Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2023

Notes:
Union Finance Minister launches phase IV of ‘Operation Sesha’ to curb the illegal trade of Timber, including Red Sanders.
She launched this during the inaugural session of the first ever Global Conference on Cooperation in Enforcement Matters (GCCEM) in New Delhi. Delegates representing over 40 Custom Organisations participated in the event.

Notes:
Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata were ranked the 4th, 7th, and 10th most polluted cities in the world, according to IQAir. Mumbai’s air quality has been unhealthy for more than three consecutive days.
Based on the 2022 annual average PM2.5 concentration, India was 8th among the world’s top 10 most polluted countries. Internationally, in the IQAir survey, Lahore and Beijing were among the top five most polluted cities.

Notes:
National Unity Day is celebrated in India on October 31, to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first home minister of independent India.
Vallabhbhai Patel was born on October 31, 1875. He is credited with merging over 560 princely states into the Union of India after independence.

Notes:
Launched in 2013, the Dutch golden visa initiative was designed to stimulate the economic growth of the Netherlands.  The program required foreign investors to contribute a minimum of €1,250,000 to Dutch businesses.
This program was in line with the goals of several other countries that offer similar investment schemes. However, as of January 2024, the Netherlands will be discontinuing its ‘Golden Visa’ program.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that District Central Co-operative Banks now have the authority to close their unremunerative branches without the necessity for prior permission from the central bank.
However, approval from the Registrar of Cooperative Societies in the respective state will still be required. The cooperative banks were brought under the regulatory framework of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2020.

Notes:
China has dispatched a new scientific expedition team to build its fifth research station in Antarctica. The expedition includes two Chinese icebreaker research ships and a cargo ship carrying more than 460 personnel.
The team will conduct climate change studies and help complete construction of the station. The station will provide communications for China’s scientific polar observation satellites.

Notes:
Two Indian cities, Gwalior and Kozhikode, have recently become part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.
Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior made the cut in the ‘Music’ category, while Kerala’s Kozhikode has earned its place in the list in the ‘Literature’ category. Globally, 55 cities joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network on World Cities Day, which was observed on October 31.

Notes:
In Abu Dhabi, India’s Union Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, and his UAE counterpart signed a comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The main objective of this MoU is to strengthen the existing educational cooperation between the two countries. It aims to facilitate the mobility of students and faculty, thereby promoting collaboration in the field of education.

Notes:
Storm Ciaran battered north-west Europe with torrential rains and winds upto 200 kilometres per hour.
Dozens of people have been injured and seven people died across Europe so far. The storm hit French shores with winds of more than 190 kilometres per hour slamming the northern tip of France’s Atlantic coast. In the UK, Channel Islands were among the worst-hit areas.

Notes:
IIT Madras (IIT-M) formally inaugurated its Zanzibar (Africa) campus. Zanzibar is an island off the Eastern coast of Africa and belongs to Tanzania.
The island has been a key port in the trading routes between the West and the East for centuries. Preeti Aghalayam is the Dean of the School of Engineering and Science and Director-in-charge, Zanzibar Campus, IIT Madras.