Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2023

Notes:
Odin is the god of poetry, wisdom, divination, magic and death in the Norse mythology. He is believed to be the king of Asgard.
Scientists from Scandinavia have found the oldest known reference to Odin in an inscription on a gold disc discovered in western Denmark. The discovery represents the earliest solid evidence of Odin being worshipped, at least 150 years earlier than the previous oldest known reference.

Notes:
The Parinirvana Stupa or Mahaparinirvana Temple in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, is a major Buddhist temple believed to be the place where Gautama Buddha passed away.
The current temple was built by the Indian Government in 1956 to commemorate the 2,500th year of the Mahaparinivana or 2500 BE. A South Korean delegation of 200 Buddhist monks recently offered special prayers at the Mahaparinirvana temple. This pilgrimage marks the 50 years of diplomatic ties between India and South Korea.

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:
The Mahakali River is a transboundary river that originates in the Himalayas in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, India.
It flows along Nepal’s western border with India and it is also known as the Kali River or the Sharda River. Uttarakhand Chief Minister recently inaugurated an 11 km long stretch of the Mahakali River for rafting. It will help promote adventure sports and tourism in the region. The state government is currently planning to conduct a national rafting competition in the Mahakali River.

Notes:
For the first time, a woman officer, Colonel Geeta Rana from the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME), has taken charge of an independent field workshop in a sensitive location in eastern Ladakh.
This makes her the first woman to lead army unit near China border. This appointment comes after the Indian Army decided in February-end to assign women officers to command roles outside of the medical stream.

Notes:
In Madhya Pradesh, Governor Mangubhai Patel inaugurated the third Divya Kala Mela at Bhopal. The 10-day fair was held to enable Divyangjan to become entrepreneurs and artisans.
The four finance corporations under the Social Justice and Empowerment ministry, NHFDC, through various channel partners such as NBCFDC, NSFDC, and NSKDFC, provide financial assistance to artisans and other skilled beneficiaries through term loan schemes and microfinance schemes.

Notes:
The Tata Group and US Aerospace Lockheed Martin have agreed to produce fighter wings at their joint venture, Tata Lockheed Martin Aerostructures Limited (TLMAL) in Hyderabad.
The MOU allows the production of 29 fighter wing shipsets and includes an option for additional shipsets. Deliveries will start in 2025.

Notes:
India’s retail inflation has been recorded at 6.44% in February 2023 from January’s three-month high of 6.52 per cent.
This was according to the data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). However, the inflation print stayed above the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) upper tolerance level of 6 per cent for second straight month.

Notes:
Sariska Tiger Reserve is located in the Alwar district of Rajasthan, India, and covers an area of 881 km2 (340 sq mi).
Recently, a five-year-old tiger known as T-113 was relocated from Ranthambore Tiger Reserve (RTR) to Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR) in order to increase the tiger population in Sariska. Currently, there are 24 tigers in the reserve, including 10 females, seven males, and seven cubs.

Notes:
Background Radiation is the measure of radiation emitted from natural sources like sand, rocks or mountains.
According to a recent study by BARC scientists, parts of Kerala are experiencing nearly 3 times more background radiation than assumed. This figure is about 70 milliGray a year, or a little more than what a worker in a nuclear plant is exposed to.