Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2023

Notes:
Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) is a joint venture of Education Ministry, Government of India and Canara Bank for financing creation of capital assets in premier institutions.
A Parliamentary panel has recently directed the Education Ministry to fast track the process of disbursing sanctioned loans by the HEFA.

Notes:
The ALE, a Japanese company, is currently planning to create an “Artificial Meteor Shower”. The meteor shower will be created using pressure driven system of gas tanks.
ALE is sending satellites into space to create the world’s first human-made meteor shower. It is named ‘Sky Canvas’ and the project was initially scheduled for launch in 2020. It was delayed due to a satellite malfunction.

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:
Former US President Donald Trump becomes first ex-President to be charged with crime. He will be charged over hush money payments made to a porn star just before the 2016 presidential election.
The former President is also being investigated in several other cases. They include probes into his role in the US Capitol riot of January 2021, his efforts to overturn his loss in the state of Georgia in the 2020 election, and his handling of classified documents after leaving office.

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:
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:
Central Bureau of Investigation is a premier investigative agency set up under the Ministry of Home Affairs on April 1, 1963.
Its Diamond Jubilee Celebrations was recently inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi on April 3 this year.

Notes:
Australia, with gender pay gap of 13.3% as of 2023, has launched a new law that mandates firms with over 100 employees to reveal their gender pay gaps by early 2024.
This is expected to make businesses more accountable and improve working conditions of women in the country.

Notes:
The “World Energy Transitions: Outlook 2023” Report was released recently by the International Renewable Energy Agency.
According to this report, while significant progress has been made towards increasing renewable energy generation, the global energy transition is still falling short of the 1.5°C pathway.

Notes:
The Food Conclave 2023 is a two-day event that will be organized by Telangana government. It will focus on agri-food sector and its challenges.
It is the inaugural edition of the State government’s annual brainstorming event for the agri-food sector. The event will bring together the top 100 agri-food industry thought leaders.