Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2023

Notes:
Thiruvonam, the most auspicious day during the Onam festival, is celebrated throughout Kerala. Onam is a harvest festival that celebrates the return of King Mahabali/Maveli to his beloved state.
The festival is celebrated for ten days and each day holds a lot of significance. Onam also marks the beginning of the Malayalam year, called Kolla Varsham.

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:
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has approved an increase in minimum wages for labourers by Rs 26 per day. This increase would be effective from January 1, 2023.
He also announced that registered insured employees and their dependent families under the Employees State Insurance (ESI) Scheme of Rajasthan will also get the benefit of Mukhyamantri Chiranjeevi Swasthya Bima Yojana under the ESI category.

Notes:
Recently, Shinon Meeras, a centre showcasing the history of Dard-Shina tribes, was opened to the public at the Gurez Valley in Kashmir.
Dard is a strong community of around 38000 people living in the valley, which speaks the rapidly fading Shina language. The first such cultural centre has been curated and developed by the Indian Army and the Lieutenant-Governor’s administration.

Notes:
The National Green Tribunal has directed the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to plant at least 10,000 trees within a month in Uttarakhand.
This direction was s part of compensatory tree plantation to make up for hundreds of trees felled during construction of a road from Simli to Gwaldam. There were petitions about construction of a road in the fragile and sensitive mountains of Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.

Notes:
Telangana Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) Dr Shanta Thoutam received the World Innovation Award at the first BRICS Innovation Forum hosted in Moscow.
The award is given for outstanding contribution to the Sustainable Development Goal-4 that ensures inclusive and equitable quality education and promotes lifelong opportunities for all. The award was instituted by World Organisation for Development.

Notes:
Koraput Kalajeera Rice, known as the ‘Prince of Rice,’ recently received Geographical Indications status. Indigenous to Odisha’s Koraput district, this aromatic rice has been cultivated for generations by local farmers. Resembling coriander seeds, it boasts excellent nutritional and cooking qualities. The rice, grown by the region’s tribal communities for thousands of years, is celebrated for its black color, enticing aroma, and rich taste. Traditional wisdom suggests it aids memory, diabetes control, raises hemoglobin levels, and boosts metabolism. Moreover, this fragrant grain possesses various medicinal properties, including being antispasmodic, stomachic, carminative, antibacterial, astringent, and sedative. It thrives in areas like Tolla, Patraput, Pujariput, Baliguda, and Mohuli in Koraput district.

Notes:
North Korea has launched its first operational tactical nuclear attack submarine “Hero Kim Kun Ok” and assigned it to patrol the waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan.

Notes:
The coastal waters of Kerala are facing a significant ecological threat from the invasive Caribbean false mussel, as revealed by a report from the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
This invasive species, originally from South and Central America, has rapidly spread throughout Kerala’s coastal waters, displacing native clams and oysters crucial for the state’s fisheries.

Notes:
The United Nations has released a report stating that the goal of achieving gender equality by 2030, as set by the U.N., is unlikely to be realized due to deeply ingrained biases against women in various sectors such as health, education, employment, and politics.
The report, titled “The Gender Snapshot 2023,” by UN Women and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, highlights that active resistance to gender equality and chronic underinvestment are key factors slowing progress and even leading to reversals in some cases.