Current Affairs Quiz 20th September 2023 Quiz

Exp. Haryana to give Rs 50,000 for daughters of industrial workers

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has announced, the granting of Rs 50,000 to the daughters of industrial workers who are pursuing higher education to buy electric two-wheelers.

The financial support to buy e-scooters will enhance mobility for college-going girls.

Apart from this, the Chief Minister also announced an increase in the scholarship amount for the children of industrial workers.

These scholarship amounts will range from Rs 10,000 to Rs 21,000 which will be available for students from Class 9 to those pursuing graduate and postgraduate programmes.

Previously, the scholarship amount was between Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000 for the students of Classes 9 and 10, while Rs 11,000 to Rs 16,000 for the degree students.

About Haryana

• Capital – Chandigarh
• Chief Minister – Manohar Lal Khattar
• Governor – Bandaru Dattatreya

Exp. Dr. RML Hospital opens India’s first dedicated OPD for Transgenders

The Centre-run Dr RML Hospital has inaugurated India’s first dedicated OPD for the transgender community on the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday.

The initiative was started to alleviate the difficulties encountered by members of the transgender community in accessing healthcare services, largely due to discomfort and the fear of discrimination, and social apathy.

This dedicated OPD service will be available to transgenders every Friday from 2 pm to 4 pm and there will be a separate registration counter for them.

The hospital also organized a blood donation camp to mark Prime Minister Modi’s 73rd birthday.

At India’s first dedicated OPD for transgenders, they will be provided with an endocrinology facility with hormone analysis and free hormonal treatment, a psychiatry facility with clinical-psychological assessment, and plastic surgery.

Also, dermatology, urology, and paediatrics services and all related blood investigations will be made available at the OPD, he said, adding that it will have gender-neutral/transgender washroom facilities.

Exp. Government to offer 8% subsidy for loans under Vishwakarma Yojana

The government will offer up to 8 percent subsidy for loans given to artisans under the Vishwakarma Yojana launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The government has already made a provision of Rs 13,000 crore in the Budget 2023-24.

The collateral-free loans to artisans would be provided at a very affordable interest rate of 5 percent.

The scheme covers 18 activities including carpenter, goldsmith, blacksmith, mason, stone sculpture, barber, and boatmakers, the government will provide up to Rs 3 lakh loan.

Initially, Rs 1 lakh loan will be given and the beneficiary would be eligible for an additional Rs 2 lakh after a repayment schedule of 18 months.

The components of the scheme will include not only financial support but also access to advanced skill training, knowledge of modern digital techniques and efficient green technologies, brand promotion, linkage with local and global markets, digital payments, and social security.

Besides, a Rs 15,000 grant will be provided as a toolkit incentive and an incentive for digital transactions of Rs 1 per transaction for up to 100 transactions monthly

This will greatly benefit the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBCs, women and people belonging to the weaker sections.  

Exp. Haryana CM Khattar launches new e-Bhoomi portal

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has launched a new e-Bhoomi portal that promises to further ease the process of purchasing land for the development of government projects with the consent of landowners.

The government aims at purchasing land in a transparent manner with the consent of the landowners.

The offer of land on the new portal would be valid for six months. Farmers can offer their land independently or through listed aggregators. A minimum offer of 10 acres has been made mandatory for voluntary offers made by aggregators.

Khattar also unveiled the portal for the Mukhyamantri Shehri Awas Yojana, an initiative aimed at ensuring that every economically weaker section has a roof over their heads.

With the launch of this portal, the benefits of this scheme will be readily accessible to those in need, in a transparent and expedited manner.

Exp. India hosts inaugural UNCITRAL South Asia Conference

India hosted the inaugural United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) South Asia conference.

The conference was organized jointly by the Ministry of External Affairs, UNCITRAL, and the organization’s national coordination committee for India.

Objective – To further India’s engagement with UNCITRAL and encourage interaction between UNCITRAL, judiciary, bureaucracy, academia, and the legal fraternity.

The three-day conference was in continuation of the conference hosted in New Delhi in 2016 to celebrate 50 years of UNCITRAL.

Exp. 14th edition of World Spice Congress (WSC) in Mumbai

The 14th edition of the World Spice Congress (WSC) was held in Vashi in Navi Mumbai.

Theme – VISION 2030: S-P-I-C-E-S

The three-day event has been organized by the Spices Board India, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in association with various trade bodies and export forums.

The event has the presence of policymakers, regulatory authorities, spice trade associations, government officials as well as technical experts from G20 countries, among others.

An exhibition highlighting the variety of spices and value-added spice products as well as innovative technologies and solutions in the spices industry is also arranged as part of WSC 2023.

Exp. Rajya Sabha Chairman set up a panel of vice-chairpersons with 50% Women MPs

Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has reconstituted a panel of vice-chairpersons with 50 percent of women parliamentarians and that the percentage may go higher in future.

The eight-member panel will now have four women members, including Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs Kanta Kardam, Sumitra Balmik, and Geeta alias Chandraprabha; and Biju Janata Dal’s Mamata Mohanta

The announcement was made on the first day of the Special Session of the Parliament.

It aims to increase the representation of women MPs in leadership positions.

Exp. Air India starts Project Abhinandan at 16 airports

In an attempt to elevate the on-ground experience of passengers, Air India has launched ‘Project Abhinandan’.

The initiative aims to give the travellers a personalized and hassle-free experience.

Under the initiative, it has deployed specially trained service assurance officers at 16 major airports across India to offer on-ground assistance.

The airports where these officers have been deployed include Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Calicut, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Varanasi and Vishakhapatnam.

They will be providing assistance to Air India travellers who need assistance at the check-in area, lounges, near boarding gates, during transit, or at arrival hall

The Tata-owned airline has recruited and deployed 100 such officers across the airports. These officers have also been trained to deal with unforeseen issues such as missed flights, delayed baggage delivery and misconnections at airports, among other issues.

They will be providing assistance to any Air India guest, irrespective of the cabin class they are booked in. These officers will be available at the airports in addition to other Air India and ground handling agencies’ staff.

Exp. Rabindranath Tagore’s Santiniketan gets UNESCO’s World Heritage tag

Situated in West Bengal’s Birbhum district, the small town Santiniketan has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

This is the place where Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore spent much of his life.

Apart from Santiniketan, UNESCO included 13 other sites in the list. These are Palestine’s Ancient Jericho, Silk Roads: Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor, Azerbaijan’s Hyrcanian Forests, Ethiopia’s the Gedeo Cultural landscape, Benin’s Koutammakou, Cambodia’s Koh Ker, Mangolia’s Deer Stone monuments and related bronze age sites, South Korea’s Gaya Tumuli, China’s cultural landscape of Old Tea Forests of the Jingmai mountain in Pu’er, Iran’s The Persian Caravanserai, Canada’s Tr’ondëk-Klondike, Denmark’s Viking-Age Ring Fortresses, Germany’s Jewish-Medieval Heritage of Erfurt, and Latvia’s Old town of Kuldīga.

The Extended 45th Session of the World Heritage Committee took place in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) from 10 to 25 September.

About Shantiniketan

• Established in 1901 by Tagore, Santiniketan was a residential school and centre for an art based on ancient Indian traditions.
• In 1921, a ‘world university’ was established at Santiniketan, later recognized as ‘Visva Bharati’. Visva-Bharati in Santiniketan is Bengal’s only central university whose chancellor is the Prime Minister.

Exp. Yes Bank partners with Juspay to offer merchant in-app UPI payments

Juspay, India’s largest payments firm, has collaborated with YES Bank to introduce HyperUPI, the NPCI plug-in SDK that enables in-app UPI payments in merchant apps.

Without becoming an approved UPI app, merchants can now offer easy “1-click UPI experiences” via their Android and iOS apps.

Customers will no longer need to rely on another app to complete UPI transactions because these payments may now be completed on the merchant’s app.

This plugin SDK is based on one of the most reputable cloud UPI systems in the country, and it supports UPI payments for top UPI merchant and consumer applications.

About Yes Bank

• Founded – 2004
• Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
• MD & CEO – Prashant Kumar
• Chairman – Sunil Mehta
• Tagline – Experience our Expertise

Recent MoU in Banking Sector

• IIT Kanpur partners with ICICI Bank to foster startup innovatio

• SIDBI partners with Tata Power for MSME solar rooftop financing
• BriskPe introduce BriskPe A2A with Yes Bank to enable seamless cross-border payment
• NABARD partners with UNDP to boost data-driven innovations
• IREDA signed MoU with the Union Bank of India and Bank of Baroda to co-finance renewable energy (RE) projects.

• Mastercard partners with KredX to Make B2B Payments Rewarding for Vendors

Exp. IndusInd Bank launches ‘Virtual Commercial Credit Card’

IndusInd Bank has launched a “virtual commercial card”, that will redefine cross-border transactions for corporates and travel agents.

Launched as a “virtual commercial credit card”, it would help corporates and the travel industry, who make numerous bookings in multiple foreign currencies.

With these virtual commercial cards, these users can generate virtual cards or credentials in foreign-denominated currencies as well, safeguarding the parent card number, ensuring utmost security for transactions.

Each virtual card can be fully customized with transaction-specific limits and even the expiry dates can be defined to ensure a secure and seamless payment experience.

Recent Facilities Launched in Banking & Insurance Sector

• Indian Bank rolls out IB SAATHI to provide basic banking services
• Max Life Insurance launched new health, wellness plan SEWA
• Bharti AXA Life introduces “Life Income Laabh” to simplify insurance
• DBS Bank unveils metaverse adventure on ‘DBS BetterWorld’
• HSBC India became the first foreign bank in India to launch ‘ONDC in a Box’
• AU Small Finance launches Zenith Metal credit card

Q.12. Who has been appointed as the Chairman of the Digital Infrastructure Providers Association (DIPA)?

डिजिटल इंफ्रास्ट्रक्चर प्रोवाइडर्स एसोसिएशन (DIPA) के अध्यक्ष के रूप में किसे नियुक्त किया गया है?

(a) Anshika Singh / अंशिका सिंह

(b) Vumlunmang Vualnam / वुमलुनमंग वुअलनाम

(c) Dhananjay Joshi / धनंजय जोशी

(d) Shivani Tyagi / शिवानी त्यागी

(e) Sandeep Girotra / संदीप गिरोत्रा

Exp. Dhananjay Joshi appointed as Chairman of DIPA

Dhananjay Joshi has been appointed as the Chairman of the Digital Infrastructure Providers Association (DIPA).

Dhananjay Joshi currently serves as the Managing Director and CEO of Summit Digital, a leading Indian telecommunications company.

He succeeds Akhil Gupta, who has served as Chairman of Bharti Enterprises and Chairman of DIPA since 2011.

While, Sandeep Girotra, CEO of American Tower India, has been appointed as the new Vice President of DIPA.

These leadership changes will be effective from October 1, 2023. The new leadership for the term 2023-24 was announced at the DIPA Annual General Meeting 2022-23.

Recent Appointment

• 1st Woman Army Surgeon in Para Commando - Payal Chhabra
• Chairman of Audit Bureau of Circulation - Srinivasan K Swamy
• Interim director of Enforcement Directorate (ED) - Rahul Navin (replace Sanjay Kumar Mishra)
• Vice Chairperson of NASSCOM - Sindhu Gangadharan
• Director (Finance) of Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) - Joshit Ranjan Sikidar

Q.13. Who has been appointed as the permanent CEO of Penguin Random House after nine-month interim tenure?

नौ महीने के अंतरिम कार्यकाल के बाद पेंगुइन रैंडम हाउस के स्थायी सीईओ के रूप में किसे नियुक्त किया गया है?

(a) Ganesan Kannabiran / गणेशन कन्नाबीरन

(b) Neeraj Akhoury / नीरज अखौरी

(c) Parth Jindal / पार्थ जिंदल

(d) Parminder Chopra / परमिंदर चोपड़ा

(e) Nihar Malviya / निहार मालवीय

Exp. Nihar Malviya appointed as CEO of Penguin Random House

Nihar Malviya has been appointed as the permanent CEO of Penguin Random House after nine-month interim tenure.

Nihar Malviya replaces former CEO Marcus Dohle, who stepped down following a federal judge's decision to reject Penguin Random House's merger with Simon & Schuster.

Malviya started his journey at Bertelsmann in 2001 and has held various roles in the company.

Prior to his appointment as CEO, Malviya served as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and President of Penguin Random House in the United States.

Recent Appointment

• MD & CEO Tata Steel - TV Narendran (reappointment)
• Chief Operations Manager of Central Railway - Shyam Sunder Gupta (replace Mukul Jain)
• Secretary of the Department of Telecommunications - Neeraj Mittal (replace K Rajaraman)
• Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology - S Krishnan (replace Alkesh Kumar Sharma)
• Secretary in the Ministry of Mines - VL Kantha Rao
• Secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs - Umang Narula

Q.14. Who has won the men's event at the Diamond League Final 2023 in the USA?

संयुक्त राज्य अमेरिका में डायमंड लीग फ़ाइनल 2023 में पुरुषों की प्रतियोगिता किसने जीती है?

(a) Neeraj Chopra / नीरज चोपड़ा

(b) Jakub Vadleich /जैकब वडलीच

(c) Andrian Mardare / एंड्रियन मार्डारे

(d) Oliver Helander / ओलिवर हेलैंडर

(e) Lassi Etelätalo / लस्सी एटेलटालो

Exp. Neeraj Chopra to finish second at the Diamond League finals in Eugene

The Olympic and world champion javelin thrower, Neeraj Chopra finished second in the men's event at the Diamond League Final 2023 in Eugene, USA.

The Indian's best throw of 83.80 meter came in his second attempt.

Jakub Vadleich of the Czech Republic won his third Diamond League championship with a best throw of 84.24m.

Oliver Helander of Finland scored third position while Andrian Mardare of Moldovan scored fourth position and Curtis Thompson of USA scored fifth position in this event.

Vadlejch had previously won bronze at the Budapest Worlds and silver at the Tokyo Olympics behind Chopra.

Chopra had won the crown in 2022 with a best attempt of 88.44m.

Q.15. Which company has become MotoGP Bharat's title sponsor to take place at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida from September 22 to 24?

कौन सी कंपनी 22 से 24 सितंबर तक ग्रेटर नोएडा में बुद्ध इंटरनेशनल सर्किट में होने वाले मोटोजीपी भारत की शीर्षक प्रायोजक बन गई है?

(a) Hindustan Petroleum / हिंदुस्तान पेट्रोलियम

(b) Indian Oil Corporation / इंडियन ऑयल कॉर्पोरेशन

(c) Oil and Natural Gas Corporation / तेल और प्राकृतिक गैस निगम

(d) Reliance Petroleum / रिलायंस पेट्रोलियम

(e) Bharat Petroleum / भारत पेट्रोलियम

Exp. Indian Oil becomes MotoGP Bharat's title sponsor

MotoGP Bharat has roped in IndianOil as the title sponsor for the event scheduled to take place at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida from September 22 to 24.

42 teams and 84 riders will compete in the MotoGP, Moto2, and Moto3 categories at the MotoGP Bharat, which is being staged by Fair Street Sports in collaboration with Dorna Sports.

The Grand Prix of India will see some of the biggest names in Grand Prix motorcycle racing such as Francesco Bagnaia, Marc Marquez, Marco Bezzecchi, Brad Binder, Jack Miller, Jorge Martin and Fabio Quartararo, among others, in action.

Indian Oil is the top-ranked energy PSU in the country in the Fortune 500 of 2023.