Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2023

Notes:
The Vigilance Awareness Week, 2023 is being observed by the Central Vigilance Commission and all institutions across the country from 30th October till 5th November. This year the theme is – Say no to corruption, commit to the Nation.
Every year Vigilance Awareness Week is observed as an outreach measure to create greater awareness about the importance of integrity and ethics in public life.

Notes:
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has made ‘penny drop’ verification mandatory for the withdrawal of funds by subscribers of the National Pension System (NPS), Atal Pension Yojana and NPS Lite as well as modifications in bank account details.
Under the process, Central Recordkeeping Agencies (CRA) check the active status of the savings bank account and match the name in the bank account number with the name in the PRAN or according to the documents submitted.

Notes:
The Indian government has received numerous expressions of interest for the strategic sale of Indian Medicines Pharmaceutical Corporation Limited (IMPCL).
IMPCL is currently under the administrative control of the Ministry of Ayush, and the government holds a 98.11% stake in the company. This move is part of the government’s efforts to divest its holdings in certain public sector enterprises.

Notes:
Lucy is a NASA space probe on a twelve-year journey to eight different asteroids. Lucy Spacecraft came within 430 kilometers of the small asteroid named Dinkinesh. Dinkinesh is less than 1 kilometer wide, making it so small that it is nearly imperceptible from Earth.
The first images returned by Lucy reveal that the small main belt asteroid Dinkinesh is actually a binary pair. The team estimates that the larger body is approximately 790 metres at its widest, while the smaller is about 220 metres in size.

Notes:
The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, flagged off the maiden domestic voyage of the first international cruise liner, ‘COSTA SERENA,’ in India, from Mumbai.
This initiative aligns with the ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ campaign, which encourages individuals to prioritize domestic tourism over international travel. The Italian vessel which covers international voyages is the first foreign cruise liner to enter India’s domestic cruise market.

Notes:
Mundra Port in Gujarat became the first port in the country to handle 16 million metric tonnes (MMT) of cargo in a month in October 2023.
This was the highest volume ever handled by any port in India. Mundra Port is owned by the Adani Group and is the flagship of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ). It has a capacity to handle 338 MMT of cargo per year, which is the largest among all operational ports in India.

Notes:
The 54th International Film Festival of India will be held in Goa from November 20 to 28, 2023. British film ‘Catching Dust’ will be opening at the festival while the American film ‘The Featherweight’ will be the closing movie.
Turkish film About Dry Grasses will be the midfest movie. Hollywood star Michael Douglas will be honoured with the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award at IFFI this year. During the 9-day festival, more than 270 films will be showcased. The opening Film in the feature section is a Malayalam film, Aattam, and in the non-feature section is Andro Dreams from Manipur.

Notes:
Legendary Tennis player, Serena Williams, who retired from tennis last year, is the first athlete to win the Fashion Icon award by Council of Fashion Designers of America.
The award was presented to her by Kim Kardashian, a CFDA honoree last year, for her contributions to American fashion.

Notes:
The United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Production Gap report has been released in anticipation of the COP28 climate conference.
It warns that global fossil fuel production over the next seven years is projected to exceed more than double the levels required to stay within the climate goals outlined in the 2015 Paris climate agreement, including the crucial target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Notes:
Nearly 1 in 3 deaths from non-melanoma skin cancer is caused by working under the sun, according to joint estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The research calls for action to prevent this serious workplace hazard and the loss of workers’ lives it causes. According to the estimates, in 2019 alone, almost 19 000 people in 183 countries died from non-melanoma skin cancer due to having worked outdoors in the sun. The majority (65%) were male.