Daily GK and Current Affairs Quiz – 20th April 2023

Correct Answer:  B. Kenya

Explanation:  Kenya launched its first operational Earth observation satellite “Taifa-1” on a rocket of Elon Musk’s rocket company ‘SpaceX’ from Vandenberg Base in California.  The launch rocket carried 50 payloads from various countries, including Turkey, under SpaceX’s ‘rideshare programme’. Taifa-1 was designed and developed by SayariLabs and EnduroSat and the satellite was built over two years at a cost of 50 million Kenyan shillings ($372,000). The satellite’s primary purpose is to collect agricultural and environmental data, including floods, droughts and wildfires, to help Kenya deal with disaster management and food insecurity.

• It is an optical camera that can take pictures in both multispectral and panchromatic modes.
• The satellite can operate in and out of the visible light spectrum, allowing it to capture images even in low light conditions.
• Taifa-1 is capable of capturing images in five different multispectral bands.
• The Ground Sampling Distance (GSD) of Taifa-1 is 32 m for the multispectral band and 16 m for the panchromatic band.

Correct Answer:  C. Rs 638 crore

Explanation:  The 48th meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) was held on 18th April under the chairmanship of Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) G. Asok Kumar. Eight projects worth around Rs. 638 crore were approved in the meeting. In an attempt to clean River Hindon, which is a tributary of River Yamuna, four projects worth Rs 407.39 crore were approved for pollution abatement in the Shamli district. These projects are part of the comprehensive Hindon Rejuvenation Plan.

Hindon River is identified as Priority 1 polluted river stretch. The projects which were sanctioned are to prevent theflow of polluted water into Krishna River. Krishni is one of the major tributaries of Hindon which discharges pollution from Shamli district into River Hindon. Two more sewerage management projects were approved in the meeting, one each in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. In Bihar, a project for construction of 3 STPs (7 MLD, 3.5 MLD and 6 MLD in Zone 1 and 2 respectively) along with other works was approved at an estimated cost of Rs 77.39 crore. These projects will arrest the flow of polluted water into the Kiul River, a tributary of the Ganges.

Correct Answer:  D. Krishna Swaminathan

Explanation:  Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan assumed charge as Controller of Personnel Services. He was commissioned into the Indian Navy on July 1, 1987, and is a specialist in Communication and Electronic Warfare. Earlier, he served as the Chief of Staff of the Western Naval Command, Flag Officer Defence Advisory Group, and Flag Officer Sea Training. He was the second Commanding Officer of the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.

Correct Answer:  B. Rowan Wilson

Explanation: The New York Senate has confirmed Judge Rowan Wilson (62) as the new chief judge of the Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court. He is also New York’s first Black chief judge. He was appointed by the 57th governor of New York, Kathy Hochul. Since 2017, he has been an associate judge of the Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court. He studied at Harvard College, and graduated from Harvard Law School in 1984.

Correct Answer:  C. AU Small Finance Bank

Explanation:  AU Small Finance Bank has become the country’s first commercial bank to connect with the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) and deliver bill payment services via video banking. Aim: To increase digital accessibility and economic capabilities, which will lead to greater financial inclusion Customers can use this platform to pay their bills without having to go to a branch, which is especially useful for senior persons and others with mobility challenges who live in distant locations. Customers of AU Small Finance Bank can easily connect with the bank’s video banker via the website (https://www.aubank.in) or AU 0101 app to access the recently announced bill payment service on video banking.

Correct Answer:  D. Karnataka

Explanation: Karnataka has bagged the national award for the best implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) in the country. The state has recorded a 47.74% increase in the enrolment of farmers under the scheme, between the Kharif season 2021 and 2022. While the area covered under the scheme increased by 41.80%. The common service centers have also seen an enrolment of 4.66 lakh non-loanee farmers over the last six years. Insurance claims of Rs 298.57 crore were settled under the add-on coverage.

Correct Answer:  B. City Union Bank

Explanation: City Union Bank Limited (CUB) has introduced a new feature that allows customers to use voice biometric authentication when logging into the bank’s mobile banking app, aimed at improving security. The bank plans to extend this feature to net banking users as well, and the development process is currently underway. The voice biometric login option will join other existing authentication methods such as User ID/PIN, face ID, and fingerprint authentication, giving customers multiple choices. CUB has stated that customers can select the authentication method that best suits their needs and preferences.

M/s Kaizen Secure Voiz Private Limited, a start-up based in Chennai, has collaborated with the 5G Use Case Lab of the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), with support from the Department of Telecommunications and the Department of Financial Services, to develop this technology. The launch of the voice biometric authentication feature by the bank came a day after it reported its provisional business figures via an exchange filing, showing an increase in total business from Rs 88,846 crore to Rs 96,347 crore.

Correct Answer:  B. SATHI

Explanation:  The Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar, has unveiled a new online platform and mobile application called SATHI (Seed Traceability, Authentication, and Holistic Inventory) to address the issues of seed production, quality identification, and certification. The platform has been developed under the Uttam Beej – Samriddh Kisan scheme.

• The Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar, launched the SATHI portal and mobile app to tackle issues in the agriculture sector.
• Mr. Tomar highlighted that the government is committed to overcoming challenges faced by agriculture through schemes and programmes.
• The SATHI portal is considered a revolutionary step towards addressing issues related to seed production, quality identification, and certification.
• Seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, and irrigation are essential factors in agriculture, and inferior quality or spurious seeds can negatively impact growth and production.
• The use of the SATHI portal and mobile app will help in ensuring quality seed production, and certification.

Correct Answer:  D. 20 percent

Explanation:  The Government of India (GoI) advanced its target to achieve 20 percent ethanol blending in petrol from 2030 to 2025-26. As per the Union Minister – Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoP&NG), Hardeep Singh Puri in the Global CBG (Compressed BioGas) Conference of the Indian Federation of Green Energy (IFGE) – CBG Producers Forum, the GoI has notified the National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 to increase the usage of biofuels in the energy and transportation sectors of the country. The GoI has set a target to increase the share of gas in the energy mix up to 15 per cent in 2030 to make India a Gas based economy.

Production of indigenous biofuels will play a pivotal role in achieving the targets of net zero and import reduction. The ethanol blending in petrol has been increased from 1.53 per cent in 2013-14 to 10.17 per cent in July 2022. This translates into forex savings of Rs 41,500 crore, timely payment of over Rs 40,600 crore to farmers and a reduction of 27 lakh tones in CO2 emissions. The objectives of the Programme include reducing import dependence, savings in foreign exchange, providing boost to domestic agriculture sector and for associated environmental benefits. At present we are importing around 50 percent of our requirement of natural gas. India has a target to set up 5000 commercial plants by 2024- 25 and produce 15 MMT (Methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl) of CBG which would replace other gaseous fuels being used in the country.

Correct Answer:  B. 21st

Explanation:  The investment migration firm Henley & Partners released its annual ‘World’s Wealthiest Cities Report 2023’ which is again topped by New York, United States (US) with 340,000 millionaires, 724 centi-millionaires, and 58 billionaires in 2022. New York followed by Tokyo (Japan), California’s Bay Area (US), London (United Kingdom) and Singapore. The annual survey looked at 97 cities in 9 regions around the world viz. Africa, Australasia, CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States), East Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. The list also featured Mumbai (Maharashtra) at 21st rank with 59,400 millionaires, 238 Centi-millionaires, and 29 Billionaires.

Correct Answer:  B. 20th April

Explanation:  The United Nations celebrates Language Days to promote cultural diversity and encourage the use of all six official languages within the organization. The Chinese Language Day is celebrated on the 6th of 24 solar terms called Guyu, which usually falls around April 20th in the Gregorian calendar. This day is dedicated to honoring Cangjie, the inventor of Chinese characters, and his legend of creating the characters amidst cries from deities and ghosts and rain of millet.

This year’s Chinese Language Day will focus on the theme of “Chinese Wisdom for a Green World” in order to highlight Chinese solutions and wisdom for promoting green and sustainable development. This theme is intended to align with other significant events related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as the Water Conference and the SDG Summit, that have taken place or are planned to take place this year under the auspices of the United Nations.

Correct Answer:  B. Suryakumar Yadav

Explanation:  The Indian duo of Suryakumar Yadav and Harmanpreet Kaur has added another feather to their outstanding crown after bagging the Wisden Almanack’s leading cricketer in the World awards. Suryakumar won the honour of Wisden Almanack’s leading T20I cricketer while Harmanpreet Kaur became the first Indian woman to win the Cricketer of the Year award.

• The year 2022 in T20Is was almost like a net session for Suryakumar. Wherever he went, he amassed runs for fun: a total of 1164 of them at a stunning strike rate of 187.43. This included 68 sixes, something no T20I batter has ever done in a calendar year. His two centuries and nine half-tons — including three in the 2022 T20 World Cup alone — helped India win 28 of their 40 games last year. His standout knock in 2022 of the 55-ball 117 at Nottingham, his maiden T20 hundred.
• As for Harman, she is one of the five Cricketers of the Year announced in the 2023 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack. A well-deserved honour for the champion of Indian women’s cricket in 2022, having led the Women in Blue to a 3-0 ODI series win on English soil, the first since 1999, and a Silver medal finish at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She piled on 754 ODI runs, including an unbeaten 143 in the England ODIs and 524 T20I runs — spoke for itself as she continues to make history and rewrite it with her talent and commitment to the sport.

Correct Answer:  B. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)

Explanation:  Tata Consultancy Services (#1) has been ranked as the top company in LinkedIn’s 2023 Top Companies India list which showcases the best places to work, followed by Amazon (#2) and Morgan Stanley (#3). The 7th annual edition reveals the 25 best workplaces where professionals in India can grow their careers and many of these companies are currently hiring for specific roles. For the first time, companies such as Dream11 (#20) and Games24x7 (#24) from e-sports and gaming made it to the list, which is reflective of the growing popularity of gaming and the presence of this sector.

Correct Answer:  B. 10,000 km

Explanation:  NHAI is working towards the development of around 10,000 km of Optic Fibre Cables (OFC) infrastructure across the country by FY2024-25. National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML), a fully owned SPV of NHAI, will implement the network of Digital Highways by developing integrated utility corridors along the National Highways to develop OFC infrastructure. Around 1,367 km on Delhi – Mumbai Expressway and 512 km on Hyderabad – Bangalore Corridor have been identified as pilot routes for the Digital Highway development.

Providing internet connectivity to remote locations across the country, the OFC network will help to expedite the roll out of new age telecom technologies like 5G & 6G. Recently inaugurated, 246 km long Delhi – Dausa – Lalsot section of the Delhi – Mumbai Expressway features a three-meter-wide dedicated utility corridor used to lay Optical Fibre Cables, which will serve as the backbone for the roll out of the 5G network in the region. OFC laying work along the National Highways has started and is targeted for completion in about a year.