Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2023

Notes:
The 14th edition of the Aero India 2023 is being held by the Indian Department of Defense Production at the Yelahanka Air Force Station in Bengaluru.
The event is expected to showcase India’s growth in aerospace and defence capabilities. The event also provides an opportunity for defence personnel to interact with original equipment manufacturer (OEM) representatives.

Notes:
PhonePe recently became the first Indian fintech company to enable payments abroad. It allows international transactions through Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
With this, Indian travellers can make UPI transactions to foreign merchants using PhonePe platform. Cross-border transaction facility by PhonePe will support all international outlets in UAE, Singapore, Nepal, Bhutan and Mauritius having local QR Code.

Notes:
Sangam age was believed to be between 300 BCE to 300 CE. As per the recent findings by the Archaeological Survey of India at Keeladi, the Sangam age has been pushed to 800 BCE.
Keeldai is a small village along the Vaigai River, about 13 km from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. The eport is based on the archaeological findings from the first two phases of excavation carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off two Vande Bharat trains in Maharashtra high-speed rail connection.
The Mumbai-Solapur and Mumbai-Sainagar Vande Bharat Express were flagged off from Mumbai. With this, the number of Vande Bharat Express trains running from Mumbai will increase to three and the count will go up to 10 for the country.

Notes:
Veteran journalist A.B.K. Prasad has been chosen for the prestigious Raja Ram Mohan Roy National Award for excellence in journalism.
This was announced by the Press Council of India, New Delhi. He has a journalistic career over 75 years. He has the honour of being the editor of all mainstream journals of Andhra Pradesh. He also served as the chairman of the Official Language Commission in Andhra Pradesh.

Notes:
The Global Tourism Resilience Day (GTRD) is observed on February 17 each year. It was adopted by the United Nations in the year 2023 and this year marks the inaugural edition.
Its objective is to highlight the importance of tourism resilience at the international level. In 2019, tourism sector accounted for 7 percent of global trade and 10 percent of global GDP. It is the third largest export industry in the world.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank announced its second global hackathon ‘HARBINGER 2023 – Innovation for Transformation’ with the theme ‘Inclusive Digital Services’.
Fin-tech companies have been invited to develop solutions that have the potential to make digital financial services accessible to the differently-abled, facilitate efficient compliance, extend the reach of Central Bank Digital Currencies and enhance the scalability of blockchains. Winner of the hackathon will be given a prize of Rs 40 lakh and runner-up Rs 20 lakh.

Notes:
Indian Railways launches Rail Post Gati Shakti Express Cargo Service to provide logistics for services sector in country simultaneously on four sectors.
The Cargo Service is a joint parcel product of the two entities between Indian Railways and India Post. The service was among the announcements made by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in last year’s Budget.

Notes:
India is ranked at 47th position in Services Trade Restrictiveness Index (STRI) conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for the year 2022.
The index includes sectors like air transport, road freight cover and government regulations. The STRI indices takes into consideration the government policies in several sectors that define the ease of trading in those sectors and industries. Based on these factors, STRI indices assign value to countries between zero and one.

Notes:
A bipartisan resolution was introduced in the US Senate to recognise Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India.
The resolution commends India for taking steps to defend itself against aggression and security threats from China.