Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2023

Notes:
Sri Lanka marked its 75th independence anniversary on 4^th February 2023. Several activists, Buddhists and Christian clergy announced a boycott of the celebration in the capital.
A group of activists began a silent protest in the capital, condemning government’s independence celebration and failure to ease the economic burden. University students also attempted a protest march.

Notes:
Authorities in Western Australia announced that they have found a tiny radioactive capsule which went missing last month.
The capsule was found when a vehicle equipped with specialist equipment detected radiation. The object was lost while being transported along a 1,400 km route across the state. It contains a small quantity of Caesium-137, which could cause skin damage, burns or radiation sickness.

Notes:
Shubman Gill scored 126 runs from 63 balls in the third T20I against New Zealand. With this innings, Gill has set a new record for the highest individual score by an Indian in T20I cricket history.
Shubman smashed 12 fours and seven sixes and remained not out till the end of the innings. Virat Kohli scored a massive innings of 122 runs against Afghanistan during the Asia Cup 2022.

Notes:
In the Union Budget 2023, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has proposed to increase the tax rebate to Rs 7 lakh under New Tax Regime.
This means no tax will be levied on income up to Rs 7 lakh under New Regime. Standard Deduction under New Tax Regime for individuals with income up to Rs 15 lakh will be Rs 52,400. The Finance Minister has proposed to reduce the highest surcharge rate from 37 per cent to 25 per cent in the new tax regime, for individuals in the highest tax bracket.

Notes:
Google has invested nearly USD 400 million in artificial intelligence start-up Anthropic AI. The two companies announced a partnership that will see the AI start-up use Google’s cloud computing services.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei announced that they would use Google Cloud to build reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems and to create a robust AI platform.

Notes:
Lucknow will host the first meeting of the G20 Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG). A Digital India Mobile Van has been introduced with respect to the meeting.
The Digital India Mobile Van will tour other cities in the country, enlightening citizens about G20 DEWG and Digital India’s key initiatives including PMJDY, DigiLocker, Aadhaar, UMANG, e-Way Bill, e-Aushadhi, Aarogya Setu, Co-WIN, e-Rupi, and India Stack Global.

Notes:
National Research Foundation is an autonomous agency that comes under the aegis of Ministry of Science and Technology (DST).
The Union Budget 2023-24 has earmarked Rs.2,000 crore as an outlay for the National Research Foundation to boost research and innovation within India.

Notes:
The NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) is an Earth-observation satellite jointly developed by NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
The SUV-size satellite will be shipped to India in a special cargo container flight later this month. It is expected to be launched into outer space in 2024 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. NISAR will provide critical information on Earth’s crust, ice sheets, and ecosystems.

Notes:
A new species of frog known as the Ukaguru spiny-throated reed frog has been discovered in African country Tanzania.
The frog has an uncommon characteristic of being completely silent, unlike other frogs that croak, sing, or ribbit. This frog belongs to the ‘spiny-throated’ group. They are only found in small populations, making them vulnerable to extinction.

Notes:
A new report ‘Teleconnections Among Tipping Elements in the Earth System’ Report, has found a direct link between deforestation of the Amazon rainforest and the temperature changes in Tibet.
Tibet is situated more than 15,000 km from the rainforest. It revealed the strong link between climate tipping elements. A tipping point is a threshold beyond which major, irreversible changes occur in a specific region.