General Knowledge(GK) (or) General Awareness

Welcome to the General Knowledge Section of Free Time Learning. As we are aware General Knowledge (GK) is a very important area in all the competitive exams held in the country. Nowadays, a good knowledge of general awareness is very important in clearing any competitive and government recruitment examinations.

These General Knowledge Question are very important and usefull to UPSC, IAS/PCS, UPPSC, IBPS, SBI, RBI, SSC, CGL, Railway, APPSC, TSPSC, KPSC, TNPSC, TPSC, UPPSC, MPSC, RPSC, BPSC, MPPSC, UKPSC, MPSC, and other competitive exams.

1 .

Approximately how many brick-and-mortar branches will public sector banks open in unbanked areas of various states by December 2022?

100

200

300

400

Correct Answer : 300

* As part of the financial inclusion drive, public sector banks will open about 300 brick-and-mortar branches in the unbanked areas of various states by December 2022.

* These new branches will cover all remaining unbanked villages with a population of more than 3,000, according to sources.

* A Maximum number of 95 branches will be opened in Rajasthan followed by 54 in Madhya Pradesh.

* The public sector banks will open 38 branches in Gujarat, 33 in Maharashtra, 32 in Jharkhand and 31 in Uttar Pradesh..

Source : Business Standard

Published On : September 7, 2022

2 .

Which private sector Bank introduced a new SMS banking facility for its customers on September 2022?

Axis Bank

ICICI Bank

HDFC Bank

Karur Vysya Bank

Correct Answer : HDFC Bank

HDFC Bank, India’s largest private sector lender, has started a new "SMS banking" facility for its customers, through which the customers can now access a wide range of banking services round-the-clock. The services include checking account balances and summaries, managing credit cards, applying for loans, requesting for chequebook, or generating account statements.

“Banking services are now a text away! #BankOnUs and access a wide range of banking services from wherever you are, round-the-clock. 24/7 x 365! To get started, SMS “Register" ; “Last 4 digits of customer ID" ; “Last 4 digits of account number" to 7308080808," HDFC Bank has said in a tweet.

SMS Banking is a service that allows customers to perform banking transactions on their mobile phone via SMS. Just type their query and send to 7308080808 to get a response on SMS Banking-registered mobile number.

The new SMS banking is currently available only in the English language. Customers can now undertake SMS banking operations from anywhere in India or overseas if they have national or international roaming enabled on their mobile device, without any cost.

How To Register For HDFC Bank SMS Banking :

To register for SMS Banking, customers need to visit an HDFC Bank ATM, insert the debit card and then enter the PIN. Thereafter, they need to go to ‘More Options’ on the homepage and enter their registered mobile number and then tap ‘Confirm’. Following this, the customer will receive a confirmation message on their mobile. The registration is done.

New SMS Banking registration is not available in net banking. “You can Register for SMS Banking by sending SMS from Bank Registered mobile number," HDFC Bank said.

It said, “If you register through by sending an SMS on 7308080808, you will be able to access SMS Banking instantly. If you fill in the application form to register for SMS Banking, it will take 4 working days to complete the registration process from the time you submit your application form."

Services That Can Be Availed Using SMS Banking :

* Balance Enquiry

* Cheque Book Request

* Account Statement Request

* Recent 7 Days Transactions

* FD Summary

* Debit Card Dispute

* Loans — Personal Loan, Auto Loan, Business Loan, Consumer Durable Loan

* Credit Card — View Reward Points, Convert Big Spends To EMI, Credit Card Dispute

* FastTag Registration

* Open Fixed Deposits

* Insurance – Both life insurance and general insurance..

Source : News18

Published On : September 7, 2022

3 .

Who has launched a pilot project in partnership with the TP Northern Odisha Distribution to offer bill payment solutions to more than 2 million customers?

Bharti Airtel

Reliance Jio

Vodafone Group

Adani Data Networks

Correct Answer : Bharti Airtel

Bharti Airtel has launched a pilot project in partnership with TP Northern Odisha Distribution to offer bill payment solutions to more than two million registered customers of the utility, said a senior executive at India’s second largest telecom operator.

The initiative will mobilise the 4,000 banking points of Airtel Payment Banks (APB) in north Odisha to facilitate bill payments. Customers of the joint venture between Tata Power and the Odisha government simply need to visit the store and provide their contact numbers and consumer numbers at the banking point.

Airtel IQ business head Abhishek Biswal told ET that the company’s ambition is to scale this project across Odisha and eventually partner with other state electricity boards for similar solutions. APB has nearly 500,000 outlets across the country.

Airtel IQ is a unit of Airtel’s enterprise business. For the quarter to June, Airtel Business reported revenue of Rs 4,365.6 crore, up 15% year-on-year. Its contribution to the overall revenue stood at 19%..

Source : Economic Times

Published On : September 7, 2022

4 .

Who won the singles finals of the 2022 Japan Open Badminton Tournament in Osaka?

Takuro Hoki and Arisa Higashino

Kenta Nishimoto and Akane Yamaguchi

Yuki Fukushima and Jonatan Christie

Misaki Matsutomo and Kento Momota

Correct Answer : Kenta Nishimoto and Akane Yamaguchi

Home favourites Kenta Nishimoto and Akane Yamaguchi thrilled the crowd at the Japan Open badminton tournament in Osaka on Sunday(4th Sep 2022), winning the men's and women's singles titles for the host country.

World no. 21 Nishimoto stunned Taiwan's number four seed Chou Tien-Chen 21-19, 21-23, 21-17 to finally claim his first international title, having lost in his previous six final appearances.

Akane Yamaguchi gave Japan another gold medal to celebrate when she beat South Korea's An Se-young 21-9, 21-15 in the women's final..

Source : Sportstar Thehindu

Published On : September 7, 2022

5 .

Who was presented with the annual Sahitya Puraskar of the Loknayak Foundation (18th Loknayak Foundation Award)?

Tanikella Bharani

Paruchuri Gopala Krishna

K Raghavendra Rao

Kota Srinivasa Rao

Correct Answer : Tanikella Bharani

Telugu actor Tanikella Bharani has been chosen for the award of the annual Sahitya Puraskar of Lok Nayak Foundation this year(2022). The award would be presented to him at the birth centenary celebrations of former Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao at the Kalabharathi auditorium here on Monday evening.

Announcing this at a media conference here on Sunday(4th Sep 2022), Lok Nayak Foundation Chairman Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad said that the award carries a cash prize of ₹2 lakh. The foundation, established 19 years ago, has been giving the annual award for the past 18 years.

Mizoram Governor Kambhampati Haribabu would participate as the chief guest. Actor Manchu Mohan Babu, Justice Jasti Chelameswar, retired Judge of the Supreme Court, Lok Satta Founder N. Jayaprakash Narayan, Chairman of Vignan Group of Institutions Lavu Rattaiah and Associate Editor of Andhra Jyothi daily A. Krishna Rao would attend as guests.

To mark the birth centenary of former Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao this year, four individuals, who had served NTR from the day he took charge as Chief Minister till his death, would be presented cash prizes of ₹1 lakh each..

Source : The Hindu

Published On : September 7, 2022

6 .

Which Indian GM won the 22nd Dubai Open chess tournament on 4th Sep 2022?

Nihal Sarin

Karthikeyan Murali

Aravindh Chithambaram

Adhiban Baskaran

Correct Answer : Aravindh Chithambaram

Grandmaster Aravindh Chithambaram emerged champion in the 22nd Dubai Open chess tournament here on Sunday(4th Sep 2022), with 7.5 points as seven Indians finished in the top 10 with R Praggnanandhaa sharing second spot with five others.

The 22-year-old Chithambaram and Praggnanandhaa settled for a draw in the ninth and final round which enabled the former finish with seven points, half a point ahead of the rest of the field.

The former Indian national champion, seeded 13th, remained unbeaten through the nine rounds, winning six games and drawing three. His victories included those against Rinat Jumabayev and in-form compatriot Arjun Erigaisi.

Five players finished on seven points and in joint second spot — Praggnanandhaa, top-seed Alexandr Predke, Indians Abhijeet Gupta, Jaykumar Sammed Shete and S P Sethuraman.

Praggnanandhaa, who has been in good form this year and recently defeated world No.1 Magnus Carlsen in the FTX Crypto Cup in Miami, began with a bang by winning four straight games. A loss at the hands of Kazakhstan GM Rinat Jumabayev pegged him back..

Source : The Print

Published On : September 6, 2022

7 .

India signs six space industry MoUs with which country at Bangalore Space Expo (BSX) 2022?

Canada

Australia

Germany

United States

Correct Answer : Australia

As many as six space industry memorandums were exchanged between Australia and India on Monday(5th Sep 2022), at the Bengaluru Space Expo (BSX) 2022, including two with Bengaluru-based companies.

MoUs were exchanged between six Australian and Indian companies, with Bengaluru-based aerospace manufacturer Ananth Technologies collaborating with Space Machines Company in developing product integration, testing, technology development and joint space programmes.

Meanwhile, Bengaluru-based space data and analytics company SatSure will be collaborating with QL Space, work on building satellites and AI solutions to support mining, defence and agriculture industries, as well as explore applications in space.

Apart from the two companies, MoUs were signed between India’s DCube and SABRN Health, Altdata, Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace and HEX20 as well as QL Space, and Chennai-based GalaxEye and QL Space.

The various partnerships will be working towards a variety of goals, including space mineral exploration missions and development of technology for monitoring the health of astronauts.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S Somanath said foreign participation in BSX and the Indian space industry has increased, which is very encouraging. “The opening up of the space sector has contributed largely to its growth on a large scale.

The most exciting part of the space ecosystem is startups. There are hundreds of space startups in India today and they are working on various systems, which is promising,” he said..

Source : New Indian Express

Published On : September 6, 2022

8 .

Who has been appointed as the Managing Director(MD) and CEO of 'Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd' for a period of 3 years from 4 September 2022?

R Ramesh Babu

Dr. N. Kamakodi

S. Selvaraj

Krishnan Sankarasubramaniam

Correct Answer : Krishnan Sankarasubramaniam

The Board of Directors of Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd. has appointed veteran banker Krishnan Sankarasubramaniam (aka S Krishnan) as the Managing Director & CEO with effect from 4th September 2022 as term of the incumbent MD & CEO K V Rama Moorthy ends on 3rd September 2022, the bank said in a press note.

Prior to joining the Bank, Krishnan was the MD & CEO of Punjab and Sind Bank from 4th September 2020 to 31st May 2022. During his period there was total transformation of the Bank be it digital, IT, risk, compliance, monitoring, recovery, business development or HR. He played a crucial role in bank’s turnaround leading to bank registering highest ever profit in 2021-22..

Source : Economic Times

Published On : September 6, 2022

9 .

By what percentage has India's external debt increased from USD 573 billion (March 2021) to USD 620 billion (March 2022)?

9.4%

8.9%

8.6%

8.2%

Correct Answer : 8.2%

India’s external debt grew by 8.2 percent to over 620 billion US dollar at the end of March 2022.

Finance Ministry's Department of Economic Affairs has released the 28th edition of the Status Report on India’s External Debt 2021-22. According to it, India’s external debt was over 573 billion dollar at the end of March 2021.

Commercial borrowings, Non-resident Indians (NRIs) deposits, short-term trade credit and multilateral loans together accounted for 90 per cent of the total external debt. According to reports, the External debt as a ratio to Gross domestic product (GDP) fell marginally to 19.9 per cent as of March this year, from 21.2 per cent a year ago.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, India's external debt continues to be sustainable and prudently managed. She said, the long-term debt constitutes the bulk, while short-term debt is basically incurred to finance imports enhancing the stability aspects of the total external debt..

Source : News on Air

Published On : September 6, 2022

10 .

Who developed India's first nasal vaccine against COVID-19 approved by DCGI?

GENoMiX

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories

Serum Institute of India

Bharat Biotech

Correct Answer : Bharat Biotech

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Tuesday(6th September 2022) approved the country’s first intra-nasal Covid-19 vaccine -- Bharat Biotech’s iNCOVACC -- for restricted emergency use in those aged above 18 years.

It’s only the second such vaccine in the world, after CanSino Biologics’ vaccine in China, to get regulatory approval. Around 100 mucosal (nose and mouth) Covid-19 vaccines are under development across the world.

iNCOVACC is a chimpanzee adenovirus vectored recombinant nasal vaccine that has been specifically formulated to allow intra-nasal delivery through nasal drops. The nasal delivery system has been designed and developed to be cost effective in low- and middle-income countries, the company said. The vaccine is stable at 2-8°C.

Union Health Minister "Mansukh Mandaviya" said the vaccine has been approved for “primary immunisation against Covid-19 in the 18+ age group for restricted use in emergency situation”..

Source : Business Standard

Published On : September 6, 2022