1. Which institution released a report titled ‘India Ageing Report 2023’?
A. NITI Aayog
B. NSO
C. UNFPA 🗹
D. World Bank
- The ‘India Ageing Report 2023’ was released recently by the International Institute for Population Sciences and the United Nations Population Fund. It revealed that India’s elderly population could constitute over 20% of the country’s total population by the year 2050. The decadal growth rate of the elderly population of India estimated at 41%.
2. Kongthong, which bagged ‘Best Tourism Village (Bronze) Award 2023’, is located in which state?
A. Assam
B. Meghalaya 🗹
C. Arunachal Pradesh
D. Manipur
- Kongthong, a village situated in the East Khasi Hills of Meghalaya, recently bagged the award at the National Tourism Awards 2023. These awards were conferred by the Union Tourism Ministry. Meghalaya implements the Homestay Scheme, providing a subsidy of up to 7 lakh rupees per homestay. About 300 homestays were sanctioned in the last year.
3. Which country hosted the ‘Annual IAEA General Conference’ in 2023?
A. India
B. Austria 🗹
C. Paris
D. Rome
- The Annual IAEA General Conference was held in Vienna. At this event, India announced its plans to generate 22 GW power through nuclear energy to achieve Net Zero. Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Ajit Kumar Mohanty shared India’s ambitious plans to step up nuclear power generation during a meeting with IAEA Director General.
4. Which Union Ministry prepared the ‘Smart Cities Mission, India: Localising SDGs’ Report?
A. Ministry of Finance
B. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs 🗹
C. Ministry of MSME
D. Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- ‘Smart Cities Mission, India: Localising Sustainable Development Goals’ was prepared by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry and UN-Habitat. It revealed that around 70 percent of projects under the SCM align with the SDGS on cities, clean water and sanitation, clean energy and economic growth.
5. Which is the second north-east state after Arunachal Pradesh to introduce e-cabinet system?
A. Assam
B. Tripura 🗹
C. Meghalaya
D. West Bengal
- Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha has launched the e-cabinet system at the state secretariat to develop digital infrastructure in the state. Tripura has thus become the fourth state-and second in the Northeast-after Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh, to have introduced an e-cabinet system.
6. Which institution released the draft regulations on mobile number portability?
A. NASSCOM
B. TRAI 🗹
C. TCIL
D. C-DoT
- The Draft Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability (Ninth Amendment) Regulations, 2023 was released recently by TRAI. It proposes safeguards against SIM-swap frauds. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) seeks suggestions on connectivity and mobile number porting.
7. As per a new report, made along with NITI Aayog, which state had the highest electricity demand in the country in July 2023?
A. Tamil Nadu
B. Karnataka
C. Uttar Pradesh 🗹
D. Gujarat
- A report by the non-profit organization Vasudha Foundation, in collaboration with the government’s public policy think tank NITI Aayog, revealed that Uttar Pradesh had the highest electricity demand in the country in July 2023, along with Maharashtra, both recording 15.3 billion units of electricity consumption.
8. Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI) is a tool used to monitor which parameter?
A. Flood
B. Drought 🗹
C. Air Quality
D. Radiations
- More than 70% of the districts monitored by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), over 500 out of 718, are currently experiencing meteorological drought conditions, ranging from mild to severe dryness. The findings were based on recent Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI) data maintained by IMD. SPI is a probabilistic tool deployed by IMD for monitoring drought.
9. Which Indian state is experiencing a surge in Scrub Typhus?
A. Uttarakhand
B. Himachal Pradesh 🗹
C. Gujarat
D. Goa
- Due to record-breaking rainfall in Himachal Pradesh, the state is witnessing a surge in ‘chiggers’, a vector for Orientia tsutsugamushi, the pathogen responsible for causing scrub typhus. The state has recorded over 1,000 cases of the disease in 2023, twice the number recorded last year. Fifteen people have died due to scrub typhus in the state so far.
10. Which institution is responsible for developing international Mobile telecommunication standards?
A. IMF
B. ITU 🗹
C. UNESCO
D. MIT
- The United Nations body ITU’s Study Group, during its meeting in Geneva, has endorsed India’s 6G Vision, during a recent meeting. International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is responsible for developing international mobile telecommunication standards. IMT 2030, also known as 6G, is being developed by Working Party 5D of ITU-R Study Group 5.
11. ‘Swavlamban 2.0’ is the indigenisation roadmap of which institution?
A. IRDAI
B. Indian Navy 🗹
C. NITI Aayog
D. RBI
- A new report reveals that tortoises or hard-shell turtles from India are traded across a more extensive global network compared to soft-shell turtles. The former is primarily sought after as pets, while the latter is primarily traded for meat, within India. The illegally traded tortoise / hard- shell turtles were often found to be transported by air. Chennai emerged as the most central node in tortoise / hard-shell turtle trafficking, ranking as the top exporting and intermediary district.
12. Which country launched ‘Noor 3 imaging satellite’ into orbit?
A. Israel
B. UAE
C. Iran 🗹
D. North Korea
- Iran’s Revolutionary Guards successfully launched a third military satellite into orbit. The Noor 3 imaging satellite orbits at an altitude of 450 kilometres above the earth’s surface and was launched by the three-stage Qased, or messenger carrier, which launched its predecessor Noor 2 in 2022.
13. Scientists at IISER have pinpointed a Circular RNA virus known as?
A. ciTRAN 🗹
B. ciRNA
C. ciHIV
D. ciReplica
- Scientists at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) in Bhopal have pinpointed a Circular RNA virus known as ciTRAN, the function of which in HIV-1 virus replication has been a mystery. Additionally, they have created a molecule capable of impeding viral transcription. Circular RNA is crucial for gene expression regulation and various biological functions, and its impact on HIV-1 replication remains largely unexplored, as explained by the researchers.
