ANSWER: B

ANSWER: B

ANSWER: A

ANSWER: D

• Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) for the financial years 2020-21 and 2021-22 was recently released.

MAJOR FINDINGS

• At the aggregate level, gross value added grew by 8.8 per cent in 2020-21.
• Gujarat led in GVA in 2020-21 and ranked second in 2021-22, while Maharashtra topped in 2021-22, followed by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh.
• The industries that drove growth during 2021-22 were manufacture of basic metal, coke and refined petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, motor vehicles, and chemicals.
• Total employment in the sector rebounded in 2021-22, growing by 7.0% year-on-year and exceeding pre-pandemic levels.
• The share of workers that were self-employed rose from 52.2 per cent in 2017-18 to 3 per cent in 2022-23.

ABOUT THE SURVEY

• The Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) is the principal source of industrial statistics in India.
• ASI is being conducted since 1959.
• From ASI 2010-11, the Survey is being conducted under the Collection of Statistics Act, 2008.
• Ministry- Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation.
• It covers all factories registered under the Factories Act, 1948. I t also covers unit under the Bidi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act 1966 etc.
  • These surveys cover factories employing 10 or more workers using power and those employing 20 or more workers without power.
  • Defence establishments, oil storage and distribution depots, etc. are not covered.

ANSWER: A

• The Healthy Indian Project (THIP), a health information platform in India, is included as a member of the World Health Organization’s Vaccine Safety Net (VSN).

ABOUT VSN

• VSN, established by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2003, serves as a global network of websites that provide trustworthy and verified vaccine safety information.
• Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS), established in 1999, supports the VSN by providing advice and criteria for website quality and content.
• VSN is continuously expanding. To date, 110 websites from 45 countries provide vaccine safety information in 43 languages.

ABOUT THIP

• The Healthy Indian Project (THIP) is a prominent health information platform in India, dedicated to providing credible and verified health information, with a focus on verified vaccine safety information, to the diverse population of the country.
• Its goal is to improve health literacy among Indians.
• The Healthy Indian Project (THIP) is privately funded by its directors.
• The company is not affiliated to any political institution.

ANSWER: C

• THE Electricity 2024 report was recently released by International Energy Agency.

Major India Specific findings

• India’s electricity demand will outpace China’s and have the world’s fastest growth rate by 2026.
• India’s annual average electricity demand growth is pegged at 5% over 2024-2026.
• Coal will meet 68% of India’s electricity needs in 2026.
• With China and India leading new nuclear reactor construction, Asia’s nuclear generation will exceed North America’s by 2026.
• The contribution of renewable energy (RE) generation remained relatively steady, constituting 21% of electricity generation in 2023.

ANSWER: A

• Iran announced the initiation of a 15-day visa-free policy for Indian tourists visiting the country (through air border).
• Under the new order, Indian citizens would be allowed to enter Iran with ordinary passports once every six months and with a maximum stay of 15 days which will not be extended.
• The visa abolition only applies to individuals entering Iran for tourism purposes
  • If Indian nationals wish to stay for a longer period or make multiple entries within a six-month period require other types of visas, they must obtain the necessary visas through the respective representations of Iran in India.

ANSWER: D

• Bina Modi, Chairperson of Modi Enterprises, was honoured with the ‘Outstanding Business Woman of the Year – 2023’ Award by Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister of India.
• The award was presented to her at a prestigious conference by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) on ‘Strengthening Indo-US Relationship in Amritkal-Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.
• It recognizes her remarkable contributions to the industry that place her among the distinguished few women chairpersons of Fortune500 and ET500 India companies.
• Bina Modi, the Chairperson of Modi Enterprises – KK Modi Group, also heads the Group’s FMCG giant Godfrey Phillips India and one of India’s agro-chemical leaders, Indofil, as the Chairperson and Managing Director.

ANSWER: C

• Nayib Bukele, the incumbent President of El Salvador, secured a thumping victory for a second consecutive term in elections in the Central American country.
• The electorate roundly voted for a continuation of the security plan “the state of exception” which has brought such a radical change to the nation.
• More than 75,000 people have been arrested under the policy in just under two years, but entire communities have been freed from an asphyxiating degree of gang control.

ANSWER: B

• Colonel Sapna Rana has become the first woman from Himachal Pradesh to command a battalion in the Indian Army.
• She joined the Officers Training Academy in Chennai in 2003 and was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Indian Army in 2004.
• The 41-year-old officer is currently commanding an Army Service Corps (ASC) battalion in the Northeast.