Daily GK and Current Affairs Quiz – 9th March 2023

Correct Answer:  D. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank

Explanation:  Max Life Insurance and Ujjivan Small Finance Bank have partnered to offer life insurance offerings to Ujjivan SFB’s customers. Through this partnership, Max Life and Ujjivan SFB will offer a range of savings, protection, retirement, and group life insurance plans to more than 73 lakh Ujjivan SFB customers. Max Life Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between Max Financial Services Limited and Axis Bank Limited. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Limited began its operations in February 2017.

Correct Answer:  C. Rs 1 lakh

Explanation:  Presiding over a state-level event for International Women’s Day (8th March), Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has announced a nearly five-fold increase in the monetary award under the Himachal Pradesh Mahila Vikas Protsahan Puraskar. The monetary award for the Mahila Vikas Protsahan Puraskar has been hiked to Rs 1 lakh from the current Rs 21,000. The allowance for district-level awards has been raised from Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000.

Correct Answer:  B. Indira Gandhi International Airport

Explanation:  Delhi airport has been ranked among the cleanest airports in Asia-Pacific as a part of the Airport Council International (ACI)’s annual service quality award. The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), operated by DIAL, has bagged the award for Airport Service Quality (ASQ) best airport for 2022 in the category of over 40 Million Passengers Per Annum (MPPA). The airport service quality award is based on passenger surveys carried out to rate customer satisfaction on the day of travel.

• The surveys cover over 30 performance indicatorsacross key elements of a passenger’s airport experience such as ease of finding your way, check-in, shopping, and dining offerings.
• According to ACI, 144 awards have been won by 75 airports globally based on over 465,000 surveys collected in 2022.
• In addition to the award for best airports by size and region, four new categorieswere introduced in 2022–airport with the most dedicated staff; the easiest airport journey; the most enjoyable airport, and the cleanest airport.

Correct Answer:  C. Arun Subramaniam

Explanation:  Indian-American Arun Subramaniam has been confirmed as first South Asian District Judge for the Southern District of New York. In a tweet, Senate Majority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer  confirmed the nomination of Mr. Subramanian by a vote of 58-37.  Senator Schumer said that Subramanian dedicated his career to fighting for people.  South District New York notably has one of the largest South Asian-American populations in the country.

Correct Answer:  B. Ms Sipra Das

Explanation:   The Union Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, Dr. L. Murugan presented the 8th National Photography Awards. During this event, a total of 13 awards including one Lifetime Achievement Award have been bestowed. 13 Awards in total were presented during the ceremony comprising 6 each in the Professional and Amateur category. The theme for the Professional category was “Life and Water” whereas, for the Amateur category, the theme was “Cultural Heritage of India”.

Winners List of the 8th National Photography Awards:

• Lifetime Achievement Award: Ms Sipra Das
• Professional Photographer of the Year Award: Shri Sasi Kumar Ramachandran

Special Mention Awards in the Professional category 

• Dipjyoti Banik
• Shri Manish Kumar Chauhan
• Shri RS Gopakumar
• Shri Sudipto Das
• Shri Umesh Harishchandra Nikam

Amateur Photographer of the Year Award – Shri Arun Saha​

Correct Answer:  C. Manik Saha

Explanation:  BJP leader Manik Saha took charge as the Chief Minister of Tripura for the second time, but the spotlight was on the TIPRA Motha, a new regional party. Soon after Governor Satyadeo Narayan Arya administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mr. Saha and eight more MLAs as Ministers in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a marathon meeting with TIPRA Motha chief Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma and 13 MLAs of his party. The meeting triggered speculation about the possibility of the TIPRA Motha joining the BJP-Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) alliance government; more so, after three Cabinet berths were left vacant. The possible strength of the Council of Ministers in the 60-member House is 12.

Correct Answer:  C. Shaliza Dhami

Explanation:  The armed forces have opened up command appointments for women officers following a Supreme Court verdict. In the first command appointment for a woman officer in the Indian Air Force (IAF), Group Captain Shaliza Dhami has been selected to take over the command of a frontline combat unit in the Western sector. Shaliza also became IAF’s first woman flying instructor for Chetak and Cheetah helicopters.

• Group Captain Dhami was commissioned in 2003 as a Helicopter pilot and has over 2,800 hours of flying experience.
• Shaliza Dhami is a qualified flying instructor, she has served as Flight Commander of a Helicopter Unit in the Western sector.
• This is for the first time in the history of the IAF that a woman has been selected as the Commanding Officer of a missile squadron near the Pakistan border.
• Shaliza Dhami was born in Ludhiana, Punjab and she has a Bachelor of Technology degree in Electronics and Communication.

Correct Answer:  C. Actor

Explanation:  Veteran actor-writer-director Satish Kaushik has passed away at the age of 67. He was born on April 13, 1965, in Haryana, Kaushik was an alumnus of the NSD and the FTII, and started his film career in the early 1980s.  He was an Indian actor, comedian, screenwriter, director and producer.  He acted in theatres before finding his break in Bollywood. He directed Sridevi`s film, “Roop Ki Rani, Choron Ka Raja” and later “Prem”, both disasters, but he got his big hit with “Hum Aapke Dil Me Rehte Hain” and also “Tere Sang”, among many others.

• As a film actor, Satish Kaushik was known for his roles as Calendar in the 1987 superhero film, Mr India, as Pappu Pager in Deewana Mastana (1997), and as Chanu Ahmed in the British film Brick Lane (2007), directed by Sarah Gavron.
• Satish Kaushik also won the Filmfare Best Comedian Award in 1990 for Ram Lakhan and in 1997 for Saajan Chale Sasural.
• He penned the dialogues for the 1983 classic “Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron”, which acquired a cult following over the years. He is known for his comic roles as `Calendar` in “Mr. India”, “Pappu Pager” in “Deewana Mastana” among many others. Kaushik also gave sterling performances in other films like “Ram Lakhan” and “Saajan Chale Sasural”.

Correct Answer:  B. Hardeep Singh Puri

Explanation: The Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) launched ‘Swachhotsav’ which is a 3-week women-led swachhata campaign, under the Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0. It was launched ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, 2023. The first edition of Women Icons leading Sanitation & Waste Management (WINS) Challenge-2023 was also announced which will recognize high-impact women entrepreneurs or women-led enterprises working to achieve urban swachhata.

Correct Answer:  C. 40%

Explanation:  The Ministry of Power (MoP) has mandated that new coal/lignite-based thermal plants either establish renewable energy capacity equivalent to at least 40% of the plant’s capacity or procure that much green energy under a Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO). The MoP has amended the Tariff Policy 2016 under the Electricity Act 2003 to impose a 40% RPO for new coal/lignite-based thermal power plants to be installed commencing April 1, 2023.

Correct Answer:  D. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani

Explanation:  Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was sworn in as the prime minister (PM) of Qatar by replacing another member of the royal family Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani. Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani had served as PM and an interior minister since 2020. Sheikh Mohammed has served as foreign minister since 2016. The position of interior minister was replaced by Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. Gulf Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, made the appoints. In Gulf Arab countries, the appointments of higher offices will be held by members of the ruling family.

In Qatar, the Emir has the exclusive power to appoint the PM and cabinet ministers who, together, constitute the Council of Ministers, which is the supreme executive authority in the country. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup 2022 was hosted by Qatar.

Correct Answer:  C. 3rd

Explanation:  Election Commission hosts 3rd International Conference on the theme ‘Inclusive Elections & Elections Integrity’ in virtual format. ECI is leading the Cohort on Elections Integrity which was established as a follow up to the ‘Summit for Democracy’ held in 2021.Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar & Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel will participate.

• The first international conference of the Cohort was organized in November last year in New Delhi on the topic ‘Role, Framework and Capacity of Election Management Bodies.
• The 2nd Conference on the theme ‘Use of Technology and Elections Integrity’ was organised by the Election Commission in January this year.

Correct Answer:  C. Kuala Lumpur           

Explanation:  The 5^th Asean-India Business Summit took place in Kuala Lumpur. Speakers and participants from Asean and India convened to discuss how business linkages, connectivity and supply chain resilience can be enhanced through deeper ASEAN-India cooperation. The Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology addresses the 5th ASEAN-India Business summit. It is being held as part of the ASEAN-India Year of Friendship to commemorate the more than three-decade-long engagement between India and the 10-member bloc in Kuala Lumpur.

• It is a group of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which was established in 1967 with the signing of the Bangkok declaration.
• Founding members:Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
• Presently ASEAN comprises 10 member states namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam.
• It promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and sociocultural integration between its members and other countries in Asia.

Correct Answer:  C. 8th March

Explanation:  To create awareness amongst people about the ill effects of smoking and to motivate them to quit smoking, every year No Smoking Day is celebrated on the second Wednesday of March. This year, No Smoking Day falls on March 8. The day is inspired by No Tobacco Day and is majorly celebrated in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom witnessed that people in the country are getting addicted to smoking. In 1984, the day was observed for the first time. Earlier, it was celebrated on the first Wednesday of March as it began on Ash Wednesday. However, with time, it shifted to the second Wednesday. Now, it is celebrated as an annual event all over the United Kingdom and in other countries too.