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Daily General Knowledge
Date: 20th July 2019 DAILY GK
IFS officer Vivek Kumar appointed as Private Secretary to PM
Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer Vivek Kumar was appointed as Private Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. Kumar, a 2004 batch IFS officer, is currently working as a Director in the Prime Minister's Office. He will be succeeding Sanjeev Kumar Singla, who has been appointed India's ambassador to Israel. DAILY GK
Jio overtakes Airtel to become India's 2nd largest operator by users
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries' telecom unit Reliance Jio has overtaken rival Bharti Airtel to become India's second-largest operator by subscribers as of May. Jio ended the month with 32.3 crore wireless customers as against Airtel's 32.04 crore users, data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India showed. Vodafone Idea remained India's top operator with 38.76 crore customers. DAILY GK
Aishwarya breaks junior world record as India tops medal tally
India's Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar won the gold medal in men's rifle three positions event in the ISSF Junior World Cup in Germany, breaking the men's junior world record. His feat helped India top the medals tally in the tournament. India finished the tournament with 10 gold medals, nine silver medals and five bronze medals. DAILY GK
Hiranandani to invest ₹1,000 crore to set up first data centre
Hiranandani Group has said it plans to invest ₹1,000 crore to develop its first data centre park at Panvel in Navi Mumbai under the brand Yotta. The data centre will come up by this December at an integrated township that the company is currently developing. H-Energy, the group's energy arm, will provide the power requirements to operate the data centre. DAILY GK
Who is the youngest-ever recipient of the Bharat Ratna?
● Clue 1: He was the first sportsperson to be awarded the honorary rank of group captain by the Indian Air Force. ● Clue 2: His only T20 international wicket is South Africa’s Justin Kemp. ● Clue 3: He’s played 200 Tests, having made his debut at the age of 16. DAILY GK
Answer: Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar (46), who is cricket's most prolific run-getter and the only player to feature in 200 Tests, became the sixth Indian to be part of the ICC's Hall of Fame, following Sunil Gavaskar, Bishan Singh Bedi, Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid. DAILY GK
OYO Founder to buy back $2 billion worth stake in the startup
OYO Founder Ritesh Agarwal has agreed to invest $2 billion to increase his stake in the SoftBank-backed hospitality startup. Current investors Lightspeed Venture Partners and Sequoia India are selling portions of their holdings to help the 25-year-old CEO increase his stake, the company said. The deal will raise Agarwal's stake in OYO to 30% from about 10% now, reports said. DAILY GK
The planning commission is
● Ministry ● A government department ● An advisory body ● An autonomous corporation
Answer: An advisory body DAILY GK
Virgin Orbit to launch small satellites for UK military
Virgin Orbit, the small satellite launching arm of billionaire Richard Branson's spaceflight firm Virgin Galactic, has signed an initial agreement to develop small satellite launch capabilities for the UK's Royal Air Force (RAF). Virgin Orbit aims to launch hardware provided by UK-based Surrey Satellites in a demo mission. The deal is part of RAF's Artemis mission. DAILY GK
US Navy shoots down Iranian drone in Strait of Hormuz
US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that a US Navy ship had "destroyed" an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz after the aircraft threatened the vessel. He added that the drone had flown to within 1,000 yards of the ship and had ignored "multiple calls to stand down". Iran in June shot down a US military surveillance drone. DAILY GK
Australia's picturesque Hutt Lagoon is also known as the 'Pink lake'
Australia's Hutt Lagoon located north of the Hutt River is also known as 'Pink lake', and is sometimes bright bubblegum pink, sometimes lilac, and occasionally even red in colour. It gets a pink hue due to carotenoid-producing algae, Dunaliella salina. It's a source of beta-carotene, used as a food-colouring agent and a source of vitamin A in cosmetics and supplements.