Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2023

Notes:
Padma Awards for 2023 was recentky conferred by President Draupadi Murmu at a Civil Investiture Ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan.
A total of 106 Padma awards have been announced for this year. Padma Awards, which were instituted in 1954, is announced every year on the occasion of Republic Day.

Notes:
The 2022 UN World Water Development Report, which was released recently, revealed that water is at a high risk because of “vampiric overconsumption and over-development”.
The report was released by the UNESCO on behalf of the UN-Water.

Notes:
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister recently launched the Mukhyamantri Vriksh Sampada Yojana (Chief Minister Tree Wealth Scheme) on the occasion of World Forestry Day.
Under this scheme, the state government will provide full subsidy for tree plantation on up to 5 acres of land and 50 percent financial subsidy on more than 5 acres.

Notes:
Asia’s largest 4-meter International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT) was launched recently at Devasthal in Uttarakhand.
The ILMT was inaugurated recently in Aryabhatt Research Institute of Observational Sciences. ILMT is the first liquid mirror telescope designed exclusively for astronomical observations and is the first optical survey telescope in India.

Notes:
Lake Natron is an alkaline lake in the Arusha Region of Tanzania. It is hostile due to the presence of salt, soda and magnesite deposits.
It has been reported that the lake turns animals that touch it into “stone”. Ol Doinyo Lengai, which contribute to the lake’s condition, is the only active volcano to emit natrocarbonatites – a rare carbonatite lava.

Notes:
Exercise Konkan 2023 is a bilateral maritime exercise between the UK’s Royal Navy and the Indian Navy.
It is held in March this year off the Konkan coast in the Arabian Sea. INS Trishul, a guided missile frigate of the Indian Navy, and HMS Lancaster, a Type 23 guided missile frigate of the Royal Navy, participated in this edition of the exercise.

Notes:
Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers is set to seek the Cabinet nod for the ‘PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth (PM-PRANAM)’.
It is expected to save Rs 20,000 crore in fertiliser subsidy for the government over the next three years. This scheme aims to create a balance between chemical fertilizers and alternative solutions.

Notes:
Andhra Pradesh passes resolution to provide Scheduled Caste (SC) status for Dalit Christians.
Earlier, the Telangana Assembly passed a resolution on including the Boya or the Valmiki community in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) list.

Notes:
International Day of Zero Wastes is observed on March 30 every year. The theme for this year is ‘Achieving sustainable and environmentally sound practices of minimizing and managing waste’.
The International Day of Zero Waste aims to promote sustainable consumption and production patterns, support the societal shift towards circularity and raise awareness about how zero-waste initiatives contribute to the advancement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Notes:
The first-ever India-Africa Army Chiefs’ Conclave is being held in Pune. The aim of the event is to strengthen defence relations and create an institutionalised framework for better military-to-military cooperation between the two parties.