Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2023

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:
Union Tourism Minister G Krishan Reddy and Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Dr. Virendra Kumar flagged off Bharat Gaurav Tourist train to mark the birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar from New Delhi.
Government has developed Panchteerth, five place associated with Dr Ambedkar. During the 8-day tour, the train will cover cities including, New Delhi, Mhow, Nagpur, Varanasi and sacred Buddhist sites like Sanchi, Sarnath, Gayaand Rajgir and Nalanda.

Notes:
The G20 Space Economy Leaders Meeting was organized in Shillong in April 2023. The Meeting is being organised under India’s G20 presidency by the Department of Space, Government of India.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will be organizing the precursor event of this meeting.

Notes:
Union Minister of State for Tourism Shripad Naik inaugurated a Millets Food Festival of the member countries of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Mumbai.
It includes a variety of cuisines made of different millets prepared by chefs from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan, Russia and India.

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 Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) approved the conduct of constable (general duty) examination for Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in 13 regional languages.
This is in addition to Hindi and English. This aims to promote the participation of local youths in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and encourage regional languages.

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:
Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched the SATHI (Seed Traceability, Authentication and Holistic Inventory) Portal and Mobile App.
It is a Centralized Online System for seed traceability, authentication and inventory designed to deal with the challenges of seed production, quality seed identification and seed certification. It has been developed by the NIC in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

Notes:
Indian iron ore miner NMDC Ltd. is exploring lithium reserves, about 200 km off Perth, Australia.
NMDC is the majority owner of a mine located in Mt Bevan in Australia. India found lithium deposits for the first time in the country in February and is planning to auction a block for mining.

Notes:
‘Vote from Home’ Initiative was introduced for the first time in the Karnataka Assembly Elections by the Election Commission of India.
This procedure was chosen by around 8,900 persons who are above 80 years old or people with disabilities in Bengaluru.