Daily GK and Current Affairs Quiz – 25th August 2021

Correct Answer: B. La. Ganesan

Explanation: Senior BJP leader from Tamil Nadu, La. Ganesan, has been appointed as the new Governor of Manipur with effect from August 23, 2021. The post was lying vacant after the retirement of Najma Heptulla on August 10, 2021. Since then Sikkim Governor Ganga Prasad was holding the additional charge of the position.

Important Points:

Chief Minister of Manipur: N. Biren Singh

Correct Answer – D. NITI Aayog

Explanation: Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman has launched the asset monetisation pipeline of Central ministries and public sector entities: ‘National Monetisation Pipeline’.  Asset Monetisation, means a limited period license/ lease of an asset, owned by the government or public authority, to a private sector entity for upfront or periodic consideration.

What is National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP)?

The National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) lists out assets and asset classes, under various infrastructure ministries, which will be monetised over a period of time. Which means assets will be monetised.The pipeline has been developed by NITI Aayog, in consultation with infrastructure line ministries, based on the mandate for ‘Asset Monetisation’ under Union Budget 2021-22.NMP estimates aggregate monetisation potential of Rs 6.0 lakh crores through core assets of the Central Government, over a four-year period, from FY 2022 to FY 2025.The top 5 sectors capture about 83% of the aggregate pipeline value. These top 5 sectors include- Roads (27%) followed by Railways (25%), Power (15%), oil & gas pipelines (8%) and Telecom (6%).

Correct Answer – E. Vishram Bedekar

Explanation: A book titled ‘Battlefield’ has been authored by Vishram Bedekar, translated from the Marathi original Ranaangan by Jerry Pinto. The book is the story of a shipboard romance between an Indian man and a German-Jewish woman, both fleeing Europe before the Second World War.

Correct Answer – D. Qatar

Explanation: The second edition of the joint naval exercise, Zair-Al-Bahr, between the Indian Navy and Qatar Emiri Naval Force (QENF) was conducted between August 9 and 14 in the Persian Gulf. This edition of the exercise included a three-day harbour phase followed by a two-day sea phase. The sea phase is comprised of tactical maritime exercises involving surface action, anti-piracy exercises, air defence, maritime surveillance, boarding operations and SAR exercises.

In the sea phase of the exercise, the Indian Navy’s Stealth Frigate INS Trikand, QENF’s missile boats of Barzan and Damsah class, fast-attack crafts of MRTP 34 class and Rafale fighter aircraft participated.

Important Points:

• Qatar Capital: Doha; Currency: Qatari riyal.
• Prime Minister of Qatar: Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdelaziz Al Thani.

Correct Answer – B. Building Resilience Faster

Explanation: The World Water Week is an annual event organized by Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) since 1991 to address the global water issues and related concerns of international development. The World Water Week 2021 has been organised from 23-27 August, in entirely digital format. The theme for World Water Week 2021 is ‘Building Resilience Faster’.

Important Points:

• SIWI Executive Director: Torgny Holmgren.
• SIWI Headquarters: Stockholm, Sweden.

Correct Answer – A. Rs 6.0 lakh crores

Explanation: Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman has launched the asset monetisation pipeline of Central ministries and public sector entities: ‘National Monetisation Pipeline’.  Asset Monetisation, means a limited period license/ lease of an asset, owned by the government or public authority, to a private sector entity for upfront or periodic consideration.

What is National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP)?

The National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) lists out assets and asset classes, under various infrastructure ministries, which will be monetised over a period of time. Which means assets will be monetised.The pipeline has been developed by NITI Aayog, in consultation with infrastructure line ministries, based on the mandate for ‘Asset Monetisation’ under Union Budget 2021-22.NMP estimates aggregate monetisation potential of Rs 6.0 lakh crores through core assets of the Central Government, over a four-year period, from FY 2022 to FY 2025.The top 5 sectors capture about 83% of the aggregate pipeline value. These top 5 sectors include- Roads (27%) followed by Railways (25%), Power (15%), oil & gas pipelines (8%) and Telecom (6%).

Correct Answer – C. Operation Devi Shakti

Explanation: Operation Devi Shakti name has been given by India to its operation of evacuating its citizens from war-torn Afghanistan.External affairs minister S Jaishankar called the evacuation process as ‘Operation Devi Shakti’ while saluting the efforts of Indian Air Force and Air India.This announcement was made after 78 people, including 25 Indian nationals, were brought to India from Dushanbe (Tajikistan) in a special Air India flight. They were brought out of Taliban-controlled Kabul to Dushanbe in aircraft of Indian Air Force (IAF).Apart from them, three copies (swaroop) of the Guru Granth Sahib were also brought back.On August 23, India evacuated 75 Sikhs from Afghanistan.

Correct Answer – C. Abhay Kumar Singh

Explanation: Abhay Kumar Singh (2004-batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre) has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Cooperation by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by PM Modi.He has been appointed for a combined tenure of 7 years against the newly created post.Ministry of Cooperation: It was formed in July 2021 to provide a separate administrative, legal and policy framework for strengthening the cooperative movement.

Correct Answer – C. Aisha Bibi

Explanation:  Fifth edition of Indo- Kazakhstan Joint Training Exercise, KAZIND-21 will be conducted at Aisha Bibi in Kazakhstan, from August 30 to September 11 as a part of military diplomacy and to strengthen the growing strategic relation with Kazakhstan.It is a joint training between both the Armies, which will boost the bilateral relations between India and Kazakhstan.It will provide an opportunity to the Armed Forces of India Kazakhstan to train for Counter Insurgency Counter-Terrorism operations in the mountainous, rural scenarios under UN mandate.

Correct Answer – D. 48

Explanation:  Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released its fourth edition of biennial Safe Cities Index 2021.New Delhi and Mumbai have found a place in the index. New Delhi is placed at 48th position with a score of 56.1, while Mumbai is at 50th place with a score of 54.4.Copenhagen has been named the world’s safest city in the index.The EIU’s Safe Cities Index is a global, policy benchmarking tool developed to measure global urban safety. The Index was first released in 2015.In 2021, cities are ranked based on 76 indicators of security across five broad pillars, which are digital, health, infrastructure, personal and environmental.Environmental security is the new addition in the security parameters list for the year 2021.

Correct Answer – A. Infosys

Explanation: Infosys Ltd has become the fourth Indian company to touch a market valuation of USD 100 billion. It has joined the league of TCS, Reliance Industries, and HDFC Bank for crossing the USD 100 billion mark in terms of market capitalization (m-cap).According to the latest m-cap data, Reliance Industries is the most-valued firm, followed by Tata Consultancy Services and HDFC Bank.

Correct Answer – B. September 2021

Explanation: Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts would be included in the Nifty indices from September 30, 2021. REIT comprises a portfolio of commercial real assets, a major portion of which is already leased out. InvITs comprise a portfolio of infrastructure assets such as highways, power transmission assets.Under the current rules, only shares traded on NSE are eligible for inclusion in the Nifty indices. REITs and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) are relatively new investment instruments in the Indian context but extremely popular in global markets. As at March-end, total 15 InvITs and four REITs were registered. Of these, six InvITs and three REITs were listed on the stock exchanges. Apart from Nifty Next 50, changes have also been made in several indicies including Nifty 500, Nifty 100, Nifty Midcap 150 and Nifty Smallcap 250.

Correct Answer – B. Anupriya Patel

Explanation: Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel inaugurated the “India-ASEAN Engineering Partnership Summit” on 24 August 2021.It was organized by the Engineering Exports Promotion Council (EEPC) with support from the Ministry of External Affairs and the Department of Commerce. It offers an important platform for engagement of Indian industry on India-ASEAN partnership. The focus of this summit is on collaborations in engineering sector. This forum will also be instrumental in achieving the landmark export target set by the government both in terms of engineering as well as merchandise exports.

Correct Answer – A. Pakistan

Explanation: Pakistan on 24 August 2021 successfully test-launched an indigenously developed guided multilaunch rocket system, Fatah-1. It is capable of precisely delivering conventional warheads deep into ”enemy territory”. This was the second flight of Fatah-1, after its first launch in January 2021. The fatah-1 weapon system can hit targets up to a range of 140 km.

Pakistan:

• Capital – Islamabad.
• Currency – Pakistani rupee.
• National Sport – Field hockey