Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2023

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI has decided to withdraw Rs.2,000 denominated notes from circulation.
It has urged everyone to exchange these notes by September 30 this year.  However, the notes will continue as legal tender. Exchange of Rs 2,000 notes into notes of other denominations can be made upto a limit of Rs 20,000.

Notes:
Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU is a research unit within Oxford University’s Department of Biology.
It is collaborating with Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organisation, to conserve Africa’s lions. Together, both organisations have supported work in 12 countries.

Notes:
The United States and Papua New Guinea have recently signed a defence cooperation agreement recently.
It will enhance the Pacific island nation’s defence capabilities and make it easier for the United States to train its forces.

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INDIAai is a central programme launched to promote artificial intelligence in India and beyond.  The National AI Portal of India is a joint venture by MEITY, NEGD and NASSCOM.
Seven working groups set up under INDIAai are expected to submit their recommendations for a comprehensive framework governing various facets of AI in the near future.

Notes:
Dangote Refinery was commissioned recently by Nigeria. It is expected to transform the country into a net exporter of petroleum products.
Nigeria spent USD 23.3 billion last year on petroleum product imports and consumes around 33 million litres of petrol a day.

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The Union Public Service Commission is a government body responsible for the appointment of services of the Union, framing amendment of recruitment rules for various posts and services under the government, conduct disciplinary cases related to civil services and more.
Its funding is sourced from the Consolidated Fund of India.

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Forum shopping is the practice of litigants or lawyers deliberately moving their cases to a particular judge or a court where they deem the judgement would be more favourable.
This practice of Forum shopping was condemned recently by the CJI DY Chandrachud.

Notes:
The Central Government recently released the biggest-ever bifurcation dues for the Andhra Pradesh government, amounting to Rs.10,460 crore.
This is the largest compensation since the bifurcation in June 2014. The amount released to Andhra Pradesh till last year was only Rs 4,117.89 crore.

Notes:
The French government recently banned domestic flights on short routes that can be covered by train in less than two-and-a-half hours.
It is expected to minimize emissions from the aviation sector. Though the provision had been included in a 2021 climate law and was already in use, the ban has been mandated only now.

Notes:
Mihir is a 2.8 petaflop supercomputer in the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF).
Union Earth Sciences Minister Kiren Rijiju visited NCMRWF recently. The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, is home to ‘Pratyush’, a 4.0 petaflop supercomputer.