Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2023

Notes:
Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary, situated in Tamil Nadu, is one of the oldest in India. It is one of the four sanctuaries in the state that will undergo development at the cost of Rs.20 crore.
Other sanctuaries that are to be developed are the Karaivetti sanctuary, the Koonthankulam bird sanctuary and Pulicat.

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:
The Vegetable Production System (Veggie) is plant growth unit aboard the International Space Station. Tomatoes grown on this unit will return to Earth using SpaceX’s commercial resupply services.
Veggie’s purpose is to help NASA study plant growth in microgravity, while adding fresh food to the astronauts’ diet and enhancing happiness and well-being on the orbiting laboratory.

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:
Nandini Gupta, a 19-year-old girl from Rajasthan, was recently crowned Miss India 2023 at the Grand Finale event held in Imphal, Manipur.
This year’s event is the 59th edition of the Femina Miss India beauty pageant. Contestants from 29 states, including Delhi and all UTs competed for the title. This is the first time that the event is held in North-eastern region in Imphal.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs has launched a new Central Sector Scheme “Marketing and Logistics Development for Promotion of Tribal Products from North -Eastern Region (PTP-NER)”.
The scheme with a substantial outlay of Rs.143 crore is intended to benefit Scheduled Tribes of North-eastern India. programme has been designed to strengthen the opportunities for tribal craftsmen to support their livelihoods.

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:
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:
Villa of Quintilii is an ancient Roman villa situated beyond the fifth milestone along the Via Appia Antica, close to the boundaries of Rome, Italy.
A new study provided details about a lavish winery where the Roman elite gathered annually in Villa of Quintilii.