General Knowledge(GK) (or) General Awareness

Correct Answer :   UAE

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The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified a case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in a 28-year-old male from United Arab Emirates (UAE), it said in a statement.

According to WHO, the patient is a resident of Al Ain city in Abu Dhabi, and had no travel history. He also presented no history of direct or indirect contact with dromedaries (camels), goats, or sheep.

The patient rushed to the hospital on 8 June with symptoms like fever, cough and shortness of breath where he was confirmed MERS-CoV positive.

As a part of surveillance and contact tracing, authorities have identified 108 immediate contacts of the case who are being monitored for being exposed to the MERS-CoV patient. However, no secondary case was identified. The case has no family members or household contacts identified in the UAE.

MERS-CoV is a viral respiratory infection that is caused by a coronavirus called Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

Humans are infected with direct or indirect contact with dromedary camels who are the natural host and zoonotic source of the MERS-CoV infection.

“WHO continues to monitor the epidemiological situation and conducts risk assessments based on the latest available information. WHO expects that additional cases of MERS-CoV infection will be reported from the Middle East and/or other countries where MERS-CoV is circulating in dromedaries," WHO said in a statement.

“WHO re-emphasizes the importance of strong surveillance by all Member States for acute respiratory infections, including MERS-CoV, and to carefully review any unusual patterns," it said.

The first case of MERS-CoV was reported in UAE in July 2013. Till date, UAE has reported 94 confirmed cases and 12 deaths. Globally, the total number of confirmed MERS-CoV cases reported to WHO since 2012 is 2,605, including 936 associated deaths.

WHO said that no vaccine or specific treatment is currently available, although several MERS-CoV-specific vaccines and treatments are in development. Treatment is supportive and based on the patient’s clinical condition.

Meanwhile, the UN health agency has initiated the process for genomic analysis. “This will identify any genetic evolution of the virus and support WHO’s global risk assessment efforts," it said.

As a general precaution, anyone visiting farms, markets, barns or other places where dromedaries are present should practise general hygiene measures, including regular hand washing after touching animals, avoiding touching eyes, nose or mouth with hands, and avoiding contact with sick animals. People may also consider wearing protective gowns and gloves while professionally handling animals..

Source : Mint

Correct Answer :   Harmanpreet Kaur

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India captain "Harmanpreet Kaur" has been suspended for her team’s next two international games, after she smashed the stumps and verbally lashed out at the umpires, following two separate breaches of the ICC Code of Conduct during the third match of their ICC Women’s Championship series against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Saturday.

The suspension means that she will be missing two matches in the upcoming Asian Games in September-October in Hangzhou, China.

Kaur's frustration became evident when she was given out on  on 14, prompting her to vent her anger by hitting the stumps. Following the match, she publicly criticised the umpiring,  branding it as "pathetic."

"Kaur was fined 50 per cent of her match fee and three demerit points were added to her disciplinary record for a Level 2 offence after she was found guilty of breaching article 2.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “showing dissent at an umpire’s  decision," an ICC media statement read.

Kaur was also fined 25 per cent of her match fee for a Level 1 offence after she was found guilty of breaching article 2.7, which relates to “public criticism in relation to an incident occurring in an international match”..

Source : Times of India

Correct Answer :   6.1%

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday (25th July 2023) raised the FY24 economic growth forecast for India by 20 basis points to 6.1 per cent, citing the country’s stronger-than-expected growth momentum in the March quarter of FY23.

“Growth in India is projected at 6.1 per cent in 2023, a 0.2 percentage point upward revision compared with the April projection, reflecting momentum from stronger-than-expected growth in the fourth quarter of 2022 as a result of stronger domestic investment,” said IMF in an update to its ‘World Economic Outlook’ (WEO) released in April.

 India’s economic growth increased by 6.1 per cent in the March quarter of FY23, beating analysts’ expectations as the expansion in manufacturing and construction surprised on the upside.

Most professional forecasters expect the Indian economy to grow between 6 per cent and 6.5 per cent in FY24. While the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) last month revised upward its forecast to 6 per cent for FY24, the Reserve Bank of India expects the economy to expand at 6.5 per cent in the same financial year.

 “India remains an economy that is growing quite strongly. One sixth of total global growth is accounted for by India this year,” Danish Leigh, division chief, Research department at IMF said addressing the media after the release of the WEO update report.

Leigh said inflation in India is projected to remain within the target range of 2-6 per cent. “IMF has an inflation forecast of 4.9 per cent for FY24. Food prices easing has contributed to that as well as the strong action by the Reserve Bank of India. We see the need to continue to balance the pressures of inflation and output to make sure that inflation stays inside the target range as we expect it will,” he added..

Source : Business Standard

Correct Answer :   Annu Rani and Kishore Jena

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India’s Annu Rani and Kishore Jena won the gold medal in the men’s and women’s javelin throw events, respectively, at the Lebanon Athletics Championships 2023 in Beirut on Friday (21st July 2023).

Indian javelin throwers dominated Lebanon national championship held in Beirut in evening today. Kishore Jena (78.96m) was winner in the men's event, while Annu Rani (55.32m) won gold in the women's event. Shivpal won silver (73.34m) in men's event. pic.twitter.com/mt1jx3I0Fn

— Athletics Federation of India (@afiindia) July 21, 2023

Annu Rani recorded a best throw of 55.32m to top the six-woman field. Her effort, though, was far from her national record-setting mark of 63.82m, achieved last year.

In four competitions since the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham, where she won the bronze, Annu Rani has not crossed the 60m mark.

Annu Rani’s distance at Lebanon, however, was more than double of what silver medallist Lynn Nader (26.48m) managed.

In the men’s event, Kishore Jena hurled the spear 78.96m to win the gold. His personal best is 82.87, achieved in Bhubaneshwar last month.

Tokyo 2020 Olympian Shivpal Singh won the silver with a 73.34m throw, a modest effort compared to his personal best of 86.23m achieved at the 2019 Asian championships in Doha.

Seven men competed in the men’s javelin event. Nabil Al-Akoumi was third with 59.79m

Tokyo Olympics champion Neeraj Chopra holds India’s national record in men’s javelin throw courtesy his 89.94m mark, registered at the 2022 Stockholm Diamond League in Sweden..

Source : Olympics

Correct Answer :   Kamaljeet

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Kamaljeet helped India add two more gold medals by bagging the individual and team honour in the 50-metre free pistol event in the Junior World Championship in Changwon, Korea, on Monday (24th July 2023).

Kamaljeet, who had impressed during the national trials by winning the top spot in air pistol ahead of World Cup gold medalist Sarabjot Singh, shot 544 for the individual gold. Along with Ankait Tomar and Sandeep Bishnoi, Kamaljeet helped India bag the team gold, four points ahead of Uzbekistan.

In the women’s free pistol, Tiyana Phogat won the silver, one point behind Khanna Aliyeva of Azerbaijan. There was no second team to help India win the team gold.

India was second on the medals table with six gold, six silver and five bronze medals. China stayed on top with 12 gold, nine silver, seven bronze medals.

In mixed trap, Preeti Rajak and Bakhtyaruddin Malek shot 135 and placed fifth, missing the bronze medal by one point. The other Indian team of Bhavya Tripathi and Shardul Vihan placed 15th with a score of 124.

The results :

50m free pistol: Junior men: 1. Kamaljeet 544; 2. Veniamin Nikitin (Uzb) 542; 3. Kimm Taemin 541; 5. Ankait Tomar 539; 8. Sandeep Bishnoi 534; 14. Akshay Kumar 527; 17. Manav Singh 526; 20. Suresh Sankhla 518.

Team: 1. India (Kamaljeet, Ankait Tomar, Sandeep Bishnoi) 1617; 2. Uzbekisstan 1613; 3. Korea 1600.

Junior women: 1. Khanna Aliyeva (Aze) 520; 2. Tiyana Phogat 519; 3. Layli Aliyeva (Aze) 510; 6. Yashita Shokeen 498; 7. Veerpal Kaur 481..

Source : Sport Star

Correct Answer :   Gauranshi

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Madhya Pradesh’s Gauranshi Sharma with team India won gold in the 6th World Youth Deaf Badminton championship 2023 held in Brazil.

In the championship, India won gold in the team event. The Indian team defeated Japan 3-1 in the final match. Earlier, Gauranshi had won two bronze medals in the individual event.

The championship has proved to be memorable for Gauranshi Sharma. The Indian badminton team has had a great performance in the championship.

In men's doubles, India's pair of Mahesh and Piyush took a 1-0 lead with a thrilling win over Japan's Yuki and Masaki.

In the women's doubles, Indian pair of Jerlin and Aditya defeated Japan's Yume and Yakabe to take the team to a 2-0 lead.

In the men's singles, Yuya beat India's Abhinav Sharma to seal the series.

In the final match, Abhinav and Aditya defeated Masaki and Yume in the mixed doubles and gave India a 3-1 victory and clinch the gold medal. Sharma did not get a chance to play in the final match. State sports and youth welfare minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia congratulated Gauranshi for her brilliant performance..

Source : Freepressjournal

Correct Answer :   Canara Bank

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Public Sector Banks (PSBs) lent ₹4.12 trillion to state-backed corporations and public sector undertakings during 2022-23, down from ₹4.93 trillion during the previous year, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed Parliament in a written response on Monday (24th July 2023).

Responding to questions by member of parliament, Velusamy P, Sitharaman informed the Lok Sabha that Canara Bank led the lending during 2022-23 to government backed entities at ₹187,813 crore during the recently concluded fiscal year, followed by Punjab National Bank ( ₹70,142.5 crore), State Bank of India ( ₹66,523.2 crore), Bank of India ( ₹25,147 crore), Bank of Baroda ( ₹15,706.8 crore), Union Bank of India ( ₹12,584.8 crore), Bank of Maharashtra ( ₹10,822.7 crore), Indian Bank ( ₹9,021 crore), Indian Overseas Bank ( ₹7,490 crore), Central Bank of India ( ₹3,949 crore), UCO Bank ( ₹2,939.4 crore), Punjab and Sind Bank ( ₹87.7 crore).

Meanwhile, the finance minister informed the Lok Sabha that public sector banks (PSBs) will have to take steps to adopt a focused approach on ease of service delivery and customer protection, follow regulatory norms, adopt robust risk management practices, focus on increasing rural, agriculture and sectoral credit to meet the Priority Sector Lending targets.

In a meeting held between the top PSB bank executives and top finance ministry officials, including the finance minister, on 6 July, it was decided that the sponsor banks of the Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) will take steps for technological upgradation of the RRBs to make them more efficient, Sitharaman said in a written reply.

“Performance under PM SVANidhi scheme, which was started to support COVID affected street vendors to restart their businesses, was noted, wherein 50.57 lakh loans have been disbursed, amounting to ₹6,482 crore, to 38.5 lakh street vendors as on 20.7.2023," she said.

Financial performance of PSBs was also noted which showed that all the major financial parameters have significantly improved, she said.

The PSBs have posted record aggregate net profit of ₹1.04 trillion in FY2022-23, she added.

Meanwhile, Sitharaman also informed parliament that The National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL) has as of 17 July acquired three borrower entities -- Jaypee Infratech Ltd, SSA International Ltd, Helios Photo Voltaic Ltd-- with an aggregate debt exposure of ₹21,349 crore.

“NARCL has further informed that these assets have been acquired only in the fourth quarter of the financial year (FY) 2022-23, and no recovery has been made in these accounts as of 17.7.2023," she said.

“Further, in respect of one more account, i.e. SPML Infra Ltd, letter of approval for debt acquisition of ₹1,994.90 crore has been issued by the lenders, and in-principal approval for the government guarantee has also been issued," she added.

Sitharaman further added that comprehensive measures have been taken by the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to recover the bad debts, due to which scheduled commercial banks have recovered a total amount of ₹ 7.16 trillion (provisional data for FY 2022-23) during the last five financial years..

Source : Mint

Correct Answer :   India

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India outpaced West Indies as they shattered a world record on Sunday (23rd July 2023), emerging as the fastest team to reach 100 in an innings in Test cricket history.

Thanks to a scorching start by openers Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal, India blitzed to 100 runs in just 12.2 overs in the second innings against West Indies.

India eventually surged to 181 runs for the loss of 2 wickets in 24 overs before declaring their innings, setting a challenging target of 365 runs for the hosts for the final day of play. In response, West Indies faltered, losing two wickets in their second innings and managing to score only 76 runs. On the final day, the hosts will need to muster 289 runs to win, while the visitors will be eager to swiftly claim the remaining 8 wickets.

Correct Answer :   Lisa Francetti

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President Joe Biden on 21st July 2023 nominated Admiral Lisa Franchetti to lead the Navy, an historic step that would break a gender barrier in the U.S. military by making her the first woman to command the service and to become a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The decision by Mr. Biden is a surprise. Pentagon officials had widely expected the nomination to go to Admiral Samuel Paparo, who leads the Navy in the Pacific and who has experience grappling with the growing challenge from China.

Still, Ms. Franchetti, who is currently the Vice-Chief of Operations for the Navy, was among the candidates believed to be in the running for the position, is widely respected and counts broad experience, including as commander of U.S. Naval Forces Korea, officials said.

In a statement, Mr. Biden noted Ms. Franchetti’s 38 years of experience.

Franchetti Career :

Throughout her career, Admiral Franchetti has demonstrated extensive expertise in both the operational and policy arenas, Mr. Biden said in a statement, noting that she was the second woman ever to achieve the rank of four-star admiral in the U.S. Navy.

Last year, Mr. Biden picked Admiral Linda Fagan to lead the U.S. Coast Guard, making her its first female commanding officer. But the coast guard is not formally part of the Department of Defence, and instead falls under the Department of Homeland Security.

Ms. Franchetti would become the first woman to lead a military service within the Defence Department and to join the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a group of eight top uniformed service members who advise the President on military issues.

Mr. Biden also elevated Mr. Paparo, nominating him to become the commander of all U.S. military forces in the Pacific. He picked Vice-Admiral Stephen “Web” Koehler to succeed Mr. Paparo as commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet..

Source : The Hindu

Correct Answer :   Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty

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The Indian pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty came from behind to win the men's doubles title at the Korea Open 2023 badminton tournament in Yeosu on Sunday (23rd July 2023).

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty beat Indonesian top seeds Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto, world No. 1 in the badminton rankings, by a 17-21, 21-13, 21-14 scoreline in the title decider at the Jinnam Stadium.

This was Satwik and Chirag’s seventh title on the BWF World Tour. The Indian duo, who won the Swiss and Indonesia Open titles this year, have now been unbeaten on the BWF World Tour for 10 matches..

Source : Olympics