Current Affairs Quiz 14th November 2023 Quiz

Exp. Uttarakhand To Become The First State To Adopt The Uniform Civil Code

Uttarakhand is set to become the first state in the country to implement the Uniform Civil Code.

A committee formed under the leadership of Justice (retired) Ranjana Desai would submit a report to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in the next couple of days.

A special session of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly will be called the week after Diwali, when the Uniform Civil Code bill will be passed, granting it legal status.

The UCC is a proposal to formulate and implement personal laws that will apply uniformly to all citizens regardless of their religion, gender, or sexual orientation.

Objective – To strengthen the social fabric, promote gender equality, and help fight economic, social, and religious inequalities.

The code comes under Article 44 of the Constitution.

About Uttarakhand

• Capital – Dehradun (Winter), Gairsain (Summer)
• Chief Minister – Pushkar Singh Dhami
• Governor – Gurmit Singh

Exp. Ayodhya sets Guinness Record by lighting 22 Lakh Diyas

Uttar Pradesh has set a new Guinness world record by lighting over 22 lakh Diyas (lamps) in Ayodhya.

Ayodhya began the Deepotav festival with the formation of the Yogi Adityanath government in 2017. The government lit up around 51,000 diyas in 2017, and then 4.10 lakh Diyas in 2019.

The number then every year goes up with over 9 lakh diyas illuminated in 2021.

In 2022, over 17 lakh diyas were lit up across the Ram ki Pairi ghats. However, that year Guinness Book of World Records considered only those diyas that remained lit up for at least five minutes, hence the record was set at 15,76,955 diyas.

About Uttar Pradesh

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

Exp. IMF executive board has approved a 50% quota increase

The executive board has approved a proposal to make a 50% increase in the quota allocated to members in proportion to their current quotas.

The proposal has come after the guidance from the IMF Committee at the 2023 annual meetings.

Presently, India has a quota of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) of 13,114.4 million. This means India has a share of 2.75%.

The proposal will be effective only after consideration and voting by the Board of Governors.

About International Monetary Fund (IMF)

• Founded – 1945
• Headquarters- Washington, D.C.
• Managing Director – Kristalina Georgieva (Bulgaria)
• First Deputy MD – Gita Gopinath
• Chief Economist – Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas (France)
• Member countries – 190 (Andorra)

Exp. Japan gets a new Island after an undersea volcano eruption

The world’s newest island has been formed off the coast of the Japanese island of Iwo Jima in the Pacific Ocean following an undersea volcanic eruption around 1,200 km south of Tokyo.

The newly created island has not been named yet. However, as far as its measurement goes, it is approximately around 100 m in diameter, and took shape through phreatomagmatic eruptions. These eruptions are actually triggered when magma reacts with seawater, thereby resulting in explosive releases of ash and steam.

Reportedly, the eruption started on October 21, 2023, around 1 km off the coastline of Iwoto Island, which was formerly known as Iwo Jima.

It’s a site with significant historical significance as it witnessed World War II’s most intense battles. Reports add that these eruptions continued for around 10 days, which further led to the accumulation of volcanic material on the shallow seabed, ultimately reaching above the sea’s surface.

About Japan

• Capital – Tokyo
• Currency – Yen
• Prime Minister – Fumio Kishida

Exp. India & ADB sign $400 million loan to support urban reform agenda

The Indian government has signed a $400 million policy-based loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to support its urban reform agenda, which includes building high-quality urban infrastructure, increasing service delivery, and fostering efficient governance systems.

While Sub-programme 1 was approved in 2021 with a $350 million budget to implement national-level policies and guidelines to strengthen urban services, Sub-programme 2 supports investment planning and reform measures at the state and urban local body (ULB) levels.

The programme supports the Government of India’s urban sector strategy, with a focus on urban reforms aimed at making cities livable and centres of economic growth through the provision of inclusive, resilient, and sustainable infrastructure.

Moreover, cities will be incentivised to become creditworthy through different reforms aimed at increasing revenues, such as property taxes and user fees, improving efficiency, and rationalising expenditures.

This would significantly help cities in mobilising innovative finance such as commercial borrowings, municipal bond issuance, sub-sovereign debt, and public-private partnerships to bridge huge deficits in urban infrastructure investments.

Recent Loan Approved by ADB

• ADB approved $181 Million to Improve Ahmedabad’s Peri-urban Areas
• ADB approves $40.5 mn loan for childhood development in Meghalaya
• India, ADB signed $200 million loan deal to enhance urban services in Rajasthan.
• Inda, ADB signed $130 million loan MoU to boost horticulture in Himachal Pradesh
• India, ADB signed $295 million loan pact to upgrade the state highways in Bihar
• India, ADB signed $200 million loan deal to enhance urban services in Rajasthan

Exp. David Cameron appointed as UK Foreign Secretary

Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron was appointed foreign secretary in a sweeping reshuffle of current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s cabinet.

Cameron was seen walking into No. 10 — the official residence and office of the British prime minister — to meet with Sunak, following the abrupt sacking of Suella Braverman as interior minister.

Cameron served as prime minister from 2010 to 2016 and presided over Britain’s controversial Brexit vote, which ultimately led to his resignation.

About United Kingdom (UK)

• Capital – London
• Currency – Pound sterling
• Prime Minister – Rishi Sunak

Exp. Rear Admiral Rajesh Dhankhar Assumes Command Of The Eastern Fleet

Rear Admiral Rajesh Dhankhar, took over command of the Eastern Fleet, the Sword Arm of the Eastern Naval Command, from Rear Admiral Gurcharan Singh.

The change of guard took place at an impressive ceremony held at Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam.

RAdm Rajesh Dhankhar was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 01 July 1990 and is a specialist in Navigation & Direction.

The Flag Officer is an alumnus of the prestigious Naval Academy, Defence Services Staff College, and has done his Higher Command Course in Japan.

Recent Appointment in Defence Sector

• Deputy Chief of Naval Staff – Vice Admiral Tarun Sobti (replace Sanjay Mahendru)
• Interim director of Enforcement Directorate (ED) – Rahul Navin (replace Sanjay Kumar Mishra.)
• DG of Railway Protection Force – Manoj Yadava (replace Sanjay Chander)
• DG of Indian Coast Guard (ICG) – Rakesh Pal (25th)
• Special Director of CBI – Ajay Bhatnagar

Exp. Torrent Gas appoints Manoj Jain as MD

City gas distribution player Torrent Gas Limited has appointed Manoj Jain as its Managing Director with effect from 1 January 2024.

Before this, Jain was the Chairman and Managing Director of GAIL (India) Limited from February 2020 to August 2022.

Jain is a seasoned business leader with an excellent track record across multiple areas within GAIL and is widely considered an expert in the Oil and Gas sector.

Jain possesses rich and diverse experience in the areas of business development, gas marketing, projects, petrochemicals, and pipeline integrity management.

Recent Appointment

• Member (Finance) at the Airports Authority of India (AAI) – Pankaj Malhotra
• Nominee Director of South-East Asia Gas Pipeline Company Limited (SEAGP) Board – Deepak Gupta
• CEO & MD of Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited (TPREL) – Deepesh Nanda (replace Ashish Khanna)
• CMD of Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) – Santosh Kumar Jha
• Chief Information Commissioner of India – Heeralal Samariya

Exp. Canada won its first Billie Jean King Cup

Leylah Fernandez and Marina Stakusic won their singles matches as Canada beat Italy 2-0 to claim its first-ever Billie Jean King Cup.

Stakusic ranked 258th in the world, put Canada ahead by defeating No. 43 Martina Trevisan 7-5, 6-3 for the biggest win of her career, then Fernandez sealed the victory by beating Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-3 at La Cartuja Stadium.

Canada, captained by Heidi El Tabakh, became the 13th nation to win the Billie Jean King cup and the second consecutive new champion after Switzerland won in Glasgow 12 months ago.

The Canada men’s team is the current Davis Cup champion.

The women’s teams competed in four round-robin groups, with the winners advancing to the semifinals. The United States was eliminated by the Czech Republic in a group that also included title-holder Switzerland.

The biggest team competition in women’s tennis started two days after the end of the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico, which featured the top eight players on the tour — including winner Iga Swiatek.

Exp. Virender Sehwag, Diana Edulji & Aravind D’Silva enter ICC’s Hall of Fame

Three cricketing greats and standout performers in the history of the game – Former Indian legendary opener Virender Sehwag, former Indian Women Test skipper Diana Edulji, and Sri Lanka’s iconic star Aravinda de Silva are the latest inductees to be added to the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the name of the three legends of cricket as the latest inductees of the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

Sehwag had dynamism a destructive opener of the modern era holds a record that is still hard to match, the first Indian with a Triple century. Sehwag has in fact scored two Triple Hundreds

During his illustrious career, Sehwag scored 23 Test centuries, the fifth most by an India men’s player, and claimed a record of the highest score by an Indian player ever, 319 which was against South Africa in Chennai in 2008. Overall, Sehwag has 8,586 runs to his name at an average of 49.34 in 104 appearances.

The second inductee in the ICC Hall of Fame Edulji captained India for almost three decades, and as a left-arm orthodox spinner claimed 100 wickets while making 54 international appearances.

The third inductee of the ICC Hall of Fame was a winner of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup with Sri Lanka in 1996 – Aravinda de Silva. The Sri Lankan batter was known for his consistency, scoring 20 Test centuries during an 18-year international career which is the third most by any Sri Lanka men’s player.

Exp. India finished Asian Archery Championships in Bangkok with seven medals

India ended its campaign at the Asian Archery Championships in Bangkok with seven medals comprising three gold, a silver, and three bronze.

In the Women’s team final, Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Parneet Kaur, and Aditi Gopichand Swami defeated Chinese Taipei in a thrilling contest to win the yellow metal.

Kaur also won gold in the women’s individual event after beating compatriot Vennam in the final.

India won their second gold medal of the day after Swami and Priyansh beat Thailand in the final of the Mixed Team event.

Exp. 14 November – Children’s Day

Children’s Day or ‘Bal Diwas’ is celebrated annually on November 14 in India.

The day is celebrated to appreciate and acknowledge children as they are the future of the county. This date also marks the birth anniversary of the first Prime Minister of the nation Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who was adorably referred to as ‘Chacha Nehru’ by children.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was born on 14 November 1889 in Allahabad, India.

Previously, Children’s Day was celebrated in India on November 20 – the day ‘World Children’s Day’ is celebrated globally by the United Nations.

However, after the death of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in the year 1964, the parliament issued a resolution to establish his birthday as the official Children’s Day in the country.

Since then, India celebrates Children’s Day to commemorate the birth anniversary of the first Prime Minister of India. The day is also known as Bal Diwas in the country.

Exp. 14 November – World Diabetes Day

World Diabetes Day is observed every year on 14 November.

The day is an opportunity to raise awareness about diabetes as a global public health issue and decide the strategies as to what needs to be done, collectively and individually for better prevention, diagnosis and management of the condition.

Theme 2023 – Access to diabetes care

The significance of November 14 lies in the celebration of the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, the co-discoverer of insulin alongside Charles Herbert Best in 1922.

Established in 1991 by the International Diabetes Foundation (IDF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), World Diabetes Day gained official recognition by the United Nations in 2006.