Current Affairs - 2019-20

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The first planet in our solar system to be visited by a spacecraft was Venus, and the correct answer is [B] Venus.
The Soviet spacecraft Venera 1 was the first human-made object to attempt to reach Venus in 1961, although it failed to make a successful flyby of the planet. However, Venera 7, also launched by the Soviet Union, became the first spacecraft to successfully land on Venus in 1970, providing valuable data about the planet’s surface and atmosphere.
Since then, numerous missions have been sent to Venus by various space agencies, including NASA, the Soviet Union, and more recently, the European Space Agency (ESA). These missions have greatly expanded our understanding of Venus and its extreme environment, which includes scorching temperatures, a thick and toxic atmosphere, and high surface pressures.

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Also known as Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor, it is convention number 182 and is most widely-ratified international labor convention, it has set a global target of eliminating the WFCL by 2016

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Ayushman Bharat -National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM) is a centrally sponsored scheme under Ayushman Bharat Mission. The scheme will provide insurance cover of Rs. 5 Lakh per family per year. The scheme will benefit more than 10 crore families belonging to poor and vulnerable population. AB-NHPM will subsume the on-going centrally sponsored schemes –Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) and the Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS).

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All given features are of Asiatic Wild Ass.

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Alliance 8.7 is for a world without forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking and child labour. It is an initiative under the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It calls for effective measures to end forced labour, modern slavery, and human trafficking, as well as child labour in all its forms.

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Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the longest road tunnel named Chenani-Nashri Tunnel, located in Jammu & Kashmir. It is the 9-km-long tunnel built at an altitude of 1200 meters, and it passes through the lower Himalayan mountain range on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway 44. It cuts the distance between Jammu and Srinagar to around 250 km from the current 350 km. It is also Asia’s longest bi-directional highway tunnel.

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The Pulse Panchayats is a concept where all the farmers in a particular panchayat cooperate in areas like rain water harvesting and efficient use, crop wealth management and safe storage and value addition to primary products. The first such panchayat is in operation in the Edaiyappatti village of Tamil Nadu. {Read More }

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No Indian institution figures in the top 250 of the Times Higher Education’s (THE) world university rankings 2019. Though, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru has retained its position as the highest-ranked centre in India. It was placed between the 251-300 band, while IIT Indore, Bombay and Roorkee with Jagadguru Sri Shivarathreeswara University from Karnataka make the country’s top five. Globally, University of Oxford has acquired first position for a third consecutive year followed by Cambridge and Stanford University. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology rose one place to number four. In India, number of Indian institutions in the rankings increased from 42 last year to 49, making it the fifth best-represented nation.

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The torch relay began at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi, which was the host of the 1st Asian Games. It began on 15 July 2018.

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Ekaterini Stefanidi is a Greek pole vaulter. She won the Gold Medal in 2016 Rio Olympics with a jump of 4.85m.