Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2023

Notes:
Muthuvans are tribal cultivators in the hills of Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore and Kerala’s Adimali and Devikulam forest regions.
According to an expert committee appointed by the Kerala High Court regarding human-animal conflict and the wild tusker Arikompan, the Muthuvan tribal community have coexisted with the wild animals in Chinnakkanal, However, the subsequent unscientific resettlements in the region triggered an increase in human-animal conflict.

Notes:
‘National Maritime Day’ is celebrated on April 5 across the country to commemorate the sailing of the first Indian commercial vessel, SS Loyalty.
The ship sailed from Mumbai to London. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the ‘Maritime India Vision 2030’ in November 2020 at the Maritime India Summit. It is a 10-year blueprint for the development of the Indian maritime sector.

Notes:
Rayyanah Barnawi is set to become the first woman astronaut from Saudi Arabia. Barnawi and Ali Al-Qarni will take off from Florida on a private mission to the International Space Station.
There are two other astronauts who will join Barnawi and Ali Al-Qarni in their voyage. They are Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and John Shoffner, a businessman from Tennessee who will serve as pilot.

Notes:
A fourth joint meeting between the delegates of the UAE and Qatar was held in Abu Dhabi to follow up on the implementation of the AlUla Declaration.
The AlUla Declaration, which was signed in 2021, resolved the dispute with Qatar and called for unity and the strengthening of relations among GCC countries.

Notes:
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs had appointed 10-Member Committee on Digital Competition Law, consisting of lawyers representing the Big Tech.
It is set to meet shortly to discuss provisions of the draft Digital Competition Law. The committee is responsible for examining the need for an ex-ante regulatory mechanism for digital markets via a separate legislation.

Notes:
State-owned non-banking finance firm REC recently raised USD 750 million through issuance of green bonds
The net proceeds from the issue of the bonds will be applied to finance, in whole or in part, the eligible green projects in accordance with the approvals granted by the Reserve Bank of India from time to time and in accordance with the ECB guidelines.

Notes:
The establishment of the Directorate of Odisha Paribar was approved recently by the state cabinet. It will be the one-stop point of contact and support system for Odias dwelling in other parts of India and across the world.
The Directorate of Odisha Parivar will be under the Department of Odia Language, Literature and Culture to have better connect with Pravasi Odias within the country and across the world.

Notes:
Copernicus is the Earth observation component of the European Union Space Programme. Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) is one of the six thematic services provided by the Copernicus Programme.
According to C3S, March 2023 witnessed variations on several meteorological fronts.

Notes:
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Ground Force has developed a new domestically-build suicide drone which can destroy targets within a range of 450 kilometers.
The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), dubbed Me’raj 532, has a piston engine has a one-way range of 450 kilometers. The kamikaze drone was designed and manufactured by young Iranian experts.

Notes:
The government has retained the interest rate payable on savings in General Provident Fund (GPF) at 7.1% for the April to June 2023 quarter.
Interest rates on General Provident Fund (GPF) are revised periodically according to the government’s issued notifications.