Daily GK and Current Affairs Quiz – 29th September 2021

Correct Answer: B. National Cadet Corps

Explanation:  Lieutenant General Gurbirpal Singh has taken charge as the 34th Director-General of the National Cadet Corps (NCC). He succeeds Lt Gen Tarun Kumar Aich. He was commissioned into the PARACHUTE REGIMENT in 1987.An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, Indian Military Academy, Dehradun as well as NCC, he attended the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington and the National Defence College Course in New Delhi. Lt Gen Singh has been a Company Commander in the counter-insurgency environment in Nagaland and the Siachen Glacier.

Important Points:

• NCC Founded: 16 April 1948;
• NCC Headquarters: New Delhi.

Correct Answer – D. Chennai

Explanation: Dr MG Ramachandran Central (DRM) or Chennai Central railway station will get 100 per cent of energy through Solar Energy.The Chennai Central railway station comes under the South Central Railway (SCR) zone and which is going to become the world’s largest green railway network.The station will now become the first Indian Railways station, which will get 100 per cent day energy through solar panels.

About the Station:

The solar power capacity of the station is 1.5 MW and Solar panels are installed on the shelters of the station.South Central Railways has adopted the concept of ‘energy neutral’ railway stations and become the first Indian Railway zones to do so.India has targeted to become “net-zero carbon emission” before the year 2030.

Correct Answer – D. Moeen Ali

Explanation: England cricket all-rounder Moeen Ali has announced his retirement from the Test match career. The 34-year-old Ali made his debut in Test cricket in 2014 and represented England in 64 Test matches. He took 195 Test wickets including 5 five-wicket hauls and scored five-Test match centuries during his Test career. Moeen, however, will continue to play limited-overs cricket for England.

Correct Answer – C. 28 September

Explanation: The International Day for the Universal Access to Information (commonly known as Access to Information Day) is observed globally on 28th September every year. Universal access to information means that everyone has the right to seek, receive and impart information for healthy and inclusive knowledge societies.The International Day for Universal Access to Information 2021 highlights the importance of expanding access to information laws, and their implementation worldwide to build back strong institutions for sustainable development and to uphold the vision of information as a public good, as well as to strengthen international cooperation in the field of implementing the right to information as a fundamental right. Furthermore, the global discussions on “building back better” remain context-adaptive to the COVID-19 pandemic.

History of the day:

On 17 November 2015, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared 28 September as International Day for Universal Access to Information. Considering that several civil society organizations and government bodies in the world have adopted and currently celebrate this observance, the UN General Assembly also adopted 28 September 2019 as the International Day for Universal Access to Information.

Important Points:

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

Correct Answer- D. 3 silver

Explanation:  The team India archers settled for three silver medals at the 2021 World Archery Championships, held in Yankton, South Dakota, United States. The three silver medals were won in Women’s Compound Individual, Women’s Compound Team and Compound Mixed Team competitions.Besides this, Vennam Jyothi Surekha of Vijayawada became the first Indian woman archer to win three silver medals at a world championship. The 25-year-old achieved this feat after she won the medal in each of the three categories.

Silver Medal Won by India includes:

• Women’s Compound Individual: Jyothi Surekha Vennam
• Women’s Compound Team: Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Muskar Kirar and Priya Gurjar
• Compound Mixed Team: Abhishek Verma and Jyothi Surekha Vennam

Correct Answer – C. Bharati Pravin Pawar

Explanation: Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar has led the Indian delegation at the 4th Indo-US Health Dialogue, held in New Delhi. The US delegation for the dialogue is led by Ms Loyce Pace, Director, Office of Global Affairs at U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The two-day Dialogue is a platform to deliberate upon multiple ongoing collaborations in the health sector between the two countries.

About the Dialogue:

The two-day Dialogue will be leveraged as a platform to deliberate upon multiple ongoing collaborations in the health sector between the two countries.The issues planned for deliberations in this round also encompass areas of concern pertaining to strengthening of epidemiological research and surveillance, vaccine development, One Health, zoonotic and vector-borne diseases, health systems and health policies etc.An MoU was finalised between the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of the Republic of India and the Department of Health and Human Services of the United States of America, in the field of the health sector, covering issues like Health Safety and Security; Communicable Diseases & Non-Communicable Diseases; Health Systems; and Health Policy.

Correct Answer – D. The EGR can’t be converted to physical gold

Explanation:  Stock market regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has approved the setting up a gold exchange that will provide investors security in the form of electronic gold receipts (EGR).Under the framework for gold exchange, EGRs will be available for trading on the existing stock exchanges.Like shares, these EGRs will be held in demat form and can be converted to physical gold when needed.EGR denomination and its conversion to gold will be decided by the stock exchange with the approval of SEBI. SEBI accredited vault managers to accept gold deposits, create EGRs, handle gold withdrawal, and periodically reconcile physical gold with the depository records. The vault manager will have a net worth of at least ₹50 crore.

Correct Answer – C. G C Murmu

Explanation: Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, G C Murmu has been appointed as the external auditor of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). His tenure will be valid for six years from 2022 to 2027.He was selected as the next external auditor of the IAEA at General Conference of the IAEA in Vienna.IAEA is an international organization that promotes the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons.

HQs: Vienna, Austria

Correct Answer – B. Rs 50,000 crores

Explanation:  RBI has set the limit for Ways and Means Advances (WMA) for the second half of financial year 2021-22 (October 2021 to March 2022) at Rs. 50,000 crores.RBI may trigger fresh floatation of market loans when the Government of India utilizes 75% of the WMA limit.

• Interest rate on WMA/overdraft will be:
• For WMA: Repo Rate
• For Overdraft: Two percent above the Repo Rate

WMAs are short-term advances given by central bank to help states tide over temporary mismatches in their cash flow.

Correct Answer – D. Russia

Explanation: Russia is planning to launch manned spacecraft as well as cargo spacecraft to the Internation Space Station (ISS) in the year 2022.The information was obtained from the flight program.The program hints that Russia is planning to launch the Soyuz MS-21 spacecraft with astronauts Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveyev and Sergey Korsakov on March 18, 2022.The Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft is scheduled to launch in September 21 with astronauts Sergey Prokopyev, Anna Kikina and Dmitry Petelin.

Correct Answer – B. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd

Explanation: Tata Consultancy Services Ltd has bagged a five-year IT transformation contract from NORD/LB (Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale). NORD/LB is a leading German commercial bank that is targeting a new business model by 2024 with a more agile operating model. As part of the partnership, TCS will work with the bank to simplify and transform its application estate across multiple businesses – financial markets, wholesale and retail banking, through application consolidation and automation.

TCS will help NORD/LB adopt newer technologies to automate manual processes in the application management environment and enhance operational resilience. TCS will also build new features and functionality to support NORD/LB´s transformation goals. Present in Germany since 1991, TCS currently has partnerships with over 100 leading German corporations. In January 2021, TCS acquired Postbank Systems AG, a full-range captive IT service provider, adding around 1,500 employees with deep banking expertise, to support its growth in Germany.

Correct Answer – B. 2nd

Explanation: The 2nd Sikkim Global Film Festival will be held from December 10-14, 2021. It will take place at the Eco-Heritage Film Village site at Yangang, South Sikkim, and Tsogmo Lake. To encourage the filmmakers to make films in the state, the Sikkim government would provide a subsidy of Rs 20 lakhs in cash and kind to the local filmmakers and a subsidy of Rs 1 crore to the national filmmakers.

The entries are open in five categories — Feature Film Screening, Tribal and Regional Film competition, Short Film Competition, 1 Minute video competition – theme: Global peace, and 5 Minute video competition – battling the pandemic. All films entering the competitive categories must carry English subtitles. Films not certified by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) can also be submitted and the run time of short films should not exceed 30 minutes. The location catalogue titled ”100 film shooting destination in Sikkim” was also showcased to the media.

Correct Answer – C. Haryana

Explanation:  The Haryana government has decided to include Bajra from Kharif season 2021 under the ‘Bhavantar Bharpayee Yojana’.Under the scheme, farmers get compensation for selling their crops at a price lower than that fixed by the government. To avail of the benefits of the ”Bhavantar Bharpayee Yojana”, the state’s farmers have to register themselves on the ”Meri Fasal Mera Byora (MFMB)” portal.

Earlier, ”Bhavantar Bharpayee Yojana” has also been implemented for horticulture crops in Haryana. Twenty-one horticultural crops have been included in this scheme. In this season, the government will procure seven crops at the minimum support price – paddy, maize, moong, urad, toor, sesame and groundnut. In Kharif crops, in addition to bajra, the purchase of moong, maize and paddy will start from October 1, and the purchase of groundnut will start from November.

Haryana:

• Lok Sabha seats – 10.
• Rajya Sabha seats – 5.
• State Animal – Blackbuck.
• State Bird – Black francolin.
• National Parks – Kalesar National Park, Sultanpur National Park.
• Dams – Kaushalya Dam (Kaushalya River), Ottu barrage (Ghaggar River), Anagpur Dam (Hakra River).

Correct Answer – D. 5

Explanation: The European Council on 28 September 2021 adopted a 5 billion euro ($5.8 billion) reserve aimed at helping businesses tackle the short-term effects of Brexit. The reserve would cover extra costs and compensate the losses from the UK’s withdrawal from the 27-nation trade bloc. The European Council represents the national government of every European Union member nation.