Today GK, 2023 Latest General Knowledge Questions, Daily GK 2022

1 .

Who became a Indiaâ€™s 79th Chess Grandmaster on 31st Dec 2022?

A)

Arjun Kalyan

B)

Pranesh M

C)

Harika Dronavalli

D)

Koustav Chatterjee

Correct Answer : Option (B) - Pranesh M

Pranesh M clinched the title in the Rilton Cup, the first tournament of the FIDE Circuit, here to become India’s 79th chess Grandmaster.

* The 16-year-old Pranesh crossed the 2500-rating threshold and became a Grandmaster, having completed his three norms before the Rilton Cup.

* To become a GM, a player has to secure three GM norms and cross the live rating of 2,500 Elo points.

* Seeded 22nd, the Indian made a clean sweep of the field in Stockholm, winning eight games and finishing a full point ahead of IM Kaan Kucuksari (Sweden) and GM Nikita Meshkovs (Latvia) as the tournament concluded late on Thursday (5th Jan 2023).

* He topped the standings with eight points.

* Tamil Nadu player Pranesh M topped the charts in the tournament, which brought together 136 players representing 29 national federations.

* Compatriot R Raja Rithvik, a GM, finished eighth with six points.

* Pranesh is now the early leader of the FIDE Circuit with 6.8 circuit points that he gets for this victory. The one who accumulates the most points by the end of the year qualifies for the 2024 FIDE Candidates.

* He is trained by renowned coach RB Ramesh, who said, “Pranesh is a very practical player. Hard working, raw talent… his openings are not that good but his middle-game and end-game skills are quite good.”..

Source : Indian Express

Published On : January 6, 2023

2 .

ISRO has signed (5th Jan 2023) a MoU with which company to help Indian space tech startups with technology tools?

A)

Tesla

B)

Google

C)

Microsoft

D)

Amazon

Correct Answer : Option (C) - Microsoft

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Microsoft on Thursday (5th Jan 2023) signed an MoU to help space-tech startups and, in turn, boost the growth of space technology in the country.

"The MoU seeks to empower space-tech startups across the country with technology tools and platforms, go-to market support and mentoring to help them scale and become enterprise-ready..." a statement issued by Microsoft in Bengaluru.

Through this tie-up, space tech startups identified by ISRO will be on-boarded on to the Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub platform that supports startups at every stage - from idea to unicorn.

Microsoft said through its platform, space-tech startup founders in India will have free access to tech tools and resources they need to build and run their business.

Isro chairman S Somanath was quoted as having said : "The collaboration will benefit space-tech startups in their analysis and processing of vast amounts of satellite data for various applications, using cutting-edge methods like AI, machine learning and deep learning."

Microsoft India president Anant Maheshwari said : "Through our technology tools, platforms and mentorship opportunities, we are committed to empowering space-tech startups to drive cutting-edge innovation and accelerate scientific discovery."..

Source : Times of India

Published On : January 6, 2023

3 .

Which country has approved the first-ever vaccine for honey bees which will confer protection from the foulbrood disease?

A)

India

B)

China

C)

Russia

D)

United States

Correct Answer : Option (D) - United States

World's first vaccine for honeybees was approved for use by the United States. The vaccines helps to protect bees from the American Foulbrood disease.

* A conditional license by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been granted to American biotech company Dalan Animal Health Inc for making the vaccine.

* The American Foulbrood disease, for which the vaccine has been made, is caused by the bacterium Paenibacillus larvae which can weaken and kill hives.

* The deadly disease originated in the US but has now spread globally.

* The vaccine contains killed whole-cell Paenibacillus larvae bacteria and will be administered by mixing it into the queen feed which is consumed by the worker bees.

* The vaccine is incorporated into the royal jelly by the worker bees. They will then feed it to the queen completing the process while the queen ingests it and fragments of the vaccine are deposited in her ovaries..

Source : Hindustan Times

Published On : January 6, 2023

4 .

Which Australian player broke the record of the highest test centuries owned by Sir Donald Bradman?

A)

David Warner

B)

Steve Smith

C)

Usman Khawaja

D)

Glenn Maxwell

Correct Answer : Option (B) - Steve Smith

Australia’s Steve Smith stormed another ton on Thursday (5th Jan 2023) and moved past legendary Sir Donald Bradman’s record for the most Test hundreds in Australia’s history.

Smith brought up his 30th century in the longest format of the game. Smith became just the fourth Australian after Ricky Ponting (41), Steve Waugh (32) and Matthew Hayden (30) to reach 30.

With a stellar pull shot off South Africa’s Anrich Nortje to throw the ball out of the boundary, Smith reached the milestone in 190 balls.

He achieved the feat during the second day of the third Test against South Africa at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney.

During his 104-run performance, Usman Khawaja and Smith added more than 200 runs to the Australian total during their partnership, pushing the total well over 350 runs. Khawaja also achieved his thirteenth hundred in Test matches.

33-year-old Smith is now ranked fourth among all Australians and fourteenth overall for most hundreds in Test cricket.

Fast approaching 9,000 Test runs, he today passed the hauls of Hayden (8,635 runs) when he moved into the 80s, and then Michael Clarke (8,643) when he got to triple digits. He is now behind former captain Ricky Ponting, Allan Border and Steve Waugh in the list..

Source : Indian Express

Published On : January 6, 2023

5 .

Who has launched (3rd Jan 2023) its second satellite Pushan-Alpha as rideshare onboard SpaceX's Transporter-6 mission from Cape Canaveral in Florida, US?

A)

Aadyah Aerospace

B)

Spacerolls Aerospace

C)

Xovian Aerospace

D)

Digantara Aerospace

Correct Answer : Option (D) - Digantara Aerospace

Space sector start-up "Digantara" on Tuesday (3rd Jan 2023) launched its second satellite Pushan-Alpha as a rideshare onboard SpaceX’s Transporter-6 mission that soared to the low earth orbit from Cape Canaveral in Florida, US.

* The satellite will serve as a space weather testbed in the sun synchronous orbit for enhancing precision driven situational space awareness applications, Digantara Aerospace founder and CEO Anirudh Sharma told.

* Sharma said the Pushan-Alpha observations will help complement Digantara’s ROBI (ROBust Integrating proton fluence meter) mission, the world’s first commercial space-based space weather monitoring system onboard ISRO’s PSLV-C53 launched on June 30, 2022.

* The Pushan-Alpha mission is named after the Hindu solar deity considered as the god of journeys and protector of travellers.

* The Pushan-Alpha mission has a three-fold objective — to extend radiation measurements to the sun synchronous orbit; to assess mid to high energy particle radiation from the South Atlantic Anomaly; and to investigate any co-relation of atmospheric drag and particle environment for enhanced orbit and debris modelling.

* Bengaluru-based Digantara is developing end-to-end infrastructure to address the difficulties of space operations and space traffic management through its Space Mission Assurance Platform..

Source : The Print

Published On : January 5, 2023

6 .

Which Life Insurance company has launched iTerm Prime Insurance plan?

A)

Exide Life Insurance

B)

Max Life Insurance

C)

Aegon Life Insurance

D)

PNB MetLife India Insurance

Correct Answer : Option (C) - Aegon Life Insurance

Aegon Life Insurance has launched iTerm Prime Insurance plan catering to the need of self-employed individuals with a special 10% discount on first-year premium.

* Designed with emerging India in mind, iTerm Prime offers a minimum sum assured of â‚¹25 lakhs, with no upper limit on a consumer’s requirement, making it accessible to a large swathe of the population with different insurance needs.

* The product can be purchased on Aegon Life’s website and through its partners; the buying process is completely paperless and requires zero documentation or uploads.

* The product also offers a ‘Special Exit Value’ option that allows the policyholder to get all premiums back when they turn 55 years old.

* iTerm Prime is designed to encourage emerging India to gain access to life insurance. Self-employed individuals make up the majority of India’s working population, yet this segment remains under-insured.

* To make insurance accessible for them, we have simplified buying journeys and sped up underwriting by digitizing it. Besides this, we have introduced a special discount and flexible payment options to make the product more affordable for the end consumer," said Satishwar B., MD and CEO of Aegon Life Insurance..

Source : Mint

Published On : January 5, 2023

7 .

Which Bank has launched (4th Jan 2023) 'digital solutions for exporters', a comprehensive set of banking and value-added services on a single platform?

A)

SBI

B)

Axis Bank

C)

ICICI Bank

D)

HDFC Bank

Correct Answer : Option (C) - ICICI Bank

ICICI Bank 4th Jan 2023 announced the launch of digital solutions for exporters, a comprehensive set of banking and value-added services on a single platform.

In a first-of-its-kind initiative in the industry, the suite of solutions digitise the entire export life-cycle-- from discovery of export markets, export finance, foreign exchange services to receipt of export incentives.

The initiative aims : To simplify the journey of exporters by decongesting the current time-intensive manual procedures, thereby significantly improving their operational efficiency.

The key services and offerings of the digital solutions for exporters are :

Insta EPC : Exporters, having relationship with the Bank, will get the convenience of Export Packing Credit (EPC) instantly and digitally. This facility can be availed through Trade Online, the Bank’s flagship digital platform for export-import transactions. Insta EPC enables instant disbursal of credit in a matter of minutes compared to the industry practice of a few working days. This facility offers significant advantage to exporters as it gives access to funds instantaneously for same day use, enhancing their operational efficiency.

Trade accounts : The solution offers foreign currency accounts namely Exchange Earners’ Foreign Currency Account (EEFC). This is a Current Account that allows exporters to hold their foreign currency earnings in the account, without converting it to the local currency. This feature of the account helps exporters to reduce their foreign exchange transaction cost. It also offers specialised Current Account like One Globe Trade Account (OGTA) for export and import related transactions.

Paperless exports solutions : The Bank’s digital solutions like e-Softex (catering to IT/ITeS exporters) and e-DOCs have simplified exporters’ journey across various stages by offering digital filing of documents, settlement and reconciliation of export invoices, among others. It brings in the significant convenience of reduced turn-around time for these transactions from the existing industry practice of a few days to near real time. The simplified digital solutions enable exporters to claim their export incentives faster.

Foreign exchange solution : Exporters can book forex deals over phone or online through digital platforms to get flexibility and transparency in booking rates.

Digital Letter of Credit facility (e-LC) : The exporters can avail e-LC facility, which acts as a digital repository as well as makes LC available on real-time basis, for verification of trade terms.

Electronic Bills of Lading (e-BL) : The Bank has partnered with leading e-BL service providers to facilitate end-to-end digital movement of trade documents across the world. This results in efficient working capital management by reducing turnaround time to a couple of days from existing industry practice of 8-10 days.

Value added services : Exporters can avail value-added services from Trade Emerge, the Bank’s one-stop platform that offers a comprehensive digital suite of various banking and beyond banking services for companies. The platform facilitates an end-to-end journey from business incorporation, regulatory guidelines, partner discovery, logistics and cargo tracking through a blend of services provided by trusted alliance partners.

Trade APIs : The Bank offers Trade APIs, a future-ready industry-first solution, for seamless handling of export bills. The range of APIs include Remittances, Letters of Credit and Bank Guarantees. The Trade API solution provides the exporters with a simplified ‘Do-It-Yourself (DIY)’ experience anytime anywhere. With APIs in place, exporters can initiate transactions via their ERPs directly with the Bank, thereby enhancing productivity..

Source : ICICI

Published On : January 5, 2023

8 .

Who has selected 21 personalities for the Assam State Civilian Awards 2022?

A)

Sarbananda Sonowal

B)

Himanta Biswa Sarma

C)

Manish Sisodia

D)

Pema Khandu

Correct Answer : Option (B) - Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam CM, Himanta Biswa Sarma has selected 21 personalities for the Assam State Civilian Awards 2022.

The State’s highest civilian award, ‘Assam Baibhav’ to Dr. Tapan Saikia for his contributions in the field of cancer care.

Assam Saurav (Assam second highest civilian award) will be conferred to Krishna Roy; Gilbertson Sangma; Nayanmoni Saikia; Dr. Binoi Kumar Saikia and Dr. Shashidhar Phukan.

Asom Gaurav (third highest civilian award) will be conferred to 15 people..

Source : AIR

Published On : January 5, 2023

9 .

Which mission did Odisha win the UN-Habitat's World Habitat Awards 2023?

A)

Amnesty scheme

B)

Kaliya mission

C)

Biju Swastya Kalyan Yojana

D)

Jaga Mission

Correct Answer : Option (D) - Jaga Mission

Odisha won the UN- Habitat's World Habitat Awards 2023 for the Jaga mission. The mission is a 5T initiative of the state.

The awards recognize and showcase innovative, exceptional, and game-changing housing concepts, initiatives, and programmes from throughout the world.

The Jaga mission is a land titling and slum rehabilitation initiative that attempts to improve slum residents' lives.

Published On : January 5, 2023

10 .

Mohamed Irfaan Ali, a recipient of the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award, is the President of which country?

A)

Guyana

B)

Israel

C)

Iran

D)

Lebanon

Correct Answer : Option (A) - Guyana

Guyana’s President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, US-based businessman Darshan Singh Dhaliwal, and DBS Bank CEO Piyush Gupta are among 21 recipients of the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA), announced on Monday (2nd Jan 2023).

Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award is the highest honour conferred on overseas Indians during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention, which will be held this time between January 8 and 10 in Indore.

Irfaan Ali, 42, who was sworn in as the ninth President of Guyana in August 2020, belongs to an Indo-Guyanese Muslim family. He will also be the chief guest at the convention, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs..

Source : Indian Express

Published On : January 5, 2023