Daily Current Affairs Quiz: March 18, 2023

ANSWER: C

 ANSWER: B

ANSWER: D

 ANSWER: C

• The Ministry of Textiles will shortly name the States identified for implementation of Prime Minister MITRA (Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel) scheme.
• States are identified through the challenge route and the PM MITRA parks will provide the best ecosystem for the textile industry to be collectively present in one location, with plug-and-play infrastructure, and improve the competitiveness of the textile value chain.
• The vision for 2030 is to achieve an economic value of $250 billion in production and $100 billion in export of textiles, apparel, and related products and this is achievable even though the industry faced a small setback in the current year.

About PM MITRA

• The PM MITRA scheme is inspired by the 5F vision – Farm to Fibre to Factory to Fashion to Foreign.
• It aspires to fulfil the vision of building an Aatmanirbhar Bharat and to position India strongly on the Global textiles map.

PM MITRA Parks

• PM MITRA Parks offer an opportunity to create an integrated textiles value chain right from spinning, weaving, processing/dyeing and printing to garment manufacturing at one location.
• These parks are envisaged to be located at sites which have inherent strengths for the textile industry to flourish and have the necessary linkages to succeed.
• The scheme envisages to leverage the Public Private Partnership model for fast-paced implementation in a time-bound manner.
• It will reduce logistics cost of industry.
• Intended to generate ~1 lakh direct and 2 lakh indirect employment per park.

 ANSWER: D

• Indian Navy is participating in SEA DRAGON 23 exercise in waters off Guam, USA which has been scheduled from 15-30 March 23.
• It is a biennial coordinated multilateral anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercise for long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft.
• The exercise is hosted by the United States Navy, and it involves the participation of other friendly navies from Japan, Canada, South Korea, and India.
• It aims to achieve high levels of synergy and coordination between the participating countries based on their shared values and commitment to an open, inclusive Indo-Pacific.

Other Exercises between India and USA

• Malabar Exercise: Malabar series of exercises began in 1992. Members- India, US , Australia and Japan.
• VAJRA PRAHAR: Special Forces
• Yudh Abhyas: Military Training

 ANSWER: B

• The 10th edition of Global Terrorism Index (GTI) was released by Sydney-based Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP).
  • GTI covers global trends and patterns in terrorism.
• Afghanistan remains most impacted by terrorism for fourth consecutive year, followed by Burkina Faso and Somalia.
• India remained at 13^th while Pakistan ranked at 6^th .
• Deadliest terrorist groups of world are Islamic State (IS) and its affiliates, followed by al-Shabaab, Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Jamaat Nusrat Al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM).
• The report said many countries face severe ecological changes, which are more likely to exist in conflict settings and intersect with terrorism.

ANSWER: C

• Border Roads Organisation (BRO) reopened Zoji La on Srinagar-Kargil-Leh highway in record 68 days.
• Zoji La Pass is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 11,578 ft above sea level, located in Kargil district of Ladakh.
• It is the strategic link connecting Ladakh to Srinagar and the rest of India.
• Zojila Tunnel is being constructed to provide all-weather connectivity to Ladakh.
  • Once completed, at 14.15 km, it will be India’s longest road tunnel, and Asia’s longest bidirectional tunnel.

 ANSWER: B

• It was launched in 2022 by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) with a mission of healthy and effectively managed network of 75 wetlands of national and international significance.
  • India has the largest network of Ramsar Sites in Asia
• It strives to enable a society ownership approach with communities leading at the forefront.

 ANSWER: C

• Every year on March 18th, Global Recycling Day is celebrated to increase people’s awareness about the harmful effects of plastic on the environment.
• This day also promotes recycling as a crucial concept and encourages people to organize events throughout the year to spread awareness about this cause.
• The theme of Global Recycling Day 2023 is “Creative Innovation”.
• Global Recycling Day was established on March 18th, 2018, by the Global Recycling Foundation.

 ANSWER: D

• The KK Birla Foundation has announced that Tamil writer Sivasankari will be the recipient of the prestigious Saraswati Samman award for the year 2022, for her 2019 memoir, Surya Vamsam.
• The award is one of the most esteemed recognitions in Indian literature, and comes with a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh, a plaque, and a citation.
  • Apart from the Saraswati Samman, the KK Birla Foundation has also established two other literary awards: the Bihari Puraskar and the Vyas Samman.
• Sivasankari is a prolific writer with a career spanning over 50 years, during which she has written 36 novels, 48 novellas, 150 short stories, 15 travelogues, seven collections of essays, and three biographies, including one on former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
• Her literary contributions have been widely recognized, and her works have been translated into several Indian languages, as well as English, Japanese, and Ukrainian.

 ANSWER: A

• World Sleep Day 2023 is an annual event observed on the Friday before the Spring Vernal Equinox to raise awareness about the significance of sleep.
  • This year, it falls on March 17, 2023.
• The World Sleep Committee of the World Sleep Society, founded by World Association of Sleep Medicine (WASM) and World Sleep Federation (WSF), organizes this day.
• The World Sleep Day 2023- theme by World Sleep Society is ‘Sleep is Essential for Health’.

 ANSWER: A

• Mandi Divisional Commissioner inaugurated the 134th edition of the state-level Nalwari fair at Bilaspur recently.
• She offered prayers at the Lakshmi Narayan temple and then took part in a religious procession.
• King Anand Chand of erstwhile Bilaspur state is believed to have started the fair.
• It is organised on the onset of harvesting and cultivation season.
• People buy or exchange their pair of oxen for the next crop.
• Thousands of people throng the fair to see best pairs of oxen that are brought here from Punjab and Haryana.