Daily Current Affairs Quiz: March 25, 2023

Solution: option b.)
Star sprinter Hima Das won the 200m race quite comfortably in 23.79 seconds, while long jumper Ancy Sojan shared the limelight with a best effort of 6.49m in the Indian Grand Prix-1 athletics event here on Monday.
Assam’s Hima beat Aishwarya Kailash Mishra (24.81) of Maharashtra and VK Vismaya (24.82) of Kerala to take the women’s 200m gold at the Laxmibai National College of Physical Education here.
Sojan, meanwhile, produced a series of leaps beyond 6.00m and won with a best effort of 6.49m, just past the 6.45m mark laid down as the Asian Games qualifying standard.
The meet though, received a lukewarm response, with very few top athletes competing in it. Many events had just three athletes competing. Women’s high jump and men’s triple jump saw just two competitors each, men’s 400m hurdles four, women’s 400m hurdles three — one disqualified later –, women’s shot put three, 800m women three and women’s 5000m three participants.

Solution: option b.)
Legendary singer Asha Bhosale on Friday was conferred the prestigious Maharashtra Bhushan award for her contribution to the field of art and culture. The award, for the year 2021, was presented to her at a glittering function at the Gateway of India. It carries a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh, a citation and a memento. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde hailed Bhosale as the pride of Maharashtra and said her illustrious journey was an inspiration. Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar was present at the award function. Earlier in the day, members of the Maharashtra Legislative Council objected to the official invite for the event not having the name of Council deputy chairperson Neelam Gorhe. The Maharashtra Bhushan award was instituted when the Shivsena- BJP alliance came to power in 1995.

Solution: option b.)
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday launched the state government’s ambitious scheme ‘Mukhyamantri Vriksh Sampada Yojana’, a mega scheme aimed at encouraging commercial plantation.
The chief minister had announced the implementation of this scheme to increase farmers’ income and to promote commercial plantations on their lands with their consent.
Farmers, willing landowners, government, semi-government, autonomous institutions, private educational institutions, private trusts, panchayats, and land contract holders can reap the benefits of the scheme. The state government has set a target to plant 15 crore trees on 36 thousand acres of land in 5 years.
Under the scheme, the state government will provide a 100 per cent subsidy for tree plantation on up to 5 acres of land and a 50 per cent financial subsidy for tree plantation on more than 5 acres of land. The government will decide the minimum purchase price for the sale of earmarked species of trees.
The trees of all species planted in five years are likely to earn Rs 10,000 crore after they get matured. Farmers can earn between Rs 15,000 to Rs 50,000 per acre of land per annum.

Solution: option a.)

BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover launched a cricket-focused fantasy sports app called CrickPe. The launch comes ahead of the marquee Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament that is set to begin on March 31, 2023.
This sports app can be available on the Google Play store and Apple store. He has raised about $4 million in seed funding for his venture Third Unicorn Pvt Ltd.
Notably, the cricket app has been launched to take on rivals like Dream11, MPL, and My11Circle. Crickpe, which is a real-money gaming app, users over 18 years of age will able to create a virtual team of cricket players and enter paid contests to earn cash prizes based on the players’ performance in real games.

Solution: option d.)
The host India clinched both men’s and women’s titles of the Asian Kho Kho Championship held at Tamulpur in Assam. In the women’s category, Indian Eves defeated Nepal by an inning and 33 points.

On the other hand, the men’s team too continued its brilliant form and defeated Nepal by an inning and six points. India remained unbeaten in both categories throughout the tournament. A total of nine countries participated in the event. Assam Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary and minister U G Brahma distributed the prizes.

Solution: option d.)
Rajasthan became the first state to pass the Right to Health Bill in the Legislative Assembly. Under this, the residents of the state will be able to avail themselves of free OPD services and IPD services in all public health facilities and in selected private hospitals.
The bill was introduced in the assembly in September last year but was sent to a select committee following objections from the opposition BJP and doctors.
Governor of Rajasthan State: Kalraj Mishra
Chief Minister: Ashok Gehlot.

Solution: option c.)
Senior journalist and Padma Shri awardee Abhay Chhajlani passed away on Thursday after a prolonged illness, sources close to his family said. He was 88.
Chhajlani is survived by his son and two daughters. His wife passed away last year, they said.
The veteran journalist was unwell for a long time and was bedridden for the past two months. He breathed his last at his home, a person close to his family said.
Chhajlani, who was the chairman of the editorial board of the Hindi daily NaiDuniya, was awarded the Padma Shri in 2009 for his outstanding contribution to journalism.

Solution: option b.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 24 March addressed the ‘One World TB Summit’ at Varanasi.
On the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on his Varanasi visit by addressing the One World TB Summit at Rudrakash Convention Centre on Friday. During the address, he emphasised the threat of Tuberculosis to humanity and how India is on its path to winning the battle against TB. The summit is joined by international delegates from across 30 countries.

Solution: option d.)

Hawking Defence Services, a Chennai-based start-up has joined hands with Amphibian Aerospace Industries (AAI) of Australia to set up a joint venture (JV) to manufacture the Australian company’s 28-seater ‘Albatross aircraft that is capable of take-off and landing from land, water and snow.
The two companies inked an agreement on Monday in the presence of David Eggleston, Deputy Consul General, Australian Consulate, here.
The JV also intends to set up water aerodromes for the aircraft to operate from.
However, aircraft manufacturing will take some years, because various clearances have to be obtained. Hawking Defence Services has two immediate plans — one, to buy an aircraft from AAI and run a service and to produce aircraft components that would be bought by AAI.

Solution: option c.)
Egypt has now become the fourth new member to be admitted to BRICS NDB. The multilateral bank was established by the five powerful economies- Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa-to finance sustainable development projects in the developing economies.
Who are the new members of the New Development Bank?
Before Egypt joined the multilateral bank, earlier, in September 2021, India had welcomed Bangladesh, Uruguay and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the new members of the BRICS New Development Bank.
NDB (H.Q): Shanghai (CHINA)
ESTD: 15 July 2014

Solution: option b.)
New Development Bank (NDB) on Friday announced that former Brazilian President Dilma Vana Rousseff has been elected as the new President of the Bank, replacing Marcus Troyjo. NDB, also known as the BRICS bank is a multilateral financial institution set up by the five BRICS countries including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
The economist, Dilma Rousseff, served as the President of the Federative Republic of Brazil between January 2011 to August 2016. Rousseff was elected the President of Brazil for two consecutive terms.
NDB (H.Q): Shanghai (CHINA)
ESTD: 15 July 2014

Solution: option c.)

The defence ministry signed two contracts with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), worth over Rs 3,700 crore, to enhance the operational capabilities of the Indian Air Force. The first contract, worth over Rs 2,800 crore, deals with the supply of Medium Power Radars (MPR) ‘Arudhra’ for the IAF. The second contract, at an overall cost of approximately Rs 950 crore, relates to ‘Radar Warning Receivers’ (RWR).
The agreement bolstered the ongoing vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat as both projects are under the Buy {Indian – IDMM (Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured)} category. Also, the radar has been designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and will be manufactured by BEL.
Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) is an Indian Government-owned aerospace and defence electronics company. It primarily manufactures advanced electronic products for ground and aerospace applications. BEL is one of nine PSUs under the Ministry of Defence of India. It has been granted Navratna status by the Government of India.
On 24 January 2023, the world’s largest institutional investor the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global divested from BEL due to the “unacceptable risk that the companies are selling weapons to a state that uses these weapons in ways that constitute serious and systematic breaches of the international rules on the conduct of hostilities”.

BEL (H.Q): Bengaluru

Solution: option d.)
▪ Bharat BillPay is a biller platform of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
▪ Loan repayment is one of the top categories in terms of bill payment, amongst other options such as electricity and municipal tax payments.
▪ The category facilitates loan repayment options for customers who avail of their loans through banks, microfinance institutions, and NBFCs.

Solution: option b.)
▪ Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has sought the restoration of the notice.
▪ Mehul Choksi is the owner of Gitanjali Group, a jewellery firm with 4,000 stores in India. ▪ Criminals or suspects often flee to other countries to escape justice.
▪ A Red Corner Notice, or Red Notice (RN), alerts police forces around the world to fugitives who are wanted internationally.
▪ A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement around the world to locate and temporarily arrest a person wanted for extradition, surrender or legal action. ▪ A Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant.
About Interpol
• The full name of INTERPOL is the International Criminal Police Organization and is an intergovernmental organization.
• It was set up in 1923.
• Member countries -195 • India became a member on 15 October 1949.
• It helps police in all of them to work together to make the world a safer place. • Headquarters – Lyon, France.
• Different Notices of Interpol – Red Notice, Green Notice, Yellow Notice, Orange Notice, Blue Notice, Purple Notice, Black Notice, and an INTERPOL-UN Security Council Special Notice.

Solution: option b.)
▪ Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched a DigiClaim, under the ambit of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana for claim disbursal through National Crop Insurance Portal.
▪ With the DigiClaim Module, insurance claims of over 1,260 crore rupees have been disbursed to insured farmers of six states on March 23, 2023.
▪ The states are Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, and Haryana.

Solution: option d.)

▪ According to UN World Water Development Report 2023, about 26% of the world’s population does not have safe drinking water and 46% lack access to safely managed sanitation.
▪ Between 2-3 billion, people experience water shortages for at least 1 month per year.
▪ This poses severe risks to livelihoods and access to electricity.
▪ The global urban population facing water scarcity is projected to double from 930 million (2016) to 1.7 -2.4 billion (2050).

Solution: option d.)

Filmmaker Pradeep Sarkar, known for hit films like Parineeta, Mardani passed away today. He was 67. As per media reports, He was rushed to to the hospital after his potassium levels dropped. Sarkar was on dialysis.

Sarkar is directing many films. He started his director debut with Vidya Balan’s Parineeta in 2005.

Other films directed by him are Mardaani (2014), Laga Chunari Mein Daag (2007), Helicopter Eela (2018), Lafangey Parindey (2010). Not just films, Sarkar has also directed web series like Coldd Lassi Aur Chicken Masala (2019), Arranged Marriage And Forbidden Love (2020), Duranga (2022). In 2005, He was awarded Filmfare Award for Best Art Direction and Zee Cine Award for Most Promising Director for Parineeta.

In 2006, he won Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director.