Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2023

Notes:
India and Saudi Arabia are in talks to sign a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) to obtain formal assistance from each other in investigations related to criminal cases.
Saudi Arabia is only among 12 other countries that does not have either an MLAT or any other bilateral agreement with India to facilitate such investigations. India has so far signed MLATs with 45 countries. India is also in talks to finalise MLATs with Italy and Germany.

Notes:
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the first phase of a new bridge on the Zuari River which will improve connectivity between North Goa and South Goa.
Zuari Bridge is the second largest cable-stayed bridge in India, behind Mumbai’s Bandra-Worli sea link. The bridge is part of a Rs 2,530 crore road project covering a distance of 13.2 kilometres between Bambolim and Verna villages in Goa. Dilip Buildcon is constructing the new Zuari bridge.

Notes:
The gross Goods and Services Tax, GST revenue collected in December, 2022 is Rs 1.495 lakh crore. As per the Finance Ministry, the GST revenues are 15 per cent higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year.
During December, revenue from import of goods was eight per cent higher and the revenues from domestic transaction are 18 per cent higher than the revenues from these sources during the same month last year.

Notes:
Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is working on a new industrial policy.
The draft ‘Statement on Industrial Policy 2022-Make in India for the world’ has been circulated to different ministries for their views and comments. It proposes to increase financing sources for industry and a scheme for promoting Made in India brand.

Notes:
The 205th anniversary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle was observed recently as lakhs of Ambedkarites from across Maharashtra and the country congregated at the memorial.
The ‘Koregaon Bhima war memorial’ is located in Perne village in Pune. People pay floral tributes to the bravery of the Mahar soldiers who fought against the Peshwa forces in the 1818 battle.

Notes:
Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachand inaugurated the country’s third international airport in Pokhara built with Chinese assistance.
The Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA), a flagship project of Nepal-China Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation, was constructed with Chinese loan assistance. Besides the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Gautam Buddha International Airport was upgraded as international airport in May 2022.

Notes:
The second phase of the Sari Festival ‘VIRAASAT’- celebrating 75 hand-woven Saris of India is hosted at Handloom Haat, Janpath, New Delhi.
The Ministry of Textiles is organizing the festival, while the first phase was held in December 2022. Handloom saris drawn from several exotic locations of India including Jamdani, Ikat, Pochampally, Chanderi, Lalitpuri and Patola are on display and sale at the exhibition.

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that no rhinos were poached in Assam in the year 2022.
Since 2000, it is for the first time there were no incidents of rhino poaching in the state. Assam’s Kaziranga National Park is the biggest habitat for one-horned rhinos globally. In 2021, the Assam government established a 22-member task force for containing the act of poaching.

Notes:
Scientists from South Korea have developed a new water purification system that can efficiently filter out microplastics.
The polymer used is inexpensive with excellent adsorption performance and photo-thermal properties. In a recent experiment, over 99.9 per cent of contaminants were taken out of the water in 10 seconds.

Notes:
Indian Government signed USD 1.2 billion loan agreements for infrastructure projects with Asian Development Bank.
A loan agreement was signed worth USD 350 million to improve connectivity in Maharashtra, and a loan agreement worth USD 300 million to upgrade highways and major roads in Assam. Other agreements are to improve power sector in Tripura and metro rail system in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.