Daily Current Affairs
19-20 March 2023
1. Which city is the host of 'Global Millets (Shree Anna) Conference'?
Answer: New Delhi
The Global Millets (Shree Anna) Conference is set to be held in New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi digitally launched Compendium of Indian Millet (Shri Anna) Start-ups and Book of millet (Shri Anna) standards. He also declared the Indian Institute of Millets Research of ICAR as aa Global Centre of Excellence and inaugurated this conference and unveil a customised postal stamp and currency coin on the International Year of Millets (IYM) -2023 during the event.
2. Which Union Ministry implements the 'PM MITRA' Scheme?
Answer: Ministry of Textilees
The Indian government announced 7 PM MITRA (Pradhan Mantri Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel) Parks recently. The scheme is implemented by the Union Ministry of Textiles. PM MITRA Parks will come up in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh Maharashtra.
3. Which Union Ministry launched the "Women and Men in India 2022 Report'?
Answer: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
The Women and Men in India 2022 Report was released by the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. According to this report, sex ratio in India is expected to improve to 952 by 2036 a significant increase from 943 in 2011.
4. 'Geoffrey Bawa: It is Essential To be There' Exhibition was inaugurated to mark 75 years of bilateral relations between India and?
Answer: Sri Lanka
"The Geoffrey Bawa: It is Essential To be There" Exhibition was inaugurated recently to mark 75 years of bilateral relations between India and Sri Lanka. It highlights the works of famous architect from Sri Lanka, Geoffrey Bawa. Born in 1919, he was one among the most influential Asian architects of his generation.
5. Raccoon Dog, which was seen in the news, is endemic to which region?
Answer: Asia
Raccoon Dog, which is also known as Chinese or Asian raccoon dog is a fox-like canid endemic to East Asia. A new study has recently found evidence providing the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 originating from racoon dogs. Genetic sequences show evidence of raccoon dogs and other animals at the Wuhan market sites where SARS-CoV-2 was found in early 2020.
6. CESTAT is an Appellate Tribunal set up under which Act?
Answer: Customs Act, 1962
Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) is commemorating its 40 years of operations. It was set up under Customs Act, 1962 in the year 1982. CESTAT is mandated to hear appeals against orders passed by the Commissioners or Commissioners (Appeals) under Section 129A of the Customs Act,1962. As 80,000 cases are pending before CESTAT, the Government to set up committee to suggest steps to reduce litigation.
7. Who are the beneficiaries of the 'Sagar Parikranma' programme?
Answer: Fishermen
Sagar Parikrama Phase IV was launched recently. The main objective of 'Sagar Parikrama' is to facilitate interaction with fishermen, coastal communities and stakeholders to disseminate information of various fisheries related schemes and programs. It also aims to promote responsible fisheries and protection of marine ecosystem.
8. 'Foot & Mouth Disease' is a major disease which affects which species?
Answer: Livestock
Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) is a major disease affecting livestock that has a significant economic impact. The Indian government recently announced that, under the second round of the FMD vaccination drive, around 24 crore cattle and buffalo in India have been covered out of the targeted population of 25.8 crore cattle.
9. V.V. Giri National Labour Institute (VVGNLI) is located in which state?
Answer: Uttar Pradesh
V.V. Giri National Labour Institute (VVGNLI) is an autonomous civil service training institute undder the Union Labour Ministry. It is responsible for research in the field of labour. WGNLI recently entered a strategic alliance with the ASSOCHAM to promote professional and organizational development in areas related to jobs and labour.
10. 'AuditOnline', which was recognised at the WSIS Forum 2023, is an open-source application developed by which Union Ministry?
Answer: Ministry of Panchayati Raj
AuditOnline is an open-source application developed under the e-panchayat Mission Mode Project (MMP) as part of the Panchayat Enterprise Suite (PES). It aims to facilitate the internal and external audit of government departments or Panchayati Raj Institutions. It was recently given recognition at the WSIS Forum 2023.
11. Panchayati Raj Ministry's Project of Panchayat Clusters aims to create how many Model Gram Panchayat Clusters across India?
Answer: 250
The progress of the "Project for Creating 250 Model Gram Panchayat Clusters across India" was reviewed recently by Union Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Giriraj Singh. Its purpose is to set up 250 model gram panchayat clusters across the country. The Minister also mentioned the importance of Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs) and encouraged the YFs to formulate an effective holistic plan using relevant parameters for allround development of the Panchayats.
12. Which country launched Falcon LLM, a large language model (LLM) with 40 billion parameters?
Answer: UAE
Technology Innovation Institute, Abudhabi, UAE has launched Falcon LLM, a large language model (LLM) with 40 billion parameters. The model outperforms GPT-3 and requires only 75% of its training compute, as well as lower percentages of other large language models training compute. The UAE is aligned with the UAE's National AI Strategy, which aims to make the country a leader in the knowledge economy, driving progress and prosperity.
13. 'herSTART' is an accelerator and Incubator for Women start-ups based in which state?
Answer: Gujarat
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh recently made mention of the herSTART platform. This platform was launched in 2022 by the Gujarat University Startup and Entrepreneurship Council (GUSEC). It is a dedicated accelerator helping women-led startups climb to the next level of progress irrespective of what stage they're in [idea-stage, MVP, prototype, market-ready ideas] & aims to bridge the gap between women & resources.
14. Narayani River is a major river flowing in which country?
Answer: Nepal
Narayani River, also known as Gandaki River, is one of the major rivers in Nepal. It is a left bank tributary of the Ganges in India. The Indian government has developed a river front on Narayani River in a district in Bihar under the Namami Gange Program.
15. Matua Maha Mela, which was seen in the news, is organised in which state?
Answer: West Bengal
Matua Maha Mela is an annual event organized by the All India Matua Mahasangha. It has been estimated to be visited by around 45 lakh people during the week. The mela is being organised to celebrate the 212th birth anniversary of Sri Sri Harichand Thakur ji, the founder of the Matua sect. It will be kicked off in West Bengal to highlight the unique culture of the Matua community.
16. Which state is the host of 'Startup20 Engagement Group' meeting?
Answer: Sikkim
The second meeting of the newly formed Startup 20 Engagement Group under India's G20 Presidency was held on 18-19 March in Gangtok, Sikkim. The Sikkim Sabha will forward the agenda finalised during the inception meeting held in Hyderabad in January 2023, with the support of all attendee delegates.
17. Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is a lethal fungus that is currently invading which species?
Answer: Frog
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is a lethal fungus that is currently invading frog populations across Africa. The pathogen causes chytridiomycosis a deadly disease that has pushed hundreds of species to extinction.
18. 'Heal in India' is an initiative of which Union Ministry?
Answer: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) launched the "Heal in India" initiative, a pan-India initiative catering to citizens of world. It was launched to promote medical tourism. Under this initiative, the Union Ministries of Ayush and Health and family welfare are collaborating with the C-DAC and SEPC to develop a "One Step" Heal in India Portal to provide a medical value travel.
19. Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, who were in the news recently, play which sports?
Answer: Badminton
Indian women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand advanced to the semi-finals of the All-England Badminton Championships in Birmingham. The Indian team defeated their Chinese opponents, Li Wen Mei and Liu Xuan Xuan.
20. Which organisation opened the strategic Zojila Pass located on the Greater Himalayan Range?
Answer: Border Roads Organisation
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) opened the strategic Zojila Pass located on the Greater Himalayan Range at an altitude of 11,650 feet which acts as a gateway between Union Territories of Ladakh, and Jammu & Kashmir. It remained closed for only 68 days this year as compared to 73 days last year and 160-180 days in the past.