Current Affairs Quiz 22nd and 23rd July 2023 Quiz

Exp. Finance Minister inaugurates GST Bhawan at Agartala

Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman has inaugurated the state’s lone Goods and Service Tax (GST) Bhavan at Agartala, Tripura.

The GST Bhawan is a project of the CGST, CX and Customs Office, Agartala, Guwahati Zone, under the Central Board for Indirect Taxes (CBIC) in Agartala. It is located near Netaji Chowmuhani on Mantri Bari Road in Agartala.

The project sits at Mantri Bari Road, Agartala, and has quick and easy access to all taxpayers.

The inauguration of the project in Amrit Kaal during the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav showcases the strength of New India.

Built at Rs 28 crore, the GST Bhawan has eight floors, including the ground floor, and is equipped with facilities and space for support and training in GST-related issues.

Before GST was introduced, Tripura, annually received only Rs 4.21 crore as central sales tax collection.

However, since then, the state has come a long way in growth of businesses and subsequent revenue generation and in 2022-23, Tripura collected Rs 982.5 crore as interstate GST, within a matter of five-six years.

Exp. Gujarat to get country’s 1st ‘Satellite Network Portal Site’

The Gujarat government through its Department of Science and Technology (DST) has signed an MoU with OneWeb India Communications Pvt Ltd for setting up a ‘satellite network portal site’ — a first for India — at Mehsana in Gujarat.

The satellite network portal will be set up at two places in Jotana taluka of Mehsana district with an estimated cost of over Rs 100 crores for Phase 1.

Satellite broadband technology or satellite telephony is not a new concept and with satellite constellations in the low Earth orbit (LEO) gaining traction with StarLink, Kuiper and OneWeb among many others, the world is increasingly moving towards relying on LEO satellite communications.

LEO satellites operate at an altitude of 500 to 1,200 km, making it ripe for high-speed and low latency — a lower time lag between a user seeking data, and the server sending that data, compared to geostationary Earth orbit positioned satellites.

OneWeb has 648 satellites orbiting at 1,000-1,200 km making 13 orbits per day, covering the entire globe.

As per the financial year 2021-2022 annual report of OneWeb, it had nine operational SNP sites serving the live coverage area and at the time, had agreements to build 38 SNPs in 27 different countries.

OneWeb India Communications plans to invest up to Rs 100 crore in this project, which would, according to the Gujarat government, create 500 direct and indirect jobs, including jobs requiring telecom, electronics and instrumentation engineers.

About Gujarat

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

Exp. President to inaugurate two-day Festival of Libraries in New Delhi

President of India Droupadi Murmu will inaugurate the unique ‘Festival of Libraries 2023’, a two-day event to be held on 5th – 6th August 2023 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

The festival is being organized by the Union Ministry of Culture.

The festival will focus on the promotion of both physical and digital libraries.

The Minister for Law and Justice (Independent Charge) and Minister of State for Culture, and Parliamentary Affairs Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, unveiled the schedule of, the “Festival of Libraries” in New Delhi.

The festival will also highlight iconic libraries from across the world in order to initiate a conversation on the modernization and digitization of libraries in India.

Libraries in physical mode have occupied a place of pride in our country and we want to revive the reading culture among the people.

Exp. India loses 1.5 million lives every year: FICCI-EY report

Road accidents claim around 1.5 million lives in India every year, contributing 11 percent to the total number of such fatalities globally, according to a FICCI-EY report.

Globally, at least one life is lost every 24 seconds due to road traffic injury, according to report.

As per the World Health Organization (WHO), road crash is the 8th leading cause of death with more than 1.3 billion deaths and 50 million serious injuries. It is the leading cause of death amongst youth and kids aged 5 to 29 years.

1st rank in road fatalities is held by India (11 percent share in the world). Every year India loses 1.5 million lives in road crashes.

India is a signatory to the Brasilia Declaration which aims to half the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic crashes by 2030.

The report was released by Tukuni Sahu, Minister for Transport, Water Resources & Commerce, Government of Odisha, in the national capital.

Exp. Gujarat to host 69th edition of Filmfare Awards in 2024

Gujarat will host the 69th edition of the Filmfare Awards in 2024.

The state government’s Tourism Corporation signed an MoU with Worldwide Media to host the event and promote Gujarat as a film destination.

Gujarat will host the Filmfare Awards – annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India – for the first time and through that the state will be promoted as a film destination.

The Gujarat government aims to promote the state as a film destination, and this event will provide the right environment for that effort. This event will boost tourism and the local economy of the state.

About Gujarat

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

Exp. Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurates Global Food Regulators Summit 2023

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya has inaugurated the first Global Food Regulators Summit 2023.

The two-day Summit organized by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India aims to create a global platform for regulators on enhancing food safety systems.

The summit envisages developing a cohesive approach to food safety policy frameworks.

This conference perfectly aligns with and complements the theme of this year’s India’s G20 Presidency: “Vasudev Kutumbhakam: One Earth, One Nation”.  

Exp. India & Sri Lanka sign MoU on cooperation in field of renewable energy

India and Sri Lanka have signed an MoU on cooperation in renewable energy and another one for economic development projects in the Trincomalee district of Sri Lanka.

Both countries also issued a Joint Declaration of Intent in the field of Animal Husbandry & Dairying & Network to Network Agreement between NPCI International Payments Limited and Lanka Pay for UPI application acceptance in Sri Lanka.

This year both countries are celebrating the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations. Apart from this, the Tamil community of Indian origin is completing 200 years of its arrival in Sri Lanka.

About Sri Lanka

• Legislative capital – Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
• Executive and Judicial capital – Colombo
• Currency – Sri Lankan rupee
• President – Ranil Wickremesinghe
• Prime Minister – Dinesh Gunawardena

Recently India signed MoUs with others countries

• India & Singapore sign MoU to co-operate on public administration
• Union govt signs an MoU with Tanzania to set up IIT Madras campus
• Israel ties up with IIT-M to set up water technology centre
• India signed an MoU with Israel on Industrial R&D Cooperation
• India signed air service agreement with Guyana to facilitate easier travel between the two nations.

Exp. Algeria applies to Join BRICS Bank

Algeria has applied to join the BRICS group and submitted a request to become a shareholder member of the BRICS Bank with an amount of $1.5 billion.

Algeria had sought to join the BRICS to open new economic opportunities.

The North African country is rich in oil and gas resources and seeking to diversify its economy and strengthen its partnership with countries such as China.

More than 40 countries have expressed interested in joining the BRICS group of nations.

Argentina, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Comoros, Gabon, and Kazakhstan are among countries that expressed interest.

China will also invest $36 billion in Algeria across sectors including manufacturing, new technology, the knowledge economy, transport, and agriculture.

The BRICS group of nations comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It accounts for more than 40% of the world’s population and about 26% of the global economy.

About Algeria

• Capital- Algiers
• Official languages- Arabic, Tamazight
• Currency- Algerian Dinar
• Continent- Africa
• President- Abdelmadjid Tebboune

Exp. UAE leads the world in mobile internet speed in June

According to the Speedtest Global Index published by Ookla, UAE has ranked first globally in mobile internet speed for the month of June with a download speed of 204.24 Mbps and an upload speed of 22.72 Mbps.

Ookla is a web service that provides analysis of Internet access performance metrics.

According to the index, the UAE topped the global rankings during the first half of 2023 (January, February, March, May, and June), while it ranked second in April.

As for fixed broadband speed, the UAE ranked second globally and first regionally and among Arab countries in June, with a download speed of 239.2 Mbps. Singapore topped the list with a speed of 247.29 Mbps.

About United Arab Emirates (UAE)

• Capital – Abu Dhabi
• Currency – Dirham
• President – Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
• Prime Minister – Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
• Official language -Arabic

Exp. Lokesh M appoints as CEO of NOIDA

After serving for a long-time as Noida Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ritu Maheshwari has been removed from the position and transferred to Agra where she has been appointed as the commissioner.

Kanpur’s divisional commissioner Lokesh M will replace Maheshwari.

A 2003-batch IAS officer of the UP cadre, Maheshwari had been serving as Noida CEO since July 2019 after holding the post of the Ghaziabad district magistrate. She is also the Managing Director of Noida Metro Rail Corporation.

Lokesh M is a 2005-batch IAS officer, who was appointed as Kanpur Commissioner on May 31. Earlier, he was Saharanpur’s Divisional Commissioner for around 22 months.

Before that, he served as District Magistrate and collector of Mainpuri, Kushinagar, Etah, Ghazipur, Amroha and Kaushambi districts from 2009 to 2016.

Recent Appointment

• DG of Railway Protection Force – Manoj Yadava (replace Sanjay Chander)
• MD and CEO of Invest India – Nivriti Rai (replace Manmeet K Nanda)
• President of Cement Manufacturers’ Association (CMA) – Neeraj Akhoury (replace K C Jhanwar)
• Vice President of Cement Manufacturers’ Association (CMA) – Parth Jindal
• MD of Michelin India – Shantanu Deshpande

Exp. Adrian Mardell appointed as CEO of Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), a unit of Indian automaker Tata Motors has appointed interim boss Adrian Mardell as chief executive officer for a three-year term.

The carmaker also made acting Chief Financial Officer Richard Molyneux’s role permanent.

Mardell, a JLR veteran, was appointed to the interim role in November when Thierry Bollore resigned due to personal reasons.

Adrian Mardell’s journey with Jaguar Land Rover began in 1990, and he held various financial positions within the company until 2008.

Recent Appointment

• Chairman of UP Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) – Arvind Kumar (replace Raj Pratap Singh)
• President of NAREDCO Delhi Chapter – Harshvardhan Bansal
• First woman director of IIT, to led IIT Zanzibar – Preeti Aghalayam
• CMD of India Tobacco Company Limited (ITC Ltd) – Sanjiv Puri (reappointment)
• President of the Olympic Council of Asia – Sheikh Talal Fahd Al Ahmad Al Sabah (Kuwait)

Exp. Shah Rukh Khan appointed brand ambassador of ICC World Cup 2023

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan was appointed as the brand ambassador of ICC World Cup 2023.

He launched the World Cup 2023 campaign ‘It takes one day’ in his iconic voiceover.

The ICC World Cup 2023 is scheduled to be held in India from 5 October to 19 November 2023.

A total of 10 teams will participate in the tournament, with India, Afghanistan, Australia, England, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa qualifying directly based on their performance in the 2020–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League.

The remaining two teams will be determined through the ongoing World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe.

The 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup will be the 13th edition of the tournament.

Exp. Virat Kohli becomes 5th highest run-scorer in international cricket

Virat Kohli has surpassed South Africa’s Jacques Kallis to become the fifth-highest run-scorer in international cricket.

Kohli achieved this upward movement in the batting charts during India’s second Test against West Indies at Port of Spain.

On the first day of the match, which is also his 500th international game.

As of now, Virat has 25,548 runs to his name in 559 innings of 500 matches.

He has a batting average of 53.67 and has scored 76 centuries and 132 fifties.

Q.14. World Brain Day is observed every year on which day?

विश्व मस्तिष्क दिवस हर वर्ष किस दिन मनाया जाता है?

(a) 22 July / 22 जुलाई

(b) 23 July / 23 जुलाई

(c) 25July / 25 जुलाई

(d) 26 July / 26 जुलाई

(e) 27 July / 27 जुलाई

Exp. 22 July - World Brain Day

World Brain Day is observed every year on 22 July.

Objective -   This day aims to increase public awareness of brain health and disorders to widen access and reduce equity disparities.

Theme 2023 - Brain Health and Disability: Leave No One Behind

The World Federation of Neurology (WFN) was founded on July 22, 1957. The Public Awareness and Advocacy Committee put up a suggestion that led to the creation of "World Brain Day" on July 22.

This suggestion was presented during the World Congress of Neurology (WCN) Council of participants meeting on September 22, 2013, and the participants heartily welcomed it.

Following this enthusiastic response, the Board of Trustees gave the idea its blessing at their meeting in February 2014, making it an annual celebration that would take place on the same day every year.

Q.15. Parents’ Day is celebrated every year on which day?

माता-पिता दिवस प्रत्येक वर्ष किस दिन मनाया जाता है?

(a) Fourth Saturday of July / जुलाई का चौथा शनिवार

(b) Fourth Sunday of July / जुलाई का चौथा रविवार

(c) Fourth Monday of July / जुलाई का चौथा सोमवार

(d) Fourth Tuesday of July / जुलाई का चौथा मंगलवार

(e) Fourth Friday of July / जुलाई का चौथा शुक्रवार

Exp. 23 July - Parents' Day

Parents’ Day is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of July every year in the United States and other parts of the world. This year the day will be celebrated on July 23.

It is a unique occasion that celebrates the role of parents in the development of a child and their life.

The day is celebrated with great joy and enthusiasm to celebrate the foundation of a family and the ones who are there for their kid regardless of the situation.

National Parents' Day was established in the US in 1994 under the presidency of Bill Clinton.

The day was established for the upliftment and support of the role of parents in the rearing of children.