Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2023

Notes:
During the annual ASEAN-India summit in Jakarta, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced India’s decision to establish an embassy in Timor-Leste.
Timor-Leste, having joined ASEAN as an Observer in 2022 before becoming a full member, has gained importance in regional diplomacy. The move to open an embassy in Timor-Leste signifies India’s strategic engagement in Southeast Asia, strengthening ties in line with its ‘Act East’ policy.

Notes:
The Indian men’s Table Tennis team clinched the bronze medal at Asian Table Tennis Championships 2023 held at Pyeongchang, the Republic of South Korea.
The team composed of Sharath Kamal, Harmeet Desai and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran faced a semi final defeat to Chinese Taipei. The Asian Table Tennis Championships 2023 was a qualifier for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Notes:
The USA has abruptly terminated funding for its DEEP VZN program, which is a research initiative designed to discover and study thousands of exotic pathogens worldwide. The program aimed to collect over half a million samples from across the globe and analyze around 12,000 viruses found within these samples.
This decision comes as the U.S. government reevaluated the relative risks and impacts of the research program.

Notes:
The inaugural Africa Climate Summit (ACS23) in Nairobi concluded with the adoption of the ‘Nairobi Declaration,’ aimed at giving Africa a unified voice on climate issues in international forums.
The declaration includes recommendations, pledges, and demands to strengthen Africa’s position on climate change. The declaration also highlights green investment opportunities in Africa and proposes a carbon tax on fossil fuel trade, maritime transport, and aviation.

Notes:
Astronomers recently discovered “Bubble of galaxies” an enormous cosmic bubble packed with galaxies that stretches nearly 1 billion light-years across and located within our galactic neighborhood. It is estimated to be located just 820 million light years from our galaxy.
Within this vast bubble, called “Ho’oleilana,” lies the Bootes supercluster of galaxies, surrounded by an expansive void known as “the Great Nothing.”

Notes:
In the first week of September 2023, approximately 30% of India’s land area experienced varying degrees of drought, posing significant challenges for farmers and food security.
Among the affected areas, 11.5% suffered from severe, extreme, or exceptional drought conditions, while 18.9% faced abnormal to moderate drought conditions. This information is sourced from the Drought Early Warning System (DEWS), a real-time drought-monitoring platform operated by IIT Gandhinagar’s Water and Climate Lab.

Notes:
During the recent G20 Summit in Delhi, world leaders were presented with a selection of handcrafted gifts representing India’s diverse cultural heritage.
These gifts included such as Kannauj’s famous ittar, Kashmiri saffron, Araku coffee from Andhra Pradesh, and tea from the Nilgiris, all packaged in a chest adorned with brass detailing. The gift also featured Sundarbans honey, Zighrana Ittar from Kannauj, Pashmina shawls from Changthangi goats, Khadi scarves symbolizing India’s freedom struggle, and commemorative coins and stamps.

Notes:
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh virtually inaugurated 90 infrastructure projects built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) at a cost exceeding ₹2,900 crore.
The projects span 11 States and Union Territories, including two revamped airfields, Bagdogra and Barrackpore, in West Bengal, and the Nyoma airfield in Eastern Ladakh, which will boost air infrastructure and augment the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) capabilities along the Northern border.

Notes:
The Assam government has introduced a bill that aims to exclude entities regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from the ambit of the Assam Microfinance Institution (Regulation of Money Lending) Act, 2020.
This move is intended to prevent dual regulation of such entities in the state. The 2020 Act was initially applied to all RBI-regulated entities, including NBFC-MFIs. However, the recent amendment seeks to remove these entities from the scope of the Act, aligning with RBI regulations.

Notes:
The household products and personal care sector has the potential to create an additional $62 billion in annual business value by 2030 if it places a central emphasis on nature in its operations, according to research by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The WEF’s broader projection estimates a $10.1 trillion business opportunity by 2030 if more nature-positive solutions are embraced by the private sector.