Dear Friends,
Welcome to the Quick Gyan (QG) Section of D2G. QG is just a glimpse of what happened today all over the world.
Only For Serious Candidates : We strongly recommend you to read the Current Affairs in detail. For your convenience, we have provided quick links under each update. Make use of it.
Always Keep Yourself Updated!!!
Albania, India sign MoU on diplomatic passport holders
Albania and India have signed an agreement on the removal of visa requirements for diplomatic and service passport holders between the two countries, Albanian Foreign Affairs Ministry has said. The agreement will serve the interests of both countries and strengthen friendly relations and cooperation in various areas of mutual interest, Xinhua quoted the ministry as saying on November 27. The agreement will enable businesses from both sides to have freer movement, thus allowing more frequent communication and cooperation, it added.
Quick Link – India and Albania
Gen Next Barak missile defence shield built by Israel and India clears first hurdle
The next-generation Barak surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, jointly developed by Israeli Aerospace Industries, Rafael and DRDO, was successfully tested for the first time from an Israeli warship against a jet-powered drone on November 27. The supersonic Barak-8 missile system, whose interception range has been increased from the earlier 70-km to around 100-km, will be now tested from Indian destroyer INS Kolkata “within a month”. Once the long-range SAM system is fully operational in around two years, all Indian frontline warships will be equipped with this all-weather “defence shield” against incoming enemy fighters, drones, helicopters, missiles and other munitions.
Quick Link – BARAK Missile
President’s Standard awarded to two IAF squadrons
President Pranab Mukherjee on November 28 presented President’s Standard to two Indian Air Force ( IAF) squadrons based here in West Bengal. Hasimara is an Indian Air Force (IAF) station, around 15 km away from India-Bhutan border. The squadrons which have been honoured are the 18 Squadron and the 22 Squadron. The 18 Squadron is also called ‘Flying Bullets’ and came to be known as ‘Defenders of Kashmir Valley’ during the 1971 India-Pakistan war.
Quick Link – President’s Standard Award
Japan to provide Rs 5,536 crore loan for metro projects in Chennai and Ahmedabad
India and Japan on November 27 exchanged notes for Japan’s Official Development Loan Assistance ( ODA) worth Rs 5,536 crore for Chennai and Ahmedabad metro rail projects. The notes were exchanged here between S Selvakumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs and Yutaka Kikuta, from the Embassy of Japan to India.
Quick Link – Metro Projects
Centre clears infra development plan for nine cities under AMRUT
Centre has approved a working plan for Chhattisgarh where a total of nine cities would receive a major infrastructural facelift under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). The Urban Development Ministry sanctioned the plan during a high-level meeting of its officials in New Delhi yesterday. Under the Rs 1,998 crore plan, the Centre will provide Rs 870 crore in next three years while the rest of funding will be borne by the state government and its civic bodies.
Quick Link – AMRUT
Priya Parmar’s novel among NYT’s 100 notable books of 2015
Indian-origin author Priya Parmar’s historical novel “Vanessa and Her Sister”, has been included in the New York Times’ 100 Notable Books of 2015. Parmar’s portrait brings noted modernist English writer Woolf’s sister “Vanessa out of the shadows, into fully realised, shining visibility”. The world remembers Virginia better than her enigmatic older sister: Parmar restores the symmetry of their relationship in the familial landscape, showing how essential Vanessa’s steadying force was to Virginia’s precarious balance.
Quick Link – Vanessa and Her Sister
Lt Gen Ashok Ambre takes command of Army’s 9 Corps
Lt Gen Ashok Ambre today took over as the new chief of Army’s 9 Corps (Rising Star Corps). He took over the position from Lt Gen Rajeev Tewari, who has been posted as GOC (General Officer Commanding) in West Bengal. During his command of the formation, oversaw the effective handling of counter- terrorists operations, resulting in the elimination of all infiltrating terrorists and the successful conduct of rescue missions in the Corps zone.
Quick Link – Lt Gen Ashok Ambre
Milkha Singh flags off ‘Hyderabad 10K Run’
‘Flying Sikh’ Milkha Singh today flagged off the 13 edition of the ‘Hyderabad 10K Run’ in which around 10,000 enthusiasts participated, displaying their willingness to run for a cause. Addressing sports enthusiasts from the city who gathered in thousands, the legendary athlete cited examples of US President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and himself when it came to working hard with commitment and will power.
Quick Link – Milkha Singh
Mussoorie sanctuary setting of Alter’s new book
India-born American author Stephen Alter combines the natural history of Jabarkhet Nature Reserve in Mussoorie with magical elements that appeal to younger readers in his new book “The Secret Sanctuary”.
A short novel for children aged 10+, “The Secret Sanctuary” is intended to encourage students of all ages to explore the world of nature and to use their imaginations when they encounter wild birds and animals, says Alter, who lives in Mussoorie most of the year.
Quick Link – Mussoorie Sanctuary
Centre to invest Rs 1,700 crore for NISH
Centre will invest Rs 1,700 crore in phases to transform NISH (National Institute of Speech and Hearing) in Tiruvananthapuram as the National University for Rehabilitation Sciences and Disability Studies to benefit differently-abled people. The Centre’s aim is to have a country with people with no disabilities and if at all there are such people, government will provide necessary support and education to them and equip them with instruments, devices and other facilities to help them fully integrate themselves in mainstream life.
Quick Link – NISH
India joins UK, Aus to help poor nations combat climate change
Joining a select group of countries, India today said it will provide $2.5 million for the vulnerable nations in the Commonwealth to help them introduce clean energy and reduce green-house gas emissions.
The announcement was made on the second day of the biennial summit of the Commonwealth whose membership includes powerful countries like Britain, Australia, Canada, Singapore and small island nations such the Maldives, Tonga and Nauru. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj represented India at the summit which was attended by heads of state and government of around 30 countries.
Quick Link – Climate Change
Russia removes India from its safe travel destinations list
It’s the second blow to Goa’s tourism industry which was already reeling from a reduction in arrivals due to the devaluation of the rouble.
In a second blow to Goa’s tourism industry which was already reeling from a reduction in arrivals due to the devaluation of the rouble, India has been struck off the list of safe travel destinations recommended for Russian tourists, according to a report by the Russian news agency INTERFAX.
Amongst the destinations now identified as ‘safe’ are Cuba, south Vietnam and southern China. “Both India and Goa were not considered as good destinations for Russian travellers,” said Ekaterina Belyakova, head of the Russian information centre.
Quick Link – India unsafe for Russians
Patanjali to invest Rs 1,000 cr on expansion
Patanjali Ayurved, the FMCG venture promoted by yoga guru Baba Ramdev, will invest Rs 1,000 crore next year on expansion and plans to sharpen focus on e-commerce and exports. The Haridwar-based firm will set up manufacturing plants in South India and is looking to become a partner in mega food parks being developed in southern cities.
Patanjali, which has 15,000 stores across the country, plans to add more products in segments where it already has presence such as dairy, instant foods, baby care, natural cosmetics and health supplements. Patanjali sells its products through 15,000 franchise stores pan India of which 5,000 are big stores and rest are in shop-in-shop concept.
Quick Link – Patanjali
Sindhu seizes Macau Open title for third time
Two-time defending champion PV Sindhu completed a hat-trick of women’s singles title at the USD 120,000 Macau Open Grand Prix Gold after defeating Japan’s Minatsu Mitani in the finals here on Sunday.
Sindhu produced a dominating game to notch up a 21-9 21-23 21-14 win against sixth seed Mitani in a women’s singles match that lasted an hour and six minutes here.
World No. 12 Indian dished out some superb strokes and acute angled returns to bamboozle the Japanese, besides making some sound judgements at the baseline to get across Mitani, who struggled to keep the shuttle inside the court.
Quick Link – PV Sindhu
State Bank of Travancore (SBT) has launched a ‘Housing for All (Urban): Mission 2022’
State Bank of Travancore (SBT) has launched a ‘Housing for All (Urban): Mission 2022’ to provide affordable housing to families belonging to the economically weaker sections/low-income groups in the urban centres.
The scheme upholds the spirit of the ‘Swachh Bharath Mission’ by insisting on a toilet for every house that is built, a spokesman for the bank said here.
As part of the scheme, loans will be advanced in line with the Centre’s target of providing ‘pucca’ residential houses for all urban Indian families by the year 2022.
The loans will be available for beneficiaries in two segments, viz.
(i) those with a household annual income of up to Rs. 3 lakh under the economically weaker sections and
(ii) those with a household annual income between Rs. 3,00,001 and Rs. 6 lakh under the low-income group.
Quick Link – State Bank of Travancore
Baroness Patricia Scotland elected new Commonwealth Secretary General
British politician, Baroness Patricia Scotland has been elected the sixth Commonwealth Secretary General. She replaces outgoing Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma whose mandate expires in March 2016 after two terms. Scotland, born in the Caribbean nation of Dominica and a member of the British House of Lords, now becomes the first woman Commonwealth Secretary General after the Commonwealth Heads of Government endorsed her election.
Quick Link – Baroness Patricia Scotland
Norms to improve air quality issued
The Ministry of Road Transport & highways has issued a draft notification for implementation of BS-5 and BS-6 norms for the automobile sector, covering the four wheeler category. The ministry has decided to advance the date of implementation of the higher level emission standards. As per the roadmap earlier laid down, by the Auto Fuel Policy, BS – 5 norms were to implemented from 1st April 2022 and BS-6 from 1st April 2024.
Quick Link – Air Quality
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