Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2023

Notes:
A recent study has revealed the existence of the long-lost continent of Argoland, which had seemingly disappeared after breaking away from Australia approximately 155 million years ago.
This continent once formed the northeastern border of Australia during the Jurassic period.

Notes:
The share of India’s foreign currency assets deployed in overseas securities rose to 81.43 per cent by September from 80.76 per cent in March, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Report on Management of Foreign Exchange Reserves.
The share of money kept in deposits with other central banks and the Bank for International Settlement (BIS) declined to 13.49 per cent at the end of September from 14.82 per cent at the end of March 2023.

Notes:
The Ben Gurion Canal Project, initially conceived in the 1960s, is a proposed canal project through the state of Israel. It would connect the Gulf of Aqaba to the Mediterranean Sea.
It holds the potential to reshape global maritime trade dynamics by breaking Egypt’s control over the most direct route between Europe and Asia. Nevertheless, the project’s realization faces formidable obstacles of logistical complexity, political hurdles, and financial constraints, rendering it currently appear highly improbable.

Notes:
The Government of India signed a $400 million policy-based loan with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to support its urban reform agenda for creating high quality urban infrastructure, improving service delivery, and promoting efficient governance systems.
While Sub-programme 1 approved in 2021 with a financing of $350 million established national-level policies and guidelines to improve urban services, Sub-programme 2 is supporting investment planning and reform actions at the state and urban local body (ULB) levels.

Notes:
India’s headline retail inflation rate fell to 4.87 percent in October, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, due to the combination of a favourable base effect and cooling prices of some items.
Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation in September this year was 5.02 percent. The Reserve Bank of India expects headline retail inflation to average 5.6 percent in the last quarter of 2023 and 5.4 percent in 2023-24 as a whole.

Notes:
During the 19th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP19) to CITES, the participating countries received instructions to promptly implement thorough and effective measures to combat the poaching of jaguars.
Additionally, they were advised to prioritize the jaguar as a species of utmost importance in their enforcement efforts, focusing on actions against wildlife crimes.

Notes:
‘Towards Eliminating Plastic Pollution by 2040: A Policy Scenario Analysis’ was released recently by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ahead of the third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC3).
In 2022, a recent interim report reveals that approximately 21 million metric tonnes (MT) of plastic entered the global environment.

Notes:
India is ranked 117th in the list of 129 countries in the world in the inclusiveness index published by the Othering and Belonging Institute (OBI) at California University, United States. Smaller countries like Bangladesh (106) and Israel (115) were placed better than India.
The index examines inclusivity in terms of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and the general population using several measures. India was ranked last (129) in religion inclusiveness, 121st in gender, 108th in disability, 87th in race, 40th in the general population, and 39th in LGBTQ. New Zealand finished first in the index for the second consecutive year.

Notes:
Canada made national history in Spain by winning its first Billie Jean King Cup title, becoming the 13th nation to win the World Cup of Tennis.
Marina Stakusic and Leylah Fernandez combined for two straight-set singles wins against four-time champion Italy in the final tie.

Notes:
November 15 is celebrated as Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas, also known as Tribal Pride Day, to honour the birth anniversary of the tribal freedom fighter, Birsa Munda.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also launched the ‘Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra’ from Ulihatu village in Jharkhand on the day.