Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2023

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:
Kerala Police have recently arrested 113 people who were accused in various criminal cases, under ‘Operation Aag’.
The raids are being held to arrest those who were placed under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act. Other initiatives of the state police include ‘Pink patrol’ which is specifically for women’s safety, ‘Prasanthi’ for senior citizens among others.

Notes:
India’s national accreditation system ranked fifth in the world in the Global Quality Infrastructure Index (GQII) 2021.
The GQII ranks the 184 economies in the world on the basis of the quality infrastructure (QI). India’s overall QI system ranking continues to be in the 10th position, with the standardization system (under BIS) at 9th and the metrology system (under NPL-CSIR) at 21st position in the world.

Notes:
The Punjab Cabinet has approved a new policy for industries and the electric vehicles effective from October 17, 2022, for a period of five years.
The industrial policy of the state focuses particularly on the three key sectors – Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), infrastructure and power. Under the new policy, the state will develop 15 industrial parks covering general and sector specific requirements of various industrial sectors and 20 rural clusters across the state.

Notes:
The government of Rajasthan has allocated Rs 13,000 crore to implement ‘Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project’ during the recent state budget.
The objective of the Project is to harvest the surplus water collected during the rainy season in the Southern Rajasthan Rivers like Chambal and its tributaries like Kunnu, Parvati, and Kalisindh and transfer it to south- eastern districts.

Notes:
‘Forever chemicals’ is a term used to describe a group of synthetic chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that are highly persistent in the environment and resist degradation.
They are called ‘forever’ chemicals because they do not break down naturally and can persist for decades or even centuries. A new study led by Oxford University found high levels of forever chemicals in the ice around Norway’s Svalbard.

Notes:
Jupiter recently became the planet with the most moons, after a dozen new moons were discovered around it. The planet has surpassed Saturn with its list of 92 moons in all.
The spacecraft, dubbed Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer or Juice, has arrived at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. It is a new mission from Earth is ready to explore the planet’s biggest moons and will be launched in April this year.

Notes:
Snapdragon Satellite, which was launched recently, is the world’s first ‘satellite-based, two-way capable messaging solution’.
The solution works for smart-phones developed by Qualcomm in partnership with Iridium Inc. The technology was initially introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2023. On a Snapdragon Satellite, emergency messaging will be activated on the next-gen smart-phones.

Notes:
Skye Air, a Gurugram-based drone solutions provider, launched traffic management system for drones in India.
The software was launched in the presence of Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India Nitin Gadkari. It will allow drone operators to plan routes, make flight plans and assess risks before running drone-based operations in the country.

Notes:
Sundarbans is a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of Padma, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It is the world’s largest mangrove delta, governed by the Governments of India and Bangladesh.
Wildlife enthusiasts spot 145 different species during the first Sundarban bird festival. Birds like Eurasian curlew, lesser sand plover and brown hawk owl were among the 5,065 birds that were spotted.