati
  3. IIT Indore
  4. IIT Hyderabad
B. Guwahati University

Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati has collaborated with the University of Pardubice, Czech Republic to work towards developing indigenous algorithms to protect the Country’s digital data from cyber-attacks by advanced computers.

 

Q2. What is the rank of India in the Global Innovation Index compiled by World Intellectual Property Index (WIPO)?

  1. 52nd
  2. 35th
  3. 48th
  4. 64th
C. 48th 

The Global Innovation Index (GII) is an annual ranking of countries by their capacity for, and success in, innovation. It is published by Cornell University, INSEAD, and the World Intellectual Property Organization, in partnership with other organisations and institutions.

It is the 13th edition of the Global Innovation Index 2020. The 2020 edition of the Global Innovation Index (GII) presents the latest global innovation trends and the annual innovation ranking of 131 economies.

.

 

Q3. Which two countries were declared the joint winners of the FIDE Online Chess Olympiad?

  1. Japan and Brazil
  2. India and Russia
  3. China and US
  4. UK and France
B. India and Russia

 

Q4. Recently who becomes the first woman to be appointed as the Director General (DG) of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security?

  1. Usha Padhee
  2. Joyce Gladys Roach
  3. Harsimrat Kaur Badal
  4. Renuka Singh Saruta
A. Usha Padhee

Usha Padhee has been given additional charge as Director-General of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). She is the first woman and third IAS officer to have been appointed to the post.

 

 

Q5. Recently, CSIR’s Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute have developed world’s largest ‘solar tree’ which is installed at

  1. Barpeta
  2. Gochar
  3. Durgapur
  4. Lumding

C. Durgapur

The installed capacity of the Solar Tree is above 11.5 kWp . It has the annual capacity to generate 12,000-14,000 units of Clean and Green Power. Each Solar Tree has the potential to save 10-12 tons of CO2 emissions being released into the atmosphere as Greenhouse Gases when compared with fossil fuel fired energy generation. Each Solar Tree can be customized for widespread usage in agricultural activities.

 

Q6. Which company has becomes the first Indian dairy company to be in Rabobank’s Global Top 20 list for the year 2020?

  1. Milky Mist Dairy
  2. Hhutson Agro Product
  3. Amul, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF)
  4. Verka Milk
C. Amul, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF)

GCMMF (Amul) enters the Rabobank’s Global Top 20 Dairy Companies list for the first time at No.16. Amul has achieved an annual turnover of $5.5 billion.

According to the list, Switzerland’s Nestle topped the list with a turnover of US $22.1 billion, followed by France’s Lactalis with US $ 21 billion turnover.

 

Q7. Which country plans to unveil bronze statue of Indian Dr Dwarkanath Kotnis?

  1. Japan
  2. Pakistan
  3. US
  4. China
D. China

A bronze statue of Indian doctor Dwarkanath Kotnis, who is revered in China for his contributions during the Chinese revolution headed by its founder Mao Zedong and the World War II, would be unveiled outside a medical school in North China.

In 1938, Kotnis came to China as part of a five-member team of doctors sent by the Indian National Congress to help the Chinese during World War II. He joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 1942 and died the same year at the age of 32.

 

Q8. Which airport has won CII-GBC ‘National Energy Leader’ award?

  1. Vijayawada International Airport
  2. Indira Gandhi International Airport
  3. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport
  4. Rajiv Gandhi International Airport

D. Rajiv Gandhi International Airport

The Hyderabad International Airport or GMR led Rajiv Gandhi International Airport won the ‘National Energy Leader’ and ‘Excellent Energy Efficient Unit’ awards at the 21st National Awards for ‘Excellence in Energy Management’.

Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited-Vizag Steel Plant (RINL-VSP) has also been awarded ‘Excellent Energy Efficient Unit’ award by CII-GBC in national award competition for excellence in energy management.

 

Q9. India’s first international women’s trade centre (IWTC) be set up in which State?

  1. Kerala
  2. Tripura
  3. Madhya Pradesh
  4. Jharkhand
A. Kerala

The International women’s trade centre (IWTC) would be set by Kerala in consonance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The IWTC seeks to accelerate the women entrepreneurship and secure gender parity. It will offer a safe place away from home to women to start new businesses, set up or expand, and get their products marketed globally.

 

Q10. Which organisation has recently launched book titled “The Little Book of Green Nudges” to inspire around 200 million students around the globe to adopt environmentally friendly habits and greener lifestyles?

  1. World Health Organisation (WHO)
  2. United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP)
  3. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
  4. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
B. United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP)

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has recently launched a new publication ‘The Little Book of Green Nudges’ which aims to inspire up to 200 million students around the globe to adopt environmentally friendly habits and greener lifestyles.

 

 

APSC Prelims 2020 Test Series

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Assam Current Affairs and GK Quiz – Set 299: August 25 -27, 2020

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Assam Current Affairs and GK Quiz – Set 299: August 25-27, 2020

( Daily and Monthly Assam Current Affairs & GK Quiz & MCQ for APSC Exams and various Assam exams)

Assam 2020 Yearbook | Quiz Home Page | Quiz Monthly – July 2020 | Current Affairs Monthly – July 2020Current Affairs Assam Quiz - Assam exam

Q1. Recently, India’s longest river ropeway, connecting the north and south banks of the Brahmaputra river inaugurated in which city?

  1. Agartala
  2. Silchar
  3. Guwahati
  4. Imphal
C. Guwahati

The ropeway will cover a distance of 1.8 km, and bring down the travelling time. It will also help in promoting tourism and will make commuting easier.

 

Q2. Recently, which state assembly has passed a resolution for inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution?

  1. Bihar
  2. Jharkhand
  3. Arunachal Pradesh
  4. Sikkim
C. Arunachal Pradesh

The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution deals with the administration of the tribal areas in the four northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram as per Article 244. It empowers Parliament to establish an autonomous State comprising certain tribal areas of Assam and for local Legislature or Council of Ministers or both can create. It provides the power of the enactment of autonomous district councils (ADCs) to protect the rights of tribal populations.

 

Q3. Name the Para Athletic who won the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in the recently announced National Sports Awards 2020?

  1. Dutee Chand
  2. Manika Batra
  3. Shri Manish Narwal
  4. Shri Mariyappan T.
D. Shri Mariyappan T.

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in Sports and Games is the highest sporting honour of the Republic of India. The award is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. This award is being conferred for the spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of four years. As of 2020, the award comprises a medallion, a certificate, and a cash prize of ₹25 lakh.

 

Q4. What is the projected growth rate of India for 2020-21, as per Reserve Bank of India’s annual report 2019-20?

  1. -3.3
  2. -4.5
  3. -5.6
  4. -2.8
B. -4.5

Reserve Bank of India (RBI)projected India’s growth at minus (-) 4.5% for 2020-21. It will be (-) 3.7% in the single hit scenario and (-) 7.3% in the double hit scenario in FY2020-21. On the global front, the growth is projected at (-) 6.0% in the single hit scenario and (-) 7.6% in the double hit scenario in FY20-21.

 

 

Q5. Who will be honoured with the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2019 in the land adventure category?

  1. Anita Kundu
  2. Aparna Kumar
  3. Manikandan K
  4. Wangchuk Sherpa

A. Anita Kundu

Indian Mountaineer Anita Kundu has been chosen for the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2019 in the ‘land adventure category’. She is the first Indian woman to climb Mount Everest from both the Indian and the Chinese sides.

 

Q6. Recently, who has won the ‘World’s Fastest Human Calculator’ title?

  1. Akrit Jaswal
  2. Priyanshi Somani
  3. Neelakanta Bhanu Prakash
  4. Ajay Puri
C. Neelakanta Bhanu Prakash

India’s Neelakanta Bhanu Prakash has won the ‘World’s Fastest Human Calculator’ title. He has won the first-ever gold for India in Mental Calculation World Championship at Mind Sports Olympiad (MSO) held in London recently.

 

Q7. Which state topped in the ‘Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2020’ released by NITI Aayog?

  1. Madhya Pradesh
  2. Gujarat
  3. Maharashtra
  4. Kerala
B. Gujarat

Export Preparedness Index (EPI) aims to identify the challenges and opportunities; improve the effectiveness of government policies; and promote a facilitative regulatory framework. Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu occupied the top three ranks in the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2020.

Among the landlocked states, Rajasthan has performed the best, followed by Telangana and Haryana. Among the Himalayan states, Uttarakhand topped the chart, followed by Tripura and Himachal Pradesh. Across Union Territories, Delhi has performed the best, followed by Goa and Chandigarh.

 

Q8. Which country plans to host BRICS Games in 2021?

  1. Russia
  2. India
  3. China
  4. Japan

B. India

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju attended a meeting of Sports Ministers of the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). During this meeting he announced that BRICS Games 2021 will be held during the same time and at the same venues as of Khelo India Games 2021.

 

Q9. Who became the first Indian-origin woman to be honoured with a memorial Blue Plaque?

  1. Noor Innayat Khan
  2. Haafiza Sayed
  3. Soufeina Hamed
  4. Zainab Khan
A. Noor Innayat Khan

Noor Inayat Khan is the first woman of Indian-origin to be honoured with a memorial Blue Plaque for her service in the Special Operations Executive during World War 2. She was the first female radio operator be sent into Nazi-occupied France and is also remembered as Britain’s first Muslim war heroine.

 

Q10. Which IIT has recently launched ‘world’s most affordable’ respirator mask?

  1. IIT Madras
  2. IIT Dhanbad
  3. IIT Delhi
  4. IIT Hyderabad
D. IIT Hyderabad

The Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad has recently launched US9 respiratory mask which is highly durable and adheres to the highest safety standards for operating in hazardous environments.

 

 

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Assam Current Affairs and GK Quiz – Set 298: August 22 -24, 2020

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Assam Current Affairs and GK Quiz – Set 298: August 22-24, 2020

( Daily and Monthly Assam Current Affairs & GK Quiz & MCQ for APSC Exams and various Assam exams)

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Q1. Which company has recently launched the Krishi-Udan Scheme to facilitate the marketing of agricultural and farm products of the northeastern states outside the region?

  1. Airports Authority of India or (AAI)
  2. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)
  3. Infosys
  4. Wipro
A. Airports Authority of India or (AAI)

The Airports Authority of India or AAI is a statutory body founded in 1995. The organisation is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining and managing civil aviation infrastructure in India. It provides Communication Navigation Surveillance / Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) services over Indian airspace and adjoining oceanic areas.

 

Q2. Which city has been conferred the Swachh Survekshan 2020 award for the cleanest city in the Northeast region under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan?

  1. Lakhimpur
  2. Tezpur
  3. Jorhat
  4. Sivsagar
B. Jorhat

Apart from Jorhat, four more Assam cities—Tezpur, Diphu, Sivasagar, and Karimganj—have secured positions on the list of cleanest cities this year.

Under the 25, 000 to 50,000 population category, Mokukchung in Nagaland won cleanest city in the Northeast Zone award. On the other hand, Jiribam in Manipur bagged cleanest city ian the northeast zone in below 25,000 population category.

 

Q3. Who has been selected as the 2021 recipient of the Joel Henry Hildebrand Award in the Theoretical and Experimental Chemistry of Liquids, by the American Chemical Society (ACS)?

  1. Professor Biman Bagchi
  2. Abraham Verghese
  3. Arvind Panagariya
  4. Avinash Dixit
A. Professor Biman Bagchi

The American Chemic Society (ACS) national awards programme is designed to encourage the advancement of chemistry in all its branches and to support research in chemical science and industry.

 

Q4. Recently, Endangered Madagascan moon moth spotted in which state?

  1. Assam
  2. Manipur
  3. Mizoram
  4. Nagaland
D. Nagaland

Madagascan moon moth is native to the rain forests of Madagascar– was spotted in Noklak district.

The male moon moth has a wingspan of 20 cm and a tail span of 15 cm, making it one of the world’s largest silk moths. Madagascan moon moth is one of the beautiful lepidopterans. It is nocturnal and does not fly in day time.

 

 

Q5. Recently who among the following has written a new collection of short stories ‘Grandparents’ Bag of Stories’?

  1. Chetan Bhagat
  2. Khushwant Singh
  3. Sudha Murthy
  4. Amrita Pritam

C. Sudha Murthy

The book, scheduled to be released in November, is a sequel to Murty’s last release Grandma’s Bag of Stories and will feature 20 stories.

 

Q6. Recently, which among the following company has collaborated with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to offer ‘Open P-TECH’, a free digital education platform?

  1. Google
  2. Microscope
  3. IBM
  4. Infosys
C. IBM

IBM will curate online courses from Open P-Tech platform and offer it to users via NSDC’s eSkill India portal to empower Indian youth on various skills to succeed in future careers. It will provide online courses in emerging technologies like cybersecurity, blockchain, artificial intelligence and machine learning, cloud and Internet of Things along with professional skills like design thinking to learners between 18 to 22 years for free.

 

Q7. Who has become the youngest author to win the 2020 International Booker Prize?

  1. Marieke Lucas Rijneveld
  2. Paul Beatty
  3. Hilary Mantal
  4. Marlon James
A. Marieke Lucas Rijneveld

Dutch author Marieke Lucas Rijneveld has won the 2020 International Booker Prize together with their translator Michele Hutchison for their debut novel The Discomfort in the Evening, the story of childhood grief.

 

Q8. Which bank has recently launched an Aadhaar authentication based digital savings account called Jan Bachat Khata (JBK) to consumers?

  1. Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank
  2. Airtel Payments Bank
  3. India Post Payments Bank
  4. FINO Payments Bank

D. FINO Payments Bank

Fino Payments Bank has launched Jan Bachat Khata, an Aadhaar Authentication based digital savings account that brings neo-banking experience to consumers. The primary segment would be low income household families and beneficiaries of government’s direct benefit transfer (DBT).

 

Q9. Which company has announced a new initiative called The Anywhere School, to boost online education?

  1. Microsoft
  2. Facebook
  3. Google
  4. IBM
C. Google

The new initiative will be rolling out over 50 new features across Meet, Classroom, G Suite and other products to hundreds of thousands of viewers in more than 250 countries around the world.

 

Q10. ‘India Tomorrow: Conversations with the Next Generation of Political Leaders’ is authored by

  1. Jhumpa Lahiri and Khushwant Singh
  2. Pradeep Chhibber and Harsh Shah
  3. Vikram Seth and Chetan Bhagat
  4. Kiran Desai and Preeti Shenoy
B. Pradeep Chhibber and Harsh Shah

It is written by academicians Pradeep Chhibber and Harsh Shah. According to publisher Oxford University Press (OUP), the book attempts to unravel the personalities, aspirations, ideologies, interests, passions and motivations of the leaders featured. This book will give readers a snapshot of contemporary Indian politics through interviews of 20 of the country”s most prominent next-generation politicians.

 

 

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Assam Current Affairs – August 22-28, 2020

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Assam Current Affairs & GK – August 22-28, 2020

( Covers all important Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of August 22-28, 2020)

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August 22, 2020

68,000 MSMEs in Assam to get aid under Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan

  • Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowaltold that 68,000 MSMEs in Assam to be benefited by the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. He also reviewed the implementation status of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme for MSMEs of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts under Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
  • The chief minister urged the MSME owners to take advantage of the Atma Nirbhar Bharat initiative and to play their part in work towards achieving economic progress of the state.
  • The state government had held meeting with the banks to facilitate collateral free loans to 68,000 MSMEs in the state.
  • Assam’s farmers could sell vegetables worth Rs 852 crore and fish, meat and eggs worth Rs 150 crore during the lockdown period, Sonowal stressed on the need to become self-reliant in agriculture and allied sectors by increasing production.
  • Assam has been able to fulfil its own requirement of fish while also exporting fish to neighbouring states and he highlighted the earning of more than Rs 11 crore by women self help groups through production of face masks. 
  • A package of Rs.3 lakh crore was announced for helping the MSMEs under Atma Nirbhar Abhiyan by the central government.
BBC-Hindi document series features Assam’s feminist movement pioneer Chandraprabha Saikiani
  • The BBC Hindi has featured the story of Chandraprabha Saikiani, pioneer of the feminist movement in Assam in its short documentary series.
  • The BBC-Hindi document series will feature ten women who have contributed to strengthen the democratic system, raised their voice on women’s rights and worked as social reformers.
  • Sakiani fought against patriarchal structures that prevailed in society during her days and opened a primary school at the age of 13. She also played role in the freedom movement and in the Congress.
  • Saikiani raised her voice against stigmatisation of women at the Nagaon session of the Asam Sahitya Sabha.
  • She was a single-mother at a time when it was something unbelievable in Assamese society. The documentary also speaks about the journey Saikiani undertook throughout the State on a bicycle to create awareness among the womenfolk about their rights in society.
UAE honours Indian businessman Firoz Goulam Merchant for philanthropic work
  • The UAE Ministry of Interior honoured Indian businessman Firoz Goulam Merchant for his exemplary community services. The excellence certificate and citation was handed over to Merchant by Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.
  • Merchant, the proprietor of Pure Gold Jewellers, launched a philanthropic movement called the Forgotten Society in 2008.
  • Spearheading this initiative, Merchant worked tirelessly with several correctional institutions to identify debt-ridden prisoners and assisted them in repaying debts to the tune of millions, thereby securing their release and providing free air passage to their respective countries.
UP to launch One District, One Product to benefit state’s farmers
  • The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has announced that it will implement ‘One District, One Product’ (ODOP) scheme for the farmers in the selected 45 districts of Uttar Pradesh. The scheme is expected to benefit lakhs of the farmers of the state.
  • Agricultural products will be selected on the basis of agro-climatic zone, product quality, taste, aroma, nutritional and medicinal properties, and export potential. And farmers of the respective districts have been recommended about growing specific crops.
  • The scheme will help in making agricultural produces like gram of Bundelkhand, Chitrakoot, Hamirpur, Mahoba and Sonbhadra, the millet of Badaun and fresh vegetables of Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar famous across the country.
  • Agricultural products like ‘Kalanamak rice’ of Siddharthanagar, banana fibre of Kushinagar, banana of Kaushambi, jaggery of Ayodhya, aamla of Pratapgarh, pulses of Balrampur and Gonda, desi ghee of Auraiya, handicraft made of wheat stalk in Bahraich etc. are included in the ODOP scheme.

August 23, 2020

Jorhat gets cleanest city in the Northeast region
  • Jorhat has been conferred the Swachh Survekshan 2020 award for the cleanest city in the Northeast region under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
  • The selection was from among urban areas which had a population between 50,000 to 1 lakh. The population of Jorhat covered by the Jorhat Municipal Board as per the 2011 census was 71782.
  • Apart from Jorhat, four more Assam cities Tezpur, Diphu, Sivasagar, and Karimganj have secured positions on the list of cleanest cities.
  • Under the 25, 000 to 50,000 population category, Mokukchung in Nagaland won cleanest city in the Northeast Zone award.
  • Jiribam in Manipur bagged cleanest city in the northeast zone in below 25,000 population category.
New Green Subsidiary proposed by NTPC
  • Govt of India power generation company NTPC proposes to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary to house its growing renewable energy portfolio so that more focus is brought into the business that holds the potential of being the next growth engine for India.
  • NTPC had installed a generation capacity of close to 63,000 ME. It has 5,000 MW of commissioned renewable energy projects
  • It proposes to have 32,000 ME of renewable energy capacity under its hold by 2032. Of the 32,000 MW renewable energy capacity, nearly 10,000 MW of solar capacity is proposed to be commissioned till 2022.
  • It aims is to take up renewable capacity to 30 per cent of its total operations by 2032.
  • It is also looking at expanding hydro operations and setting up 2,000 MW of nuclear capacity.
Uttar Pradesh partners Israel to resolve Bundelkhand Water Crisis
  • The Uttar Pradesh and Israel governments signed a ‘plan of cooperation’ to resolve water crisis in Bundelkhand region of the state.
  • The India Israel Bundelkhand Water Project comprises three key components including water conservation, water efficient transportation and advanced water practices for agriculture.
  • The agreement has been signed for two years and will be extended later. The project aims to address water crisis in drought hit regions of Bundelkhand.
  • It will help farmers of the region with latest farming technologies, including drip irrigation, meant for water deficient regions like Bundelkhand.
Ministry of Skill Development partners with Ministry of Shipping
  • Union Ministry of Shipping entered into a pact with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) for skilling, re-skilling and upskilling of manpower.
  • The aim behind the MoU is to facilitate the manpower to encash employment opportunities available in India and global maritime sectors.
  • The MSDE will cooperate in development of course curriculum, national occupational standards, content, etc for cruise tourism, logistics, fisheries, ship building, ship repair and ship breaking, dredging, offshore supply chain, etc.
  • It will leverage existing infrastructure such as ITIs to train manpower required as per the skill gaps of the coastal districts.
  • Skill development of coastal communities is an important objective of the Sagarmala programme and a budget of Rs 100 crore has been allocated for coastal community development activities.
Indian Coast Guard launches Interceptor Boat ‘ICGS C-454’
  • Indian Coast Guard launches interceptor boat Interceptor Boat `ICGS C-454′, built by Larsen and Toubro.
  • The 27-meter-long boat has a maximum speed of 45 nautical miles or 83 kilometers per hour, and has excellent seakeeping, maneuverability and endurance range of 500 nautical miles.

FACTFILE – Indian Coast Guard (ICG)

  • The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is an Armed Force, Search and Rescue and Maritime Law Enforcement agency that protects India’s maritime interests and enforces its maritime law, with jurisdiction over the territorial waters of India, including its contiguous zone and exclusive economic zone.
  • It was formally established on 18 August 1978 by the Coast Guard Act, 1978 of the Parliament of India.

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August 24, 2020

Assam to bring bill to protect state’s heritage sites
  • The Assam government has planned to bring a legislation to protect various heritage sites of the state.
  • The Assam Heritage (tangible) Protection, Preservation Conservation and Maintenance Bill, 2020 was prepared by the Directorate of Archaeology.
  • It will be placed in the next Cabinet meeting; and following its nod, the Bill will be presented in the forthcoming four-day Assembly session.
  • The Bill proposes to provide protection, preservation, conservation, maintenance, restoration, development and promotion of the State heritage sites and objects — other than those declared by or under the law made by Parliament to be of national importance or those covered under the ‘Assam Ancient Monuments and Records Act-1959’.
  • The heritage sites include xatras, monasteries, stupas, naamghars, masjids, dargahs, and churches besides socio-cultural institutions and habitation structures having traditional architectures as well as monuments and their precincts.
  • The Bill also includes artifacts, sculptures, paintings, handicrafts, and manuscripts that have been in existence for not less than 75 years.
Endangered Madagascan moon moth spotted in Nagaland
  • The endangered Madagascan moon moth spotted in Noklak deputy commissioner’s office.
  • The Madagascan moon moth is native to the rain forest of Madagascar. Although endangered in the wild due to habitat loss, it has been bred in captivity.
  • The male moon moth has a wingspan of 20 cm and a tail span of 15 cm, making it one of the world’s largest silk moths.
  • Madagascan moon moth is one of the beautiful lepidopterans. It is nocturnal and does not fly in day time.
  • Medagascan moon moths are spotted occasionally in the Indo-Myanmar region having a large forested area and rich biodiversity of flora and fauna.
Rajiv Kumar appointed as new Election Commissioner
  • Union government has appointed former finance secretary Rajiv Kumar as the new Election Commissioner of India.
  • A 1984-batch IAS officer from Jharkhand cadre, Rajiv Kumar has over three decades of experience in public policy and administration across various sectors.
  • He was designated as finance secretary in July 2019 and played a major role in merging 10 public sector banks into four.

FACTFILE – Election Commissioners of India

  • Election Commissioners of India are members of Election Commission of India, a body constitutionally empowered to conduct free and fair elections in India to the national and state legislatures.
  • Until 1989, the commission was a single member body, but later two additional Election Commissioners were added. Thus, the Election Commission currently consists of a Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners.
  • The decisions of the commission are taken by a majority vote.
  • Sunil Arora is the current 23rd Chief Election Commissioner and the two Election Commissioners are Rajiv Kumar and Sushil Chandra.
National Sports Awards 2020

Union Government has announced the National Sports Awards for the year 2020.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

  • Cricketer Rohit Sharma, Para-Athlete Mariyappan Thangavelu, Table Tennis player Manika Batra, Wrestler Vinesh Phogat and Indian Women’s Hockey team captain Rani Rampal will receive the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.

Arjuna Award

  • 27 sportspersons have been selected for the Arjuna Award for their outstanding performance for four years. Archer Atanu Das, Athlete Dutee Chand, Shuttlers Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy and Chirag C Shetty, Basketball player Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Boxers Subedar Manish Kaushik and Lovlina Borgohain, Cricketer Ishant Sharma and Deepti Sharma, Equestrian player Sawant Ajay Anant, Footballer Sandesh Jhingan, Golfer Aditi Ashok, Hockey players Akashdeep Singh and Deepika, Kabaddi player Deepak, Kho Kho player Kale Sarika Sudhakar, Rower Dattu Baban Bhokanal, Shooter Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary, Table Tennis player Madhurika Suhas Patkar, Tennis player Divij Sharan, Winter Sports player Shiva Keshavan, Wrestlers Divya Kakran and Rahul Aware, Para Swimmer Suyash Narayan Jadhav, Para Athlete Sandeep and Para Shooter Manish Narwal. 

 Dronacharya (Life-Time) Award

  • Dronacharya (Life-Time) Award will be given to Dharmendra Tiwary for Archery, Purushotham Rai for Athletics, Shiv Singh for Boxing, Romesh Pathania for Hockey, Krishan Kumar Hooda for Kabaddi, Vijay Bhalchandra Munishwar for Para Powerlifting, Naresh Kumar for Tennis and Om Parkash Dahiya for Wrestling.

Dronacharya Award – Regular Category

  • In Regular Category, Dronacharya Award will be given to Jude Felix Sebastian for Hockey, Yogesh Malviya for Mallakhamb, Jaspal Rana for Shooting, Kuldeep Kumar Handoo for Wushu and Gaurav Khanna for Para Badminton.

Dhyan Chand Award

  • Dhyan Chand Award will be given to Kuldip Singh Bhullar and Jincy Philips for Athletics, Pradeep Shrikrishna Gandhe and Trupti Murgunde for Badminton, N. Usha and Lakha Singh for Boxing, Sukhvinder Singh Sandhu for Football, Ajit Singh for Hockey, Manpreet Singh for Kabaddi, J. Ranjith Kumar for Para Athletics, Satyaprakash Tiwari for Para Badminton, Manjeet Singh for Rowing, Nandan P Bal for Tennis,  and Netarpal Hooda for Wrestling. Late Sachin Nag will be confered the award for swimming.

Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award

  • Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award will be given to Anita Devi,  Col. Sarfraz Singh, Taka Tamut, Narender Singh and Keval Hiren Kakka in Land Adventure category. Satendra Singh will get the award in Water Adventure categoty and  Gajanand Yadava will get it in the Air Adventure category.  Late Magan Bissa will be confered the award in Life Time Achievement category.

Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar

  • Lakshya Institute and Army Sports Institute will be honoured with Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar for identification and nurturing of budding and young Talent.
Indian Govt issues ‘rules of origin’ guidelines for imports under trade pacts
  • The Union government has come up with guidelines for the enforcement of the ‘rules of origin’ for imports under trade agreements. The Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Rules, 2020 (CAROTAR) will come into effect on September 21, 2020.
  • The Department of Revenue noted that the ‘Rules of Origin’, by virtue of which a good attains origin of a country, have evolved with subsequent reviews of trade agreements and most trade agreements have moved from single general rule to specific rule for most of the tariff lines, with inclusion of vast array of processes which can confer origin.
  • The CAROTAR, 2020 has provided a form, containing a list of basic minimum information which an importer is required to obtain while importing goods under claim of preferential rate of duty.
IIT-Bombay awards degrees to student avatars, world’s first institute to do so
  • The IIT-Bombay held its 58th Convocation in which the personalized ‘avatars’ of students were awarded degrees from the ‘virtual figure’ of the Director Suhasis Chaudhari. It is the first instance in the world.
  • The Chief Guest of the prestigious virtual convocation was Prof Duncan Haldane, the Co-recipient of the 2016 Nobel Prize for Physics, and Stephen Schwarzman, Chairman and Co-Founder of Blackstone was the guest of honour.
  • Subhasis Chaudhuri also presented the IIT-Bombay’s annual report for 2019-2020, while Prof. Haldane and Schwarzman addressed the students.

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August 25, 2020

India’s longest river ropeway inaugurated in Guwahati
  • Assam Ministers Himanta Biswa Sarma and Siddhartha Bhattacharya inaugurated the Guwahati Ropeway over Brahmaputra river, which is India’s longest river ropeway.
  • The ropeway project connects northern and southern banks of the Brahmaputra river and will take about seven minutes to take passengers across the river from North Guwahati to Guwahati.
  • The ropeway is 2km long and each carriage will be able to carry 32 passengers at a time.
  • The entire project has been built at an estimated cost of Rs 56 crore. The cable car cabins for this project have been imported from Switzerland.
Indo-Bangladesh inland waterway route trial-run on to begin in September 2020
  • The trial run in the Sonamura-Daudkandi inland waterways protocol route will start in the first week of September 2020.
  • Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority has given permission for trial run of voyage from Daundkandi (Cumilla) to Sonamura via river Gomati. The Gomti river was chosen for having sufficient water for movement of boats and small ships.
  • During the trial run, 50 MT cement will be transported in a barge from Dhaka to Sonamura. This is for the first time in history that any kind of goods will be reaching Tripura by ship.
  • The Sonamura-Daudkandi route was included in the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) route that was signed by both High Commissioner of India in Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das and shipping secretary of Bangladesh Mohammad Mezbah Uddin Chowdhury at Dhaka in May month.
Nitin Gadkari calls for adoption of green fuel for public transport
  • Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways has called for adopting advanced public transport models, based on green energy such as biofuel, electricity and CNG.
  • Most of the State Road Transport Undertakings (SRTUs) are incurring huge expenditure on conventional fuels which are expensive and called for moving over to biofuels, CNG and electricity as transportation fuel. India is spending huge amounts on import of crude oil/hydrocarbons, which needs to be reduced.
  • As an example of successful workability of the use of biofuels and other greener fuels, Nagpur has started to convert 450 buses into biofuel-run vehicles and as many as 90 buses have already been converted so far.
  • Union Minister called for adopting the ‘London Bus model’ harnessing utilisation of private capital for better public transport and suggested that adopting double-decker buses by the operators will also improve the efficiency of public transport.
Tech Mahindra joins Niti Aayog to support women entrepreneurs
  • Indian IT major Tech Mahindra announced a partnership with NITI Aayog to empower women entrepreneurs in the country.
  • Tech Mahindra will provide mentorship, co-create solutions leveraging new-age technologies and support in partnership with the panel’s Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP).
  • Tech Mahindra and WEP will jointly focus on breeding new ideas, identifying gaps and providing technological prowess to develop innovative solutions for better positioning in the market and commercial success.
  • Tech Mahindra’s lab will support women entrepreneurs through joint research, building go-to-market strategies to drive their growth and by leveraging next-generation technologies to develop cutting-edge solutions.

 FACTFILE – Tech Mahindra Limited

  • Tech Mahindra Limited is an Indian multinational technology company, providing information technology (IT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) services.
  • It is a subsidiary of the Mahindra Group, the company is headquartered in Pune.
  • The company was ranked 5th in India’s IT firms and overall 47th in Fortune India 500 list for 2019.
Indian researchers develop eco-friendly lithium batteries
  • Researchers from Shiv Nadar University in Greater Noida and Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay have created environment-friendly lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries.
  • This innovation will aid the production of cost-effective, compact, energy-efficient, safe and environment-friendly Li-S batteries, offering a viable alternative to the lithium-ion batteries being used presently.
  • The Li-S battery technology has the potential to aid multi-billion dollar industries, including tech gadgets, drones, electric vehicles (EV), etc, that depend on such batteries.
Arjun Munda e-inaugurates ‘Tribes India Showroom’ in Mumbai
  • Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda e-inaugurated a ‘Tribes India Showroom’ in Indian Globe Chambers, Mumbai.
  • In a bid to boost sales and enhance tribal income in these challenging times, Tribes India on Wheels – mobile vans stacked fully with Van Dhan natural produce, immunity boosters and other tribal products – has now been launched.
  • These will take these products directly to the customer’s doorstep in 150 cities across the country.
  • In a solid push to the existing infrastructure, two production centres for Minor Forest Produce processing as a part of the TRIFOOD project, in association with MoFPI and NSTFDC are being set-up in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, and Raigad, Maharashtra – giving many thousands of tribals employment opportunities.

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August 26, 2020

Serological survey for COVID19 launched in Assam
  • The first serological survey in Assam was launched by the minister of state for health, Pijush Hazarika, in a bid to assess whether people have developed immunity to COVID19 or not.
  • The serological survey involves testing of the blood serum of individuals to check for the prevalence of antibodies against an infection.
  • The survey, titled ‘Assessment of Anti- SARSCoV2 Seroprevalence in Habitants of Assam: A population-based cross-sectional study’, is an initiative of an NGO in partnership with a diagnostics solutions provider.
  • Hazarika lauded the efforts of Padmapani Bora, an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer from Assam.
  • Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has advised states to conduct sero survey to measure COVID19 exposure among people using IgG Elisa Test (antibody test).
  • It can reveal insights into the immunity against COVID19 by detecting the presence of specific antibodies against COVID19.
  • National Health Mission, Assam has directed all deputy commissioners of the districts in the state to support the study.
E-auction portal to boost trade of GI tagged ‘Kashmir Saffron’
  • To promote trading of GI tagged ‘Kashmir Saffron’ the Department of Agriculture under the aegis of India International Kashmir Saffron Trading Centre (IIKSTC) has created a PAN India e-Auction portal in collaboration with NSE-IT.
  • The saffron growers of Kashmir valley and buyers across India have been requested to register themselves as “SELLERS and BUYERS for E- Trading on the e-Auction portal www.saffroneauctionindia.com, so that hassle free e-Trading between registered Growers and registered Buyers is ensured.

FACTFILE – Saffron 

  • Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the “saffron crocus”.
  • It is believed that saffron originated in Iran. Iran produces some 90% of the world total for saffron.
  • Saffron has long been the world’s most costly spice by weight, at US $5,000 per kg or higher.
Kerala’s first-ever Dragonfly Festival
  • WWF-India Kerala State Office is joining hands with the Society for Odonate Studies (SOS) and Thumbipuranam for the first-ever state Dragonfly Festival in Kerala, christened Thumbi Maholsavam 2020.
  • It is a part of the National Dragonfly Festival organised by WWF India, Bombay Natural History Society and Indian Dragonfly Society in association with National Biodiversity Board, UN Environmental Programme, UN Development Programme and IUCN-CEC.
Tamil Nadu women top the list of MUDRA loan scheme beneficiaries
  • Over 15 crore loans amounting to ₹78-lakh-crore have been disbursed to women borrowers since the inception of the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) with Tamil Nadu topping the list in availing the loan followed by women in West Bengal and Karnataka.
  • By March 31, 2020, women in Tamil Nadu had availed ₹58,227 crore loan from the scheme followed by West Bengal ₹55,232 crore, Karnataka ₹47,714 crore, Bihar ₹44,879 crore and Maharashtra ₹42,000 crore loan.
  • Loans under this scheme are extended to eligible borrowers for manufacturing, processing, trading, services, and activities allied to agriculture, which help in creating income-generating activities and employment.

FACTFILE – Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY)

  • Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) is a scheme launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on April 8, 2015 for providing loans upto ₹10 lakh to the non-corporate, non-farm small/micro enterprises.
  • These loans are classified as MUDRA loans under PMMY. These loans are given by Commercial Banks, RRBs, Small Finance Banks, Cooperative Banks, MFIs and NBFCs.
  • The borrower can approach any of the lending institutions mentioned above or can apply online through this portal.
  • Under the aegis of PMMY, MUDRA has created three products namely ‘Shishu’, ‘Kishore’ and ‘Tarun’ to signify the stage of growth / development and funding needs of the beneficiary micro unit / entrepreneur and also provide a reference point for the next phase of graduation / growth.

August 27, 2020

AAI launches Krishi-Udan Scheme for marketing of Northeast farm produce
  • The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has launched the Krishi-Udan Scheme To facilitate the marketing of agricultural and farm products of the northeastern states outside the region.
  • Under the Scheme, the services have been started in the region and it is aimed to benefit the local farmers and villagers whose products have higher value outside the region.
  • The first domestic dedicated freighter of budget carrier SpiceJet from Kolkata bringing 5,800 kgs of air cargo landed at the Lengpui Airport in Mizoram capital Aizawl. In return, outgoing cargo flight from Mizoram, different types of local products such as orange, lemon, banana, ginger, pineapple and cut flowers were carried to Kolkata.

FACTFILE – Airports in Northeast India

  • There are 12 airports in the northeast – Guwahati, Silchar, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Tezpur, Tezu and Pasighat (Arunachal Pradesh), Agartala (Tripura), Imphal (Manipur), Shillong (Meghalaya), Dimapur (Nagaland) and Lengpui (Mizoram).
  • Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport is the 11th busiest airport in India, by passenger traffic, aircraft movement and cargo handled for fiscal year 2019-20.
  • At 34th position is Agartala Airport, at 39th position is Imphal Airport and at 48th position is Dibrugarh Airport.
Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash is world’s fastest human calculator
  • Neelakanta Bhanu Prakash, 21, from Hyderabad, has been declared the world’s fastest human calculator after bagging India’s first-ever gold in the Mental Calculation World Championship at the Mind Sport Olympiad in London.
  • Neelakanta Bhanu Prakash, now a graduate of Mathematics from St Stephen’s College, realised early on that he had a natural tenacity for numbers.
  • He also has four world records and 50 Limca Book of Records.
  • Another Indian Aaryan Shukla taking the bronze medal in the junior category.
Russia’s Rosatom to make Nuclear-Fuel for India’s VVER-1000 Reactors
  • Russia’s integrated nuclear power player ‘Rosatom’ will make uranium-plutonium REMIX fuel matrix for India’s VVER-1000 reactors. The remix fuel will be made at the site of the Siberian Chemical Combine (SCC) — part of TVEL Fuel Company, a group company.
  • India has two functional VVER-1000 reactors and two more under construction at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu. Two more VVER-1000 units 5 and 6 will also come up at Kudankulam.

FACTFILE – Water-water energetic reactor (WWER) or VVER

  • VVER is a series of pressurized water reactor designs originally developed in the Soviet Union, and now Russia, by OKB Gidropress.
  • The idea of a reactor was proposed at the Kurchatov Institute by Savely Moiseevich Feinberg.
  • These were originally developed before the 1970s, and have been continually updated. As a result, the name VVER is associated with a wide variety of reactor designs spanning from generation I reactors to modern generation III+ reactor designs.
  • Power output ranges from 70 to 1300 MWe, with designs of up to 1700 MWe in development. The first prototype VVER-210 was built at the Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant.
  • VVER power stations have been mostly installed in Russia and the former Soviet Union, but also in China, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, India, and Iran.
West Bengal launches ‘Krishak Bondhu’ welfare scheme for farmers
  • West BengalChief Minister Mamata Banerjee introduced a welfare scheme, ‘Krishak Bondhu’, for the farmers, which would support them in carrying out agricultural activities.
  • Most of the agricultural fields have gone under water due to the flood like situation. The distressed farmers should be incorporated in the 100-day work schemes immediately.
  • All the district administrators must ensure that rain water is pumped out of the agricultural fields so that farmers can resume cultivation in their respective lands.
  • Relief funds should be disbursed soon to those who have been affected in Cyclone Amphan.

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August 28, 2020

Assam to invest Rs 900 crore to set up skill development varsity
  • The Assam government decided to set up a Skill Development University at Mangaldoi with an investment of Rs 900 crore. The state cabinet has approved the Assam Skill Development University Bill which would facilitate the setting up of the university, first of its kind in the northeastern region.
  • The Assam Government has tied up with Singapore based ITE Education Service, for setting up of the Skill Development University.
  • Around 100 bigha land (16 hectares) would be allotted at Mangaldoi in northern Assam to set up the varsity.
Piyush Goyal launches national GIS-enabled land bank system
  • Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal launched the national GIS-enabled land bank system, which will help investors to get real-time information about the availability of industrial land and resources.
  • The prototype system is being developed by integrating the Industrial Information System (IIS) with state GIS (Geographic Information System). And will be developed further with inputs from states to make it an effective and transparent mechanism for land identification as well as procurement.
  • The IIS portal is a GIS-enabled database of industrial areas/clusters across the states. Around 3,300 industrial parks across 31 states/UTs covering about 4,75,000 hectare land have been mapped on the system.
  • The information available includes forest, drainage; raw material heat maps (agricultural, horticulture, mineral layers); multiple layers of connectivity.
Marieke Lucas Rijneveld becomes the youngest winner of International Booker Prize 2020
  • Dutch author Marieke Lucas Rijneveld won the 2020 International Booker prize together with their translator Michele Hutchison for the debut novel The Discomfort of Evening, a story of childhood grief.
  • At 29 year of age, Rijneveld is the youngest author to win the prestigious prize.
  • Rijneveld is the first Dutch author to win the prize and only the third Dutch author to be nominated, after Tommy Wieringa and Harry Mulisch.
  • Rijneveld’s book was a bestseller in Netherlands when it was published in 2018.
  • It is based on the story a 10-year-old girl named Jas, whose brother dies in an ice-skating accident and the family’s subsequent struggle with grief.
Delhi Govt launched ‘Healthy Body, Healthy Mind’ fitness campaign
  • The Delhi government launched ”Healthy Body, Healthy Mind” campaign for students confined to their homes as schools remain closed in view of coronavirus pandemic.
  • State Govt has started a YouTube channel on which every Wednesday, a video will be uploaded which the students can practice for the week to maintain fitness and make up for the loss of physical activity during the pandemic.
  • An online Entrepreneurial Mindset (EMC) Bootcamp organised by the government to inculcate entrepreneurial abilities among the students.

 

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Assam Current Affairs and GK Quiz – Set 297: August 19 -21, 2020

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Assam Current Affairs and GK Quiz – Set 297: August 19-21, 2020

( Daily and Monthly Assam Current Affairs & GK Quiz & MCQ for APSC Exams and various Assam exams)

Assam 2020 Yearbook | Quiz Home Page | Quiz Monthly – July 2020 | Current Affairs Monthly – July 2020Current Affairs Assam Quiz - Assam exam

Q1. Name the Assam boxer, who will be conferred with prestigious Arjuna Award?

  1. Jamuna Boro
  2. Ankushita Boro
  3. Lovlina Borgohain
  4. Bhagyabati Kachari
C. Lovlina Borgohain

Lovlina Borgohain is the first woman from Assam to qualify for the Olympics and the second boxer from the state to represent the country after Shiva Thapa. The boxer won a gold medal at the 1st India Open International Boxing Tournament held in New Delhi and a silver medal at the 2nd India Open International Boxing Tournament held in Guwahati. She won a bronze medal at the 2019 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships held at Ulan-Ude in Russia.

 

Q2. Who has been recently appointed as the governor of Meghalaya?

  1. Tathagata Roy
  2. Satya Pal Malik
  3. Biswanath Somadder
  4. Vijay Kumar
B. Satya Pal Malik

The Governor of a State is appointed by the President of India. The Governor’s appointment, his powers and everything related to the office of Governor have been discussed under Article 153 to Articlce 162 of the Indian Constitution.

 

Q3. Which state has emerged as the leading state in the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Street Vendors Atma-Nirbhar Scheme-PM Swa-Nidhi?

  1. Maharashtra
  2. Rajasthan
  3. Madhya Pradesh
  4. West Bengal
C. Madhya Pradesh

PM Swa-Nidhi is a Central Sector Scheme to facilitate street vendors to access affordable working capital loan for resuming their livelihoods activities.

 

Q4. Who has been appointed as the new Election Commissioner of India with effect from August 31, 2020?

  1. Rajiv Kumar
  2. Sunil Arora
  3. Ashok Lavasa
  4. Om Prakash Rawat
A. Rajiv Kumar

The Election Commission of India is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering election processes in India at national and state. The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies in India, and the offices of the President and Vice President in the country (Article 324). The President appoints Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.

 

 

Q5. Which city has won the cleanest city award in the Swachh Survekshan 2020 survey?

  1. Jaipur
  2. Indore
  3. Gangtok
  4. Hyderabad

B. Indore

Indore has won the cleanest city award in the Swachh Survekshan 2020 survey followed by Surat and Navi Mumbai. Varanasi was adjudged the ‘best Ganga town’ in the central government’s cleanliness survey.

Swachh Survekshan is an annual survey of cleanliness, hygiene and sanitation in cities and towns across India. It was launched as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, which aimed to make India clean and free of open defecation. The first survey was undertaken in 2016. The surveys are carried out by Quality Council of India. 

 

Q6. Who has been recently appointed as the Director General of Border Security Force (BSF)?

  1. K F Rustamji
  2. Mr S S Deswal
  3. Rakesh Asthana
  4. Abhinav Kumar
C. Rakesh Asthana

The Border Security Force (BSF) is India’s Primary border guarding organisation raised in 1965. It is a paramilitary force charged with guarding India’s land border during peace time and preventing transnational crime. It is a Union Government Agency under the administrative control of Ministry of Home Affairs.

 

Q7. Recently, who has been awarded Star 2020 e-citation certification by world book of records, London?

  1. Vithika Yadav
  2. Ganesh Vilas Lengare
  3. Kiriti Bharti
  4. Lenin Raghuvanshi
B. Ganesh Vilas Lengare

Ganesh Lengare has been awarded the Star 2020 e-citation certificate for his efforts to help the needy during the coronavirus induced lockdown.

 

Q8. Which dwarf planet was given “Ocean World” status by researchers recently?

  1. Pluto
  2. Eris
  3. Makemake
  4. Ceres

D. Ceres

Ceres is a dwarf planet and the largest object known in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Our Solar System consists of five dwarf planets and the most famous is Pluto. The other dwarf planets are Eris, Makemake, Haumea, and Ceres.

 

Q9. The sixth round table of ASEAN-India Network of Think Tanks (AINTT) was organized by which country recently?

  1. India
  2. Thailand
  3. Maldives
  4. Myanmar
A. Thailand

The sixth round table of ASEAN-India Network of Think Tanks (AINTT) was recently organized by Indian Ministry of External Affairs and Foreign Ministry of Thailand.

ASEAN-India Network of Think Tanks (AINTT) was established to provide policy inputs to India and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries on future directions of their cooperation.

 

Q10. The National Commission on Population has projected India’s population to be more feminine by the year

  1. 2030
  2. 2028
  3. 2036
  4. 2032
C. 2036

As per the report, the sex ratio of the country is expected to increase from 943 (2011) to 957 (2036). Sex Ratio is number of females per 1000 males. The population of India is expected to reach 1.52 billion by 2036 with reference to 2011. India’s population is expected to grow by 25% in 2036 as compared to 2011.

 

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Assam Current Affairs and GK Quiz – Set 296: August 16-18, 2020

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Assam Current Affairs and GK Quiz – Set 296: August 16-18, 2020

( Daily and Monthly Assam Current Affairs & GK Quiz & MCQ for APSC Exams and various Assam exams)

Assam 2020 Yearbook | Quiz Home Page | Quiz Monthly – July 2020 | Current Affairs Monthly – July 2020Current Affairs Assam Quiz - Assam exam

Q1. Recently, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has laid foundation stone for 13 new highway projects in which state/UT?

  1. Assam
  2. Manipur
  3. Rajasthan
  4. Jharkhand
B. Manipur

Union Road and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone for 13 highway projects in Manipur through video conferencing. He also inaugurated a road safety project in the north-eastern state through a video conference. These projects involve a road length of 316 km, and include four laning of Imphal-Moreh section of NH-39, widening to two lane with hard shoulder of Churachandpur to Tuivai section of NH 102B, among others.

 

Q2. Which state government has launched ‘Yellow Chain’ e-commerce platform on Independence Day 2020?

  1. Mizoram
  2. Uttarakhand
  3. West Benal
  4. Nagaland
D. Nagaland

Neiphiu Rio, Chief Minister of Nagaland launched the Yellow Chain, a single window e-commerce platform developed to promote local business and entrepreneurship in the State. With the help of this new platform the seller or service providers, or an individual or a group will be able to register themselves and to upload the data and information about their particular products and services which would be accessed by customers while purchasing.

 

Q3. What is the name of the e-portal recently launched by the Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, Arjun Munda on tribal health and nutrition?

  1. Sehat
  2. Suraksha
  3. Swasthya
  4. Sewa
C. Swasthya

Ministry of Tribal Affairs has launched the Tribal Health and Nutrition Portal “Swasthya” and e-newsletter on health and nutrition “ALEKH”. The ministry has also announced the opening of National Overseas Portal and National Tribal Fellowship Portal.

The e-portal on Tribal health and nutrition named ‘Swasthya’ will offer health and nutrition related information of the tribal population of India on a single platform and will also curate innovative practices, research briefs, case studies, and best practices collected from different parts of India to facilitate the exchange of evidence, expertise and experiences.

 

Q4. Indian Railways constructing world’s tallest pier bridge across river Ijai which is located in which state?

  1. Tripura
  2. Meghalaya
  3. Manipur
  4. Arunachal Pradesh
C. Manipur

To provide connectivity to various parts of the country specially in the remote areas the Indian Railways’ North East Frontier Railway zone has constructed the world’s tallest pier bridge in the North-Eastern state of Manipur. The bridge is a part of Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal new BG line project.

 

 

Q5. Which company partnered with Central Water Commission (CWC) for flood forecasting initiative across the country?

  1. Facebook
  2. Microsoft
  3. HCL Technologies
  4. Google

D. Google

Under this initiative, Google has sent out numerous public alerts to people in flood-impacted regions of India. These alerts provide updates and critical information to inform the users on their safety and the safety of their family and friends.

The initiative enables the users with Android Smartphones with location service to receive the alerts and notification on the real-time water level measurements. It also allows the users to enter queries on flood-affected areas and access information on the current situations of the region.

 

Q6. Recently, which institute has developed an e-classroom software called “DEEKSHAK” for organizations to conduct online classes?

  1. IIT Kanpur
  2. IIT Madras
  3. IIT Rupar
  4. IIT Kharagpur
D. IIT Kharagpur

‘DEEKSHAK is a low bandwidth web-based software that can be accessed using any computer or even on mobile phones. It is a single session platform where the teacher will concentrate on the teaching material. Teachers can share documents with the students through the platform and even update notes on the documents in real-time.

Students can enter their queries in the live chat box, which the teacher will be able to view real-time. Students will also have access to a doubt box where they can click to “raise their hand” and wait for the teacher to address them.

 

Q7. Which state ranks first in operationalisation of Health & Wellness Centers (HWCs) as per the latest ranking of states released by the Government of India?

  1. Himachal Pradesh
  2. Punjab
  3. Tamil Nadu
  4. Madhya Pradesh
B. Punjab

Punjab has secured first rank in the list of best performing states in operationalisation of Health and Wellness Centers (HWCs) released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare(MoHFW), Government of India.

 

Q8. Which ministry has recently launched Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge -Innovate solutions for aatmanirbhar Bharat?

  1. Ministry of Health
  2. Ministry of Finance
  3. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
  4. Ministry of Home Affairs

C. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

The Union Ministry Of Electronics And Information Technology launched “Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge” to provide strong ecosystem of Start-up, innovation, and research in the country.

 

Q9. President of India gives nod for renaming Ministry of Human Resource Development as

  1. Ministry of Education
  2. Ministry of Human Development
  3. Ministry of Literacy Development
  4. Ministry of Education Affairs
A. Ministry of Education

President Ram Nath Kovind notified Union Cabinet’s decision to rename Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) as Ministry of Education. The name change was among the key recommendations of the draft new National Education Policy (NEP)

 

Q10. Recently, which two countries have agreed the historic peace agreement namely ‘Abraham Accord’?

  1. Iran and Turkey
  2. Israel and UAE
  3. Afghanistan and Iraq
  4. Pakistan and Kuwait
B. Israel and UAE

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates, have agreed for the Israel–United Arab Emirates peace agreement to establish full diplomatic ties.

 

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Assam Current Affairs and GK Quiz – Set 295: August 13-15, 2020

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Assam Current Affairs & GK Quiz Set 295 : August 13 – 15, 2020

( Daily and Monthly Assam Current Affairs & GK Quiz & MCQ for APSC Exams and various Assam exams)

Assam 2020 Yearbook | Quiz Home Page | Quiz Monthly – July 2020 | Current Affairs Monthly – July 2020Current Affairs Assam Quiz - Assam exam

 

Q1. Government of which state will launch ‘Orunodoi’ Scheme, which will provide Financial Assistance to around 17 Lakh Families in the state?

  1. Tripura
  2. Gujarat
  3. Assam
  4. Telangana
C. Assam

Government of Assam will roll out the ‘Orunodoi’ Scheme, which will provide financial assistance of Rs. 830 per month through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme to around 17 Lakh Families in the state.

This scheme will help the impoverished families in the state to meet their nutritional and medical needs.

In order to avail the benefits of the scheme, the applicant must be a permanent resident of Assam as well as must be presently residing in the state. The household income of the applicant must be less than Rs. 2 lakh per annum. Under the scheme the priority will be given to the household with an especially abled nominated female, widowed/divorced/unmarried female/separate female, specially-abled household member.

 

Q2. Recently, the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in association with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) launched Flood Early Warning System (FEWS) in which city?

  1. Patna
  2. Kolkata
  3. Bhubaneswar
  4. Guwahati
D. Guwahati

Flood Early Warning System (FEWS), fully automated web-based tool will help local authorities to take timely and appropriate measures in the event of a natural disaster befalling the city.

The Flood Early Warning System (FEWS) project was developed under The Energy and Resources Institute’s (TERI) project supported by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in collaboration with India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).

 

Q3. According to rankings released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), which state/UT ranked top in the implementation of Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)?

  1. Andhra Pradesh
  2. Odisha
  3. Jharkhand
  4. Rajasthan
B. Odisha

Odisha retained the first position by scoring 85.67 per cent followed by Chandigarh, Telangana, Gujarat and Karnataka in the implementation of AMRUT.

 

Q4. Who has been appointed as the chairman of think tank Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER)?

  1. Soma Mondal
  2. Dinesh Tripathi
  3. Pramod Bhasin
  4. Sujit Desai
C. Pramod Bhasin

Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) was established in August 1981 as a not-for-profit research organisation to provide a strong economic basis for policy making.

ICRIER maintains a wide network of resource persons from India and abroad. It strives to attract well-qualified researchers, provides them a stimulating and scholarly work environment and encourages researchers to work in teams.

 

 

Q5. Recently, the Supreme Court of India ruled that daughters are entitled to equal property rights under which Act?

  1. Hindu Coparcenary Act, 2005
  2. Women’s civil rights act of 1964
  3. Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act of 2005
  4. Hindu Marriage Act, 1955

C. Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act of 2005

The Supreme Court has held that a daughter would have an equal share of inheritance as a son regardless of when she was born and whether her father was alive when the Hindu Succession Act was amended in 2005.

 

Q6. Which country ranked first in the number of organic farmers and ninth in terms of area under organic farming?

  1. Japan
  2. India
  3. Indonesia
  4. Argentina
B. India

Sikkim has become the first state in the world to become fully organic and other states including Tripura and Uttarakhand have set similar targets.

In 2015, the Government initiated Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North East Region (MOVCD) and Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) to encourage chemical-free farming. It also aims at assisting farmers to adopt organic farming and improve remunerations due to premium prices.

North-east India has traditionally been organic and the consumption of chemicals is far less than the rest of the country.

 

Q7. Name the first state in India to provide Forest Land Right Certificate to the urban people?

  1. Mizoram
  2. Arunachal Pradesh
  3. Uttarakhand
  4. Chhattisgarh
D. Chhattisgarh

Jagdalpur Municipal Corporation (JMC) of Chhattisgarh has become the first in the country to provide forest land right certificate to the urban people under Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.

 

Q8. Recently, PM Narendra Modi launches National Digital Health Mission (NDHM). Which agency will implement NDHM?

  1. The National Health Authority (NHA)
  2. National Centre for Disease Control
  3. Pharmacy Council of India
  4. Indian Health Service

A. The National Health Authority (NHA)

The new initiative is completely technology based which will revolutionise the health sector in India.

Under this initiative every Indian would get an ID card containing all relevant information about his/her medical conditions and treatments, tests etc. Every time they visit a doctor or a pharmacy, or a lab, everything will be logged in this health card.

 

Q9. Name the first country in the world to officially register a COVID-19 vaccine named ‘Sputnik V’?

  1. India
  2. China
  3. Russia
  4. US
C. Russia

The vaccine has been developed jointly by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology and the Russian Defence Ministry.

 

 

Q10. Which state/ UT will host the International Film Festival of India 2020?

  1. Goa
  2. Assam
  3. Sikkim
  4. Pondicherry
A. Goa

The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will be held in November 2020 as per the schedule of the event.

 

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