Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2023

Notes:
The second Semicon India Future Design Roadshow was launched recently in Bengaluru. This road-show is being organized with the aim of attracting investments in India’s semi-conductor design ecosystem.
The inaugural edition of this event was held in 2022 in Gujarat’s Karnavati University. During inauguration, the launch of India Semiconductor Research Centre (ISRC), a private industry-led research centre was also announced.

Notes:
The Snow Festival (Winter Carnival) was organized in the Rafiabad area of Baramulla district in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The aim of this carnival is to promote village tourism and local culture in the Munddaji Rafiabad Baramulla. The Festival was organized by the District Administration Baramulla. It featured music, dance, cultural events, and snow cricket, volleyball, and skiing.

Notes:
During the Uttar Pradesh Global Investors Summit 2023 organised in Lucknow, Japan announced to invest Rs 7,200 crores in the state.
The Japanese company Hotel Management International Company Limited (HMI Group) decided to open hotels in 30 cities including Agra, Ayodhya, and Varanasi.

Notes:
India’s indigenously-made light combat aircraft Tejas will be participating in an international multilateral air exercise named Exercise Desert Flag VIll.
It is hosted by the UAE, which will see participation from the air forces of the UAE, France, Kuwait, Australia, the UK, Bahrain, Morocco, Spain, Republic of Korea, and the US. As per the Indian Air Force, five LCA Tejas and two C-17 Globemaster III aircraft would take part.

Notes:
Seattle has become the first US city to ban discrimination based on caste after a vote by the city council.
The caste system in India dates back over 3,000 years and divides Hindu society into rigid hierarchical groups. Similar bans on caste bias that have been introduced on the campuses of US universities in recent years.

Notes:
Dibang Hydropower Project, which was approved by the Central Government recently, is India’s largest-ever hydropower project.
It is being set up close to China’s border on the Dibang River, in Arunachal Pradesh’s Lower Dibang Valley District. This project will be developed by National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) with an estimated cost of 319 billion INR.

Notes:
The preliminary surveys conducted by the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD) found the presence of lithium reserves in Mandya district of Karnataka.
The Central Government has started taking steps to initiate commercial exploration after lithium reserves was discovered earlier in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The AMD is the oldest unit of India’s Department of Atomic Energy.

Notes:
On the occasion of National Science Day (February 28), the Indian Government launched the VAIBHAV Fellowship scheme for the Indian Diaspora abroad.
The newly launched scheme aims to improve the research capability of India’s higher education institutions. It will facilitate academic and research collaborations between the Indian higher education institutions and the top performing institutions from across the world.

Notes:
Fossils of the oldest known insect and the world’s first plant pollinators called tillyardembiids was discovered recently in Russia.
Tillyardembiids are earwig-like insects. The specimens found in Russia were estimated to be around 280 million years old, predating the previously-known pollen-covered insects by about 120 million years.

Notes:
The World Bank has announced the extension of 2 complementary loan of 500 million USD each to India to support the PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission.
The Mission was launched in 2021 with an aim to strengthen healthcare infrastructure across India. With a budget of Rs.64,180 crore, the mission has three aspects: strengthening public health institutions, building an IT-enabled disease surveillance system, and expanding research on infectious diseases.