Daily GK and Current Affairs Quiz – 8th February 2023

Correct Answer:  C. 232

Explanation:  Non-Chinese lending services LazyPay and Kissht have become unavailable to users after the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s order which blocked 232 apps involved in unauthorised loan services, betting and gambling. These apps were being operated from offshore entities, including Chinese and were posing a threat to the economic stability of the country.

Correct Answer:  B. TCS

Explanation:  Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been named to FORTUNE® magazine’s list of the World’s Most Admired Companies. Regarded as a barometer of corporate reputation, the list is based on a survey of business executives, directors and analysts around the globe. Companies are evaluated based on criteria such as innovation, social responsibility, quality of management, global competitiveness, talent management, and quality of products/services.

TCS partners with some of the world’s largest corporations in their innovation, growth, and transformation initiatives. Its industry-leading growth over the last decade has come from continually looking for new opportunities to add value to clients, proactively investing in newer capabilities, reskilling its workforce, and launching newer services, solutions, products, and platforms.

Correct Answer:  D. Ruskin Bond

Explanation:  The awards are judged by a panel of literary experts, like Dr Kailash Pinjani (President Indian Authors Association), Dr Deepak Parbat (Founder of Superfast Author) & Murali Sundaram (Founder of TLC), who choose the winners based on factors such as originality, creativity, and impact on the literary world. Golden Book Awards is sponsored by Wings Publication International.

• The winners of Golden Book Awards 2023 are-
• J.K Rowling – Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore
• Gaur Gopal Das – Energize Your Mind: A Monk’s Guide To Mindful Living
• Deepak Chopra – The Seven Spiritual Law Of Success: A Practical Guide To Achieving Your Dreams
• Kamlesh Patel – The Wisdom Bridge: Nine Principles To A Life That Echoes In The Hearts Of Your Loved Ones
• Jeff Kinney – Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Diper Overlode
• Ashneer Grover – Doglapan: The Hard Truth About Life And Start-Ups
• Ruskin Bond – How To Live Your Life
• Namita Thapar – The Dolphin And The Shark: Stories On Entrepreneurship
• Sneh Desai, Sunil Tulsiani & Brian Tracy – Ultimate Secrets To Wealth
• Raj Shamani – Build, Don’t Talk – Things You Wish You Were Taught In School
• Bhupendra Singh Raathore – The Magic Of Thinking Rich
• Deepak Bajaj – Network Marketing In 60 Minutes
• Deepti Naval – A Country Called Childhood: A Memoir
• Smita Goswamy – Family Run To Family Led
• Subadra Ilan – An Enticing Career
• Aadya Dube – Always Be Unique
• Navin Reuben Dawson – Chimaera
• Rajeev Kumar Dubey – Urvi
• Dr Soumendra Nath Bandyopadhyay – The Mysteries Of The Universe-Where Fact Is More Interesting Than Fiction
• Ankush Pare – Secret to overcome stammering and becoming an effective speaker
• Parag Pandya – Padagha ( Japanese Version – Bussokusekika )
• Moasenla R. Jamir – Foreign Engine In Flight – A Light Of Passage In Poems
• Gowri Venket – Superstar Of My Life – Saibaba
• Dr Sreeveni V – Self-Worth As Your First Impression – Signature Of Your Expression
• Ashutosh Madhukar Marathe – The Extra In Ordinary
• Dr K. Sreekumar – Buddhavelicham
• Rakhi Kapoor – Now You Breathe – Overcoming Toxic Relationships And Abuse
• Chandrima Chowdhury – The Tales Of The Uncommon Commons
• Dr P. Madhurima Reddy – The Awakening
• Aashish Patidar Property Shastra – A Vedic Guide To Buy The Right Property
• S. Ilanchezhiyan – 10x Ceo To The Board Joy To Yoy
• Kiran Sidde – Vidyarthi-Betal
• Osama Regaah – Travel And Thoughts

Correct Answer:  A. UK

Explanation:  World’s first ‘super’ magnets for testing in nuclear fusion plant is developed by UK’s Tokamak Energy in February 2023. Tokamak Energy announced that the Demo4 magnet has a magnetic field strength that is nearly a million times stronger than the Earth’s magnetic field, making it capable of confining and controlling the extremely hot plasma created during the nuclear fusion process.

• The process involves mimicking the natural reactions that occur within the Sun, providing near-limitless energy without requiring fossil fuels and without producing hazardous waste.
• Tokamak Energy is aiming to be the first private company to produce commercial fusion energy, with the goal of demonstrating grid-ready fusion in the early 2030s.
• Last year, scientists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California became the first to achieve a net energy gain using nuclear fusion power.

Correct Answer:  C. Digital Green

Explanation:   The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Digital Green under a public-private partnership framework to build a national digital extension platform. The platform will give farmers access to a digital library of multi-format, multi-lingual content and will help extension workers deliver this information to farmers. Additionally, the platform will aid in upskilling the network of extension workers in agriculture, horticulture, fisheries, livestock, and rural livelihoods through online courses.

The proposed national platform is expected to make the extension system more efficient and effective. The platform is planned to be launched within six months and will serve the entire farming community in India. The CEO of Digital Green, Rikin Gandhi, expressed gratitude for the government’s investment in technology to make the Indian farm system ready for the future.

Correct Answer:  B. France

Explanation:  France defender Raphael Varane is retiring from international football, ending a 10-year career with Les Bleus in which he won the World Cup in 2018 and was a runner-up four years later. The 29-year-old, who has 93 caps after making his debut in 2013, also helped Didier Deschamps’s side win the UEFA Nations League in the 2020-21 season. Varane made his international debut against Georgia in March 2013 and was a regular for Les Bleus all the way through to their 4-2 victory over Croatia in the 2022 World Cup final. He has been a reliable option for Didier Deschamps over recent years, but is ready to focus solely on events at Manchester United.

Varane represented France at under-18, under-20 and under-21 level. He was part of France’s FIFA World Cup squad in 2014, when he was nominated for the Best Young Player award, in 2018, when he played every minute of every game as France went on to win the competition, and in 2022, when France finished as runners-up. He announced his retirement from international football in 2023, having earned 93 caps and scored 5 goals.

Correct Answer:  B. 1st

Explanation:  Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Parshottam Rupala told Lok Sabha that India is the highest milk producer in the world contributing twenty-four per cent of global milk production in the year 2021-22. According to production data of Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT), India is the highest milk producer in the world contributing twenty-four per cent of global milk production in the year 2021-22.

• The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying runs various schemes to benefit farmer members, including financially weaker farmers in the dairy sector.
• The National Programme for Dairy Development aims at enhancing the quality of milk, milk products and increasing the share of organised procurement, processing, value addition and marketing.
• The milk production of India has registered a fifty-one per cent increase during the last eight years- during the year 2014-15 and 2021-22 and increased to twenty-two crore tonne in the year 2021-22.
• NPDD was launched in February 2014 by merging three existing schemes- Intensive Dairy Development Programme, Strengthening Infrastructure for Quality and Clean Milk Production and Assistance to Cooperatives.
• In July 2021, NPDD has been restructured with the aim of enhancing the quality of milk and milk products and increasing the share of organised procurement, processing, value addition and marketing; for implementation from 2021-22 to 2025-26.
• Due to the implementation of these schemes by the department, milk production in the country has increased from 146.31 Million Tonnes in 2014-15 to 221.1.

Correct Answer:  D. K Satyanarayana Raju

Explanation:  The Union Government has appointed K Satyanarayana Raju as its Managing Director and CEO of Canara Bank, with immediate effect. He will be replacing L V Prabhakar who demitted office on December 31, 2022. He joined the erstwhile Vijaya Bank in 1988, and rose to the level of chief general manager in Bank of Baroda. His experience has led to digital transformation of banking products and services. Raju, who is a Physics Graduate, Post Graduate in Business Administration (Banking and Finance) and CAIIB (Certified Associate of Indian Institute of Bankers), had earlier served Canara Bank as Executive Director since March 10, 2021. He has a very rich and vast experience in all segments of banking including Branch Banking, Corporate Credit, Retail Credit, Agri Financing, Credit Monitoring, Credit Recovery, Compliance etc. Also his rich experience and exposure led to digital transformation of banking products and services.

Correct Answer:  C. MIG29 K Fighter Aircraft

Explanation:  Naval variant of indigenous Light Combat Aircraft landed successfully on INS Vikrant. Light Combat Aircraft (Navy) and MIG29 K Fighter Aircraft successfully landed on India’s first indigenous-built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. As part of the aviation trials, the landing of LCA (Navy) and MiG-29K was carried out on 06 Feb 2023 by Indian Naval Test Pilots. The successful landing and take-off will give further impetus to self-reliance initiatives in the defence sector.

For the first time, the trials of a prototype aircraft – indigenously designed & produced by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) & Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), has been successfully carried out on an indigenous Aircraft Carrier. The successful landing and take-off tests from aircraft carriers will help in the development and manufacturing of twin-engine and deck-based fighter jets. Indian Navy is planning to use 12 MiG-29K fighters on the INS Vikrant. The Indian Navy currently operates two aircraft carriers — the INS Vikrant and the INS Vikramaditya.

Correct Answer:  C. Indore Municipal Corporation

Explanation:  Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) has launched India’s first public issue of municipal bonds intending to raise up to Rs 244 crore to fund a solar power project. This would be the first time a municipal body is targeting individual investors in India. The base issue size is Rs 122 crore with an option to retain an oversubscription of up to Rs 122 crore, aggregating up to a limit of Rs 244 crore. The issue will remain open for subscription during February 10-14. This is also a green bond as the proceeds will be used to fund a 60 MW captive solar photovoltaic power plant at the villages of Samraj and Ashukhedi in Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone district.

Correct Answer:  B. Manoj Govil

Explanation:  Draft Digital Competition Act: A month after a Parliamentary panel sought a new digital competition law, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has constituted a 16-member committee to look into the Draft Digital Competition Act. Chaired by Corporate Affairs Secretary Manoj Govil, the panel will review existing competition norms and will examine the need for new legislations to tame the digital gatekeepers.  Joint Secretary (Competition) in the Corporate Affairs Ministry will serve as member secretary.

• The panel will also study international best practices with regard to regulation and other government policies in the field of digital markets.
• The committee will also review the practices of major players (Systemically Important Digital Intermediaries) in the digital domain, which ‘limit or have the potential to cause harm in digital markets.’
• The panel has been tasked with submitting its report, including a draft of the Digital Competition Act (DCA), to the authorities in the next three months.
• The Committee will also comprise of CCI chairperson, Chairman of Indian Angel Network and NASSCOM cofounder Saurabh Srivastava, retired Professor Aditya Bhattacharjea, Khaitan & Co’s Haigreve Khaitan, Pallavi Shardul Shroff of Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, among others.

Correct Answer:  C. Reliance Jio

Explanation:  Reliance Jio in collaboration with GSMA has unveiled a nationwide Digital Skill initiative. This collaborative effort intends to provide rural women and people from low-income groups with training based on their specific needs. As part of this effort, the GSMA and Jio teams collaborated to identify existing digital skill shortages and create need-based, India-specific digital skills training toolkits. Following in-depth user input and field research, the toolkits were created. During the trial phase, more than 1,000 rural men and women from Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh took part and contributed to the improvement of the digital training toolkits.

The initiative is currently being implemented in 10 states with an emphasis on targeting women and underrepresented groups. Through its extensive network and support from self-help organizations, Reliance Foundation will assist with the deployment.

Correct Answer:  C. Airtel Payments Bank           

Explanation:  Airtel Payments Bank announced the availability of its current account, BizKhata, which offers small businesses and business partners across the nation fast activation and limitless transactions. Because they cannot maintain the minimum amount required for business accounts, many small business owners continue to use savings accounts for business-related expenses. This makes it difficult to distinguish between personal and corporate dealings.

• The BizKhata business platform from Airtel Payments Bank was created with these small company owners and retailers in mind.
• It unifies all corporate transactions on a single platform and enables them to keep accurate records while taking advantage of several financial advantages.
• Do an unlimited number of credit and debit transactions, within five minutes of opening the account, the customer can begin utilizing it.

Correct Answer:  C. PhonePe

Explanation:  PhonePe announced the debut of a service that will enable its Indian users who are travelling overseas to pay foreign businesses using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). “UPI international” enables retail locations with a native QR (quick response) code in the UAE, Singapore, Mauritius, Nepal, and Bhutan. Similar to how they do with overseas debit cards, users would be able to make direct payments in a foreign currency from their Indian bank. The Walmart-backed finance app PhonePe claimed to be the first to do so in India.

• PhonePe, with a recent $350 million investment from General Atlantic and a $12 billion pre-money valuation, became the most valuable fintech company in India.
• According to a report by Bain and Company, the money will enable PhonePe to expand its business and compete with Google Pay, Paytm, and Amazon Pay in the $350 billion Indian fintech market by 2026.
• Users of PhonePe can use the PhonePe App to authorise their UPI-linked bank account for the service at the merchant location or in advance of their foreign travel.
• To activate the service, the customer would need to enter their UPI pin.
• Since its launch in December 2015, PhonePe has grown to become India’s top payments app. With 435 million registered users, PhonePe is currently used by one in four Indians.