Current Affairs Quiz 21st march 2023 Quiz

Exp. Aerator cum Dancing Fountains inaugurated in Srinagar

In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has inaugurated Aerator cum Dancing Fountains in the world-famous Dal Lake in Srinagar.

The Aerator cum Dancing Fountains is installed in six clusters along the periphery of the Dal Lake.

The project has been completed by J&K Lakes Conservation and Management Authority (LC&MA) at an estimated cost of 10 crore rupees, with an aim to attract tourists that will add beauty and grandeur to the Lake.

Exp. India on track to achieve energy independence by 2047

According to the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, India can achieve energy independence by its 100th year of independence in 2047.

The study titled “Pathways to Atmanirbhar Bharat” also notes India’s energy infrastructure needs an investment of USD3 trillion in the coming decades

The study shows that India’s energy independence pathway would involve the power sector installing more than 500 GW of non-fossil electricity generation capacity by 2030, a goal already announced by the government, followed by an 80 percent clean grid by 2040 and 90 percent by 2047.

It also reduces fossil fuel import expenditure by 90% ($240 billion) annually.

Exp. GAIL signed MoU with Shell Energy India on ethane sourcing

GAIL (India) has signed MoU with Shell Energy India Private Ltd to explore prospects of importing and handling of ethane and other hydrocarbons.

It is primarily used as petrochemical feedstock and is separated from the other components of natural gas in most well-developed gas fields.

It will be transported further through 14,830 km of natural gas pipelines to different demand centres.

Ethane is expected to be produced in large volumes in North America due to the shale gas revolution, which has generated an abundance of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Ethane is mainly used to produce ethylene, which is then used by the petrochemical industry to produce a range of intermediate products, most of which, are converted into plastics, packaging films, wire coatings, squeeze bottles and synthetic rubber, among others.

Recent MoUs

• India Post partnered with Shiprocket to benefit Startups and MSMEs
• BPCL signed an MoU with Brazilian oil company Petrobras to diversify crude oil sourcing
• FuelBuddy partnered with IOCL for doorstep delivery of automotive lubricants
• BEL signed an MoU with US based Triton EV to manufacture hydrogen fuel cells
• NHPC signed an agreement with IIT Jammu to undertaking R&D activities
• IIT Madras researchers develop Ocean Wave Energy converter named Sindhuja-I

Exp. Nagaland all set to host G20 Business Summit 2023 at Kohima

Nagaland is all set to host the G20 Business Summit 2023 at Kohima on 5 April 2023.

About 110 delegates are being expected to visit, of which about 100 will be from 28 G20 countries and the remaining from international organizations that are part of the grouping.

Business summit and cultural events, showcasing the strengths of Nagaland will be another highlight of the event.

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

• First Environment & Climate Sustainability Working Group (ESCWG) Meeting – Gandhinagar, Gujarat (27 – 29 March 2023)
• Civil 20 (C20) Inception Meeting – Nagpur, Maharashtra (20 – 22 March 2023)
• 2nd G20 Sustainable Financial Working Group (SFWG) Meeting – Udaipur in Rajasthan (21 -23 March 2023)
• 3rd Business 20 (B20) Meeting – Gangtok, Sikkim (16 March 2023)

Exp. 5th Poshan Pakhwada celebrations begins

The Ministry of Women and Child Development celebrates the fifth Poshan Pakhwada with various activities nationwide.

The 15-day celebration started on 20 March and will continue till 3 April 2023.

The Pakhwada aims to raise awareness about the importance of nutrition and promote healthy eating habits through “Jan Andolan and Jan Bhagidari”.

Theme 2023 – Nutrition for All: Together Towards a Healthy India

Poshan Abhiyaan, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 8, 2018, has been instrumental in ensuring people’s participation and bringing the discourse on nutrition to the forefront.

Poshan Abhiyan was launched with the aim to improve nutritional outcomes in a holistic manner.

Exp. L20 engagement group’s inception meeting concluded

Two-day Labour20 (L20) engagement group’s inception meeting, as part of India’s G20 presidency, concluded in Amritsar, Punjab.

Key issues included issues concerning the global workforce to provide direction to the G20 nations and institutions to focus on development reaching to the last person.

L20 event had delegates from previous presidency, Indonesia, and the next presidency, Brazil.

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

• Fourth Y20 Consultation Meeting – Pune, Maharashtra (11 March 2023)
• First Labour 20 (L20) Meeting – Amritsar, Punjab (19 – 20 March 2023)
• Second Business 20 (B20) Meeting – Aizwal, Mizoram (1 – 3 March 2023)
• G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting – New Delhi (1 – 2 March 2023)
• G20 Meeting of Anti-Corruption Working Group – Gurugram, Haryana (1 March 2023)

Exp. World Happiness Index 2023: India ranked 125; topped by Finland

India was placed at 125th position out of 137 countries in the World Happiness Report released by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Finland tops the ranking for the sixth year in a row with a score of 7.8 and other Norwegian countries like Denmark, Iceland are ranked second and third.

In the list of top 10, other countries are Israel, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and New Zealand.

Out of the 137 countries, Taliban-ruled Afghanistan has ranked last and is most unhappy according to the report. Other regions at the bottom of the list include Lebanon, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, etc.

For more than a year now, Russia and Ukraine are fighting each other but when it comes to happiness, the countries are ranked above India, i.e. 70th Russia and 92nd Ukraine.

The countries are ranked on the basis of healthy life expectancy, GDP per capita, social support, low corruption, generosity in a community where people look after each other, and freedom to make key life decisions.

Recent index

• Global Terrorism Index 2023 – India ranked 13th, topped by Afghanistan
• World Air Quality Report – Most polluted cities (1. Lahore, Pakistan 2. Hotan, China 3. Bhiwadi Rajasthan, 4. Delhi)
• Electoral Democracy Index 2023: India ranked 108; topped by Denmark

• International IP Index: India ranked 42 in 55 countries; topped by USA
• Global Fire Power Index 2023: India ranked 4th; topped by US
• Henley Passport Index 2023: India ranked 85; topped by Japan

Exp. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance launched ‘ICICI Pru Gold’

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has launched ICICI Pru Gold.

It is an innovative long-term savings product designed to enable customers to create an additional income stream to meet their diverse income requirements.

Besides receiving guaranteed lifelong income, the life cover component in the product provides financial security to the family.

This product is available in three variants i.e. Immediate Income, Immediate Income with Booster, and Deferred Income.

Recent Facilities Launched in Banks & Insurance Sector

• Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company Ltd launched Kotak Silver Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) Fund of Fund

• Suryodaya Small Finance Bank launched Blossom Women’s Savings Account
• Bank of Maharashtra launched its own private cloud platform ‘MAHABANK NAKSHATRA’
• HDFC Bank launched a pilot project for offline digital payments ‘OfflinePay’
• The New India Assurance has launched a “Pay As You Drive” (PAYD) policy for vehicles.

• AU Small Finance Bank has launched the SwipeUp platform.

Exp. Asian Kho Kho Championship for Men and Women begins in Assam

The 4th edition of the Asian Kho Kho Championship for Men and Women has begun at Baksa district in Assam on 20 March.

The event will conclude on the 23rd of this month. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and officials of the Kho Kho Federation have inaugurated the program.

The event is being organized by the Kho Kho Federation of India in association with the Assam Kho Kho Association and Bodoland Territorial Region government.

Altogether 9 countries – India, Bangladesh, South Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Bhutan, Iran, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia are participating in the competition. Over 700 players and officials will participate in the four-day event.

Exp. Rohan Bopanna becomes oldest tennis player to win ATP Masters

Rohan Bopanna became the oldest ATP Masters 1000 champion after winning the Indian Wells men’s doubles title at the age of 43 years.

Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden defeated Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands and Neil Skupski of Britain 6-3, 2-6, 10-8 in the final in California, United States.

Before Bopanna, Canadian Daniel Nestor was the oldest player to win an ATP Masters 1000 title after he clinched the 2015 Cincinnati Masters at the age of 42.

Bopanna has so far won 24 ATP titles, including five ATP Masters 1000 titles.

Exp. ISRO to conduct young scientist programme in Bengaluru

ISRO is set to organize its annual special programme for school children called Young Scientist Programme — ‘Yuva Vigyani Karyakram’ (YUVIKA).

Objective – To impart basic knowledge on space technology, space science, and space applications to young students in emerging trends in space science and technology.

The Indian space agency has chalked out this programme for students to “catch them young” and encourage more students to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)-based research or careers. Minimum participation will be ensured from each state or UT.

Registration for the student programme, which will be from May 15 to 26, will start from March 20 and students eligible for the programme can apply for it through the Isro portal (www.isro.gov.in/YUVIKA.html).

The YUVIKA programme was first announced on January 18, 2019, by the then Isro chief K Sivan and was inaugurated four months later on May 17, 2019.

About Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)

• Founded – 15 August 1969
• Headquarters – Bangalore, Karnataka
• Founder / 1st Chairman – Vikram Sarabhai
• 10th Chairman – S Somanath
• Aryabhata India’s first satellites Launched on 19 April 1975

Exp. Africa-India field training exercise AFINDEX-23 to be held in Pune

The 10-day Africa-India Field Training Exercise (AFINDEX 2023) will be organized in Pune from 21-30 March 2023.

The focus of the event will be on joint training and strengthening of existing defence ties among various nations and to evolve an institutionalised framework for better and efficient military-to-military cooperation to address emerging global challenges.

The exercise will promote the idea of Africa-India Militaries for Regional Unity (AMRUT).

Recent Exercise

• The 10-day Africa-India Field Training Exercise (AFINDEX 2023) will be organized in Pune from 21-30 March 2023

• 3rd edition of the Sea Dragon exercises started between India and USA
• The 13th edition EX Bold Kurukshetra, between India and Singapore was concluded at Jodhpur Military Station, India.
• The third edition of the multilateral exercise ‘La Perouse’ between navies of India, US, Japan, France, UK and Australia held in the Indian Ocean Region.
• 1st Joint Military Exercise FRINJEX-23 between Indian Army and French Army has been conducted at Pangode Military Station, Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.

Exp. 20 March – World Oral Health Day

World Oral Health Day is celebrated every year on March 20.

The day is celebrated to give people knowledge about ways to have good oral health.

The theme of this year’s World Oral Health Day is “Be Proud of Your Mouth.

World Oral Health Day was celebrated first on September 12, 2007, by the World Dental Federation (FDI).

It is the birth date of Dr. Charles Godon (founder of FDI).

Exp. 20 March- International Day of Happiness

International Day of Happiness is celebrated as an annual festival on 20 March.

Objective – To emphasize the importance of happiness and the overall well-being of individuals.

Theme 2023 – Be Mindful, Be Grateful, Be Kind

The United Nations started the event in 2013 as one way to mark the occasion is by sharing heartfelt greetings and quotes with loved ones, to inspire them to embrace happiness.