Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2023

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:
The Union Cabinet has given ex-post facto approval for naming of Greenfield International Airport at Goa’s Mopa as Manohar International Airport.
It was named after former Defence Minister and Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar. He served as Chief Minister of Goa from 2017 until his death.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to flag off the world’s longest river cruise ‘MV Ganga Vilas’ from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.
The luxury cruise will cover a distance of more than 3,200 kilometers across 27 river systems in five States in India and Bangladesh. The MV Ganga Vilas vessel has three decks, 18 suites on board with a capacity of 36 tourists, with pollution-free mechanisms and noise control technologies.

Notes:
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship conducts the ‘Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Mela (PMNAM)’.
PMNAM will be conducted across 242 districts across states and union territories this year. The event will see participation of several local businesses that will provide local youth the opportunity of apprenticeship training.

Notes:
The 10th edition of the Dhaka Lit Fest (DLF) has recently kicked off in Bangladesh. The DLF is one of the largest literary festivals of Bangladesh.
The DLF is being organised after a gap of three years due to the pandemic. Over 500 literary personalities including Nobel Prize Winner for Literature Abdur Razzak Gurna, film makers, artists and people from the field of science are participating in the event.

Notes:
Cape Verde, a country in West Africa, was a colony of Portuguese. It became the first country to name a stadium after football Legend Pele.
Cape Verde Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva confirmed their Estadio Nacional de Cabo Verde would be renamed after Pele. After Pele’s death in December, FIFA chief Gianni Infantino proposed that each nation should name one stadium after Pele.

Notes:
As per a recent study by real estate consulting firm CBRE South Asia, Bengaluru led the rank in office space absorption.
Office space absorption in the city stood at 1.7 million square feet during the October-December 2022 period. Technology sector accounted for 43 per cent, while engineering and manufacturing was at 17 per cent.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank has announced the indicative calendar for the issuance of Sovereign Green Bonds. Accordingly, two auctions will be conducted for an amount of eight thousand crore rupees each.
The RBI has informed that five percent of the notified amount will be reserved for retail investors, with options of five years or ten years. The proceeds will be deployed in public sector projects which help in reducing the carbon intensity and mobilising resources for green infrastructure.

Notes:
Union Home Minister Amit Shah unveiled a 120-feet-tall statue of a polo player riding a pony at Marjing Polo Complex in Imphal, Manipur
Manipur is considered the birthplace of the game and it reached the British before 1850.  In November last year, the first Chief Minister’s Sagol Kangjei Championship was held during the Sangai festival to promote the indigenous game. The ponies in Manipur are becoming vulnerable due to lack of grazing grounds.

Notes:
India has deployed a women-only platoon of peacekeepers to the UN Mission in Abyei on the border of Sudan and South Sudan.
This is a part of the Indian Battalion in the United Nations Interim Security Force, Abyei (UNISFA). It is also the single largest deployment of women peacekeepers in recent years. India is among the largest troop-contributing countries to UN peacekeeping.