Daily Current Affairs Quiz: Feb 21, 2023

Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) has emerged as the top performer among state-owned lenders in terms of loan growth percentage during the third quarter of 2022-23, an analysis of the latest financial results of public sector banks showed.

The Pune-based lender recorded a 21.67 per cent increase in gross advances on a year-on-year basis, according to the latest quarterly numbers of the public sector bank (PSB).

BoM was followed by the Union Bank of India with 19.80 per cent growth.
Country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) stood at fourth spot with 16.91 per cent rise in advances growth.

However, SBI’s total loans were about 17 times higher at Rs 26,47,205 crore as compared to Rs 1,56,962 crore of BoM in absolute terms.

Solution:option a.)

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has launched a new app, the ‘mPassport Police App,’ to help expedite passport issuance by streamlining the police verification process.

The app will allow police personnel to submit digital and paperless verification reports through mobile tablets, reducing verification time from 15
to five days and reducing passport issuance time by nearly 10 days.

The app has been launched for the Delhi Police jurisdiction, as the government seeks to improve citizen services and make passport issuance easier.

Solution:option b.)

:Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana, who is known for his knack for off-beat scripts and roles, was on Saturday appointed as
the National Ambassador of Child Rights for UNICEF India.

:As a part of his duties, Ayushmann will work with UNICEF to ensure the rights of every child to survive, thrive, be protected besides promoting their voice and agency in decisions that concern them.

:UNICEF (H.Q): New York
:UNICEF Founded:1946
:Director General: Catherine M. Russel

Solution: option .b.)

:Saurashtra defeated Bengal by nine wickets to clinch its second Ranji Trophy title at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday.

:Led by Jaydev Unadkat, Saurashtra reduced the home side to a paltry 174 after winning the toss on Thursday before posting
a daunting 404 on the board. Fifties from opener Harvik Desai (50) and Saurashtra’s strong middle-order trio comprising
Sheldon Jackson (59), Arpit Vasavada (81) and Chirag Jani (60) helped the visitor gain a 230-run first-innings lead.

: Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary led a response with his half-century on Saturday, a flurry of wickets in Day 4’s morning session
undid his grind. A mix-up between Tiwary and Shahbaz Ahmed resulted in the latter’s dismissal and the end of a 48-run partnership.

:Saurashtra skipper Jaydev Unadkat then secured his 22nd First-Class five-wicket haul (6/85) before Bengal set a meagre 12-run target.

Solution: option d.)

:Virat Kohli became the fastest to reach the 25000 runs mark on day three of the second Test against Australia at
the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday.

:Virat Kohli reached the landmark in his 492nd match and his 549th innings. He has an average of 53.64.

:Kohli overtook Sachin Tendulkar who reached the landmark in 577 innings. Ricky Ponting is third having scored 25000
runs in 588 innings, Jacques Kallis did it in 594, Kumar Sangakkara in 608 and Mahela Jayawardene did it in 701 innings.

Solution : option b.)

:AU Small Finance Bank, India’s leading small finance bank, and HDFC Life, one of India’s leading life insurers, today entered
into a corporate agency arrangement for soliciting insurance plans of HDFC Life through the bancassurance business model.

:This partnership would enable diverse customers of AU Small Finance Bank to access the entire range of life insurance products
offered by HDFC Life, thus fulfilling their need for financial protection. The said arrangement will aim to further enrich the Bank’s
life insurance offering by enabling its customers to access the digital platform and the touch points of HDFC Life for servicing.

:AU Small Finance Bank Limited is an Indian Small finance bank, based in Jaipur, India. It was founded as vehicle finance company AU Financiers
Ltd in 1996 and converted to a small finance bank on 19 April 2017.

Solution : option d.)

:The outlay for Prime Minister Awas Yojana (PMAY) has been enhanced by 66 per cent to over Rs 79,000 crores, announced Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget 2023-24 in Parliament on Wednesday.

:This is a significant increase considering Sitharaman, in the Budget 2022-23, had proposed an allocation of Rs 48,000 crore for the Housing for All initiative of the government.

:This year’s budget is significant being the last full budget of Modi government’s second tenure as the general elections are scheduled for next year.

Solution: option c.)

:The country’s first solid waste-to-hydrogen plant will be set up in Pune at a cost of over Rs 430 crore, an official said on Tuesday.

:The plant will be set up by sustainability solutions provider TheGreenBillions Ltd (TGBL), who has
entered into a 30-year-long agreement with Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).

:It will treat 350 tonnes of solid garbage every day by next year.

:It has plan to produce 10 tonnes of hydrogen daily from 350 tonnes of solid waste.

Solution: option b.)

:RBI has appointed former Bank of Baroda ED Vikramaditya Singh Khichi as a member of the Advisory Committee on Reliance Capital, it said in a release.

:The move follows the resignation of former Axis Bank Deputy MD Srinivasan Varadarajan, effective Friday.

:The central bank had on December 7, 2021 constituted an Advisory Committee to advise Reliance Capital’s administrator on the operations of the financial service providers during the corporate insolvency resolution process.

:In addition to Khichi, the committee comprises former State Bank of India Deputy MD Sanjeev Nautiyal, and former Tata Capital MD and CEO Praveen P Kadle.

Solution: option d.)

:As per the report, India had been progressively introducing reforms over the past years,
contributing to a slight liberalization of services trade in some sectors.
▪ Top 5: Japan (1), UK, Netherlands, Czech Republic, and Chile (5)
▪ Bottom: Indonesia (50), Thailand(49), and Russia (48).

:OECD Services Trade Restrictiveness Index provides a snapshot of services regulatory
regimes to help policymakers to assess reform options.
▪ Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an intergovernmental
organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress
and world trade.
▪ Headquarters: Paris, France
▪ Clare Lombardelli has been appointed as the next Chief Economist of the OECD, starting
on 2 May 2023.
▪ Mathias Cormann: Secretary-General of the OECD

Solution: option b.)

: Dr. T G Sitharam, Chairman, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), said that KAVACH-2023 is a unique kind of national hackathon jointly conducted by MoE’s Innovation Cell, AICTE,
Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D, MHA) and Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C, MHA) to identify innovative
ideas and technological solutions for addressing the cyber security and cybercrime challenges of the 21st century faced by our Law Enforcement Agencies and common citizens.

:Speaking the occasion Shri Balaji Srivastava, IPS, Director General, Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), said that it will be a 36-hours long event, during which youth from
educational institutions across the country and registered start-ups will participate to find robust, secure and effective technological solutions for cyber security by
using their technical expertise & innovative skills.

Solution: option b.)

:Former Health Minister K.K. Shailaja has been selected for the 32nd Ramashramam Unneerikkutty Award, which is annually given to individuals
who have made a mark in the fields of art, literature, culture, politics, or social service by Kozhikode-based Ramashramam Trust.

:Ramashramam Trust chairman and writer M. Mukundan told reporters here on Friday that Ms. Shailaja was selected for the award based on her services
as a minister during the times of Nipah outbreak and the COVID-19 pandemic, besides her services to the State in various other capacities.

Solution :option c.)

:Indian-Origin Engineer cum hobbyist Photographer Karthik Subramaniam‘s beautiful photo has topped National Geographic’s ‘Photo of the Year’ Contest 2023, beating over 5000 entries.

:His photo titled “Dance of the Eagles”, which was captured at the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve in Alaska, won the grand prize in the contest. “Every year in November,
hundreds of bald eagles gather at Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve near Haines, Alaska, to feast on salmon.

Solution: option b.)

:Former India Davis Cup tennis player Ramesh Krishnan was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual awards night function organised by the Rotary Club of Madras, T. Nagar (RCMT), in Chennai on Thursday.

:Tamil Nadu Tennis Association president and ace tennis player Vijay Amritraj presented the award and a citation to Mr. Krishnan. Mr. Vijay Amritraj was the recipient of the first award in 2010.

:Golf player Uttam Singh Mundy was awarded for vocational excellence and K.V. Rangaswami, former Executive Director and Member of the Board of LT, was honoured with the Living Legend Award.

:Meenakshi Periakaruppan, president of the RCMT, spoke about the social welfare activities of the club, including purchasing of medical equipment and improving education amenities in schools.