DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS 25^th – 28^th July 2021

Mirabai Chanu Bags Silver Medal at Tokyo Olympics

• Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu won the silver medal in the women’s 49 Kg weightlifting event today, winning India’s first medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
• She had total lifts of 202kg, including 87kg in Snatch and 115kg in Clean & Jerk.
• The 26-year-old from Manipur, nurtured carefully after a back injury in 2018, became the toast of the nation.

India gets its 39th World Heritage Site

• Rudreswara Temple (Ramappa Temple) at Palampet, Warangal, Telangana inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
• The decision was taken at the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO today.
• Ramappa temple, a 13th century engineering marvel named after its architect, Ramappa, was proposed by the government as its only nomination for the UNESCO World Heritage site tag for the year 2019.
• The Rudreswara temple was constructed in 1213 AD during the reign of the Kakatiya Empire by Recharla Rudra, a general of Kakatiya king Ganapati Deva.
• The presiding deity here is Ramalingeswara Swamy.
• It is also known as the Ramappa temple, after the sculptor who executed the work in the temple for 40 years.

Green Sohra Afforestation Campaign

• Green Sohra Afforestation Campaign and Greater Sohra Water Supply Scheme were launched by the Amit Shah with moto of ‘Evergreen Northeast’ was used to highlight the importance of afforestation and tree plantation in the state.
• Cherrapunji (locally it is known as Sohra) used to receive rainfalls throughout the year, but this has gone down due to the indiscriminate harvesting that has been done in the area under the name of development.
• This campaign will be run by the Assam Rifles and the Meghalaya State Govt.

161st Income Tax Day Celebrated

• Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) celebrated the 161st anniversary of Income Tax Day on July 24.
• Shri. Nirmala Sitharaman appreciated the Department for being successful in implementing in right spirit the reform measures undertaken by the Government since 2014.
• The Income Tax Department headed by CBDT traces it origin to 24^th July 1860 as being a government agency undertaking direct tax collection of the Government of India.

7 Years of “MyGov” Completed

• ‘MyGov’ is a citizen engagement platform launched by the GOI on 26th July 2014 to promote the active participation of Indian citizens in their country’s governance and development.
• It is aimed at creating a common platform for Indian citizens to “crowdsource governance ideas from citizens”.
• Prime Minister said, “MyGov stands tall as an effective example of participative governance and giving a voice to our Yuva Shakti. Today when we mark #7YearsOfMyGov, I applaud all those volunteers and contributors who have enriched this platform with their contributions.”

Target Olympic Podium Scheme and Scheme of Assistance to NSFs

• Approx. 765 crores spent under TOP Scheme and Scheme of Assistance to NSFs from 2018-19 to till date has been spent. Several athletes sent abroad for training during second wave of COVID-19 in the country.
• Sports’ is a state subject. It is the primary responsibility of the State Governments to develop sports including development and creation of sports infrastructure of international standards.
•  Central Government also provides financial assistance under its scheme of ‘Khelo India’ to States/UTs to develop critical sports infrastructure.

Kandla becomes first Green SEZ

• Kandla SEZ (KASEZ) was awarded IGBC Platinum Rating. KASEZ is the First Green SEZ to achieve the IGBC Green Cities Platinum Rating for Existing Cities.
• IGBC Platinum rating has been awarded for ‘Green master planning, policy initiatives and implementation of green infrastructure’ by CII’s Indian Green Building Council (IGBC).
• The recognition is set to pave way for all the other SEZs in the country to emulate the green initiative and efforts of Kandla SEZ.
• Kandla Port was also Asia’s first Export Processing Zone to be Est in 1965.

Kargil Vijay Diwas – Their bravery motivates us every single day

• Kargil Vijay Diwas (Kargil Victory Day) is commemorated every 26th July in India, to observe India’s victory over Pakistan in the Kargil War, ousted the Pakistani Forces from their occupied positions on the mountain tops of Northern Kargil District in Ladakh in 1999.
• 527 soldiers from the Indian Armed Forces lost their lives during the war. Prior to Kargil war both countries signed the Lahore Declaration in February 1999, promising to provide a peaceful and bilateral solution to the Kashmir conflict.

CRPF Raising Day Celebrated

• CRPF celebrated its 83^rd Raising Day.
• The CRPF came into existence as Crown Representative’s Police on July 27, 1939.
• It became the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on the enactment of the CRPF Act on December 28, 1949.
• The force has a mandate to secure internal security scenario of the country.

Dholavira Declared a World Heritage site

• Dholavira, a Harappan-era metropolis, in Gujarat has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
• The ongoing 44th session of the World Heritage Committee of the UNESCO has already given India a new world heritage site in the form of the Rudreswara/Ramappa Temple in Telangana, which dates to the 13th century.

Ministry of Earth Science celebrates its 15th Foundation Day

• MoES is mandated to provide services for weather, climate, ocean and coastal state, hydrology, seismology, etc.
• Department of Ocean Development (DOD) was created in July 1981 and a new Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) came into being on the 27^th July 2006 bringing under its administrative control IMD, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) and National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF).

DATA FOR CENSUS 2021

• MHA in a written reply to question in the Lok Sabha clarified that the GOI decided to conduct Census 2021 under the Census Act, 1948 in two phases, viz., (a) House listing & Housing Census during April – September 2020, (b) Population Enumeration   during 9^th to 28^th February 2021. Due to COVID field activities have been postponed.
• In Census, data is collected on demographic and various socio-economic parameters like education, religion, language, marriage, disability, occupation, and migration of the individuals.  Data on migration characteristics along with the reasons of migration such as work/employment and business is collected.

USA Cautious Over issue of ‘Monkeypox’

• Recently, the US started surveillance on people travelling from Nigeria, who may have had contact with the individuals infected with Monkeypox.
• It is a viral zoonotic disease and is identified as a pox-like disease among monkeys hence it is named Monkeypox. It is endemic to Nigeria.
• It was first reported in 1958, in monkeys in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in humans in 1970, also in the DRC.

Gharib Nawaz Employment Scheme

• Minister for Minority Affairs replied in the Parliament that a total number of 371 training centers under this Scheme were opened across the country.
• Launched in 2017, Maulana Azad Education Foundation, an autonomous body under the aegis of Ministry of Minority Affairs, implements the Scheme.
• The main aim of this scheme is to provide short term job-oriented skill development courses to minorities’ youth to enable them for skill-based employment.

APJ Abdul Kalam’s Remembered on his Death Anniversary

• 11th President of India, he was an instrumental force behind the development of Agni and Prithvi missiles.
• Dr Kalam also authored numerous books, including the famous Wings of Fire and Ignited Minds, which inspired children and adults alike to pursue their dreams.
• Born on October 15, 1931, in a modest family in Rameswaram.
• In 1958, Dr Kalam joined the DRDO and over a decade later, in 1969, he moved to the ISRO.
• Returned to DRDO in 1982 and implemented the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program earning him name “Missile Man of India”.
• May 1998 Pokhran-II tests made Dr Kalam a household name.
• He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1990 and Bharat Ratna in 1997.
• On July 27, 2015, he passed away due to Cardiac Arrest during lecture at IIM, Shillong.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

• _______became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal (Bronze) at Sydney Games 2000.
• Mary Kom
• Karanam Malleshwari
• P T Usha
• Sakshi Malik

ANSWER: B

• He was the first Indian to win an Olympic medal (bronze) in an individual sport at the Helsinki Olympics 1952 for Wrestling.
• Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav
• Jeet Rama
• Pavan Kumar
• Vijay Chaudhry

ANSWER: A

• _______ is the first Indian and only tennis player to compete at seven Olympic Games.
• Leander Peas
• Mahesh Bhupathi
• Sania Mirza
• Jwala Gutta

ANSWER: A

• Ganapati Deva was succeeded by ______ and is one of the few queens in Indian history.
• Rani Rudrama Devi
• Rani Durgavati
• Rani Abakka Chowta
• Rani Kittur Chennamma

ANSWER: A

• The Italian traveler who visited Rani Rudrama’s Court?
• Nicolai Conti
• Marco Polo
• Bartholomew Diaz
• William Fisch

ANSWER: B

• _______ is current Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes.
• Pramod Chandra Modi
• Prashant Bhushan
• Prakash Dubey
• Sanjay Bahadur

ANSWER: A

• _______ is Current DG of CRPF.
• Kuldiep Singh
• Praveen Kumar Jha
• C K Reddy
• Amrit Jhadav

ANSWER: A

• Which of the following was first UNESCO World Heritage sites from India to be inscripted in the list.
• Ajanta Caves
• Ellora Caves
• Agra Fort
• All the above

ANSWER: D

• ________ is the home to largest number of UNESCO world heritage sites in the world.
• Italy
• Spain
• Germany
• Poland

ANSWER: A

• Amar Jawan Jyoti (Flame of the immortal soldier) is an Indian memorial constructed after the _________.
• Indo – Pak war 1965
• Indo – China war 1962
• Indo – Pak war 1971
• Indo – Pak war 1948

ANSWER: C

• “India Gate” formerly called Kingsway stands as a memorial to 70,000 soldiers of the British Indian Army who died in _______.
• First World War
• Second World War
• First Anglo Afghan War
• Bangla Liberation War.

ANSWER: A

• The Constitution of India recognizes only ______ and ______ minorities
• Religious, Linguistic
• Religious, Economic
• Linguistic, Social
• Caste, Economic

ANSWER: A

• Article ____: provides that any section of the citizens residing in any part of India having a distinct language, script, or culture of its own, shall have the right to conserve the same.
• Article 27
• Article 28
• Article 29
• Article 30

ANSWER: C

• Under article ______, all minorities shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
• Article 29
• Article 30
• Article 25
• Article 26

ANSWER: B

• Article _______ Provides for a Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities appointed by the President of India.
• Article 350-A
• Article 350-B
• Article 351-A
• Article 351-B

ANSWER: B

• National Commission for Minorities (NCM) was established in ______.
• 1990
• 1992
• 1995
• 2000

ANSWER: B

• Article 350-B was inserted in Constitution through _____.
• 2^nd CAA
• 7^th CAA
• 11^th CAA
• 14^th CAA

ANSWER: B

• The first synchronous census in India was held in_____.
• 1881
• 1882
• 1871
• 1872

ANSWER: A

• The first rabies vaccine was introduced in ____ and was followed by an improved version in 1908.
• 1881
• 1882
• 1884
• 1885

ANSWER: D

• ______is famous for being the discoverer of the mosquito transmission of malaria.
• Sir Thomas Addis
• William John Adie
• Ralph Ainsworth
• Sir Ronald Ross

ANSWER: D

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