- Where is the 8th edition of the India-Kazakhstan joint military exercise KAZIND-2024 being held?
(A) Auli, Uttarakhand
(B) Jodhpur, Rajasthan
(C) Chaubatia, Uttarakhand
(D) Umroi, Meghalaya
(E) Mahajan Field, Rajasthan
Solution: Option A.)
Ans (A)
The India-Kazakhstan joint military exercise KAZIND-2024 commenced on 30 September 2024 at Auli, Uttarakhand.
The 8th edition of KAZIND-2024 will be held from 30 September to 13 October 2024.
The previous edition of KAZIND was held in Otar, Kazakhstan, from 30 October to 11 November 2023.
KAZIND is an annual bilateral military exercise, first held in 2016, and alternates between India and Kazakhstan.
India and Kazakhstan established diplomatic relations on 22 February 1992.
In 2015, India and Kazakhstan signed a Defence and Military Technical Cooperation agreement.
Kazakhstan troops were deployed under Indian command for the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon in 2018.
- Who has been selected as the recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award for 2022?
(A) Anupam Kher
(B) Mithun Chakraborty
(C) Shah Rukh Khan
(D) Dharmendra Kewal
(E) Jeetendra Kapoor
Solution: Option B.)
Ans (B)
Mithun Chakraborty has been selected as the recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award for 2022.
The announcement was made by the Union Ministry for Information and Broadcasting on 30 September 2024.
Mithun Chakraborty will be the 54th recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
Waheeda Rehman was the recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2021.
Mithun Chakraborty will receive the award at the 70th National Film Festival award ceremony on 8 October 2024.
The jury that selected the award winner for 2022 included Asha Parekh, Vipul Shah, and Khusbhu Sundar.
- Where will the National Centre of Excellence (NCoE) for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics, and Extended Reality (AVGC-XR) be established in India?
(A) Bengaluru, Karnataka
(B) Hyderabad, Telangana
(C) Mumbai, Maharashtra
(D) Chennai, Tamil Nadu
(E) New Delhi
Solution: Option C.)
Ans (C)
The Government of India has approved the establishment of a National Centre of Excellence (NCoE) for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics, and Extended Reality (AVGC-XR).
The NCoE will be located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, the hub of the Indian film industry.
The NCoE is being set up based on recommendations from the Task Force on Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics in 2022.
The 2022 Task Force was headed by Apurva Chandra, then Secretary of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.
- Which industrial area has recently dedicated to the nation by PM Modi, which is part of Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor infrastructure project?
(A) Palghar Industrial Area
(B) Bidkin Industrial Area
(C) Navi Mumbai Industrial Area
(D) Aurangabad Industrial Area
(E) Nashik Industrial Area
Solution: Option B.)
Ans (B)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually dedicated the Bidkin Industrial Area to the nation in September 2024.
The project is part of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC).
The Bidkin Industrial Area is part of the “Make in India, Make for the World” programme to promote industrial growth, economic prosperity, and sustainable development.
The Bidkin Industrial Area covers 7,855 acres and was developed in three phases for Rs 6,414 crore.
The project has been developed under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme (NICDP).
- Who recently set a new national record for India in the men’s 5,000 meters race at the World Athletics Continental Tour in Japan?
(A) Tejaswin Shankar
(B) Gulveer Singh
(C) Avinash Sable
(D) Sarvesh Kushare
(E) Praveen Chithravel
Solution: Option B.)
Ans (B)
Gulveer Singh, a 26-year-old Indian athlete, won the gold medal in the men’s 5,000 meters race at the World Athletics Continental Tour in Japan.
He set a new national record with a time of 13 minutes and 11.82 seconds.
Gulveer broke his own previous record of 13 minutes and 18.92 seconds, set earlier this year.
Before Gulveer, the 5,000 meters record was held by Avinash Sable.
In March 2024, Gulveer broke the men’s 10,000 meters record at the Ten Track Meet in California.
He finished the 10,000 meters race in 27 minutes and 41.81 seconds, breaking Surender Singh’s 16-year-old record of 28 minutes and 02.89 seconds.
Despite his performance, Gulveer missed the Olympic qualification time for the Paris Games, which is 27:00.00, by over 41 seconds.
- Who won the final of the 95th All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup Hockey Tournament?
(A) Indian Oil Corporation
(B) Mohammedan SC
(C) Chennaiyin FC
(D) RSPB-Railways
(E) Kerala Blasters
Solution: Option D.)
Ans (D)
RSPB-Railways defeated Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) 5-3 to win the 95th All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup Hockey Tournament.
Gursahibjit Singh, Simranjot Singh, and Yuvraj Walmiki were key contributors to RSPB’s victory, with Walmiki scoring two crucial goals.
Chennaiyin FC head coach Owen Coyle admitted his team’s underperformance in their match against Mohammedan SC in the Indian Super League.
Mohammedan SC won their maiden ISL match, defeating Chennaiyin FC 1-0, with Lalremsanga Fanai scoring the only goal.
Kerala Blasters drew 1-1 with NorthEast United in another ISL match.
Rivaan Dev Preetham won the Micro Max category of the MECO-FMSCI National Karting Championship and retained his title.
Ruhaan Alva emerged as the Senior Max class National champion in the same karting event.
Md Imran won the 29th Tamil Nadu IM Norm Closed Circuit Chess championship.
- Which state government has granted Rajyamata status to desi cows?
(A) Maharashtra
(B) Uttar Pradesh
(C) Karnataka
(D) Andhra Pradesh
(E) Madhya Pradesh
Solution: Option A.)
Ans (A)
The Maharashtra government granted the status of “Rajyamata” to desi cows for the first time.
The Indian giant squirrel is the state animal of Maharashtra.
The title “Rajyamata” will only be extended to desi cows.
Desi cows are considered important for their scientific, religious, and economic significance.
Desi cow breeds in Maharashtra include Devani, Lal Kandhari (Marathwada), Khillar (Western Maharashtra), Dangi (North Maharashtra), and Gavlau (Vidarbha).
The population of desi cows in Maharashtra has decreased significantly.
A daily grant of ₹50 per cow will be provided for the well-being of desi cows.
- Name the Indian batsman, who has recently become the fastest cricketer to reach 27,000 international runs?
(A) Virat Kohli
(B) Rohit Sharma
(C) Shikhar Dhawan
(D) KL Rahul
(E) Suryakumar Yadav
Solution: Option A.)
Ans (A)
Virat Kohli became the fastest cricketer to reach 27,000 international runs in 594 innings, breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 623 innings.
Kohli is the only cricketer to achieve 27,000 runs in under 600 innings, surpassing players like Ricky Ponting and Kumar Sangakkara.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan compared India’s aggressive batting style in the second Test against Bangladesh to England’s “Bazball” approach.
- Which initiative recently completed its 10th anniversary on October 2, 2024?
(A) Digital India Initiative
(B) Make in India Campaign
(C) Skill India Program
(D) Swachh Bharat Mission
(E) Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme
Solution: Option D.)
Ans (D)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has participated in Swachh Bharat Diwas 2024 on October 2, marking the 10th anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Mission.
The event has taken place at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, coinciding with the 155th celebration of Gandhi Jayanti.
This year’s theme for Swachh Bharat Diwas has been ‘Swabhav Swachhata, Sanskaar Swachhata,’ focusing on cleanliness and environmental well-being.
The Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan has been launched by PM Modi on October 2, 2014, and includes two components: Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) and Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban).
- Which institution has recently launched the BharatGen initiative, aimed at creating generative AI systems for Indian languages?
(A) IIT Delhi
(B) IIT Kanpur
(C) IIT Bombay
(D) IIIT Hyderabad
(E) IIM Ahmedabad
Solution: Option C.)
Ans (C)
BharatGen is a pioneering initiative in generative AI aimed at enhancing public service delivery and citizen engagement.
The initiative was inaugurated in New Delhi in the virtual presence of Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology.
BharatGen is the world’s first government-funded Multimodal Large Language Model project focused on creating AI in Indian languages.
The initiative is led by IIT Bombay under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS).
BharatGen aims to create generative AI systems that generate high-quality text and multimodal content in various Indian languages.