Current Affairs Quiz 11th and 12th march 2023 Quiz

Exp. West Bengal urged Centre to allow poppy cultivation

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has urged the Centre to allow poppy (Posto) cultivation in the state, insisting that delicacies prepared with its seeds are integral to the Bengali cuisine.

Delicacies prepared with poppy seeds are integral to Bengali cuisine and poppy seeds are costly as it is cultivated only in a few States.

At present, opium poppy cultivation is permitted in Selected Tracts in three States namely Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.

About West Bengal

• Capital – Kolkata
• Chief Minister – Mamata Banerjee
• Governor – C V Ananda Bose

Exp. India signed MoU with US for semiconductor supply chain

India has signed an MoU with the United States for a semiconductor Supply Chain and Innovation Partnership following the Commercial Dialogue 2023.

The MoU seeks to establish a collaborative mechanism between the two governments on Semiconductor Supply chain resiliency and diversification in view of the US’s CHIPS and Science Act and India’s Semiconductor Mission.

In this context, both sides announced the launch of a new Working Group on Talent, Innovation and Inclusive Growth under the Commercial Dialogue.

This will further the cooperation on startups, SMEs, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, including in digital and emergent technologies.

Recently India signed MoUs with others countries

• Auckland University signed MoU wth Tata Memorial Hospital for cancer care
• India signed MoU with South Africa for cooperation in the Disability Sector
• India signed MoU with Chile for cooperation in the field of Agriculture and Allied sectors.
• India & South Africa signed MoU to introduce 12 African Cheetahs
• India’s Ministry of Culture signed MoU with the Government of Egypt to strengthen cultural ties.
• Indian High Commission signed MoU to establish Hindi Chair at Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka

Exp. Centre launched portal for women scientists for research grants & fund

Union Minister Jitendra Singh has announced the launch of an exclusive portal for research grants and funds for women scientists by CSIR council under CSIR-ASPIRE.

The portal will be functional effective 1 April.

This initiative was aligned to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative to empower women and promote ‘Nari Shakti’.

Only women scientists across the country will be eligible to apply for research grants.

The proposal for inviting research grant proposals from women scientists under Extramural Research Scheme was approved during the 200th meeting of the Governing Body of CSIR on 17 December 2022, under the chairmanship of Union Minister Jitendra Singh.

Recent Inauguration by Jitendra Singh

• Jitendra Singh inaugurated a two-day Regional Conference in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
• Jitendra Singh launched “Geospatial Hackathon”
• Jitendra Singh inaugurated Incubation Centre at NRDC
• Jitendra Singh launched revamped probity portal ‘e-HRM 2.0
• Jitendra Singh announced ‘One Week One Lab’ campaign
• Jitendra Singh launched portal for PM’s Excellence Awards

Exp. MoHUA launched 1st Edition of Women Icons Leading Swacchata Awards

The Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri has launched the ‘Women Icons Leading Swachhata’ (WINS) Awards 2023.

The WINS Awards 2023 aim to recognize celebrate and disseminate inspiring and exemplary initiatives in urban sanitation and waste management by women led organizations and individual women.

The applications are open from 8th March to 5th April 2023.

Exp. Amit Shah virtually inaugurated development project in Ahmedabad

Home Minister Amit Shah has unveiled multiple development works worth Rs 154 cr of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority.

Among which the biggest work is inauguration of a new over-bridge at Sanathal Junction on Sardar Patel Ring Road at a cost of Rs100 cr project.

Shah also inaugurated Smart schools in Chandkheda, Sabarmati, Shela, Thaltej, and Sarkhej.

Recent Inauguration by Amit Shah

• Amit Shah inaugurated the first phase of the Bangalore Safe City Project in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
• Amit Shah laid the foundation stone for National Forensic Sciences University in Karnataka.
• Amit Shah inaugurated 120-feet-tall polo statue in Manipur
• Amit Shah has laid the foundation stone of the Central Detective Training Institute (CDTI) at Devanahalli in Karnataka.
• Amit Shah inaugurated Mega Dairy at Mandya, Karnataka

Exp. New health programme ‘Arogya Mahila’ launched for women in Telangana

Telangana Health Minister T Harish Rao has launched a new health programme for women, named ‘Arogya Mahila’, on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

Under the programme, tests would be conducted for women every Tuesday initially in 100 health centres and medicines provided to them free of cost.

The women, if necessary, would be sent to ‘referral hospitals’ for further medical care.

Harish Rao also to be launched the scheme ‘Nutrition kit’ would be started for the benefit of pregnant women after the Sri Rama Navami festival to be celebrated later this month.

The ‘Nutrition kit’ would comprise several items, including ghee and protein mix powder.

About Telangana

• Capital – Hyderabad
• Chief Minister – K. Chandrashekar Rao
• Governor – Tamilisai Soundararajan

Recent schemes launched by Telangana government

• Arogya Mahila health programme
• Rythu Bandh Scheme
• Aasara’ pension Scheme
• Mana Ooru Mana Badi programme
• Nethanna Bima scheme
• Nethanna Ku Bima Scheme

Exp. Piyush Goyal chaired the 6th meeting of NSAC

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has chaired the 6th meeting of the National Startup Advisory Council (NSAC) in New Delhi.

NSAC is playing an important role in identifying areas of intervention for the expansion of the startup ecosystem and ideating and nurturing national programs under the Startup India initiative.

With the theme of India@2047, NSAC will plan upon matters important for evolution of Indian startup ecosystem.

The Central Government had constituted the NSAC to advise the Government on measures required to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and startups in the country resulting in sustainable economic growth and large-scale employment opportunities.

Piyush Goyal in News

• Piyush Goyal inaugurated the 1st Session of Massmerize 2023 in New Delhi.

• Piyush Goyal launched the MAARG platform (Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience, and Growth)
• Piyush Goyal participated 13th Ministerial Meeting of the India-US Trade Policy Forum in Washington DC, USA.
• Piyush Goel launched Portal for mapping of Industrial Units and Laboratories for BIS
• Piyush Goel launched right to repair portal for consumers in New Delhi

Exp. Uttar Pradesh cabinet approved New Sports Policy 2023

The Uttar Pradesh cabinet, chaired by CM Yogi Adityanath, has approved the New Sports Policy 2023.

Objective – To promote and foster a sports culture in the state and encourage budding athletes to pursue their dreams.

As part of the new sports policy, special focus is to be laid on a range of aspects from a player’s physical fitness to training.

The new policy promises financial support for various sports associations and sports academies. These associations and academies will be able to expand their infrastructure and training facilities with the government’s financial support, which will further lend itself to producing top athletes.

Uttar Pradesh government will also cooperate in the development of sports infrastructure facilities through PPP (Public Private Partnership).

The state will set up 14 centers of excellence, each centered around a particular sport. These are proposed to be set up on PPP model. The new sports policy also includes information on coaches and mapping of various sporting facilities.

About Uttar Pradesh

• Capital – Lucknow
• Chief Minister – Yogi Adityanath
• Governor – Anandiben Patel

Exp. Rajkumar Singh participated in 19th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting

Minister of State for External Affairs Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh has participated in the 19th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting virtually from Bangkok.

The meeting was hosted by Chair Thailand.

During the meeting, the Ministers approved several documents including rules of Procedure for Core BIMSTEC Mechanisms, Sectoral BIMSTEC Mechanisms and BIMSTEC’s External Relations for submission to the 6th BIMSTEC Summit.

The meeting also approved the draft Host Country Agreement between India and the BIMSTEC Secretariat for establishing BIMSTEC Centre for Weather and Climate in India.

About Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)

• Founded – 6 June 1997
• Headquarters – Dhaka, Bangladesh
• Membership – 7 (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka &Thailand)
• Secretary General – Tenzin Lekhpel (Bhutan)

Exp. Rohit Jawa appointed as CEO & MD of Hindustan Unilever Ltd.

Renowned Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) Company Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has appointed Rohit Jawa as its new MD and CEO of the company.

He will replace present MD & CEO Sanjiv Mehta who is set to retire on 30 Mar 2023.

He will also take over as the president of Unilever South Asia from the present Chief of Transformation based in London.

HUL is India’s largest Fast-Moving Consumer Goods Company, with its products touching the lives of nine out of ten households in the country.

Recent Appointment

• CM of Nagaland – Neiphiu Rio (fifth term)
• Chief Minister of Meghalaya – Conrad Sangma (2nd Term)
• 28th Controller General of Accounts (CGA) – Sanjiva Shankar Dubey (replaced Bharti Das)
• Chairperson of Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) – Jishnu Barua
• CEO of NITI Aayog – BVR Subrahmanyam (replaced P Iyer)

Exp. China’s Xi Jinping elected president for third term

China’s Parliament unanimously endorsed an unprecedented third five-year term for President Xi Jinping.

Nearly 3,000 members of China’s rubber-stamp parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC), voted unanimously for Xi Jinping to be president.

He has become first Chinese leader after the party founder Mao Zedong to continue in power beyond the two five-year terms.

Xi was also elected for a third term as chairman of China’s Central Military Commission.

China’s parliament also elected Zhao Leji as the new parliament chair and Han Zheng as the new vice president.

It is important to mention that Xi Jinping himself removed the two-term limit on the presidency in 2018. This means that Xi Jinping can rule China until he retires, dies or is ousted.

About China

• Capital – Beijing
• Currency – Yuan
• President – Xi Jinping

Exp. India won Golden & Silver Star at ‘Golden City Gate Tourism Awards

India’s Ministry of Tourism has won the Golden and Silver Stars at The International ‘Golden City Gate Tourism Awards 2023’ in ‘TV/Cinema Commercials International and Country International’ Category at ITB, Berlin.

The awards were received by Arvind Singh, Secretary (Tourism) at ITB (Internationale Tourismus-Börse) Berlin, the world’s largest annual tourism trade fair.

The Golden City Gate tourism multi-media awards are given annually in various categories related to the tourism and hospitality sectors.

The ‘Golden City Gate’ is a creative multi-media international competition for countries, cities, regions and hotels. The entries received for the awards are judged by an international jury comprising film and tourism experts.

Exp. Defence Ministry signed contract with HAL to procure 6 Dornier aircraft

The defence ministry has signed a contract for procurement of six Dornier-228 aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF) from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at a cost of ₹667 crore.

The addition of the six aircraft will further bolster the operational capability of the IAF in remote areas.

The Dornier-228 aircraft is a highly versatile multi-purpose light transport aircraft. It has been developed specifically to meet the manifold requirements of utility and commuter transport as well as for maritime surveillance.

The aircraft was used by IAF for route transport roles and communication duties. Subsequently, it has also been used for training of transport pilots of the IAF.

The ministry also finalized a contract with Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) for the acquisition of three cadet training ships worth over ₹3,100 crore.

Recent MoUs

• Adani Enterprises signed agreement with Ashok Leyland to develop Asia’s first hydrogen-mining truck
• Bharti Airtel and Nokia have joined hands to bring India’s first 5G enabled immersive experience to visitors at the Indian Mobile Congress (IMC) 2022.
• NTPC signed with Italy-based Maire Technimont Pvt Ltd for green methanol production
• NTPC Limited signed MoU with GE Power India Limited to reduce carbon intensity
• NTPC signed an MoU with GE Gas Power for hydrogen co-firing in gas turbines

Exp. Australia’s Shaun Marsh announced retirement from first-class cricket

Former Australia opener Shaun Marsh has announced his retirement from first-class cricket after 22 years with Western Australia and 38 Tests for Australia.

Marsh appeared in 38 Test matches for Australia, beginning with an away match against Sri Lanka in Pallekele in September 2011. In his Test career, he has amassed 2,265 runs, including six centuries and ten half-centuries.

Marsh made his first-class debut in 2001 at the age of 17. Marsh, who turns 40 in June, represented Australia in all three formats, scoring over 12,000 runs in first-class cricket, including 32 centuries.

He also holds the record for most runs for Western Australia in all formats: 12,811 runs in 236 matches.

Recently Retired Players

• Sergio Ramos – International football – Spain
• Eoin Morgan – All forms of cricket – England
• Kamran Akmal – All forms of professional cricket – Pakistan
• Aaron Finch – International Cricket – Australia
• Raphael Varane – International football – France
• Joginder Sharma – All forms of cricket – India

Exp. A book titled ‘Mundaka Upanishad: The Bridge to Immortality’ released

The book ‘Mundaka Upanishad: The Bridge to Immortality’ was released by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.

The book is authored by former Parliamentarian Dr. Karan Singh. Karan Singh is an Indian politician and philosopher.

He is the son of the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, Sir Hari Singh.

He was the prince regent of Jammu and Kashmir until 1952.

Recent Books

• India’s Struggle for Independence : Gandhian Era – P. Jyothimani & G. Balan (released by SC Judge V. Ramasubramanian )
• India’s Vaccine Growth Story- From Cowpox to Vaccine Maitri’ – Released by Mansukh Mandaviya
• Modi: Shaping a Global order in flux – JP Nadda
• The Poverty of Political Economy : How Economics Abandoned the Poor – Meghnad Desai
• India’s Knowledge Supremacy: The New Dawn – Dr. Ashwin Fernandes

• Coaching Beyond : My Days with the Indian Cricket Team – R. Kaushik & R. Sridhar