1. ‘Operation Muskaan’, which was seen in the news, was implemented in which city?
[A] Indore
[B] Mumbai
[C] Ahmedabad
[D] Guwahati
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Mumbai]
Notes:
Over 5,000 minors rescued by Mumbai Police so far this year under ‘Operation Muskaan’, a Ministry of Home Affairs project.
It aims to find missing children, and rescue and rehabilitate them. More children were rescued by the Mumbai Police till August of this year than those rescued in the past five years combined.
2. Which was the first major sports event to offer equal prize money to men and women?
[A] BWF world championship
[B] US Open
[C] Australia Open
[D] NBA world championship
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [US Open]
Notes:
The 50th anniversary of the U.S. Open becoming the first sporting event to offer equal prize money to men and women was recently held.
The ceremony was attended by former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, former tennis player Billie Jean King, amateur player Gabby Bell, singer Sara Bareilles, and president of the United States Tennis Association Brian Hainline.
3. Which state has decided to create a fact-checking unit to curb fake news on social media?
[A] Karnataka
[B] Kerala
[C] Tamil Nadu
[D] West Bengal
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Karnataka]
Notes:
In a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Karnataka Cabinet approved the formation of fact-checking units to tackle ‘fake news syndicates’.
The government would introduce legislation against the propagation of fake news and propose punishment for the spread of fake news.
4. ‘GREAT’ Grant, which was seen un the news, is associated with which Union Ministry?
[A] Ministry of Textiles
[B] Ministry of Home Affairs
[C] Ministry of MSME
[D] Ministry of Rural Development
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Ministry of Textiles]
Notes:
The Ministry of Textiles has approved the Startup Guidelines for Technical Textiles – Grant for Research and Entrepreneurship across Aspiring Innovators in Technical Textiles (GREAT) providing grant-in-aid upto INR 50 Lakhs for upto a period of 18 months.
Ministry of Textiles gives nod to 26 engineering institutions for introduction of Technical Textiles under National Technical
Textiles Mission.
5. What was India’s goods and services tax collection in August 2023?
[A] Rs 1.34 lakh crore
[B] Rs 1.59 lakh crore
[C] Rs 1.65 lakh crore
[D] Rs 1.72 lakh crore
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Rs 1.59 lakh crore]
Notes:
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenues for August 2023 have shown a growth of 11 per cent year-on-year as it stands at Rs 1.59 lakh crore.
The increase is due to increased compliance and reduced evasion. In August 2022, the collection from GST was Rs 1,43,612 crore. Out of the Rs 1.59 lakh crore GST collected, CGST accounted for Rs 28,328 crore, SGST for Rs 35,794 crore, IGST for Rs 83,251 crore, and cess for Rs 11,695 crore.
6. What is the name of the World’s Most Advanced Arabic Large Language Model, which was released recently?
[A] Gyaan
[B] Ruez
[C] Jais
[D] Rooh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Jais]
Notes:
Inception, a unit of Abu Dhabi AI company G42, has released ‘Jais’, the world’s most advanced Arabic large language model.
Jais is a bilingual Arabic-English model that has been trained on a massive dataset of text and code. It can be used for a variety of tasks, such as machine translation, text summarization, and question answering. It was trained on the Condor Galaxy, the world’s largest AI supercomputer, using 116 billion Arabic tokens and 279 billion English tokens.
7. Which country is set to produce its own high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI processors?
[A] China
[B] Israel
[C] India
[D] USA
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [China]
Notes:
China is exploring ways to produce its own high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the next-generation of memory chips tailored for artificial intelligence (AI) processors, amid US sanctions.
China’s top dynamic random access memory (DRAM) maker, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), is the country’s best hope for HBMs.
8. National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is an autonomous organisation functioning under which Union Ministry?
[A] Ministry of Education
[B] Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
[C] Ministry of Home Affairs
[D] Ministry of Women and Child Development
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Ministry of Education]
Notes:
National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has been granted the deemed-to-be-university status by the Ministry of Higher Education, Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan.
It was announced on the 63rd Foundation Day of the apex decision-making body for school education. He suggested setting up Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence labs in all seven regional centres of NCERT.
9. ‘Advance Pricing Agreement (APA)’ is a programme associated with which institution?
[A] CBDT
[B] CBIC
[C] NASSCOM
[D] GST Council
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [CBDT]
Notes:
The Advance Pricing Agreement (APA) programme is an initiative for promoting an investor-friendly and non-adversarial tax regime in India.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has recently released the fourth and fifth annual APA reports. The reports present key data and statistics pertaining to the APA programme.
10. The Adopt a Heritage 2.0 Programme operates under which of these policy / legiislative arrangaments?
[A] Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972
[B] Indian Treasure Trove Act, 1878
[C] National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities (NMMA)
[D] Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act (AMASR Act), 1958
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act (AMASR Act), 1958]
Notes:
Adopt a Heritage 2.0 Scheme is a government initiative aimed at enhancing amenities at historical monuments in India through corporate involvement and their CSR funds. This program is a revamped version of the 2017 scheme and operates under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act (AMASR Act) of 1958. Interested stakeholders can adopt specific monuments or amenities through the dedicated web portal, providing comprehensive information and financial requirements. To promote heritage awareness, an Indian Heritage App will be launched, showing monuments with details, photos, amenities, geotagged locations, and a citizen feedback mechanism. This initiative is collaboration between the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Culture, and the Archaeological Survey of India.