Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2023

Notes:
SEBI decided to set up a corporate debt market development fund in the form of an Alternative Investment Fund.
Corporate Debt Market Development Fund will be set up with an initial corpus of Rs 3,000 crore. It will function as a backstop facility for buying investment grade corporate debt securities during stressful times.

Notes:
The World Bank approved 100 million USD loan for the implementation of the Odisha State Capability and Resilient Growth Program.
This program will help the state strengthen early forecasting system for disaster management and provide social protection coverage for vulnerable households.

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:
Nevado del Ruiz Volcano is a volcano in Colombia on the Pacific Ring of Fire. It is currently experiencing seismic activities, creating a possibility of eruption in the near future.
It is the highest active volcano in the Andes mountain range.

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:
The Indian government unveiled its Foreign Trade Policy 2023 which seeks to boost merchandise and services exports by USD 2 trillion by 2030 from the current level of USD 765 billion.
The Policy also seeks to make the Indian Rupee the global currency in settling international trade payments.

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:
Reusable Launch Vehicle Autonomous Landing Mission (RLV LEX) was conducted recently by ISRO in collaboration with the DRDO and IAF.
It involved Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter lifting off a winged body to an altitude of 4.5 km and freeing it to execute an independent landing on a runway.

Notes:
Three new species of bush cricket was found recently. Two of these species (Hexacentrus tiddae and Hexacentrus ashoka) were found in Haryana. In the local dialect of Haryana, bush crickets are referred to as tiddaes.
The third species found in Meghalaya was named Hexacentrus khasiensis — after the Khasi hills where it was discovered.

Notes:
In a non-binding referendum held in France, 89.03% of the votes cast were opposed to the freestanding scooters, which are booked on a short-term basis through apps.
The rental e-scooters, which were introduced in 2018 to promote green alternative for cars. The city will completely ban these devices by September 1 this year.