DAILY GK 1-2 DEC 2024
1. SECRETARY GENERAL OF WAF
·
Dr Jacqueline d’Arros Hughes,
the outgoing Director General (DG) of the International Crops
Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT),
headquartered in Hyderabad Telangana, took over as the Secretary General(SG) of
the World Agriculture Forum (WAF).
·
The World Agricultural Forum (WAF) is
a global,
policy-neutral platform dedicated to addressing agricultural challenges. It
connects governments, farmers, businesses, and experts to promote sustainable
agriculture, support smallholder farmers, and strengthen value chains.
·
Headquarters– Rome, Italy
2. 43RD PRESIDENT OF URUGUAY
·
Yamandu Ramon Antonio Orsi Martine,
a leftist opposition candidate, was elected as the 43rd President of Uruguay after he won the
presidential election, bringing a shift in leadership to the South
American (SA) nation.
·
He
secured 50.2% of the vote, defeating his opponent Alvaro
Delgado, who received 45.6%.
·
Carolina Cosse is elected as the vice president of Uruguay. She is set
to become the third consecutive woman vice president for the country.
·
Uruguay
is South America’s 2nd smallest country bordered by Brazil and Argentina and
lies along the Atlantic Ocean.
· Capital- Montevideo
3. 1ST INDIAN TO CONQUER
MOUNT SHISHAPANGMA IN CHINA
·
Arjun Vajpai, the youngest person to climb Mount (Mt.) Everest,
achieved a historic milestone by summiting Mount Shishapangma in
China, his eighth peak above 8,000 meters(m).
·
This remarkable feat makes him the 1st
Indian to summit Mt. Shishapangma, the fastest to ascend it (a
Base Camp to summit and back in under 72 hours), and the first Indian to climb
eight 8,000m peaks.
·
Arjun Vajpai
began his pursuit of all 14 of the world’s 8,000m
peaks at age 16 and now he is on track to become the first Indian to
complete this extraordinary achievement.
·
Now he summited 8 of the 14 tallest
mountains on Earth.
·
He
was only 30 years old when he set the Guinness World Record for
being the youngest person to climb Mt. Everest (2010) and Mt. Lhotse (2011) and
also holds the record for the fastest ascent of an 8,000m peak in China.
4. CM OF JHARKHAND
·
HemantSoren was sworn in as the 14th
Chief Minister(CM) of Jharkhand at Morabadi Ground in Ranchi,
Jharkhand.
·
This marks HemantSoren’s 4th term as CM of
Jharkhand.
·
Governor of Jharkhand, Santosh
Kumar Gangwar administered the oath of office and secrecy.
·
Soren’s Jharkhand MuktiMorcha (JMM), in
alliance with the Congress, RashtriyaJanata Dal (RJD) and Communist Party of
India-Marxist-Leninist Liberation (CPI-ML-L), secured 56 of 81 Assembly seats
in the Jharkhand Assembly election held in November 2024.
5. ADB PRESIDENT
·
Asian Development Bank (ADB) Board
of Governors elected Masato Kanda as 11th
President of ADB.
·
He will succeed incumbent Masatsugu Asakawa, who
will leave office on February 23 2025.
·
ADB
is owned by 69 members with 49 from within Asia and Pacific and 20 from
outside. Japan and the United States of America(USA) are the largest
shareholders of the ADB, with an equity share of 15.6 % each.
·
Headquarters– Manila, the Philippines
·
Established– 1966
6. NEW
CHIEF OF BRAHMOS AEROSPACE
·
Eminent scientist Dr. Jaiteerth Raghavendra
Joshi has been appointed as the new chief of BrahMos Aerospace
w.e.f. 1st December 2024.
·
BrahMos Aerospace is a Joint Venture (JV)
between India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya, based in New Delhi.
·
BrahMoS
Aerospace manufactures BrahMos missile which is capable of Mach 2.8 speeds
and a range of 800 km.
7. NSDL MD & CEO
·
The National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) announced
that Vijay Chandok assumed charge as its
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) for
a period of 5 years or until he attains the age of 65, whichever is earlier.
·
In
September 2024, NSDL became India’s first securities depository to achieve Rs
500 lakh crore (USD 6 trillion) in assets under custody.
·
NSDL Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
·
Established– 1996
8. CHIEF JUSTICE OF MANIPUR HIGH COURT
·
The
Ministry of Law and Justice (MoL&J) notified the
appointment of Justice D Krishna kumar of Madras
High Court as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Manipur.
·
Under the Constitution of India, President
DraupadiMurmu has appointed Justice D. Krishnakumar following the retirement of
Justice SiddharthMridul on 21st November 2024.
9. 1ST FEMALE PRESIDENT OF NAMIBIA
·
Namibian Vice President NdemupelilaNetumbo
Nandi-Ndaitwah(NNN), a presidential election candidate of ruling SWAPO (South West Africa People’s Organisation)
political party, has been elected as the 1st female
President of Namibia for a period of 5 years.
·
With this, she will become the 5th President
of Namibia and 4th African female leader to hold the
post of President in their respective country after Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
(Liberia), Joyce Banda (Malawi) and incumbent Tanzanian President SamiaSuluhu
Hassan.
·
She has been serving as a member of
Namibia’s National Assembly since 1990.
·
Namibia Capital- Windhoek
10. WTO DIRECTOR-GENERAL
·
The World Trade Organization (WTO) General
Council unanimously reappointed Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as
the Director General(DG) for a consecutive 4 year term.
·
Her second term is set to begin on September
1, 2025
·
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the first
woman and first African to lead the WTO, first assumed office as
7th DG of WTO on March 1, 2021 and her first term concludes on August 31 2025.
·
WTO
is an intergovernmental organization that regulates international trade.
·
Director General(DG)- Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
·
Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland
·
Member Countries -166
·
Established– 1995
11. AUSTRALIAN SWIMMER EMMA MCKEON
RETIRES
·
Emma Jennifer McKeon, (30),
Australian swimmer and Olympic medalist, announced her retirement from
competitive swimming.
·
She won a gold medal in the 4 x 100
metre (m) freestyle relay in the 2024 Paris Games.
·
Emma McKeon holds the Australian record
of 14 Olympic medals across Rio 2016, the Tokyo 2020
and Paris 2024 Games, with six Olympic gold medals, three silver medals and
five bronze medals.
·
She is second only to American female
Olympian Katie Ledecky(14 Olympic medals – 9 Gold) in terms of Olympic swimming
gold medals won.
·
She
won 7-medals( 4 Gold medals and 3 Bronze medals) at
Tokyo 2020.
·
With this, she became the 1st
Female Swimmer and the 2nd woman in
history to win 7 medals in a single Olympics.
·
She
also won 3 medals (1 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze) in the 2024 Paris Games.
·
She
also won a record 20 Commonwealth Games medals, including
14 gold, and 20 medals at the World Aquatics Championships.
12. ICA GLOBAL COOPERATIVE CONFERENCE
2024
·
Prime Minister(PM)
NarendraModi inaugurated the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA)
Global Cooperative Conference 2024 at Bharat Mandapam in New
Delhi
·
The
theme of the conference “Cooperatives Build
Prosperity for All” is in line with Indian Government’s vision of
“Sahkar Se Samriddhi” (Prosperity through Cooperation).
·
PM Modi also launched the United Nations(UN)’ International
Year of Cooperatives 2025 and released a commemorative postal
stamp.
·
The
International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) is a non-governmental cooperative
organization founded in 1895.
·
Headquarters– Brussels, Belgium
13. TEACHERAPP TO EMPOWER EDUCATORS
·
Union Minister DharmendraPradhan, Ministry
of Education (MoE), launched “The TeacherApp”,
an innovative digital platform aimed at transforming education in India by
equipping teachers with advanced skills for 21st-century classrooms.
·
The app is developed by the BhartiAirtel
Foundation, the philanthropic arm of New Delhi, Delhi, basedBharti Enterprises.
·
The Theme of
the event is “Elevating Teachers, Elevating India.”
·
The TeacherApp
offers over 260 hours of content, including videos, podcasts, webinars, and
interactive learning tools. It also provides access to live expert sessions
that share practical strategies for effective classroom teaching.
·
A
unique feature of the TeacherApp is its teaching kits,
which provide 900 hours of materials, including lesson plans, teaching videos,
project-based activities, worksheets, and question banks.
14. PM MODI’S VISIT TO NIGERIA, BRAZIL
& GUYANA
·
Narendra Modi, Prime Minister (PM)
of India, was on a official visit to Nigeria, Brazil,
and Guyana from 16th to
21st November 2024 with an aim to strengthen the diplomatic
and economic ties with key global partners.
·
PM Modi visited Nigeria from 16th to
17th November 2024 at the invitation of Nigerian President,
Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
·
This was the first visit
by a PM of India to Nigeria in 17 years since the
establishment of their relations in 2007.
·
PM
visited Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 18th November
2024 to participate in the G20(Group of
20) Summit, hosted by Brazilian President Luis Inácio
Lula da Silva.
·
At the event, PM Modi presented India’s
perspective on pressing global issues built on the outcomes from the G20
New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration and Voice of the
Global South Summits, which were hosted by India in the past two
years.
·
PM
Modi ended his tour with his visit to Guyana from 19th to
21st November 2024 at the invitation of President of Guyana,
Mohamed Irfaan Ali.
·
This was the first visit
by an Indian PM to Guyana in 56 years.
15. E–DAAKHIL PORTAL TO STREAMLINE
CONSUMER GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL PROCESS
·
The Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA), Ministry
of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution(MoCAF&PD) announced
that the “e-Daakhil portal “has been launched
successfully across all States and Union Territories (UTs) of India.
·
It
was 1st introduced on 7th September, 2020 by
the National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC), as
an innovative platform designed to streamline the consumer grievance redressal
process.
·
NCDRC is a quasi-judicial
commission which was set up in 1988 under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.
