Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2023

Notes:
The European Space Agency’s Proba-3 Mission will be launched aboard the ISRO’s PSLV in 2024. Its two satellites will study the Sun’s faint corona and surrounding atmosphere.
The 340-kilogram spacecraft will be deployed by PSLV in a high Earth orbit with an orbital period of 19.7 hours.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took part in the Combined Commanders’ Conference in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
He will also flag off a Vande Bharat Express service to Delhi. Combined Commanders Conference is a biennial event that brings together India’s top military brass to discuss issues related to military and national security.

Notes:
Australia’s Safeguard Mechanism, which was passed recently by the country’s parliament, will force coal mines and oil refineries to minimize emissions by around 4 percent each year.
It is part of the efforts taken by the government to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

Notes:
Russia’s Decree on Spring Conscription was signed by President Vladimir Putin recently. The spring conscription campaign is calling 147,000 Russian citizens up for statutory military service.
Last September Putin signed an order calling up 120,000 people for the autumn campaign.

Notes:
Jang Palpung Zangdok Palri Monastery is situated in Tawang district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh.
This Buddhist monastery recently introduced dances of two deities Palden Lhamo and Gonpo, or Mahakala.

Notes:
As of 2023, there is no fees levied on regular bank-to-bank UPI transactions, as per the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
NPCI, which owns and runs the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), said that it has implemented fees on UPI transactions on only Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) merchant transactions.

Notes:
The International Conference on Human-Wildlife Conflict and Coexistence is being held this year at Oxford, the United Kingdom.
It is being organized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the UN Development Programme and others.

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:
Salim Aziz Durani was an Afghan-born Indian cricketer who took part in 29 Test matches from the years 1960 to 1973. He passed away recently at the age of 88.
Durani was a part of India’s successful victory against England in 1961-62 where he picked up eight wickets against English team.

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.