Daily Current Affairs Quiz: August 10, 2023

ANSWER: B

ANSWER: A

ANSWER: C

ANSWER: B

• Foreign investors from Mauritius, Cyprus and Singapore have been on the receiving end of a number of notices for gains from investment in fully or compulsorily convertible debentures (CCDs) issued by Indian companies.

About Debentures

• A debenture is a medium- to long-term debt security issued by a company as a means of borrowing money at a fixed interest rate.
• Unlike most investment-grade corporate bonds, it is not secured by collateral.
• It is backed only by the full faith and credit of the issuing company.
• In effect, an unsecured corporate bond is a
• A debenture comes in two forms – non-convertible and convertible.
  • Convertible debentures can be converted into the company’s equity after a predetermined period of time.
  • A compulsory convertible debenture (CCD) is a type of bond which must be converted into stock by a specified date.
  • It is classified as a hybrid security, as it is neither purely a bond nor purely a stock.
  • Under FDI guidelines, CCDs are treated as equity for the purposes of reporting to Reserve Bank of India.

ANSWER: C

• The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Academy joined the Interpol Global Academy Network at a virtual event.
• IGAN was launched in 2019.
• The Network has members in all regions and supports academic collaboration amongst Law Enforcement Training Institution across the globe.

About CBI Academy

• The CBI Academy had become the 10^th member of Interpol Global Academy Network.
• According to the agency, over the years, it has emerged as a major police institution of the country and South Asia.
• Since 2005, it has imparted training to over 50,000 police officers, including around 1,432 foreign nationals from SAARC nations, Africa, South East Asia, Central Asia and West-Asia.
• Several programmes have been conducted in collaboration with foreign agencies such as S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation, French Embassy, National Cyber Crime Unit and National Crime Agency (United Kingdom), Interpol and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Canada).
• CBI is National Central Bureau of Interpol for India as well as a Nodal Agency for Transnational Organised Crimes, Anti-Corruption Crimes, Bank Fraud Cases and Cyber Crimes.

ANSWER: A

• The Indian eagle-owl was classified as a species only in recent years, thus distinguishing it from the Eurasian eagle-owl.

Characteristics

• It is an imposing bird.
• The slightly larger female can reach a total length of two and a half feet, with a wingspan of six feet.
• Prominent ear tufts that look like horns are seen to project from its head.
• The widespread range includes the entire Indian peninsula.
• It has nocturnal habits have meant that very little is known about this bird.
• The Indian eagle-owl does not have a dependency on forests.
  • It feeds on rats, bandicoots, and even bats and doves, which are hunted over open scrubland and agricultural tracts.
  • Nearby rocky perches and crags provide ideal settings for its nests.
  • Near human settlements, they prefer mango trees.
• Farmers definitely profit from the presence of this owl as they feast on rodents near farms.
• IUCN Red List status– Least Concern

ANSWER: D

• The regional bloc ECOWAS or the Economic Community of West African States has been playing an active role in Niger amid turmoil

About ECOWAS grouping

• Also known as CEDEAO in French, the regional group was established in 1975 through the Lagos Treaty – with a mandate of promoting economic integration among its members.
• Today, ECOWAS has 15 members: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’ Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Togo.
• Around 400 million people live in this region.
• Headquarters: Abuja, Nigeria.
• ECOWAS’ larger aims are to have a single common currency and create a single, large trading bloc in areas of industry, transport, telecommunications, energy, financial issues, and social and cultural matters.
• Organisation structure includes the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government.
  • The Chairman is the current Head of State and Government and is appointed by other Heads of State and Government to oversee its affairs for one year.

ANSWER: A

• The United States has officially given the nod for the delivery of M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine.
  • The first batch of the combat assault weapons is expected to arrive in the war-torn nation this fall.
• M1 Abrams Tank is the US main battle tank.
• The first M1 tank was manufactured in 1978 and was delivered to the US Army in 1980.
• It was named in honor to General Abrams, commander of US forces during the Vietnam War.
• The export version of this tank is used by the other nations as well.For e.g. Australia, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Poland, and Saudi Arabia.

ANSWER: C

• IRS officer Sanjay Kumar Aggarwal has taken charge as the Chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).
• CBIC is a statutory body under the Ministry of Finance responsible for the administration of indirect taxes in India, which include customs, central excise, service tax, and goods and services tax (GST).

ANSWER: B

• William Friedkin, the Oscar-winning American director of films like The Exorcist and The French Connection passed away recently in Los Angeles.
• He made his feature directorial debut with the film “Good Times” in 1967.
• He won the Oscar for Best Director for his 1971 film “The French Connection”, which won 5 oscars in total including best picture.
• The Exorcist by William Friedkin became the first horror film to be nominated for Best Picture in the Oscar award in 1974.

ANSWER: D

• World Biofuel Day is observed annually on August 10^th.
• It aims to spread awareness about the importance of non-fossil fuels as an alternative for humanity.
• Biofuels are environment-friendly fuels that can be produced using biological materials like agricultural waste, trees, crops or even grass.
• It celebrates the legacy of Sir Rudolf Diesel, the mechanical engineer behind the development of the diesel engine in 1892.