Current Affairs Quiz 1st March 2024 Quiz

Exp. CIL and BHEL sign a JVA for setting up Ammonium Nitrate Plant

State-run Coal India Limited (CIL) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) have signed a joint venture agreement (JVA) for setting up India’s first commercial-scale ammonium nitrate plant through surface coal gasification (SCG) technology route.

The plant will not only be India’s first commercial coal gasification project, it will also be the first to deploy an indigenously-developed coal gasification technology devised by BHEL on a commercial scale.

The plant will come up in Lakhanpur area of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), Odisha. It is planned to produce 2,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate per day initially.

The annual production is slated at 6.60 lakh tonnes which requires 1.3 million tonnes (MT) of coal. The coal will be supplied by Coal India.  

Exp. Ministry of Jal Shakti signs agreement with 12 technical education institutions for basin management of 6 rivers

Jal Shakti Ministry has signed agreement with 12 technical education institutions for academic and research collaboration towards basin management of six rivers.

These are Narmada, Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna, Cauvery and Periyar. This agreement was signed under the National River Conservation Plan.

Narmada Basin Management — IIT Indore and IIT Gandhinagar

Godavari Basin Management — IIT Hyderabad and NEERI Nagpur

Mahanadi Basin Management — IIT Raipur and IIT Rourkela,

Krishna Basin Management — NIT Warangal and NIT Surathkal,

Cauvery Basin Management — IISc Bangalore and NIT Trichy

Periyar Basin Management — IIT Palakkad and NIT Calicut.

Exp. Reliance partners with Sri Lanka’s Elephant House to intensify fight against Coke & Pepsi

Reliance Consumer Products Limited (RCPL), the FMCG subsidiary of Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, inked the partnership with Sri Lanka-based Elephant House to manufacture, market, distribute, and retail beverages under the Elephant House brand in India.

This association will not only help RCPL bolster its growing beverage portfolio that boasts iconic brands such as Campa, Sosyo and Raskik but will also bring exceptional new products and value propositions to Indian consumers.

Elephant House, owned by Ceylon Cold Stores PLC, is Sri Lanka’s largest listed conglomerate. It is known for its a range of beverages including Necto, Cream Soda, EGB (Ginger Beer), Orange Barley, and Lemonade, among others, all marketed under the Elephant House brand.

Exp. NTPC joins hands with MAHAGENCO for development of Renewable Energy Parks

NTPC Green Energy (NGEL), a wholly owned subsidiary of NTPC, has signed a joint venture agreement with Maharashtra State Power Generation Company (MAHAGENCO) for development of renewable energy parks in Maharashtra.

The company to be set up under the joint venture will develop GW-scale renewable energy parks and undertake projects of this scale in a phased manner.

The agreement aligns with the green energy objectives of NTPC and is another step in the Government of Indias efforts towards energy transition.

NTPC Group has ambitious plans of attaining 60 GW of renewable energy capacity by the year 2032. Currently, it has 3.4 GW of installed RE capacity and more than 22 GW under pipeline.

NTPC is committed to supporting Maharashtra’s and India’s decarbonisation goals.

Recent MoU

• Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) has signed an MoU with the Indian Air Force (IAF) for integration of futuristic Weapons and Sensors for LCA Tejas aircraft.
• MoD signs contract with AWEIL for 463 Stabilised Remote-Control Guns for Indian Navy & Indian Coast Guard
• CIAL partnered with BPCL to set up first green hydrogen plant at Cochin airport
• The Ministry of Defence has signed a contract with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for the procurement of 11 Shakti Electronic Warfare Systems for the Indian Navy. The contract is worth 2,269 Crore Rupees.

Exp. India’s rank remains unchanged at 42 in International IP Index 2024

India ranks 42nd in the International IP Index for 2024, out of 55 countries evaluated.

India’s overall score also remained unchanged at 38.64 percent according to the 12th edition of the US Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center’s International IP Index.

The Index evaluates the IP frameworks of the world’s top 55 economies, revealing significant improvements in 20 economies.

While the United States is once again the world leader, there were notable advancements led by Saudi Arabia, Brazil, and Nigeria.

However, challenges persist, as 27 economies showed no change and eight, including Ecuador, experienced declines due to weak IP enforcement.

Recent index

• Henley Passport Index 2024 – India at 85th; topped by Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and Spain, France
• Corruption perception index 2023 – India ranked 93rd; topped by Denmark
• Mercer’s Quality of Living City Index 2023 – Rank 1. Vienna (Austria), Rank 2. Zurich (Switzerland), Rank 3. Vancouver (Canada), Hyderabad (153rd), Pune (154th), Chennai (161st), Mumbai (164th), Kolkata (170th), New Delhi (172nd), Khartoum (Sudan) at the bottom-most position (241st spot).
• Climate Change Performance Index 2023 – India ranked 7th
• World Digital Competitiveness Ranking 2023 – India ranked 49th; topped by US

Exp. RBI cancels licence of Rajasthan-based Sumerpur Mercantile Urban Coop Bank

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the licence of Sumerpur Mercantile Urban Cooperative Bank, Pali (Rajasthan), as the lender does not have adequate capital and earning prospects.

The Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Rajasthan, has also been requested to issue an order for winding up the bank and appoint a liquidator.

On liquidation, every depositor will be entitled to receive deposit insurance claim amount of his/her deposits up to Rs 5 lakh from Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC).

As per the data submitted by the bank, 99.13 per cent of the depositors are entitled to receive full amount of their deposits from DICGC.

Exp. Maruti Suzuki partners with Union Bank of India for dealer financing solutions

Maruti Suzuki India has inked an initial pact with Union Bank of India for dealer financing solutions.

The tie-up enhances the comprehensive inventory funding options for over 4,000 Maruti Suzuki sales outlets across the country.

The company’s partnership with Union Bank of India since 2008, has steadily evolved and reached a significant milestone of facilitating over 3,00,000 car finance cases till date.

Recent MoUs Signed in Banking Sector

• Jana SFB partnered with Dvara Money for digital banking
• IREDA and PNB join hands to Co-Finance Renewable Energy Projects
• IEPFA and DBS Bank signs MoU to spread awareness on investment and fraudulent schemes
• PayU, NPCI join hands to roll out Credit Lines on UPI’ feature
• SBI partners with Flywire to modernise international education payments for students
• ESAF Small Finance Bank and Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Partner to Offer Life Insurance

Exp. Renu Sud Karnad as chairperson and independent director of PayU

PayU Payments Private Ltd (PayU), which is fintech arm of Global Consumer Internet Group Prosus, has appointed Renu Sud Karnad,as chairperson and independent director of the company.

Karnad, who is appointed as chairperson of the board, is joined by two independent directors – Gopika Pant, managing partner at Indian Law Partners, and Jairaj Purandare, founder and chairman of JMP Advisors Pvt Ltd.

Former global CEO of PayU group, Laurent Le Moal, and Jan Bune, former partner at Deloitte Netherlands, have come in as the non-executive directors.

Recent Appointment in Banking & Insurance Sector

• MD & CEO of SBM Bank India – Ashish Vijayakar (for 3 years)
• Non official Director of Bank of India (BOI) – M R Kumar (3 years)
• Non-executive Chairman of Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) – Srinivasan Sridhar (3 years)
• Non-executive chairman of UCO Bank – Aravamudan Krishna (3 years).
• Joint MD of Kotak Mahindra Bank – KVS Manian

Exp. Jana SFB gets RBI approval to re-appoint Ajay Kanwal as MD & CEO

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the re-appointment of Ajay Kanwal as the managing director and chief executive officer (MD and CEO) of Jana Small Finance Bank.

The reappointment is for a period of three years from March 21, 2024 up to March 20, 2027.

Kanwal has more than 33 years of experience in financial services. Before Jana SFB, Kanwal was the regional CEO of ASEAN and South Asia at Standard Chartered Bank and also had a short stint as Senior Advisor at TPG and Mastercard.

About Jana Small Finance Bank Limited

• Established – 2018
• Headquarters – Bengaluru
• CEO – Ajay Kanwal  

Exp. Daljit S Chaudhary appoints as Director of NSG

The Centre has appointed 1990 batch IPS officer, Daljit Singh Chaudhary as the director general (DG) of the National Security Guard (NSG).

Chaudhary currently the DG of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), has been given the additional charge of heading the NSG.

NSG also known as black cats, NSG is India’s counter-terrorism force.

It is a federal counter-deployment force against terrorism and anti-hijacking operations.

The force is trained to deal with specific situations and used only in exceptional circumstances as deemed by the government.

NSG was extensively used during the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai.

Recent Appointment in Defence Sector

• Vice Chief of the Army Staff – LG Upendra Dwivedi (replace LG MV Suchindra Kumar)
• DG of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) – Daljit Singh Chaudhary
• Chief Staff Officer at Eastern Naval Command HQ – Shantanu Jha
• Director General of Naval Operations (DGNO) – AN Pramod
• Commandant in Indian Naval Academy – Vice Admiral Vineet McCarty

Exp. Sunil Bharti Mittal first Indian to get Honorary Knighthood from King Charles III

Bharti Enterprises founder and chairman, Sunil Bharti Mittal has become the first Indian citizen to receive an Honorary Knighthood from United Kingdom’s King Charles III.

The award grants Mittal the title of Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, recognising his contributions to fostering stronger business ties between India and the UK.

An honorary Knighthood is one of the highest honours granted by the British Sovereign to civilians, conferred upon foreign nationals in recognition of their exceptional contributions.

Recent Awards

• France’s highest civilian honour ‘Chevalier de la Legion d’honneur’ – Shashi Tharoor
• Innovative Technology Development Award – REC Ltd
• 58th Jnanpith Award 2023 – Urdu poet Gulzar and Sanskrit scholar Jagadguru Rambhadracharya
• Best Technology Bank of the Year award by IBA – South Indian Bank (6 categories)
• Banking Technology Awards by IBA – City Union Bank (7 categories)

Exp. 1 March – World Seagrass Day

World Seagrass Day is observed every year on March 1.

This day is celebrated to raise awareness about seagrass and its important functions in the marine ecosystem.

Theme 2024 – Healthy Seagrass, Healthy Planet

On 23 May 2022, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared 1 March as World Seagrass Day. It is celebrated annually by UNGA. The UNEP was also invited to facilitate the observance of the day. In this way the first World Seagrass Day was organized in 2023.

Exp. 1 March – Zero Discrimination Day

Zero Discrimination Day is observed every year on March 1.

Objective – To promote inclusion, equality, and peace and raise awareness about the impact of discrimination worldwide.

Theme 2024 – To protect everyone’s health, protect everyone’s rights

The day was first celebrated on March 1, 2014. Ten years ago, UNAIDS had launched its Zero Discrimination Campaign on ‘World AIDS Day’ in December 2013.

UNAIDS is a joint United Nations program on Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

Exp. 1 March – World Civil Defence Day

World Civil Defence Day is observed every year on 1 March.

This international event serves as a crucial reminder of the importance of being prepared for emergencies and disasters.

World Civil Defence Day was first established in 1990 by the International Civil Defence Organisation (ICDO) to commemorate the anniversary of the adoption of the ICDO’s Constitution.

Q.15. Former Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney passed away recently at the age of 84. He was the PM of which country?

पूर्व प्रधान मंत्री, ब्रायन मुल्रोनी का हाल ही में 84 वर्ष की आयु में निधन हो गया। वह किस देश के प्रधान मंत्री थे?

(a) France / फ्रांस

(b) Italy / इटली

(c) UK / यूके

(d) USA / यूएसए

(e) Canada / कनाडा

Exp. Former Canada PM, Brian Mulroney passes away

Canada’s 18th Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney passed away at the age of 84.

Mulroney, who was a Conservative, led his party to a sweeping win in the 1984 Federal elections, capturing 211 out of 282 seats in the House of Commons. He bested then-PM Pierre Eliot Trudeau, the late father of the current incumbent.

Born on March 20, 1939, in the town of Baie-Comeau in Quebec, Mulroney was PM for nearly nine years, after assuming the office in on September 17, 1984 and demitting it in June 25, 1993.