Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2023

Notes:
Two ancient temple caves were discovered near Rajapur, Ratnagiri, in the state of Maharashtra. The caves are believed to have been created in the 5th or 6th century CE.
They are older than the Elephanta caves. Ratnagiri is also home to the Ratnagiri Caves, a Buddhist center. The Buddhist monuments were constructed from the 5th century CE onwards, with the last work in the 13th century.

Notes:
Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 77-kilometer New Bhandu-New Sanand section of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor.
This infrastructure development will expedite the transportation of goods from ports and manufacturing hubs in the region. This initiative has resulted in the relocation of sixty goods trains that previously utilized passenger rail routes to the freight corridor.

Notes:
Recently, the Israeli military announced that it had intercepted a missile fired from the Red Sea region, amidst escalating tensions in the Middle East due to Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza with the help of ‘Arrow’ aerial defence system.
This announcement came after Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels fired drones towards Israel in retaliation for its war against Hamas.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India announced the launch of ‘Inflation Expectations Survey of Households’ and ‘Consumer Confidence Survey’ which will provide key inputs for the bi-monthly monetary policy scheduled in December 2023.
The surveys are conducted across 19 cities, including Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, and Delhi.

Notes:
The India-US 2+2 meeting is scheduled to be held in New Delhi in November 2023. The meeting will be held amid global turbulence and it will address differences over Canada’s allegations against India.
US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd J Austin will be visiting India next week for the India-US 2+2 ministerial dialogue. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will host the two visiting US Cabinet ministers.

Notes:
The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, flagged off the maiden domestic voyage of the first international cruise liner, ‘COSTA SERENA,’ in India, from Mumbai.
This initiative aligns with the ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ campaign, which encourages individuals to prioritize domestic tourism over international travel. The Italian vessel which covers international voyages is the first foreign cruise liner to enter India’s domestic cruise market.

Notes:
Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a Bill, revoking Russia’s ratification of global nuclear test ban. Putin said that rescinding the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, also known as the CTBT, would mirror the stand taken by the U.S., which has signed but not ratified the nuclear test ban.
The CTBT, adopted in 1996, bans all nuclear explosions anywhere in the world, but the treaty was never fully implemented. It is yet to be ratified by China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Israel, Iran and Egypt.

Notes:
Norway will help fund India’s ‘Hunger Project’ and help strengthen women leaders to protect the environment and promote food security in Uttarakhand.
The duration of the project would be three years, until September 2026 with a budget of ₹44.7 million. The project organizes capacity-building training for elected women representatives and federations, focusing on strengthening van panchayats (forest councils).

Notes:
A new species of gecko has been discovered in the Western Ghats near Rajapalayam in Viridhunagar district of Tamil Nadu.
Senior scientist Amit Sayyed of Wildlife Protection and Research Society, Maharashtra, who led a team of researchers from different parts of the country, has named the previously undocumented species as Cnemaspis rashidi after his father, Prof. Rashid Sayyed.

Notes:
The name of C-DAC Hyderabad developed Android devices bot removal tool is ‘M-Kavach 2’. The name of e-Scan developed bot removal tool for Android devices is ‘eScan CERT-In Bot Removal’.
Bots are automated software programs that are designed to perform repetitive tasks automatically. They can be used for various purposes, such as spamming, data scraping, or performing malicious activities.