Daily Current Affairs Quiz: April 20, 2023

ANSWER: B

ANSWER: C

ANSWER: A

ANSWER: B

• The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has launched “Marketing and Logistics Development for Promotion of Tribal Products from the North-Eastern Region (PTP-NER)“.
• It is a Central Sector Scheme for the benefit of Scheduled Tribes of the North-eastern Region.
• It will assist tribal craftsmen through backward and forward linkages incubation support, aggregation, skill and entrepreneurial development, marketing, transportation, etc.
• Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, and Sikkim would be covered under the scheme.
• The scheme will be implemented by TRIFED, the nodal agency under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
• The empanelment of tribal artisans will be done directly or through Tribal Artisan Melas (TAMs). Partners: North Eastern Handicrafts and Handlooms Development Corporation (NEHHDC), India Post and North Eastern State Government Departments/ Agencies.
• Benefits: Increased Livelihood and earning opportunities, increased efficiency in procurement, logistics and marketing.

ANSWER: A

• The Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj celebrating National Panchayat Awards Week from 17th – 21st April 2023 as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) 2.0 in the run-up to the National Panchayati Raj Day (24^th April 2023).

About National Panchayat Awards:

• The award was given to the best-performing Panchayats by assessing their performance in the attainment of SDGs.
• These annual awards were first instituted in 2011.
• The Awardee Panchayats under various categories of National Panchayat Awards–2023 namely,
  • Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar(DDUPSVP) for the performance under individual LSDG themes,
  • Nanaji Deshmukh Sarvottam Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar(NDSPSVP) for the aggregate performance under all 9 LSDG themes and green initiative-related Special Categories.
  • Gram Urja Swaraj Vishesh Panchayat Puraskar.
  • Carbon Neutral Vishesh Panchayat Puraskar.
• During the event Union Minister of Rural Development launched the GS NIRNAY (National Initiative for Rural India to Navigate, InnovAte and Resolve PanchaYat decisions), a mobile application.
  • It will provide easy access to critical information discussed during a Gram Sabha; acting as a means of verification of facts where necessary or in case of queries that may arise regarding the resolutions undertaken during the Gram Sabha.

ANSWER: D

• A new study shows that wheat, the world’s most important food crop, is threatened by a blast disease pandemic.

About Wheat Blast

• The wheat blast is a fungal disease that affects wheat production in tropical and subtropical regions.
• It is caused by Magnaporthe oryzae pathotype Triticum (MoT).
  • It was identified in Brazil in 1985.
• The fungus infects wild and cultivated grasses, most notably rice and wheat.
• It spreads through infected seeds, and crop residues as well as by spores that can travel long distances in the air.
• It spread to major-wheat producing areas in the country and then to other South American countries like Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina.
• Asia’s first outbreak of this pathogenic wheat blast was reported in Bangladesh in 2016.

ANSWER: C

• RECENTLY, a major Buddhist Conference was hosted in Zemithang, Arunachal Pradesh.
• Zemithang was first stop of the 14th Dalai Lama during his flight from China-occupied Tibet in 1959.
• Zemithang or Zimithang, in the Pangchen Valley, is a village and the last circle headquarters bordering Bhutan and Tibet.
• Zemithang means “sand valley” and the people of the area are referred to as Pangchenpa, meaning “people who gave up sin”.
• It is on the Nyamjang Chu

ANSWER: A

• World Liver Day is observed on April 19 in order to raise awareness about liver-related diseases.
• Liver plays a pivotal role in our body’s immunity, digestion and metabolism.
• Plus, it also carries out the filtration of toxins, stores vitamins and minerals, and produces bile, among other functions.
• The theme for this year’s World Liver Day is “Be vigilant, do a regular liver check-up, fatty liver can affect anyone.”

ANSWER: A

• Telugu actor and comedian Allu Ramesh passed away.
  • He suffered cardiac arrest in his hometown, Visakhapatnam.
• He made his debut in Tollywood with Tarun’s Chirujallu and starred in almost 50 films.
• Allu Ramesh acted in movies like Napoleon, Tholubommalata, Madhura Wines, and Ravana Desam.

ANSWER: A

• Himachal Pradesh CM recently directed officials to make the 100 MW UhlIII hydropower project functional by May next year.

About Uhl–III hydropower project

• It is located at the Rana Neri Khad River in the Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh.
• The Project comprises the diversion of tail water of Uhl Stage-II (Bassi), Neri Khad & Rana Khad.
• Installed capacity: 99.99 MW.
• The power plant is owned and operated by Beas Valley Power Corporation Limited.