DAILY GK 18-19 AUG 2024
1. PETROGLYPHS & GEOGLYPHS: DECLARES
AS ‘PROTECTED MONUMENTS’
·
The Maharashtra Government
has declared Petroglyphs and Geoglyphs (rock
arts) in Ratnagiri as ‘Protected Monuments’ under
the Maharashtra Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act,
1960.
·
Geoglyphs
and Petroglyphs are the different types of ancient art forms which includes the creation of images or designs on the
earth’s surface or rock surfaces.
·
Ratnagiri has almost 1,500
such artworks spread across 70 sites, seven
of which are on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO)‘s tentative World Heritage
List(WHL).
·
Petroglyphs are found in Deud, Ratnagiri (Maharashtra) which dates back to
the Mesolithic age (approximately 20,000–10,000 years ago).
·
The
petroglyphs feature footprints, a
donkey, a rhino, a deer, and a monkey.
·
Geoglyphs: located along the 900 kilometre(km)
Konkan coast in Maharashtra and Goa.
·
They
are unique clusters of pictorial
representations that include marine and riverine species (along with
animals), reptiles, amphibians, and birds that disappeared from the region
centuries ago.
2. INDIA LOST 33.9 MILLION HECTARES OF
CROPS DUE TO EXCESS RAINS
·
According to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) report “Income Protection
and Early Warning Systems: How India is Building Climate Resilience”,
India lost 33.9 million hectares (ha) of crops due
to excess rains and an additional 35 million ha due
to drought during 2015 to 2021.
·
Several
Indian sectors including, agriculture
suffered economic losses of nearly USD 160 billion in
2021 due to lost working hours from extreme climate impacts.
·
World Economic Forum (WEF) Founder- Prof. Klaus Schwab
·
Headquarters- Cologyny, Switzerland
3. PRESIDENT DROUPADI MURMU’S
VISIT TO FIJI, NEW ZEALAND & TIMOR LESTE
·
Droupadi Murmu, The President of
India, was on a 3-nation visit to Fiji, New
Zealand and Timor Leste
·
She started the 1st leg of her visit
with Fiji at the invitation of Ratu Wiliame Maivalli Katonivere,
President of Fiji. This marks the 1st-ever
visit by a Head of State (HoS) from India to Fiji.
·
Then she visited New
Zealand
·
She concluded by visiting the Democratic
Republic of Timor-Leste at the invitation of Jose Ramos-Horta, President
of Timor-Leste.
·
President
Droupadi Murmu was honoured with the Companion of the Order
of Fiji, highest civilian
honour of Fiji.
·
Fiji Capital- Suva
·
New Zealand - Capital- Welington
4. AI-POWERED NATIONAL PEST SURVEILLANCE
SYSTEM
·
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan,
Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoA&FW)
launched the Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based National
Pest Surveillance System (NPSS), a digital
initiative to connect farmers with agriculture scientists and experts for pest
management, at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New
Delhi, Delhi.
·
This platform is expected to benefit about 14 crore (140 million)
farmers in India by enabling direct communication with experts.
·
The NPSS is a digital initiative by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (DA&FW), MoA&FW.
5. ‘FORBES CLOUD 100 LIST’ 2024
·
Razorpay Software Private Limited (RSPL),
a Bengaluru (Karnataka)-based Payments software company ranked 70th(last
year Razorpay ranked 49th) on the Forbes Cloud 100 2024 List,
the 9th annual ranking of the world’s
top private cloud computing companies.
·
Razorpay is the only Indian
company featured on the list, with nearly 3,300 employees, and
has raised close to USD 742 million in funding.
·
San Francisco, California, the United States
of America (USA)-based OpenAI and Databricks,
Inc. ranked 1st and 2nd respectively
6. 1ST AIRPORT IN INDIA TO ACHIEVE NET
ZERO CARBON EMISSION
·
Delhi’s
Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA)
became the 1st airport in India to achieve the
status of “Net Zero Carbon Emission” (NZCE) (Level
5 certification) under the Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA)
program of the Airport Council International (ACI).
·
Kempegowda
International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru,
Karnataka, became the 1st airport in Asia to
receive the Airports Council International’s (ACI)
highest Level 5 accreditation.
·
The
ACI established in 1991 is the association of the world’s
airports, representing the collective interests of airports worldwide to
promote excellence in the aviation industry.
·
Headquarters– Montréal, Québec,
Canada
7. BRAILLE DEBIT CARD’ FOR VISUALLY
IMPAIRED CUSTOMERS
·
Punjab National Bank (PNB) has
launched ‘PNB ANTAH DRISHTI Braille Debit
Card’, a new initiative designed for Visually Impaired (VI)
customers. The contactless National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) debit
card is accessible on the RuPay network.
·
Rounded Notch: This debit card features a rounded notch on the
opposite side of the chip, which facilitates the card holder to know about the
direction of the card while dipping the same in Automated Teller Machine (ATM)
/ Point Of Sale (POS).
·
Glossy Spot UV lamination effect: The Bank’s logo has
a raised texture and a glossy spot Ultra Violet (UV) lamination effect, whereas
the contactless symbol has a rough spot UV silk screen. It helps visually
impaired customers to locate the bank’s logo easily and read the card’s
contactless symbol.
·
Transaction Limit: The individuals can make up to Rs. 5000 in contactless transactions per day at Near
Field Communication (NFC)- enabled PoS terminals without entering their
Personal Identification Number (PIN).
·
The card’s
cash withdrawal limit at ATMs is Rs. 25,000 per
day, whereas at PoS it is Rs. 60,000 per day.
·
PNB
was founded on May 19 1894 and it opened for business on 12 April 1895.
·
Headquarters – New Delhi, Delhi
·
Tagline – The Name You Can Bank Upon
8. BOOK ‘MODI’S GOVERNANCE TRIUMPH:
RESHAPING INDIA’S PATH TO PROSPERITY’
·
Union
Minister Amit Shah, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)
released the book titled ‘Modi’s Governance Triumph: Reshaping
India’s Path to Prosperity’, written by Tarun Chugh,
General Secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in New Delhi, Delhi.
9. NITI AAYOG LAUNCHED CLIMATE
SMART AGRITECH RISE ACCELERATOR PROGRAM
·
National
Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog)’s
backed- Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) in
collaboration with the Commonwealth
Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), an
arm of Government of Australia has
launched the Climate Smart Agritech cohort of
the India-Australia Rapid Innovation and Startup Expansion (RISE) Accelerator
program and has invited applications from startups and Micro, Small, and Medium
Enterprises (MSMEs) for the program.
·
The
aim is to harness cutting-edge technologies and digital solutions
to address climate challenges in agriculture and promote cross-border
innovation.
·
The
duration of the program will of 9 months, during that
period, the selected startups and MSMEs will benefit from series of self-paced
online learning and in-person sessions, including immersion weeks in both India
and Australia.
·
RISE Accelerator Program: is a bilateral program to address
the shared challenges with a focus on environment and climate change by
supporting the expansion of innovative agritech solutions across borders.
10. DIRECTOR GENERAL OF ESIC
·
Ashok Kumar Singh, 1999 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer
of Kerala cadre, took over as the Director General (DG) of
Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) under
the Ministry of Labour &Employment(MoL&E)
11.
INDIA’S PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO UN
·
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)
has appointed Parvathaneni Harish as the Permanent
Representative of India to the United Nations(UN) at New York,
United States of America (USA).
·
He is succeeding Ruchira Kamboj who
retired from the post in June 2024. She was the first woman to
become the Indian Ambassador to the UN.
·
He is currently serving as India’s
ambassador to Germany(since November 2021).
12. 6 NEW PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES FOR
2024-25
·
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla constituted 6
new Parliamentary Committees for 2024-25, including the Public
Accounts Committee (PAC), Committee on Estimates(CoE) , Committee on
Public Undertakings(CoPU) and committees focused on the welfare of Other
Backward Classes (OBCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs), and Scheduled Tribes (STs).
·
All the committees formed in the 18th Lok
Sabha have a tenure of 1 year and
have members from both the Lok Sabha and
the Rajya Sabha.
·
Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is crucial for monitoring government expenditures and reviewing Comptroller and
Auditor General (CAG) reports.
·
It was established in 1964 based on the
recommendations of the Krishna Menon
Committee.
·
It
will be chaired by K.C. Venugopal, a senior Indian
National Congress (INC) leader and a Member of Parliament (MP), Rajasthan.
·
It
consists of 22 members, 15 elected by Lok Sabha, the lower house of the
Parliament, and not more than 7 members of Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the
Parliament.
·
Committee on Estimates (CoE):will be chaired by Dr
Sanjay Jaiswal, an MP of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),
PaschimChamparan , Bihar.
·
The
committee constituted for the first time in 1950, consisting of 30 members from Lok Sabha (Lower
House).
·
Committee on Public Undertakings(CoPU):will be chaired by Baijyant Panda,
a BJP Lok Sabha MP from Kendrapara, Odisha.
·
The
CoPU was first formed in 1964, following a motion
proposed by Minister of Commerce and Industry Nityanand Kanungo in September
1963.
·
It
consists of 22 members, 15 elected
by Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament, and 7 members by the Rajya
Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament.
·
Welfare Committees:will be chaired by Ganesh Singh,
a BJP MP from Satna, Madhya Pradesh(MP).
·
The function
of the committee is to consider reports from the National Commission for
Backward Classes (NCBC) and reviewing welfare measures for OBCs.
·
It was first constituted in 2012 and the
committee is made up of 30 members, 20 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha
·
The Committee on the Welfare of
Scheduled Castes (SCs)
and Scheduled Tribes (STs) will be
chaired by Dr Faggan Singh Kulaste, BJP
Lok Sabha MP from Mandla,MP.
·
It was first formed in 1968 and consists
of 20 Members elected by the Lok Sabha; 10 Members of Rajya Sabha are also
associated with it
13. PAETONGTARN SHINAWATRA BECOMES
THAILAND’S PM
·
Paetongtarn Shinawatra (37years
old), was elected as youngest-ever and second female Prime Minister (PM)
of Thailand by the Parliament.
·
She succeeds Phumtham Wechayachai, who
served as Acting PM of Thailand for two days from 14th August 2024 following
the removal of PM Srettha Thavisin.
·
Thailand: Capital– Bangkok
·
Currency– Thai Baht
14. MALAYSIAN
PM ANWAR BIN IBRAHIM’S VISIT TO INDIA
·
The Prime Minister (PM) of
Malaysia H.E. Dato’ Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim was on a
3-day state visit to India at the invitation of the Prime Minister (PM) of
India, Narendra Modi
·
This marks the 1st-ever visit of Malaysian PM Anwar bin Ibrahim to India as well
as to the South Asia region ever since he became the PM of Malaysia in 2022.
·
TheGoI
and Government of Malaysia (GoM) have signed several Memorandum of
Understandings (MoUs) and Agreements in various fields of cooperation such
as: Recruitment, Employment and
Repatriation of Workers; Ayurveda and other Traditional Systems of Medicine;
Digital technologies; Culture, Arts, and Heritage, among others.
·
Malaysia Capital– Kuala Lumpur
·
Currency- Malaysian Ringgit
15. WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY DAY – AUGUST 19
2024
·
World Photography Day also known
as World Photo Day is annually observed across the
globe on August 19 to celebrate the art, craft, and
science of photography.
·
The 2024 theme of
World Photography Day is ‘An Entire Day’.
16. WORLD SANSKRIT DAY 2024 – AUGUST
19
·
World Sanskrit Day also known
as International Sanskrit Day, Sanskrit Diwas, and
Vishwa Samskrita Dinam is annually observed on the day of Shravana Poornima (full
moon) in the Hindu calendar which coincides with the celebration of
Raksha Bandhan (Bond of Protection).
