Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2023

Notes:
The National Panchayat Awards Week was observed from April 17 to 21 this year to commemorate the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav 2.0.
President of India Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the National Panchayat Awards Week and confer the National Panchayat Awards at ‘National Conference on Incentivization of Panchayats-cum-Award Ceremony’.

Notes:
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean. It is also known as the Pacific trash vortex, spans waters from the West Coast of North America to Japan.
Marine debris is litter that ends up in the ocean, seas, and other large bodies of water. A recent study by Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) shows that this giant collection of plastic trash has also become home to thousands of marine life, creating a new kind of ecosystem.

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:
In 2018, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud read down the law that criminalized homosexuality, citing the idea of indirect discrimination where seemingly neutral laws could disproportionately disadvantage a group.
This marked the first time that indirect discrimination was recognized in the equality jurisprudence by the Supreme Court.

Notes:
RHESSI – Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Image satellite / probe is NASA’s old defunct satellite, which plummeted into Earth’s atmosphere and disintegrated over the Saharan desert recently.
The probe was launched in February, 2002 and probe spent 16 years studying the rush of highly-energetic particles ejected from the Sun.

Notes:
Jharkhand Reservation of Vacancies in Posts and Services (Amendment) Bill, 2022 proposes a raise in reservation in state government jobs from 60 percent to 77 percent for SC, ST and OBC communities as well as the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).
Jharkhand Governor recently returned this bill to the government, directing it to be reviewed.

Notes:
Hanuman Plover Bird has been reinstated as species after more than eight decades. This bird is endemic to India and Sri Lanka.
Hanuman Plover Bird was merged with the Kentish plover in the 1930s as both species were considered to be the same.

Notes:
The Indian Government has invited Expression of Interest (EOI) for the development of hydrogen valley innovation clusters (HVIC) in the country.
According to the DST guidelines, a hydrogen valley is a specific geographic region where hydrogen serves more than one end sector or application.

Notes:
Harmanpreet Kaur became the first Indian woman to be named as one of Wisden’s five Cricketers of the Year. She led Mumbai Indians to win the inaugural Women’s Premier League in March.
Suryakumar Yadav was named Wisden’s Leading T20 Cricketer of the Year. At present, Suryakumar Yadav remains at number one position in the ICC T20 men’s rankings.

Notes:
Exercise INIOCHOS-23 is a multinational air exercise that will be hosted by the Hellenic Air Force, at the Andravida Air Base in Greece.
India’s air force is participating for the first time in the multinational air drill Iniochos 23. The exercise includes elements from Greece, France, the US, Italy, Saudi Arabia, India, Spain, Jordan, Slovenia, and Cyprus.