Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2023

Notes:
The Union Ministry of road transport and highways is planning to extend its Incident Management Services (IMS) to all national highways.
The purpose of this step is to minimize road fatalities and improve safety for road users. Incident Management Services (IMS) on national roads will be provided, run, and maintained by businesses.

Notes:
The first orbital flight test of the Starship was scheduled to be conducted. It is the most powerful rocket ever built to ferry humans to the Moon and beyond.
The vehicle, known as Starship, has been built by entrepreneur Elon Musk’s SpaceX company. The uncrewed mission was called off minutes before the planned launch from Texas.

Notes:
Bohag Bihu is an ethnic festival celebrated in North-eastern India, especially in Assam. This year, this 7-day festival will be celebrated in Assam from April 14 to April 20.
It celebrates the onset of the Assamese new year. It is also called as the Rongali Bihu. The first day of the Bihu is dedicated to cattle, which provides livelihood.

Notes:
The Cabinet Committee on Security recently approved the sanctioning of seven battalions of Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the one sector headquarters in Arunachal Pradesh.
This is seen as a major push by the Indian Government to counter Chinese manoeuvres in the region.

Notes:
A team of scientists led by the Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR), Kozhikode, have discovered a new species of insect pathogenic fungus.
The fungus, isolated from leafhopper pest of Malabar tamarind, has been named Metarhizium indicum to indicate its Indian origin. It is said to have a potential biocontrol application.

Notes:
Cheiraoba is considered to be one of the most important festivals of Manipur and it marks the beginning of the lunar new year for the people of Meitei community of Manipur and across the globe.
The festival is also called as Sajibu Nongma Pānba which means “First day of Sajibu Month”.

Notes:
April 17 is observed as the World Hemophilia Day and the theme for this year is  “Access for All: Prevention of bleeds as the global standard of care”.
Hemophilia is a rare genetic blood disorder that inhibits the clotting of blood, leading to significant bleeding during injuries and surgeries. Every year, the World Hemophilia Day is observed to raise awareness about this disorder.

Notes:
The blastomyces fungus is linked to the recent outbreak of “atypical” pneumonia among the employees of the Escanaba Billerud Paper Mill in the US.
The fungus is endemic to Michigan and is generally found in moist soil and decomposing wood. If disturbed, microscopic spores from the fungus can get dispersed in air and travel freely. Human beings can contract blastomycosis by inhaling the spores.

Notes:
Utsa Patnaik, a famous economist, has been chosen for the Malcolm Adiseshiah Award 2023. The award is conferred every year by the Malcolm & Elizabeth Adiseshiah Trust to honour social scientists.
Utsa Patnaik, a renowned Indian Marxian economist, taught at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning at Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Notes:
‘Magnaporthe oryzae’ is a fungus that causes ‘wheat blast’. It is currently destroying wheat crops in South America, threatening its food security in a major scale.
Scientists have warned that the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae could spread worldwide. Cases of infection have earlier been reported in Asia in 2016 and Africa in 2018.