Daily Current Affairs MCQ - May 1, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

• Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar, Punjab (India), an apex democratically elected body of Sikhs residing all over the world. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• It was established under a special Act of Parliament in 1925 to look after the religious affairs, cultural and historical monuments. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

Civilian Rescue Missions

• Evacuation from the Gulf (1990-91):
  • Until VBM, India's evacuation of civilians from Kuwait during the 1990-91 Gulf war had been the world's largest evacuation exercise of civilians by air.
  • Around 1,77,000 Indians were caught in the war which left millions homeless and many dead. Air India, at that time, operated around 500 flights over two months.
• Operation Raahat:
  • It was launched by the Indian Armed Forces, to evacuate 4,640 Indian citizens and 960 foreign nationals of 41 countries from Yemen during the 2015 Yemen Crisis. Hence, pair 1 is not correctly matched.
  • The evacuation took place both by sea and the air.
• Operation Maitri:
  • The rescue and relief operation was carried out by the government of India and Indian armed forces in the aftermath of the April 2015 Nepal earthquake.
  • The Indian Armed Forces evacuated around 5,188 persons, while nearly 785 foreign tourists were provided transit visas. Hence, pair 2 is not correctly matched.
• Operation Safe Homecoming:
  • It was launched by the Indian government on 26th February, 2011 to evacuate its citizens, fleeing from the Libyan Civil War.
  • The air-sea operation was conducted by the Indian Navy and Air India. Around 15,000 civilians were rescued in the operation.
• Operation Sukoon:
  • It was an operation carried out by the Indian Navy to evacuate Indian, Sri Lankan and Nepalese nationals, from the conflict zone during the 2006 Lebanon War.
  • It was one of the largest evacuations conducted by the Indian Navy in which a total of 2,280 people were evacuated. Hence, pair 3 is correctly matched.

• The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) is a national initiative introduced by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) to measure the air quality of a metropolitan city, by measuring the overall pollution level and the location-specific air quality of the city. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
• The system is indigenously developed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune and is operationalized by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). hence, statement 2 is not correct.
• The ultimate objective of the project is to increase awareness among the general public regarding the air quality in their city so that appropriate mitigation measures and systematic action can be taken up.
  • SAFAR is an integral part of India’s first Air Quality Early Warning System operational in Delhi.
• It monitors all weather parameters like temperature, rainfall, humidity, wind speed, and wind direction, UV radiation, and solar radiation.
• Pollutants Monitored: PM2.5, PM10, Ozone, Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), Benzene, Toluene, Xylene, and Mercury. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

• Kyrgyzstan is a country in the central asia region sharing border with Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, China and Tajikistan. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• India has enjoyed strong bilateral ties with Kyrgyzstan since 1991.
  • India was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic ties with Kyrgyzstan in 1992.
  • KAZIND is the joint military exercise between India and Kazakhstan. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

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The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), has launched two loan products for MSMEs to help them with required financial support in fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The two new loan products are: SHWAS – SIDBI assistance to Healthcare sector in War Against Second wave of COVID19; AROG – SIDBI Assistance to MSMEs for Recovery & Organic Growth during COVID19 pandemic

On 23 April 2021, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) joined the Central Banks and Supervisors ‘Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS)’ as a Member.

Amitabh Chaudhry has been re-appointed as the Managing Director and CEO of the private sector lender Axis Bank for three more years by bank board. His second 3 years term will begin with effect from January 1, 2022, up to December 31, 2024. 

The International Workers’ Day is observed annually on May 1 to honour the contributions of the labourers or working class people.

Renowned TV journalist and news anchor, Rohit Sardana, has passed away, due to heart attack, following the deadly COVID-19 infection. The young journalist was just 41-year-old.

The state-owned insurance behemoth ‘Life Insurance Corporation (LIC)’ has emerged as the third strongest and the tenth most valuable insurance brand globally, in Brand Finance Insurance 100 report for 2021.The brand value of LIC increased by almost 7 percent to $8.65 billion in 2021.