Daily Current Affairs and GK | 06 February 2020

1. Government set a target of five billion dollars of defense exports over the next five years

• Inaugurating the defence exhibition in Lucknow, the Prime Minister said that India's export target in the next five years would be five billion US dollars (about 35 thousand crores).
•  The theme of this 11^th Defence Exhibition held in Lucknow is "India: The Emerging Defense Manufacturing Hub".
• This exhibition is held every two years in which the military forums and weapons are displayed.
• The five-day defense exhibition is being attended by Defence Ministers from 38 countries, top officials of 172 foreign defence companies and 856 Indian companies.

2. Gazette notification regarding formation of Shri Ram Janambhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust issued

• The government has issued a gazette notification about setting up Shri Ram Janambhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.
• The Trust will have its office in Greater Kailash in Delhi.
• The government of Uttar Pradesh has already issued an allotment letter for providing a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for the construction of the mosque as per the Supreme Court directives in Ayodhya disputed land case.

3. Union Cabinet approves to amend the Banking Regulation Act

• Recently, the Union Cabinet has approved the amendment in the Banking Regulation Act to strengthen cooperative banks in the country.
• This proposed law provides for the implementation of Reserve Bank of India's banking-regulation guidelines in cooperative banks as well.
• But in administrative matters, these banks will be governed by the guidelines of the Registrar of Co-operatives.
• This step will bring more transparency and ensure accountability in the functioning of cooperative banks.

4. Five Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) will be given the status of Institution of National Importance

• Recently, the Union Cabinet has approved the grant of status of Institution of National Importance to five Indian Institutes of Information Technology.
• These five institutes located in Surat, Bhopal, Bhagalpur, Agartala and Raichur in PPP mode will now be able to award Bachelor of Technology, B Tech or Master of Technology or PhD degree.
• The Cabinet has given its approval for the Indian Institute of Information Technology Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020.
• In addition to the existing 15 such institutes in PPP mode, the Bill will confer the status of national-level institutions to these five institutions and will allow them to award degrees.

5. National Cyber ​​Crime Reporting Portal registered 33,152 cases of cyber crime

• National Cyber ​​Crime Reporting Portal 33,152 cases of cybercrime were registered till the 30^th of last month.
• This matter in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Home Kishan Reddy said.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs operationalised the national Cyber ​​Crime Reporting Portal on 30 August 2019.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs has also set up the Indian Cyber ​​Crime Coordination Center - I4C to effectively deal with cybercrimes in the country.

6. Madhya Pradesh is the state with the largest number of tigers and crocodiles

• After attaining the distinction of being the state with the most tigers, now Madhya Pradesh has also become the state of most crocodiles.
• Now, the number of crocodiles in Madhya Pradesh has increased to around 1200.
• This number of crocodiles is the highest in the country. Earlier, Madhya Pradesh was given the status of Tiger State with a population of 526 tigers.

7. Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, issued a certificate to include the old city of Jaipur in the list of World Heritage

• The Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, has issued a certificate of inclusion of the old city of Jaipur in the list of UNESCO World Heritage.
• UNESCO included the old city of Jaipur in the World Heritage List in July last year.
• Jaipur is famous for grid plans, architectural, and pink buildings.
• Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, was built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II in 1727 AD.

8. Setting up of new major port in Maharashtra

• The plan to set up a new major port at Vadhavan near Dahanu in Maharashtra has received in-principal approval of the union cabinet. 
• The project will cost more than Rs. 65,000 crore and will be set up on land lord model.
• A Special Purpose Vehicle will be formed in which JNPT will be the lead partner and this SPV will be responsible for developing the port infrastructure while all the business activities will be carried out in PPP mode by the private sector.
• Currently, Jawaharlal Nehru Port is the biggest port in the country located in Maharashtra and caters to North Karnataka, Telangana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, NCR, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab. 
• India will enter into the list of countries with the top 10 container ports after the development of Vadhavan port.

9. Vivad Se Vishwas Bill introduced in Lok Sabha

• The Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Bill 2020 has been tabled in Lok Sabha by the Union Finance Minister.
• The bill seeks to provide a structured and formula-based solution for the disputed tax.
• Vivad se Vishwas Scheme was proposed in the Union Budget 2020-21 under which a taxpayer shall be liable to pay only the amount of disputed taxes if he pays by 31^st March 2020 and the interest and penalty will be waived off completely.

10. First-ever Term Contract signed between India and Russia

• The first-ever oil purchase contract has been signed between India and Russia regarding the import of 2 million metric tonnes of Urals grade crude oil.
• The deal has been signed between Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and Russia’s Rosneft.
• Rosneft is Russia’s largest oil producing company, while IOCL is the largest commercial oil company in India.

11. Soil Health Card Scheme

• The scheme was launched by the government during the FY 2014-15 in order to address the decline of soil nutrients.
• The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare issues the Soil Health Card to the farmers, which has helped the farmers to understand the various parameters of soil health and how the productivity of the soil can be improved by judiciously applying soil nutrients.
• National Productivity Council has conducted a study according to which the application of SHC recommendations has led to a decrease in the use of chemical fertilizers by 8-10% and increased productivity by 5-6%.
• 11.69 crore soil health cards have been issued to the farmers during 2017-19.

12. Indian Navy will soon get its third Scorpene Submarine

• Indian Navy will get its third Scorpene submarine, Karanj, by December 2020.
• Under Project 75I, six scorpene submarines are to be developed through the Strategic Partnership model at the Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL).
• These submarines will have advanced Air-independent Propulsion (AIP) systems.
• The first two submarines INS Kalvari and INS Khanderi have already commissioned into the Indian Navy.

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

1. What is the theme of the Defence Exhibition 2020?

A. India: The emerging defense manufacturing hub

B. India and Defence Industry

C. India and Defence Manufacturing Industries

D. World and Defence Manufacturing Industries

2. Where will the office of Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust be located?

A. Ayodhya

B. Varanasi

C. Lucknow

D. Delhi

3. Recently, the Union Cabinet has approved the granting of the National Institution status to five Indian Institutes of Information Technology. Which of these institutions are included in this list?

A. Surat

B. Bhopal

C. Bhagalpur

d. All of the above

4. Which ministry launched the National Cyber ​​Crime Reporting Portal?

A. Ministry of Home Affairs

B. Ministry of Defence

C. Ministry of Women and Child Development

D. None of the above

5. Which Indian state has the maximum number of crocodiles?

A. Madhya Pradesh

B. Uttar Pradesh

C. Karnataka

D. Odisha

6. Audrey Azoulay, who recently visited India, is the director-general of which organization?

A. World Bank

B. World Health Organization

C. UNESCO

D. European Union

7. Recently India has signed the first-ever term contract to import crude oil from which country?

A. Kuwait

B. USA

C. Russia

D. U.A.E

8. Recently the Union Cabinet has approved the construction of a new major port in Maharashtra, under which model will this port be built?

A. Land Lord Model

B. Service Port Model

C. Hybrid Model

D. None of the above

9. Recently the Vivad se Vishwas Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha, what is the purpose of this bill?

A. Resolution of tax dispute

B. Providing tax exemption to taxpayers

C. To increase citizens' trust in the government

D. Strengthening Government

10. What is the name of the submarine that will be inducted into the Indian Navy by December 2020?

A. Karanj

B. Kalvari

C. Khanderi

D. Vibhavari

Solution:

1. A

2. D

3. D

4. A

5. A

6. C

7. C

8. A

9. A

10. A