Daily GK and Current Affairs Quiz – 6th January 2023

Correct Answer:  C. ₹1,000 crore

Explanation:  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to engage the services of external auditors to audit majority of the 9,500-odd non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) to delve into their operations and check whether their registered office is at the place mentioned in their application for registration, among others.

• The RBI cancelled the certificate of registration (CoR) of 3,110 NBFCs between FY15 and FY22, with the largest number of cancellations (1,851) being in FY19. As on October 1, 2022, the CoRs of 5,451 NBFCs were cancelled by the central bank.
• The proposed audit exercise could lead to cancellation of CoRs of more NBFCs in FY24.
• There are 9,500-odd NBFCs but the RBI’s supervisory staff strength is only about 1,500.
• The focus of the proposed audit could be on NBFCs in the Base Layer (under the scale based regulation) comprising non-deposit taking NBFCs below the asset size of ₹1,000 crore and NBFCs undertaking activities such as Peer-to-Peer Lending (Platform), Account Aggregator and Non-Operative Financial Holding Company.
• The Reserve Bank has prescribed progressively stringent regulatory regimes for NBFCs in the Upper and Middle layers..
• There are 11 types of NBFCs including Investment and Credit Company, Infrastructure Finance Company,Core Investment Company, Micro Finance Institution, Account Aggregator, Peer to Peer Lending Platform and Housing Finance Company.

Correct Answer:  D. Karnataka

Explanation:  Puducherry has been handpicked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to host the 25th National Youth Festival. The 25th National Youth Festival is going to be held in Puducherry from 12th to 16th January 2022. The festival has been organised as part of the Azadi ki Amrit Mahotsav marking the 75th year of Independence, said Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports and Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur. National Youth Festival started in 1995 as a major activity under the programme held by National Integration Camp (NIC).

• The festival is likely to draw around 7000 youths in the age group of 18 to 22 from across the country. Around 500 youths from Puducherry will take part in the event.
• The government of India holds National Youth Festival, as a part of National Youth Week celebrations. It is organised with the aim of propagating the concept of national integration, brotherhood, the spirit of communal harmony, courage and adventure amongst the youth.
• This aim is achieved by organizing gatherings of youth and encouraging them to take part in different activities.

Correct Answer:  B. Spain

Explanation:  Spain is going to be the 46th International Kolkata Book Fair’s theme country. The book fair will be organised by Publishers and Booksellers Guild. The fair will be held from January 31 to February 12, 2023, at the Central Park Mela Ground, which has been newly named Boimela Prangan, in Salt Lake near Kolkata. For the first time, rare ‘punthis’ (old handwritten manuscripts) of Bengal will be exhibited.

Correct Answer:  C. West Bengal

Explanation:  Trinamool Congress (TMC) Chief and West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, has launched two initiatives ahead of the panchayat elections this year – ‘Didir Suraksha Kawach’ and ‘Didir Doot’. The programme, ‘Didir Suraksha Kawach’, will see 3.5 lakh party leaders reach every block and cover 2 crore families in 60 days, with workers staying in villages to understand the problems faced by locals and promoting the TMC government’s flagship programmes. An app, ‘Didir Doot’, has also been developed for people to register their problems. This initiative follows Banerjee’s ‘Didi ke Balo’ programme in 2019, which aimed to reach out to common people and was successful. The programme will be launched on January 11 and will focus on 15 state government schemes, covering various sectors such as food, housing, health, education, social security, income and employment.

Correct Answer:  B. Bihar

Explanation:  Folk singer Maithili Thakur was appointed the state icon for Bihar by the Election Commission. The singer will create awareness among the voters for their participation in the electoral process. This recognition will give her (Maithili) more impetus to spread Bihar’s folk music across continents and generate awareness about the importance of participating in the electoral process.

Maithili, born in Bihar’s Madhubani district, along with her two brothers, were trained by their grandfather and father in folk, Hindustani classical music, harmonium and tabla. She has rendered traditional folk songs of Bihar in Maithili, Bhojpuri and Hindi. Thakur, trained in Indian classical and folk music, was recently selected for the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar of the Sangeet Natak Akademi for her contribution to the folk music of Bihar for 2021.

Correct Answer:  D. Ambikasuthan Mangad

Explanation:  Writer Ambikasuthan Mangad has been selected for Odakuzhal Award 2022 for his collection of short stories titled Pranavayu. The award consists of Rs 30,000, citation, and plaque. Instituted by the Guruvayurappan Trust, the award is being given for the best collection of short stories in Malayalam. The award will be presented on the occasion of the 45th death anniversary of Mahakavi G. Sankara Kurup, who established the Guruvayurappan Trust, on February 2 at the Ernakulam Samastha Kerala Sahithya Parishad building here. Literary critic Dr. M. Leelavathi will present the award to Ambikasuthan Mangad.

The judging committee for 2022 said Pranavayu included stories that are contemporary and filled with modern vision and outlook. The stories Neeraliyan and Pranavayu, which are based on the topic of climate change, offer a unique reading experience in Malayalam.

Correct Answer:  C. Microsoft

Explanation:  The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) joined hand with Microsoft to empower spacetech startups in India. ISRO announced collaboration with Microsoft to promote the development of space technology startups in the country. Through this collaboration, ISRO-identified spacetech startups will be on-boarded onto the ‘Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub’ platform. This platform supports startups at every stage of their journey-from idea to unicorn.

This collaboration will greatly benefit space-tech startups in analyzing and processing large amounts of satellite data for various applications using cutting-edge methods such as AI, machine learning and deep learning. Microsoft will support space-tech startups through mentoring in a variety of fields, including space engineering to cloud technologies, product and design, fund raising and sales and marketing.

Correct Answer:  C. 382 MW

Explanation:  The government approved Rs 2,614.51 crore investment for the 382 MW Sunni Dam Hydro Electric Project by state-owned Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam limited (SJVN) Ltd in Himachal Pradesh. The project will be built on the Sutlej River. “The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the investment for 382 MW Sunni Dam Hydro Electric Project in Himachal Pradesh by SJVN Ltd, for an estimated cost of Rs 2,614.51 crore, including Rs 13.80 crore as budgetary support from Government of India for the cost of enabling infrastructure,”. Ex-post facto approval is given for cumulative expenditure incurred amounting to Rs 246 crore till January 2022, it added. The project cost of Rs 2,614 crore included hard cost amounting to Rs 2,246.40 crore, Interest During Construction (IDC) and Financing Charges (FC) of Rs 358.96 crore and 9.15 crore, respectively, the statement said.

Correct Answer:  D. Astronaut

Explanation:  On October 11, 1968, three men boarded NASA‘s Saturn IB and had what the agency described as a “perfect launch” into space in the first crewed Apollo mission. On Tuesday, Walter Cunningham– the last surviving astronaut on that mission who helped pave the way for humans to walk on the moon – died in Houston. Walter was a fighter pilot, physicist and entrepreneur, above all, “he was an explorer.” One of his first encounters, however, ended in tragedy. He, along with Walter Schirra and Donn Eisele, were backup crew members on the Apollo 1 mission in 1967 when a flash fire occurred during a launch pad test. The incident resulted in the deaths of three other astronauts.

• A year later, those three backup crew members made history as they became the first human test flight of the Apollo spacecraft.They stayed in space for 11 days, traveling 4.5 million miles, with Cunningham serving as their lunar module pilot. The mission also provided the first live TV transmission of onboard activities in space.
• The Apollo 7 mission was an essential step in the history-making space venture that would take place just months later in July 1969. It was then that Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon, uttering his famous words as he climbed down the ladder: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Correct Answer:  D. PK Motupalli

Explanation:  Prasanna Kumar Motupalli has been appointed as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the state-run NLC India Ltd (NLCIL) till the date of his superannuation which is June 30, 2026. Motupalli’s appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.  Motupalli is serving as Managing Director in Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Limited on a deputation basis.

Correct Answer:  B. Sudan

Explanation:  India will deploy a platoon of women peacekeepers to UN Mission in Sudan. This will be India’s largest single unit of women Peacekeepers in a UN Mission since it deployed the first-ever all-women contingent in Liberia in 2007. The Indian contingent, comprising two officers and 25 Other Ranks, will form part of an Engagement platoon and specialize in Community outreach, though they will be performing extensive security-related tasks as well. The deployment in Abyei will also herald India’s intent of increasing significantly the number of Indian women in Peacekeeping contingents. The operation has been tasked with monitoring the flashpoint border between north and south and facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid and is authorized to use force in protecting civilians and humanitarian workers in Abyei.

• The U.N. Peacekeeping mission is a joint effort between the Department of Peace Operations and the Department of Operational Support, and aims to assist host countries to transition from situations of conflict to peace.
• The U.N. began its Peacekeeping efforts in 1948 when it deployed military observers to West Asia. The Peacekeeping mission’s role was to monitor the Armistice Agreement between Israel and its Arab neighbours.
• U.N. Peacekeepers provide security as well as political and peacebuilding support to conflict-ridden countries.

Blue Helmets are the military personnel of the U.N. that work alongside the U.N. Police and civilian colleagues to promote “stability, security, and peace processes”. The personnel get the name from the iconic blue helmets or berets they wear. All military personnel under Blue Helmets are members of their national armies first who are seconded to work under the U.N. command. Currently, there are more than 70,000 military personnel enlisted as Blue Helmets. African and Asian countries outnumber their western counterparts in contributing soldiers to Blue Helmets.

Correct Answer:  C. Sanjeev Sanyal

Explanation:  Noted economist and popular historian Sanjeev Sanyal is set to release his latest book, “Revolutionaries: The Other Story of How India Won Its Freedom,” Sanyal, has authored best-selling books including “Land of the Seven Rivers,” “The Ocean of Churn,” “India in the Age of Ideas,” and “The Indian Renaissance.” Sanjeev Sanyal is currently part of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council.

Correct Answer:  C. Rs 12,882 crore

Explanation:  The Centre has approved the continuation of schemes of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) with an outlay of Rs 12,882 crore for the balance period of the 15th Finance Commission (2022-23 to 2025-26). According to an official statement, the actual expenditure in the last four years under the DoNER schemes was Rs 7,534.46 crore. Union Minister of DoNER, Tourism & Culture, Shri G. Kishan Reddy.

• The NESIDS, a central sector scheme with 100 per cent central funding, has been restructured having two components — NESIDS (Roads) and NESIDS (other than road infrastructure).
• the Expenditure Finance Committee’s (EFC) recommendations, the outlay for the North East Special Infrastructure Scheme (NESIDS) will be Rs 8,139.5 crore, including the committed liabilities of the ongoing projects.
• The outlay for the “Schemes of NEC” will be Rs 3,202.7 crore, including the committed liabilities of the ongoing projects, the outlay for special packages for the Bodoland Territorial Council, the Dima Hasao Autonomous Territorial Council (DHATC) and the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Territorial Council (KAATC) in Assam is Rs 1,540 crore, including the committed liabilities of the ongoing projects.

Correct Answer:  C. 6th January

Explanation:  The World Day of War Orphans is observed on January 6 every year with an aim to raise awareness about children orphaned in wars, spread information about their plight and emphasise the psychological, social, and physical obstacles that children experience as they grow up. The World Day of War Orphans was founded by the French organisation SOS Enfants en Detresses.