Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2023

Notes:
The 3rd edition of the Summit on “Global Chemicals and Petrochemicals Manufacturing Hubs in India” was held recently.
Themed “Sustainability and Circularity,” the summit was organized jointly by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.

Notes:
Under ‘Mukhyamantri Ladli Behna Yojana’, underprivileged women between 23 and 60 years were eligible for ₹1,000 every month.
However, after distributing two instalments the government decided that those completing 21 years from January this year would also be included. They should be married and fulfil the other existing eligibility criteria.

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:
OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, and Anthropic have teamed up to create the Frontier Model Forum, aiming to regulate the development of large machine learning models, particularly “frontier AI models” that surpass current advanced capabilities.
These foundation models pose potential risks to public safety, and the forum will focus on ensuring their safe and responsible development, collaborating with policymakers, academics, and companies to advance AI safety research and establish best practices for deploying such models.

Notes:
The capital markets regulator – SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) has released the guidelines for the Corporate Debt Market Development Fund (CDMDF).
The fund’s purpose is to serve as a backstop facility, facilitating the purchase of investment-grade corporate debt securities during times of market stress, thereby boosting confidence among participants in the corporate debt market.

Notes:
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has set up a working group to decriminalise laws to further promote ease of doing business.
The group comprised representatives from industry associations, business chambers, legal professionals, and officials of seven ministries. It would also have representatives of the National Housing Bank, NABARD and CPCB.

Notes:
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivered a powerful message on climate change, urging immediate radical action to address the record-shattering July temperatures.
He said that this phenomenon indicate that the Earth has entered an ‘era of global boiling’ surpassing warming phase.

Notes:
A stapled visa is an unstamped paper attached to a passport page using a pin or staples, which can be easily torn off or removed as desired.
China has adopted a policy of granting stapled visas to Indian nationals from Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir. While China considers these visas as valid documents, the Government of India has consistently rejected this stance.

Notes:
Pakistan and China ink six agreements to help undertake the second phase of the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects under a new model.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng witnessed the signing ceremony to mark 10 years of the CPEC. The CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistan’s Balochistan with China’s Xinjiang province, is opposed by India as it is being laid through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Notes:
As part of its ‘Cleanup to Clean energy’ plan, the US government has announced that it will transform Cold War sites into largest solar power project.
Formerly employed for atomic bomb development, these sites are now positioned to significantly contribute to promoting clean energy initiatives throughout the United States.