Current Affairs Quiz 5th April 2023 Quiz

Exp. PM Modi addresses 5th International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure

Prime MInister Narendra Modi has addressed the 5th International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (ICDRI) 2023 via a video message.

He called upon the world for an integrated approach to deal with the impact of disasters.

The summit is becoming an important forum for both advanced economies and developing economies, large and small countries.

CDRI’s theme for this year’s conference is ‘Delivering Resilient and Inclusive Infrastructure’.

Last year, the Infrastructure Resilience Accelerator Fund was announced and this 50-million-dollar fund has generated immense interest among developing countries.

PM Modi in News

• PM Modi addresses 5th International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure
• PM Modi flagged off Bhopal-New Delhi 11^th Vande Bharat Express
• PM Modi inaugurated CBI’s diamond jubilee celebrations
• PM Narendra Modi has launched an app called ‘Call Before u Dig’.
• PM Modi addressed the ‘One World TB Summit’ at Rudrakash Convention Centre, at Varanasi.

• PM Modi inaugurated new ITU Area Office and Innovation Center in New Delhi

• PM Modi unveiled Bharat 6G Vision Document & 6G Research and Development Test Bed and Call Before U dig App.

Exp. Fourth B20 conference of the Northeast Region begins in Kohima

Nagaland is hosting the fourth and final event of B20 being organized in the north-east region, which is the official G20 dialogue forum for the global business community.

The B20 conference scheduled to be held in Kohima from April 4-6 will witness 64 overseas delegates from 29 countries.

The conferences would aid the development of critical sectors of the economy in the North East and would facilitate economic growth.

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

• 4th Business 20 (B20) Meeting – Kohima, Nagaland (4 – 6 April 2023)
• 3rd Business 20 (B20) Meeting – Gangtok, Sikkim (16 March 2023)
• 2nd Business 20 (B20) Meeting – Aizwal, Mizoram (1 – 3 March 2023)
• 1st Business 20 (B20) Meeting – Imphal, Manipur (22 – 24 January 2023)

Exp. India become world’s second-largest solar manufacturer by 2026

According to the new joint report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and JMK Research and Analytics, India could become the world’s second-largest solar photovoltaic manufacturer by 2026, after China.

India’s cumulative module manufacturing nameplate capacity more than doubled from 18GW in March 2022 to 38GW in March 2023.

In terms of upcoming PV manufacturing installations, Gujarat is the leading state in India. It accounts for nearly 57% of all the upcoming PV manufacturing capacity.

Some major reasons manufacturers chose Gujarat for setting up their PV fabrication facilities include cheaper industrial electricity prices and easy access to ports for imports and exports.

Exp. Telangana govt launches ‘cool roof’ policy to beat the heat

Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister K T Rama Rao launched the Telangana Cool Roof Policy 2023-28 to make the state more thermally comfortable and heat-resilient by reducing the impact of the urban heat island effect and heat stress and also to bring down energy consumption.

A cool roof, which uses special paints or tile cover, is designed to reflect more sunlight than a conventional roof, thus reducing heat retention and cooling indoor spaces.

Telangana Cool Roof Policy 2023-28 suggests the adoption of a cool roof as a measure for implementation to build resilience against extreme heat.

Telangana became the first state to introduce a cool roof policy, having incorporated it in building permission applications.

Cool roofs are now mandatory for all government as well as commercial buildings irrespective of their site area or built-up area.

A cool roof is mandatory for residential buildings that have a plot area of 600 sq yards or more. For those with a plot area of 600 sq yards or less, it is optional.

The government has set a modest target of covering 5 sq km in Hyderabad and 2.5 sq km in the rest of the state till March 2024.

About Telangana

• Established – 2 June 2014
• Capital – Hyderabad
• Chief Minister – K. Chandrashekar Rao
• Governor – Tamilisai Soundararajan

Exp. India GDP growth likely to moderate to 6.3% in FY24: World Bank

According to World Bank, India GDP growth is expected to moderate to 6.3 percent in FY24 due to shrinkage in consumption on the back of slower income.

The World Bank has lowered its forecast for India’s economic growth in the current fiscal year from 6.6%.

The World Bank estimated last fiscal year’s growth at 6.9%.

To tame inflation, the Reserve Bank of India has raised interest rates by 250 basis points since May 2022.

Updated GDP List

• World Bank – 6.3% (FY24)
• MOODY’S. – 5.5% (FY23)
• S&P – 7% (FY23), 6% (FY24)
• IMF – 6.1% (FY23), 6.8% (FY24)
• ADB – 7% (FY23), 7.2% (FY24)
• RBI – 6.8% (FY23)
• India Ratings – 6.9% (FY23)
• FITCH RATING – 7% (FY23), 6.7% (FY24)
• FICCI – 7% (FY23), 6.4% (FY24)
• OECD – 6.6% (FY23), 5.7% (FY24)
• CRISIL – 6% (FY24)
• UN – 5.8% (FY23)
• NSO – 7%
• SBI – 6.8% (FY23)
• Morgan Stanley – 7.2% (FY23), 6.4%(FY24)
• Nomura – 7.2% (FY23)
• UNTCAD – 5.7% (FY23)
• Goldman Sachs – 5.9% (FY23)

Exp. Aditya Birla Health Insurance partnered with UCO Bank for bancassurance

Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co Ltd (ABHICL), the health insurance joint venture of Aditya Birla Capital Ltd. (ABCL) has announced its bancassurance partnership with UCO Bank, for the distribution of health insurance products through the bank’s branches across India.

This partnership will enable ABHICL to expand its national footprint by leveraging UCO Bank’s widely distributed network of 3,164 branches and reach out to more than 40 million customers of the bank across India.

With this association, UCO Bank’s customers and employees will have access to ABHICL’s comprehensive suite of health-first insurance solutions.

With the UCO Bank partnership, ABHICL now has 17 bancassurance partners with over 80,000 direct selling agents, across the country.

CEO of ABHICL – Mayank Bathwal.

About United Commercial Bank (UCO) Bank

• Founded – 1943
• Headquarters – Kolkata
• MD & CEO – Soma Shankar Prasad
• Tagline – Honours your Trust
• Canara Bank merged with UCO Bank, Syndicate Bank, Indian Overseas Bank

Recent MoUs Signed in Banking Sector

• India Post Payments Bank in collaboration with Airtel launched WhatsApp Banking Services
• IDFC First Bank joined hands with Crunchfish to facilitate offline payments
• Axis Bank partnered with ITC to offer rural lending products
• YES Bank, Aadhar Housing Finance enter into co-lending partnership
• Ujivan Small Finance Bank partnered with Max Life Insurance to offer life insurance offerings to customers.

Exp. Public sector banks transfer Rs 35,012 crore unclaimed deposits to RBI

The Public sector banks (PSBs) have transferred unclaimed deposits of Rs 35,012 crore as of February 2023 to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

These deposits have not been operated for 10 years or more.

SBI tops the list with an unclaimed amount of Rs 8,086 crore, while Punjab National Bank has Rs 5,340 crore and Canara Bank has Rs 4,558 crore.

These unclaimed deposits belong to 10.24 crore accounts transferred to the RBI.

Banks have been advised by RBI to play a more proactive role in finding the whereabouts of the account holders whose accounts have remained inoperative.

Exp. Axis Bank launches business management solution for merchants

Axis Bank and VISA have jointly launched a mobile application, ‘Digital Dukaan’ to empower merchants to accept payments through various digital modes.

The app ‘Digital Dukaan’ has been specifically designed to address business requirements such as accepting digital payments, inventory management and billing, among others.

Digital Dukaan will also enable merchants to set up an online store and grow their business effortlessly by creating new channels.

Recent Facilities Launched in Banks & Insurance Sector

• Axis Bank launched ‘MicroPay’ based on ‘Pin on Mobile’ technology for digital payments
• ICICI Prudential Life Insurance launched ‘ICICI Pru Gold’

• 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.

About Axis Bank

• Founded – 1993
• Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Chairman – Rakesh Makhija
• MD & CEO – Amitabh Chaudhary
• Tagline – Badhti Ka naam Zindagi

Exp. Vice Admiral Atul Anand, AVSM, VSM has assumed charge as the Director General Naval Operations (DGNO).

Vice Admiral Atul Anand was commissioned on January 1 1988 into the Executive Branch of the Indian Navy.

A recipient of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal, he has held several key appointments in his naval career including the command of torpedo recovery vessel IN TRV A72, missile boat INS Chatak, corvette INS Khukri and the destroyer INS Mumbai.

Recent Appointment in Defence Sector

• Director General Naval Operations (DGNO) – Vice Admiral Atul Anand
• Vice Chief of Naval Staff – Vice Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh
• Vice Chief of Indian Air Force – Air Marshal Amanpreet Singh
• Director General of Indian Coast Guard – Virender Singh Pathania
• Director General of Indian Army – General Manoj Pande
• Director General of Indian Air Force – Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari
• Director General of Indian Navy – Admiral R. Hari Kumar

Exp. Sudha Shivkumar becomes President of FICCI Ladies Organization

Chennai-based Sudha Shivkumar has assumed the charge as the 40th president of the FICCI Ladies Organization (FLO) at the 39th annual session.

She is a lawyer and investment banker by profession and presently serving as a director at auto ancillaries.

She was the Chairperson of the FLO Chennai Chapter in 2016-17.

FLO is the oldest women-led and women-centric business chamber in Southeast Asia.

FLO at present has 19 chapters across India with about 3,000 business women as its members.

Recent Appointment

• CMD of Power Trading Corporation of India (PTC) Limited – Rajib K Mishra
• An expert member of National Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Board – Dr. RG Patel
• CEO of Hero MotoCorp – Niranjan Gupta
• President of ASSOCHAM – Ajay Singh
• Vice President of ASSOCHAM – Sanjay Nair

Exp. NASA astronaut Christina Koch becomes the first woman to go around the moon

The American Space Agency, NASA has selected the first woman astronaut, Christina Koch for its Artemis II mission.

Other crew members: Victor Glover (First Black Astronaut) and Reid Wiseman of NASA, and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

The team of four astronauts will fly around the moon for a 10-day mission next year.

NASA has announced the four astronauts who will go to lunar orbit and return with the Artemis 2 mission.

It is part of NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to land the first woman and the next man on the moon by 2024.

About Artemis 2 mission

• The Artemis 1 mission will allow NASA to test the foundation of its latest human space exploration capabilities.
• This includes the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the Orion spacecraft, and all associated ground systems.
• Artemis 2 will be the first crewed mission to test all of these.

Exp. Gregoria Tunjung won Spain Masters women’s title 2023

Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung has clinched the Women’s title in the Spain Masters 2023 held in Madrid, Spain.

She defeated Indian Badminton player PV Sindhu.

While Japanese badminton player, Kenta Nishimoto won the men’s title.

Men’s doubles – He Jiting & Zhou Haodong (China)

Women’s doubles – Liu Shengshu & Tan Ning (China)

Mixed doubles – Mathias Christiansen & Alexandra Boje (Denmark)

Exp. 4 April – International Day for Mine Awareness And Assistance in Mine Action

International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action is observed every year on April 4.

Objective – To raise awareness against explosive mines and gather assistance towards their eradication.

The mine action community plays a significant role towards achieving the mine action goals and it is led by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS).

Theme 20223 – Mine Action Cannot Wait

In 1997, the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention was established for signature which first led the campaign against mines and 164 countries have ratified it since then.

Later, on December 8, 2005, the UN General Assembly declared April 4 as the International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance for Mine Action every year globally.

Exp. 5 April – National Maritime Day

National Maritime Day is celebrated every year on April 5 across the country to commemorate the sailing of the first Indian commercial vessel, SS Loyalty. The ship sailed from Mumbai to London.

National Maritime Day is meant to appreciate the contribution of maritime trade to the growth of the Indian economy and the significance of India’s strategic location in international trade.

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways started this day in 1964. This year will mark the 60th National Maritime Day.

Exp. Sahitya Akademi winner Sarah Thomas passes away

Noted author Sara Thomas passed away at the age of 88.

She has written 17 novels and more than 100 short stories.

Her noted work ‘Narmadipudava’ won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award in 1979.

The first novel was ‘Jeevitham Enna Nathi’. Sarah Thomas’s novel ‘Muripadukal’ was made into a movie by PA Bakker called ‘Manimuzhakkam’. Her novels Asthamayam, Pavizhamuthu, and Archana have also been adapted into films.

She is a two-time recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award.

She was also awarded the academy’s award in 2010 for her overall contribution to Malayalam literature.