ALL EXAM QUIZ 06.08.2024

Explanation:

• 32nd International Conference of Agricultural Economists (ICAE) inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi in New Delhi on 3 August.
• On August 2, this triennial conference began and will conclude on 7 August.
• After 65 years, the International Association of Agricultural Economists (ICAE) is being held in India.
• This year, the theme of conference is "Transformation Towards Sustainable Agri-Food Systems."
• The aim of this conference is to address the urgent need for sustainable agriculture in the face of global challenges such as climate change, depletion of natural resources, rising production costs and conflict.

Explanation:

• Version 4.0 of Price Monitoring System (PMS) Mobile App launched by the Minister of Food and Consumer Affairs, Pralhad Venkatesh Joshi.
• Shri Pralhad Venkatesh Joshi said that the Department of Consumer Affairs of the Government has included 16 additional items under price monitoring from August 1, 2024.
• Already 22 commodities are covered under daily price monitoring. Now prices of total 38 commodities will be monitored.
• The Department is monitoring daily prices from 550 centres across 34 States/UTs.
• The price data monitored by the department provides advance information to the government, RBI and analysts for policy decision on CPI inflation.

Explanation:

• India is the 2nd largest aluminum Producer in the World.
• India is the 2nd largest aluminum producer, 3rd largest lime producer and 4th largest iron ore producer in the world.
• As per the data, primary aluminium production in FY 2024–25 (April-June) registered a growth of 1.2% over the corresponding period last year.
• The production of iron ore has increased from 72 MMT in FY 2023–24 (April-June) to 79 MMT in FY 2024–25 (April-June).
• Limestone production increased from 114 MMT in FY 2023–24 (April-June) to 116 MMT in FY 2024–25 (April-June).
• The production of manganese ore has increased by 11% to 1.0 MMT in FY 2024–25 (April-June).
• Iron ore and limestone account for about 80% of the total MCDR mineral production by value.
• In FY 2023–24, Production of iron ore was 275 million metric tons (MMT) and limestone was 450 MMT.

Explanation:

• Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Air Force has been chosen as the lead astronaut for the Indo-US mission to the ISS.
• For its Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), Axiom Space Inc., USA, and the Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) of ISRO have agreed into a Space Flight Agreement (SFA).
• For this mission, two Gaganyatris have been recommended as the prime and backup mission pilots by the National Mission Assignment Board.
• Among them are Group Captains Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair (Backup) and Shubhanshu Shukla (Prime).
• The Multilateral Crew Operations Panel (MCOP) will ultimately grant the allocated crew members permission to travel to the International Space Station.

Explanation:

• Indian scientists have developed an enhanced genome-editing system.
• CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi, Scientists have developed an enhanced genome-editing system that can modify DNA more precisely and efficiently.
• This is more efficient than the existing CRISPR-based technologies.
• As a part of the immune system, CRISPR occurs naturally in some bacteria that limit infection by recognising and destroying viral DNA.
• Scientists have developed an approach for editing the genomes of higher-order organisms.
• With the help of CRISPR-Cas9, researchers can add, remove or alter specific DNA sequences in the genome of animals.
• This system has been used in various fields, including in agriculture and healthcare.
• The CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing tool uses a guide-RNA (gRNA) designed to find and bind to a specific part of the target genome.
• Cas9 recognizes and binds to the PAM sequence, and acts as a molecular scissor that snips some damaged DNA.
• Cas9, called FnCas9, is highly precise, it has a low efficiency as well.

Explanation:

• Indian Naval Ship Tabar conducted Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) with the Russian naval ship.
• Indian Navy’s frontline frigate INS Tabar reached in St. Petersburg, Russia on 25 Jul 24 for a four-day visit to participate in 328th Russian Navy Day Parade celebrations.
• INS Tabar participated in the Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) with the Russian Navy Ship Soobrazitelny on 30 Jul 2024.
• The Maritime Partnership Exercise included a series of complex naval manoeuvers, including communication drills, Search & Rescue tactics and Replenishment at Sea serials.
• Ships from both sides demonstrated high levels of professionalism and interoperability.
• The Indian Navy is committed to fostering partnerships with navies across the world.
• The MPX with the Russian Navy reinforced the strong bilateral naval ties. It will enhance cooperation in the maritime domain.

Explanation:

• Six new lineages of bent-toed geckos have been discovered from the Northeast.
• Scientists from India and the United Kingdom have discovered six new species of bent-toed geckos from Northeast India.
• Researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE) and Natural History Museum London (NHM) have discovered two species from Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland each.
• The other two species have been discovered in Manipur and Mizoram.
• Bent-toed geckos have about 346 species across different biogeographic zones in Peninsular India.
• The Namdapha bent-toed gecko has been discovered from the Namdapha Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Scientists have discovered the Ngengpui bent-toed gecko from the Ngengpui Wildlife Sanctuary of Lawngtlai district in Mizoram.
• Scientists have collected species samples from 22 locations between 2018 and 2022.

Explanation:

• Rashtriya Hindi Vigyan Sammelan 2024 was organised from 30-31 July.
• It was organised by the Council of Scientific and industrial Research-Advanced Materials and Processes Research Institute (CSIR-AMPRI), Bhopal, in collaboration with other organisations.
• These organisations include Vijnana Bharati Madhya Bharat Province, the Madhya Pradesh Council of Science and Technology, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh Bhoj (Open) University, Bhopal.
• Other collaborating organisations were CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Policy Research (CSIR-NIScPR), New Delhi, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee Hindi University, Bhopal.
• This was the fourth edition of the conference, Rashtriya Hindi Vigyan Sammelan.
• Its aim was to offer a platform for researchers to present and discuss their work in Hindi.
• Dr. Mohan Yadav, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh inaugurated the event.
• The conference featured six sessions on various topics of Science, Technology, Engineering, Ayurveda, and Science Communication.
• The Vigyan Kavi Goshti took place on July 30, 2024. It was a special event that was organised by CSIR-NIScPR in association with other co-organisers of the conference.

Explanation:

• The government of India has announced two loans totalling $300 million to Vietnam during the visit of the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Pham Minh Chinh. The loan is for strengthening Vietnam’s maritime security.
• The Vietnamese Prime Minister was on an official three-day, from 30 July to -1 August 2024 visit to India.
• Nine agreements were signed between India and Vietnam during the visit of the Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. During the visit, it was announced that Vietnam will join the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).
• Nine Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) were signed between the two countries.

Explanation:

• Ministry of Defence signed an MoU with Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor (UPDIC) to establish three advanced testing facilities in Uttar Pradesh under the Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS).
• These include one facility in Lucknow for Mechanical & Material (M&M) and two in Kanpur for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and Communications.
• DTIS was launched in May 2020 by Ministry of Defence with a Rs 400 crore budget. DTIS aims to boost indigenous defence production.