Daily Current Affairs Quiz – 7th September 2024

Correct Answer:  (b) Four

Explanation:  India and Singapore signed four Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to deepen bilateral relationship during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Singapore. The Prime Minister was on a two nations tour of Brunei and Singapore from 3 -5 September 2024.  In the first leg of his tour he visited Brunei and became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Brunei. After Brunei visit he visited Singapore on 4th and 5th September 2024. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was accompanied by External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar.

Before the visit of the Prime Minister Modi ,2nd India- Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISRM) was held in Singapore on 26 August 2024 . The 2nd ISRM identified six pillars of cooperation between the two countries. Four out of the six pillars were converted into MoU during the PM Modi visit.

These MoUs are;

• Cooperation in the semiconductor ecosystem. It will facilitate investment by Singapore companies like AEM which is a part of the global semiconductor value chain in India . The MoU aims to  encourage Singapore  investment in India to develop semiconductor clusters and nurture talent in semiconductor design and manufacturing.
• Cooperation in digital technologies,
• Cooperation in Skill development 
• Education and in healthcare, particularly in the areas of technical and vocational education and training.

This visit of the Prime Minister Modi was the 5th official visit to the country since he became the Prime Minister of India in 2014. He last visited Singapore in 2018 and after six years he is visiting the country again. PM Modi announced the setting up of the firstThiruvalluvar Culture Center in the world in  Singapore, to strengthen the cultural bond between the two countries.

Correct Answer:  (c) Riyadh

Explanation:  The 6th meeting of the India-Saudi Arabia Joint Committee on Defence Cooperation was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 4 September 2024.  The Indian side was led by Joint Secretary Amitabh Prasad, which included officials from the Ministry of Defence. Major General Salman Bin Awadh Al-Harbi led the Saudi Arabian delegation. According to the Union Defence Ministry, the two countries discussed ways to expand bilateral cooperation in areas such as military, training, defence industry, research and development, etc.

The Joint Committee on Defence Cooperation was set up during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Saudi Arabia in October 2019. Both countries agreed to establish a Strategic Partnership Council to guide the India-Saudi relationships. The Joint Committee Defence Cooperation was one of the four Joint Working Groups established under the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council.

Correct Answer:  (c) South African

Explanation:  The Indian Navy (IN) and the South African (SA) Navy has signed an Implementing Agreement (IA) to strengthen cooperation on submarine rescue support in order to ensure the safety of the South African Navy’s submarine crew in times of distress or accident. The IA was signed by Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) of the IN, and Vice Admiral Monde Lobese, Chief of the SA Navy in New Delhi(Delhi).

The 12th India-South Africa Navy Staff Talks were held on August 27-28 2024 in New Delhi, Delhi to further enhance Navy-to-Navy collaboration between India and South Africa. The talks addressed the evolving maritime complexities in the maritime domain through continued exchanges and exercises like India-Brazil-South Africa Maritime Exercise (IBSAMAR). The dialogue provided an opportunity to exchange best practices in Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense (NBCD), as well as diving assistance, via Subject Matter Expert Exchanges (SMEE).

Correct Answer:  (d) Rama Subramaniam Gandhi

Explanation:  The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has set up a 22-member advisory committee to streamline the rules for listing obligations and disclosures. The Advisory Committee on Listing Obligations and Disclosures (ACLOD) will be chaired by Rama Subramaniam Gandhi, a former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The committee will provide advice to SEBI on disclosure requirements, listing and post-listing obligations, harmonisation, and corporate governance.

Members: The members include NK Dua, Joint Director (JD) in Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA); Keki Mistry, Non-Executive Director (ED) of HDFC Bank Limited; stock exchange heads, Proxy Advisory firm Managing Directors (MD), and representatives from industry bodies, corporates, and legal experts.

Correct Answer:  1%

Explanation:  According to the India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) latest report, India’s Current Account Balance (CAB) is expected to increase 1% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP)in the 2nd Quarter (Q2: July-September) of Financial Year 2024-25 (FY25). The report has estimated a deficit of nearly USD 8 billion, is equivalent to 0.8% of GDP in the Q1 of FY25, which is a reversal from the surplus of USD 5.7 billion (0.6% of GDP)in the previous quarter.  As per the report, India’s merchandise exports grew by 6% Year-on-Year (Y-o-Y) in Q1 of FY25. India’s merchandise imports in Q1FY25 increased by 7.6% Y-o-Y, to USD 172.2 billion. As per the report, global trade in Q1FY25 saw  a 14.1% Y-o-Y growth, the fastest pace of growth in six quarters.

Correct Answer:  (d) Tamil Nadu

Explanation:  A new species of jumping spider named ‘Carrhotus piperus’ has been discovered in the lower Palani Hills in Dindigul District, Tamil Nadu (TN). This discovery raises the total number of known Carrhotus species in India to 10, with 37 globally. The detailed research findings has been published in the Journal of Insect Biodiversity and Systematics (JIBS), an international peer-reviewed journal of Tarbiat Modares University (TMU) Press(Tehran, Iran). John Caleb T.D. from the Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai, TN and M. Sampathkumar from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) – National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources (NBAIR), Bengaluru (Karnataka), provided a detailed taxonomy and illustration of the species.

• During a 2016 survey in Thadiyankudisai, Dindigul (TN), Dr. Sampathkumar discovered the spider on pepper (Piper nigrum) plants, which was around two metres (m) above ground.
• The specific epithet, ‘piperus’, is derived from the plant’s generic name, signifying the spider’s distinctive habitat.

The spider is distinguished from its closely related species by its distinctive prolateral protrusion and beak-shaped embolus.

Correct Answer:  (c) Rs 500 crore

Explanation: Norms for expenditure of more than Rs 500 crore have been relaxed by the Finance Ministry to boost capital expenditure (capex). The Finance Ministry has relaxed the norm to accelerate capex which is kept at Rs 11.11 trillion for the current fiscal. In the Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has proposed to increase the capital expenditure target by 11.1% to Rs 11.11 trillion for 2024–25. A May 2022 memorandum stated that to facilitate the tracking of expenses and cash flow, the release of amounts between Rs 500 crore and Rs 2,000 crore has to be prepared.

Correct Answer:  (b) 7th September

Explanation:  Recognizing the significance of DMD as one of the most common pediatric genetic rare diseases, the United Nations General Assembly has designated September 7th as World Duchenne Awareness Day. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by progressive muscle degeneration and weakness. This condition primarily affects males due to its X-chromosome-linked nature. Named after Dr. Duchenne de Boulogne, who first described the disease in detail in the 1860s, DMD continues to be a focus of medical research and advocacy efforts worldwide.

Correct Answer:  (b) France

Explanation:  Emmanuel Macron, President of France, has appointed Michel Barnier (73 years old), Former Brexit negotiator, as the new Prime Minister (PM) of France.  At 73, Barnier is the oldest of the 26 prime ministers that have served modern France’s Fifth Republic. He will take charge from the outgoing PM Gabriel Attal, who has been serving as the caretaker PM of France following the 2024 Election results. The appointment comes after more than 50 days of caretaker government. This is the longest government transition period ever in French history. Gabriel Attal has been serving as the PM of France since January 2024. At the age of 34, he became the youngest person and the first openly gay person to serve as French PM. In July 2024, he official resigned from the post and continued to serve in a caretaker capacity.

Correct Answer:  (a) China

Explanation:  India has surpassed China to become the top weight nation in the MSCI Emerging Market (EM) Investable Market Index (IMI) for the first time. Indian equities together carry a weighting of 22.27 per cent in the index, edging ahead of Chinese stocks, whose combined weight now has fallen to 21.58 per cent. This shift comes despite China’s market capitalisation of $8.14 trillion being over 60 per cent greater than India’s $5.03 trillion, according to Bloomberg data.

Last week, MSCI added seven Indian stocks to its standard index while cutting 60 Chinese names, driving China’s weighting in the EM index below 24 per cent and pushing that of India above 20% for the first time. Among Indian companies, Reliance Industries holds a 1.22 per cent weighting in the MSCI EM IMI, followed by Infosys at 0.86 per cent and ICICI Bank at 0.85 per cent. On a broader scale, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), with an 8.09 per cent weighting, Chinese technology conglomerate Tencent at 3.6 per cent are the top two constituents of the index.

Correct Answer:  (c) UNICEF India

Explanation:  The Ministry of Panchayati Raj and UNICEF India signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to collaborate on strengthening systems and engaging communities for social change. This partnership aims to set up and institutionalize mechanisms for effective communication between the Ministry, Elected Representatives & Field Functionaries of Panchayati Raj Institutions and Rural Communities. The collaboration will help accelerate progress on localized Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by enabling better communication with citizens, particularly women and children and improving the delivery of services to rural citizens.

Correct Answer:  (d) Dr. Dasari Radhika

Explanation:  Dr. Dasari Radhika, Deputy General Manager (HR) at RINL, received the ‘Gender Diversity’ award at the Indian Steel Conclave 2024, organized by the Indian Steel Association (ISA). The award was presented by Nagendra Nath Sinha, former Secretary of the Ministry of Steel, in recognition of her efforts in promoting gender diversity and inclusion in the steel industry. RINL CMD Atul Bhatt praised Dr. Radhika for her achievement, noting the pride it brings to the organization.

Dr. Radhika has a 28-year career in HR, making significant contributions to RINL by introducing pioneering HR practices and breaking gender barriers in a male-dominated industry. Her compassionate approach in industrial relations, employee welfare, shop floor meetings, and psychological counseling has been shaped by her background in psychology and research on work-life balance.

Correct Answer:  (a) Nehal Vora

Explanation:  In a significant development for the Indian financial markets, Central Depository Services (India) Limited (CDSL) has announced a crucial step in its leadership transition. The company has received the green light from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for the appointment of Nehal Vora as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO). This approval, conveyed through a SEBI letter dated August 29, 2024, marks a pivotal moment in CDSL’s corporate governance and strategic direction.

Correct Answer:  (b) VisioNxt

Explanation:  The Union Minister Giriraj Singh, Ministry of Textiles, launched ‘VisioNxt’ – Trend Insight and Forecasting lab, the India’s 1st Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Emotional Intelligence (EI) enabled trend forecasting Initiative developed by the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT). He also launched the bilingual (Hindi and English) web portal of ‘VisioNxt’ and the India’s first ever Fashion Trend Book ‘Paridhi 24×25’.

VisioNxt was established in response to the 2017 Global Textile Summit, where the need for India-specific fashion trend insights was highlighted. The initiative was established at NIFT Delhi (Creative Lab) and NIFT Chennai (Tamil Nadu) (Insights Lab) in 2018 with support from the Ministry of Textiles. This initiative focuses on forecasting fashion trends for the Indian market. It Aims to reduce reliance on global forecasting agencies by offering localized insights for India’s fashion industry.

Correct Answer:  (b) Jyoti Berwal

Explanation:  In wrestling, Jyoti Berwal clinched a gold medal in the women’s 76 kg freestyle category at the U20 World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain. Jyoti defeated Ukraine’s Mariia Orlevych in the final without giving her a chance to score a single point, securing herself the title. Indian grapplers won two more medals in the same category. Komal in 59 kg and Sristhi in 68 kg bagged bronze medals. Among the few more medal matches in the women’s freestyle category, India’s Nitika will take on Ukrainian Iryna Bondar for a gold medal bout in the 62 kg category.