Daily Current Affairs Quiz 2nd December 2024

” Notes:India and asian development bank (ADB) signed a $98 million loan to boost access to disease-free planting materials for horticulture farmers under the atmanirbhar clean plant programme. The atmanirbhar clean plant programme (CPP) is related to horticulture and aims to provide farmers with access to high-quality, virus-free planting material. It includes nine advanced clean plant centers with diagnostic and tissue culture labs and a robust certification system for accountability and traceability. It ensures affordable access, engages women farmers, and develops region-specific plant varieties. It is implemented by the ministry of agriculture through national horticulture board (NHB) and the Indian council of agricultural research, it aims to strengthen India’s global fruit market position.”

Notifiable diseases are legally required to be reported to authorities for better surveillance and outbreak prevention states are responsible for implementing and notifying such diseases other notifiable diseases include aids hepatitis and dengue

” Notes:french president praised over 1,000 craftspeople who rebuilt notre-dame cathedral after a devastating fire in 2019. Notre-dame is a famous gothic cathedral in located in paris, france. It is known for its size, age, and architectural features. Its construction began in 1163 and continued throughout the gothic period, completed by 1250. It was the site of significant events, including napoleon’s coronation and royal weddings. A fire on april 15, 2019, severely damaged the roof and spire. The cathedral is a unesco world heritage site, showcasing naturalistic sculptures and stained-glass windows.”

” Notes:scientists at the high energy stereoscopic system (HESS) observatory in namibia detected cosmic rays with record energy levels of 40 teraelectronvolts. Hess is an array of cherenkov telescopes in namibia’s khomas highlands, operational since 2003. It observes gamma rays, the most energetic light, produced by violent cosmic events. Located in the southern hemisphere, it focuses on sources in the milky way and distant galaxies. Hess indirectly detects gamma rays via air molecule interactions as they cannot penetrate earth’s atmosphere. Its research includes dark matter and fundamental physics, involving 260 scientists from 40 institutions across 13 countries.”

” Notes:karnataka health minister dinesh gundu rao has directed officials to study handigodu disease scientifically. Handigodu disease is a rare osteoarthritic disorder (bone and joint disease) found in shimoga and chikmaglur districts. It is an inherited degenerative bone and joint disease, first noticed in handigodu village. Symptoms include severe joint and hip pain, deformation, dwarfism, and difficulty walking. The disease begins in preadolescence and can severely affect mobility. Over 1,000 people have died from the disease since its discovery in 1975. It is similar to mseleni joint disease in South Africa.”

” Mohammad tayyab ikram was elected as new 13th president of international hockey federation’s (FIH) at the 49th fih statutory congress held in muscat, oman. The current tenure will be continued until 2032. Ikram assumed the fih presidency on an interim basis in 2022 for a two-year term of 2022-2024, following narinder batra’s mid-term resignation. He was the co-chairman of fih development and education committee and the chairman of fih international and olympic relations. He has served as chief executive/secretary general international olympic committee (IOC) and has been the key member of the coordination and evaluation commission (CEC) for the asian games 2010 to 2022 and also asian winter games changchun 2009. He has been the vice chair of olympic council of asia (OCA) athletes commission and also the member of oca disciplinary commission. He was awarded a prestigious title of dato’ from malaysia (2010), fih president’s award (2002), performance medal by governo de macau (1998), macau medalha de merito sportivo nacional – macau national medal of merit in sports (1999).”

” Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi visited Jamui, Bihar on 15th November 2024 on the occasion of ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Divas’ and paid tribute to tribal leader Dharti Aaba Bhagwan Birsa Munda. Janjatiya Gaurav Divas 2024 marks the commencement of 150th Birth Anniversary Year celebration of Bhagwan Birsa Munda. During the occasion, PM Modi launched a Rs.150 commemorative coin and postal stamp of Denomination Rs.5 to honour Birsa Munda’s legacy. Birsa Munda is known for his leadership in the tribal freedom movement and his endless fight for the rights and dignity of tribal communities in India. PM Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth over Rs 6,640 crore in Jamui, Bihar with an aim to boost tribal communities and improve infrastructure in rural and remote areas of the region. 11,000 houses built under Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN) were also inaugurated by the PM. Union Minister Amit Shah, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Cooperation, unveiled a grand statue of Bhagwan Birsa Munda at Baansera Park in New Delhi, Delhi on the occasion of his 150th birth anniversary year. Amit Shah also declared that the 150th birth anniversary year of Birsa Munda will be observed as Adivasi Gaurav Varsh until 15th November, 2025. Birsa Munda was born in 1875 in the present-day Jharkhand, Munda and belonged to the Munda tribe in the Chota Nagpur Plateau area. Click here to read more.”

” On november 8 2024, the reserve bank of India (RBI) expanded its foreign exchange (FOREX) reporting requirements to include spot deals to ensure completeness of transaction data in the trade repository (TR) of the clearing corporation of India limited (CCI) of the Indian forex market. With effect from february 10 2025, the authorized dealers must report all inter-bank foreign exchange spots including cash and tom (tomorrow-next day) transactions, undertaken by them to the tr of ccil. Previously, authorized dealers reported all over-the-counter (OTC) forex derivative contracts and foreign currency interest rate derivative contracts either directly or through their overseas entities to the tr of ccil. A spot deal in forex is a transaction where two currencies are exchanged at the current market rate, with settlement typically occurring within two business days. A foreign exchange deal is considered a spot deal when it is settled within two business days of the transaction being agreed upon. RBI aims to ensure transparency and data completeness from the forex market, which helps to manage risks, maintain market stability, and ensure compliance with existing forex regulations. The reserve bank of India (RBI) has imposed a monetary penalty of rs 59.20 lakh on south Indian bank (SIB) for non-compliance with certain directions on ‘interest rate on deposits’ and ‘customer service’ in banks.”

” The Government of India (GOI) has reconstituted the inter-state council (ISC), an important body for enhancing centre-state and interstate coordination, with prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi as its chairman. The council aims to strengthen cooperative federalism by fostering dialogue and cooperation between the goi and the states. Previously, isc was reconstituted in 2022. The isc is a key constitutional body (non-permanent) established under article 263 of the constitution of India. Prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi and 9 union ministers and chief ministers (CMS) of all states, union territories (UTS) with legislative assemblies, administrators of union territories (UTS) without legislative assemblies, union ministers from national democratic alliance (NDA) allies, such as janata dal (UNITED), janata dal (SECULAR), telugu desam party (TDP), and lok janshakti party (LJP), are also included as members. The goi also restructured the standing committee of the isc and appointed union minister amit shah as its chairman. The committee includes 12 other members: 5 union ministers and chief ministers (CMS) from 7 states. Click here to read more.”

” On 14th november 2024, fortune, an american global business magazine, released the inaugural list of the “fortune 100 most powerful people (MPP) in business in 2024”. Elon musk, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of tesla and space exploration technologies corporation (SPACEX), has secured the top position in the list. He is followed by jensen huang, ceo of nvidia corporation and satya nadella, ceo of microsoft corporation ranked at 2nd and 3rd positions, respectively, showcasing their transformative influence in technology and artificial intelligence (AI). Mukesh ambani, chairman and managing director (CMD) of reliance industries limited (RIL) who ranked 12th spot is the only Indian to be featured on the list. This shows his strong presence in telecommunications and energy sectors. The list has featured the world’s most influential leaders, ranging in age from their 30s to 90s, have shaped the global business landscape, representing 40 industries across the world. The list also featured some of the prominent business leaders like: warren buffet (4TH), chairman and ceo of berkshire hathaway inc., jamie dimon (5TH), chairman and ceo of jp morgan chase; and tim cook (6TH), ceo of apple inc. 2024 mpp in business list includes 6  Indian-origin individuals, of which 4 are ceos of leading tech giants, while one leads a makeup brand. Satya nadella has topped among the Indian-origin individuals featured on the list, followed by sundar pichai, ceo of alphabet inc. Is ranked at 10th position. Click here to read more.”

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” The reserve bank of India (RBI) has granted an extension to the banks and automated teller machine (ATM) operators to implement the cassette swap mechanism for money replenishment in atms till march 31, 2025. The banking regulator has granted an exemption for cash recycler machines (CRMS) from cassette swap requirement for money replenishment. This exemption also applies to banks that do not use third-party agencies for cash replenishment in atms. In 2018, RBI asked banks to implement the cassette swap mechanism in phases, aiming to cover at least one-third of their atms annually. A cassette swap mechanism involves swapping lockable cassettes, pre-filled with currency notes, during the cash replenishment in atms.”

” Karnataka bank limited (KBL) has launched 2 financial products, “kbl peak” and “kbl genius” to empower the younger generations and contribute to India’s growing knowledge economy. ‘kbl peak’ is an education loan with financing of up to rs 2 crore and comprehensive coverage, and ‘kbl genius’ is a student savings account featuring free cyber insurance. These products aim to help students pursue their academic goals and aspirations with financial freedom, contributing to a brighter future for both individuals and the nation. Kbl peak supports students pursuing higher education in India and abroad. The loan amount will cover tuition fees and expenses related to  accommodation, travel, books and laptops. Kbl genius savings account is a student-focused product available in two variants: ‘kbl genius signature’ and ‘kbl genius advantage’. With features like a minimum average balance requirement, seamless digital transactions and exclusive benefits on debit cards.”

” Mumbai (MAHARASHTRA) based irel (INDIA) limited (IREL) previously known as Indian rare earths limited, and kazakhstan based ust–kamenogorsk titanium and magnesium plant jsc (UKTMP) signed a joint venture (JV) to establish ireuk titanium limited for production of titanium slag (ti slag) in odisha. This partnership aims to strengthen India’s titanium value chain by converting low-grade ilmenite (titanium oxide) into high-grade feedstock, also generating local employment opportunities. Uktmp jsc will provide the technology of producing ti slag and will take the agreed quantities for an input in their ti sponge plant.”

National press day npd is observed annually across India on 16 november to commemorate the day on which the press council of India pci began its function as the moral watchdog to ensure that the press maintains high standards and is not fettered by any form of influence or threats the day was observed to

” An international team of scientists from the physical research laboratory (PRL) in ahmedabad(GUJARAT), has discovered a new saturn–sized exoplanet named “toi-6651b” oRBIting a sun-like star toi-6651. Toi-6651b, an exoplanet outside our solar system, is five times bigger and 60 times heavier than the earth. The planet was identified using the advanced paras-2 (prl advanced radial velocity abu sky search-2) spectrograph. This is the 4th exoplanet discovery by prl scientists. The planet is located at the edge of “neptunian desert”, a sub-jovian desert which is defined as the region close to a star (period < 2–4 days) where no neptune-sized (> 0.1 mj) exoplanets are found. The planet’s oRBIt is slightly oval in shape, or eccentric, further distinguishing it from typical gas giants like saturn in our solar system.”