Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2023

Notes:
Exercise Orion is the largest multinational exercise conducted by the French defence forces. The multinational wargame codenamed Orion will involve India, the USA and other allies of France.
For the first time, Indian Rafale combat aircraft is expected to take part in this wargame. India will send its Refale fighter jets to take part in the exercise Orion in France.

Notes:
Namda is a type of rug made using felted wool. This centuries-old traditional craft from the Jammu and Kashmir is at the brink of extinction.
Namda is made in several stages and requires skilled craftsmanship that has been passed down through generations.

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:
‘Mircha’ Rice from Bihar’s West Champaran recently received GI tag. Since this rice’s size and shape appear like a black pepper, it is known as Mircha or Marcha Rice.
This rice is famous for its aroma, palatability and its aromatic rice flakes making qualities. The cooked rice is fluffy, non sticky, sweet and easily digestible.

Notes:
Invest in Maharashtra Conference was organized recently in Mumbai by the Indo-French Chamber of Commerce. During this event, Indian and French companies signed MoUs and Letters of Intent to invest in India.
Indian and French companies signed Memorandums of Understanding and Letters Of Intent in Mumbai during the ‘Invest in Maharashtra’ conference, organized by the Indo-French Chamber of Commerce – (IFCCI).

Notes:
At the World Summit during the UN General Assembly in September 2005, USA and India co-sponsored a fund-raising event for UNDEF.
Majority of this fund goes to the local civil society organizations. It gives grants to NGOs funded by George Soros, while he is put on the watchlist in India.

Notes:
Teenaged Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh stunned former world rapid champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan in the final to win the World Chess Armageddon Asia & Oceania.
The 16-year-old Indian won in a field that included former world classical champion Vladimir Kramnik, Daniil Dubov, Yangyi Yu (China), Vidit Gujrathi and Karthikeyan Murali (both India) and Param Maghsoodloo (Iran), apart from Abdusattorov.

Notes:
The Zojila Tunnel, which would be Asia’s longest tunnel once completed, is being constructed in Jammu & Kashmir to establish all weather connectivity for Ladakh. 19 tunnels are being constructed in Jammu and Kashmir at a cost of Rs.25000 crore, of which the major one is the Zojila Tunnel.
With the construction of this 14.15 km tunnel, there will be all-weather connectivity for Ladakh, which will cut down travel time to cross the Zojila Pass from three hours to 20 minutes.

Notes:
The Good Friday Agreement is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence in Northern Ireland that had prevailed since the late 1960s. The year 2023 marks the 25th anniversary of Good Friday Agreement.
Northern Ireland’s present devolved system of government is based on the agreement. It is made up of the Multi-Party Agreement between most of Northern Ireland’s political parties, and the British–Irish Agreement.

Notes:
Litoria gracilis is one of the five new species of Australian treefrogs found in Papua New Guinea. The other four species are Litoria daraiensis, Litoria haematogaster, Litoria lisae and Litoria naispela.
While tree frogs typically lay their eggs directly into water, the newly described species of the genus Litoria might all use structures like trees and rockfaces to deposit their offspring.