Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2023

Notes:
Brazil’s Operation Shield is a police operation that targeted criminal gangs in slums areas in Rio de Janeiro.
At least 45 people have lost their lives in a recent series of lethal security force operations conducted in Brazil.

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Ocean Shield-2023 exercises are live-fire naval exercises carried out in the Baltic Sea by Russia.
Drill involves over 30 military vessels and boats, 20 support vessels, 30 naval aviation and Aerospace Forces of Russia aircraft, and about 6,000 troops.

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Study in India is a flagship program under the aegis of the Ministry of Education (MoE). It aims to increase the number of international students in India.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and Union External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, jointly launched the Study in India Portal. The platform serves as a comprehensive hub, streamlining the academic journey of international students studying in India.

Notes:
Article 117 of the Constitution pertains to the specific provisions concerning financial Bills. A Bill that addresses any of the matters mentioned in clauses of Article 110 (1) can only be introduced or proposed in the Lok Sabha based on the President’s recommendation and cannot be introduced in the Rajya Sabha.
It was recently stated that the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill is categorized as a regular Bill and not a money bill, contrary to earlier reports.

Notes:
Pakistan’s Cabinet has approved the signing of a new security pact with the U.S., a move that indicates a fresh start in defence cooperation after years of distrust between the two nations and may open avenues for Islamabad to get military hardware from Washington.
Through a circulation summary, the Cabinet gave its seal of approval to sign the Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement, known as the CIS-MOA, between Pakistan and the U.S.

Notes:
The Anusandhan National Research Foundation Bill (NRF), 2023 was introduced in Lok Sabha recently.
The NRF Bill was given the green light by the Union Cabinet, with a budget of ₹50,000 crore for the upcoming five years. This allocation aims to systematically foster research and development across India’s research institutions, colleges, and universities at different levels.

Notes:
The 130-year-old Kuttikkanam Palace, the summer residence of the kings of erstwhile Travancore, is set to be declared a historical monument.
Kuttikkanam is a hill station lying between Wagamon and Thekkady. The State Archaeology department is set to declare the famed Kuttikkanam Palace, also known as Ammachi Kottaram, as a historical monument.

Notes:
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has recently laid foundation stone for the ‘Iconic Site Museum’ at Adichanallur archaeological site in Tamil Nadu.
On the site, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has covered with glass excavated trenches with artefacts dating as far back as 3,800 years. The other four iconic sites proposed by the government are Rakhigarhi (Haryana), Hastinapur (Uttar Pradesh), Shivsagar (Assam), and Dholavira (Gujarat).

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated the foundation stone-laying event for the redevelopment of 508 railway stations throughout the country, as part of the significant Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.
The launch of the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme aims to revamp 1,309 stations nationwide.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the ‘Bhartiya Vastra evam Shilp Kosh’ – ‘A Repository of Textiles and Crafts’ e-portal during the National Handloom Day celebration in New Delhi.
Developed by National Institute of Fashion Technology -NIFT in partnership with the Ministry of Textiles, the portal aims to showcase India’s wide range of textiles and crafts in a unified catalog, reflecting the nation’s cultural richness.