Daily Current Affairs Quiz: August 09, 2024

Answer: B

Current Context : Ministry of Health and Family Welfare released details of Anemia Mukt Bharat Initiative.

• Objective : to reduce prevalence of anaemia in children, adolescents, and women in life cycle approach.
• The 6X6X6 strategy : aims to reduce anaemia among six beneficiary age groups-children 6-59 months, children 5-9 years, adolescents 10-19 years, women of reproductive age (15-49 years), pregnant women and lactating women through implementation of six interventions.

PROGRAMMES AND INITIATIVES BY GOVERNMENT :

• Mission Poshan 2.0 : to address the challenge of malnutrition and for improved health, wellness and immunity through community engagement, outreach, behavioral change, and advocacy.
• Focuses on Maternal Nutrition, Infant and Young Child Feeding Norms, treatment of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM)/ Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) and wellness through AYUSH practices to reduce wasting and underweight prevalence beside stunting and anaemia.

Answer: C

Current Context : Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya in collaboration with Airbus has started its first executive training program for the aviation sector in New Delhi.

ABOUT GATI SHAKTI VISHWAVIDYALAYA

• It is India’s first transport University, formerly National Rail and Transportation Institute.
• Location : in Vadodara, Gujarat, India.
• Aim : to address the specialized needs of the transportation and logistics sectors. It seeks to bridge the skills gap and support the development of infrastructure by providing targeted education and research opportunities.
• Educational Focus: It offers programs related to transportation engineering, logistics management, infrastructure planning, and other related fields.
• Chancellor: Minister of Railways

Answer: C

Current Context : Purandar Highlands Farmers Producer Company Ltd is exporting its award-winning fig juice, made from GI-tagged Purandar Figs, to Poland.

• This marks the first time Indian fig juice will reach the European market.
• Purandar’s figs, known to be one of India’s finest figs are a GI commodity, known for their sweet taste, size, and nutritional benefits.

India-Poland Trade Relations: This export represents a strengthening of trade relations between India and Poland, contributing to economic growth and diversification of India’s export base.

Exports and Imports between two countries:

• Indian Exports to Poland : Major exports from India to Poland include pharmaceuticals, textiles, chemicals, machinery, and IT services, of worth 3959 million US dollars in 2023.
• Imports from Poland to India : Poland exports items of Polish, machinery, electrical equipment, chemicals, and other industrial products to India of worth 1761 million US dollars in 2023.

ABOUT GI TAG

• A GI tag is an intellectual property right that identifies a product as originating from a specific geographical location and possessing qualities or a reputation due to that origin.
• Goal : It ensures quality and authenticity, protects local producers from unauthorized use, and helps in promoting and preserving regional products.

Answer: D

Current Context : Ministry of Textiles empowered all ginners (who operate cotton gins which  separate cotton fibre  from seeds) in India to produce Kasturi Cotton Bharat brand.

ABOUT KASTURI COTTON

• “Kasturi” can also refer to “musk” in some Indian languages, a term often used metaphorically to denote something valued and precious.
• Kasturi Cotton is premium quality Cotton from India with 100% traceability & certification, utilizing blockchain technology for traceability.

Answer: A

Current Context : The Centre has appointed Challa Sreenivasulu Setty as the chairman of State Bank of India (SBI) for a period of three years.

• Setty will replace current chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara on August 28.

ABOUT STATE BANK OF INDIA (SBI) :

• It is the largest and one of the oldest banking institutions in India.
• Established in 1806 as the Bank of Calcutta, which was later renamed the Bank of Bengal.
• It became the State Bank of India on 01 July 1955, following the merger of the Imperial Bank of India with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

Answer: C

Current Context : Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren launched the ‘Upasthiti (attendance) Portal’ to monitor daily attendance of health department staff.

• Aims to enhance healthcare facilities and make district hospitals operational 24/7. Cross-verification of biometric data will be implemented to ensure accountability.

ABOUT JHARKHAND

• It was carved out from the southern part of Bihar on November 15, 2000.
• Located in eastern India is bordered by Bihar to the north, West Bengal to the east, Odisha to the south, and Chhattisgarh to the west.
• It is the 15th largest state by area, and the 14th largest by population.
• Capital : Ranchi
• Major Cities : Jamshedpur ( known as Steel City) home to the Tata Steel plant, Dhanbad: Known for its coal mining activities.
• Tribal communities : the Santhals, Mundas, and Oraons.
• Languages: Hindi , local languages such as Santali, Mundari, and Ho.
• Festivals and Traditions: Sarhul, Makar Sankranti, and Dasai.
• Minerals: Rich in resources like coal, iron ore, bauxite, and mica. Jharkhand is a major producer of coal in India.
• Religious places : Parasnath, Baidyanath Dham, Maa Dewri Temple and Chhinnamasta Temple.
• National Park : Betla National Park and Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary.

Answer: D

Current Context : Indian Army and Sri Lankan Army will begin their 10th edition of joint exercise “Mitra Shakti” at Maduruoya in Sri Lanka’sfrom August 12.

• Objective : to improve the operational proficiency of both armies by facilitating the exchange of skills, experiences, and best practices.
• The 10th edition of the wargame will be focusing on joint operations in semi-urban environments.
• The first iteration took place in 2012 as part of the broader Indo-Sri Lankan defense cooperation efforts.

VARIOUS DEFENCE EXERCISES WITH SRI LANKA :

• Exercise SLINEX (Sri Lanka-India Naval Exercise) : Bilateral naval exercise started in 2012 with focus on Maritime security, anti-piracy operations, and naval interoperability.
• Exercise Dharma Guardian: Bilateral joint exercise between Indian Army and Sri Lankan Army, Initiated in 2018 with an objective to Counter-terrorism operations and tactical training.
• Exercise AJEYA WARRIOR : First conducted in 2013 between Indian Army and Sri Lankan Army to Counter-terrorism and tactical operations.

Answer: B

Current Context : Indian Railways to launch Kavach on Mumbai-Delhi-Kolkata routes by March 2025,

• It will be operational on the 3,000-km Mumbai-Delhi and Delhi-Kolkata rail routes by March 2025.
• The advanced Kavach version 4.0 was approved by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO).
• It is designed to address communication challenges across various geographical conditions, including hilly, forested, coastal, and desert areas.
• The Railway Ministry has also sanctioned the installation of Kavach on 10,000 locomotives over the next two years, with another 10,000 to follow in phases.

ABOUT KAVACH

• Kavach is an Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system developed by Indian Railways.
• Aim : to prevent train accidents by automatically controlling train movements and ensuring safety in various operational scenarios.

Answer: C

Current Context : IIT Indore has developed footwear for military personnel based on Tribo-Electric Nanogenerator (TENG) technology.

ABOUT TENG TECHNOLOGY:

• It converts mechanical energy into electrical energy through the triboelectric effect, which is the generation of electric charge from friction or contact between two different materials.
• The triboelectric effect refers to a charge of electricity generated by friction.
• It is considered as a portable and renewable energy source.
• The stored energy can power small electronic devices , wearable devices, IoT (Internet of Things) devices, medical devices etc.

Answer: C

Current Context : Government will allow 35% bio-bitumen mixing in petroleum-based bitumen, a large part of which is imported from other countries to save ₹10,000 crore of foreign exchange outflows.

 ABOUT BITUMEN :

• Bitumen is a black substance produced through the distillation of crude oil and is widely used for making roads and roofs.
• It is commonly known as asphalt when used in road construction.
• Obtained through mining or surface mining techniques.
• It is known for its adhesive properties.
• Applications: Paving roads, water proofing etc.

ABOUT BIO-BITUMEN :

• It is a form of bitumen produced from renewable biological materials such as plant oils, algae, or biomass. It includes agricultural residues, forestry residues, algae, or other organic materials.
• It can be used as an addition to bitumen or to reduce the quantity of bitumen in the binder mixture.

Benefits: Reduced imports, address the issue of stubble burning, boosting Bio-economy etc.