Daily Current Affairs for Competitive Examinations: November 29, 2022
A part of the question paper for competitive exams like UPSC, SSC, IAS, Railway-RRB, UPPSC, UGC NET, SBI, MPPSC, etc., is devoted to the Current Affairs section. Moreover, scoring well in this portion is not difficult if we have a sound preparation plan. Candidates can ace the current affairs section of any exam by using the right tools and daily news analysis.
The most recent events from around the globe have been selected by our specialists at Embibe and are included in this post.
Current Affairs: Sports
PT Usha Set to Become the First Woman President of IOA
The legendary PT Usha is set to become the first woman President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) as she emerged as the lone candidate for the top post for the 10th December elections.
About PT Usha:
One of the most accomplished athletes from India, the 58-year-old PT Usha has won 11 medals, including four gold, at the Asian Games between 1982 and 1994.
She won four gold medals at the Seoul Asian Games in 1986 in the 200-metre, 400-metre, 400-metre hurdles, and 4 x 400 relay.
She also took home a silver in the 100 metres.
She finished fourth in the 400-metre hurdles final at the 1984 Olympics.
Usha won 23 medals, including 14 gold, in the Asian Championships from 1983 to 1998.
Fact:
Usha will also become the first Olympian and first international medallist to head the IOA in its 95-year-old history.
It will also add another feather to her cap after dominating Indian and Asian athletics for two decades before retiring in 2000 with a bagful of international medals.
Question:
Which of the following women athletes of India is going to be the first woman President of the Indian Olympic Association?
A. Karnam Malleswari
B. Mary Kom
C. Lovlina Borgohain
D. PT Usha
Answer: D
Current Affairs: National
Dhamma Dipa International Buddhist University: The First Buddhist University in India.
Shakya Gasan, chief monk of the World Buddhist Pope Association of South Korea, will lay the foundation stone for the International Buddhist University at Manu Bankul in Sabroom of South Tripura district.
Details:
The Dhamma Dipa International Buddhist University (DDIBU) is expected to become the first Buddhist-run university in India to offer Buddhist education along with courses in other disciplines of modern education as well.
DDIBU will be the first Buddhist University in India to be headed by Buddhist Monastics and run and monitored by Buddhists.
Preliminary estimates said around ₹100 crores might be spent for the project. The entire expenditure would be borne by the Buddhist community.
Courses:
Students from 31 countries will get a chance to study as well as research Buddhist literature, culture and tradition in the proposed varsity. Besides, there is also a plan to establish medical, technical and general degree colleges on the campus.
Question:
DDIBU, the first Buddhist University in India is being built in which of the following places of the country?
A. Ladakh
B. Itanagar
C. Tripura
D. Dharamshala
Answer: C
Current Affairs: Defence
Austra Hind Exercise-22
The bilateral training exercise “AUSTRA HIND 22” between contingents of the Indian Army and the Australian Army is scheduled to take place at Mahajan Field Firing Ranges (Rajasthan) from 28 November to 11 December 2022.
Details:
This is the first exercise in the series of Austra Hind with the participation of all arms and services contingent from both armies.
The Australian Army contingent comprising soldiers from the 13th Brigade of the 2nd Division has arrived at the exercise location.
The Indian Army is represented by troops from the DOGRA Regiment.
Exercise “Austra Hind” will be a yearly event that will be conducted alternatively in India and Australia.
The rationale of the Exercise:
The aim of the exercise is to build positive military relations, imbibe each other’s best practices and promote the ability to operate together while undertaking multi-domain operations in semi-desert terrain under a UN peace enforcement mandate.
This joint exercise will enable the two armies to share best practices in tactics, techniques and procedures for conducting tactical operations at the company and platoon level for neutralising hostile threats.
Training on new generation equipment and specialist weapons including snipers, surveillance and communication equipment to achieve a high degree of situational awareness apart from casualty management, casualty evacuation and planning logistics at the battalion/company level are also planned.
What is to be done During the Exercise?
During the exercise, participants will engage in a variety of tasks ranging from joint planning, joint tactical drills, sharing basics of special arms skills and raiding a hostile target.
The joint exercise, besides promoting understanding and interoperability between the two armies, will further help in strengthening ties between India and Australia.
Question:
The bilateral training exercise “Austra Hind-22” between contingents of the Indian Army and the Australian Army is to be recently held in which of the following states?
A. Gujrat
B. Rajasthan
C. Assam
D. Uttarakhand
Answer: B
Current Affairs: Science and Technology
ISRO Places Nine Satellites in Orbit
In one of its longest missions, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully placed nine satellites, including an Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-06) in multiple orbits with the help of the space agency’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C54).
The vehicle took off precisely at 11:56 am on Saturday from the first launch pad (FLP) at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), SHAR.
Details:
The eight nano satellites include ISRO Nano Satellite-2 for Bhutan (INS-2B), Anand, Astrocast (four satellites), and two Thybolt satellites.
Notably, EOS-6 is the Oceansat series’ third-generation satellite.
This is the 56th flight of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and the 24th flight of the PSLV-XL version with 6 PSOM-Xls.
What is PSLV-C54?
The PSLV-C54 is the 56th mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. It was launched on 26th November, 2022 with the EOS-06 satellite and Thybolt nanosatellites of Dhruva Space from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, India.
SATELLITES IN PSLV-C54
Satellite
Agency, Country
Separating Mass (kg)
EOS-06
URSC, India
1117.0
INS-2B
URSC, India
18.28
Anand
Pixxel, India
16.51
Thybolt (2 Nos.)
Dhruva Space,India
1.45
Astrocast (4 Nos.)
Spaceflight, USA
What is EOS-6?
EOS-6 is the third-generation satellite in the Oceansat series.
This is to provide continuity of services for Oceansat-2 spacecraft with enhanced payload specifications as well as application areas.
Payload:
Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM-3)
Sea Surface Temperature Monitor (SSTM)
Ku-Band Scatterometer (SCAT-3)
ARGOS
Mission Objectives:
To ensure the data continuity of ocean colour and wind vector data to sustain the operational applications.
To improve the applications, some additional datasets such as Sea Surface Temperature and more bands in the optical region for fluorescence and in the Infrared region for atmospheric corrections are accommodated.
To develop/improve related algorithms and data products to serve in well-established application areas and to enhance the mission utility.
Question:
ISRO PSLV-C54, which recently placed nine satellites into multiple orbits successfully, also consists of two satellites from which country?
A. Bhutan
B. Indonesia
C. UK
D. Srilanka
Answer: A
Current Affairs: Environment and Ecology
New Species of Black Corals Discovered
Using a remote-controlled submarine, researchers at Smithsonian Institution, Washington, discovered five new species of black corals living as deep as 2,500 feet (760 metres) below the surface in the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea off the coast of Australia.
About Black Corals:
Unlike their colourful, shallow-water cousins that rely upon on the sun and photosynthesis for energy, black corals are filter feeders and eat tiny zooplankton that is abundant in deep waters.
Many of these corals are branched and look like feathers, fans or bushes, while others are straight like a whip.
Details:
Among the many interesting specimens were five new species, including one that was found growing on the shell of a nautilus more than 2,500 feet (760 metres) below the ocean’s surface.
Similarly to shallow-water corals that build colourful reefs full of fish, black corals act as important habitats where fish and invertebrates feed and hide from predators on what is otherwise a mostly barren sea floor.
For example, a single black coral colony that researchers collected in 2005 off the coast of California, United States, was home to 2,554 individual invertebrates.
Question:
Researchers of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington recently discovered 5 new species of black corals on the coastline of which of the following countries?
A. Australia
B. USA
C. Canada
D. Mexico
Answer: A
Current Affairs: National
PM Launched E-Court Initiatives
On 26th November, 2022, while celebrating Constitution Day in the Supreme Court of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched various initiatives under the e-court project.
Details:
The project is an effort to provide services to litigants, lawyers, and the judiciary through ICT enablement of courts.
The initiatives launched by the Prime Minister include ‘Virtual Justice Clock’, ‘JustIS mobile App 2.0’, ‘Digital Court’, and ‘S3WaaS Websites’.
What is Virtual Justice Clock?
The Virtual Justice Clock is an initiative to exhibit vital statistics of the justice delivery system at the court level, giving the details of the cases instituted, cases disposed and pendency of cases on day/week/month basis at the court level.
The effort is to make the functioning of the courts accountable and transparent by sharing with the public the status of case disposals by the court.
The public can access the Virtual Justice Clock of any court establishment on the District Court’s website.
What is JustIS Mobile App 2.0?
JustIS Mobile App 2.0 is a tool available to judicial officers for effective court and case management by monitoring the pendency and disposal of not only their courts but also individual judges working under them.
This app is also made available to the High Court and the Supreme Court Judges who can now monitor the pendency and disposal of all the States and Districts under.
What is a Digital Court?
Digital court is an initiative to make court records available to the judge in digitised form to enable the transition to paperless courts.
What is S3WaaS Website?
S3WaaS Websites stands for Secure, Scalable and Sugamya Website as a Service.
It is a framework to generate, configure, deploy and manage websites for publishing specified information and services related to district judiciary.
S3WaaS is a cloud service developed for government entities to generate Secure, Scalable and Sugamya (Accessible) websites.
It is multilingual, citizen-friendly and disability friendly.
Question:
Which of the following is not an Initiative recently launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi under the e-court project?
A. Virtual Justice Clock
B. S3WaaS Websites
C. E-Kanoon App
D. JustIS Mobile App 2.0
Answer: C
Current Affairs: Awards and Recognitions
UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) was recently conferred with the ‘Award of Excellence’ at the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation, 2022.
UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Awards (since 2000) are given as the strategic purpose of UNESCO within the Asia Pacific region.
UNESCO introduced the new category, ‘Special Recognition for Sustainable Development’, in 2020, together with an updated set of awards criteria to acknowledge the role and contribution of cultural heritage to sustainable development within the broader framework of the UN 2030 Agenda.
Objective:
The objective is to motivate the protection of Cultural Heritage sites, which are initiated by any individual organisation under the private sector or institutional organisation.
Award Categories:
Winners will be announced in November 2022 in the following levels of achievement: Award of Excellence, Award of Distinction, Award of Merit, Award for New Design in Heritage Contexts, and Special Recognition for Sustainable Development.
Award of Excellence:
Chhtrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya Museum, Mumbai, India
Award of Distinction:
Stepwells of Golconda, Hyderabad, India
Zarch Qanat, Yazd, Iran
Neilson Hays Library, Bangkok, Thailand
Award of Merit:
Topdara Stupa, Charikar, Afghanistan
Nantian Buddhist Temple, Fujian, China
Domakonda Fort, Telangana, India
Byculla Station, Mumbai, India
Sadoughi House, Yazd, Iran
25 Chivas in Kathmandu, Nepal
Special Recognition for Sustainable Development:
West Guizhou Lilong Neighbourhood, Shanghai, China
Award for New Design in Heritage Contexts:
M30 Integrated Infrastructure for Power Supply and Waste Collection, Macao SAR, China
Xiaoxihu Block, Nanjing, China
What is the Award of Excellence Category?
The Award of Excellence is the highest recognition in the Awards programme, presented to projects that display exceptional achievement in all criteria, and that demonstrate major catalytic impact at the national or regional level.
Question:
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya was recently conferred with the UNESCO’s Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation-2022 in which of the following categories?
A. Special Recognition for Sustainable Development
B. Award of Merit
C. Award for New Design in Heritage Contexts
D. Award of Excellence
Answer: D
Current Affairs: Awards and Recognitions
Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar
In the meeting of its General Council held recently in New Delhi, Sangeet Natak Akademi, the National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, selected 102 (Including three joint Awards) artists of India who have made a mark as young talents in their respective fields of the performing arts for the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for the years 2019, 2020, and 2021.
About Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar:
The Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar, given to artists below the age of 40 years, was introduced with the objective of identifying and encouraging outstanding young talents in diverse fields of performing arts and giving them national recognition early in their life, so that they may work with greater commitment and dedication in their chosen fields.
The Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar carries purse money of ₹25,000/- (Rupees twenty-five thousand only).
The Yuva Puraskar will be presented at a special ceremony by the Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi.
Details:
Younger artists cover the entire gamut of the performing arts such as Hindustani and Carnatic vocal as well as instrumental music, which include the Flute, Sitar and Mridangam, and other major traditions of music.
The North-eastern States of the country have also been adequately represented with 19 artists from the northeast selected for the Award from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
Question:
Recently 102 artists from the field of performing arts were selected for the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2019, 20, and 21, which carries purse money of:
A. ₹25,000
B. ₹50,000
C. ₹1,00,000
D. ₹2,00,000
Answer: A
Current Affairs: Science and Technology.
India to have ‘Tilting Trains’ by 2026
The Indian Railways plans to introduce ‘tilting trains’ by 2026 with an aim to maintain higher speeds on curvy stretches.
According to the officials, 100 new units of the semi-high-speed Vande Bharat trains are being manufactured using this technology.
What are Tilting Trains?
Tilting trains have a mechanism that enables higher speed on regular broad-gauge tracks, which tilt while undergoing a curve on the track.
It is a technology that enables trains to manoeuvre curves at increased speed, that too on regular tracks, just like a motorcycle on a winding road.
A broad-gauge (distance between the rails) railway track is broader than the standard 1,435 mm used by the railways.
Working Mechanism of Tilting Trains
When a train rounds a curve at speed, objects (and people) inside experience centrifugal force, which pushes them outwards.
The effect can cause luggage inside to slide, seated passengers to feel squashed and standing passengers lose balance. These trains are designed to counteract the effect by tilting the carriages towards the inside of the curve, thus compensating the g-force.
There can be various mechanisms to neutralise the tilt force and achieve balance.
It further explains how motion sickness can be essentially eliminated by adjusting the timing of when the cars tilt.
Fact:
Such locomotives operate in the United Kingdom, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, Russia, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, China, Germany and Romania.
Question:
Indian Railways is planning to introduce trains with tilting technology in which of the following years?
A. 2026
B. 2028
C. 2030
D. 2032
Answer: A
Current Affairs: Defence
Indian Navy Launches New Survey Vessel ‘Ikshak’
The Indian Navy launched ‘Ikshak’, the third of the four survey vessels (Large) project, built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) and Larson and Toubro (L&T) recently at Kattupalli, Chennai.
The contract for building four SVL ships was signed between MoD and Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata on 30th October 2018 for a total cost of ₹2435 Cr.
About the Ship:
The ship has been named ‘Ikshak’ which means ‘Guide’.
The ship has been named to signify the contribution of the survey ships towards facilitating a safe passage for mariners at sea.
The Survey Vessel (Large) ships are 110 m long, and 16 m wide with a deep displacement of 3400 tonnes and a complement of 231 personnel.
The ship’s propulsion system consists of two main engines with twin shafts, each capable of a maximum speed of 18 knots and a cruise speed of 14 knots.
GRSE-Class Survey Vessels:
The GRSE-class survey vessels are a series of four survey vessels planned to be built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata for the Indian Navy.
The keel of the first ship Sandhayak, named after its predecessor Sandhayak, was laid down on 8th November, 2019 and launched on 5th December, 2021. It is expected to be commissioned by 2023.
The second vessel of the class, Nirdeshak, was laid on 1st December, 2020 and was subsequently launched on 26th May, 2022.
Features:
With the capability to carry four Survey Motor Boats and an integral helicopter, the primary role of the ships would be to undertake full-scale coastal and deep-water hydrographic surveys of ports and navigational channels.
The ships would also be deployed for collecting oceanographic and geophysical data for defence as well as civil applications.
In their secondary role, the ships are capable of providing limited defence, besides serving as hospital ships during emergencies.
Question:
The Indian Navy launched ‘Ikshak’, the third of the four ships, built by GRSE and L&T recently at Kattupalli, Chennai, is basically which type of ship?
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