Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2023

Notes:
Saudi Arabia was confirmed as the host of football’s 2027 Asian Cup Tournament at the Asian Football Confederation Congress in Bahrain.
Saudi was the only bid presented at the Congress after India’s withdrawal in December 2022. Qatar will host the next edition of the Asian Cup, from June 26 to July 16, 2023. Qatar will become the first country to host three Asian Cups, after 1988 and 2011.

Notes:
Bard is an AI chatbot that is being developed by Google as a competitor for the popular Microsoft-backed ChatGPT.
Bard will use AI to generate answers in text when queries are typed by the users. This chatbot will function based on the AI model called LaMDA, which was introduced by Google in 2021 as a generative language model for dialogue applications.

Notes:
National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT) is an apex government body that comes under the aegis of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
It is responsible for development of industrial corridors like Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor, Bengaluru – Mumbai Industrial Corridor and others. The Indian Government has sanctioned and approved 8 projects under NICDIT.

Notes:
Capital market regulator SEBI has launched operational guidelines on green bonds asking issuers to make additional disclosures along with its annual report and financial results.
The disclosures are pertaining to environmental sustainability objectives of such debt securities in the offer document. In addition, issuers of green bonds will have to disclose brief details of decision-making process followed for determining the eligibility of projects.

Notes:
A report titled ‘LiFE lessons from India’ was recently released by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
As per the report, the ‘Lifestyle for Environment’ or LiFE initiative of India for the adoption of energy-efficient behaviour can save the world USD 440 billion in 2030. As per the report, the saving would be equivalent to around 5% of all fuel spending across the global economy in that year.

Notes:
‘World Pulses Day’ is observed on February 10 to raise global awareness about the importance of pulses as a stable global food source that delivers nutritional and environmental security across the world.
The theme for World Pulses Day 2023 is ‘Pulses for a Sustainable Future’.

Notes:
The third edition of Khelo India Winter Games recently kicked off at Gulmarg, in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.
Over 1500 sportspersons from across the country will participate in nine different winter sports disciplines. Jammu and Kashmir holds the distinction to have topped in both the previous editions of the Khelo India Winter Games held so far.

Notes:
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin launched phase 2 of the ‘Pudumai Penn’ scheme, a scholarship scheme for girl students, in Chennai.
The scheme involves the distribution of a scholarship amount of ₹1,000 per month to girl students pursuing their higher studies after completing their schooling at a government school. The scholarship is provided through the Social Welfare Department.

Notes:
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is the latest innovation in the field of medicine, to treat cancer.
Rather than relying on drugs, like chemotherapy or immunotherapy, the CAR T cell therapy treatments utilise a patient’s own cells that have been altered in a lab to stimulate T-cells and attack tumour cells. Currently, CAR T-cell therapy has received clearance for treating leukemia and lymphoma types of cancer.

Notes:
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced an inflation relief package of Rs 19,000 crore in the state’s Budget for 2023-24.
The package aims to provide relief to the masses from rising prices. The package includes free food packets every month to poor families, LPG cylinders for Rs 500 under the Ujjwala Scheme and free electricity up to 100 units per month to domestic consumers. The coverage amount was raised from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 25 lakh Chiranjeevi Swasthya Bima Yojana.