Daily Current Affairs Quiz 4th August 2024

” Notes:on august 2, 2024, president droupadi murmu presided over the 52nd conference of governors at rashtrapati bhavan, her first time leading the event. the conference, attended by key leaders like vice-president jagdeep dhankhar, prime minister narendra modi, and home minister amit shah, also included state governors, lieutenant governors, and administrators of union territories. the two-day event featured participation from niti aayog officials and senior government members. the conference of governors, first held in 1949, addresses governance and administrative issues in india.”

She served as director general of hospital services and has received numerous honors including the vishisht seva medal and commendations from top air force officials

” Notes:kiit deemed to be university (kiit du) received special recognition from the un economic and social council, for its commitment to sustainable development goals (sdgs). out of 476 global applicants, only 19 were honored, enhancing kiit’s international reputation. kiit signed an agreement with un volunteers, enabling students to join un development projects. additionally, kiit partnered with the american council of young political leaders (acypl) for student exchange programs. kiit joins its sister institution, kiss, in holding special consultative status with un ecosoc.”

” Notes:india ranks 39th in the 2024 travel and tourism development index by the world economic forum, up from an adjusted 38th in 2021. the country’s scores improved in travel prioritization, safety, and health. in 2022, india had 14.3 million international tourists, 1.47% of the global market, and 15.66% in asia-pacific. the ministry of tourism promotes india domestically and internationally through integrated marketing and participation in travel fairs.”

Notes:ministry of defence signed an mou with uttar pradesh defence industrial corridor (updic) to establish three advanced testing facilities in uttar pradesh under the defence testing infrastructure scheme (dtis). these include one facility in lucknow for mechanical & material (m&m) and two in kanpur for unmanned aerial systems (uas) and communications. dtis was launched in may 2020 by ministry of defence with a rs 400 crore budget. dtis aims to boost indigenous defence production.

The united nations is observing the international day of friendship or world friendship day annually across the world on july 30 to honour the friendship the day honours the enduring bonds of friendship with various activities despite the different dates observed around the world 2024 marks the 13th anniversary of international friendship

” On july 30, 2024, the innovations for defence excellence-defence innovation organisation (idex-dio), the flagship initiative of ministry of defence (mod) has signed memorandum of understanding (mou) with the armed forces medical services (afms) for the launch of medical innovations and research advancement (mira).  the mou aims to promote innovation and research in developing novel medical technologies and their integration into the armed forces. the initiative will be driven forward by the launch of the defence india start-up challenge (disc) edition mira, addressing the critical medical challenges faced by the armed forces. idex was established by the dio under the department of defence production (ddp), launched in 2018 with an objective to provide the platform of co-creation and co-development in the defence sector.”

” The ministry of earth sciences (moes) celebrated its 18th foundation day on 27th july, 2024 at its headquarters in prithvi bhavan, new delhi, marking nearly 20 years of significant contributions made by moes across all earth system sciences such as: air(atmosphere), water (hydrosphere), land (lithosphere), solid earth(cryosphere), life (biosphere) and their interactions, shows its commitment towards scientific and technological progress. the department of ocean development (dod), was created in july 1981 as a part of the cabinet secretariat directly under the charge of the prime minister(pm) of india. it came into existence as a separate department in march 1982. in february 2006, the government of inida notified dod as the ministry of ocean development. in july 2006, the ministry of ocean development was reorganized as ministry of earth sciences (moes) through the presidential notification. the moes launched 4 important publications for public utility and benefit on the occasion of its 18th foundation day.”

” Union minister of state(mos) jayant chaudhary(independent charge/ic), ministry of state for skill development and entrepreneurship(msde) has launched an enhanced ‘model skill loan scheme’ for skill development courses with an increased maximum loan limit to rs 7.5 lakh from rs 1.5 lakh. it was announced in the union budget 2024-2025, the revised scheme aims to benefit 25,000 students annually. aim: to bridge that gap by ensuring that ambitious candidates receive the financial support they require to pursue their skill training. model skill loan scheme builds upon the credit guarantee fund scheme for skill development (cgfssd), launched in 2015 faced multiple challenges.”

” The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s Digital Payments Index (RBI-DPI) increased to 445.5 at the end of March 2024, marking a 12.6% Year-on-Year (Y-o-Y) increase compared to March 2023 across all parameters. It was 418.77 in September 2023 and 395.57 in March 2023. RBI-DPI measures the adoption and extent of online transactions across India. The current showcases a continuous rise in digital payment adoption. The RBI introduced the RBI-DPI in January 2021, with March 2018 as the base year, to estimate the digitization of payments across India.”

” On july 25 2024, union minister manohar lal, ministry of power (mop) and ministry of housing and urban affairs (mohua) inaugurated the national feeder monitoring system (nfms) control centre on rec limited’s 55th foundation day at gurugram, haryana.i.nfms is a flagship initiative of the mop, provides real-time access to complete information on power supply hours, outages, and overall health of about 2.5 lakh feeders (11 kilovolts (kv) outgoing) across india.ii.it will allow stakeholders to make informed and actionable decisions, increasing transparency, efficiency, and accountability in distribution companies (discoms), ultimately enhancing the quality and reliability of power supply to end users.”

” Bengaluru (karnataka)-based ride-haling startup, rapido, has achieved unicorn status after it raised a capital funding of usd 120 million (rs 1,000 crore) in its latest series e funding round led by its major investor westbridge capital (26% stake), which has invested money through 3 different investment vehicles. this makes rapido the fourth startup in india to reach unicorn status in 2024 after krutrim, perfois and porter. a unicorn is a term used to describe privately owned startups or companies whose valuation is over usd 1 billion.”

” The government of india (goi) has signed a usd 200 million loan agreement with asian development bank (adb) to enhance solid waste management and sanitation in 100 cities across 8 states in india. the loan agreement is part of the swachh bharat mission(sbm) 2.0 – comprehensive municipal waste management in indian cities program. this loan arrangement will support the  objectives of swacch bharat (clean india) mission- urban 2.0, is an initiative led by goi which aims to make all indian cities to be garbage free by 2026, by enhancing sanitation and solid waste management infrastructure including waste segregation, collection and disposal.”

” On 29th july 2024, the defence acquisition council (dac), under the chairmanship of union minister rajnath singh, ministry of defence (mod), government of india (goi) has approved various capital acquisition proposals to enhance the capabilities of the indian army(ia) and the indian coast guard (icg).i.the dac has accorded acceptance of necessity (aon) for the procurement of the advanced land navigation system (alns) for armoured fighting vehicles (afvs) for indian army and 22 interceptor boats for indian coast guard (icg).ii.the defence acquisition council (dac) under the chairmanship of rajnath singh has reviewed and approved the amendments to the deal for 31 mq-9b, high altitude long endurance (hale) unmanned vehicles (uavs) from general atomics aeronautical systems, inc. (ga-asi) of the united states of america (usa).iii.the ministry of defence (mod) signed a memorandum of understanding (mou) with national stock exchange (nse) to facilitate capital market access to micro, small and medium enterprises (msmes). click here to read more”

” Bhubaneswar, odisha-based kalinga institute of industrial technology (kiit) deemed to be a university (du) has been granted special consultative status by the united nations economic and social council (un ecosoc). this acknowledgment highlights kiit’s dedication to the sustainable development goals (sdgs), and un’s agenda 2030. this acknowledgement was made during the un ecosoc management segment meeting held on july 23, 2024, at the un headquarters in new york, the united states of america (usa). this status allows engagement with ecosoc, its subsidiary bodies, un human rights mechanisms, small arms processes, and special events by the general assembly president. kiit has signed a mou with un volunteers (unv), offering students opportunities to work with various un agencies. under this, students from kiit du can serve as ‘national university un volunteers’ in numerous development initiatives within un agencies.”