QUIZ-20

Q1. A famous automaker company Ford Foundation has recently appointed Pradeep Nair as regional director for India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Ford Foundation is ______________ based company.

(a) Japan

(b) Australian

(c) Hungary

(d) American

(e) France

Q2. Name the state that has recently launched mobile app and website titled ‘My Talent’  to help skilled and semi-skilled workers find jobs.

(a) Punjab

(b) Himachal Pradesh

(c) Arunachal Pradesh

(d) Bihar

(e) Tamil Nadu

Q3. Name the company that has recently created the world’s smallest magnet using a single atom which can store one bit of data on it.

(a) Infosys

(b) TCS

(c) IBM

(d) WIPRO

(e) Microsoft

Q4. Name the person who has inaugurated the two-day 12th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnership held recently in New Delhi.

(a) Narendra Modi

(b) Pranab Mukherjee

(c) Rajnath Singh

(d) Sushma Swaraj

(e) Arwind Kejriwal

Q5. As per recent notification of RBI, Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) cannot lend more than __________ in cash against gold, earlier limit was Rs1 lakh.

(a) Rs 25,000

(b) Rs 35,000

(c) Rs 45,000

(d) Rs 50,000

(e) Rs 60,000

Q6. India successfully test-fired the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, which is capable of carrying a warhead of 300 kg, recently. India had bought BrahMos missile from _________.

(a) USA

(b) France

(c) China

(d) Russia

(e) Germany

Q7. Jiratchaya Sirimongkolnawin was crowned Miss International Queen 2016 recently at a contest billed as the world’s largest and most popular transgender pageant. She is from which country?

(a) China

(b) Thailand

(c) Japan

(d) South Korea

(e) Indonesia

Q8. On the occasion of 127th Foundation Day of National Archives of India (NAI), an exhibition entitled “Revolutionary Patriots” was inaugurated by Shri N.K. Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Culture. It included patriots from ________ to 1947.

(a) 1900

(b) 1857

(c) 1905

(d) 1888

(e) 1910

Q9. B P Kanungo was recently appointed as the Deputy Governor in Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for three years. He has been appointed in place of __________.

(a) R Gandhi

(b) V Acharya

(c) S S Mundra

(d) Harun R Khan

(e) Urjit R Patel

Q10. Defence minister Manohar Parrikar was appointed Goa chief minister, recently. Who is the governor of Goa?

(a) Ashish Malhotra

(b) Antony D'costa

(c) Matthew D'suza

(d) Vimal Acharya

(e) Mridula Sinha

Q11. Name the person who has been appointed as the chairman of Europe's biggest bank named HSBC Holdings Plc.

(a) Johnny Banzo

(b) Mark Tucker

(c) Sushan Mark

(d) Anni Tesla

(e) James Nicholas

Q12. Airtel Payments Bank, offered by telecom major Bharti Airtel has recently announced that over one lakh savings accounts were opened in 100 villages in which of the following state?

(a) Tamil Nadu

(b) Andhra Pradesh

(c) Uttar Pradesh

(d) Maharashtra

(e) Gujarat

Q13. Norway has become first country to cease FM Radio broadcasting. The capital of Norway is __________.

(a) Bergen

(b) Trondheim

(c) Stavanger

(d) Oslo

(e) Kristiansand

Q14. The minimum pension of central government employees has been increased to ________ per person per month.

(a) Rs 5,000

(b) Rs 7,000

(c) Rs 9,000

(d) Rs 10,000

(e) Rs 12,000

Q15. Name the country that is set to conduct its first national census in 19 years which will begin with the assistance of over 200,000 troops.

(a) Azerbaijan

(b) Oman

(c) Iran

(d) Sri Lanka

(e) Pakistan

                                                           Answers

S1. Ans.(d)

Sol. Ford Foundation has appointed Pradeep Nair as regional director for India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, recently. Ford is a New York-based (America) motor company.

S2. Ans. (b)

Sol. Virbhadra Singh led Himachal Pradesh government has launched mobile app and website titled ‘MeraHunar HP’ or ‘My Talent’  to help skilled and semi-skilled workers find jobs.

S3. Ans. (c)

Sol. A team of researchers at IBM has created the world’s smallest magnet using a single atom which can store one bit of data on it.

S4. Ans. (b)

Sol. President Pranab Mukherjee has inaugurated the two-day 12th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnership in New Delhi. The first conclave has held in 2005.

S5. Ans. (a)

Sol. Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) cannot lend more than Rs 25,000 in cash against gold according to RBI. RBI reduced the amount to Rs 25,000 from the earlier Rs 1 lakh in line with the provisions of the Income Tax Act.

S6. Ans. (d)

Sol. India successfully test-fired the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, which is capable of carrying a warhead of 300 kg, from a test range along the Odisha coast. It was bought from Russia.

S7. Ans. (b)

Sol. Thailand contestant Jiratchaya Sirimongkolnawin was crowned Miss International Queen 2016 on Friday at a contest billed as the world's largest and most popular transgender pageant.

S8. Ans. (c)

Sol. On the occasion of 127th Foundation Day of National Archives of India (NAI), an exhibition entitled “Revolutionary Patriots (1905-1947)” was inaugurated by Shri N.K. Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Culture in the presence of Shri Raghvendra Singh, Director General of NAI and many dignitaries.

S9. Ans. (a)

Sol. B P Kanungo was appointed Deputy Governor in Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for three years. He has been appointed in place of R Gandhi. Kanungo was in March 2016 appointed as executive director in the central bank.

S10. Ans. (e)

Sol. Defence minister Manohar Parrikar was appointed Goa chief minister. Governor Mridula Sinha invited Parrikar to form the government after he staked claim and showed the support of 21 MLAs.

S11. Ans. (b)

Sol. HSBC Holdings Plc , Europe's biggest bank, tapped an outsider for its top job on Monday, appointing insurance veteran and AIA Group boss Mark Tucker as chairman to replace Douglas Flint, who plans to step down in 2017.

S12. Ans. (a)

Sol. Airtel Payments Bank, offered by telecom major Bharti Airtel, announced that over one lakh savings accounts were opened in 100 villages across Tamil Nadu.

S13. Ans. (d)

Sol. Norway has become first country to cease FM Radio broadcasting. Oslo is the capital of Norway and among the fastest growing cities in Europe.

S14. Ans. (c)

Sol. The minimum pension has been increased to Rs 9,000 per person besides a two-fold hike in ex-gratia amount for central government employees.

S15. Ans. (e)

Sol. Pakistan is set to conduct its first national census in 19 years which will begin with the assistance of over 200,000 troops.

Daily GK Update 19th March, 2017

 Daily GK Update 19th March, 2017

Uttar Pradesh now have two Deputy CM

i. Yogi Adityanath, the 32nd Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh now have two deputies Keshav Prasad Maurya and  Dinesh Sharma. 

ii.Other states who have had two Deputy CM are Meghalaya, Telangana and Jharkhand.

First fully India-made train flagged off at Dadar station

i.Medha, the made-in-India rake was flagged off for the maiden run of the 12-coach train from Dadar to Borivali, at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus. 

ii.Medha has been manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, which has installed LED lighting to reduce energy consumption.



Amitabh Bachchan launches world's first app for breast health

i.Mumbai-based Ushalakshmi Breast Cancer Foundation has released an app to provide information under one roof. 
ii.Launched by Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan, the app – ‘ABC of Breast Health’ – will provide information in 12 languages.


Punjab to provide 33 percent reservation for women in govt jobs

i.Punjab cabinet has decided to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in all government jobs. 

ii.The cabinet also decided to increase representation of women in the Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies from the present 33 per cent to 50 per cent. 

March 16: Indian-American Appreciation Day recognised by Kansas

i.The U.S. state of Kansas has recognised March 16 as ‘Indian-American Appreciation Day’ to honour an Indian techie Srinivas Kuchibhotla who was killed last month in a racially-motivated hate crime.

QUIZ-19

QUIZ-19

Q1. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that the cash withdrawal limit on savings accounts will be scrapped from-
Answer: 13th March 2017

Q2. Which two priate sector banks are live with the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) that is aimed at easing utility and other repetitive bill payments for consumers?
Answer: HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank

Q3. In which Indian city, the 23rd edition of International Conference and Exhibition on Terrestrial & Satellite Broadcasting was held?
Answer: New Delhi

Q4. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to phase out weekly limit on cash withdrawal from savings accounts recently. The weekly withdrawal limit for savings accounts will be raised to how much amount from 20th February 2017? 
Answer: Rs. 50,000

Q5. With the government taking steps to improve ease of doing business and relax regulations, FDI into the country surged by 60% to USD 4.68 billion in November 2016. What is meaning of "I" in FDI?
Answer: Investment

Q6. The government has sold two per cent stake in ITC to ______________ and earned Rs 6,690 crore (around $1 billion) as part of its divestment plan for 2016-17.
Answer: LIC

Q7. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s driver and INA veteran ‘Colonel’ ___________ has passed away in his native village of Dhakwa in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh after a prolonged illness.
Answer: Nizamuddin

Q8. Which country has been barred from international competition since November 2015 following a damaging report alleging that state-sponsored doping was rife in the country?
Answer: Russia

Q9. Name the person/persons, who/whom has appointed as the part-time Non-Official Directors on the all-powerful Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India for a four-year term. 
Answer: Ashok Gulati, Manish Sabharwal and Rajiv Kumar

Q10. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved PMGDISHA recently. What is the meaning of "G" in PMGDISHA?
Answer: Gramin

Q11. Which team has won the inter-ministry Hockey tournament 2016 - 17 in New Delhi?
Answer: I & B Ministry

Q12. Who has appointed as chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)? 
Answer: Ajay Tyagi

Q13. In the latest move to curb tax evasion, the government has set up a task force to monitor actions of deviant shell companies. The setting up of the task force, under the co-chairmanship of revenue secretary and corporate affairs secretary Tapan Ray. Who is the present revenue secretary of Government of India?
Answer: Hasmukh Adhia

Q14. Glob-trotting sand artist __________________ has added yet another feature in his cap by storming into Guinness World Records for having created the world's tallest sand castle on Puri beach.
Answer: Sudarsan Pattnaik

Q15. Where is the headquartered of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)?
Answer: Mumbai

Daily GK Update 18th March, 2017

RBI to print Rs 10 plastic notes

i. RBI has been authorized by Government of India (GOI) to conduct field trials of plastic notes of Rs 10 in five cities across the country viz Kochi, Mysore, Jaipur, Shimla and Bhubaneswar.

ii. The main purpose of introducing plastic note is to extend the life cycle of banknotes. Moreover, Plastic notes are cleaner, lasts longer and are difficult to counterfeit.

Trivendra Rawat elected as Uttarakhand CM

i. Trivendra Singh Rawat, a former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Pracharak elected as Uttarakhand's 9th Chief Minister after replacing of Harish Rawat.

ii. He is currently the convener of the Modi government’s flagship program for Ganga cleanup, the ‘Namami Gange’ program and also the party in charge in Jharkhand. 

India, Russia sign long-term support pact on Sukhoi Su-30MKI

i. India and Russia have signed two long-term support agreements for the Sukhoi Su-30MKI combat aircraft fleet, of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

ii. Bangalore-headquartered Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) with United Aircraft Corporation and United Engine Corporation also signed an agreement for maintenance of other Russian-origin platforms.

Essar group: India’s first private sector township to go cashless

i. The Essar group’s township at Hazira in Surat district of Gujarat has become India’s first private sector township to go cashless.

ii. This will prove to be an important step towards making India a cashless economy.

iii. TMW is a Mumbai-based financial technology company whose wallet is powered by Mumbai-headquartered RBL Bank Ltd.

GST Council Approves SGST & UTGST Draft Bills

i. The Goods and Service Tax (GST) council headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley cleared the remaining State GST (SGST) and Union Territory GST (UTGST) draft bills during its 12 Council meeting.

ii. Now with this Council has approved all five draft bills for GST which is likely to be rollout by July 1, 2017.

iii. The UTGST draft law is for the Union Territories like Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, which do not have legislative assemblies.

Indian railways signs agreement with Australian research center

i. To support future research and technology development, related to critical infrastructure in India, a railway research center in Australia has entered into an agreement with the Indian Railways.

ii. Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL), a Special Purpose Vehicle set up under the administrative control of Ministry of Railways, has signed an agreement with representatives from Monash University's Institute of Railway Technology (IRT), Australia in New Delhi.

iii. Establishment of a new applied research and development institute in India, SRESTHA (Special Railway Establishment for Strategic Technology & Holistic Advancement) will be guided by them.

Sanjauli police post becomes first in India to be linked with CCTNS

i. Sanjauli police station of Sanjauli the main suburb of the city of Shimla, Himachal Pradesh has become the first police post in the country to be linked with Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), a nationwide online tracking system. Chief minister Virbhadra Singh inaugurated the system.

ii. The system will facilitate people in lodging online/offline complaints, police verification of job applicants, tenants, character verification and migrant labourer registration. 

Kerala gets first private bank: ESAF Small Finance Bank

i. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched ESAF (Evangelical Social Action Forum) Small Finance Bank, Kerala’s first private sector bank since the country’s Independence, in Thrissur, Kerala.

ii. R Prabha, former Chairman, Kerala Grameen Bank, is the Chairman of ESAF Small Finance Bank. The Bank will launch a new social deposit scheme ‘Hridaya Deposits’ for HNI and NRI customers.

World Bank approves funding for India's ambitious National Hydrology Project

i. The World Bank has approved a $175 million loan to India for the National Hydrology Project to improve India’s ability to forecast floods and reduce the recurring chances of floods and droughts.

ii. The loan would be disbursed by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). The loan has a six-year grace period in which no interest payments will be due and will mature in 23 years.

Social Security Agreement between India and Brazil

i. India and Brazil initialed the text of the Social Security Agreement (SSA) in Brazil.

ii. The SSA between India and Brazil once in force by early 2018 will be the first such agreement between the BRICS countries.

Mallikarjun Kharge becomes next PAC Chairman

i. Former Minister of Inidan Railways Mallikarjun Kharge has been nominated for the post of chairman of the Public’s Account Committee (PAC) of Parliament.

ii. Kharge will take charge from K.V. Thomas on May 1, 2017.

India ranks 148 in 2017 UN Women in Politics Map

i. The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UN Women launched the ‘Women in Politics 2017 Map’ in New York.

ii. The Women in Politics 2017 Map is the visual representation of women’s political empowerment in executive government and parliament as on January 1, 2017. 

iii. As per the Map, India ranked 148 out of 193 UN member nations in representing women in the executive government. The theme for 2017 is 'Women’s Economic Empowerment In The Changing World Of Work'.

iv. Top 5 countries with highest women in parliament: Rwanda, Bolivia, Cuba, Iceland and Nicaragua.

Michael Clarke’s launches his autobiography ‘My Story’

i. Former Australia captain Michael Clarke has launched his autobiography named ‘My Story’ in Kolkata.

ii. This book was triggered by how he was affected by Phil Hughes’ death when India was touring Australia in 2014-15.

QUIZ-18

QUIZ-18

Q1. Which banks has tied up with IFFCO, a cooperative, to provide co-branded debit cards with inbuilt overdraft facilities to the farmers?
Answer: Bank of Baroda

Q2. Which Bank has partnered with leading online data and information portal Commodity Online for the distribution of loans against warehouse receipts and collateral management services across the country.
Answer: Federal Bank

Q3. RBI governor Urjit Patel led Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has kept the key repo rate unchanged at _____________ in the first monetary policy review of 2017 and after Budget 2017. 
Answer: 6.25 percent

Q4. ICICI Securities, a subsidiary of ICICI Bank, has entered into a strategic partnership with Saxo Bank, an online multi-asset trading and investment specialist. Saxo Bank based in-
Answer: Denmark

Q5. The Supreme Court has approved the government‘s plan to record the identification details of mobile subscribers through an e-KYC mechanism linked to Aadhaar in a bid to enhance national security and prevent fake users. What is meaning of "C" in KYC-?
Answer: Customer

Q6. Which country has surpassed Germany to become the world’s largest producer of solar energy after nearly doubling its installed photovoltaic capacity in 2016?
Answer: China

Q7. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to launch Chandrayaan-2, a totally indigenous initiative consisting of an orbiter, lander and rover, during the first quarter of-
Answer: 2018

Q8. Which bank has collaborated with fintech startup IndiaLends to enable first-time borrowers who do not have a credit history to take loans?
Answer: IDFC Bank

Q9. CBDT, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance has entered into four more unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs). What is meaning of "B" in CBDT? 
Answer: Board

Q10. Name the veteran freedom fighter, who was passed away recently?
Answer: Racharla Samrajyam

Q11. Name the Indian cricket team captain, who has recorded his sixth Test 150, against Bangladesh at Hyderabad to set the record for most 150-plus scores by an Indian captain in Tests?
Answer: Virat Kohli

Q12. Enthused by the success of two pilot projects on utilising the head post offices as Passport Seva Kendra, the government has now decided to scale up this programme by opening ____________ such facilities across the country.
Answer: 56

Q13. Who has appointed as Managing Director of state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India recently?
Answer: Hemant Bhargava

Q14. To give a leg up to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in the diamond industry _______________ is planning to launch a supply chain financing product for the industry on a pilot basis in Surat.
Answer: Bank of Baroda

Q15. How much amount has been decided in Union Budget to allocate towards recapitalisation of public sector banks in FY2017-18?
Answer: Rs. 10,000 crore

Daily GK Update 17th March, 2017

Cabinet Approvals

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in its meeting has approved several MoUs.

Some important cabinet approvals are as follows:

1. National Health Policy, 2017 approved by Cabinet Focus on Preventive and Promotive Health Care and Universal access to good quality health care services.

2.  MoUs for cooperation in Youth and Sports Matters with Indonesia and the Kyrgyz Republic.

3.  MoU between India and Bangladesh on Aids to Navigation (AtoNs). 

Click here to read more

India joins WHO call to end TB by 2030 in South East Asian

i. India with World Health Organization (WHO) signed a 'call for action' and pledged to scale up measures to end the Tuberculosis by 2030.

ii. India among other countries in the South East Asian Region, which bear half of the global tuberculosis burden. India reports 2.8 million new TB cases annually and nearly half a million deaths due to the disease.

iii. Six of the region's countries Bangladesh, Democratic People's Republic (DPR) Korea, India, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand are among the 30 high TB burden nations globally.

IISc, Bengaluru Placed Among Top 50 in THE’s Asia Universities Ranking

i. The Times Higher Education (THE) released its Asia University Rankings 2017. The top rank in the Asia University Rankings was attained by the National University of Singapore (NUS) for the second consecutive year. 

ii. According to the 2017 ranking, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru has been ranked best Indian University and has been placed at 27th position among the universities in Asia.  

iii. Besides, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay was another Indian university among top 50 placed at 42 position.

Bandhan Bank, Avenues India tie up

i. Bandhan Bank, has signed an agreement with Avenues India Pvt Ltd, a payment solution provider to provide merchants with seamless access to point-of-sales (POS) and payment gateway products.

ii.  Merchants are expected to have a faster and more direct access to POS machines, payment gateways, and competitive financing options.

BSE ties up with Sentifi for algo analysis, updates

i. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has tied up with Sentifi, a Swiss company and leader in algorithmic-based analysis, for social media updates of 40,000 globally listed stocks.

ii. Sentifi analyses in real time the public online communication of more than 60 lakh persons and organizations relevant to the financial markets. Under the partnership, Sentifi would track, analyze and report social media messages on various stocks which would be provided on the BSE website. 

SEBI allows celebrity endorsements in MFs

i. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) allowed celebrities to endorse Mutual Fund products at the industry level and issued new advertising code that will require fund houses to communicate in a simple manner with the public.

ii. SEBI stated that it has permitted celebrity endorsements at the industry level for the purpose of increasing awareness of mutual funds as a financial product category. 

Dilip Shanghvi appointed as member of RBI's western board 

i. Sun Pharmaceuticals Managing Director Dilip Shanghvi has been appointed by the central government as a member of the western area local board of Reserve Bank of India.

ii. The appointment is for four years with effect from March 11, 2017, as per the central bank.

Jwala Gutta appointed SAI governing body member

i. India's most successful Badminton Doubles specialist Jwala Gutta has been appointed a member of the governing body of Sports Authority of India (SAI).
ii. The 14-time national champion and two-time Olympian Jwala won the bronze medal at the 2011 World Championships. She is also a 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games champion and a silver medallist at the 2014 Glasgow Games in women's doubles.

Indian-American Teen Indrani Das Wins 2017 Regeneron Science Talent Search

i. An Indian-American high school student, Indrani Das, 17, of New Jersey, has won the 2017 Regeneron Science Talent Search bagging the top award of 250,000 dollars.

ii. Indrani, a student at the Academy for Medical Science Technology in Hackensack, won the prestigious high school science and mathematics competition for her new approach to neurological damage.

ONGC to invest Rs 21,500-crore in India's deepest gas find

i. State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will invest over Rs 21,500 crore to develop India's deepest gas discovery by 2022-23, helping it more than double output from its prime KG basin block.

ii. ONGC, which had last year firmed up an investment of Rs 34,012 crore in bringing to production 10 oil and gas discoveries in its Bay of Bengal block KG-DWN-98/2 (KG-D5), plans to invest another Rs 21,528 crore in developing the ultra-deepsea UD-1 find.

Aeries Financial Tech, Rubique form tie-up

i. CASHe, a fin-tech product promoted by Aeries Financial Technologies, has entered into a strategic partnership with online marketplace for financial products Rubique.

ii. Under the partnership, Rubique will enlist CASHe on its online platform for borrowers to avail viable short-term loan products from CASHe. 

iii.CASHe disburses multiple loan products ranging from Rs. 5,000-1 lakh payable over 15, 30 and 90 days.

Changi voted World's Best Airport for 5th consecutive year

i. Singapore's Changi Airport has been voted the World's Best Airport by air travellers at the 2017 World Airport Awards for the fifth consecutive year. 

ii. The 2017 World Airport Awards are based on 13.82 million customer nominations across 105 nationalities of air travellers, with 550 airports worldwide taking part.

Click here to read more

China, Saudi Arabia ink deals worth about $65 billion  

i. China and Saudi Arabia have signed preliminary deals that is about $65 billion while four-day visit by Saudi King Salman to China. 

ii. China’s Deputy Foreign Minister Zhang Ming stated that President Xi Jinping and King Salman inked a total 14 cooperation agreements, including a memorandum of understanding on 35 projects for production capacity and investment cooperation.

NEXTracker partners with to APL Apollo Tubes to expand domestic manufacturing

i. Global solar tracker manufacturer, NEXTracker has partnered with APL Apollo Tubes for manufacturing a bulk of its products in India. 

ii. NEXTracker will be increasing its local steel content percentage to over 80% by volume and weight of its final product. NEXTracker also assess that the association with new Indian steel manufacturer reduces shipment time by up to 50%.

 SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Launches EchoStar 23 Satellite 

i. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket conducted its third flight of the year to launch a commercial communications satellite in the geosynchronous transfer orbit. 

ii. The launch took off from NASA’s Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and carried the EchoStar 23 communications satellite into orbit. 

iii. Having a mass of around 5,500 kilograms (12,000 lb), EchoStar XXIII was the heaviest geosynchronous payload yet launched by the Falcon 9 and will operate at 45 degrees west in geostationary orbit.

Pakistan successfully test-fires surface-to-sea missile

i. Pakistan Navy conducted a successful test of a land-based anti-ship missile, bolstering the operational reach of the country’s navy to launch long-range, anti-ship missiles from land. 

ii. The trial of the missile was conducted from the coastal region and the missile secured a hit on a target placed at sea. The missile is equipped with advanced technology and avionics, which enable engagement of targets at sea with a high degree of accuracy.