Daily GK and Current Affairs Quiz – 2nd March 2023

Correct Answer:  D. Second

Explanation:  As per the Brand Finance Telecoms 150 2023, an annual report of the strongest telecoms brand, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, an Indian Telecommunications company & subsidiary of Jio Platforms, is Asia’s strongest and World’s 2nd strongest telecoms brand having a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 90 out of 100 and earning an elite AAA+ rating. Reliance Jio has climbed up to 2nd rank from 5th place in 2022 in a list of the top 10 strongest telecom brands in the world. Swisscom, a major telecommunications provider in Switzerland, is the world’s strongest telecoms brand with a BSI score of 92/100. List of the World’s Strongest Telecom Brands:

Telecoms 150 Ranking 2023 (most valuable Telecoms brands):

1. According to Brand Finance’s ranking of the most valuable telecom brands worldwide, Jio rose from rank 32 in 2022 to 27 in 2023. However, Jio is still behind Bharti Airtel which is 21 on the list.
2. Verizon Communications Inc(Verizon), an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate, remains the world’s Most Valuable Telecoms brand for the 4th consecutive year despite a 3% year-on-year (YoY) reduction taking its brand value to USD 67.4 billion.

Top 5 Telecoms 150 Ranking 2023:

Indian companies featured on the 2023 ranking are, Bharti Airtel (21), Reliance Jio (27), Vodafone Idea (VI) (89), Tata Communications (131), Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) (148). The rankings are based on a BSI score, which considers various metrics, including company performance, shareholder equity, and marketing investment. Stakeholder equity is evaluated by Brand Finance using original market research data from more than 150,000 respondents in 38 countries.

Correct Answer:  B. India

Explanation:  Japan, the United States, South Korea and Taiwan have held the first meeting of senior officials under a new U.S.-led framework to help ensure a stable supply of semiconductors, Japan’s industry ministry said. Officials from industry organizations in the four economies took part in the virtual conference of the “Chip 4” alliance on Feb. 16 to discuss ways to maintain supply chain resilience in times of natural disasters and other contingencies.

• In a bid to outcompete China technologically, the Biden administration launched a new dialogue forum with Japan and South Korea on friend-shoring semiconductors as it invites companies to compete for a share of the $50 billion already approved to revitalize the U.S. chip industry.
• The inaugural meeting of the Economic Security Dialogue among the United States, Japan and South Korea was launched in Honolulu. Japan and South Korea are home to two of the world’s strongest semiconductor industries, and the forum aims to address issues related to critical and emerging technologies, supply chain resilience of semiconductors, batteries and critical minerals, as well as data transparency amid the U.S.-China tech war.
• Also, the administration launched the first CHIPS for America funding opportunity — an invitation for companies to compete for a share of the $50 billion approved by Congress under the CHIPS Act last year, specifically the $39 billion allocated to fund the construction of new and expanded domestic manufacturing semiconductor facilities.
• Much of the funds will be used by the few companies already producing the world’s most advanced chips — including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology — to ramp up their production capacity in the United States.

Correct Answer:  D. MV Suchindra Kumar

Explanation:  Lieutenant General MV Suchindra Kumar assumed the position of the Vice Chief of the Army Staff on Wednesday. “The General officer has taken over the appointment from Lieutenant General BS Raju, who has assumed Jaipur based Sapta Shakti Command,” the Ministry of Defence said. Prior to taking over as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff, Kumar was tenanting the appointment of Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Strategy) at Army HQ. He has experience in intelligence, operations, force structuring, operational logistics and tech infusion in his recent appointments.

“An alumnus of Sainik School Bijapur and National Defence Academy, the General Officer was commissioned into 1 Assam Regiment in June 1985. He has commanded 59 Rashtriya Rifles Battalion (ASSAM), an Infantry Brigade and an Infantry Division on the Line of Control and the highly active White Knight Corps in Northern Command,” the ministry added. The General Officer has held various staff and instructional appointments to include an instructional tenure at Infantry School, Mhow, Senior Operations Officer in the United Nations Sector in Cambodia, Colonel (Policy) in Military Secretary Branch, Indian Army Training Team at Lesotho, Brigadier General Staff (Operations) of a Corps in the Eastern Theatre, Additional Director General Military Intelligence and Director General Military Intelligence at Army HQ.

Correct Answer:  B. Karnataka and Gujarat

Explanation:  Showcasing a strong commitment towards clean energy adoption, Karnataka and Gujarat have made maximum progress towards clean electricity transition. Whereas, states like West Bengal, Bihar and UP are lagging far behind in the field, says a joint report published by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). The report analyses 16 Indian states, which together account for 90% of the country’s annual power requirement. The report has measured the performance of these states in terms of four dimensions:

• Decarbonisation
• Performance of the power system
• Readiness of the power ecosystem
• Policies and political commitments

These dimensions help in tracking how much a state is prepared to shift away from fossil-fuel based power plants, its capability to incentivise green market, its government policy to push for power sector decarbonisation. To measure the performance of the state, authors formulated a States’ Electricity Transition (SET) scoring system to measure the performance of these states.

Correct Answer:  D. Gurugram

Explanation:  The G20 meeting of the Anti Corruption Working Group began in Gurugram on 1 March 2023. Union Minister Jitendra Singh addressed the G20 meeting. Representatives from 20 member nations, 10 invitee nations and nine international organisations (such as Interpol etc.) will be attending the meeting. The issues like food and energy security and development cooperation, counter-terrorism, new and emerging threats, global skill mapping and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief will be figured in the meeting.    Around 100 representatives will be part of detailed discussions on strengthening the international anti-corruption mechanism between 1 March 2023 and 3 March 2023. The co-chair for the G20 ACWG 2023 is Italy.

Correct Answer:  B. 1.49 crore

Explanation:  The gross goods and service tax (GST) revenue collection in the month of February 2023 stood at Rs 1,49,577 crore, up around 12% on an annual basis. With this, the monthly GST revenues remained over Rs 1.4 lakh crore for 12 straight months in a row, the Finance Ministry said in a statement. India’s GST revenue in February 2022 was Rs 1,33,026 crore. Of the total revenue collected, CGST is Rs 27,662 crore, SGST is Rs 34,915 crore, IGST is Rs 75,069 crore (including ₹35,689 crore collected on import of goods) while cess is Rs 11,931 crore (including Rs 792 crore collected on import of goods).

• The GST revenue for February 2023 is 12 percent higher than the GST revenue in the same month last year, which was Rs 1,33,026 crore, but its down 5 percent from the Rs 1,57,554 crore reported last month.
• Among the major states, Tamil Nadu recorded a growth of 19 percent, Karnataka of 18 percent, Maharashtra of 15 percent, Uttar Pradesh 14 percent and Gujarat of 8 percent in collections for February.
• The Centre has also settled Rs 34,770 crore of CGST and Rs 29,054 crore of SGST from IGST as regular settlement. The total revenue of the Centre and the states, after regular settlements in February 2023, is Rs 62,432 crore for CGST and Rs 63,969 crore for SGST. In addition, the Centre had also released the balance GST compensation of Rs 16,982 crore for June 2022 and Rs 16,524 crore to states/UTs which have sent AG-certified figures for the previous period.

Correct Answer:  A. Rajesh Malhotra

Explanation:  Senior Indian Information Service (IIS) officer, Rajesh Malhotra has been appointed as the principal director general of the Press Information Bureau (PIB), according to the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. He will be the principal spokesperson of the government of India. He will replace Satyendra Prakash, who took charge as principal DG of PIB in August 2022.

Correct Answer:  A. 1st March 

Explanation:  World Seagrass Day is celebrated annually on 1st March  to raise awareness about seagrass and its important functions in the marine ecosystem. The seagrasses are grass-like plants that live close to the sea. They are the only flowering plant to grow in the marine environment. There are more than 60 seagrass species in the world. They act as the best carbon sink and provide food for marine life. The seagrasses have been declining since the 1930s. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categorizes nearly 21% of the world’s seagrasses as near threatened or vulnerable or endangered. Pollution, coastal development activities, and land-based run-offs are degrading the seagrasses.

Correct Answer:  D. Jammu and Kashmir

Explanation:  The India Today Tourism Survey has chosen Jammu & Kashmir Tourism for best adventure tourism award. The awards were given away at New Delhi by Union Minister of State for Culture & Parliamentary Affairs, Arjun Ram Meghwal. The award has been given to the J&K Tourism Department in recognition of its efforts in promoting ‘Gulmarg’ as an adventure destination of international order. The award was received by Deputy Director, Tourism, Alyas Ahmad on behalf of the Department. Ministers from Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, representatives of Tourism Boards of several states and UTs, representatives of national travel trade and business bodies were present on the occasion.

Correct Answer:  B. Rs 5.5 trillion

Explanation:  The amount of various subsidies and sops transferred to recipients through direct benefit transfer (DBT) has reached almost Rs 5.5 trillion so far in the current fiscal year, FY23, almost on par with FY21‘s total and falling just 13% shy of FY22’s total achievement. The DBT transfers are anticipated to surpass the Rs 6.3 trillion attained in FY22 because to the large number of dues that are paid in the final month of the year. While input costs and fertilizer prices almost doubled in just a year, farmers have received fertiliser subsidies totaling Rs 1.9 trillion so far this fiscal year, which is 53% more than the total of Rs 1.24 trillion in FY22.

• Given that there are still more than two months until the end of FY23, the amount of fertiliser that farmers received as subsidies for the entire year would be far larger than what has been previously reported. In contrast to the budget projection of Rs 1.05 trillion and the actual Rs 1.54 trillion (including dealer and manufacturer) in FY22, the overall fertiliser subsidy expense for the Centre is projected to be Rs 2.25 trillion for FY23.
• Under the public distribution system (PDS), recipients have received transfers of subsidies of Rs 1.5 trillion via foodgrains so far in FY23. Similar to FY22, the food DBT through PDS is expected to end the year around Rs 2.2 trillion in FY23. The free grains programme was to blame for the increased food Consumption.
• The expansion in the adoption of Aadhaar-enabled DBT platforms for in-kind food and fertiliser subsidy distribution may be substantially responsible for the increase in DBT starting in FY19. The Aadhaar-enabled DBT platform, in the Center’s estimation, assisted in removing 41.1 million fictitious LPG connections and 39.9 million duplicate connections.
• The Centre estimates that the Aadhaar-enabled DBT platform contributed to the removal of 41.1 million fictitious LPG connections, 39.9 million duplicate ration cards, and 10% pay savings due to the removal of nonexistent MGNREGA beneficiaries.

Correct Answer:  D. Irinjadappilly Sree Krishna Temple

Explanation:  The Irinjadappilly Sree Krishna Temple in Kerala‘s Thrissur district has become the first in the country to use a mechanical, lifelike elephant for temple rituals. The temple priests performed ‘Nadayiruthal’ or ceremonial offering to the deity, of Irinjadappilly Raman, a magnificent, lifelike mechanical or “robotic” elephant. Irinjadappilly Raman has been gifted to the temple by animal rights organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India with the support of award-winning Indian film actor Parvathy Thiruvothu. ‘Irinjadappilly Raman’ will help conduct ceremonies at the temple in a safe and cruelty-free manner and thereby support real elephants’ rehabilitation and life in forests, ending the horror of captivity for them.

Correct Answer:  B. India

Explanation:  Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA) has conferred Government Leadership Award 2023 to India for implementing best practices in telecom policy and regulation. GSMA, which represents more than 750 mobile operators and 400 companies in the telecom ecosystem, recognizes one country every year. India was declared winner in the ceremony held at Mobile World Congress Barcelona. In a statement, GSMA said India’s biggest-ever spectrum auction for 5G was held in July 2022. In total, 72 GHz spectrum was sold across ten spectrum bands. The government lowered reserve prices by 39 per cent across the spectrum band. Seventy-one of all spectrum on auction was sold for $19 billion. All three mobile operators in India acquired spectrum in key 5G bands such as 700 MHz, 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz. To further support 5G rollouts, the government has also liberalised the spectrum cap limit for telecom operators, expanding their ability to hold more spectrum.

• In India, RoW permissions which used to take more than 230 days, now get approval within 8 days.
• More than 85% mobile tower clearances are now instantaneous.
• With nearly 1 Lakh sites in 387 districts, India’s 5G roll-out is one of the fastest in the world.
• Indian telecom sector has emerged as a sunrise sector and the whole world has taken note of this rise.
• In India, several initiatives were carried out such as licensing reforms, creation of PM Gati Shakti Sanchar Portal, streamlining Right of Way (RoW), spectrum reforms, satellite reforms etc.

Correct Answer:  B. 5.5%

Explanation:  Moody’s Investors Service has raised India’s economic growth estimate for 2023 to 5.5 per cent from 4.8 per cent pegged earlier. Moody’s, however, revised downwards India’s growth estimate for 2022 to 6.8 per cent from 7 per cent pegged in November 2022. It projected a 70 basis points increase in 2023 real GDP growth at 5.5 per cent and 2024 growth at 6.5 per cent.

In the case of India, the upward revisions additionally incorporate the sharp increase in capital expenditure budget allocations to ₹10 trillion (3.3 per cent of GDP) for the fiscal year 2023-24, up from ₹7.5 trillion for the fiscal year ending March 2023. Moody’s expects global growth to continue to slow in 2023. As per Moody’s report, G20 global economic growth will downshift to 2 per cent in 2023 from 2.7 per cent in 2022 and then improve to 2.4 per cent in 2024.

Correct Answer:  C. Aishwarya Babu

Explanation:  India’s top triple-jumper Aishwarya Babu has been banned by the National Anti-Doping Agency’s (NADA) disciplinary panel for four years for using a prohibited anabolic steroid. She had won the triple jump gold in the championships with a national record-breaking lunge of 14.14 metres. NADA said the substance Aishwarya used was an “anabolic steroid” listed under WADA’s 2022 banned.