Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2023

Notes:
‘Draft Fair Lending Practice – Penal Charges in Loan Accounts’ was recently released by the Reserve Bank of India.
According to the guidelines, the quantum of penal charges should be comparative to the defaults/non-compliance of material terms.

Notes:
Mukhyamantri Vidhwa Evam Ekal Nari Awas Yojna is set to be launched by the Himachal Pradesh Government.
Under this scheme, financial assistance will be provided for widows and single women to construct houses.

Notes:
‘Icaronycteris gunnelli’ is the oldest known bat species found in the Fossil Lake deposits of the Green River Formation of Wyoming in the United States.
The extinct species had lived in North America some 52 million years ago.

Notes:
The Arcturus variant, also known as XBB.1.16, is a type of Omicron variant that is spreading in India. It is believed to be responsible for the surge in COVID-19 cases in India.
The surge is being monitored by the WHO as it has shown high infectivity and increased pathogenicity.

Notes:
Satuani is a festival related to nature. The traditional harvest festival will be celebrated in North India mainly in Bihar to mark the start of the summer season.
It includes eating sattu made out of lentil flour. Jur Sital, also known as Maithili new year will be observed on the next day of Satuani.

Notes:
Virginia Norwood, the aerospace pioneer, has passed away recently at the age of 96. She invented a scanner that has enabled scientists to map and study the earth for more than 50 years.
Ms. Norwood, a physicist, was the person primarily responsible for designing the scanner that made the Landsat satellite program possible.

Notes:
The Epstein–Barr virus is one of the nine known human herpesvirus types in the herpes family. A new study has found that this virus, which primarily spreads via saliva, can evolve into cancer.
Researchers at the University of California San Diego have discovered how the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) can exploit genomic weaknesses to trigger cancer, while also decreasing the body’s ability to suppress it.

Notes:
The CL-Flam is a low-cost camera for multispectral imaging of flame developed by IIT Indore in collaboration with the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and NASA-Caltech, USA.
It is capable of simultaneously capturing multiple spectral 3D images of 4 chemical species in a flame.

Notes:
Cycas pectinate is a plant species of Genus Cycas which is the found in the north-eastern part of India, Nepal, Bhutan, South China etc. It is the only ‘Cycas’ species found in Bhutan.
It usually grows at an elevation of 300 m to 1200 m and in difficult terrains. A new study has found that this vulnerable species is threatened in the Himalayan country due to habitat loss and its overcollection as an ornamental plant.

Notes:
The Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved a proposal to bring in industry-friendly reforms related to Authority Holding Sealed Particulars or AHSP.
Authority Holding Sealed Particulars (AHSP) is responsible for holding of sealed particulars and patterns along with supply of certified copies of drawings & specifications in respect of defence related items.