Daily GK and Current Affairs Quiz – 12th April 2023

Correct Answer:  A. Cost Inflation Index

Explanation:  The Income Tax Department has notified the Cost Inflation Index (CII) for the current fiscal beginning April 2023, for calculating long-term capital gains arising from the sale of immovable property, securities, and jewelry. CII is used by taxpayers to compute gains arising out of the sale of capital assets after adjusting for inflation. The Cost Inflation Index for FY 2023-24 relevant to AY 2024-25 stood at 348. CII is notified under the Income-tax Act, 1961 every year.

Correct Answer:  D. Himachal Pradesh government

Explanation:  The economy of Himachal Pradesh is predominantly reliant on agriculture and animal husbandry. The rural households in the state consider livestock care as a crucial aspect, given the livestock population of approximately 4.41 million. The state government has initiated a project named Sanjeevani to uplift the livelihood of small dairy farmers and livestock owners. The project aims to enhance the lives of farmers by providing them with convenient and high-quality livestock care services at their doorstep, utilizing telemedicine and technology. This will aid in reducing the turnaround time for services and potentially prevent outbreaks.

The Animal Husbandry Department of Himachal Pradesh has collaborated with Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd. (BFIL), a subsidiary of IndusInd Bank, for the National Animal Disease Control Programme-Mobile Veterinary Van (NADCP-AHD-MVU) project. The collaboration aims to provide doorstep livestock care through a toll-free telephone number that will be operational soon. The project intends to ensure the timely delivery of quality treatment to livestock, saving farmers the additional expenses of traveling for availing veterinary services like artificial insemination, medicines, vaccination, surgery, and infertility testing.

Correct Answer:  B. 1 %

Explanation:  According to information by a Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC) regarding zero insurance coverage of livestock in 2022-23, the Centre is considering a comprehensive livestock insurance scheme modelling the Prime Minister’s Fasal Bima Yojana. At present, less than 1% of the country’s cattle population is insured and the average yearly premium is 4.5% of the insured amount. The report also highlighted that not even a single livestock was insured during 2022-23, whereas during 2021-22, 1, 74,061 animals were insured. The Committee asked Department of Animal Husbandry to explore the possibility of developing an App-based Livestock Insurance facility for livestock owners. Committee noted that high policy premium rates and general economic conditions of farmers are reasons for lower enrolment in such schemes.

About Livestock Insurance scheme:

• The Livestock Insurance Scheme, a centrally sponsored scheme was implemented on a pilot basis during 2005-06 and 2006-07.
• The scheme was later implemented on a regular basis from 2008-09 in 100 newly selected districts of the country.
• The scheme was later subsumed under the Sub-mission on ‘Innovation and Extension: on livestock development of National Livestock Mission’.
• Coverage: The scheme is implemented in all the districts of the Country from 21.05.2014.
• Animals covered: The indigenous/crossbred milch animals, pack animals (Horses, Donkey, Mules, Camels, Ponies and Cattle/Buffalo Males), and Other Livestock (Goat, Sheep, Pigs, Rabbit, Yak and Mithun etc.) are covered under the purview of this component.

Correct Answer:  C. David Warner

Explanation:  During a match against Rajasthan Royals at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati, Delhi Capitals’ captain David Warner became the fastest batsman to reach 6000 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He is now the third player to achieve this feat after Virat Kohli from Royal Challengers Bangalore and Shikhar Dhawan, captain of Punjab Kings. It took Warner 165 innings to reach this milestone, while Kohli and Dhawan achieved it in 188 and 199 innings respectively.

David Warner, who has been the recipient of the Orange Cap three times in IPL 2015, 2017 and 2019, reached the milestone of 6000 runs with a boundary during a match against Rajasthan Royals at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati. He achieved this feat by pulling a short ball from Trent Boult behind square for four. Warner completed his half-century off 44 balls with a four off Ravichandran Ashwin. This was Warner’s 57th fifty in the IPL, and he has also scored four centuries in the tournament. Additionally, he also became the highest run-scorer of the season during this innings

Correct Answer:  C. Anshuman Singhania

Explanation:  The Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association has announced that Anshuman Singhania, who is currently serving as the Managing Director of JK Tyre & Industries Ltd, has been chosen as its new Chairman. Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA) said Arnab Banerjee, Managing Director & CEO of CEAT Ltd has taken over as the Vice-Chairman. Singhania, a graduate from Oxford Brookes University, the UK and an alumnus of London Business School, has held several positions in planning, production, product development, finance, sales and marketing, among others, besides playing a key role in implementing the latest technologies in the manufacturing process at JK Tyre, it added. Similarly, Banerjee has held several roles and has been the Chief Operating Officer at CEAT since 2018 prior to taking over his current role. He is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School, IIM Kolkata and IIT Kharagpur, ATMA said.

Correct Answer:  C. Rs 150 crore

Explanation:  Asian Development Bank (ADB) proposes to subscribe to non-convertible debentures worth Rs 150 crore of Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd. to enhance Delhi’s power distribution through grid enhancements. Besides, the Asian Development Bank agreed to provide a $2 million grant to partially finance the purchase and integration of a pilot battery energy storage system. ADB headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Philippines.

Correct Answer:  B. International Energy Agency

Explanation:  India Signs MoU with the International Energy Agency (IEA) to Enhance Innovation for Clean Energy Transition. As a joint program under Mission Innovation, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), India’s Ministry of Science and Technology, and the International Energy Agency (IEA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which aims at enhancing innovation for the clean energy transition. The parties signed the agreement in New Delhi.

Correct Answer:  A. RBI

Explanation:   The Reserve Bank of India launched the 61st round of its Order Books, Inventories, and Capacity Utilisation Survey (OBICUS). The survey is for the reference period January – March 2023 (Q4:2022-23). The Reserve Bank has been conducting the Order Books, Inventories, and Capacity Utilisation Survey (OBICUS) of the manufacturing sector on a quarterly basis since 2008. The information collected in the survey includes quantitative data on new orders received during the reference quarter, backlog of orders at the beginning of the quarter, pending orders at the end of the quarter, total inventories with a breakup between finished goods (FG), work-in-progress (WiP) and raw material (RM) inventories at the end of the quarter, item-wise production in terms of quantity and value during the quarter . The survey provides valuable input for monetary policy formulation.

Correct Answer:  C. Philippines

Explanation:  The United States and the Philippines, on 11 April 2023, launched their largest combat exercises in decades. It will involve live-fire drills, including a boat-sinking rocket assault in waters across the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. The annual drills by the longtime treaty allies called Balikatan-Tagalog for shoulder-to-shoulder will run up to April 28, 2023. It will be the latest display of American firepower in Asia. The Biden administration has been strengthening an arc of alliances in the Indo-Pacific to better counter China, including in a possible confrontation over Taiwan.

Correct Answer:  C. 12th April

Explanation:  The International Day of Human Space Flight is observed annually on April 12th to commemorate the beginning of human space exploration and acknowledge the significant contribution of space science and technology in achieving the peaceful use of outer space. The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution on April 7, 2011, designating April 12th as the International Day of Human Space Flight. This day is dedicated to honoring the first human to orbit the Earth, a Russian cosmonaut, on April 12th, 1961.

Correct Answer:  B. 5.9%

Explanation:  The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast for the financial year 2023-24, lowering it by 20 basis points to 5.9 percent. This latest forecast is slightly below the Reserve Bank of India’s projection of 6.4 percent. Despite the downward revision, India is still projected to be the fastest-growing major economy in the world. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently released its World Economic Outlook report, in which it has revised its forecast for India’s retail inflation and growth rate for the fiscal year 2024-25. The IMF now expects India’s retail inflation to be at 4.9% for the fiscal year 2023-24 and 4.4% for the fiscal year 2024-25.

• The latest World Economic Outlook figures released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reveal that India remains the fastest-growing economy in the world, despite a significant drop in growth rate projections from 6.8% in 2022 to 5.9% in 2023. In contrast, China’s growth rateis projected to be 5.2% in 2023 and 4.5% in 2024, against a growth rate of 3% in 2022.
• While India’s growth rate projection for the next fiscal year has been lowered, it is still higher than most other major economies in the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted economic growth across the globe, and the IMF has lowered its growth projections for the global economyas well, predicting a growth rate of 2.8% this year and 3% in 2024, down 10 basis points each from its January forecasts.

Correct Answer:  B. Nepal

Explanation:  Nepal and India are preparing to sign an agreement to allow cross-border digital payments through e-wallets, a move that is expected to boost trade and tourism between the two countries by eliminating currency exchange issues. The accord, expected to be signed during Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s visit to India, will allow Indian tourists in Nepal to make digital payments through Indian e-wallets like BharatPe, PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm. The two countries have agreed to the deal, and officials from both countries are awaiting signatures. The launch of digital payment services will eliminate the hassle of carrying large amounts of cash for Indian tourists and businessmen in Nepal and is expected to increase inter-operable real-time person-to-person (P2P) and merchant payment transactions (P2M) in Nepal.

Last year, the National Payment Corporation of India and its international arm International Payments collaborated with Gateway Payment Service and Manam Infotech to deploy a unified payment interface in Nepal, providing a cross-border payment system for the first time in Nepal based on inter-operable and mobile-first technology. The system will facilitate payments for larger digital goods and enhance inter-operable real-time P2P and P2M payment transactions in Nepal. Despite being close neighbours, financial transactions between Nepal and India have been complex, but this agreement will make it simpler for Indian tourists to travel to Nepal and boost Nepal’s travel and tourism industry.

Correct Answer:  C. Japan

Explanation:  A team of nuclear physicists of Japan has discovered a previously unknown uranium isotope with atomic number 92 and mass 241. The study has been published in the journal Physical Review Letters and the new isotope has been named Uranium-241. To discover uranium-241, researchers accelerated uranium-238 nuclei into plutonium-198 nuclei using the KEK Isotope Separation System (KISS). In a process called multinucleon transfer, two isotopes exchange protons and neutrons, resulting in nuclear fragments with different isotopes. The researchers identified uranium-241 and measured the mass of its nuclei using time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Theoretical calculations suggest that uranium-241 may have a half-life of 40 minutes. The technique used by the team will help to better understand the shape of large nuclei associated with heavier elements. The method of discovery can be used for more information on other heavy isotopes.

Correct Answer:  B. IndusInd Bank

Explanation:   IndusInd Bank signed a co-financing loan agreement with Citibank and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for a funding line of $125 million. The funding line will be used by IndusInd Bank to provide credit to the agriculture sector. The co-financing includes JPY 13 billion (about $97.45 million) from JICA and a $30 million loan from Citibank to IndusInd Bank. The collaboration between the three entities aims to support the development of the agriculture sector in India by providing financial support to farmers and other related businesses. IndusInd Bank is a leading private sector bank in India with a strong presence in retail banking, corporate banking and treasury operations.