Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2023

Notes:
Uttarakhand has been adjudged the best state/UT tableau in the Republic Day Parade 2023, by a panel of judges.
Gujarat’s tableau has won an online public poll conducted by MyGov. The tableau of Ministry of Tribal Affairs (Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs) has been adjudged as the best tableau in ministries/departments category. Indian Air Force marching contingent has been adjudged as the best Marching Contingent among the three services.

Notes:
Minister of Tourism G. Kishan Reddy launched the Visit India Year – 2023 initiative. He also unveiled its logo, kicking off plans and activities for promoting tourism in the country.
Over one lakh foreign delegates will visit India this year and they will be showcased the entire arena of India’s culture, including monuments and festivals.

Notes:
WAPCOS is an engineering consultancy and construction services firm under the Jal Shakti Ministry. In September 2022, it filed draft papers with market regulator SEBI for launching an IPO by selling 3.25 crore shares held by the Government.
Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) announced recently that the Government is targeting to launch the initial public offering (IPO) of IREDA, and WAPCOS, in the next fiscal.

Notes:
The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) launched its WhatsApp chatbot for more effective interaction.
The chatbot will be used for complaint registration, searching information, and tracking complaint status. It will be used by the commission for nudge-based awareness communications to children, women, Anganwadi workers, etc.

Notes:
The Union Budget 2023 announced that the ‘National Data Governance Policy’ will be brought out to aid innovation and research by start-ups and academia.
It seeks for the formation of an India Data Management Office (IDMO) under the IT ministry. The new policy reform is that the anonymized datasets will be offered as part of the India datasets programmes to the Artificial intelligence ecosystem.

Notes:
India and the USA have agreed to constitute task force to boost cooperation in semiconductor industry.
The task force will involve India’s Semiconductor Mission, India Electronics Semiconductor Association and the US Semiconductor Industry Association.  This was announced during the inaugural meeting of the initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET).

Notes:
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) releases the Digital Payments Index (RBI-DPI) twice a year, to measure the adoption of online transactions, digital payments across India.
As per the recent data, the digital payments registered a growth of 24.13% in a year through September 2022. RBI-DPI stood at 377.46 in September 2022 against 349.30 in March 2022 and 304.06 in September 2021.

Notes:
The United Nations food agency, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) price index tracks the most globally traded food commodities.
As per the recent FAO Food Price Index (FFPI), World food prices decline for 10th month as recorded in January- FAO Food Price Index (FFPI). The index averaged 131.2 points in January against 132.4 for December.

Notes:
The United States and the Philippines announced plans to expand America’s military presence in the Southeast Asian nation.
The countries decided to accelerate full implementation of their ‘Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA)’. As part of the agreement, the U.S. has allocated $82 million toward infrastructure improvements at five current EDCA sites. This will provide access to four more bases to the US.

Notes:
Medium-density Amorphous (MDA) Ice is a new form of ice that was recently discovered by scientists. This ice has same density and structure as water.
The ice was created by scientists in a container with stainless steel balls at a -200°C. The MDA ice does not have any ordered structure. It will provide the opportunity to improve the understanding of the properties of water.