Current Affairs Quiz 18th April 2023 Quiz

Exp. Jyotiraditya Scindia inaugurates India Steel 2023 in Mumbai

Union Minister of Steel Jyotiraditya Scindia has inaugurated India Steel 2023 at the Mumbai Exhibition Centre in Goregaon, Mumbai.

The event is being organized in association with Commerce Ministry and FICCI.

It aims to bring together industry leaders, policymakers, and experts to discuss the latest developments, challenges, and opportunities in the Steel Industry.

The India Steel 2023 exhibition will showcase advanced technologies, products and solutions from the Indian steel industry.

About Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI)

• Formation – 1927
• Founder – Ghanshyam Das Birla and Purshottamdas Thakurdas
• Headquarters – New Delhi
• Secretary General – Dilip Chenoy
• Director General – Monideepa Mukerjee
• President – Subhrakant Panda

Exp. IIT Indore and NASA-Caltech develop low-cost camera for flame imaging

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Indore in collaboration with the NASA-Caltech from the US and the Sweden’s University of Gothenburg has developed a low-cost camera setup which can provide multispectral imaging of four chemical species in a flame using single DSLR camera.

Using only a single DSLR camera, it can simultaneously capture multiple spectral three-dimensional images of four chemical species in a flame, whereas earlier scientific imaging required a complex system with four cameras.

The picture of the four chemical species present in a flame can be clicked together in complete detail with this smart camera.

The camera is designed for multispectral imaging of flames. It is low-cost and can be used for research and industrial applications.

Exp. Vedanta partners with 20 Korean firms to establish electronics manufacturing hub

Vedanta Group has partnered with 20 South Korean firms to establish an electronics manufacturing hub in India.

The Indian firm is also setting up a semiconductor plant in Gujarat in a joint venture (JV) with Foxconn.

The partnership aims to boost India’s electronics manufacturing industry and reduce dependence on imports.

The hub will be set up in Tamil Nadu and will focus on manufacturing products such as smartphones, TVs, and other electronic devices.

The project is expected to create job opportunities for over 8,000 people in the region.

Korean firms will provide technical expertise and investment.

Exp. Solar Energy Corporation of India gets ‘Miniratna Category-l’ status

Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) has been accorded the status of Miniratna Category-I Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE).

SECI was incorporated in the year 2011 and is the primary implementing agency of the ministry for renewable energy schemes/ projects towards the fulfillment of India’s international commitments.

As of date, SECI has awarded RE project capacities of over 56 GW.

SECI has played a Central role in the rapid increase of RE generation capacity in the country and has contributed towards the nation’s climate commitments, carbon emission reduction strategies and sustainable energy transition.

About Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd

• Founded- 9 September 2011
• Headquarters – New Delhi
• Managing Director- Suman Sharma

Exp. Meghalaya host G20 Space Economy Leaders Meet

Meghalaya host the Space Economy Leaders’ Meet (SELM) of the G20 Summit in Shillong, Meghalaya from 17-18 April 2023.

G20 Sherpa, Amitabh Kant, Union Minister of State Dr. Jitendra Singh, and Chief Minister, Conrad K. Sangma attend the inaugural function.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) of the Department of Space is organizing the precursor event of the fourth edition of Space Economy Leaders Meeting (SELM with active support from Government of Meghalaya and India’s Ministry of External Affairs.

G20 in News (Note – All Meetings are Under the Presidency of G20 by India)

• 2nd G20 Health Working Group Meeting – Goa (17 – 19 April 2023)
• G20 MACS Meeting of Agri Chief Scientists – Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh (17 – 19 April 2023)
• 2nd Women 20 (W20) international Meeting – Jaipur, Rajasthan (13 – 14 April 2023)
• 2nd meeting of G20 Development Working Group – Kumarakom, Kerala (7 April 2023)
• Youth20 (Y20) Consultation Meeting – IIT Kanpur (5 – 6 April 2023)

Exp. DRDO Industry Academia Centre of Excellence inaugurated at IIT Hyderabad

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Industry Academia Centre of Excellence (DIA-CoE) has been inaugurated at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Hyderabad.

This is the biggest such facility in the country. DRDO Chairman Dr. Samir V Kamat inaugurated the facility at the campus of the IIT-Hyderabad at Sangareddy in Telangana.

The DIA CoE IITH is the largest centre among all 15 CoEs in the country and DRDO team will work with IIT-H to identify the target projects in each of these domains and execute to complete in a period of 3-5 years.

The DIA CoE IITH is the largest centre among all 15 CoEs in the country.

Exp. Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam begins in Gujarat

The Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam began with great zeal and enthusiasm at Somnath in Gujarat.

The ten-day-long cultural extravaganza was inaugurated by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in the presence of Telangana Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan and Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendra Patel and Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.

The programme is being organised under Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat to foster the age-old cultural bond between Gujarat and Tamilnadu

As part of the Sangamam, delegates will visit various heritage and tourist places such as Somnath, Dwarka and the Statue of Unity and participate in the cultural programmes.

About Gujarat

• Capital- Gandhinagar
• Chief Minister- Bhupendra Rajnikant Patel
• Governor- Acharya Devvrat

Exp. ‘Cumbum’ Angoor’ gets GI tag

Tamil Nadu’s famous Cumbum Panneer Thratchai, also known as Cumbum grapes, has received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

The Cumbum Valley on the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu is known as the ‘Grape City of South India’, where Paneer Thirachai is cultivated.

Theni district Paneer Thirachai is one of the highest grape-growing regions. However, the ‘Paneer’ variety is mainly associated with the Cumbum Valley, where the area under cultivation is spread over about 2,000 acres in 10 villages.

The Panneer grapes were first introduced in Tamil Nadu by a French priest in 1832.

These grapes are rich in vitamins, tartaric acid, and antioxidants, reducing the risk of some chronic diseases.

Recent GI Tag

• Gond Painting – Madhya Pradesh
• Nagri Dubraj Rice – Chhattisgarh
• Morena and Rewa Mango – Madhya Pradesh
• Kangra Tea – Himachal Pradesh
• Tandoor Red Gram – Telangana
• Raktsey Karpo Apricot – Ladakh

Exp. US becomes India’s biggest trading partner in FY23: Report

The US has emerged as India’s biggest trading partner in 2022-23 on account of increasing economic ties between the two countries.

According to the provisional data of the commerce ministry, the bilateral trade between India and the US has increased by 7.65 percent to USD 128.55 in 2022-23 as against USD 119.5 billion in 2021-22. It was USD 80.51 billion in 2020-21.

Exports to the US rose by 2.81 percent to USD 78.31 billion in 2022-23 as against USD 76.18 billion in 2021-22, while imports grew by about 16 percent to USD 50.24 billion.

Exports to China dipped by about 28 percent to USD 15.32 billion in 2022-23, while imports rose by 4.16 percent to USD 98.51 billion in the last fiscal.

The trade gap widened to USD 83.2 billion in the last fiscal as against USD 72.91 billion in 2021-22.

In 2022-23, the UAE with USD 76.16 billion, was the third largest trading partner of India. It was followed by Saudi Arabia (USD 52.72 billion), and Singapore (USD 35.55 billion).

Exp. Syria becomes world’s largest ‘Narco-state’

Syria has become the world’s foremost narco-state as its economic survival now depends heavily on the production and export of Captagon also known as the “poor man’s coke”.

Captagon is a banned illicit drug recognized by the UNODC (2021) and is a synthetic stimulant that combines amphetamine and caffeine.

According to the Collins Dictionary, “narco-state” refers to a nation where a significant portion of the economy is reliant on the illicit trade of narcotic drugs.

About Syria

• Capital- Damascus
• Currency- Syrian pound (‎SYP‎)‎
• Official language- Arabic
• Continent- Asia

Exp. SIDBI launches new financing solution for electric vehicle space

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has launched a pilot scheme for better financing terms in the electric vehicle space and strengthening the whole ecosystem.

The pilot phase of ‘Mission 50K-EV4ECO’ aims at strengthening the EV ecosystem, including uptake for two, three, and four-wheelers through direct and indirect lending.

The pilot scheme, which is the precursor to EVOLVE scheme by SIDBI-World Bank, has two components — direct lending and indirect lending.

Direct lending: SIDBI will directly give loans to eligible MSMEs

Indirect lending: Targeted at NBFCs, including small unrated focused, and emerging NBFCs.

About Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)

• Founded – 2 April 1990
• Headquarters – Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
• Chairman & MD – Siva S Ramann

Recent Facilities Launched in Banks & Insurance Sector

• ICICI Bank introduced easy EMI facility for UPI payments made by scanning QR code.
• DBS Bank India launched DigiPortfolio
• Canara Bank launches Premium Payroll Account
• Axis Bank and VISA have jointly launched a mobile application ‘Digital Dukaan’
• Axis Bank launched ‘MicroPay’ based on ‘Pin on Mobile’ technology for digital payments

Exp. SBI reintroduces 400 days ‘Amrit Kalash’ retail term deposit scheme

The country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has extended the validity of Amrit Kalash special fixed deposit (FD) scheme.

The bank previously introduced this retail term deposit programme, and it was valid from February 15, 2023, through March 31, 2023. But on April 12, 2023, SBI stated that its Amrit Kalash FD retail term deposit programme has been extended till 30th June 2023.

SBI Amrit Kalash FD Scheme comes with a special tenor of 400 days on which the general public will get an interest rate of 7.10% and senior citizens will get an interest rate of 7.60% which is 50 bps higher than the standard applicable rate and senior citizens, staff and staff pensioners are eligible for additional interest rate applicable to them.

About State Bank of India (SBI)  

• Founded – 1 July 1955
• Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Chairman – Dinesh Kumar Khara
• Managing Director – (4) Alok Kumar Choudhary, Swaminathan Janakiraman, Challa Sreenivasulu Setty, and Ashwini Kumar Tewari
• Imperial Bank of India was previous name of SBI.
• The presidency Banks of Bengal, Bombay and Madras with merged in 1921 to Imperial Bank of India.
• Tagline – (1) Pure Banking Nothing Else

(2) With you all the way

(3) A bank of the common man

(4) The banker to every Indian

(5) The Nation banks on us  

Exp. WPI inflation eases to a 29-month low of 1.34% in March 2023

India’s annual Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation declined to a 29-month low of 1.34 percent in March 2023 as input prices continued to moderate, according to the government data.

This is the 10th straight month of decline in WPI-based inflation.

The WPI inflation data was 3.85 percent in February, 4.73 percent in January 2023, and 14.63 percent in March 2022.

The food index inflation eased to 2.32 percent in March from 2.76 percent in February.

For the primary articles segment, the inflation rate cooled to 2.40 percent in March 2023 versus 3.28 percent in February.

The WPI measures the price of a representative basket of wholesale goods in India.

The index is divided into three groups namely primary articles (22.6 percent of total weight), fuel and power (13.2 percent) and manufactured products (64.2 percent).

Recent WPI-based Wholesale inflation in India

• November 2022 – 85%
• December 2022–95%
• January 2023 – 4.73%
• February 2023 – 3.85%
• March 2023 – 1.38%

Exp. Shaili Singh qualifies for Asian Games; logging 2nd longest jump in India’s history

At the Indian Grand Prix-4 in Bengaluru, Shaili Singh won in the women’s long jump.

With a personal best of 6.76 meters, she is now the holder of the 2nd longest jump in India’s history and has qualified for the Asian Games.

Shaili’s win at the Indian Grand Prix-4 is a major milestone and will have a significant impact on the future of Indian sports.

Athlete Shaili has been training hard at NCOE Bangalore and her dedication and commitment to her sport are truly inspiring.

Exp. 18 April – World Heritage Day

World Heritage Day is celebrated every year on April 18.

Objective – To raise awareness about the importance of cultural heritage and the need to preserve it for future generations.

Theme 2023 – Heritage and Climate

The day was established by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and was approved by the UNESCO General Conference in 1983.

UNESCO has designated a total of 1155 monuments in 167 countries as UNESCO world heritage sites

40 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India 2022