Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2023

Notes:
Kiruna is a town in northern Sweden that houses over 18,000 individuals and a tonne wooden church.
This town is currently under threat of being consumed by the world’s largest iron ore mine that is under the control of the Swedish state-owned company LKAB. This entire town is currently being relocated and it is considered as one of the significant relocations happened in the world.

Notes:
Guru Ravidass Jayanti is celebrated to mark the birth of Guru Ravidas, a mystic poet-saint of the Bhakti movement during the 15th century.
The poet was a contemporary of Kabir Das and he taught monotheistic spirituality and message of equality and liberation from Indian caste system. His teachings are widely followed in states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, among others.

Notes:
The India-EU Trade and Technology Council was jointly established by the European Union and India.
Under this new council, three working groups have been set up with the focus on strategic technologies, digital governance, and digital connectivity; green and clean energy technologies; and trade, investment, and resilient value chains. The working groups will be responsible for preparing for the TTC meeting, which is set to take place before the next bilateral India-EU summit.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Helicopter Factory at Tumakuru in Karnataka.
The factory is India’s largest helicopter manufacturing facility and will initially produce LUHs. He also unveiled the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH). Initially, this factory will produce around 30 helicopters per year and can be enhanced to 60 and then 90 per year in a phased manner.

Notes:
Bangladesh recorded a 7.10 percent GDP growth rate for the Financial Year (FY) 2022 which marks an increase from 6.94 percent in FY 2021 and 3.45 percent in FY 2020.
As per the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the per capita income of Bangladesh is USD 2793. The service sector in the Bangladesh economy has the highest share of 51.48 percent.

Notes:
Commonwealth Games 2022 bronze medallist Tejaswin Shankar won the men’s high jump event at New Balance Indoor Grand Prix 2023 in Boston, USA.
At the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold event, Tejaswin Shankar claimed first place with a jump of 2.26 metres. He beat the 38-year-old Donald Thomas of the Bahamas, a 2007 world champion.

Notes:
The ‘zero-draft’ of the pandemic treaty was launched recently by the World Health Organization’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB).
The international treaty is expected to be presented at the World Health Assembly in 2024. The aim of the pandemic treaty is to strengthen national and international-level preparedness against future pandemics.

Notes:
The US and Brazil, two of the world’s largest biofuels markets, are joining an India-led initiative of International Biofuels Alliance.
The Alliance will aim to boost demand for the lower-emissions energy source. India has also earmarked 350 billion rupees (USD 4.3 billion) in its union budget to promote energy security.

Notes:
The Paris Club is an informal group of creditor nations that functions as a platform for official creditors that resolves payment issues faced by debtor countries. All of its 22 member states belong to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The Paris Club has recently decided to offer financial support to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for Sri Lanka’s debt.

Notes:
Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton announced a Global Climate Resilience Fund of 50 million dollars for women to fight climate change.
She announced the fund while addressing salt pan workers near Kuda village in Gujarat’s Surendranagar district. The fund will empower women and communities to fight climate change and help provide new livelihood resources and education.