ALL EXAM QUIZ 20.01.2024

Explanation:

• India Meteorological Department celebrated its 150th year of establishment on 15 January.
• The Vice President of India, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar, attended the inaugural ceremony of the 150th year of its establishment as the chief guest.
• About 1200 delegates from across the country participated in the program organized in New Delhi.
• President appreciated IMD for its pivotal role in increasing the farmer’s income through the appropriate forecast of daily weather, hazards, and crop weather advisories.
• This forecast is issued by IMD in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, state & central Agricultural Universities, and the state Agricultural departments.
• Through accurate forecasts, a BPL family farmer with a landholding of less than 2 acres in a rainfed area gains Rs 12,500 by using weather information.
• Also, the country gains 13,300 crores towards GDP per year.
• The number of Doppler radars in the country increased from 15 in 2014 to 39 in 2023, and an additional 25 radars will be added in the next 2-3 years.
• Rainfall monitoring stations increased from 3,955 in 2014 to 6,095 in 2023, upper air stations increased from 43 in 2014 to 56 in 2023, and high wind speed recorders increased from 19 in 2014 to 35 in 2023.

On the occasion of IMD's 150th year celebrations, the Vice President released and launched the following

• Souvenir on Evolution of IMD and its services since 1875
• Indigenously developed Decision Support System
• Panchayat Mausam Seva for farmers
• IMD’s Mobile App and Mausamgram
• National Framework of Climate Services (NFCS)

Explanation:

• Argentine superstar Lionel Messi won the Best FIFA Men's Player 2023.
• The announcement was made at the Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony in London on 16 January.
• He retained the title he won in 2022. Messi also won the FIFA Best Men's Player of 2019 award.
• This is the third time in the last 4 years that Messi has received this award.
• He had previously been recognized by FIFA as the leading player in the men's game on five occasions – in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2015–making it his eighth individual award overall.
• Messi topped the voting, leaving behind other finalists Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.
• Spain and Barcelona striker Aitana Bonamati was awarded the Best FIFA Women's Player award.

Explanation:

• Government imposed a 50% export duty on molasses.
• The government has imposed a 50% duty on exports of molasses, which is extracted as a by-product in alcohol production.
• A 50% export duty will be imposed on molasses produced during the extraction or refining of sugar.
• Till november 2023 india had exported molasses worth $101.33 million in financial year 2023-24 (fy24).
• Every year, india exports 200,000-300,000 tonnes of molasses.
• In the 2022-23 (october to september) sugar season, 0.45 million tonnes of molasses were exported from maharashtra.
• The government has decided to extend the existing concessional duty rates on imports of crude and refined edible oils
• The basic import duty on refined soyabean oil and sunflower oil was cut to 12.5% from 17.5%, in june last year.

Explanation:

• Government has set a target to reduce road accidental death by 50 per cent by 2030.
• Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the government has set a target to reduce accidental death by 50 per cent by 2030.
• He said that there is a need to start a campaign on road safety to educate people and change human behaviour.
• In India, every hour 53 people get injured and 19 deaths take place in road accidents.
• Road safety is the topmost priority of the government and the government has taken several steps to control road accident deaths.
• According to the latest report by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), the number of road accidents in India has increased from 12 per cent to over 4.6 lakh in 2022.

Explanation:

• PM Modi inaugurated three major infrastructure projects worth over 4,000 crore rupees at a function held at the Wellingdon Island in Kochi, Kerala.
• Inaugurated projects are the New Dry Dock Facility at the Cochin Shipyard, the Cochin Shipyard’s International Ship Repair facility at the Wellingdon Island, and the Indian Oil Corporation's LPG Import Terminal at Puthuvypeen.
• New Dry Dock facility built at a cost of 1799 crore rupees at the Cochin Shipyard, is the largest dry dock in India.
• It can accommodate LNG Carriers. It can also accommodate large vessels and oil rigs.
• The dual purpose dry dock can be utilized for both ship construction and ship repairs.
• The dry dock will completely remove dependency on foreign countries.
• The International Ship Repair facility at Wellingdon Island is constructed at a cost of 970 crore rupees.
• It has six work stations that would make the simultaneous repair of six vessels possible.
• PM Modi also inaugurated the 1236 crore IOC LPG Import Terminal at Puthuvypeen.
• It is expected that the project will result in annual logistic savings of 150 crore rupees.
• It is also expected to result in reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by 18,000 tonnes per annum.
• Wellingdon Island is the largest artificial island in India.

Explanation:

• 9th Indian International Science Festival has been inaugurated in Faridabad, Haryana.
• Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurated the 9th Indian International Science Festival (IISF) in Faridabad, Haryana.
• This is being organized at the Campus of Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI) and Regional Centre for Biotechnology (RCB) of the Department of Biotechnology in Faridabad.
• 'Science and Technology Public Outreach in Amrit Kaal' is the theme of this festival.
• Its main objective is to engage the public with science and celebrate the joy of science.
• This festival will be organized from 17th-20th January.
• This festival has a total of 17 themes to showcase scientific achievements providing various benefits to the participants and the general public.
• The International Science Festival has been organized, since 2015. The Department of Space and the Department of Atomic Energy became part of IISF in 2021.

Explanation:

• A rare Tibetan Brown Bear has been spotted in Sikkim.
• A trap camera installed by the Sikkim Forest Department and WWF-India recorded Tibetan Brown Bear in the high altitudes of North Sikkim.
• This discovery added a new subspecies to the mammal list of India.
• This rare Tibetan Brown Bear is an omnivore that eats marmots and alpine vegetation.
• This is very different from the more commonly found Himalayan Black Bear.
• It lives in high-altitude alpine forests, meadows, and steppe above 4000 m.
• The Tibetan brown bear is also known as the Tibetan blue bear. It is one of the rarest bear subspecies in the world.
• It is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• It is also listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) as a protected species.

Explanation:

• CDS Gen Anil Chauhan inaugurated the ninth chapter of ‘Capsule on Science, Technology and Applied Research’ (CAPSTAR) at MILIT, Pune.
• CAPSTER – 09 is a three-day event. It has been inaugurated on 17 January 2024.
• The theme of CAPSTER – 09 is ‘Artificial Intelligence: Transforming Warfare’.
• It will see the active involvement from services, academia, DRDO Labs and private defence industries.
• The participation of major private firms and academic institutions is aimed as an initiative in policy making on AI for Armed Forces.
• The CAPSTER – 09 is being organised as part of the 12th Raising Day celebrations of Military Institute of Technology (MILIT).
• Raising Day celebrations is commemorated on 19 January every year.
• Military Institute of Technology traces its roots to ‘Institute of Armament Studies’. Its motto is ‘Victory through Technology’.
• Institute of Armament Studies was established in ‘College of Military Engineering’ in early 50s.
• In 1967, it moved to Girinagar. MILIT was raised on 19 January 2012 to meet the specific and futuristic training requirements of the Armed Forces.

Explanation:

• Vice Admiral AN Pramod took over as the Director General of Naval Operations (DGNO) on 15 January 2024.
• AN Pramod, an alumnus of the 38th Integrated Cadet Course, Naval Academy, Goa, was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 01 July 1990.
• This Flag Officer is actually a Cat ‘A’ Sea King Air Operations Officer and a communications and electronics warfare expert.
• He underwent Staff Course at DSSC Wellington (Nilgiris) and Naval Higher Command Course at NWC, Goa.

Explanation:

• The 75th Emmy Awards have been announced. ‘The Bear’ and ‘Succession’ each captured six awards. “The Bear” was named Best Comedy. Road rage drama “Beef” won the best limited edition award.
• The award for best drama series was given to ‘Succession’. ‘Kieran Culkin’ was given the Best Actor Award in the Drama Series category.