Daily GK and Current Affairs Quiz – 24th August 2021

Correct Answer: E. Both a & b

Explanation: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has launched an ambitious ‘Ubharte Sitaare Fund’ -USF for export-oriented firms and startups in a program at Lucknow. The Fund aims at arranging funds for the promotion of micro, small and medium companies. The fund has been set up by Exim Bank and SIDBI. This scheme will be successful in Uttar Pradesh as the state has the highest number of MSMEs.

About the programme:

India Exim Bank’s Ubharte Sitaare Programme (USP) identifies Indian companies that have the potential to be future champions in the domestic arena while catering to global demands.The fund is a mix of structured support, both financial and advisory services through investments in equity or equity-like instruments, debt (funded and non-funded) and technical assistance (advisory services, grants and soft loans) to the Indian companies.

Correct Answer: C. Athletics coach

Explanation: O.M. Nambiar, the man who transformed a village girl P.T. Usha into Asia’s Golden Girl, passed away. One of India’s most famous coaches, Nambiar spotted Usha at a very young age in 1976 and soon began coaching her at the Kannur Sports Division. Under his guidance, Usha began winning medals at the Asian level but his best move was making the sprinter switch to the 400m hurdles before the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Correct Answer – B. Chamoli

Explanation: India’s highest altitude herbal park has been inaugurated at Mana village in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. The herbal park is situated at a height of 11,000 feet was and is close to the Indo-China border. Mana is the last Indian village in Chamoli bordering China and is adjacent to Badrinath temple. The herbal park has around 40 species found in high altitude alpine areas in the Himalayan region.

About the park:

The main aim of this high altitude herbal park is to conserve various medicinally and culturally important alpine species and to do research on their propagation and habitat ecology.The park has been developed on an area of three acres given by Mana Van Panchayat by the Research Wing of Uttarakhand Forest Department.It has been developed in three years under the central government’s Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) scheme.Many of these species are endangered and threatened as per International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list as well as by the State Biodiversity Board. It includes many important medicinal herbs also.

Important Points:

• Uttarakhand Founded: 9 November 2000;
• Uttarakhand Governor: Baby Rani Maurya;
• Uttarakhand Chief minister: Pushkar Singh Dhami;
• Uttarakhand Capitals: Dehradun (Winter), Gairsain (Summer).

Correct Answer – B. Kerala

Explanation:  Onam is the most revered and celebrated festival of Kerala, is celebrated every year by the Malayali community across the world. The 10-day long festival marks the beginning of harvest season as well as the appearance of the Vaman avatar of Lord Vishnu along with the homecoming of King Mahabali.The festival begins from Atham (Hasta) nakshatram, and ends on Thiruvonam (Shravana) nakshatram. This year, the harvest festival began on August 12 and will conclude on August 23. The 10 days of the festival are named on the names of astrological stars as per the Malayalam calendar.

Here are the 10 days of Onam and its significance:

The celebration of Onam begins with Atham. People in Kerala decorates their home with yellow flowers known as Pokkalam.The 2nd day of the festival is known as Chithira. On this day, people clean their entire houses and add another layer of flowers to the Pokkalam.The 3rd day of Onam is observed by meeting family members and exchanging gifts, known as Onakodi and jewellery.The 4th day is considered the most auspicious one that marks the preparation of Onam Sadhya.On the 5th day, the annual boat race known as the Vallamkali boat race is conducted from the town Aranmula on the banks of the Pamba river in Pathanamthitta. People of the Malayali community participate in this.

Thriketta is the 6th day of this harvest festival. From this day, the schools remain closed and kids start preparing for the devotional prayers.With just two days left for the festival, the 7th day marks the beginning of the preparation for Onam Sandhya in which several dance performances are held.The 8th day holds significance in festivities as the idols of Vamana and King Mahabali are prepared by using clay and placed in the centre of the Pokkalam.On the 9th day of Uthradom, the festivities begin on a large scale. People start preparation for traditional meals by using fruits and vegetables.

The 10th day of the festival is the most important day of the carnival of Onam. It is believed that on Thiruvonam, the spirit of legendary King Mahabali visits the state of Kerala and hence, the festivities begin from early morning. The grand feast of Onam called Onam sadhya is also prepared on this day.

Correct Answer – D. 23 August

Explanation: United Nations observes 23 August every year as “International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition”. The Day is observed to inscribe the tragedy of the slave trade in the memory of all peoples. It is a day to honour the memory of the men and women who, in Saint-Domingue in 1791, revolted and paved the way for the end of slavery and dehumanization.

History of the day:

The day was designated by UNESCO to memorialize the transatlantic slave trade. It is a day to honour the memory of the men and women who, in Saint-Domingue in 1791, revolted and paved the way for the end of slavery and dehumanization.It was on the night of 22 and 23 August 1791, in Santo Domingo (today Haiti and the Dominican Republic) that saw the beginning of the uprising that would play a crucial role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.It is against this background that the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition is commemorated on 23 August each year.The Day was first celebrated in a number of countries, particularly in Haiti on 23 August 1998 and at Goree in Senegal on 23 August 1999.

Important Points:

• UNESCO headquarters: Paris, France.
• UNESCO Head: Audrey Azoulay.
• UNESCO Founded: 16 November 1945.

Correct Answer – A. 22 August

Explanation: The International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief is observed on August 22 every year since 2019. The day aims to remember the victims and survivors of evil acts on the basis of or in the name of religion or belief.

History:

The day was adopted at the 73rd UN General Assembly on 28 May 2019 as proposed by Poland. It spreads awareness that international communities must work together to achieve justice for the survivors of past abuses by holding perpetrators accountable and demonstrating to governments that action must be taken to ‘never again’ tolerate genocide or other atrocities.

Correct Answer – C. URJA

Explanation: Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) launched (after pilot test) an AI-enabled chatbot, named Urja to provide its customers with a platform for seamless self-service experience and faster resolution of queries/issues. URJA is the first such chatbot in the oil and gas industry in India. URJA has been launched under the Project Anubhav of BPCL and it currently supports 13 languages.With the objective of making BPCL’s customer interface comprehensive and integrated digitally, Urja, the chatbot is now available on the company website for any queries for both B2B & B2C. Under Project Anubhav, Urja represents an integrated communication platform that connects all BPCL communication to any channel, unifying all customer touchpoints with a single and cohesive voice.

Important Points:

• CMD Of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd: Arun Kumar Singh;
• Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd Headquarters: Mumbai;
• Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd Founded: 1952.

Correct Answer – B. Maharaja Agrasen

Explanation: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has announced to rename the Hisar Airport as Maharaja Agrasen International Airport. The Hisar Airport is a domestic airport and the first DGCA licensed Public Aerodrome of the State. This airport is presently under up-gradation to be transformed as an international airport by 30 March 2024.

Important Points:

• Haryana Governor: Bandaru Dattatreya;
• Haryana Capital: Chandigarh;
• Haryana Chief Minister: Manohar Lal Khattar.

Correct Answer – E. All 1, 2 and 3

Explanation:  The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) would be launching a gamut of activities to celebrate the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav'(AAM) from August 23-29, 2021. The activities would be launched under the ministry’s ‘Iconic Week’ celebrations. A series of special programs to be launched by AIR Network include ‘Dharohar’, ‘Nishaan’, and ‘Aparajita’ (women leaders). The objective is to showcase the journey of new India and celebrate the contribution of freedom fighters, including the unsung heroes of the freedom struggle through massive outreach activities. DD Network will be broadcasting sectoral programmes under “Naye Bharat Ka Naya Safar” and “Journey of New India” covering themes such as Diplomacy, Digital India, Legislative Reforms, etc. apart from ongoing daily special news capsules on Unsung heroes and Freedom Struggle.

Correct Answer – B. Karnataka

Explanation: The Karnataka government has formed a committee to identify 75 promising athletes from Karnataka for the Paris Olympics 2024.  Each of the 75 sportspersons selected will receive Rs 5 lakh from the government for training, supplements, sports kit, etc. Former India hockey player VR Raghunath, swimming coach Nihar Ameen and ace shuttler Anup Sridhar have been drafted into a high-level committee. While Sridhar and Raghunath are Arjuna awardees, Ameen is a Dronacharya award winner.The initiative comes under Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai‘s ‘Amrith Sports Adoption’ programme.

Karnataka:

• Chief Minister – B. S. Yediyurappa.
• Governor – Thaawarchand Gehlot.
• Number of Districts – 30.
• Lok Sabha seats – 28.
• Rajya Sabha seats – 12

Correct Answer – D. Both 1 and 2

Explanation: Two ships of the Indian Navy, namely INS Ranvijay and INS Kora carried out a Maritime Partnership Exercise with BRP Antonio Luna of the Philippine Navy on 23 August 2021 in the West Philippine Sea. The Indian naval ships are currently deployed to the Western Pacific with an aim to strengthen maritime security collaboration with partner nations.  The interaction with BRP Antonio Luna was, therefore, an enriching opportunity for the Indian Navy to consolidate its bilateral relations with the Philippine Navy.

Philippines:

• Capital – Manila.
• Currency – Philippine peso

Correct Answer – C. Dharmendra Pradhan

Explanation: Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education has prepared a booklet on oneyear achievements of the NEP Implementation. The booklet will be launched virtually by the Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan on 24 August 2021. In addition to the booklet, some major NEP 2020 initiatives will also be launched which include: NIPUN Bharat FLN tools.

Correct Answer – B. Medigen

Explanation: Taiwan has rolled out its first domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine Medigen. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen received her first dose, which was made by Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp. The recombinant protein vaccine has been developed in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health in the United States, and the government has ordered 5 million doses for now. Around 40% of Taiwan’s 23.5 million people have received at least one shot of either of the twodose AstraZeneca or Moderna vaccines, though fewer than 5% are fully vaccinated.

Correct Answer – C. 5

Explanation:  The Indian Army has cleared the way for the promotion of 5 women officers to Colonel rank.This is the 1st time that women officers serving with the Corps of Signals, Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers and the Corps of Engineers have been approved to the rank. They are Lt Col Sangeeta Sardana, Lt Col Sonia Anand, Lt Col Navneet Duggal, Lt Col Reenu Khanna, and Lt Col Ritcha Sagar. The move to grant Colonel rank to five women officers came days after the Supreme Court allowed women candidates to sit for the National Defence Academy (NDA) entrance exam scheduled to be held on September 5, in an interim order.