ALL EXAM QUIZ 18.01.2024

Explanation:

• Every year on 15 January, Indian Army Day is celebrated to remember the sacrifice of our soldiers to protect India and its citizens.
• The day is also celebrated to commemorate the moment when Lieutenant General KM Cariappa took over from Francis Butcher as the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army on 15 January 1949.
• Francis Butcher was the last British Commander-in-Chief of India.
• This year, the 76th Army Day celebration is being organized in Lucknow.
• The event is being held outside the national capital for the second time as part of the Government of India's initiative to take major movements from the capital to different parts of the country.
• The best marching contingent for the 76th Army Day Parade to be held on January 15, 2024, will be selected using Artificial Intelligence.
• For the first time, Artificial Intelligence is being used to identify the best marching drill and identify the best contingent in the parade.

Explanation:

• India- United States Trade Policy Forum 14th Ministerial-level meeting held in New Delhi.
• Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador Katherine Tai co-chaired the India- United States Trade Policy Forum (TPF) 14th Ministerial-level meeting.
• Both leaders highlighted that TPF plays a key role in fortifying resilient bilateral trade and elevating the economic partnership between both countries.
• Both Ministers also agreed to establish a Joint Facilitative Mechanism (JFM) to mitigate non-tariff barriers.
• They also committed to launching future Joint Initiatives in certain areas, including critical minerals, customs and trade facilitation, supply chains, and trade in high-tech products.
• India emphasized the need to increase the number of inspections by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) in India to the pre-pandemic level.
• They also discussed the issue of import management systems for specific hardware.
• The India-US bilateral trade in goods and services has surpassed $200 billion in 2023.
• India and the US are collaborating under the QUAD, I2U2 (India-Israel/ UAE-USA) and IPEF (Indo-Pacific Economic Framework).

Explanation:

• State Bank of India has launched Green Rupee Term Deposit.
• Green Rupee Term Deposit of 1,111 days, 1,777 days, and 2.222 days tenor have been launched by the State Bank of India (SBI).
• These have been launched for resident individuals, non-individuals, and NRI customers.
• The deposit aims at mobilizing funds to support environment-friendly initiatives and projects.
• Presently, the deposit scheme is available through the branch network.
• It will soon be made available on YONO and Internet Banking services.
• RBI’s “Framework for acceptance of Green Deposits” prohibits banks from offering a differential interest rate on green deposits.
• However, it allows them to offer overdraft facilities to customers against Green Deposits.
• Green deposits are interest-bearing deposits. They are received by the regulated entities for a fixed period.
• The proceeds of green deposits are earmarked for being allocated towards green finance according to RBI’s notification dated 11 April 2023.
• As per the current framework, green deposits can be denominated in Indian Rupees only. They cannot be denominated in foreign currency.

Explanation:

• PM Modi released the first installment to 1 lakh beneficiaries of PMAY-G under the PM-JANMAN scheme.
• PM Modi released the first installment of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Gramin under the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN).
• PM Modi released ₹540 crores as the first installment of funding.
• Since the launch of the PM-JANMAN scheme, had sanctioned projects worth over ₹4,700 crore through 9 ministries under the PM-JANMAN package.
• PM-JANMAN was launched for the socio-economic welfare of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in November 2023.
• It has a budget of around 24,000 crore rupees. It focuses on 11 critical interventions through nine ministries.
• It aims to improve the socio-economic conditions of the PVTGs by saturating PVTG households and habitations with basic facilities.
• Safe housing, clean water to drink, better access to healthcare, nutrition, education, energy, road and telecom connectivity, and chances for sustainable livelihood are some of these facilities.

Explanation:

• Himalayan Wolf has been classified as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List.
• The Himalayan Wolf (Canis lupus chanco), a predator found across the Himalayas, has been assessed for the first time in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List.
• Himalayan Wolf has been listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List. The assessment was conducted on 27 June, 2023.
• Based on population size estimates, the Himalayan Wolf has been classified as Vulnerable under C2a(ii).
• The Himalayan Wolf is found in the Himalayan range of Nepal, India, and the Tibetan Plateau.
• The assessment is based on the 378-630 individuals estimated for the Indian Himalayas.
• The Small area of the Himalayan wolf habitat is also available in Uttarakhand and Sikkim states of India.
• The IUCN Red List Assessment also raised concern about the decline in area, extent and quality of habitat’ of Himalayan wolves.

Explanation:

• Kerala government to launch Operation Amrith to control antibiotics abuse in the State.
• The Kerala Drugs Control Department has launched Operation Amrith (Antimicrobial Resistance Intervention for Total Health) to control antibiotic abuse in the State.
• This initiative will be implemented with the public participation.
• Under this initiative, people will give information about pharmacies selling antibiotics without prescription to the Drugs Control department.
• The State Drugs Control Department will deploy a special squad. It will monitor the sale of antibiotics.
• Pharmacies will have to keep the correct details of the antibiotics they sell.
• Pharmacies will have to also display a board that antibiotics will not be sold without a prescription.
• Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is considered a silent pandemic by the WHO.

Explanation:

• WPI-based inflation rises to 0.73% in December.
• The wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation increases from 0.26% in November to 0.73% in December.
• This is the highest wholesale inflation registered in the past nine months.
• The WPI inflation in December has increased mainly due to higher prices of food articles, machinery & equipment, other manufacturing, other transport equipment, and computer, electronics & optical products, among others.
• The WPI inflation was in the negative zone from April to October.
• The food inflation has increased to 9.38 per cent from 8.18% in November 2023.
• In November, the WPI-based inflation had increased due to food inflation.
• If the global oil prices rise, the overall inflation could witness a further increase in the coming months.

Explanation:

• Munawwar Rana passed away in Lucknow on January 14.
• He was a renowned Urdu poet. He was suffering from throat cancer.
• He was born in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh. He was awarded the Gyanpeeth Award in 2014.
• He became popular among the common people because of his use of simple words in the poems.
• His poem Maa is considered one of his most famous works. It has a special place in the world of Urdu literature.
• He was honoured with the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2014 for his poem Shahdaba.
• He used Hindi and Awadhi words. He avoided Persian and Arabic.

Explanation:

• Group (Term) Insurance Scheme for Casual Paid Labourers engaged by BRO has been approved by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh.
• The proposal to launch a Group (Term) Insurance Scheme for Casual Paid Labourers (CPL) engaged by Border Roads Organisation/General Reserve Engineer Force for various ongoing project works has been approved.
• Under this scheme, an insurance amount worth Rs 10 lakh will be provided to the families/close relatives of Casual Paid Workers (CPL) in case of any death.
• The scheme is being implemented keeping in mind hazardous workplaces, inclement weather, inaccessible areas, and occupational health hazards.
• This scheme will serve as a social security and welfare measure for CPLs working in interior and remote areas of the country.
• This will go a long way in securing the livelihood of their families.
• In addition, the Defense Minister had recently approved several welfare measures for the betterment of CPLs.

These include

• Preservation and transportation of mortal remains and eligibility for transportation allowance of assistant (attendant).
• Funeral assistance increased from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000.
• Advance payment of ex-gratia amount of Rs 50,000 as immediate assistance in case of death etc.

Explanation:

• Indian shooter Yogesh Singh won the gold medal in the men's 25 meter standard pistol event at the Asian Shooting Championship 2024 held in Jakarta, Indonesia.
• The Mongolian shooter won the silver medal with the same score. Nikita Chiryukin of Kazakhstan won the bronze medal with 568 points.