Daily GK Update: 24th April 2023

Sports

Kelvin Kiptum of Kenya has won the London Marathon and recorded the second-fastest time in history over the distance.
He set the course record with a time of 2 hours, 1 minute, and 25 seconds.
He just missed out on Eliud Kipchoge's world record by 16 seconds.
In the women's race, Ethiopian-born Dutch athlete, Sifan Hassan won her marathon debut in 2:18:34.
Switzerland’s Marcel Hug won the elite men’s wheelchair race with a time of 1:23:44.

National Affairs

PM Modi has laid the foundation stone and inaugurated projects worth more than 17,000 crores in Madhya Pradesh.
He has also inaugurated the integrated e-Gram Swaraj and GeM portal for public procurement at the Panchayat level.
- Objective: To enable Panchayats to market their goods and services through GeM
With the handing over of around 35 lakh Swamitva Property Cards, about 1 crore 25 lakh property cards have been distributed under this scheme in the country.

National Affairs

The Ministry of Jal Shakti has conducted the first-ever census of water bodies across the nation.
Aim: To provide a comprehensive inventory of India's water resources, including natural and man-made water bodies like lakes
Over 24.24 lakh water bodies have been enumerated in the country out of which more than 23 lakh water bodies are in rural areas and nearly 69,000 are in urban areas.
Top 5 (number of water bodies): WB, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Assam

National Affairs

Union Minister of Ports, Sarbananda Sonowal has inaugurated National Technology Centre for Ports, Waterways and Coasts, IIT - Discovery Campus at Chennai.
Under the Sagarmala Programme, the centre has been established in IIT Chennai at a cost of 77 Crore rupees.
The institute acts as a technological arm of the Ministry and develops cutting-edge technologies and application products to provide solutions to various challenges faced by the Ports and Shipping Sector.

National Affairs

The Unique Identification Authority of India and the National Payments Corporation of India are setting up an aggregator platform for eKYC (electronic know-your-customer).
The process of Aadhaar-based eKYC is used for paperless verification of a customer’s credentials to get a mobile connection or open a bank account.
The process can be completed using biometrics or through the use of OTP.
It is being used by financial services players, and government agencies.

Books & Authors

A new book titled, ‘A Resurgent Northeast: Narratives of Change’ has been released in New Delhi.
The book was authored by an IAS officer, and senior bureaucrat Ashish Kundra.
The book was launched in the presence of Kiren Rijiju (Union Minister of Law and Justice); Hardeep Singh Puri (Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas), Pema Khandu (CM of Arunachal Pradesh), and Amitabh Kant.
Senior bureaucrat-author Ashish Kundra served in the Northeast for eight years.

Important Dates

India celebrates National Panchayati Raj Day every year on April 24 to commemorate the constitutional change that established the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs).
PRIs are considered the third tier of the government.
It manages the local-level administration in rural areas.
The first Panchayati Raj system was initiated in the year 1993.
2023 theme: Sustainable Panchayat: Building Healthy, Water Sufficient, Clean & Green Villages

National Affairs

The Ministry of Petroleum has successfully completed the Bihar portion of the Barauni Guwahati pipeline (BGPL) under the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga project.
It will connect six districts in Bihar to the National Gas Grid.
Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga Project is also known as Jagdishpur – Haldia & Bokaro – Dhamra Pipeline Project (JHBDPL) project.
- Launched: 2016
- Aim: Caters to the energy requirements of five states (UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and WB).

Obituaries

Former MP and three-time MLA, Trilochan Kanungo passed away in Bhubaneswar.
Kanungo was elected to the assembly in 1971, 1974, and 1985.
In 1999, he was elected from the Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha seat on a BJD ticket.
He was a former chairman of Cuttack Municipality and ex-chairperson of the state finance commission.
He was born on November 24, 1940, in Badamulei village in Cuttack district, Odisha.

National Affairs

SAIL-Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL) has signed a Memorandum of understanding with Telecommunications Consultants India (TCIL) to explore the potential of the application of 5G/ IT/ telecom and other wireless communication technologies in SAIL-Bokaro Steel Plant.
This project would include SAIL's Mines and Collieries, Central Coal Supply Organization, and the SAIL refractory unit in Jharkhand.
SAIL Chairperson: Soma Mondal