Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2023

Notes:
Pohela Boishakh, also known as Bengali New Year, is a significant cultural festival in Bangladesh and the Bengali-speaking states of India including West Bengal.
The festival is celebrated on the first day of the Bengali calendar, which usually falls in the month of April. This year, it is celebrated on April 15.

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:
The ‘Banking on Climate Chaos Report’ was co-authored by several institutions including Rainforest Action Network, BankTrack, Indigenous Environmental Network among others.
According to this report, world’s 60 largest banks have spent 5.5 trillion USD for funding fossil fuel projects since 2016, when the Paris Agreement came into effect. J P Morgan Chase is the top bank financing fossil fuels globally from 2016–2022.

Notes:
Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve is the largest tiger reserve in India, spanning across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
To ensure smooth traffic flow, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has enabled FASTag-based payments at forest entry points across Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR).

Notes:
Army Commanders’ Conference (ACC) is a 5 day apex-level defence event, which is organised from 17 to 21 April 2023. The event is organised in in Hybrid format wherein Army Commanders and other senior functionaries will meet virtually on the first day and then travel to Delhi for the rest of the physical meetings.
The event provides a platform for conceptual level deliberations to make important defence policy decisions.

Notes:
The Capital markets regulator SEBI has come out with a dispute resolution mechanism for Limited Purpose Clearing Corporation (LPCC), in order to settle disputes and claims arising out of transactions cleared by it. The framework is implemented with immediate effect.
The Limited Purpose Clearing Corporation is an entity that is set up for clearing and settling repo transactions.

Notes:
De-risking, Inclusion and Value Enhancement of Pastoral Economies (DRIVE) project is a World Bank-funded project that seeks to protect pastoralists against droughts with upgraded livestock value chain and increased financial services.
As part of this project, a unique insurance scheme has been launched in Kenya to protect herders against climate change-related droughts.

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:
The Coalition of Coastal Cities to Combat Marine Litter was launched recently by Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).
It is a coalition of coastal cities that will combat marine litter pollution across India. Of the 460 million tonnes (MT) of global plastic production, nearly 353 MT comes back as plastic waste; 8 MT (2.26 per cent) of which is leaked into the marine ecosystem.

Notes:
The National Health Authority (NHA) has recently invited contributors to test, contribute and become a participant in the Health Claims Exchange Ecosystem by onboarding the participants on the National Health Claims Exchange (HCX) – Sandbox Environment.
NHA announced HCX as an initiative under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) in September 2022 and subsequently worked with various groups to come up with Health Insurance Exchange specifications.