Current Affairs Quiz 13th August 2024 Quiz

Exp. India and Maldives renew MoU to enhance civil service training

India and Maldives have renewed their MoU to bolster the training of Maldivian civil servants.

External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and Maldivian Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer finalized the renewed agreement in Malé.

The renewed MoU, spanning from 2024 to 2029, will facilitate the training of an additional 1,000 civil service officers from the Maldives.

This initiative builds on a previous agreement established on June 8, 2019, under which the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) of India trained 1,000 Maldivian civil servants, including high-level officials, across 32 capacity-building programs.

The NCGG, guided by India’s Ministry of External Affairs, has a track record of successful capacity-building initiatives in various countries, including Bangladesh, Tanzania, and Sri Lanka, as well as regional programs for Latin American and FIPIC/IOR countries.

Recently India signed MoUs with others countries

• India and New Zealand sign customs co-operation arrangement to ease trade between the two countries
• India and Vietnam team up to Preserve Maritime History with NMHC in Lothal
• India and Vietnam sign 9 agreements to deepen strategic partnership & enhance cooperation
• India, US Sign Cultural Property Agreement To Repatriate Stolen Indian Artifacts
• MSDE partners with Australian Government to energise Agriculture Sector of India with emerging skills
• India’s Exim Bank to provide $2.5 million LoC for Guyana

Exp. Jitendra Singh launches ‘Amrit Gyan Kosh’ and ‘Faculty Development’ Portals under Mission Karmayogi

Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh has launched the ‘Amrit Gyan Kosh’ Portal and ‘Faculty Development portal’ at the Civil Service Training Institutions Convention at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.

It marks a paradigm shift in how we approach civil service training and it also envisions a future-ready civil service rooted in Indian ethos, with a global perspective.

Dr. Jitendra Singh also launched 13 Quality Improvement Plans (QIP), a roadmap for continuous enhancement of our training institutions. He also granted accreditation to 20 ministries.

Dr. Singh highlighted that the core of the mission is continuous learning and competency-driven capacity building.

Exp. SLRTC and Army Welfare Association sign MoU to Promote Indian Sign Language

The Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC) signed an MoU with the Army Welfare Association Society (AWES), in New Delhi.

This collaboration is expected to bring benefits to the educational ecosystem, empowering educators and fostering an inclusive environment for students.

By enhancing the capabilities of Army Public School faculty in Indian Sign Language, the partnership aims to create a more accessible and supportive learning environment for students who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Recent MoU

• BIS signs MoU with Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru to promote Standardisation
• IGNCA signed MoU with Sansad TV to make Indian art and culture more accessible to the people.

• Cisco and Tata Communications partner to launch Webex Calling in India
• AIIMS New Delhi signed MoU with University of Bolton Institute of Medicine
• Mahindra & Mahindra sign MoU with MSDE for ‘Drone Didi’ Pilot Project

Exp. Assam launches ‘Nijut Moina Scheme’ to boost girls’ education and combat child marriage

Assam Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma has launched the ‘Nijut Moina Scheme’, an initiative aimed at eradicating child marriages by empowering female students and promoting education over early marriage.

The scheme is designed to provide monthly financial assistance to female students from higher secondary to post-graduate levels.

The initiative comes a year after Assam Police arrested over 4,000 people in crackdowns against child marriage. The ‘Nijut Moina’ scheme is universal, allowing students to voluntarily opt out if they do not want to avail of it.

The Rs.1500 crore scheme will benefit 10 lakh girls in four years.

Monthly assistance under the ‘Nijut Moina’ scheme

• Higher secondary students: Rs 1,000/month.
• Graduate level students: Rs 1,250/month.
• Post-graduate level students: Rs 2,500/month

About Assam

• Formation – 26 January 1950
• Capital – Dispur
• Chief Minister –Himanta Biswa Sarma
• Governor – Gulab Chand Kataria
• State Fruit – Kaji Nemu
• Rajya Sabha Seat – 7
• Lok Sabha Seat – 14

Exp. Raj Kumar Chaudhary appointed as CMD of NHPC Ltd

Raj Kumar Chaudhary has been appointed as the new Chairman & Managing Director of NHPC Limited.

Prior to his current appointment, Chaudhary held the critical position of Director (Technical) at NHPC.

At 59 years old, Shri Chaudhary brings a wealth of expertise to the role, having joined NHPC in 1989 as a Probationary Executive (Civil) at the Koel Karo Hydro-Electric Project in Jharkhand.

About NHPC Limited

• Founded- 7 November 1975
• Headquarters- Faridabad
• Chairman & Managing Director – Raj Kumar Chaudhary
• Owner- Government of India (70.95%)

Recent Appointment

• Additional secretary in PMO – Amit Singh Negi
• Director in Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) under Ministry of Corporate Affairs – Samir Ashwin Vakil
• Deputy Election Commissioners in ECI – Maneesh Garg, Sanjay Kumar and Ajeet Kumar
• Director general of Employees’ State Insurance Corporation – Ashok Kumar Singh
• CEO of Khadi and Village Industries Commission under Ministry of MSMEs – Vatsalya Saxena

Exp. Paul Kagame became Rwanda’s President consecutively for the fourth term

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame was sworn in for his fourth term after securing over 99 per cent of the vote.

The oath of office was administered by Chief Justice Faustin Ntezilyayo, during which Kagame pledged to uphold peace, national sovereignty, and national unity.

Only two out of eight candidates were allowed to run in the presidential race, and those who criticised Kagame were barred from participating.

About Rwanda

• Capital – Kigali
• Currency- Rwandan Franc
• Official languages- Kinyarwanda, French, English, Swahili
• Prime minister- Édouard Ngirente

Newly Appointed Prime Minister & President

• PM of Bulgaria – Goritsa Gruncharova-Kozhareva
• PM of Tunisia – Kamel Madouri
• Head of Bangladesh’s interim government – Muhammad Yunus
• President of Iran – Masoud Pezeshkian
• President of Venezuela – Nicolas Maduro (3^rd time)

Exp. Pakistan athlete Arshad Nadeem to be honoured with Hilal-e-Imtiaz Award

The Javelin Throw gold medallist in the Paris Olympics 2024, Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem is set to be honoured with Hilal-e-Imtiaz by the country’s government.

Hilal-e-Imtiaz is the second-highest civilian award given by the Government of Pakistan and Nadeem will get this award following his brilliant performance in the final of the competition.

Pakistan’s athlete won gold with a throw of 92.97 meters, setting a new Olympic record and surpassing Denmark’s Andreas Thorkildsen’s mark from Beijing 2008. Grenada’s Anderson Peters secured bronze with a throw of 88.54 meters.

India’s Neeraj Chopra fell short of retaining his gold medal, finishing with a best throw of 89.45 meters.

Chopra became the second male athlete from post-independence India to win two Olympic medals in an individual event.

Recent Award

• Grand Collar of Order of Timor Leste (Highest Civilian Award of Timor Leste) – President Droupadi Murmu
• Companion of the Order of Fiji (highest honour of Fiji) – President Droupadi Murmu
• V Venkayya Epigraphy Award 2024 – V. Vedachalam
• Global Water Tech Award for environmental initiatives – Delhi Metro Rail Corporation
• Customised Gold Coins by Paris’ Grevin Museum – Shah Rukh Khan
• Olympic Order by IOC – Abhinav Bindra

Exp. NIRF Ranking 2024: IIT Madras tops in overall category

Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan has released the India Rankings 2024, which implements the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) drafted for this purpose by the Ministry of Education in 2015.

This is the 9th consecutive edition of India Rankings of HEIs in India. Four distinct additions to 2024 edition of India Rankings are as follows:

1. i) Introduction of three new categories namely State Public Universities, Open Universities, and Skill Universities; and
2. ii) Integration of “Innovation” ranking into the India Rankings using NIRF framework.

Indian Institute of Technology Madras retains its 1st position in Overall Category for the sixth consecutive year, i.e. 2019 to 2024 and in Engineering for 9th consecutive year, , i.e. from 2016 to 2024.

Top 100 in Overall category consists of 23 state public universities, 22 private deemed universities, 16 IITs, 9 NITs , 7 each central universities 7 private universities, 4 each AIIMS, IISERs and Govt. deemed universities, 3 Other CFTIs and 1 college.

Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru tops the Universities Category for ninth consecutive year. It stood first in Research Institutions Category for the fourth consecutive year.

IIM Ahmedabad tops in Management subject retaining its first position for fifth consecutive year.

All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi occupies the top slot in Medical for the seventh consecutive year. Moreover, AIIMS is ranked at 7th position in Overall category.

Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi tops the ranking in Pharmacy this year.

Hindu College secured the 1st position amongst colleges for the first-time replacing Miranda House which retained its 1st position for seven consecutive year.

IIT Roorkee retained its 1st position in Architecture and Planning for the fourth consecutive year.

National Law School of India University, Bengaluru retains its first position in Law for the seventh consecutive year.

The Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai takes the top slot in Dental subject for the third consecutive year.

Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi takes the top slot in Agriculture and Allied Sectors for the second consecutive year.

Anna University, Chennai tops the State Public Universities Category introduced for the first time in 2024.

Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi tops the Open Universities Category introduced for the first time in 2024.

Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur tops in the Innovation category.

Symbiosis Skill and Professional University (SSPU), Pune tops the Skill Universities category ranked this year for the first time.  

Exp. Om Prakash Mathur Sworn in as 18th Governor of Sikkim

Om Prakash Mathur was sworn in as the 18th Governor of Sikkim at Raj Bhavan, Gangtok.

Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court, Justice Biswanath Somadder, administered the oath of office and secrecy.

The Governor and Chief Minister also participated in a plantation drive at the Raj Bhavan premises under the campaign “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam.”

About Sikkim

• Capital – Gangtok
• Chief Minister – Prem Singh Tamang (2^nd time)
• Governor – Om Prakash Mathur (replace Lakshman Prasad Acharya

Recent Appointment

• Governor of Jharkhand – Santosh Kumar Gangwar (12^th)
• Governor of Chhattisgarh – Ramen Deka
• Governor of Rajasthan – Haribhau Kisanrao Bagde
• Governor of Telangana – Jishnu Dev Varma
• Governor of Punjab – Gulab Chand Kataria
• Governor of Maharastar – CP Radhakrishnan
• Governor of Meghalaya – C H Vijayshankar
• Governor of Assam – Lakshman Prasad Acharya (also additional charge of Manipur)
• Governor of Puducherry – K. Kailashnathan (25th)

Exp. India wins CAVA Women’s Volleyball Nations League for the second time

Indians beat the host Nepal 23-25, 25-14, 22-25, 25-21, 15-5 in the CAVA Women’s Volleyball Nations League final.

Nepal lost to India 3-2 in the finals at the Dashrath Stadium in Kathmandu.

This was the second time Nepal was facing off India in the title match at home and first since the 13th South Asian Games.

India clinched Gold, Nepal secured the silver medal and Iran settled with bronze in the tournament.

Exp. India and Sri Lanka Joint Military Exercise MITRA SHAKTI Commences in Sri Lanka

The 10th edition of India- Sri Lanka Joint Military Exercise MITRA SHAKTI commenced at Army Training School, Maduru Oya, Sri Lanka.

The Exercise is scheduled to be conducted from 12th to 25th August 2024.

Indian contingent comprising of 106 personnel is being represented by a Battalion of Rajputana Rifles along with personnel from other arms and services. The Sri Lankan contingent is being represented by personnel from the Gajaba Regiment of the Sri Lankan Army.

Joint Exercise MITRA SHAKTI is an annual training event conducted alternatively in India and Sri Lanka. The last edition was conducted in Pune in Nov 2023.

The exercise will focus on operations in the semi-urban environment. It will facilitate development of inter-operability, bonhomie and camaraderie between the two armies.

Exp. SBI projects GDP growth of 7 pc in FY25

The State Bank of India in a report project that India’s real GDP will grow by 7.0 per cent year-on-year in FY25, which is slightly lower than the RBI’s forecast of 7.2 per cent.

The report noted that the slight downgrade by 20 basis points is based on the global headwinds that are beginning to materialize.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India maintained its overall growth projection at 7.2 per cent for FY25.

However, the MPC has revised its Q1FY25 growth estimate downward to 7.1 per cent, a 20-basis points reduction from its previous forecast.

Updated GDP List

• Deloitte – 7 – 7.2% (FY25)
• India Ratings – 7.5% (FY25)
• FICCI – 7% (FY25)
• ADB – 7% (FY25), 7.2%(FY26),
• IMF – 7% (FY25), 6.5% (FY26)
• NCAER – 7.5% (FY25)
• S&P – 6.8% (FY25), 6.9% (FY26), 7% (FY27)
• Fitch Rating –7.2% (FY25)
• CII – 8% (FY25)
• World Bank – 6.6% (FY25), 6.7% (FY26), 6.8% (FY27)

Exp. 13 August – World Organ Donation Day

World Organ Donation Day is observed every year on August 13.

Objective – To raise awareness about the importance of organ donation and encourage people to register as organ donors.

The history of organ transplantation dates back to the early 20th century, with significant milestones marking its evolution.

The first successful kidney transplant occurred in 1954, when Ronald Lee Herrick donated a kidney to his identical twin brother, a groundbreaking procedure performed by Dr. Joseph Murray.

This landmark event paved the way for advancements in organ transplantation, leading to the successful transplantation of hearts, livers, lungs, and other organs.

Exp. Former External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh Dies

Former External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh passed away at the age of 93.

A former Congress MP, K Natwar Singh was India’s External Affairs Minister for the period 2004-05 during the UPA-I government led by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

He also served as ambassador to Pakistan and was attached to the office of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from 1966 to 1971.

Exp. Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki dies

Susan Wojcicki, the former YouTube CEO and one of Google’s earliest employees, has passed away at the age of 56.

Wojcicki, one of the most prominent women in tech, stepped down from her role at YouTube in 2023, a position she held for nine years.

She was previously a senior vice-president for ad products at Google and became CEO of YouTube in 2014.

Before Google, Wojcicki worked at Intel and Bain & Company.