Call Support +91-85588-96644

Exam Categories

International Tests

View More

Defence & Para Military

Assessment-I

View More

Assessment-II

View More

Placement & IT Sector

Assessment-III

View More

Aptitude/GK/Vocational Skill Tests

View More
TCYonline

Login

Sign Up

Please enter a Username or Email ID
Please enter a password
Keep me logged in
Forgot Password?
Please enter your name
Please enter your mobile number
You can't leave Captcha Code empty
By submitting this form, you agree to the Terms & Privacy Policy.
Already Registered? Login Here
OR

Sign Up via Facebook

Sign Up via Google

Sign Up via Twitter

Download Software
Tests given

Download TCY App

App Image
Subscribe to Unlock Test Prep Material close
Choose Exam Category

Unlock All Services And Enjoy The Premium Benefits

1 Month Plan

US$ 10

Subscribe Now

Valid For 1 Month

2 Month Plan

US$ 13

Subscribe Now

Valid For 2 Months

3 Month Plan

US$ 15

Subscribe Now

Valid For 3 Months

4 Month Plan

US$ 17

Subscribe Now

Valid For 4 Months

5 Month Plan

US$ 19

Subscribe Now

Valid For 5 Months

6 Month Plan

US$ 20

Subscribe Now

Valid For 6 Months

7 Month Plan

US$ 21

Subscribe Now

Valid For 7 Months

8 Month Plan

US$ 22

Subscribe Now

Valid For 8 Months

9 Month Plan

US$ 23

Subscribe Now

Valid For 9 Months

10 Month Plan

US$ 24

Subscribe Now

Valid For 10 Months

11 Month Plan

US$ 25

Subscribe Now

Valid For 11 Months

12 Month Plan

US$ 26

Subscribe Now

Valid For 12 Months

  • Payment made in INR entitles you to use Test in INDIA only
  • Each test can be attempted only once
 
loading

General Awareness

googleplus facebook

Daily G.K. - Top Stories

18 Aug 2020

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

With UAE deal, Israel Opens Tentative New Chapter with Gulf Arabs

  • A breakthrough"; "A game-changer"; "A betrayal": there is no shortage of epithets for this month's sudden announcement - by President Trump - that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is to fully normalise its relations with Israel.
  • After Egypt's peace treaty with Israel in 1979, followed by Jordan's in 1994, this makes the UAE only the third Arab country to normalise relations. It is the first of the six Arab Gulf states to do so. Oman. Bahrain and possibly Morocco are widely expected to follow.
  • Discreet contacts between the UAE and Israel had been under way for years but still, the details and timing of this normalisation deal were kept secret right up to the last minute.
  • There were no consultations between the UAE foreign ministry in Abu Dhabi and its Arab neighbours. Almost everyone was taken by surprise, most of all the Palestinians, who called it "a stab in the back" since they have yet to come close to getting a state of their own or ending Israeli occupation.
  • "For the Palestinians, there is zero upside here," comments Emile Hokayem from the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.
  • For the UAE's de facto ruler Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed (known as MBZ), this deal is something of a gamble but one with the odds heavily in his favour.
  • The risk is it could make the UAE leadership highly unpopular in the wider Arab world where some social media postings have been calling it "a sell-out". Were the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to renege on his promise to temporarily shelve annexation of parts of the West Bank then that would be extremely embarrassing for the Emiratis and possibly see the whole deal unravel.
View Month Wise

ENVIRONMENT

Woolly Flying Squirrel, Thought to be Extinct, Spotted in Gangotri National Park

  • Woolly flying squirrel, that was thought to be extinct some seventy years back, was spotted at Gangotri National Park in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi, informed Forest Research Institute.
  • However, the scientists of Wildlife Institute of India situated in Dehradun have spoken of the presence this squirrel in the Bhagirath valley, and rare photographs of the have also been found.
  • Woolly flying squirrel uses its furry claws as a parachute to fly.
  • The Woolly Flying Squirrel is listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Highest Temperature on Earth' as Death Valley, US Hits 54.4C

  • What could be the highest temperature ever reliably recorded on Earth - 130F (54.4C) - may have been reached in Death Valley National Park, California.
  • The recording is being verified by the US National Weather Service.
  • It comes amid a heatwave on the US's west coast, where temperatures are forecast to rise further this week.
  • The scorching conditions have led to two days of blackouts in California, after a power plant malfunctioned.
  • The reading was recorded in Furnace Creek in Death Valley.
  • Before this, the highest temperature reliably recorded on Earth was 129.2F (54C) - also in Death Valley in 2013.
  • A higher reading of 134F, or 56.6C a century earlier, also in Death Valley, is disputed. It is believed by some modern weather experts to have been erroneous, along with several other searing temperatures recorded that summer.
View Month Wise

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

India's Seafood Exports Pegged at 12,89,651 MT in FY 2019-20

  • India shipped 12,89,651 MT of seafood worth Rs. 46,662.85 crore (USD 6.68 billion) during 2019-20, largely cushioning the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) said. Frozen shrimp remained the major export item in terms of quantity and value followed by frozen fish while the USA and China turned out to be the major importers of India's seafood.
  • During the FY 2019-20, the export improved in rupee term by 0.16 per cent, but the quantity and US dollar value declined by 7.39 per cent and 0.74 per cent, respectively.
  • In 2018-19, India had exported 13, 92,559 MT of seafood worth Rs 46,589.37 crore (USD 6,728.50 million).
  • India managed to export 12,89,651 MT of seafood, despite the sluggish demand in its major export markets caused by the pandemic, whichled to cancellation of several orders, reduced and delayed payments, slowdown of cargo movements and difficulty in getting new orders.

PNB Launches 'DIGITAL APNAYEN', a Campaign to Promote Digital Banking

  • S. S. Mallikarjuna Rao, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Punjab National Bank (PNB) launched a campaign, 'DIGITAL APNAYEN' to encourage customers to use digital banking channels and participate in the noble cause of donating to PM CARES Fund for COVID-19.
  • The campaign began in August 2020 and runs till 31st March 2021.
  • The bank under the campaign will contribute Rs 5 towards the PM CARES Fund on behalf of each customer who conduct the 1st financial transaction to activate the following:
  • RuPay Debit card either on point of sale (PoS) or e-commerce platform
  • AePS account through fund transfer, AePS account through BHIM Aadhaar Merchants payment and activation of UPI service
  • Download and Registration for UPI facility will also be eligible for contribution.
View Month Wise

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Astronomers Spot a Milky Way Look-alike Galaxy

  • Astronomers discovered the most distant look-alike galaxy of our Milky Way. The discovery was done with the help of Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA Radio Telescope) located in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. The extremely distant galaxy called SPT0418-47 is 12 billion light-years away from us. This means that the Milky Way galaxy look-alike that astronomers spotted was like this 12 billion years ago. On the other hand, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) believes that our universe is around 13 billion years – give or take a few billion which makes the discovery more fascinating.
  • Astronomers were surprised to see SPT0418-47 have two similar features as our galaxy. They did not expect it to be organised enough to have disks and bulges. Instead, they expected it to have "turbulent and unstable" features. The SPT0418-47 has a rotating flat disk similar to our galaxy and a galactic bulge which shows a large group of stars in close proximity towards the centre.
  • This unexpected discovery challenges our understanding of how galaxies form, giving new insights into the past of our universe.
View Month Wise

SPORTS

Dream11 Bags Indian Premier League Title Sponsorship Rights Ahead of IPL Season 13

  • Fantasy gaming platform Dream11 won the IPL title sponsorship rights with a bid of Rs. 222 crore, replacing Chinese mobile phone company Vivo for a four and a half month deal.
  • Dream11 has been one of the IPL sponsors for a couple of years now.
  • It was learnt that Tata group didn't place a final bid while two education technology companies -- BYJUs (201 crore) and Unacademy (170 crore) -- came second and third respectively.
View Month Wise

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Govt. Launches E-portal on Tribal Health & Nutrition

  • Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda inaugurated the e-portal on tribal health and nutrition named 'Swasthya'. The portal provides all health and nutrition related information of the tribal population of India on a single platform. Swasthya will also curate innovative practices, case studies, and best practices collected from different parts of India to facilitate the exchange of evidence, expertise and experiences.
  • Mr. Munda said that the launch of the portal is a first step towards the much bigger goal of serving the tribal population of the nation. He informed about the initiatives of the Ministry in partnership with Facebook through the Going Online as Leaders (GOAL) Programme. Mr Munda said, through the GOAL Programme, the Ministry aims to mentor five thousand tribal youth across India and enable them to become village-level digital young leaders for their communities.

Gwalior Chambal Expressway will be Named Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Chambal Progressway

  • Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan, announced that the Gwalior Chambal Expressway will be named as Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Chambal Progressway. Chouhan also stated that a grand statue of Vajpayee will be set up in Bhopal.
  • The Gwalior Chambal Expressway is a 6 lane expressway connecting Madhya Pradesh with Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, through the ravines of Chambal region.
  • The expressway will go parallel to the Chambal river via Shivpuri, Bhind, Morena to Kota (Rajasthan).
  • Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the first BJP member to become the Prime Minister of India.
  • He served as the Prime Minister in 1996, from 1998 to 1999 and a term of five years from 1999 to 2004.
  • Under his leadership the 1998 nuclear tests were conducted in Pokhran, Rajasthan.
  • In honour of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, 25th December is celebrated as Good Governance Day.

UK Launches £3 Million Innovation Challenge Fund for India to Tackle Covid-19 Challenges & Climate Change

  • The government of United Kingdom (UK) launched a £3 million "Innovation Challenge Fund 2020" in India to support scientists in academia and industry to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.
  • In this regard, tech innovators with connections to the AI-Data cluster in Karnataka and the future mobility cluster in Maharashtra will submit research and development proposals for tackling COVID-19 or which promote a greener planet till August 31, 2020.
  • At least 6 grants up to £250,000 are expected to be awarded for projects lasting 12 months, with a proposed start in January 2021.
  • These grants are part of a wider initiative under the tech partnership known as 'Tech Clusters'.
  • The Innovation Challenge Fund 2020 of £3 million to India is provided to Maharashtra(£1.5 million) & Karnataka(£1.5 million).
  • U.K.'s Innovation Challenge Fund 2020 will fund £1.5 million for innovative research and development projects in Future Mobility in Maharashtra. The aim of the Innovation Challenge Fund is also to support the development of the Maharashtra Future Mobility Tech Cluster by promoting closer scientific collaboration between industry and academia.
  • Innovation Challenge Fund 2020 will fund £1.5 million for innovative research and development projects in AI. The aim of the Innovation Challenge Fund is also to support the development of the Karnataka AI / Data Science Tech Cluster by promoting closer scientific collaboration between industry and academia, and by promoting links with international counterparts and centres of excellence, including in the UK.
  • This initiative is on the lines of the Indian and British Prime Ministers' commitment to bring together the best minds from both countries under the UK-India Tech Partnership, which was initiated in 2018 to deliver high-skilled jobs and economic growth as well as to collaborate on some of the world's biggest challenges.
View Month Wise

PERSONS IN NEWS

Rakesh Asthana New BSF DG, V. S. K. Kaumudi Special Secretary (Internal Security)

  • Gujarat cadre IPS officer Rakesh Asthana was appointed as the chief of the Border Security Force (BSF) and V. S. K. Kaumudi will be Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Home Ministry, according to a Personnel Ministry order issued. Asthana is at present working as the Director General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).
  • He has been appointed the Director General (DG) of Border Security Force from the date of joining the post and up to July 31, 2021, i.e. date of his superannuation.
  • Asthana, a 1984 batch IPS officer, is also holding additional charge of DG, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
  • Kaumudi, a 1986 batch IPS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre, is presently working as DG, Bureau of Police research and Development (BPR&D).
  • He has been appointed Special Secretary (Internal Security), Ministry of Home Affairs up to November 30, 2022, i.e. date of his superannuation.
  • His batchmate from Uttar Pradesh cadre, Md Jawed Akhtar has been appointed the DG, Fire Services, Civil Defence & Home Guard.

Legendary Indian Classical Vocalist Pandit Jasraj Passes Away

  • Pandit Jasraj, one of the world's most prominent Indian classical vocalists, died of cardiac arrest in New Jersey, US. He was 90.
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the maestro's death has left a deep void in the country's cultural sphere.
  • Born in Haryana in 1930, his musical career spanned eight decades. Many of his notable stage performances were converted into music albums. He taught music in several countries including the United States and many of his students went on to become famous musicians.
  • He received several national and international awards in his career. He got Padma Shri - India's fourth highest civilian award - in 1975; Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1987 and Padma Bhushan in 1999. In the year 2000, the government of India conferred him with Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honour in the country.
View Month Wise

GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES

Chhattisgarh CM Announces Scheme for School Students

  • Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel launched the 'Padhai Tuhar Para' scheme to enable school students to learn from their respective localities as the classes are being suspended due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
  • He informed that a Bluetooth-based programme 'Bultu Ke Bol', 'Mukhyamantri Slum Swasthya Yojana', 'Radhabai Diagnostic Centre Scheme' will also be introduced and committees will be set up for new appointments and promotions in the state.
  • The state Govt. will create a dedicated fund for contributions from people towards the Ram Van Gaman project.
  • Padhai Tuhar Para scheme was launched to take the 'Padhai Tunhar Duar' scheme, an online education platform further.
  • It was launched by the state government earlier during the lockdown. It yielded better results and around 22 lakh children are getting its benefit.
View Month Wise

GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION

HRD Ministry Officially Renamed as Ministry of Education

  • With the accent of President Ram Nath Kovind, the change in name of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has been given signal. The HRD Ministry is now renamed as Ministry of Education.
  • The change in the name of HRD Ministry was among the key recommendations of the draft new National Education Policy (NEP), which was also cleared by the Union Cabinet last month.
  • the ministry of education was renamed as the HRD ministry in 1985 during the tenure of then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
  • The National Education Policy was introduced the next year and it was later amended in 1992.

BITS Pilani Starts Online Classes for MBA

  • BITS Pilani announced to commence the first semester of 2020-21 in online mode for both first and second year students of MBA. The session will start from August 17. This has been done as a special measure during the recent pandemic caused by COVID-19.
  • As a precursor to this semester, the institute has been conducting a series of webinars for its MBA students since July 11 this year. Several eminent personalities from the industry and academia have been invited to share their experiences and interact with students through these webinars.
View Month Wise

BOOKS AND AUTHORS

Arjun Subramaniam's New book, "Full Spectrum: India's Wars, 1972-2020″

  • Retired Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam has authored a new book titled, "Full Spectrum: India's Wars, 1972-2020″. The book portrays the comprehensive account of war and conflict in contemporary India over the past five decades next month. It will be published by HarperCollins Publishers India Pvt. Ltd.
  • It is the sequel to his 1st book, 'India's Wars: A Military History, 1947-1971'.
  • The book includes all major operation that the armed forces have participated in, including the Kargil conflict of 1999, insurgencies in the Northeast, terrorism and proxy wars in Jammu and Kashmir, separatist violence in Punjab, the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) intervention in Sri Lanka, and the continued stress along the Line of Control( LoC)and the Line of Actual Control(LAC).
  • Arjun Subramaniam is an accomplished fighter pilot who flew MiG-21s and Mirage-2000s in his career.
  • Arjun Subramaniam stated that the book is a tribute to the soldier, an ode to the unsung helicopter and transport pilots & a salute to the sailors who help their captain on the bridge.
View Month Wise
Share on
Keep Yourself updated on Latest PTE Exam Pattern

Avail Free Topic-wise Tests and various other offers.

Later Allow