Daily Current Affairs Quiz: July 19 2024

Solution: Option A.)

Ans (A)
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar inaugurated the India -Mauritius Maitree Udyan in Port Louis and planted a tree there.
The Foreign Minister of Mauritius, Maneesh Gobin was also present during the groundbreaking ceremony on 16 July 2024.
Dr S Jaishankar is on a two-day visit to Mauritius on July 16 and 17, 2024.
India and Mauritius have close ties, and a sizeable population of Mauritius is of Indian origin.
During his visit, Dr Jaishankar met the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Pravind Jugnauth, and Deputy Prime Minister Steven Obeegadoo. He discussed bilateral relations with his Mauritius counterpart, Maneesh Gobin.
Dr Jaishankar also visited the Civil Service College project in Reduit, which is being built with Indian assistance.

Solution: Option D.)

Ans (D)
The Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) ‘s first Asian “Pre-clinical Network Facility” was inaugurated by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Earth Sciences, MoS PMO, Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space, and MoS Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Dr Jitendra Singh in Faridabad, Haryana.
The Faridabad-based Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council (BRIC) – Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI) or BRIC-THSTI is the first laboratory in Asia and 9th in the world to be accredited by the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.
The CEPI labs are in Europe, Australia, and the United States of America.

Solution: Option B.)

Ans (B)
The International Monetary Fund(IMF), in its World Economic Report released on 16 July 2024, has raised its forecast for India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in 2024-25 by 20 basis points (bps) to 7 percent.
In the earlier April report, it had projected a growth rate of 6.8 percent for the financial year 2024-25.
The growth forecast for 2025-26 has remained unchanged at 6.5 percent.
The Indian economy grew by 8.2 percent in 2023-24, making it the fastest-growing major economy in the world.
The Reserve Bank of India expects the GDP to grow by 7.2 percent in 2024-25.

Solution: Option A.)

Ans (A)
Haryana state government has recently announced to give 10% reservation to Agniveers in Mining Guard and Police recruitment. Also, a 5% reservation has been announced for recruitment to Group C posts. Apart from this, there is also talk of relaxation in the upper age limit for the candidates. Under this, Agniveers will be given an additional exemption of 3 years.

Solution: Option B.)

Ans (B)
India’s Shaurya Bava won the bronze medal at the World Junior Squash Championships 2024 in Houston, Texas. This is only the second medal won by an Indian male squash player at the World Junior Squash Championships. Asian Games gold medallist Kush Kumar was the last Indian to reach the semi-finals of the tournament in 2014.

Solution: Option A.)

Ans (A)
In view of the Paris Olympics, the government’s ambitious Khelo India Rising Talent Identification (KIRTI) program was launched by the Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports and Labour & Employment. It is going to get a fresh boost under the leadership of Mansukh Mandaviya. Its second phase will be started on 19th July. Earlier, the first phase of Kirti was launched in Chandigarh on March 12 this year.

Solution: Option D.)

Ans (D)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has announced a new scheme, the “Ladka Bhau” scheme, for the unemployed youth of the state on July 17, 2024. Under the scheme, a Class 12 pass trainee will get Rs 6,000, a diploma holder will get Rs 8,000, and a graduate degree holder will get Rs 10,000 per month.

Solution: Option C.)

Ans (C)
Manoj Saunik, former Chief Secretary of Maharashtra, has been appointed as the new Chairman of MahaRERA, succeeding Ajoy Mehta.
Saunik, an IAS officer of the 1987 batch, retired as Chief Secretary in December 2023 and currently serves as the Principal Advisor to the Chief Minister.
Established in March 2017, MahaRERA previously had Gautam Chaterjee and Ajoy Mehta as its chairs before Saunik’s appointment.

Solution: Option C.)

Ans (C)
The Indian team, which participated at the 35th International Biology Olympiad (IBO) 2024 achieved remarkable success, with one student winning a GOLD medal and three students securing SILVER medals.
The 35th IBO was held in Astana, Kazakhstan, from July 7 to July 13, 2024. The team was led by two distinguished leaders, Prof. Sasikumar Menon from TDM Lab, Mumbai, and Dr. Mayuri Rege from Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE), TIFR, and two Scientific Observers, Dr. Rajesh Patkar from IIT Bombay, and Dr. Devesh Suthar from M. S. University, Baroda.

Solution: Option A.)

Ans (A)
State Bank of India (SBI) has launched a 444-day term deposit scheme, “Amrit Vrishti”, with an interest rate of 7.25 percent.
This scheme is available to domestic and non-resident Indian customers from July 2024.
India’s largest bank will offer an additional 0.50 percent to senior citizens on the scheme.
Currently, the highest interest rate that the bank offers on a retail domestic term deposit (below ₹3 crore) is 7 percent on a 2-year less than 3 years maturity bucket.