Daily Current Affairs Quiz: March 25, 2023

 ANSWER: A

 ANSWER: B

 ANSWER: D

 ANSWER: C

• 100^th birth anniversary of the freedom fighter was celebrated on 23^rd March 2023.
• He was born in Sindh region of United India.
• He was a revolutionary and a freedom fighter during the Indian Independence Movement.
• Also known as Bhagat Singh of Sindh, he joined Swaraj Sena (a youth organization).
• He distributed anti-British literature and also joined the Quit India Movement in 1942.
• In 1942, he attempted to derail and loot the British train loaded with weapons to crush the ongoing Balochistan agitation.
  • But he was caught and hanged at the young age of 19 years.

 ANSWER: D

• Long-tailed duck species have been spotted at iconic Wular Lake in Kashmir after 116 years.
  • Wular Lake (a Ramsar site), one of the largest freshwater lakes in Asia, is located at Haramuk Mountain’s base.
  • It has a total area of 200 sq km.
  • The river Jhelum is the primary supply of water for the lake.

About Long Tailed Ducks

• Long-tailed ducks are slim, colourful sea ducks with long tails.
• Habitat range: Occur all the way around Arctic and Antarctic.
• Prefer to spend winter near major bodies of water.
• It eats marine invertebrates like crabs & molluscs.
• IUCN Status: Vulnerable.

 ANSWER: C

• The Prime Minister paid tribute to Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia on his birthday (March 23, 1910 – October 12, 1967).
• Ram Manohar Lohia was a prominent figure in socialist politics and in the movement towards Indian independence.
• He was one of the founders of the Congress Socialist Party and editor of its mouthpiece Congress Socialist.
• He was a committed supporter of Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent struggle against British rule and participated in the Quit India movement in 1942.
• He held the position of secretary of the Foreign Department of the All-India Congress Committee (A.I.C.C.), the Congress Party’s highest body.
• He formed the Socialist Party (Lohia) in 1956 and became editor of the journal, Mankind.
• In 1963 Lohia became a member of the Lok Sabha after a by-election in Farrukhabad (Lok Sabha constituency).
• He also won the Lok Sabha general election of 1967 from Kannauj (Lok Sabha constituency) but died a few months later.

ANSWER: A

• Scientists in Belgrade (Serbia) have introduced liquid tree.
• Also dubbed LIQUID 3, the novel creation is Serbia’s first urban photo-bioreactor, a solution in the fight for clean air.
• It contains six hundred litres of water and works by using microalgae to bind carbon dioxide and produce pure oxygen through photosynthesis.
• LIQUID 3 is more efficient than trees, replacing two 10-year-old trees or 200 square meters of lawn.
• The advantage of microalgae is that it is 10 to 50 times more efficient than trees.

 ANSWER: A

• Terran 1, world’s first 3D-printed rocket, failed to reach orbit.
  • 3D printing or additive manufacturing uses computer-aided designing to make prototypes or working models of objects.
• Terran 1 is designed by the firm Relativity Space, to haul lightweight satellites into orbital space.
• World’s first 3D printed rocket engine is Agnilet engine produced by Indian spacetech startup AgniKul Cosmos.
• It is fully designed and manufactured in India. It was successfully tested in November 2022.

 ANSWER: A

• A Parliamentary panel asked the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to fill all vacancies in Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO).

About SFIO

• A multi-disciplinary organization, established through Government of India Notification (2015) as per Companies Act, 2013, to investigate corporate frauds.
• Aim- Take up for investigation cases characterized by
  • Complexity and having inter-departmental and multi- disciplinary ramifications.
  • Substantial involvement of public interest.
• Ministry: Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
• HQ- New Delhi and five Regional Offices: Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad & Kolkata.

 ANSWER: A

• Centre has extended tenure of Indian Potash Limited (IPL) as a canalising agency for import of urea till March 2024.
• Government fertilizer companies Rashtriya Chemicals Fertilizers (RCF) and National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) are two other canalising agencies that import urea on government account.
• Canalisation of import and export refers to importing and exporting of commodities through specified government agencies.
• Purpose: Price stabilization, ensure availability of supplies for domestic consumers, Improve bargaining power, Boost exports, Eliminate under invoicing etc.
• Major Canalised Commodities: Precious Metals, Arms/Ammunitions, agricultural products like onion etc.

 ANSWER: B

• It is an annual bilateral maritime exercise between Indian Navy and Royal Navy (UK).
• Other military exercises of India and the UK include – Konkan Shakti 2021 (first-ever tri-services joint exercise), Exercise Indradhanush (joint air force exercise), Exercise Ajeya Warrior (joint military exercise between India’s & UK’s soldiers)

 ANSWER: A

• It is National Crop Insurance Portal’s digitized claim settlement module, under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
• The technology has been enabled through the integration of National Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP) and Public Finance Management System (PFMS).
• DigiClaim would prevent delay in claim settlement as claims will be processed directly to bank accounts of farmers. Also, it will facilitate real-time tracking of claim.
• PMFBY provides comprehensive crop insurance against non- preventable natural risks at premium rate of 2% for kharif crops, 5% for rabi crops and 5% for Horticulture and commercial crop.
• Till date, Rs 1.32 lakh crore claim has been disbursed to the insured farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).

 ANSWER: B

• The government has urged New Development Bank (NDB) to expedite the sanctioning of multilateral funding for Shimla Innovative Urban Transport Ropeway Project.
• The government assured the delegation full cooperation and support for the execution of the ropeway project.
• The Rs 1546.40-crore Shimla Ropeway Project will have a network of 14.13 km, with 15 stations.
• This urban ropeway project will be the second of its kind in the world and the first in India, which will go a long way in the decongestion of the city.
• Ropeway and Rapid Transport System Development Corporation (RTDC) has made substantial progress in the preparation for DPR of this project. The DPR is likely to be completed by June 30.