Current Affairs Quiz 12th June 2023 Quiz

Exp. PM Modi inaugurated first-ever National Training Conclave in New Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the first-ever National Training Conclave at the International Exhibition and Convention Centre at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.

It was hosted by Capacity Building Commission with the objective to foster collaboration among civil services training institutes and strengthen the training infrastructure for civil servants across the country.

More than 1500 representatives from training institutes, including Central Training Institutes, State Administrative Training Institutes, Regional and Zonal Training Institutes, and Research institutes participated in the conclave.

The Conclave is aimed to enhance capacity building in civil services and is organized under the auspices of the National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building (NPCSCB) – ‘Mission Karmayogi.’

During the conclave, eight-panel discussions will take place, each focusing on key concerns pertinent to civil services training institutes.

PM Modi in News

• PM Modi launched two schemes named Amrit Dharohar and MISHTI (Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes).
• PM Modi addresses 76th Session of the World Health Assembly in Geneva
• PM Modi laid the foundation stone and dedicate several railway projects worth over 8,000 crore rupees in Odisha

• PM inaugurates International Museum Expo 2023 at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.
• PM Modi addresses 29th Biennial Conference of All India Primary Teachers’ Federation in Gandhinagar

Exp. National Archives of India organizes “Hamari Bhasha, Hamari Virasat”

Minister of State for Culture, Meenakashi Lekhi has inaugurated an exhibition under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) titled “Hamari Bhasha, Hamari Virasat” to celebrate the 75th International Archives Day at National Archives of India, New Delhi.

This exhibition is an endeavour to commemorate the treasured heritage of India’s linguistic diversity as a Nation: “राष्ट्र एक भाषा अनेक” India is blessed with extraordinary language diversity.

According to an estimate out of 7,111 languages spoken globally, about 788 languages are spoken in India alone. India is thus one of the four most linguistically diversified countries in the world, along with Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and Nigeria.

The exhibition celebrates India’s linguistic diversity and showcases a selection of original manuscripts, and rare books.

The Gilgit Manuscripts, the oldest surviving manuscript collection in India, are also on display at the exhibition.

Exp. HPCL launches Pilot Study on E27 Fuel & Ethanol Blended Diesel Fuel

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) has successful launched pilot study on vehicles using E27 fuel and Ethanol Blended Diesel Fuel.

HPCL has become the first Oil Marketing Company in India to initiate such a comprehensive research program.

The move aligns with the roadmap for ethanol blending in India by 2025, which aims to promote the adoption of ethanol blending in gasoline.

HPCL successfully launched E20 fuel on February 6th, 2023, at 23 retail outlets (ROs) across the country.

About Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL)

• Founded – 1974
• Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Chairman – Pushp Kumar Joshi

Exp. NHDC to construct 525 MW pumped storage power project in MP

Narmada Hydroelectric Development Corporation Ltd (NHDC Ltd.) will construct a 525 MW pumped storage project near the Indira Sagar Dam in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh.

The project will use the existing reservoirs of Indira Sagar and Omkareshwar, which are part of the Indira Sagar Project.

The project is being executed to meet the increasing peak-hour demand for energy in Madhya Pradesh.

The pumped storage project will generate renewable energy that can be used to meet the state’s energy needs during peak energy hours.

The project is expected to generate 1.2 billion units of energy during peak hours and is estimated to cost Rs 4,200 crore (approximately $550 million).

NHDC Limited has been allotted this project by the Department of New & Renewable Energy, Government of Madhya Pradesh.

About Madhya Pradesh

• Capital – Bhopal
• Chief Minister – Shivraj Singh Chauhan
• Governor – Mangubhai C. Patel

Exp. Himachal Govt to bring white paper on economic conditions of state

The government of Himachal Pradesh has decided to bring a whitepaper on the economic status of the state.

The cabinet subcommittee constituted to review the financial status of the state met for the first time in Shimla.

The subcommittee will hold two more meetings and submit its report to the government within a month.

Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri said that the previous government has put huge debt on the state and the financial health of the state is not good so the state government has decided to bring a white paper on the economic status of the state.

About Himachal Pradesh

• Capital – Shimla (Summer), Dharamshala (Winter)
• Chief Minister – Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu
• Deputy Chief Minister – Mukesh Agnihotri
• Governor – Shiv Pratap Shukla

Exp. NTPC Kanti launched Girl Empowerment Mission GEM 2023

NTPC Kanti has launched the Girl Empowerment Mission (GEM)-2023, a four-week residential workshop program for 40 underprivileged rural girls.

This is the first time NTPC Kanti is organizing the GEM program.

The primary objective of the GeM program is to provide academic training, skill development and overall personality enhancement to the participants.

The participants will receive academic training and development skill sets such as soft skills, life skill training, sports, meditation, yoga, self-defense, computer application, communication skills, and other extra-curricular activities.

Exp. Israel to release world’s first digital government bond

The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) and Israel’s Finance Ministry successfully completed the proof-of-concept phase for a digital Israeli Bond traded on a dedicated blockchain platform.

The development positions Israel to release the world’s first digital government bond.

The blockchain used for this event was EVM-compatible, enabling potential integration with other blockchain solutions in the future.

The Ministry of Finance issued and minted the first dummy digital governmental bond on a blockchain-based platform as an ERC-1155 Security Token using a dedicated decentralized app (dApp) developed leveraging web3 solutions specifically for this proof of concept.

The blockchain used for this event was EVM-compatible, enabling potential integration with other blockchain solutions in the future.

About Israel

• Capital – Jerusalem
• Currency – Sheqel
• President – Isaac Herzog
• Prime Minister – Benjamin Netanyahu

Exp. India tops world ranking in digital payments

India with 89.5 million digital transactions in the year 2022 has topped the list of five countries in digital payments, according to data from MyGovIndia.

India accounted for 46% of the global real-time payments in 2022, more than the other four leading countries combined.

Brazil is second on the list with 29.2 million transactions, followed by China with 17.6 million transactions.

On number 4 is Thailand with 16.5 million digital transactions followed by South Korea with 8 million worth of transactions.

Exp. Sanjay Swarup appoints as CMD of CONCOR

The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has picked Sanjay Swarup for the role of Chairman and Managing Director of Container Corporation of India Ltd (CONCOR).

Swarup is currently the Director (International Marketing and Operations) at India’s biggest rail hauler of containers.

Swarup was selected from a short list of eight candidates, six of whom were from CONCOR.

Swarup is an Indian Railways Traffic Service (IRTS) officer from the 1990 batch. In a career spanning three decades, Swarup has held assignments in the public sector and government.

CONCOR is a state-owned enterprise that provides container transportation and logistics services in India.

Recent Appointment

• Chairman of The Hindu Group – Nirmala Laxman (replace Malini Parthasarathy)
• 78th UNGA president – Dennis Francis (Trinidad and Tobago)
• DG of Geological Survey of India (GSI) – Janardan Prasad (replace Dr. S. Raju)
• President of World Meteorological Organization (WMO) – Dr Abdulla Al Mandous (UAE)
• Chairman and MD of Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) – Amarendu Prakash

Exp. Govt announces second edition of Antarashtriya Yoga Diwas Media Samman

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has announced the second edition of Antarashtriya Yoga Diwas Media Samman.

Under the Antarashtriya Yoga Diwas Media Samman 2023, thirty-three Sammans will be given out under three categories, Print, Television, and Radio in twenty-two Indian languages and English.

Eleven Sammans in 22 Indian languages and English will be conferred under the category Best Media Coverage in Yoga in Newspaper.

Eleven Sammans in 22 Indian languages and English will be conferred under the category Best Media Coverage in Yoga in Electronic Media (TV).

Eleven Sammans in 22 Indian languages and English will be conferred under the category Best Media Coverage in Yoga in Electronic Media (Radio).  

Exp. Paterson Joseph wins RSL Christopher Bland Prize 2023

Author Paterson Joseph was conferred with the 2023 Royal Society of Literature Christopher Bland Prize for his debut novel ‘The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho’.

This book is a historical fiction novel that tells the story of Charles Ignatius Sancho, who was the first Black man to vote in England

The RSL Christopher Bland Prize is an annual award that is given to a debut writer for their work of fiction or non-fiction, who is first published at the age of 50 or over.

The winner receives a prize money of £10,000. This is the fifth year of the award.

‘The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho’ is a historical fiction novel that tells the lesser-known story of Charles Ignatius Sancho, who was the first Black man to vote in England.

The story was initially written and performed by Joseph as a one-man show in 2018.

Recent Awards

• UNESCO Michel Batisse award 2023 – Jagdish S Bakan
• Suriname highest civilian award Grand Order of the Chain of the Yellow Star – Droupadi Murmu
• Greentech Safety Award 2023 – Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL)
• 57th Jnanpith Award – Damodar Maujo
• Honoris Causa at Apex University’s Jaipur – Sonu Sood
• National Water Award 2022 – Chandigarh

Exp. French Open: Iga Swiatek won Women’s Singles title

In French Open tennis, World No 1 and top seed Iga Swiatek of Poland has won the Women’s Singles crown.

She defended her title against unseeded Czech Karolina Muchova 6-2, 5-7, 6-4. This is her third French title in just 5 years.

Poland’s Iga Swiatek became the first woman since 2007 to win back-to-back French Open titles.

The 22-year-old Swiatek is just the third woman in the Open era to win each of her first four Grand Slam finals.

Monica Seles and Naomi Osaka are the only other players to achieve this feat.

Swiatek, the world number 1, is also the youngest woman to claim back-to-back French Open titles since Monica Seles in the early 1990s.

Exp. Australia won ICC World Test Championship 2023

Australia has won the World Test Championship after a crushing win over India in the final at The Oval, London.

This was India’s second consecutive defeat in a WTC final; they had lost to New Zealand in the title clash of the inaugural edition in 2021.

This was India’s fourth defeat in the ICC finals after their Champions Trophy victory in England in 2013. India lost the final of the T20 World Cup to Sri Lanka in 2014, then lost the Champions Trophy final to Pakistan in 2017 before a defeat to New Zealand in the WTC final in 2021.

Australia also became the first men’s team in world cricket to win an International Cricket Council (ICC) world title in all three formats.

Australia achieved the feat when they decimated India in the final of the World Test Championship 2021-23 at The Oval to become the new world champions of the longest format of the game.

Australia won the first-ever 50-over World Cup in 1987 and went on to win 4 more titles, becoming the most successful side in 50-over World Cups.

Australia also won the ICC Champions Trophy in 2006, beating the West Indies in the final.

Player of the match – Travis Head

AUSTRALIA’S ICC TITLES (MEN’S CRICKET)

• 50-over World Cups: 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015
• Champions Trophy: 2006, 2009
• T20 World Cup – 2021
• World Test Championship – 2021-23

Exp. India won Women’s Hockey Junior Asia Cup 2023

The Indian hockey team emerged champions of the Women’s Junior Asia Cup in Japan’s Kakamigahara by defeating South Korea 2-1 in a captivating final.

Annu (22nd) and Neelam (41st) scored for India and Park Seo-yeon (25th) for Korea.

This is India’s first title while South Korea (4) and China (3) share the honours from the previous editions.

Acknowledging the team’s unbeaten streak in six matches — it also helped them qualify for the 2023 Women’s Junior World Cup in Chile — Hockey India (HI) declared a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh per player and Rs.1 lakh each for the support staff.

Exp. 12 June – World Day Against Child Labour

The World Day against Child Labour has been observed annually on 12 June since 2002.

This significant day was established by the International Labour Organization (ILO), and all United Nations member countries have since been commemorating it.

Theme 2023 – Week of Action against Child Labour

This year, we will mark the 21st World Day Against Child Labour. The origin of this day can be traced back to 2000.

According to the United Nations, approximately 160 million children worldwide are involved in child labour, which represents 1 in 10 children.

From 2000 to 2020, child labour decreased by 85.5 million, dropping from 16 percent to 9.6 percent. Only 26.4 percent of children worldwide receive social protection cash benefits.

Globally, only 1.1 percent of GDP is spent on social protection for children and only 0.4 percent of GDP for children in Africa.