Daily Current Affairs Quiz: July 20, 2023

Solution: option b.)

India has occupied the 80th spot in the Henley Passport Index 2023, which ranks nations based on the visa-free access available for travel on their respective passports.
Indian passport holders can arrive in 57 countries without a prior visa.

India’s rank is currently tied with West African countries Senegal and Togo.
The rankings, released on July 18 by migration consultancy firm Henley & Partners, are based on the data the International Air Transport Association shared.
Singapore has topped the Henley Passport Index this year, knocking off Japan from the top spot for the first time in five years.
Germany, Italy, and Spain rose to the second rank with visa-free access to 190 destinations, and Japanese passport holders joined those of six other nations.

Solution: option d.)

International Chess Day was announced in 1996 by UNESCO to commemorate the establishment of the International Chess Federation, commonly known as FIDE by its French acronym.
FIDE was founded in Paris, France, and currently has its headquarters in Switzerland.
FIDE is an international body responsible for connecting various international chess federations and acts as the governing body for international chess competitions.
Founded: 20 July 1924.

Solution: option d.)

Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday held talks with his Argentinian counterpart Jorge Enrique Tatiana to discuss measures to bolster bilateral defence relationship, the Ministry of Defence said.

Tatiana visited the National War Memorial and laid a wreath while paying homage to the fallen heroes. A tri-service guard of honour was also presented to the visiting dignitary before the talks with Rajnath Singh.
Tatiana arrived in New Delhi on 17 July on a four-day visit to India. He is accompanied by the secretary, of international affairs, Argentine Ministry of Defence, Francisco Cafiero.
Argentina’s defence minister visited BrahMos Aerospace and is scheduled to interact with leading think tanks in Delhi.

Argentina Capital: Buenos Aires
Argentina Currency: Peso

Solution: option d.)
SBI Capital Markets (SBICAPS), said that it has appointed Raj Kumar Sinha as the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer at the wholly owned subsidiary and investment banking arm of State Bank of India (SBI), effective July 14.

Sinha replaces Amitava Chatterjee who moves to SBI, Corporate Centre as Deputy Managing Director, in charge of Commercial Clients Group.

Before this, he was in charge of Treasury operations of SBI, managing the Bank’s investment portfolio, money market, equity, private equity & forex operations.
Sinha brings in global markets expertise that will further help strengthen SBICAPS’ investment banking business in India and overseas.

Solution: option a.)

Indian President Draupadi Murmu presented the “Bhoomi Samman” 2023 at a function organized by the Union Ministry of Rural Development at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
The awards were received by the State Secretaries and District Collectors along with their teams who have shown excellence in achieving the completion of major components of the Digital India Land Records Modernization Program (DILRMP).
Honour to the secretaries of nine states and officers of 68 districts.

Solution: option a.)

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami participated in a program on water conservation, organized on the occasion of the Harela festival 2023.
The festival symbolizes happiness, prosperity, peace, environment, and nature conservation.
Harela is an annual Hindu festival celebrated in the hill states of Uttarakhand.

Capital: Dehradun (Winter), Gairsain (Summer)
Governor: Gurmit Singh

Solution: option b.)

Andhra Pradesh transport department has introduced a UPI payments system at inter-state check posts to curb corruption.
The policy will support the Chief Minister’s directives toward corruption-free administration without any intermediaries.
The new policy has been implemented at 15 check posts of the transport department across the state.

The State has interstate checkposts with Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Telangana.
Andhra Pradesh CM: YS Jagan Mohan Reddy
Andhra Pradesh Governor: Abdul Nazeer

Solution: option d.)

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has launched the Aapda Rahat Kosh 2023 website initiating a digital platform aimed at aiding the disaster-affected people of Himachal Pradesh.
Individuals can donate money in Aapda Rahat Kosh-2023 from anywhere using various payment methods such as debit cards, credit cards, net banking, QR code and UPI.
Himachal Pradesh Capital: Shimla (Summer), Dharamshala (Winter)
Himachal Pradesh CM: Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu
Himachal Pradesh Deputy CM: Mukesh Agnihotri
Himachal Pradesh Governor: Shiv Pratap Shukla

Solution: option c.)

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar co-chaired the 12th Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) meeting in Bangkok with his Laos.
The implementation of the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway was prioritized, and a Mekong-Ganga Cooperation Business Council was established.
The Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) is an initiative by six countries – India and five ASEAN countries – Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam – for cooperation in tourism, culture, education, transport, and communications.

Solution: option d.)

India’s gem capital Surat in Gujarat has surpassed the United States to host the largest office in the world. ‘Surat Diamond Bourse’ – a one-stop shop for over 65,000 diamond professionals, is now the world’s largest office building, replacing the Pentagon in the US.

Spanning over 35 acres of land, the sprawling 15-story complex has been constructed to house the diamond industry. It features a series of nine interconnected rectangular structures emanating from a central “spine.”

The office has 7.1 million square feet of floor space, making it larger than the Pentagon, the headquarters of the United States Department of Defence, which held the crown for nearly 80 years.

Solution: option c.)

Gautam Adani met Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina for full load commencement and handover of the 1,600 MW ultra-supercritical Godda power plant.
Adani Power set up the 1,600 MW thermal power in Jharkhand’s Godda to supply power generated to Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) through a dedicated transmission line.
The Godda Plant became fully operational in June.
The plant was commissioned in a record time of three-and-a-half years.

Solution: option b.)

Eminent mathematician and scientist Dr Mangala Narlikar, wife of noted astrophysicist Dr Jayant Narlikar, passed away at her residence in Maharashtra’s Pune city on Monday after a prolonged illness, her family members said. She was 80.
Born on 17 May 1943, she completed her graduation and post-graduation from Mumbai University.
Narlikar topped the graduation exam and worked as an assistant researcher. She was also an associate researcher in the Mathematics School of the Institute of Fundamental Research, in Mumbai between 1964 to 1966. In the subsequent years between 1967 to 1969, she also taught mathematics at Cambridge University in England.

Solution: option b.)

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) today retained India’s economic growth forecast at 6.4 per cent for the current financial year and 6.7 per cent for the next, The ADB said robust domestic demand will continue to support the region’s recovery. In an update to its Asian Development Outlook, the ADB said inflation is expected to continue to fall, approaching pre-pandemic levels as fuel and food prices decline. It forecast 3.6 per cent.
The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field offices around the world to promote social and economic development in Asia.

Solution: option c.)

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup will be spread across nine cities in Australia and New Zealand.
When the Women’s World Cup kicks off in Australia and New Zealand on 20th July between Norway and New Zealand, it’ll be the first time the women’s cup is hosted in two countries — with a newly expanded field of 32 teams.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women’s national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association, the sport’s international governing body.

Solution: option c.)

Officials say that as many as 105 trafficked antiquities have been returned to India by the United States and will be back in India soon. A repatriation ceremony for these objects was held at the Indian Consulate in New York on Monday.

Officials say the 105 artefacts represent a wide geographical spread in terms of their origin in India. Around 50 artefacts relate to religious subjects (Hinduism, Jainism and Islam) and the rest are of cultural significance, they add.

The objects to return as part of this batch span a period of 1,600 years – from the 1st century BC to the 15th century AD.