Daily Current Affairs Quiz: August 5, 2023

England batsman Alex Hales announced his retirement from international cricket at the age of 34, drawing the curtain on a controversial career on Friday.
The right-hand batsman, who played 11 Test matches, 70 one-day internationals, and 75 Twenty20s for England, was dropped from England’s 2019 ODI World Cup squad after news of a failed recreational drugs test broke a month before the tournament and spent nearly three years in exile.
He was called back for the 2022 T20 World Cup as a replacement to replace the injured Jonny Bairstow, a tournament England went on to win.

The Finance Ministry of India elevated two major oil sector companies, Oil India and ONGC Videsh, to the esteemed Maharatna and Navratna categories, respectively, granting them increased autonomy for investment, joint venture establishment, and other financial decisions.

Oil India’s Journey to Maharatna Status
Oil India, previously classified as a Navratna company, has now been granted the esteemed Maharatna status, making it the 13th Maharatna CPSE (Central Public Sector Enterprises) in the country.

The Maharatna status was introduced for CPSEs to empower them to expand their operations and become global leaders.
Notable CPSEs like BHEL, Indian Oil, ONGC, BPCL, HPCL, and SAILs have already been conferred Maharatna status.
Companies aspiring for Maharatna status must fulfil specific criteria, including holding Navratna status, being listed on the Indian stock exchange with a minimum prescribed public shareholding under SEBI regulations, and maintaining an average annual net profit exceeding Rs 2,500 crore over the last three years.

India’s Grandmaster Gukesh D has become as the country’s top chess player, surpassing Viswanathan Anand in Aug 2023.
He qualified for the third round of the FIDE World Cup 2023 and secured victory against Azerbaijani Misratdin Iskandarov.
He holds a live rating of 2755.9 in Classic chess, slightly edging out Anand, whose live rating stands at 2754.0

The trio of V. Jyothi Surekha, Aditi Swami and Parneet Kaur made history when they helped India record a convincing 235-229 victory over top-ranked Mexico in the compound women’s team final.
With this win, India clinched its first-ever gold medal in the World archery championships in Berlin (Germany).

Germany Capital: Berlin
Germany Currency: Euro
Germany President: Frank-Walter Steinmeier

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved an extension in service of Ajay Kumar Bhalla, as Home Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs for a further period of one year beyond August 22, 2023, i.e. up to August 22, 2024,” according to a notification issued on Friday.
The officer was to retire from service in November 2020 after his fixed two-year tenure had ended but his term was extended on October 17, 2020, through an order till August 22, 2021.
He was then given two subsequent one-year extensions till August 22 this year.
Bhalla, a 1984-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, was appointed as home secretary in August 2019.

The 15th BRICS Summit is expected to take place in the South African city of Johannesburg in August 2023.
This will be the first in-person summit to be held after 4 years, the last three having been held under the chairmanship of Russia, India and China in a virtual Format.
The 2023 BRICS summit is the fifteenth upcoming annual BRICS summit, an international relations conference attended by the heads of state or heads of government of the five member states: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa also invited the leaders of 70 countries to the summit, including 53 other African Countries, Bangladesh and Bolivia.

South Africa Capital: Pretoria,Capetown, Bloemfontein
South Africa Currency: Rand

Gabon became the African nation to launch a debt-for-nature swap, plans to buy up at least $450 million of its government debt in exchange for an eco-friendly blue bond.

Debt-for-nature swap is when creditors provide debt relief for developing countries who commit to taking steps towards the conservation of the environment, like decarbonizing the economy, investing in climate-resilient infrastructure, or protecting biodiverse forests or reefs, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
These so-called swaps can be useful for countries that are most vulnerable to climate change and often unable to afford investment to strengthen climate change-related resilience.

Gabon Capital: Libreville
Gabon Currency: Central African CFA franc
Gabon President: Ali Bongo Ondimba

India’s fastest-growing research-driven Pharmaceutical API intermediates Contract Manufacturing Company with over 25+ advanced intermediates being marketed in more than 70 plus countries having WHO-GMP Certified Manufacturing Facilities in building bonds with Local and Global Customers was awarded the most prestigious “Best Managed Pharmaceutical Sustainable Organizations 2023” & Dr Deepak Shenoy, Managing Director, Medec Dragon Pvt Ltd was as “Global Visionary Entrepreneur of the year 2023” at the 6th Edition of South Asia Pacific Healthcare Summit & Business Award 2023 organised by Brandscouncil Ratings & Media links.

Akasa Air has collaborated with the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) to commemorate Aviation Security Culture Week, which will take place from 31st July to 5th August 2023.
The idea behind this week is to make passengers aware of prohibited things they should not carry while travelling”.
This development aims to intensify security awareness and promote a positive security culture in aviation operations across the country.
The event’s tagline, ‘See it, Say it, and Secure it,’ urges every individual to remain vigilant about their surroundings and promptly report any suspicious activities.

Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba has been given an extension in his service to the government of India. The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet granted him the extension for a further period of one year beyond August 30, 2023.
This is his third extension to the post.
Gauba, a seasoned 1982-batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre, was appointed to the country’s top bureaucratic post for two years in 2019.
However, his tenure was extended for an additional one-year period beyond August 30, 2022, by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

In a major boost to India’s missile capabilities, the Indian Air Force has received the Israeli Spike Non-Line Of Sight (NLOS) anti-tank guided missiles. It is a fire-and-forget anti-tank missile which can hit targets up to 30 km away.

Manufactured by Israel’s defence major Rafael, the Spike missiles can be fired from the ground or even from helicopters.
The weapon fulfils the capabilities of a high-precision guided tactical ground-to-ground battlefield missile for Indian forces. It uses a fibre optic link similar to other Spike versions for up to 8 KM after which it employs a radio data link for command guidance.

In 2020, the US Army announced its intention to procure Spike NLOS missiles to be mounted on AH-64E Apache attack helicopters.
In March 2021, an Apache fired a Spike NLOS at a target from 32 kilometres away and made a direct hit.
It has a salvo feature which can launch up to four missiles at a time and the ability to hand over control after firing to another platform and also has a Target Image Acquisition Capability.

To improve the highway user experience and offer seamless travel on Indian National Highways, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has taken a significant step by introducing the ‘Rajmargyatra mobile application.

This unified app aims to provide comprehensive information and efficient complaint redressal for national highway users, making travel safer and more convenient.

The ‘Rajmargyatra’ app is designed to be user-friendly and is available for download on both the Google Play Store and iOS App Store.
This availability makes it accessible to a wide range of travellers who can now access comprehensive information about Indian National Highways at their fingertips.

In Kerala, the ninth edition of the Malabar River Festival opens at Thusharagiri in Kozhikode.
The three-day event, organised by the Kerala Adventure Tourism Promotion Society and the Kozhikode District Tourism Promotion Council will be held at Iruvanjhipuzha and Chalipuzha rivers at Thusharagiri.

Besides Indian Kayakers, paddlers from ten countries including the US, UK, Israel, Kazakhstan and South Africa are participating in the event.

The competition will be held in Kayak Slalom, Boardercross and Down River events.

Kerala CM: Pinarayi Vijayan
Kerala Capital: Thiruvananthapuram
Kerala Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan

England all-rounder Moeen Ali has officially announced that the fifth Ashes Test against Australia marked the end of his career in traditional format matches.
Moeen also stated that he will not be part of the England squad travelling to India for the Test series scheduled between January and March 2024.