Daily Current Affairs Quiz : December 27,2021

ANSWER: C

• The Indian Army has launched its latest messaging application dubbed as ASIGMA (Army Secure IndiGeneous Messaging Application), which has been exclusively developed by the team of officers of the Corps of Signals of the Army.

About ASIGMA (Army Secure IndiGeneous Messaging Application)

• The new generation web-based messaging application is entirely in-house and has been exclusively developed by the team of officers of the Corps of Signals of the Army.
• The new ASIGMA application is being deployed on the Army’s internal network, as a replacement of the AWAN (Army Wide Area Network) messaging application which has been in service for the past 15 years. The application has been sent out on Army-owned hardware and will cater to the army from this time forward, lending itself to lifetime support with future upgrades.
• The messaging application is designed to meet all futuristic requirements for the army and boasts of an enhanced user experience. It comes with a variety of contemporary features including multi-level security, dynamic global address book, message prioritisation, and tracking, and options to meet the requirements of the army at present.
• This future-ready messaging application will meet the real-time data transfer and messaging requirements of the Army, especially in the backdrop of the current geopolitical security environment. ASIGMA has been developed in line with the Government of India’s, Make in India initiative.
• The Indian Army has braced automation in a major way, especially post COVID-19 outbreak, and is taking substantial steps towards paperless functioning. ASIGMA will further boost these efforts and will add to the host of other applications already being employed by the Army over its captive pan Army network.

ANSWER: D

• Chalo mobile app and smart card launched for convenient bus travel in Mumbai

About Chalo mobile app

• The mobile application will provide live bus tracking, and information on how crowded the vehicle is, along with the arrival time of the bus.
• Bus travelling will get convenient in Mumbai. From ticket purchasing through e-wallet to live bus tracking, passengers can now enjoy smooth and convenient bus travel with Chalo smart cards and Chalo mobile application. Recently, Tourism and Environment Minister of Maharashtra, Aaditya Thackeray launched Chalo mobile application as well as Chalo smart cards. This mobile app and smart card will facilitate digital, and advance purchase of BEST bus tickets. Chalo mobile app will allow passengers to buy bus tickets and passes through e-wallet. Besides, the mobile application will provide live bus tracking, and also information on how crowded the vehicle is, along with the arrival time of the bus.
• Moreover, bus commuters can book tickets online and also, they will have access to bus passes for purchase and renewal through the Chalo mobile app and the Smart Card.

ANSWER: A

• P. Jindal Global University (JGU) has won the “Digital Innovation of the Year” award at the distinguished Times Higher Education (THE) Asia Awards 2021.

About JGU winning ‘’Digital Innovation of the Year’’

• JGU was the only Indian University to be Shortlisted for the “Digital Innovation of the Year”
• JGU’s win at the Awards is a recognition of JGU’s successful digital transformation and impact over the last two years. This award is also a reflection of JGU’s commitment to ensure continued education for its students during the ongoing pandemic.
• However, with the collective effort put in by the faculty, students and staff and the digital governance led by our IT team, by December 2020, 24,000+ online classes were completed, 1250+ unique online examinations were conducted and 69,000+ assessments were submitted.

ANSWER: D

• Union Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Cooperation, Mr Amit Shah released the Good Governance Index 2021 prepared by Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) on Good Governance Day.

About Good Governance Index 2021

• Good Governance Index, GGI 2021 Framework covered ten sectors and 58 indicators.
• The sectors of GGI 2020-21 are 1) Agriculture and Allied Sectors, 2) Commerce & Industries, 3) Human Resource Development, 4) Public Health, 5.) Public Infrastructure & Utilities, 6) Economic Governance, 7) Social Welfare & Development, 8) Judicial & Public Security, 9) Environment, and 10) Citizen-Centric Governance.
• The GGI 2020-21 categorises States and UTs into four categories, i.e., (i) Other States – Group A; (ii) Other States – Group B; (iii) North-East and Hill States; and (iv) Union Territories.
• Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa top the composite rank score covering 10 sectors.
• Rajasthan has topped the Other States (Group B) category in Judiciary and Public Safety, Environment & Citizen Centric Governance.
• In the North-East and Hill States category, Mizoram and Jammu and Kashmir have registered an overall increase of 10.4% and 3.7% respectively over GGI 2019.
• In the Union Territories category, Delhi tops the composite rank registering a 14 percent increase over the GGI 2019 indicators.

ANSWER: B

• The Ministry of Coal had launched 2nd Attempt of auction of 11 coal mines for commercial mining on September 27, 2021 and bids were received for 4 mines.
• Recently, the auction was held for two mines that have received multiple bids.
• Adhunik Power and Natural Resources Ltd has emerged as preferred bidder for Lalgarh (North) coal mine in Jharkhand. Auro Coal Pvt Ltd has emerged as preferred bidder for Beheraband North Extension coal block in Madhya Pradesh, the coal ministry said in a statement.
• The results of the auction are as under.

ANSWER – A

• The Centre’s move to execute the Rs 605 crore Palampur-Thathri-Chunja Glacier Ropeway Project through the NHAI.
• Union Surface and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari in a tweet conveyed to the state that the NHAI had approved the much-awaited 13.5-km-long ropeway project, which had been hanging fire since 1990.
• The ropeway will connect Palampur with Chunja Glacier in the Dhauladhar hills at the height of 12,000-ft above sea level. Tourists will reach the snow-covered peaks within 31 minutes.

ANSWER – A  

• It is also Himachal’s first-ever domestic title. Rishi Dhawan’s team defeated the southern outfit by 11 runs after bad light stopped the play and the VJD method was applied to decide the winner.
• Shubham Arora’s unbeaten knock of 136 (131 balls; 13×4, 1×6) helped Himachal Pradesh to beat Tamil Nadu to clinch their maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy title in Jaipur on Sunday
• Himachal Pradesh seamers made the most of the early seam movement and left Tamil Nadu reeling at 40-4 . Baba Aprajith (2), Narayan Jagadeesan (9), R Sai Kishore (18) and Murugan Ashwin (7) fell cheaply.

ANSWER – A  

• The government had included the Lug valley under the “Nai Rahein, Nai Manzilein” scheme to develop untouched tourism spots in the region, said DC Ashutosh Garg.
• Mathasaur was a beautiful place where tourists could be attracted and asked the department to prepare a proposal for ropeway for this site from Bhalyani
• Brown trouts were found in the valley’s natural springs and streams and there was a need to publicise it. “Efforts will be made to bring the valley on the tourism map by creating basic facilities for the tourists.”

ANSWER: A   

• Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur unveiled a statue of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his 97th birth anniversary on the Mall Road in Manali today. The statue has been constructed at a cost of Rs 44 lakh.
• The CM also addressed a public gathering at Prini village that has Vajpayee’s residence. He said the people of Kullu district in particular and people of the state in general were fortunate that Vajpayee had special love and showered benevolence on the state and its people.
• Atal Tunnel was the vision of the former Prime Minister which had virtually transformed the economy of the tribal district of Lahaul & Spiti and was strategically very important.
• Sushasan Divas’ (Good Governance Day) as a mark of respect to the former Prime Minister. He said several schemes of the state government had been named after Atal Bihari Vajpayee as a mark of respect to the beloved leader of the masses.