Daily Current Affairs Quiz 17th August 2024

The project is being implemented by the Indian Government to increase productivity conserve soil health and to increase agricultural production

The us navys new aim-174b missile aims to counter chinas aerial dominance it is an air-launched version of the sm-6 missile and was introduced by raytheon in july 2024 this long-range air-to-air missile can strike targets up to

” Notes:a unique orchid species, gastrodia indica, was recently discovered in fambonglho wildlife sanctuary, sikkim. It is the first orchid from India that never opens its flower and the first cleistogamous species of the gastrodia genus found in India. Gastrodia indica is holomycotrophic, relying entirely on fungi for sustenance as it lacks chlorophyll. Found at 1,950–2,100 meters, it thrives in dense, rotten leaf litter near specific trees like magnolia and acer. The discovery brings the total number of gastrodia species in India to 10, but the species faces threats due to its limited population and specific habitat needs.”

” Notes:the union education minister recently interacted with students, teachers, and parents of pm shri schools and prerana programme alumni. Prerana programme, launched in january 2024, integrates Indian education principles and value-based learning from nep 2020. It’s a week-long residential program for selected class ix to xii students, combining heritage and innovation.”

Californium is a synthetic silvery-white metal with the atomic number 98 first synthesized in 1950 at the university of california berkeley it is not naturally occurring and is produced by bombarding curium with helium ions it is known for its intense radioactivity it

The high yielding climate resilient and biofortified varieties of the 61 crops include 34 fields and 27 horticultural crops and are nutritionally rich and adaptable to environmental changes

” On 12th august 2024, exercise mitra shakti 2024, the 10th edition of the joint military exercise between the army of India and sri lanka commenced at army training school, maduru oya, sri lanka. The combat training exercise is set to conclude on 25th august 2024. The annual mitra shakti exercise was started in 2012 and is held alternately in India and sri lanka. Mitra shakti 2023, the 9th edition of the exercise was held in 2023 in pune, maharashtra.”

” On 9th august 2024, the ministry of new & renewable energy (MNRE) has issued the operational guidelines for implementing the ‘model solar village’ scheme under the ‘prime minister (PM)-surya ghar: muft bijli yojana’. Under the scheme component, emphasis has been laid on establishing one model solar village per district across India in order to promote solar energy adoption and enable village communities to become self-reliant in energy needs.

Budget allocation: the mnre has allocated rs 800 crore for the implementation of the scheme, providing central financial assistance of rs 1 crore per village. Eligibility criteria for village: as per the guidelines for scheme, a village will be considered under the competition mode. Also, a village must be a revenue village with a population size above 5,000 (or 2,000 for special category states).”

” On august 12, 2024, Dr. Jitendra singh, minister of state (mos – independent charge, ic), ministry of science and technology (mos&t), launched the ‘amrit gyan kosh’ and ‘faculty development’ portals under ‘mission Karmayogi’ during the civil service training institutions (CSTI) convention at vigyan bhavan in new Delhi, Delhi. The ‘amrit gyan kosh’ portal is a comprehensive knowledge repository that offers access to India-centric case studies, reducing the dependence on western sources. The faculty development portal aims to improve the teaching skills of practitioners and faculty members, ensuring effective training for civil servants.”

” The Indian navy (IN) has authorized mazagon dock shipbuilders limited (MDL) to construct six advanced submarines in partnership with germany‘s thyssenkrupp marine systems (TKMS) under the ‘project 75 India (P75I)’ initiative. The project, valued at approximately rs 60,000 crore, is pivotal in strengthening India’s naval capabilities in the Indian ocean, particularly in response to the growing presence of china and pakistan. Mdl’s selection followed successful trials of submarines equipped with air independent propulsion (AIP) systems, enabling them to remain submerged for up to two weeks without surfacing for battery recharging. The submarines will be diesel-electric with aip technology will offer superior endurance and capabilities over previous models.”

” The ministry of external affairs (MEA) and newspace India limited (NSIL), commercial arm of Indian space research organisation (ISRO) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to grant assistance for the launch of nepal built munal satellite.I.Munal is an indigenous satellite developed in nepal under the aegis of the nepal academy of science and technology (NAST).Ii.The aim of the satellite is to build a vegetation density database of the earth’s surface.Iii.It is expected to be launched soon on nsil’s polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV).”

The neelakurinji strobilanthes kunthiana a purplish flowering shrub predominant found in the western ghat kerala karnataka and tamil nadu has been added to the iucn red list of threatened species the species has been categorised

” The reserve bank of India (RBI) announced the commencement of sovereign green bonds (SGRB) trading at the international financial services centre (IFSC) in gujarat during the second half of financial year 2024-25 (FY25), allowing foreign portfolio investors (FPIS) to invest in these bonds at the ifsc. Following this, the RBI has amended the forex management (debt instruments) regulations, 2024, allowing non-residents with securities accounts in the ifsc, to trade sgrbs. Fpis can pay for sgrbs using inward remittances or funds held in foreign currency accounts. The sale or maturity proceeds from sgrbs can be remitted outside India, net of applicable taxes.”

” The Indian air force (IAF) contingent participated in the exercise udara shakti 2024 (ex us24), bilateral air exercise with the royal malaysian air force (RMAF) from august 5 to 9, 2024 at rmaf base station in kuantan, malaysia aim: to bolster the operational efficiency, technical experts of both air forces engaged in sharing of their maintenance practices.

The exercise was based on two different concepts such as: field training exercise (FTX) and subject matter expert exchange (SMEE). The exercise saw the participation of 7 sukhoi-30 fighter jets from both the rmaf and the iaf. The exercise also included hop exercise (hop ex), during which the pilots of both the air forces exchanged their sukhoi fighter jets i.E. Indian pilot flew su-30 mkm fighter jet of rmaf and vice versa.”

” World elephant day is an annual international campaign observed across the globe on 12 august to raise awareness about the preservation and protection of elephants(elephantidae), the ‘gentle giants‘ worldwide.I.The day also highlights the threats faced by the elephants, including poaching, habitat loss, human-elephant conflict, etc.Ii.The theme for world elephant day 2024 is “personifying prehistoric beauty, theological relevance, and environmental importance”.Iii.Aaranyak, a biodiversity organisation in assam has launched a mobile application (APP) named ‘haatiapp‘ and a comprehensive solar fence manual in assamese, to address the human-elephant conflict (HEC) in assam and northeast India, at an event held in guwahati, assam. Click here to read more”