Q1: Which state Government will launch the family doctor scheme?
a) Himachal Pradesh
b) Uttar Pradesh
c) Arunachal Pradesh
d) Andhra Pradesh
Show solution
Solution: option d.)
The Andhra Pradesh government is all set to launch the family doctor scheme on March 15, aimed at taking medical services to the citizens’ doorstep.
As part of the family doctor pilot project, the state health department has so far extended nearly 46 lakh medical services to people of the state.
”Fulltime doctors have been appointed in 1,149 primary health centres (PHCs).
As many as four additional doctors have been hired in every district for this purpose while an additional doctor has been hired for every six to seven PHCs to cover short-term leaves, resulting in a reserve of 175 doctors at the state level.
Andhra Pradesh CM: YS Jagan Mohan Reddy
Andhra Pradesh Governor: Abdul Nazeer
Q2: Which company signed the agreement with France Total Energies for the exploration of deep-water blocks?
a) ONGC
b) TCS
c) L&T
d) Reliance
Show solution
Solution: option a.)
India’s top explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC.NS) has signed a memorandum of understanding with French major TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) for exploration of deep-water blocks, the company tweeted on Monday.
India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer and consumer, ships in over 85% of its oil from overseas. The country wants to quickly monetize its oil and gas resources to reduce its reliance on costly imports.
The MoU seeks to provide technical help for ONGC’s push to explore and reduce greenhouse emissions in the development of deep-water blocks especially in Mahanadi and Andamans, off India’s east coast.
The tie-up with Exxon focuses on the Krishna Godavari and Cauvery basins in the eastern offshore region and the Kutch-Mumbai region in the western offshore area.
Q3: Gurudongmar Lake which was seen in the NEWS, is located in which state?
a) Andhra Pradesh
b) Sikkim
c) Nagaland
d) Assam
Show solution
Solution: option b.)
The Gurudongmar lake is situated at an altitude of approximately 17,800 feet in the Mangan district of Sikkim. It is close to the Indo-China border. It is one of the highest lakes in India. This lake is situated in the Great Himalayas and is considered to be sacred by Buddhists, Sikhs and Hindus. It is named after Guru Padmasambhava – the founder of Tibetan Buddhism. Guru Padmasambhava visited this lake in the 8th century.
What was the purpose of the visit?
The finance minister inaugurated SBI ATM. NABARD officials, RBI officials, and district administration were all present at the inaugural function. The Minister also visited the border villages and also the Mangan district of the state.
Q4: What is the purpose of “Jan Aushadi Train”?
a) Provide free vaccinations
b) Provide free full-body check-ups
c) Conduct Medical Screenings
d) Create awareness about Jan Aushadi Scheme
Show solution
Solution: option d.)
The Jan Aushadhi Train was flagged off recently in New Delhi by union ministers Dr Mansukh Mandaviya and Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw. It was launched as part of the week-long celebrations commemorating the Jan Aushadhi scheme. This is the second such train to be flagged off to create awareness about the scheme.
The train, Chhattisgarh Samparkranti Express, seeks to raise awareness about Jan Aushadhi Generic medicines that are available through more than 9,000 Kendras spread across India. It is wrapped with the branding of the Jan Aushadhi scheme. It will travel to more than 4 states, including Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, over 2 months. It will cover 1,278 km.
Jan Aushadhi Day
It is commemorated on March 7 every year. The main purpose of the day is to spread awareness of the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana. The scheme focuses on increasing the usage of generic medicines.
Q5: Which country is hosting the Y20 2023?
a) Vietnam
b) India
c) UAE
d) Israel
Show solution
Solution: option b.)
• First meeting of the Youth20 Group to be held in Guwahati.
• Around 12,000 students from over 50 Colleges & Universities across the 34 districts of Assam will deliberate on the five themes of the Summit over the next few days
These deliberations and suggestions will be shared with the delegates during the Y20 meeting
400 selected students from Assam will participate in the central event at IIT-Guwahati.
• This is the first of the various meetings to be held on the five Y20 themes across India in a run-up to the final Youth-20 Summit in August 2023. More than 250 delegates from across the world are expected to participate in the 3-day event in Assam. It will focus on five themes of Future of Work; Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction; Peace Building and Reconciliation; Youth in Democracy and Health, well-being and Sports.
• Youth20 is one of the eight official engagement groups under the G20 umbrella. The G20 rotating presidency bears the responsibility of hosting the youth summit, which usually takes place some weeks before the traditional forum to know what the youths are thinking and incorporate their suggestions in their policy proposals. It is an attempt to create a connecting point between G20 governments and their local youth.
Q6: Which country won the GSMA Government leadership Award 2023?
a) Brazil
b) India
c) Vietnam
d) Bangladesh
Show solution
Solution: option b.)
The Government Leadership Award 2023 was given to India by the Groupe Special Mobile Association (GSMA) for best practices in telecom policy and regulation. Every year, the GSMA, which represents over 750 mobile operators and 400 companies in the telecom ecosystem, honours one country.
India was declared the winner at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. According to the GSMA, India’s largest-ever spectrum auction for 5G will take place in July 2022. In total, 72 GHz spectrum was sold across ten spectrum bands.
Across the spectrum band, the government reduced reserve prices by 39%. Seventy-one per cent of all spectrum sold at auction was for $19 billion. All three Indian mobile operators have acquired spectrum in critical 5G bands such as 700 MHz, 3.5 GHz, and 26 GHz.
To further support 5G rollouts, the government has also liberalised the spectrum cap limit for telecom operators, expanding their ability to hold more spectrum.
Q7: With which organization, BSE launched a new programme, ‘FinEMPOWER’ to empower women towards Financial security?
a) UNESCO
b) ILO
c) UNICEF
d) UN Women India
Show solution
Solution: option d.)
BSE and UN Women India launched a new programme, ‘FinEMPOWER’, at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) today. It is a year-long joint capacity-building programme between BSE and UN Women to empower women towards financial security.
In commemoration of International Women’s Day, BSE and UN Women India collaboratively organized the ‘Ring the Bell for Gender Equality’ ceremony to accelerate investment in women leaders and entrepreneurs at BSE. The MD and CEO of BSE, Mr Sundararaman Ramamurthy, along with Ms Susan Ferguson, Country Representative of UN Women India, jointly rang the bell for gender equality.
Mr Ramamurthy emphasized the need for corporates to look at diversities from various angles, such as age, demographics, gender, and geographies, to broaden their outlook and cater to the various needs of cross-sections of society.
Q8: In March 2023, Shobha Gangwal, wife of IndiGo co-founder Rakesh Gangwal, divested _______
stake in parent firm InterGlobe Aviation for Rs 2,944 crore through the open market transactions?
a) 2%
b) 4%
c) 6%
d) 8%
Show solution
Solution: option b.)
Shobha Gangwal, wife of IndiGo co-founder Rakesh Gangwal, on Thursday divested a 4 per cent stake in parent firm InterGlobe Aviation for ₹2,944 crocroresrough the open market transactions. Gangwal resigned from the board of directors of the company in February 2022, stating that he will gradually reduce his equity stake over the next five years.
According to the bulk deal data available with the BSE, Shobha Gangwal offloaded a total of 1.56 crore equity shares in three tranches, amounting to a 4.04 per cent stake in the company.
Q9: What is the theme of International Women’s day 2023?
a) Right and Fight for Equality
b) Embrace Equality
c) “Equality today for a sustainable tomorrow
d) “ DIGITll: Innovation and technology for gender equality”.
Show solution
Solution: option d.)
Last week marked the beginning of International Women’s Month — a 31-day celebration of women everywhere and the monumental impact they’ve had all over the world.
The specific holiday in honour of women’s societal and economical accomplishments always falls on 8 March, known as International Women’s Day (IWD).
The event was first recognized by the United Nations in 1975 and has since been celebrated by more than 80 countries worldwide. The day has also been a major part of the women’s rights movement and helped create conversations about gender biases.
This year, the International Women’s Day website and the UN have set a theme which focuses on gender equity and equality.
Q10: The consumer confidence survey in India is conducted by which department?
a) SBI
b) RBI
c) National Sample Survey
d) Labour Bureau
Show solution
Solution: option b.)
The Reserve Bank of India has been regularly conducting Consumer Confidence Survey (CCS). The March 2023 round of the survey is being launched. The survey seeks qualitative responses from households, regarding their sentiments on the general economic situation, employment scenario, price level, household income and spending. The survey is conducted regularly in 19 cities, viz., Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Patna, Raipur, Ranchi and Thiruvananthapuram. The results of this survey provide useful inputs for monetary policy.
The agency, M/s Hansa Research Group Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai has been engaged to conduct the survey of this round on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India. For this purpose, the selected households will be approached by the agency and they are requested to provide their responses. Other individuals, who are not approached by the agency, can also participate in this survey by providing their responses using the linked survey schedule.
Q11: The IAF is participating in the 2 days Shinyuu Maitri bilateral Exercise. It is between India and ____?
a) China
b) Japan
c) Australia
d) South Africa
Show solution
Solution: option b.)
About Exercise Shinyuu Maitri :
• It is a bilateral military exercise between Indian Air Force (IAF) and Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF).
• The exercise is being organized on the sidelines of the Indo-Japan Joint Army Exercise, Dharma Guardian.
• The IAF contingent is participating in the exercise with one C-17 Globemaster III
• The first phase of the exercise consists of discussions on transport operations and tactical manoeuvering, followed by the second phase of flying drills by IAF’s C-17 and JASDF C-2 transport aircraft.
• The exercise will enhance mutual understanding and interoperability between the two air forces.
Q12: What is its rank of India in the Global Gender Gap Report 2022?
a) 132
b) 131
c) 135
d) 134
Show solution
Solution: option d.)
India ranks 135 among a total of 146 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index 2022 and is the worst performer in the world in the “health and survival” sub-index where it is ranked 146.
The Global Gender Report 2022, which includes the Gender Gap Index, says it will now take 132 years to reach gender parity, with the gap reducing only by four years since 2021 and the gender gap closed by 68.1%. But this does not compensate for the generational loss between 2020 and 2021 as the trends leading up to 2020 showed that the gender gap was set to close within 100 years. South Asia will take the longest to reach gender parity, which is estimated to be likely in 197 years.
Q13: Which state university will offer 6months of maternity leave to female students?
a) Tamil Nadu
b) Maharashtra
c) Karnataka
d) Kerala
Show solution
Solution: option d.)
The varsity has rolled out a rule to grant six months of maternity leave to female students above 18 years. Taking a cue from the Mahatma Gandhi varsity at Kottayam, the administration of Kerala University took the decision.
The Kerala govt announced to grant of menstrual and maternity leaves
The Thiruvananthapuram-based Kerala University took the decision also in line with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s recent announcement that menstrual and maternity leaves would be granted to women students in all institutions under the State government’s Higher Education Department.
In its order, Kerala University said the State government had issued orders granting special menstrual leave for girl students in all universities of the State and fixing the limit of attendance for female students to 73 per cent including menstrual leave and also, allowing maternity leave for students above the age of 18 years.
Q14: Who won the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Indian Sportswoman of 2022?
a) Smriti Mandhanna
b) Mirabai Chanu
c) Saina Nehwal
d) Sania Mirza
Show solution
Solution: option b.)
Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu has won the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year award for the second year running.
Started by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) three years back, the annual award, now in its fourth edition, celebrates Indian female athletes and recognises their successes in various sports over the past year.
A panel of eminent Indian sports journalists and experts voted to choose the nominees before public voting was conducted to determine the winner. The BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year 2022 winner was announced at a gala on Sunday.
Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Mirabai Chanu was nominated alongside Indian badminton ace PV Sindhu, the recipient of the inaugural BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year title in 2020, Olympic bronze medal-winning wrestler Sakshi Malik, two-time wrestling world championships medallist Vinesh Phogat and boxing world champion Nikhat Zareen for this year’s award.
The Manipuri, a former world champion, won a silver medal at the World Weightlifting Championships 2022 in Bogota besides winning the gold medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games last year.
Q15: Which International Airport is among the cleanest Asia-pacific?
a) New Delhi
b) Mumbai
c) Kolkata
d) Jaipur
Show solution
Solution: option a.)
Delhi airport has been adjudged as one of the best airports as well as the cleanest airport in the Asia Pacific region by the international grouping ACI.
The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), operated by DIAL, has bagged the award for Airport Service Quality (ASQ) best airport for 2022 in the category of over 40 Million Passengers Per
Annum (MPPA). It has also been named the cleanest airport in the Asia Pacific region by the Airports Council International (ACI).
ACI is a non-profit organization of airport operators. Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) is a GMR Airports Infrastructure Ltd consortium.