Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2023

Notes:
On the occasion of the International Women’s Day, UK’s ‘New Women and Girls Strategy’ was launched.
The plan focuses on promoting gender equality globally. It commits the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to dedicate over 80% of its bilateral aid programmes towards gender equality by 2030. The plan aims to combat gender-based violence, empower women and girls, champion their health and rights, and increase education opportunities for girls.

Notes:
The Torino Scale is a system used to rate how dangerous it would be if a space rock, like an asteroid or comet, hit Earth.
Currently, the 2023 DW is the only asteroid that has a rating of 1 on the Torino Scale and all others have 0 ratings. This asteroid’s size is equivalent to that of an Olympic swimming pool. According to the ESA, there is one in 625 chance that it would hit the Earth on February 14, 2046.

Notes:
The Arunachal Pradesh Protection of Drinking Water Catchment Areas Bill, 2023 was recently passed via voice vote by the state assembly.
It aims to protect drinking water catchment areas to preserve drinking water sources and to make provisions for the same. The bill aims to activate community participation in governance, thus empowering individuals at the lowest level.

Notes:
Madhav National Park is among the oldest national parks in Madhya Pradesh. It forms a major connection between Madhya Pradesh’s Panna Tiger Reserve and Rajasthan’s Ranthambore Tiger Reserve.
To re-establish the tiger population, Madhya Pradesh Forest Department has built three enclosures to house five translocated tigers from other reserves. Recently, a male and female tiger were released into the specially constructed enclosures by government officials.

Notes:
The Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) is a 14-digit alpha-numeric number generated based on latitude and longitude of land parcels.
Its purpose is to provide the authoritative source of truth on any parcel of land or property. The Department of Land Resources will be organizing a national conference in New Delhi to discuss the implementation of ULPIN or Bhu-Aadhaar.

Notes:
NASA and the Italian Space Agency will work together to launch the Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols (MAIA) mission.
The mission will last for three years and focus on studying 11 cities worldwide, including New Delhi, Beijing, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Rome, to examine the health effects of air pollution. The mission is set to launch before the end of 2024.

Notes:
A new report titled “Undernourished and Overlooked: A Global Nutrition Crisis in Adolescent Girls and Women” was released by the UNICEF.
According to the UNICEF report, 7.3 million adolescent girls and women in Nigeria aged between 15 and 49 are undernourished, which is putting new-born babies at risk. This number has increased from 5.6 million in 2018.

Notes:
Indian Navy ALH Dhruv experienced a sudden loss of power and rapid loss of height, on a routine flying mission off Mumbai.
Following the incident, Indian defence forces suspended operations of the ALH until the cause of the technical failure is established by investigators.  The ALH Dhruv helicopters serve various purposes for the Indian defence forces, including transportation of personnel and equipment.

Notes:
The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation declined to a 25-month low of 3.85 per cent in February 2023.
This is the ninth straight month of decline in WPI-based inflation. As per the government data, the decline is due to the easing prices of manufactured items and fuel and power. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had hiked key interest rate by 25 basis points to 6.50 per cent, saying core inflation still remains sticky.

Notes:
Australia has unveiled plans to buy up to five U.S. nuclear-powered submarines, then build a new model with U.S. and British technology under an ambitious plan.
The announcement came at an event at California naval base where U.S. President Joe Biden hosted Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Albanese called it the biggest single investment in Australia’s defence capability in all its history.