Current Affairs Quiz

Daily Current Affairs Quiz – 18th March 2023

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Dear Readers, Daily Current Affairs Questions Quiz for SBI, IBPS, RBI, RRB, SSC Exam 2023 of 18th March 2023. Daily GK quiz online for bank & competitive exam. Here we have given the Daily Current Affairs Quiz based on the previous days Daily Current Affairs updates. Candidates preparing for IBPS, SBI, RBI, RRB, SSC Exam 2023 & other competitive exams can make use of these Current Affairs Quiz.

 

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1) Which country’s central bank has signed an MoU with RBI to enhance cooperation and jointly enable innovation in financial products and services?

(a) Australia

(b) Egypt

(c) Saudi Arabia

(d) Sri Lanka

(e) UAE


2) Which of the following bank has shut down in connection with Silicon Valley Bank that recently collapsed?

(a) Morgan Stanley

(b) Signature Bank

(c) Key Bank

(d) Chase Bank

(e) Silvergate Bank


3) Recently in March 2023, Which General Insurance company launched 3 new plans under the Digit Health Insurance policy?

(a) Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company

(b) Max Life Insurance Company

(c) Life Insurance Corporation

(d) Go Digit General Insurance

(e) HDFC General Insurance


4) As per the recent report, Which of the following bank has signed a corporate agency agreement with Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC)?

(a) RBL Bank

(b) REPCO Bank

(c) Jammu and Kashmir Bank

(d) Karnataka Bank

(e) YES Bank


5) Recently, The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has mandates general insurers to cover mental illness of _______________.

(a) HIV

(b) PwDs

(c) Cancer

(d) All of the above

(e) Both A and B


6) Who has been addressed the Confederation of Indian Industry Partnership Summit 2023 recently held in New Delhi?

(a) Dharmendra Pradhan

(b) Mansukh Mandaviya

(c) Nitin Jairam Gadkari

(d) Jyotiraditya Scindia

(e) Sarbananda Sonowal


7) Name the initiative,which has been launched by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for students?

(a) Learning Science via Standards

(b) Learning Maths via Standards

(c) Learning Standards

(d) Learning Bureau via Standards

(e) None of the above


8) Consider the following statement regarding NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission. Which of the following statement is incorrect?

(i) NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) launched ATL SARATHI, a comprehensive self-monitoring framework, to strengthen the Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATL)’ growing ecosystem.

(ii) The initiative has four pillars which will ensure performance enhancement of ATL through regular process improvements.

(iii) So far AIM has provided financial assistance to 15,000 schools to set up Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATLs).

(a) Only (iii)

(b) Both (i) and (ii)

(c) Only (ii)

(d) Both (ii) and (iii)

(e) All (i), (ii) and (iii)


9) Recently, The Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has showcased _______ methanol-powered buses that will be run by Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC).

(a) 50%

(b) 20%

(c) 75%

(d) 60%

(e) 100%


10) The Green National Highway Corridor Project to be implemented in four states with financial assistance of World Bank. Which is not among them?

(a) Uttar Pradesh

(b) Himachal Pradesh

(c) Rajasthan

(d) Gujarat

(e) Andhra Pradesh


11) Consider the following statement regarding IQAir’s World Air Quality Report. Which of the following statement is incorrect?

(a) Delhi has been ranked fourth on the list of the world’s 50 most polluted cities.

(b) Lahore was the world’s most polluted city.

(c) 33 Indian cities have found a place on the list of the world’s 50 most polluted cities.

(d) Among 131 countries, India is ranked eighth.

(e) New Delhi is the second most polluted capital city of the world on a list of 116 capital cities.


12) Who has been appointed as the Chairperson of the Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority (PFRDA)?

(a) Deepak Mohanty

(b) Preeti Sudan

(c) Ganesh Chandru

(d) Anil Kumar Lahoti

(e) Hemant Gupta


13) The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Kavilmadam Ramaswami Parvathy of India as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in__________.

(a) Kazakhstan

(b) Afghanistan

(c) Uzbekistan

(d) Tajikistan

(e) Ukraine


14) Recently, M. R. Kumar has resigned as the Chairman of which of the following company?

(a) SAIL

(b) LIC Housing Finance

(c) NHPC

(d) BHEL

(e) IRDAI


15) Recently, Who has been confirmed as China’s premier by the Chinese parliament?

(a) Zhao Leji

(b) Hu Chunhua

(c) Li Qiang

(d) Wang Huning

(e) Hu Jintao


16) Which of the following has recently conducted two consecutive successful flight tests of the Very Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS) missile?

(a) HAL

(b) DRDO

(c) ICRISAT

(d) ISRO

(e) GRSE


17) Which company has developed India’s first indigenous quadruped (four-legged) robot and exoskeleton for the defense sector as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative?

(a) Third Eye Robotics

(b) Svaya Robotics

(c) Seven Robotics

(d) Grene Robotics

(e) Queppelin Robotics


18) The Union Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur has inaugurated the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in ____________.

(a) New Delhi

(b) Mumbai

(c) Pune

(d) Luck now

(e) Indore


19) The Youth Affairs and Sports Ministry is organizing the ___________________ tournament from the 10th to the 31st March.

(a) Youth India Dus Ka Dum

(b) Mera India Dus Ka Dum

(c) Khelo India Dus Ka Dum

(d) Humara India Dus Ka Dum

(e) DeshKaIndia Dus Ka Dum


20) Every year, Ordnance Factories Day has been observed on which of the following date?

(a) 19 March

(b) 15 March

(c) 16 March

(d) 18 March

(e) 17 March


Answers :

1) Answer: E

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Abu Dhabi, to enhance cooperation and jointly enable innovation in financial products and services.

Key Highlights :

CBUAE and RBI will jointly conduct proof-of-concept (PoC) and pilot(s) of bilateral CBDC bridge to facilitate cross-border CBDC transactions of remittances and trade.

The Collaboration is a significant step towards promoting innovation and collaboration in the field of FinTech.


2) Answer: B

State regulators in the United States of America (USA) shut down New York-based Signature Bank after California authorities closed Silicon Valley Bank, marking the 3rd largest failure in US banking history.

The shutdown is the result of the collapse of SVB Financial Group’s Silicon Valley Bank, with the economic meltdown spreading to other institutions.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has been appointed as a receiver.

This means that FDIC will liquidate the assets of Signature Bank to pay back depositors and others.

In order to protect depositors, FDIC transferred all the deposits of Signature Bank to Signature Bridge Bank, N.A.

Signature Bridge Bank is a full-service bank that will be operated by the FDIC.

Both depositors and borrowers will become customers of Signature Bridge Bank.

They will have uninterrupted customer service.


3) Answer: D

One of India’s fastest growing insurance companies,Go Digit General Insurance has launched 3 new plans under the Digit Health Insurance policy.

The 3 plans :

Digit Double Wallet

Digit Infinity Wallet

Digit Worldwide Treatment

The 3 plans are designed to meet Indians’ newly evolved health insurance demands following the pandemic.


4) Answer: C

Jammu and Kashmir Bank (J&K Bank) has signed a corporate agency agreement with the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).

The bank will service and solicit LIC’s life insurance products through its branch network.

The agreement will be operational/effective from April 1, 2023.

General Manager (Cross Selling Vertical) Narjay Gupta signed the agreement on behalf of J&K Bank, while Regional Manager (MBAC) P K Saxena signed on behalf of LIC.

As at December-end 2023, J&K Bank had 989 branches across the country.

Of this, 83% of the branches were in the union territory of J&K.


5) Answer: E

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has made it mandatory for general insurers or stand-alone health insurers to launch health insurance policies that can provide coverage to people with mental illness and those afflicted with HIV/AIDS and disabilities.

On Feb,27, 2023 the IRDAI issued a circular to all general and standalone health insurers to “mandatorily launch and immediately offer” an “appropriate product” and a “specific cover” for persons with mental illnesses, disabilities and HIV/AIDS.

While there was negligible compliance between 2018 and 2021, since 2022, all insurers have started including mental illnesses in their health plans.


6) Answer: B

Union Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya addressed Confederation of Indian Industry Partnership Summit 2023.

The Confederation of Indian Industry Partnership Summit 2023 concluded on 15th March in New Delhi.

The 28th edition of the CII Partnership Summit has been organized by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade in partnership with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

‘One Health: Integrated, Collaborative and Multisectoral Approach to Optimal Health’ is the theme of the summit.

Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya said that India can lead the “One Earth, One Health” vision with a holistic and integrative eco and nature-friendly policy-making environment.


7) Answer: A

The ‘Learning Science via Standards’ initiative has been launched by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for students.

This initiative will focus on lesson plans which will help students in understanding scientific concepts, principles, and laws in a better way.

The student will understand the practical application of scientific concepts in manufacturing, functioning, and quality characteristics of different products.

The topics of lesson plans are related to products used in day-to-day life and have been selected based on their relevance in education.

‘Learning Science via Standards’ initiative is in the continuum with an earlier BIS initiative ‘Standards Clubs’.


8) Answer: A

NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) launched ATL SARATHI, a comprehensive self-monitoring framework, to strengthen the Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATL)’ growing ecosystem.

AIM is setting up ATLs in schools across India to foster curiosity, creativity and imagination in young minds and to develop skills such as Design Thinking Mindset, Computational Thinking, Adaptive Learning, Physical Computing etc.

So far AIM has provided financial assistance to 10,000 schools to set up Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATLs).

AIM is continuously strengthening the ecosystem by developing tools and frameworks to enhance the performance of ATL and achieve the desired objectives.

ATL Sarathi is one such initiative in this direction.

The initiative has four pillars which will ensure performance enhancement of ATL through regular process improvements.

The objective of ATL Cluster is to provide a self-sustainable model for ATLs and local authorities to work closely with each other and monitor, to form clusters of 20-30 ATLs in a particular area.


9) Answer: E

Nitin Gadkari showcased 100% methanol-powered buses that will be run by Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC).

The buses will be operated with methanol blended fuel as part of Mission Clean Energy.

The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari recently announced several pilot trials of MD15 buses on the premises of Vidhana Soudha.

Moreover, they are to be tested with 15% methanol-blended fuel provided by Indian Oil.

On this occasion, a truck that runs on 100% methanol (M 100) was also introduced by the government.


10) Answer: D

The Government of India and the World Bank have signed an agreement for the construction of Green National Highway Corridors Project (GNHCP) in an aggregate length of 781 km in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, with loan assistance of US $ 500 million against total project cost of US $ 1288.24 million (Rs. 7,662.47 crore).

The objective of the GNHCP is to demonstrate safe and green highway keeping in view climate resilience and use of green technologies by incorporating the provisions of conservation of natural resources using cement treated sub base/reclaimed asphalt pavement, use of local/ marginal material such as lime, fly ash, waste plastic, bio-engineering measures for slope protection such as hydroseeding, coco/jute fibre etc., which will enhance the ability of Ministry to bring Green technologies into the mainstream.


11) Answer: C

Delhi has been ranked fourth on the list of the world’s 50 most polluted cities.

Delhi is ranked 4th in terms of PM2.5 levels in 2022 according to IQAir’s World Air Quality Report.

In 2022, the average PM2.5 level in Delhi was 92.6 μg/m3.

Delhi stood fourth in 2021 as well.

According to the report, Lahore was the world’s most polluted city.

Lahore was followed by Hotan in China, and Bhiwadi in Rajasthan.

Bhiwadi had an average PM2.5 level of 92.7 μg/m3. The annual average PM2.5 level of New Delhi is 89.1 μg/m3.

New Delhi is the second most polluted capital city of the world on a list of 116 capital cities.

N’Djamena in Chad topped this list.

It has a marginally higher PM2.5 level of 89.7 μg/m3.

39 Indian cities have found a place on the list of the world’s 50 most polluted cities.

Cities like Noida, Gurgaon, Bulandshahr, Meerut, Charkhi Dadri, Jind, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, and Greater Noida are included in these cities.

As per IQAir, Delhi’s annual average PM2.5 level was 84μg/m3 in 2020, and 98.6μg/m3 in 2019.

Delhi’s average PM2.5 level was highest in November 2022.

Among 131 countries, India is ranked eighth.

Its population-weighted average PM2.5 level was 53.3μg/m3 in 2022.

On this list, India is behind Chad, Iraq, Pakistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso and Kuwait.


12) Answer: A

The government has appointed Mr Deepak Mohanty, former Reserve Bank official, as the Chairperson of the Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority (PFRDA).

He replaced MrSupratim Bandyopadhyay, whose term ended in January, 2023.

According to an order issued by the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Finance Ministry, Mr Mohanty will hold this post from the date of assumption of charge till attaining the age of 65 years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Prior to this, he was the Whole-Time Member (Economics) of PFRDA for 2 years overseeing areas of development and regulation of pension funds.

About Mr Deepak Mohanty :

He served as the Executive Director at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

He had also worked as Senior Adviser at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

He also held various positions in economic research and was Head of the Monetary Policy Department in the RBI.


13) Answer: D

The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Mr Antonio Guterres has appointed MsKavilmadamRamaswami Parvathy of India as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Tajikistan, with the host Government’s approval.

Prior to her appointment, she served as Representative and Country Director for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Türkiye

Resident coordinators report directly to the secretary-general and as the highest-ranking representative of the UN Development System, they lead UN Country Teams.


14) Answer: B

Mortgage lender LIC Housing Finance Ltd (LICHFL) announced that Mr M. R. Kumar, chairman, has tendered his resignation from the board of the company.

LIC Housing Finance is promoted by Life Insurance Corporation of India.

As on 31 December 2022, Life Insurance Corporation of India held 45.24% stake in LIC Housing Finance.


15) Answer: C

The annual session of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s Parliament elected President Xi Jinping’s close aide, Mr Li Qiang as the country’s new Premier, succeeding Li Keqiang who held the post for the last 10 years overseeing the second largest economy.

The NPC, a ceremonial body that regularly passes the proposals of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC).

Li Qiang, will be the number two ranked official of the CPC and the government after Xi, who was confirmed for an unprecedented third five-year term.

Xi, 69, is the only leader after the party founder Mao Zedong to have more than two five-year tenures.


16) Answer: B

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted two consecutive successful flight tests of the Very Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS) missile at the integrated test range (ITR) Chandipur off the coast of Odisha

The flight tests were carried out from a ground-based man-portable launcher against high-speed unmanned aerial targets.

About VSHORADS :

VSHORADS is a man-portable air defence system (MANPAD) meant for neutralising low-altitude aerial threats at short ranges.

It has been designed and developed indigenously by Research Centre Imarat, Hyderabad in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories and Indian industry partners.


17) Answer: B

Hyderabad-based Svaya Robotics has developed India’s first indigenous quadruped (four-legged) robot and exoskeleton for the defense sector as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.

The indigenous robots and wearable exoskeletons were developed by Svaya Robotics in collaboration with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Labs,  Research and Development Establishment (R&DE), Pune, and the Defence Bioengineering and Electromedical Laboratory (DEBEL), Bengaluru, as technology demonstrators with their design inputs.

Both are dual-use robots and have multiple use cases in both Industry and healthcare.


18) Answer: A

IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships started at Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi.

The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) is hosting the prestigious tournament from March 15 to 26.

The championship is being held in India for the third time after 2006 and 2018, the most for any country in the championship’s history.

International Boxing Association (IBA) President Umar Kremlev said that India has become the capital of women’s boxing and now together we are witnessing a historic moment.

Normally, 250 to 260 boxers participate in such championships but this year it is a big championship.

In 2023, more than 350 boxers from 74 different countries will par ticipate in 13th edition of the tournament.

The current world champion in the 50kg category, Nikhat Zareen, and 2020 Tokyo bronze medalist LovlinaBorgohain (75kg), are both on the Indian team of 12 boxers participating in the tournament.


19) Answer: C

The Youth Affairs and Sports Ministry is organizing the Khelo India Dus Ka Dum tournament from the 10th to the 31st March.

Around 15000 women athletes from 50 countries are participating in the tournament.

This tournament will have 10 sports.

The main objective of the tournament is to provide a platform to the women athletes who were unable to participate in national or state-level competitions.

Additionally, it aims to ensure that competitive sports reach remote geographic regions of India.


20) Answer: D

Ordnance Factories Day 2023 is observed on the 18th March 2023

It is a national event celebrated annually on the 18th March every year all over India to commemorate the foundation of the first Ordnance Factory in colonial India at Cossipore near Kolkata in 1801.

The East India Company of England, to increase their economic interest and political hold, considered manufacturing military hardware as a vital element.

The British authorities in 1775 established a Board of Ordnance in Fort William, Kolkata, which marks the official beginning of the Army Ordnance in India.

They further set up a gun powder factory in 1787 at Ishapore, which started production in 1791.

In 1801, the British established a Gun Carriage Agency at Cossipore, Kolkata and production started on March 18, 1802.