Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2023

Notes:
The Baiga Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) achieved habitat rights, making them the second group to receive such rights in the state, following the Kamar group this year. They are ethnic groups found in Madhya Pradesh, including Chhattisgarh.
A total of 19 Baiga villages, comprising 6,483 individuals from 2,085 families, were granted habitat rights.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet granted approval for the modification of the Second Schedule of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (commonly referred to as the ‘MMDR Act’).
This amendment is focused on establishing royalty rates for three crucial and strategic minerals: Lithium, Niobium, and Rare Earth Elements (REEs).

Notes:
U.S. state California has introduced an innovative law called the “Ebony Alert” aimed at giving priority to locating missing Black youth.
This alert system, akin to the Amber Alert, will use multiple communication platforms to share information about missing individuals between the ages of 12 and 25.

Notes:
The Indian Ocean Rim Association includes 23 countries from Africa, West Asia, South Asia, South East Asia, Australia and states situated in and around the Indian Ocean.
Sri Lanka took charge as Chair this year from Bangladesh, for a period of two years 2023 to 2025.  India took charge as the Vice-Chair. The 26-year-old organisation is the brainchild of former South African President Nelson Mandela.

Notes:
The British government approved one of the UK’s largest new oil and gas initiatives, the North Sea Rosebank field.
Though the Rosebank development has faced public backlash amid concerns over its environmental impact, the Rishi Sunak administration asserts that this project is crucial for ensuring the country’s energy requirements.

Notes:
The DRDO’s oceanographic research ship ‘INS Sagardhwani’ has set sail for the Sagar Maitri Mission-4, aiming to promote scientific collaborations with nations around the Indian Ocean Rim in the field of Ocean Research & Development.
‘The Sagar Maitri initiative, introduced by DRDO, aligns with ‘Safety and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR),’ aimed at enhancing cooperation in socio-economic areas and fostering scientific engagement, particularly in ocean research, with countries along the Indian Ocean Rim (IOR).

Notes:
The 8th BRICS International Competition Conference 2023 (BRICS ICC 2023), was hosted by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in New Delhi.
Joint Statement signed by the BRICS competition authorities called for alignment towards fostering competition-driven growth and socio-economic progress. CCI handed over the baton to South Africa for the 9th BRICS International Competition Conference to be held in 2025.

Notes:
An international, high-speed passenger ferry service between Nagapattinam on the eastern coast of Tamil Nadu and Kankesanthurai in the northern province of Sri Lanka, has resumed, after a gap of nearly four decades.
The high-speed craft (HSC) Cheriyapani, embarked on its journey from the Nagapattinam port with 50 passengers and 12 crew members.

Notes:
Australians have roundly rejected greater rights for Indigenous citizens, ending plans to amend the country’s 122-year-old constitution after a divisive and racially tinged referendum campaign.
Around 59% of people had voted against a proposal to acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders within the 1901 constitution for the first time. The referendum could only pass with support from a majority of voters nationally and a majority of voters in at least four of the country’s six states.

Notes:
Armenia’s President Vahagn Khachaturyan has signed the ratification of the Rome Statute, recognising the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) despite Russian warnings.
ICC issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin over the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. Armenia says joining the ICC would allow it to investigate war crimes by Azerbaijan after Baku’s offensive to retake Nagorno-Karabakh.