Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2023

Notes:
The Valkyrie, a next-generation drone, is a prototype, has been introduced by the United States military force.
It will serve as a supplement to the fleet of traditional fighter jets. The robot is powered into flight by a rocket engine and it can fly a distance equal to the width of China. It has a stealthy design and is capable of carrying missiles that can hit enemy targets far beyond its visual range.

Notes:
Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently chaired 26th meeting of Western Zonal Council at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
He also inaugurated an e-Resource web portal of Inter State Council Secretariat, Ministry of Home Affairs. This portal will facilitate functioning of Zonal Councils. The meeting was attended by Chief Ministers of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and Administrator of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.

Notes:
As 42 per cent workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme still not eligible for Aadhaar-based payment system (ABPS), the deadline for enabling Aadhaar-based payment for MGNREGA workers was extended till December 31
Earlier, the deadline was September 1 and this is the fifth extension by the Centre. This was announced by the Ministry of Rural Development.

Notes:
The England Cricket Board (ECB) announced that it will increase the match fees for the England Women’s cricket team to bring them in line with the Men’s cricket team.
England joins the likes of New Zealand, India and South Africa in announcing equal match fees for both men’s and women’s teams.

Notes:
Western Cuba was lashed by tropical storm Idalia and is likely to turn into a major hurricane as it moves towards the Gulf Coast in Floria.
Evacuations have been ordered by the officials. Idalia was churning around 80 miles off Cuba’s western tip.

Notes:
The Asia Cup 2023 tournament kicked off across four venues in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The 16th edition of Asia Cup is all set to start on August 30 and will end on September 17.
A total of six teams will be participating. The teams have been divided into two groups and are playing against each other in round-robin style.

Notes:
NITI Aayog and UNDP India have signed, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to formalise a framework of cooperation on a range of areas, including SDG localisation, data-driven monitoring, Aspirational Districts and Blocks, among others.
The MoU was signed for a period of five years. NITI Aayog is the nodal Institution for coordinating the adoption and monitoring of SDGs at the national and sub-national levels. UNDP plays the integrator role in coordinating efforts to fast-track progress on the SDGs within the UN system.

Notes:
Australia will send a delegation of industry, government, academic, media and arts representatives to Beijing for a dialogue with their Chinese counterparts next week to stabilise its relationship with China, as per Australia’s Foreign Ministry.
Trade, investment, people-to-people links as well as regional and international security are among the issues up for discussion in the next talks. The high-level dialogue had been held annually from 2014 until it was stopped in 2020.

Notes:
India is finalizing a Letter of Request (LoR) to the US government to acquire 31 MQ-9B Predator drones from General Atomics. These drones, a variant of the MQ-9 “Reaper,” offer remote or autonomous flight capabilities and also carry strike missiles for precise target elimination. Developed by General Atomics, the MQ-9B comes in two versions, SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian. The Indian Navy already operates the MQ-9B Sea Guardian since 2020. With a payload of up to 5,670 kg, the drone can fly above 40,000 feet for 40 hours, making it valuable for surveillance, warfare, and expeditionary roles, including integration into civil airspace.

Notes:
The Indian Army has launched ‘Project Naman’ to establish facilitation and grievance redressal centers for veterans and the families of personnel who have sacrificed their lives for the nation. The first center will be located in Delhi Cantonment. ‘Naman’ will house a Common Service Centre providing government-to-customer services, including pension account updates on the SPARSH portal. The SPARSH portal, initiated by the Ministry of Defence, is designed to manage pension sanction and disbursement for the Armed Forces, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Defence Civilians. This system offers complete transparency to defense pensioners, recording their pension history from its inception to the end of the pension due to the last eligible beneficiary. The Defense Accounts Department, under the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions), will oversee this comprehensive system, handling all aspects of the pension cycle, including initiation, sanction, and disbursement, revision, and grievance resolution. ‘Project Naman’ and the SPARSH portal aim to enhance support and services for Indian Army veterans and their families.