DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS 21^st August 2021

President Greets Nation on the Eve of Onam

• In a message, the President has said “On the auspicious occasion of Onam, I extend my greetings and best wishes to all fellow citizens, especially the brothers and sisters of Kerala living in India and abroad”.
• This festival, celebrated to commemorate the yield of new crop in the fields, shows the tireless hard work of the farmer and gratitude towards mother-nature. This festival also gives the message of harmony, love, and fraternity in the society.
• On this occasion, let us all resolve to move forward unitedly towards progress and prosperity of our country”.

PM Remembers Martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain

• Imam Hussain (AS) and his followers were martyred at the Battle of Karbala that took place more than 14 centuries ago.
• The place is now situated in Iraq.
• Every year on the tenth day of Muharram, Muslims across the world mourn the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain, the son of Hazrat Ali.

Shri Rajiv Gandhi Remembered on his birth Anniversary

• Rajiv Ratna Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991), served as the 6^th prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989.
• He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to become the youngest Indian prime minister at the age of 40.
• Assassinated by a suicide bomber from the LTTE, he was posthumously awarded Gandhi the Bharat Ratna in 1991.
• He is hailed as the ‘Father of Information Technology and Telecom Revolution of India’. He is rightfully known as the architect of digital India.

Geological Survey of India Mobile App

• Geological Survey of India, the 170-year-old premier Geological Institution under the Ministry of Mines has decided to make itself accessible to the masses and make its presence felt digitally by launching the GSI Mobile App (Beta Version) in the year 2020 and upgrading it periodically. Through the App, people will become more enlightened about various facets of GSI activities .It  is also in line with the Digital India campaign initiated by the Central Government .
• The App is divided into various sections where it talks about the legacy of GSI, the in-house publications of the organisation, various case studies on different missions of GSI, the picture gallery etc.
• E-news division updates masses about the latest news as far as the organization is concerned in terms of work and the career opportunities as well as the training facilities that are available with GSI. It also deals with various maps, videos, and downloads of GSI work. The e-book section would give the masses an idea of the exploration works done by GSI. It connects the YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter pages of GSI from the app as well.
• This App will be further upgraded for higher versions of Android OS and for iOS compatible mobiles (I-Phones) and many more features will be added soon.

Prime Minister has inaugurated various projects under ‘PRASHAD’ Scheme

• Prime Minister has inaugurated various projects in Somnath, Gujarat under PRASHAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive) scheme at a total cost of over Rs 47 crore.
• The Somnath Exhibition Centre, developed on the premises of ‘Tourist Facilitation Centre’, displays the exhibits from dismantled parts of the old Somnath temple and its sculptures having Nagara style Temple Architecture of old Somnath.
• This temple is also referred to as Ahilyabai Temple since it was built by queen Ahilyabai of Indore when she found that the old temple was in ruins.
• Shree Parvati Temple is proposed to be constructed with a total outlay of Rs 30 crore.
• This will include temple construction in Sompura Salats Style, development of Garbha Griha and Nritya Mandap.
• The ‘National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD)’ was launched by the Ministry of Tourism in the year 2014-15 with the objective of holistic development of identified pilgrimage destinations.
• The name of the scheme was changed from PRASAD to “National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD)” in October 2017.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

• Drawing from Hindu mythology, Onam commemorates
• King Mahabali
• King Ram
•  King Prahalad
•  King Dashrath

ANSWER: A

• The earliest known reference of Onam Celebrations is found in
• Mahabharata
• Ramayana
• Rig Veda
• Sangam

ANSWER: D

• Capital of Iraq is
• Karbala
• Najaf
• Baghdad
• Tehran

ANSWER: C

• Damascus is Capital and largest city of
• Jordan
• Lebanon
• Syria
• Algeria

ANSWER: C

• Lowering the voting age from 21 years to 18 years was done through
• 59^th CAA
• 60^th CAA
• 61^st CAA
• 62^nd CAA

ANSWER: C

• 73rd and the 74th Amendments to the Constitution were passed during whose tenure as PM
• V P Singh
• Rajiv Gandhi
• P V Narsimha Rao
• Atal Bihari Vajpayee

ANSWER: C

• The 2^nd National Policy on Education (NPE) was passed in
• 1968
• 1986
• 1998
• 2016

ANSWER: B

• MTNL (Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited) was established in _____ which helped in the spread of telephone network.
• 1986
• 1989
• 1990
• 1993

ANSWER: A

• Anti-defection law is part of ______
• Schedule V
• Schedule VI
• Schedule X
• Schedule XI

ANSWER: C

• Tenth Schedule was added to Constitution through
• 42^nd CAA
• 46^th CAA
• 52^nd CAA
• 61^st CAA

ANSWER: C

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