ANSWER: A

ANSWER: B

ANSWER: A

ANSWER: C

• Union Ministry for MSME has launched three sub-schemes under the aegis of the RAMP programme.
• These are-
  • The first scheme – The MSME Green Investment and Financing for Transformation Scheme (MSME GIFT Scheme) intends to help MSMEs adopt green technology with interest subvention and credit guarantee support.
  • The MSE Scheme for Promotion and Investment in Circular Economy (MSE SPICE Scheme) is the first ever scheme in the Government to support circular economy projects which will be done through credit subsidy and will lead to realising the dream of MSME sector towards zero emissions by 2070.
  • The MSE Scheme on Online Dispute Resolution for Delayed Payments is a first of its kind scheme to synergise legal support with modern IT tools and Artificial Intelligence to address the incidences of delayed payments for Micro and Small Enterprises.
• implementing agencies-
  • SIDBI (for MSME GIFT and MSME SPICE schemes) and
  • National Informatics Centre Services Inc. (for NICSI) for MSE ODR scheme.

ABOUT RAMP PROGRAMME

• Raising & Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP) program is a World Bank supported Central Sector Scheme for MSMEs.
• It aims at
  • improving access to market and credit,
  • strengthening institutions and governance at the Centre and State,
  • improving Centre-State linkages and partnerships,
  • addressing issues of delayed payments and greening of MSMEs.

ANSWER: D

• 1467 projects of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) have been brought under the Bhoomi Rashi Portal.

ABOUT BHOOMI RASHI PORTAL

• The objective of Bhoomi Rashi portal is to provide a single point platform for online processing of land acquisition notifications to accelerate highway infrastructure development projects in India and payment of compensation for land acquisition.
• The portal has been made mandatory for processing all the Land Acquisition (LA) proposals w.e.f. 01.04.2018.
• All the Land Acquisition notifications are submitted online by the concerned revenue official of the State Government, duly designated as Competent Authority for Land Acquisition (CALA).
• Once approved by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, these notifications are electronically transmitted to the Government of India Press via the e-Gazette.
• Compensation for land acquisition is also being paid through Bhoomi Rashi portal.
• The portal has greatly reduced the time period for publication of notifications and brought in efficiency as well as transparency in the whole process.

ANSWER: C

• The National Mathematics Day (NMD) is observed on December 22 each year to commemorate the birth anniversary of the great Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan.
• December 22 was designated as the National Mathematics Day by the government in 2012.
• The year 2012 was also termed and celebrated as the National Mathematics Year.

 ABOUT S RAMANUJAN

• Srinivasa Ramanujan was born on December 22, 1887 in Erode, Tamil Nadu.
• Ramanujan, one of the greatest Indian mathematicians of all time, is known for his work in the areas of Riemann series, hypergeometric series, elliptic integrals, continued fractions, and functional equations of the zeta function.
• In 1911, he got his first paper published in the Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society.
• In 1916, he was awarded the B.A. degree by research at the Cambridge University.
• He died on April 26, 1920 at age of 32.
• He has left behind around 4,000 original theorems.

ANSWER: A

• Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2023 has been jointly awarded to Daniel Barenboim and Ali Abu Awwad for their efforts in bringing together the youth and peoples of Israel and the Arab World for a non-violent resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
• Barenboim is a distinguished classical pianist, and Awwad is an eminent peace activist who has been working for a peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

ABOUT THE PRIZE

• It has been conferred since 1986 by Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust.
• The prize is awarded annually.
• It is considered one of the highest honors in the field of peace and development.
• It consists of a monetary award of Rs. 25 lakh along with a citation.
• The award recognizes individuals or organizations for their exceptional contributions to international peace, disarmament, and development.

ANSWER: C

• Weather watchers have captured images of rare iridescent clouds over Scotland, northern England and the West Midlands.

ABOUT THE PSC

• The Polar stratospheric clouds, also known as nacreous clouds, are among the rarest and most stunning atmospheric phenomena.
• These resemble mother of pearl, and usually develop in extremely cold air above the polar regions.
• Nacreous clouds are an indicator of especially cold air high in the atmosphere.
• They are best known for the beautiful pastel light they reflect after sunset and before sunrise.
• These clouds form over the polar regions and are made of smaller ice particles than those that form more common clouds.
• The effect, reminiscent of a thin layer of oil on top of water, is produced as the sunlight diffracts around the tiny ice crystals inside them.
• PSCs provide a surface for chemical reactions where benign forms of chlorine are converted into reactive, ozone-destroying forms.
  • They also remove nitrogen compounds that would otherwise moderate the destructive impact of chlorine on the ozone layer.

ANSWER: D

• Indian hockey team midfielder Hardik Singh was named the men’s FIH Player of the Year at the FIH Hockey Star Awards 2023.
• Hardik Singh was part of India’s Tokyo 2020 bronze medal-winning team.
• He was part of the gold medal-winning Indian team at the Asian Games and Asian Champions Trophy.
• Indian women’s hockey team captain Savita Punia won the best goalkeeper of the year award.
• Dutch player Xan de Waard, meanwhile, won the FIH Women’s Player of the Year honour.

ABOUT FIH

• The Fédération Internationale de Hockey, commonly known by the acronym FIH, is the international governing body of field hockey and indoor field hockey.
• Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland.
• FIH is responsible for field hockey’s major international tournaments, notably the Hockey World Cup.