Daily Current Affairs Quiz: February 26, 2024

ANSWER: A

ANSWER: C

ANSWER: C

ANSWER: B

ANSWER: D

• Central Excise Day is celebrated in India on 24^th February every year.
• This day is dedicated to the establishment of the Central Excise and Salt Act of 1944.
• This act was a combination of 11 acts regarding excise duties, and it was passed to make changes in the law related to salt and central duties.
• The day was first observed in 1944, and it is celebrated to commemorate the contributions of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) to the country.
• In 1966, the Central Excise and Salt Act underwent a name change to “The Central Excise Act 1944,” specifying values and rates of excise duties in Schedule 1 and 2 of the act.

About CBIC

• The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBIC) is responsible for administering indirect taxes in India.
• The CBIC was established in the year 1944 to oversee the levy of central excise duties on goods and services produced or manufactured in India.
• Central Board of Excise and Customs was renamed the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs in 2018.
• The Central Board of Indirect Taxes, under the Ministry of Finance, includes the Department of Revenue.
  • This board significantly contributes to formulating laws and policies related to Customs, Central Goods & Services Tax, Central Excise duties, IGST, and prevention of smuggling.

ANSWER: C

• Mobile World Congress 2024 (MWC) 2024 started recently.
• The connectivity event is being hosted by GSMA and was organised at Barcelona, Spain.
• The event is hosted every year and brings people from companies that deal in mobile and wireless technologies.
• The theme of this year’s MWC is “Future First” and most of the discussion will revolve around the same.
  • The event is also divided into six sub themes, which includes Humanising AI, 5G and Beyond, Connecting Everything, Manufacturing DX, Game Changers, and Our Digital DNA.

ABOUT GSMA

• The GSM Association is a lobby organisation that represents the interests of mobile network operators worldwide.
• More than 750 mobile operators are full GSMA members and a further 400 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem are associate members.
• Headquarters- London, UK
• GSM (Global System for Mobile communication) is a digital mobile network that is widely used by mobile phone users in Europe and other parts of the world.
  • GSM digitizes and compresses data, then sends it down a channel with two other streams of user data, each in its own time slot.
  • It operates at either the 900 megahertz (MHz) or 1,800 MHz frequency band.

ANSWER: A

• The Prime Minister inaugurated the Sudarshan Setu, a four-lane cable-stayed bridge connecting Okha to Beyt Dwarka island in Gujarat.
• It is India’s longest cable-stayed bridge of length around 2.32 km.
• The bridge spans 2.32 kilometres, with a central double-span cable-stayed portion covering 900 metres, accompanied by a 45-kilometre-long approach road.
• The bridge aims to simplify access for devotees commuting between Okha and Bet Dwarka.
• Before its construction, the pilgrims had to rely on boat transport to reach the Dwarkadhish Temple in Beyt, Dwarka.
• The four-lane 27.20-metre wide bridge has 50 metre wide footpaths on each side.
• The bridge boasts a unique design, featuring a footpath adorned with verses from Srimad Bhagavad Gita and images of Lord Krishna on both sides.

ANSWER: B

• Philippines has become the first Asian country to ratify a convention to end workplace violence and harassment.
• The International Labor Organisation said that the Philippines deposited the instrument of ratification of the Violence and Harassment Convention 2019 (No. 190)
• Convention No. 190 serves as the inaugural international labor standard to comprehensively address violence and harassment in the realm of work.
• It mandates members to develop inclusive and gender-responsive strategies, in consultation with representative employers’ and workers’ organizations, aimed at preventing and eliminating workplace violence and harassment.

ANSWER: A

• World number-one Magnus Carlsen from Norway defeated GM Fabiano Caruana in the final classical game to win the inaugural 2024 Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge and the $60,000 top prize.
• GM Levon Aronian took third place with a powerful win over GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
• “Freestyle chess” is a new name for the variant where the back rank pieces are placed randomly, so as to make the game more a test of skill and imagination than memory of book openings.

ANSWER: D

• Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu launched the Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Samman Nidhi Yojana at Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district.
• Under the first phase of the scheme, Rs 1,500 per month would be paid to all women of Lahaul and Spit aged between 18 and 60 years.
• The CM, while inaugurating the Lahaul Sharad Utsav, announced that from February 1, Rs 1,500 would be provided to 2.37 lakh women in the state, who were receiving a pension of Rs 1,100.
• This way, 42 lakh women of the state would now receive a pension of Rs 1,500 per month.