Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2023

Notes:
The Centre plans to raise ₹ 8.88 lakh crore through market borrowing in the April-September period of 2023-24 to fund the revenue gap to push economic growth.
The Finance Ministry announced this after consultation with the Reserve Bank of India.

Notes:
Saudi Arabia agrees to join Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) as a dialogue partner. Saudi Arabia builds a long-term partnership with China despite U.S. security concerns.
The country has approved a memorandum on granting the kingdom the status of a dialogue partner in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Notes:
The EU members have recently decided to digitize the Schengen Visa to make visa application process more efficient in Schengen area.
The Schengen area is a region comprising of 27 EU countries that have officially abolished all passports and other types of border control at their mutual borders.

Notes:
The First-Ever Anti-Spyware Declaration was issued recently by the United States and 10 other countries. It includes Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
This is in recognition of the misuse of the commercial spyware and the need for a stringent domestic and international controls on the proliferation and the use of spyware technology.

Notes:
To mark the moment of the first Indian Steamship “S.S. LOYALTY”, Mumbai, venturing into international water on her maiden voyage from Mumbai to London (UK) in 1919, April 5 was marked as “National Maritime Day.”
The government is celebrating National Maritime Week from March 30, 2023, to April 5, 2023, paying tribute to the services of seafarers.

Notes:
Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal launched the App Version of National Logistics Portal (Marine) ‘Sagar-Setu’.
It will provide real-time information on activities that are generally not within reach of the importer, exporter, and customs broker.

Notes:
The government has raised the interest rates across all small savings schemes except the post office savings deposit and the Public Provident Fund (PPF) for the April-June 2023 quarter.
The Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme too will enjoy a higher rate of interest – up from the existing 7.6 percent to 8 percent. The interest rate on the National Savings Certificate (NSC) has been hiked from 7 percent to 7.7 percent for the April – June 2023 quarter.

Notes:
SLINEX-2023 is the 10th edition of the annual Indian – Sri Lanka Bilateral Maritime exercise. It is scheduled to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The Indian Navy is represented by INS Kiltan, an indigenous Kamorta class ASW corvette and INS Savitri, an Offshore Patrol Vessel, while the Sri Lanka Navy is being represented by SLNS Gajabahu and SLNS Sagara.

Notes:
Palm Sunday is the Christian moveable feast that occurs on the Sunday before Easter. It was observed on April 2 this year.
The feast commemorates Christ’s entry into Jerusalem. Its name originates from the palm branches waved by the crowd to greet and honour Jesus Christ as he entered the city.

Notes:
Ryuichi Sakamoto is a famous Japanese musician and actor. He passed away recently at the age of 71.
He was a composer, record producer, and actor who pursued a diverse range of styles of art. He was the Japanese pop pioneer and Oscar-winning composer.