- The Indian men’s hockey team won the bronze medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics by defeating which team?
(A) Spain
(B) Argentina
(C) China
(D) Japan
(E) Sri Lanka
Solution: Option A.)
Ans (A)
The Indian men’s hockey team, led by Harmanpreet Singh, won the bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics by defeating Spain 2-1.
The bronze medal match was held at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium in Paris, France, on 8 August 2024.
This bronze medal is the second consecutive one for the Indian men’s hockey team, following their bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The match against Spain was the last international game for veteran Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who had an outstanding Olympics.
Harmanpreet Singh scored both of India’s goals, while Miralles scored the only goal for Spain.
Harmanpreet Singh finished the Paris Olympics as the top scorer in the men’s hockey tournament with ten goals.
Earlier in the semi-final, India lost to Germany 3-2.
The bronze medal at the Paris Olympics was the 13th medal won by the Indian men’s hockey team in Summer Olympics history.
This is the first time since the 1972 Munich Olympics that India has won back-to-back medals.
The Indian men’s hockey team has won 8 gold, 1 silver, and 4 bronze medals in the Olympics.
- India has won the 4th CAVA (Central Asian Volleyball Association) Women’s Volleyball Nations League tournament by defeating which team?
(A) Indonesia
(B) Nepal
(C) Russia
(D) France
(E) Britain
Solution: Option B.)
Ans (B)
The Indian women’s national volleyball team won the 4th CAVA Women’s Volleyball Nations League by defeating Nepal 3-2 in the final.
The final was held at Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu, Nepal, on 7 August 2024.
This was the second CAVA title for the Indian women’s team.
Five teams participated: India, Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Iran.
In the league stages, India won all matches except against Nepal, who achieved their first-ever victory against India.
In the semi-finals, India defeated Sri Lanka, and Nepal beat Iran.
India avenged their earlier defeat by beating Nepal 23-25, 25-14, 22-25, 25-21, 15-5 in the final.
Iran won the third place by defeating Sri Lanka.
Maldives finished fifth in the tournament.
India’s Shalini was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
Final Medal Positions:
Gold: India
Silver: Nepal
Bronze: Iran
- The Reserve Bank of India has increased the limit for paying taxes through the UPI payment system to how much?
(A) 5 lakhs per transaction
(B) 4 lakhs per transaction
(C) 6 lakhs per transaction
(D) 3 lakhs per transaction
(E) 2 lakhs per transaction
Solution: Option A.)
Ans (A)
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced its third bi-monthly monetary policy for the financial year 2024-25 on 8 August 2024, keeping the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.5% for the ninth consecutive time.
The RBI has maintained its GDP growth forecast for India at 7.2% for the financial year 2024-25, unchanged from previous projections.
The Indian economy’s growth rate for 2023-24 was 8.2%.
The maximum amount limit for paying taxes through UPI has been increased from ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh per transaction, with a daily limit of ₹1 lakh for other UPI transactions.
The Cheque Truncation System (CTS) will switch to continuous clearing with on-realisation-settlement, speeding up cheque clearing to a few hours, from the current batch system that takes around two working days.
- Which satellite will be launched by ISRO on its 55th foundation day, 15 August 2024?
(A) GSAT-30
(B) RISAT-2B
(C) EOS-08
(D) Cartosat-3
(E) NavIC-1
Solution: Option C.)
Ans (C)
ISRO will launch the Earth Observation Satellite-08 (EOS-08) on 15 August 2024, its 55th foundation day.
The satellite will be launched using the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV)-D3 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
EOS-08 is a remote-sensing microsatellite with a mass of around 175.5 kg.
It will be placed in a Circular Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) at an altitude of 475 km.
The satellite has an operational life of around 1 year.
It can capture images in the Mid-Wave and Long-Wave infrared bands both during the day and night.
Key applications include disaster monitoring, environmental monitoring, fire detection, surveillance, and volcanic activity observation.
EOS-08 will aid in ocean surface wind analysis, soil moisture assessment, cryosphere studies over the Himalayas, flood detection, and inland waterbody detection.
- Which team won the Vigyan Team Award at the first Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar announced on 7 August 2024?
(A) The Mars Orbiter Mission team
(B) The Gaganyaan mission team
(C) The GSAT-30 team
(D) The Chandrayaan 3 team
(E) The Astrosat team
Solution: Option D.)
Ans (D)
The Chandrayaan 3 team of ISRO won the Vigyan Team Award at the first Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar announced on 7 August 2024.
The Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar is one of the highest awards in science, technology, and innovation in India.
Instituted by the government of India in 2023, the award replaced over 300 previously given awards.
The award includes a medal and citation, but no cash prize.
It recognizes contributions in science, technology, and innovation, either individually or in teams.
There are four categories for the award: Vigyan Ratna (up to 3 people), Vigyan Shri (up to 25 people), Vigyan Yuva (up to 25 people), and Vigyan Team (up to 3 teams).
The award covers 13 domains, including Biological Sciences, Mathematics and Computer Science, Physics, Chemistry, Earth Science, Medicine, Engineering Sciences, Agricultural Science, Environmental Science, Technology and Innovation, Atomic Energy, Space Science and Technology, and Others.
- Which recent exercise was conducted by the Indian Army in Ladakh to focus on high-altitude warfare and operations?
(A) Desert Blitz
(B) Himalayan Shield
(C) White Desert
(D) Parvat Prahaar
(E) Kavach 2024
Solution: Option D.)
Ans (D)
The Indian Army recently conducted the ‘Parvat Prahaar’ exercise in Ladakh.
The exercise focuses on high-altitude warfare and operations in mountainous and rugged terrains.
‘Parvat Prahaar’ is crucial for maintaining Army readiness and effectiveness near the India-China border.
The exercise involves simulating real-world combat scenarios to train soldiers.
Various Army units, including infantry, armoured, artillery, and support units, are participating.
Assets showcased include tanks, artillery guns (including K-9 Vajra), air-defense systems, UAVs, and other aviation equipment.
The exercise is ongoing for over a fortnight.
- Budhadev Bhattacharya passed away recently, he was the former Chief Minister of which state?
(A) Uttar Pradesh
(B) West Bengal
(C) Chhattisgarh
(D) Tamil Nadu
(E) Telangana
Solution: Option B.)
Ans (B)
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, former Chief Minister of West Bengal, passed away at age 80 at his residence in south Kolkata.
He served as Chief Minister from 2000 to 2011, succeeding Jyoti Basu, and led the CPM into the 2011 state elections.
The Trinamool Congress, led by Mamata Banerjee, won the 2011 election, ending 34 years of Communist rule in West Bengal.
Bhattacharjee was known for his simple lifestyle and his tenure saw policies towards business and industrialization, which contributed to the Left’s defeat in 2011.
Significant issues during his tenure included land acquisition controversies in Singur and Nandigram, leading to political backlash.
He is survived by his wife Meera and son Suchetan. His organs will be donated for medical research as per his wishes.
- Who has recently took over as Director General Hospital Services (Armed Forces)?
(A) Vice Admiral Anupam Kapoor
(B) Vice Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi
(C) Vice Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh
(D) Vice Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar
(E) Vice Admiral Vennam Srinivas
Solution: Option A.)
Ans (A)
Surgeon Vice Admiral Anupam Kapur has assumed the role of Director General Hospital Services (Armed Forces) at the Armed Forces Medical Services.
He was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 27 June 1987.
Before his current position, he served as the Command Medical Officer of the Western Naval Command.
He has also commanded the Indian Navy hospitals INHS Asvini and INHS Sanjivani.
Surgeon Vice Admiral Kapur is an alumnus of the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune.
He specializes in Obstetrics and Gynecology and is further specialized in Gynecological Endoscopy.
He has been awarded the Nao Sena Medal and commended twice by the Chief of the Naval Staff and the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (West) for his service.
- Aman Sehrawat has entered the semi-finals of which category of freestyle in Paris Olympics 2024?
(A) 45 kg
(B) 49 kg
(C) 57 kg
(D) 53 kg
(E) 60 kg
Solution: Option C.)
Ans (C)
Aman Sehrawat advanced to the semi-finals of Men’s 57 Kg freestyle wrestling at the Paris Olympics by defeating Zelimkhan Abakarov 12-0.
Aman dominated the match, scoring eight points in the second round to secure his victory.
Abakarov, the 2022 world champion, contested the last two points, but the referee confirmed Aman’s win.
Aman will face Japanese top seed Rei Higuchi in the semi-finals.
He is an Asian Championship gold medallist and the only male wrestler from India to qualify for the Olympics.
- In August 2024, which Indian naval ship conducted a Maritime Partnership Exercise with the German Navy off Kiel Canal?
(A) INS Vikramaditya
(B) INS Tabar
(C) INS Kolkata
(D) INS Chennai
(E) INS Delhi
Solution: Option B.)
Ans (B)
INS Tabar conducted a Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) with the German Navy’s Sea Lynx on August 5, 2024.
The exercise took place off the Kiel Canal.
It included advanced maritime operations like Ship Controlled Approaches, Winching exercises, and VERTREP (Vertical Replenishment) serials.
The exercise aimed to strengthen maritime relations between India and Germany.
It also focused on enhancing professional and collaborative capabilities between the two navies.