Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2023

Notes:
The proposed Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, intended to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), omits the previously controversial IPC Section 377, which was used to criminalize homosexual acts until its 2018 Supreme Court reading down.
While this omission decriminalizes homosexual sex, it raises concerns that adult male victims of sexual assault could have limited legal recourse under the new law.

Notes:
On India’s Independence Day this year, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann paid his tributes to the late activist Karnail Singh Isru, who died on the same day in 1955 while participating in the Goa Liberation Movement for the state’s accession to India.
Isru was born on September 9, 1930, in the Chak 30 village which is now in Pakistan. Isru, along with satyagrahis, participated in a march from Pune to Goa in 1955 at a time when the state was under Portugese colonial rule.

Notes:
In March 2022, astronomers announced the discovery of the farthest known star via an image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.
They named it Earendel, after the old English name for “morning star”. Recently, James Webb Space Telescope’s Near-infrared Camera (NIRCam) and its NIRSpec spectrometer have taken a look at the same star and revealed that it is a hydrogen-burning star. Compared to the Sun, it’s twice as hot and a million times more luminous.

Notes:
Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar inaugurated the G20-Digital Innovation Alliance Summit in Bengaluru.
As part of India’s G20 Presidency, G20 Digital Innovation Alliance (G20-DIA) initiative was launched under MeitY Startup Hub.

Notes:
During India’s ongoing G20 presidency, India has managed to build consensus on two of the most contentious priority areas for the health track – creating a research and manufacturing network for vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics, and setting up a platform / global initiative for digital health
This platform is expected to focus on equitable research and development in manufacturing of vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics.

Notes:
The Himachal Pradesh Government has relaxed the provisions of ‘Vidhayak Ksetra Vikas Nidhi Yojana’ (VKVNY) during the financial year 2023–24 by including protection works of retaining walls and channelization of Nullahs under it.
This decision was taken in view of heavy losses caused to human lives besides public and private properties during recent heavy rains in the State, said Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.

Notes:
R K Singh, Union Minister of Power, New and Renewable Energy, dedicated the 660 MW Unit of Barh Super Thermal Power Project at Barh in Patna, Bihar.
NTPC fulfils over 90% of power requirement of Bihar. The Minister also laid the foundation stone for extension of POWERGRID’s Lakhisarai Sub-station.

Notes:
Mission Amrit Sarovar has been launched by the Prime Minister in 2022 with an objective to provide sustainable water sources wherein every district is expected to construct and rejuvenate a minimum of 75 Amrit Sarovar.
Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Application and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N) has been engaged as technical partner for the Mission. So far, out of 1,12,277 number of identified Amrit Sarovars, the work has been started for 81,425 number of Amrit Sarovars.

Notes:
Ministry of Tourism unveiled an ambitious campaign aimed at showcasing India as a premier wedding destination on the global stage.
This campaign seeks to explore avenues of great potential, for scaling tourism in India to new heights. The campaign seeks to expand India’s wedding industry, by enticing couples from around the world to celebrate their special day in India.

Notes:
Moody’s Investors Service affirmed its Baa3 rating on India and maintained the stable outlook, but warned of political issues and even cited the example of the ongoing violence in Manipur.
The rating agency said the affirmation of India’s rating and stable outlook was driven by its view that the economy is set to grow rapidly by international standards, although potential growth has declined in the last 7-10 years.