Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2023

Notes:
The Union Cabinet approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission with a total initial outlay of Rs 19,744 crore.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ‘National Hydrogen Mission’ on Independence Day in 2021. If the electricity used for the process of generating hydrogen comes from a renewable source then the hydrogen is referred to as green hydrogen.

Notes:
The founder of cryptocurrency company FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried faces eight criminal counts, including wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy, among others
He recently pleaded not guilty Manhattan federal court, to charges of defrauding investors related to the collapse of the crypto exchange. He is accused of redirecting the deposits of FTX customers without their consent to his Alameda Research hedge fund.

Notes:
A bird survey was conducted at the Silent Valley National Park, located in the Nilgiri hills in Kerala, in the last week of December.
The survey identified 141 species, of which 17 were new. So far, 175 species of birds have been spotted in Silent Valley. The first survey was held in the National Park in December 1990, 30 years ago.

Notes:
Six entities have been allowed to test their fintech products to prevent and mitigate financial fraud as part of the fourth cohort under the RBI’s regulatory sandbox scheme.
The Reserve Bank announced the the fourth cohort under the regulatory sandbox in June 2022 for the prevention and mitigation of financial fraud. The six entities are — Bahwan Cybertek, Crediwatch Information Analytics, enStage Software (Wibmo), HSBC in collaboration with Wibmo, napID Cybersec and Trusting Social.

Notes:
At present, the government and state-owned Life Insurance Corporation hold a little over 94 per cent in IDBI Bank and are classified as its co-promoters. The central government is looking to sell nearly 61 per cent stake in IDBI Bank.
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) accepted the central government’s request to reclassify its shareholding in the Bank after its disinvestment as ‘public holding’.

Notes:
The National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released the First Advance Estimates (FAE) of National Income for the financial year 2022-23.
Real GDP or in the year 2022-23 is estimated at ₹157.60 lakh crore. The growth in real GDP during 2022-23 is estimated at 7.0 per cent as compared to 8.7 per cent in 2021-22.

Notes:
M Pranesh from Tamil Nadu recently became India’s 79th chess Grandmaster, after winning the title in Rilton Cup at Stockholm, the first tournament of the FIDE Circuit.
The 16-year-old Indian seeded 22^nd won eight games and finished a full point ahead of IM Kaan Kucuksari (Sweden) and GM Nikita Meshkovs (Latvia). The tournament saw participation from a total of 136 players from 29 nations.

Notes:
Union Commerce minister Piyush Goyal is visiting New York and Washington DC to participate in India-US Trade Policy Forum.
After roundtable meetings with business leaders and think tanks in New York, he will attend the 13th Trade Policy Forum (TPF) meeting in Washington DC.  The 12th TPF Ministerial meeting was held on 23 November 2021 after a gap of four years in New Delhi.

Notes:
One 97 Communications is the parent entity of the leading Indian mobile payments and financial services company Paytm , headquartered in Noida.
Paytm Payments Bank appointed Surinder Chawla as Managing Director and CEO, after banking regulator RBI’s approval. However, the RBI continues to bar Paytm Payments Bank from on-boarding new customers.

Notes:
Pakistan is planning to dispatch 159 containers of ammunition including projectiles and primers to Ukraine through a port in Poland.
A vessel named BBC Vesuvius is set to carry 155 mm projectiles, propelling bag charges and other ammunition. Earlier, Pakistan played a crucial role in transfer of arms on behalf of the UK to Ukraine.