Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2023

Notes:
A no-confidence motion is a step typically taken by an Opposition party to compel the current government to demonstrate its majority in the House.
Recently, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla accepted a motion of no-confidence against the government, which was initiated by Congress Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, after fulfilling the requisite headcount of 50 MPs as mandated by the rules.

Notes:
Union government said that India had seen no deaths due to manual scavenging in the last five years, as per the data submitted by the Social Justice Ministry.
It also added that 330 people had died while being engaged in cleaning sewers and septic tanks. Social Justice Ministry says manual scavenging no longer practised in India; Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Bihar among States with all districts reporting free status.

Notes:
Recently, INDIAai and Meta India entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to create a structure for collaboration and mutual cooperation in the realm of artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies.
The objective of this partnership is to make Meta’s open-source AI models accessible and usable through joint efforts.

Notes:
Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur confirmed that India men’s and women’s football teams will participate in the upcoming Asian Games 2023 in China.
India football teams did not get the nod to participate in the Asian Games 2018 edition. Sports Ministry of India relaxed a rule which stated that only top 8 teams in Asia will get the nod to participate.

Notes:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India inked a deal for a $295 million loan for the implementation of the Enhancing Connectivity and Sustainability in Bihar Roads Project.
The loan aims to enhance approximately 265 kilometers of state highways in Bihar with climate and disaster resilient features, alongside incorporating road safety elements.

Notes:
The LEI (Legal Entity Identifier) is a unique 20-character code that serves as a global identifier for legal entities involved in financial transactions. It aims to create a reference data system for uniquely identifying entities across jurisdictions.
The capital market regulator – Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has mandated that all non-individual Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) must provide their Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) details in the common application form used for registration, KYC, and account opening.

Notes:
Digital payments across the country registered a growth of 13.24 per cent in a year through March 2023, as per RBI’s index that measures the adoption of online transactions.
RBI’s Digital Payments Index (RBI-DPI) stood at 395.57 at end-March 2023 compared to 377.46 in September 2022 and 349.30 in March 2022. The index is a base to capture the extent of digitisation of payments across the country.

Notes:
Singapore has hanged a 45-year-old woman who was caught with 31 grams of heroin. This is the first time the city-state has executed a woman in nearly 20 years.
Saridewi Binte Djamani was hanged after being convicted of trafficking “not less than 30.72 grams” of the drug in 2018.

Notes:
Shia Muslims around the world take out Ashura processions to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, a grandson of the Prophet, who was killed in the Battle of Karbala in present day Iraq
Thousands of Shia Muslims in Srinagar held a Muharram procession for the first time in over three decades, following the government’s permission.

Notes:
The AMC Repo Clearing Limited (ARCL) and Corporate Debt Market Development Fund (CDMDF) were inaugurated by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The CDMDF was announced in the 2021-22 Union Budget to enhance liquidity in the Corporate Bond market during stressed and normal times.