General Knowledge(GK) (or) General Awareness

Correct Answer :   Egypt

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Egypt has retained the World Squash Championship 2023, after beating Malaysia by 2-1 in the final, at the Express Avenue Mall on Saturday (17th June 2023)

* Malaysia won the silver, and third place (bronze) was shared jointly by hosts India and Japan.

* India was defeated by Malaysia 3-0 in the semi-final.

* The championship was held in Chennai, Tamil Nadu with 8 countries as participants and was held from June 13 to 17.

* Egypt won the World Cup when it was last held here in 2011..

Source : Sportstar

Correct Answer :   United States

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Amid preparations for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US, the Defence Ministry on Thursday (15th June 2023) approved the deal for acquiring the Predator (MQ-9 Reaper) drones from America for which the final decision would be taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS).

* The deal for the Predator drones was given approval by the Defence Acquisition Council meeting 15th June 2023.

* The acquisition proposal will now have to follow a procedure after which it will have to be cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security," defence sources told here.

* The DAC is the highest body in the Defence Ministry to take decisions on acquisitions. All high value acquisitions are given final approval by the CCS.

* The Indian Navy is the lead agency for the deal in which 15 drones will be going to the maritime force for surveillance operations in its area of responsibility.

* The three services also have plans of going in for same type of medium altitude and long endurance drones from indigenous sources..

Source : Economic Times

Correct Answer :   Jagdeep Dhankhar

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The Vice President of India, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar will confer the 4th National Water Awards on 17th June, 2023 at an award distribution ceremony being organised at Plenary Hall, Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

By the Department of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD &GR), Ministry of Jal Shakti.

The Department has announced a total of 41 winners, including joint winners, for the 4th National Water Awards, 2022, covering 11 categories. Each award winner will be conferred with a citation and a trophy as well as cash prizes in certain categories.

* The 1st Prize for the Best State will be conferred on Madhya Pradesh;

* Best District will be conferred on Ganjam District, Odisha;

* Best Village Panchayat will be conferred on Jagannadhapuram Village Panchayat, Bhadradri Kothagudem district, Telangana;

* Best Urban Local Body will be conferred on Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh;

* Best Media will be conferred on Advance Water Digest Private Limited Gurugram, Haryana;

* Best School will be conferred on Jamiyatpura Primary School, Mehsana, Gujarat;

* Best Institution for Campus usage will be conferred on Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Reasi, Jammu and Kashmir;

* Best Industry will be conferred on Barauni Thermal Power Station, Begusarai, Bihar;

* Best NGO will be conferred on Arpan Seva Sansthan, Udaipur, Rajasthan;

* Best Water User Association will be conferred on the Sanjeevani Piyat Sahkari Mandli Ltd, Narmada, Gujarat;

* Best Industry for CSR Activities will be conferred on HCL Technologies Ltd., Noida, Uttar Pradesh..

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   Sri Lanka and Pakistan

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The Asia Cup 2023 will be take place in Pakistan and Sri Lanka between August 31 and September 17, 2023.

* Earlier, the tournament was originally meant to be held entirely in Pakistan.

* The Asian Cricket Council has approved the hybrid model, in which four of the 13 matches will be played in Pakistan and the remaining 9 in Sri Lanka.

* In Pakistan, matches will be held in Lahore while the games to be played in Sri Lanka will be held in Kandy and Pallekele.

* The hybrid model has come into effect after the BCCI expressed its reservations about touring Pakistan for the Asia Cup. Earlier, former champions Pakistan were given the right to entirely host the continental tournament.

Source : Hindustan Times

Correct Answer :   Varanasi Cantt Railway Station

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Indian Railways’ Varanasi Cantt Railway Station has been awarded a 5- star 'Eat Right Station' certification for providing high-quality, nutritious food to passengers. This certification is granted by FSSAI to railway stations adhering to standard food storage and hygiene practices.

The 'Eat Right Station' certification is awarded by FSSAI to railway stations that set benchmarks in providing safe and wholesome food to passengers. The station is awarded a certificate upon a conclusion of an FSSAI-empanelled third-party audit agency with ratings from 1 to 5.

The 5-star rating indicates full compliance by the station to ensure safe and hygienic food is available to passengers.

The certification is part of the 'Eat Right India' movement- a large-scale effort by FSSAI to transform the country's food system to ensure safe, healthy and sustainable food for all Indians.

Eat Right India adopts a judicious mix of regulatory, capacity building, collaborative, and empowerment approaches to ensure that our food is suitable both for the people and the planet.

The other railway stations with Star certification include Anand Vihar Terminal Railway Station (Delhi); Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Mumbai); Mumbai Central Railway Station, (Mumbai); Vadodara Railway Station, Chandigarh Railway Station and Bhopal Railway Station..

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   Shaktikanta Das

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The chief of the Reserve Bank of India, Shaktikanta Das was honoured with the title of ‘Governor of the Year’ for 2023 by Central Banking in London. Central Banking is an international economic research journal.

Reason : The award recognised his role as the RBI chief in managing inflation and skilfully handling India's banking system during crises like COVID pandemic and global turmoils.

* The RBI governor is behind critical reforms, and has ensured smooth management of world-leading payments innovation and led India through difficult times, said the organisers.

* He was recommended for the award by the publication in March 2023. He was awarded the title for his leadership of the central bank during global turmoil and tough situations.

* He managed India's central bank, and ultimately the whole banking system with finesse during COVID-19 pandemic, significant non-banking companies, Russia-Ukraine war, etc.

* He is the second RBI governor after Raghuram Rajan, who was honored with this title in 2015.

* While the National Bank of Ukraine was presented with the 2023 Central Bank of the Year..

Source : Mint

Correct Answer :   (-)3.48

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The annual rate of inflation based on all India Wholesale Price Index (WPI) numbers is (-) 3.48% (Provisional) for the month of May 2023, against (-) 0.92% recorded in April 2023.

Reason : Fall in prices of mineral oils, basic metals, food products, textiles, non-food articles, crude petroleum & natural gas, and chemical & chemical products

The food index has declined to 1.59%, while fuel and power fell to 9.17%

Manufactured product prices fell 2.97% in May 2023.

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   KVGB

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Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB) has launched a new deposit scheme 'Vikas Ashadeep 400 days' on Saturday (10th June 2023).

* KVGB chairman Shreekant Bhandiwad said the scheme is of a tenor of 400 days with interest rate of 7.5% for senior citizens and 7% for general public.

* Prospective customers of the scheme will earn higher interest for shorter period i.e. almost 13 months and it is the best competitive rate for the shorter period among the government and nationalised banks, he added.

* He also said that the aim of the bank, besides propping up deposits, was to encourage the habit of savings among the people. Under the scheme, a minimum of Rs 10,000 and maximum of Rs 2 crore can be deposited..

Source : Times of Iandia

Correct Answer :   Uruguay

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The U-20 FIFA World Cup 2023 came to a close with Uruguay lifting the coveted trophy after a narrow 1-0 win against Italy, powered by an 86th-minute goal from Luciano Rodriguez, on Monday (12th June 2023) in Argentina.

* One of the key figures in Uruguay’s defensive setup, Randall Rodriguez featured in all seven matches for his nation and conceded just three goals.

* Uruguay recorded clean sheets in all of its knockout matches, including the final, and went on to lift the trophy by beating Italy 1-0 in the final.

* According to the FIFA U-20 World Cup website, Rodriguez has prevented a whopping 68 goal attempts, the most by any goalkeeper in this edition.

* The custodian, who currently plays for Uruguay club Penarol, was called up to the senior Uruguay national team for the first time by new national team manager Marcelo Bielsa..

Source : Thehindu

Correct Answer :   Haryana

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Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday (12th June 2023) announced a monthly pension of Rs 10,000 for the Padma awardees from the state.

Besides the monthly pension, the chief minister has also announced a free travel facility in the 'Volvo bus' service of the state government for Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan awardees from Haryana.

The chief minister made this announcement during his visit to Karnal, an official statement said.

Meanwhile, Khattar said the government has formulated various welfare policies to make life easier for the people of the state.

"People are getting direct benefits from the schemes in our government. Now the assistance amount (under various schemes) goes directly to the beneficiary's account," he said.

The chief minister said that the state government is giving the benefit of health insurance up to Rs 5 lakh to families with an annual income of up to Rs 1.80 lakh.

“The government is also considering including the families in this scheme whose annual income is also between Rs 1.80 lakh and Rs 3 lakh by taking some premium amount to give them a benefit of up to Rs 5 lakh,” he added.

Khattar said after the implementation of the family ID card scheme -- Parivar Pehchan Patra -- 12.5 lakh new Below Poverty Line (BPL) ration cards have been made in the state.

People have appreciated the merit-based job system started by the present government and it has brought transparency against the 'parchi-kharchi' (favouritism-bribe) system which prevailed earlier, he said..

Source : Outlook India