- Which billiards and snooker player won the Western India Billiards and Snooker Championship 2024 by defeating S Shrikrishna in Mumbai?
(A) Geet Sethi
(B) Sourav Kothari
(C) Pankaj Advani
(D) Alok Kumar
(E) Manan Chandra
Solution: Option C.)
Ans (C)
Pankaj Advani defeated S Shrikrishna 822-520 to win the Western India Billiards and Snooker Championship in Mumbai.
This victory marks Advani’s sixth consecutive title win in Mumbai summit clashes.
Over the last two years, he has triumphed in multiple billiards and snooker tournaments, including the CCI event and NSCI Baulkline 3.0.
- Who recently took over as the Director General of Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) under the Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India?
(A) Ashok Kumar Singh
(B) Alok Tandon
(C) Sanjay Malhotra
(D) Rajiv Kumar
(E) Ajay Kumar Bhalla
Solution: Option A.)
Ans (A)
Ashok Kumar Singh, IAS took over the charge of Director General of Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) under Ministry of Labour & Employment, Govt. of India at its Headquarters in New Delhi.
Ashok Kumar Singh is an IAS Officer of 1999 batch of Kerala cadre.
He holds an M. Phil from National Defence College, New Delhi and is a Graduate in Mechanical Engineering from IIT, Kanpur.
- Which mission has a budget of Rs 10,370 crore for over 10,000 GPUs to support Indian languages?
(A) BharatAI
(B) Digital India
(C) Atmanirbhar Bharat
(D) IndiaAI
(E) National Language
Solution: Option D.)
Ans (D)
Centre finalises tender to procure 1,000 GPUs under IndiaAI Mission
The move is part of the Rs 10,370 crore IndiaAI Mission to establish a computing capacity of more than 10,000 graphics processing units (GPUs).
It will help in developing foundational models with a capacity of more than 100 billion parameters trained on datasets covering major Indian languages for priority sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and governance.
- Which former Chief of the Indian Army, known as “Paddy,” recently passed away and led the Army during ‘Operation PARAKRAM’?
(A) General Bipin Rawat
(B) General Sundararajan Padmanabhan
(C) General Deepak Kapoor
(D) General V.K. Singh
(E) General Nirmal Chander Vij
Solution: Option B.)
Ans (B)
The Indian Army deeply mourns the passing of General Sundararajan Padmanabhan (Retired), who served as the 20th Chief of The Army Staff.
He assumed the office of the Chief of Army Staff on October 1, 2000.
Known affectionately as “Paddy” among his peers.
General Padmanabhan led the Indian Army during the crucial period of ‘Operation PARAKRAM’.
- World Sanskrit Day is observed on August 19 to commemorate the 2500th anniversary of which Sanskrit grammarian’s birth?
(A) Patanjali
(B) Vyasa
(C) Valmiki
(D) Pāṇini
(E) Kalidasa
Solution: Option D.)
Ans (D)
World Sanskrit Day has been observed on 19th August.
In 1969, the Government of India declared August 19 as Sanskrit Day to commemorate the 2500th anniversary of the birth of Pāṇini, a Sanskrit grammarian.
Pāṇini book name is Aṣṭādhyāyī.
Theme 2024: ‘Vedic Heritage and Tradition‘.
Sanskrit is declared an official language of Uttarakhand.
In Karnataka, there is a village (Mattur in Shimoga district) where everyone speaks in Sanskrit.
- Which software introduced by the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DOPPW) is ranked 3rd in the National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment (NeSDA) 2021?
(A) Jeevan Pramaan
(B) Bhavishya
(C) PensionPlus
(D) Saral
(E) PensionSeva
Solution: Option B.)
Ans (B)
The Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DOPPW) introduced ‘Bhavishya’, a centralized pension processing software.
‘Bhavishya’, a centralized pension processing software aims to tackle delays and clerical errors in pension processing.
This system also helps reduce financial loss and harassment for pensioners.
Bhavishya streamlines pension processing across all central government Ministries and Departments.
Bhavishya is ranked 3rd best in the National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment (NeSDA) 2021.
Since January 1, 2017, Bhavishya has been mandatory for all central civil Ministries and Departments.
By August 14, 2024, 99 Ministries/Departments, 1,020 Offices, and 8,320 Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs) have adopted it.
The system has issued 250,845 Pension Payment Orders (PPOs).
It unifies stakeholders on a single platform and follows the CCS Pension Rules, 2021.
- Sadbhavana Diwas, observed annually on August 20, commemorates the birth anniversary of which former Indian Prime Minister?
(A) Jawaharlal Nehru
(B) Indira Gandhi
(C) Rajiv Gandhi
(D) Atal Bihari Vajpayee
(E) Manmohan Singh
Solution: Option C.)
Ans (C)
Sadbhavana Diwas, observed annually on August 20, commemorates the birth anniversary of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who served from 1984 to 1989 (youngest prime minister).
The day, meaning ‘Harmony Day’, is a reminder of his vision for a peaceful, prosperous and united India.
Sadbhavana Diwas was first observed on August 20, 1992.
- Who released the centenary commemorative coin of Dr. Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi in August 2024 in Chennai?
(A) Rajnath Singh
(B) Narendra Modi
(C) Amit Shah
(D) Nitin Gadkari
(E) Piyush Goyal
Solution: Option A.)
Ans (A)
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh released the centenary commemorative coin of Dr. Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi on August 18 in Chennai.
Singh paid tribute to Dr. Karunanidhi, calling him an icon of Indian politics.
Dr. Muthuvel Karunanidhi, also known as Kalaignar, served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for nearly two decades across five terms between 1969 and 2011.
Karunanidhi held the longest intermittent tenure as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu with 6,863 days in office.
He was a prominent leader in the Dravidian movement and served as the president of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) political party ten times.
Karunanidhi played a key role in advocating for federalism in India and was known for resonating with Tamil Nadu’s voice in national politics.
Rajnath Singh described Karunanidhi as a titan of Indian politics, a cultural stalwart, and a champion of social justice.
- Which country will export nearly 1,000 MW of electricity to India as announced in August 2024, by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar?
(A) Bhutan
(B) Sri Lanka
(C) Bangladesh
(D) Nepal
(E) Pakistan
Solution: Option D.)
Ans (D)
Nepal will export nearly 1,000 MW of electricity to India, as announced by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on August 19.
EAM Jaishankar described the electricity export as a “new milestone” and highlighted that their discussions covered energy, trade, connectivity, and infrastructure development.
Earlier this year, EAM Jaishankar visited Nepal for the 7th India-Nepal Joint Commission meeting, co-chaired with Nepal’s Foreign Minister NP Saud, focusing on trade, economic relations, connectivity, and defense cooperation.
In 2017, India pledged USD 1 billion to Nepal for reconstruction after the 2015 earthquake, including a USD 250 million grant for housing, education, health, and heritage.
Since 2003, India has completed over 490 High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs) in Nepal as part of the ‘Nepal-India Development Cooperation’ initiative.
- World Humanitarian Day has been observed on which day of August 2024?
(A) 17th August
(B) 18th August
(C) 19th August
(D) 20th August
(E) 21th August
Solution: Option C.)
Ans (C)
World Humanitarian Day, observed annually on August 19th, takes on a somber tone in 2024 as the global community faces a grim reality: humanitarian workers are increasingly becoming targets in conflict zones.
The year 2023 marked the deadliest year on record for aid workers, and 2024 threatens to surpass this grim milestone.
The World Humanitarian Day 2024 campaign, centered around the hashtag #ActForHumanity.
World Humanitarian Day traces its origins to a tragic event. On August 19, 2003, a bomb attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, resulted in the deaths of 22 humanitarian aid workers.
In recognition of this tragedy and the ongoing risks faced by humanitarian workers, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution in 2008.