Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2023

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:
Rebel soldiers in Central African nation Gabon claim to have ousted their President Ali Bongo Ondimba.
Rebel officers in the oil-rich central African state of Gabon announced they had seized power following disputed elections in which President Ali Bongo Ondimba, in power since 2009, had been declared victorious.

Notes:
17-year-old D Gukesh took over as the country’s top-ranked player from Viswanathan Anand in FIDE’s monthly rankings list.
It has been 37 years since anyone other than Anand holding the top position. The five-time World champion is currently ranked ninth, a spot below Gukesh on the world list, is semi-retired from active chess.

Notes:
The government of Odisha has launched the Mukhyamantri Medhabi Chatra Protsahan Yojana (MMCPY) to provide financial assistance to scheduled tribe (ST) and scheduled caste (SC) students pursuing higher studies in medical and engineering.
Under the scheme, the government will reimburse the entire course fees.

Notes:
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will come back through Earth’s atmosphere after a year-long journey to Bennu, a potentially hazardous asteroid with a 1 in 2700 chance of smashing cataclysmically into Earth.
The goal of the mission is to see whether life on Earth came from outer space. OSIRIS-REx is now returning from its mission with a 2-ounce sample of Bennu’s surface that could contain extraterrestrial precursors to life on our planet.

Notes:
Recently, scientists from IIT Roorkee made a discovery by characterizing dinosaur fossils from the Middle Jurassic period, unearthed in the Thar Desert near the Jaisalmer Basin, by the Geological Survey of India. The fossils belong to a species known as Tharosaurus indicus, a member of the Dicraeosauridae family within the superfamily Diplodocoidea. These fossils represent the first dicraeosaurid sauropods ever found in India and are approximately 167 million years old, making them the world’s oldest known diplodocoid fossils.
The scientists coined the name Tharosaurus indicus, drawing from “Tharo” (referring to the Thar desert), “sauros” (Greek for lizard), and “indicus” (indicating its Indian origin). These dinos were distinct within their family, characterized by smaller size and shorter necks and tails compared to their long-necked sauropod counterparts. Sauropods originated during the Jurassic period around 200 million years ago and were a dominant group of dinosaurs, surviving until the late Cretaceous period, when dinosaurs met their demise. While dicraeosaurid fossils have been found in other parts of the world, this discovery sheds new light on prehistoric India’s biodiversity.

Notes:
The Cabinet has granted approval for an allocation of Rs. 1164.53 crore for the Industrial Development Scheme (IDS) 2017 in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
The IDS 2017 was initially introduced in 2018 with a financial outlay of Rs. 131.90 crore, which was fully utilized by the fiscal year 2021-22. To fulfil obligations until 2028-29, an additional fund was required, prompting the Cabinet’s approval. These measures aim to stimulate industrial growth and create job opportunities.

Notes:
At the Global Fintech Festival in Mumbai, Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) introduced its enhanced Face Authentication system, developed in-house with AI and ML capabilities, focusing on reimagining Aadhaar authentication.
UIDAI’s Volunteer Guideline 2022 encourages collaboration with industry and fintech partners to accelerate technology adoption and enhance solutions for residents.

Notes:
The U.S. Air Force conducted a test of an unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
The missile was launched from a silo and successfully delivered a re-entry vehicle to a target approximately 4,200 miles away in the Pacific Ocean. The test was deemed an important demonstration of the nation’s nuclear deterrent capability.