Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2023

Notes:
State Bank of India (SBI) has onboarded Mahendra Singh Dhoni, former Indian cricket team captain, as its brand ambassador.
The country’s largest lender aims to strengthen its connection, especially with the younger population, with the association of the cricket star.

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:
Three Chinese astronauts, who were in orbit for five months, returned to the Earth. The astronauts were part of the Shenzhou-16 crewed flight mission. They spent their time conducting scientific experiments and carrying out a nearly eight-hour spacewalk.
The mission was the last of 11 missions required to assemble the station. The station is expected to operate for around a decade and run experiments in near-zero gravity. The astronauts have successfully grown lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and green onions in the Tiangong space station.

Notes:
The Uttarakhand Cabinet gives nod to set up Rajaji Tiger Reserve Conservation Foundation. The primary aim of this foundation is to expedite and facilitate ecological, economic, social, and cultural development within the regions encompassing the Rajaji Tiger Reserve.
t also aims to provide alternative livelihood opportunities to the local communities to reduce their dependence on forests.

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 Central Railway has successfully implemented the Block Proving by Axle Counter (BPAC) system in the Vasind-Asangaon section of Mumbai Division.
This BPAC system plays a crucial role in ensuring the highest level of safety for train operations.

Notes:
According to a report from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) titled ‘The Impact of Disaster on Agriculture and Food Security,’ there has been a significant increase in the frequency of extreme disaster events over the past five decades.
In the 1970s, the world experienced approximately 100 disaster events per year. However, in the last two decades, that number has risen to around 400 disasters annually on a global scale. This trend highlights the growing challenges and risks that disasters pose to agriculture and food security worldwide.

Notes:
Lionel Messi won the eighth Ballon d’Or of his career, while Spain’s World Cup-winning star Aitana Bonmati took the women’s prize.
36-year-old Messi won his first Ballon d’Or in 2009. He is now three count ahead of his old rival Cristiano Ronaldo. Norway’s Erling Haaland and French footballer Kylian Mbappé were placed second and third in the list.

Notes:
NASA’s Juno mission has achieved a notable milestone by detecting mineral salts and organic compounds on the surface of Ganymede, which is Jupiter’s largest moon.
This important data was collected using the Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) spectrometer during a close flyby of Ganymede. These findings are of great significance because they will provide valuable insights into Ganymede’s origins and the composition of its deep ocean.

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.