UPSC ENGLISH QUIZ 21.07.2025

Explanation

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched development projects worth over ₹7,200 crore in Bihar.
• Prime Minister laid foundation stones, inaugurated, and dedicated these projects to the nation.
• Four new Amrit Bharat trains flagged off to strengthen Bihar’s rail connectivity with other regions.
• PM Modi will address a public gathering at Gandhi Maidan in Motihari.
• Automatic signalling will be introduced on the Samastipur-Bachhwara rail line to improve train movement.
• Railway track doubling between Darbhanga-Thalwara and Samastipur-Rambhadrapur will reduce delays and boost capacity.
• This ₹580 crore project is part of a larger Darbhanga-Samastipur rail upgrade.
• A maintenance facility for Vande Bharat trains will be established at Patliputra in Patna.
• The Bhatni-Chhapra Gramin section will get automatic signalling and upgraded traction systems.
• A ₹4,080 crore rail doubling project between Darbhanga and Narkatiaganj will enhance passenger and freight movement.
• The Ara bypass on NH-319 will be expanded into a four-lane road to ease traffic flow.
• The Parariya to Mohania section of NH-319, costing over ₹820 crore, will be opened to traffic.
• This section links Ara town to NH-02 of the Golden Quadrilateral.
• Under PM Matsya Sampada Yojana, new fisheries infrastructure will be launched.
• Projects include hatcheries, biofloc units, ornamental fish farming, aquaculture units, and feed mills.
• Four new Amrit Bharat train routes will connect Rajendra Nagar–New Delhi, Bapudham Motihari–Anand Vihar, Darbhanga–Lucknow, and Malda Town–Lucknow via Bhagalpur.
• ₹400 crore will be released to over 61,000 Self-Help Groups under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission.
• As part of PM Awaas Yojana-Gramin, keys will be given to 12,000 new homeowners.

Explanation

• Yakten village in Pakyong district of Sikkim has been officially declared as India’s first digital nomad village. The declaration has been made under the ‘Nomad Sikkim’ initiative.
• Yakten Nomad Village is a step towards promoting sustainable tourism, remote work opportunities and grassroots entrepreneurship in the Himalayan state.
• It is in line with the “One Family, One Entrepreneur” initiative of the Sikkim Chief Minister to promote local entrepreneurship and youth innovation.
• It aims to transform strategic locations in Sikkim into year-round hubs for digital professionals from India and abroad, as well as ensure sustainable income opportunities for homestay owners during the tourism off-season, which can last up to six months.
• It offers high-speed Wi-Fi, eco-friendly practices and zero waste management system.

Nomad Sikkim Initiative

• It is a joint initiative of Pakyong District Administration and Sarvahiti NGO, aimed at creating a digital nomad hub for professionals who want a mix of remote work and peaceful life.
• A digital nomad is a person who works remotely using technology and earns online while living a nomadic lifestyle by travelling to different places of his/her choice.
• The state of Sikkim holds the distinction of being India’s first fully organic state (2016). It is the first state in the country to introduce organic aquaculture, and also became the first state to achieve 100% Open Defecation Free (ODF) status in the year 2016.

• Lotte Bjerre Knudsen, Joel Habener, and Svetlana Mojsov won the Lasker-DeBakey Award for their work on GLP-1-based drugs.
• Lotte Bjerre Knudsen is co-inventor of the first long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity.
• The emergence of GLP-1 has shown that the brain and gut are intertwined. Both semaglutide and tirzepatide belong to a new class of medicines called GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor agonists.
• They are prescribed for the management of type-2 diabetes and obesity.These drugs mimic certain naturally-occurring gut hormones called incretins (GLP-1 is one such incretin) produced in the small intestine, and are hence also known as incretin mimicker.

Explanation

• Indian Army has successfully conducted trials of the indigenously developed Akash Prime air defence system at an altitude of over 15,000 feet in the Ladakh sector.
• The trials were conducted by the Army Air Defence and senior officials from the Defence Research and Development Organisation.
• The latest version of the Akash system would form the third and fourth regiments of the Akash air Defence Systems in the Indian Army.
• Akash Prime made its first successful test flight from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur, Odisha, in September 2021, and the missile intercepted and destroyed an unmanned aerial target mimicking enemy aircraft in its maiden test flight.

Explanation

• World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) released the 2024 Economic Impact Trends Report.According to the Report, the global travel and tourism sector contributed $10.9 trillion to the world economy in 2023.The report shows that the travel and tourism industry is growing steadily.
• The World Economic Forum (WEF) expects the sector to reach $16 trillion by 2034, making up over 11% of the global GDP.

Key Highlights from the report

• According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the United States remains the world’s largest tourism economy in 2024, contributing a record $2.36 trillion—nearly twice as much as the next country.
• China holds the second position with $1.3 trillion, and is expected to become the global leader in tourism within the next 10 years.
• While traditional leaders like Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain continue to hold strong positions in the top 10 tourism economies, several Asian countries are rapidly emerging as regional tourism powerhouses.
• Notably, Japan has climbed to the fourth position, contributing $297 billion to the global tourism economy.
• Several countries have witnessed a sharp rise in international tourism spending compared to pre-pandemic levels.