ALL EXAM QUIZ 03.01.2024

Explanation:

• Interest rates on two small savings schemes were increased for January to March 2024.
• For the months of January to March 2024, the interest rate on three-year time deposits has been raised by 10 basis points to 7.1%.
• For the January–March 2024 period, the interest rate on the Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme has been increased by 20 basis points to 8.2%.
• All other small savings plans, however, will continue to be offered at the same interest rates.
• The Finance Ministry stated that they will continue to be offered at the same interest rate as they were offered from October to December of 2022.
• The government of India determines the interest rates for small savings accounts.
• After nine straight quarters of no change, the finance ministry began hiking small savings interest rates in October-December 2022.

Explanation:

• Around 1.25 crore property cards have been distributed by the government under the SVAMITVA Scheme.
• On the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Day (24 April), Prime Minister Narendra Modi distributed 35 lakh property cards out of these property cards.
• According to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, drone flying has been completed in 2.89 lakh villages as part of the scheme.
• Ministry of Panchayati Raj further stated that around 18 lakh participants have received training under Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) in the current year.
• It further stated that 42 panchayats were given awards based on their achievements.
• According to the Ministry, 21,05,628 Gram Panchayats have uploaded their citizen charters this year after receiving approval.

SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) scheme

• It was launched as a Central Sector Scheme on 24th April 2020.
• Its main objective is to create a socio-economically empowered and self-reliant rural India.
• It will cover 6.62 Lakh villages of the country from 2021-2025.

Explanation:

• PM Modi inaugurated Maharshi Valmiki Airport in Ayodhya on 30th December.
• Phase-1 of the airport has been developed at a cost of more than Rs 1,450 crore.
• The airport's terminal building will have an area of 6,500 sqm. It will serve about 10 lakh passengers annually.
• PM Modi dedicated and laid the foundation of multiple projects worth more than 15,700 crore in Ayodhya.
• These projects include Rs 11, 100 crore project for the development of the city and its surrounding areas.
• PM Modi held a roadshow from the airport to the railway station and also witnessed performances by cultural troupes along the route.
• He also inaugurated the redeveloped Ayodhya railway station from where he flagged off two Amrit Bharat and six Vande Bharat trains.
• Phase-I of the redeveloped station has been developed at a cost of around Rs 240 crore.
• Prime Minister Modi visited the Lata Mangeshkar Chowk, where a giant-size Veena has been installed.

Explanation:

• Jharkhand government reduced the qualifying age for old-age pension for tribals and Dalits to 50 years.
• Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren announced that the qualifying age for old-age pension for tribals and Dalits has been reduced from 60 years to 50 years.
• The government has taken this decision because the death rate among tribals is high and they do not get jobs after 60 years.
• When Jharkhand was formed in 2000, only 16 lakh people were getting pension benefits.
• Now, around 36 lakh people above the age of 60 receive the benefit of the pension.
• In September 2023, the Jharkhand government decided to add the transgender community to its universal pension scheme.

Explanation:

• Exercise Desert Cyclone started on 02 January 2024 in Rajasthan.
• It is a joint military exercise between India and UAE. It is a fortnight-long drill.
• It is aimed at increasing interoperability by learning and sharing best practices in urban operations.
• In September 2008, the Al-Dhafra station in Abu Dhabi hosted the first-ever Joint Air Forces exercise between the United Arab Emirates and India.
• India has regularly participated in the biennial International Defence Exhibition (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi.

Explanation:

• 10th phase of Sagar Parikrama started from Chennai Port on 01 January 2024.
• Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala and Union Minister of State Dr. L. Murugan jointly inaugurated it.
• Sagar Parikrama will travel through Nellore, Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam.
• The coastal fishing communities will have interactions with the Union Ministers.
• The Union Ministers will also talk about the government's programmes for fishermen and people working in similar industries.
• Additionally, they will disperse welfare programmes intended for the fishing community.
• The first phase of Sagar Parikrama began at Kachchh in Gujarat in 2023. It passed through Maharashtra and other coastal states.

Explanation:

• ISRO successfully launched the PSLV-C58 X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) mission on January 1, 2024.
• ISRO launched its first X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat). It will study X-ray polarisation and its cosmic sources such as black holes and neutron stars.
• It has been lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
• It is the world’s second such mission after the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) launched by NASA in 2021.
• XpoSat mission comprises two payloads, including the Indian X-ray Polarimeter (POLIX) and X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing (XSPECT).
• These have been built by Raman Research Institute and UR Rao Satellite Centre.
• PSLV C58 has placed the primary satellite XPoSat in the desired orbit.
• For the third time, ISRO used the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM) platform to demostrate technologies in space.
• XPoSat became India’s third space-based observatory after the launch of Solar Mission Aditya-L1 and AstroSat launched in 2015.

Explanation:

• Arvind Panagariya has been appointed as chairman of the sixteenth Finance Commission.
• The government has appointed Former Niti Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya as the Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission.
• Ritvik Ranjanam Pandey will be the secretary to the 16th Finance Commission.
• The 16th Finance commission will submit its report for the five-year period (2026-27 to 2030-31) to the President by October 31, 2025.
• The 15th Finance Commission was headed by NK Singh and recommended states to give 41% of the divisible tax pool of the Centre to states.

Finance Commission

• Article 280 of the Indian Constitution mentions about the Finance Commission.
• It is a quasi-judicial body that is constituted by the President every fifth year.
• The Finance Commission is a constitutional body to give suggestions on centre-state financial relations.
• It consists of a chairman and four other members that are appointed by the President.

Explanation:

• DRDO celebrated its 66th Foundation Day.
• DRDO was formed in 1958 to make India self-reliant in science and technology, especially in military technologies.
• It is responsible for developing critical defense technologies and products to meet the requirements of the Indian Armed Forces.
• DRDO filed more than 141 patents this year and this number will increase significantly in the upcoming years.
• The Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) has also been accorded this year for the induction of several DRDO developed systems worth more than 1 lakh 42 thousand crores.

DRDO major achievements in 2023

• DRDO has conducted a flight trial of 'Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator'.
• Agni Prime ballistic missile successfully flight-tested by DRDO off Odisha coast.
• DRDO & Indian Navy conducted a successful maiden test trial of indigenous Air Droppable Container ‘ADC-150’ off the Goa coast.

Explanation:

2, 1, 4, 3