Current Affairs Quiz 9th November 2023 Quiz

Exp. Adani Green crosses 8.4 GW mark, and becomes India’s largest RE company

Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) has become India’s largest green energy company as it reached the 8.4 gigawatt (GW) installed capacity mark.

Company executives told this paper that AGEL commissioned a 0.15 GW solar power park in Rajasthan, which helped it surpass the 5 GW capacity for solar and 8.4 GW overall.

Among its peers, ReNew is closest with 8.3 GW, followed by Tata Power and Greenko Energies with close to 4 GW capacity each. State-owned NTPC has a 3.2 GW green energy capacity.

AGEL’s management has guided that it plans to commission between 2.8 GW to 3 GW in the current financial year (FY24), with a capital expenditure of approximately Rs 14,000 crore in the current financial year.

Exp. Mundra becomes India’s first port to handle 16.1 million tonnes of Cargo

Adani Group’s flagship Mundra Port has set another record by handling 16.1 million tonnes of cargo in October, the highest-ever volume by any port in India.

It is the largest port in the country with 102 MMT of cargo handled so far this year with a good 9 percent year-on-year growth. The port crossed the 100 MMT mark in 210 days, surpassing the record of 231 days last year.

Mundra witnessed double-digit growth on a YoY basis for containers liquids and gas.

Further, it achieved another milestone of handling 4.2 million twenty-foot equivalents (TEUs) of containers in just 203 days, a feat achieved in 225 days in the previous financial year.

It added new cargo types such as Hydrolysis Pi Gas (HPG) to its portfolio. So far in 2023, it docked over 2,480 ships and serviced over 11,500 rakes

Mudra Port enjoys strong connectivity with the hinterland, particularly to the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC).

Exp. Nirmala Sitharaman launches 12 GST Seva Kendras in Vapi, Gujarat

Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman has inaugurated 12 Goods and Services Tax (GST) Seva Kendras in Vapi, Gujarat.

It showcasing the government’s commitment to enhancing the Ease of Doing Business in the country.

Additionally, she recognized and rewarded the participants of the “Mera Bill Mera Adhikaar” (MBMA) scheme, which promotes the culture of generating bills during sales and purchase transactions.

The newly launched GST Seva Kendras, located in key cities like Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Godhra, Vapi, Mehsana, Palanpur, Gandhinagar, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Junagadh, and Gandhidham, mark a substantial advancement in facilitating GST-related services.

Exp. Axis Bank signed MoU with IRMA to promote financial inclusion and literacy in India

Axis Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) to establish the Axis Bank Chair for Financial Inclusion at IRMA.

Constituted for a period of 5 years, the Chair will primarily focus on research, deepening industry-academia collaboration, driving thought leadership and policy advocacy.

The Chair’s overarching goal is to enhance and expedite the advancement of financial inclusion (FI) and financial literacy in India.

The Chair’s main goal is to lead and manage field-based research efforts that contribute to the development of national and state-level financial inclusion policies.

This involves crafting financial inclusion strategies tailored to India’s needs, enhancing the banking sector’s capabilities in the realm of financial inclusion, organizing workshops, roundtables, and symposia, and providing educational courses at the Institute.

Recent MoU in Banking Sector

• Kotak Bank partnered with NeSL to issue electronic Bank Guarantee
• IndusInd Bank partnered with Viamericas to enhance Fast Remit platform
• Karnataka Bank launches “Doorstep Gold loan facility” with SahiBandhu
• REC signs MoU with PNB to co-finance infrastructure projects
• Kotak Mutual Fund launches investor education program in partnership with CBSE

Exp. India ranks 2nd in employee well-being, Japan lowest

A recent global survey has ranked Japan lowest for employees’ well-being while keeping Turkey at the top and India just behind it, in the second spot.

The survey was conducted by McKinsey Health Institute, and it assessed employees’ physical, mental, social and spiritual health before arriving at the conclusions.

Japan scored a mere 25 percent in the poll. Turkey scored highest at 78 percent, followed by India at 76 percent and China at 75 percent, way higher than the global average of 57 percent.

The poll results were based on inputs received from 30,000 participants from nearly 30 countries.

Why Japan is at bottom?

• While Japan is known for offering long-term, reliable job opportunities to its workers, sometimes it makes it difficult for them to switch jobs and find better alternatives.
• Kopp, a board member of MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings Inc, was quoted by Bloomberg as saying that there was a tendency in Japan to rate themselves low.
• But he acknowledged, “There are significant issues in Japan with lack of satisfaction in the workplace, with significant levels of stress.

Exp. Santosh Kumar Jha set to be next CMD of Konkan Railway

Santosh Kumar Jha is set to be next Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL), a PSU under the Ministry of Railways.

He has been recommended for the post by the Public Enterprises Selection Panel (PESB) panel. Presently, he is serving as Director (Operations & Commercial) in the same organisation.

Jha has been recommended for the post of CMD of Konkan Railways from a list of five candidates, who were interviewed by the PESB selection panel in its selection meeting held on November 2.

Jha is an Indian Railway Traffic Services (IRTS) officer of 1992-batch. He holds M. Sc. (Geology) from Lucknow University and an MBA (Marketing) from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai.

He has rich experience over 28 years of experience in operations, infrastructure planning and business development. He has hands on experience as head of operations on major divisions of Indian Railways.

The Konkan Railway, a subsidiary of Indian Railways, is responsible for overseeing the development and maintenance of 741 kilometers of rail network along the Konkan coast.

Recent Appointment

• Chief Information Commissioner of India – Heeralal Samariya
• Surveyor General of India – Hitesh Kumar S Makwana
• Joint Director of CBI – Pravin Madhukar Pawar

• CEO & MD of Tata Power Renewable Energy – Deepesh Nanda
• Chairman of Armed Forces Tribunal – Justice Rajendra Menon

Exp. Deepesh Nanda appoints as CEO & MD of TPREL

Deepesh Nanda has been appointed as the CEO & MD of Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited (TPREL), a subsidiary of Tata Power.

He has succeeded Ashish Khanna who has moved as President, of Generation business.

Deepesh Nanda, with 28 years of extensive experience in the industry, brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to his new role. His professional journey has seen him excel in various roles across reputable companies like GE, Flowserve, and Tyco.

Recent Appointment

• CMD of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) – Koppu Sadashiv Murthy
• Lead WHO’s South-East Asia Region – Bangladesh’s Saima Wazed
• New speaker of US House – Mike Johnson
• Head coach of Indian women’s cricket team – Amol Muzumdar
• Director of General Hospital Services (Armed Forces) – Air Marshal Sadhna Saxena Nair

Exp. Deepika Kumari secured 2 Gold at National Games 2023

Former world No. 1 archer Deepika Kumari clinched two gold and a silver medal, while Asian Championships gold medal-winning shooter Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar bagged the top spot in 50m rifle 3-positions event at the National Games.

Deepika, representing Jharkhand, began her medal rush with a gold in the women’s individual category, and later paired with Mrinal Chauhan to secure the top podium finish in the mixed team category.

She also helped Jharkhand win silver in the women’s team event, where it lost to Haryana in the shootout.

Exp. Max Verstappen wins Brazilian Grand Prix 2023

Three-time champion Max Verstappen led from the start and won the Brazilian Grand Prix 2023.

Sergio Perez of Red Bull finished in fourth place, distancing himself from Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in one of the few competitions left this season — a position for runner-up.

Perez nearly took the podium position from third-place Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, but the Spaniard saw the checkered flag 0.053 seconds before the Mexican.

Recent Grand Prix Winner

• Brazilian Grand Prix 2023- Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (Netherlands)
• Italian Grand Prix 2023 – Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (Netherlands)
• Dutch Grand Prix 2023 – Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (Netherlands)
• Hungarian Grand Prix 2023 – Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (Netherlands)
• British Grand Prix 2023 – Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (Netherlands)
• Austrian Grand Prix 2023 – Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (Netherlands)
• Canadian Grand Prix 2023 – Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (Netherlands)
• Spanish Grand Prix 2023 – Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (Netherlands)
• Monaco Grand Prix 2023 – Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (Netherlands)
• Miami Grand Prix 2023 – Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (Netherlands)
• Australian Grand Prix 2023 – Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (Netherlands)
• Bahrain Grand Prix 2023 – Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (Netherlands)
• Japanese Grand Prix 2023 – Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (Netherlands)
• Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023 – Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez (Mexico)
• Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2023 – Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez (Mexico)
• Singapore Grand Prix 2023 – Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz (Spain)