General Knowledge(GK) (or) General Awareness

Correct Answer :   1309

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Model Station Scheme was in vogue from 1999 to 2008. Under this scheme 594 stations were selected for upgradation on Indian Railways.

Out of these 34 stations in Madhya Pradesh were selected for upgradation and all the identified stations have been developed under this scheme. A list of zone-wise stations developed under the Model Station scheme is appended.

Recently, the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme has been launched for development of Railway stations on Indian Railways. This scheme envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long-term approach.

It involves preparation of Master Plans and their implementation in phases to improve the amenities at the stations like improvement of station access, circulating areas, waiting halls, toilets, lift/escalators as necessary, cleanliness, free Wi-Fi, kiosks for local products through schemes like ‘One Station One Product’, better passenger information systems, executive lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings, landscaping etc. keeping in view the necessity at each such station.

The scheme also envisages improvement of building, integrating the station with both sides of the city, multimodal integration, amenities for Divyangjans, sustainable and environment friendly solutions, provision of ballast less tracks, ‘Roof Plazas’ as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of city centres at the station in the long term.

So far 1309 Railway Stations have been identified under this scheme including 80 no. of stations in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

The zone-wise names of stations developed under Model Station Scheme is as follows :

 

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   Gajendra Singh Shekhawat

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The Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, released the compendium of 75 ODF Plus Best Practices, at the two-day National Conference of Rural WASH Partners Forum (RWPF) which culminated 22nd July 2023.

The compendium, titled Swachhata Chronicles : Transformative Tales from India, showcases the innovations, measures taken to overcome barriers and raise awareness, special campaigns launched, and other endeavours of States/UTs in various ODF Plus activities in order to meet the goals of SBM-G Phase-II.

The compendium is developed by Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen IEC team and comprises stories for each of the thematic pillars of SBMG phase - II.

The overall selection of stories is based on following key criteria:

Innovations : This section highlights the innovative approaches that have been used to achieve ODF Plus. For example, in State of Odisha how the community participation and leadership at the Block level, ensured ODF Plus Model village status of Jitikar Suanlo village in Bhingarpur GP of Khordha District or how displaying live models of ODF Plus assets (to effectively manage solid and liquid waste) helped the Shravasti District in Uttar Pradesh achieve ODF Plus status.

Overcoming Barriers : This section discusses the challenges that have been faced in achieving ODF Plus and how these challenges have been overcome. For example, the State of Tamil Nadu, tackled the significant challenge in solid waste management in peri-urban panchayats of Madurai through an innovative mass cleaning initiative as part of the Namma Ooru Superu campaign.

Raising Awareness : This section highlights the measures that have been taken to raise awareness about sanitation. For example, children from government schools in Fatehpur District of Uttar Pradesh have been using their creative energy to promote positive WASH behaviour in rural areas through a magazine called the WASH Vaani.

Special Campaigns : This section discusses the special campaigns that have been launched to achieve ODF Plus. For example, the State of Gujarat as part of the Swachh Sagar, Surakshit Sagar (Clean Coast, Safe Sea) campaign, initiated measures to clean their beaches on a regular basis and thereby protect the environment..

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   Stuart Broad

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England team-mate James Anderson is the only other quick bowler to achieve the feat. Broad is fifth on the all-time list and Anderson third, with spinners Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble completing the top five.

Broad made his debut against Sri Lanka in Colombo 2007, going on to make 166 Test appearances till date and be part of four Ashes-winning sides..

Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   Gujarat

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Gujarat will host the 69th edition of Filmfare Awards in 2024, with the state government's Tourism Corporation on Wednesday signing an MoU with entertainment and lifestyle content company Worldwide Media to host the event and promote the state as a film destination

Gujarat will host the Filmfare Awards - annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India - for the first time and through that the state will be promoted as a film destination, they said.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed by Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd (TCGL) MD Saurabh Parghi on behalf of the state government and Deepak Lamba, CEO on behalf of Worldwide Media (WWM) in the presence of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel at Gandhinagar.

The government said the film industry has received the state's 2022 Cinematic Tourism Policy with enthusiasm and has been attracted to the state as a destination of their choice to shoot movies.

Hosting this Filmfare Award 2024 will become another landmark for the state seeking to project itself as a prominent film destination, it said.

Apart from CM Patel, Tourism Minister Malubhai Bera and other senior ministers and officers, Managing Director of Times Group Vineet Jain and Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff were also present at the MoU signing ceremony..

Source : Deccan Herald

Correct Answer :   Ministry of Coal

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Coal Ministry has successfully set new benchmarks in the e-procurement ecosystem, creating a level playing field for stakeholders and fostering fair competition.

The Ministry has performed consistently well on GeM platform for two financial years in a row.

During the financial year 2023-24, the Coal Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) have demonstrated unwavering confidence in GeM by publishing bids worth Rs. 21,500 crore.

This enthusiastic participation showcases the Ministry of Coal's commitment to promoting a digital-first approach and its proactive role in spearheading the adoption of advanced technologies for the benefit of all stakeholders. 

Coal Ministry was recently awarded for its achievements on e- procurement through GeM by Ministry of Commerce. The Ministry of Coal has been awarded in “Best Engagement” category, Coal India Limited (CIL) has been awarded “Rising Star” and NLC India Limited has been awarded in the “TimelyPayments” category.

Moreover, high value tenders worth Rs.5,372.60 crore have been published on GeM portal during the period 10th to 16thJuly 2023.

As on 17th July 2023, the actual procurement facilitated through GeM this financial year stands at an impressive Rs 3,909 crore.

Hence, the Ministry has surpassed last year's target of Rs. 4000 crore within a span of 100 days in current financial year, setting an example for other Ministries and PSUs to emulate.

Ministry of Coal’s progress in e- procurement through GeM portal exemplifies its commitment to delivering exceptional results and driving the nation's growth. The Ministry remains committed to leveraging GeM’s potential to achieve more milestones thereby contributing to the nation's growth..

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   Virat Kohli

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Former Indian captain Virat Kohli has become the 10th cricketer in the world to play 500 international matches. The record of playing most international matches is in the name of India's great batsman Sachin Tendulkar.

Mahela Jayawardene (652) is in second place in terms of playing most matches. Among the players who have played more than 500 matches in world cricket, 8 players are from Asia.

Virat Kohli had become the 10th cricketer in history to have played a 500th match in international cricket after Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Rahul Dravid, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Ricky Ponting, Shahid Afridi and Jacques Kallis.

Kohli will be hoping that he will be able to soldier on and reach his 30th Test on Friday (21st July 2023).

It would take his tally for the year to two Test centuries, having earlier scored a 186 in the fourth Test against Australia in Ahmedabad. It would also be his first Test century away from home since December 2018, when he scored 123 against Australia in Perth.

India's 500 internationals club :

“I’m really grateful,” Kohli had told bcci.tv before the match about reaching the milestone. “I feel very blessed that I’ve had such a long journey playing for India, and such a long Test career because I’ve had to work really hard for it. It makes you feel happy about the hard work you’ve put in, to see the longevity in the game and the results over the years as well. So yeah, I’m very grateful.”

Kohli is the fourth player from India to have reached 500 internationals. He has played with the three other players at some stage in his international career. Sachin Tendulkar, who shared a dressing room with Kohli till 2013 in international cricket, ended his illustrious career on 664 matches. Rahul Dravid, who also played with Kohli in the early stages of the latter's career and is now India's head coach, played 504 matches. Meanwhile Dhoni, who was captain of India before Kohli took over and under whom the latter made his international debut, played 535 matches..

Source : Hindustan Times

Correct Answer :   Harmehar Singh Lally and Sanjana Sood

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In shooting, India bagged one silver to stay in the second position of the medal tally on Day 4 of the ISSF Junior World Championships 2023, in Changwon, Korea 19th July 2023.

Indian pair of Harmehar Singh Lally and Sanjana Sood won a silver medal in the skeet mixed team event. Harmehar and Sanjana had to endure a gruelling 52-shot shoot-off, which they won 26-24 eventually, enroute to the final, where they lost 38-43 to the Italian duo of Andrea Galardini and Sara Bongini.
 
With that medal, India stayed in second place on the medals table with four gold, four silver and three bronze medals.

China kept rising at the top with six gold, eight silver, and four bronze medals. Italy is in the third spot with two gold, one silver and three bronze medals.

ISSF Junior World Championships 2023: India’s medal winners

Correct Answer :   bronze

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Indian Surf Team won the bronze medal at the Asian Surfing Championship 2023, held at Thulisdhoo Island in Maldives. 18 countries from Asia took part in this championship.
 
* The Surfing Federation of India sent a team comprising  4 senior Surfers in the men’s category and 2 Surfers in the Under 18 category.

* 5 out of the 6 Surfers were from Tamilnadu.
 

* Srikanth from Kovalam, Tamil Nadu made it to the semi-finals in the Men's Category.
 
* The President of the Surfing Federation of India Arun Vasu said that Surfing team finished overall 3rd with a bronze medal.
 
* Indian Surfers will now get ready for the first-ever World Surfing League (WSL) event in India to be held in Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu from August 14 to 20, 2023..

Source: AIR

Correct Answer :   R Praggnanandhaa

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Young Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa emerged champion in the V Geza Hetenyi Memorial Super GM chess tournament 2023, here on Wednesday (19th July 2023) in Hungary.

The 17-year-old GM scored 6.5 points to finish clear first in the 10-player event. After nine rounds of play, he ended up a point ahead of M Amin Tabatabaei (Iran) and Russia’s Sanan Sjugirov.

Praggnanandhaa posted five wins, drew three games and suffered only one defeat in the tournament, at the hands of Amin Tabatabaei in the fifth round.

In the final round, he secured a draw against Polish GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek with white pieces.

The teenaged Indian GM now has a live rating of 2707.3.

Praggnanandhaa scored wins over Sjugirov, Parham Maghsoodloo (Iran), Adam Kozak (Hungary) and Peter Prohaszka (Hungary).

He drew his last three games, against Pavel Eljanov (Ukraine), Maxim Matlakov (Russia) and Wojtaszek..

Source : Indian Express

Correct Answer :   John Guy

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MET curator John Guy’s upcoming book, “Tree & Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India”, traces the emergence of rare Buddhist art from southern India.

The book, published by Mapin in collaboration with The Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) in New York, is described as a pioneering study of the emergence of Buddhist art in southern India, featuring vibrant photography of rare works — with many published for the first time.

Unlike traditional narratives, which focus on northern India (where the Buddha was born, taught, and died), this ground-breaking book presents Buddhist art from monastic sites in the south.

For instance, it is the first publication to foreground devotional works produced in the Deccan from 200 BCE to 400 CE.

“To better understand the processes by which the Buddhist faith and culture were disseminated, the focus is shifted away from the heartland of Buddhism, the greater Magadha region of northern India where the Buddha was born, taught, and died, to the territories of the Daksinapatha, the regions of the south, and the roads that led there.

“The southern region, the Deccan, was home to some of the greatest early monasteries of Buddhist India. Today, we turn to Bharhut, Sanchi, and Amaravati when we seek to understand the majesty of this architecture and its adornment,” said Guy, curator of South and Southeast Asian Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York..

Source : Indian Express