Daily Current Affairs Today MCQ : 02 March 2023 Quiz

India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate fell for the second straight quarter in the October-December period, coming in at 4.4 percent, according to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

The 3rd Quarter(Q3) GDP Growth -

At 4.4 percent, the latest quarterly growth number is lower than the 6.3 percent growth that was recorded in the second quarter of 2022-23, which itself was less than half the 13.2 percent increase posted in April - June 2022 as the GDP growth rate benefitted from a low base in the early part of the year.

Vishal Sharma has been named the Chief Executive Officer-Designate (CEO-Designate) of the GIL-Chemicals Business, effective as of March 1, 2023.

Nitin Nabar, Executive Director and President (Chemicals), Godrej Industries Limited, would be Vishal’s reporting authority, according to the company’s announcement.

From Ecolab Inc., where he served as Senior Vice President for the India, Middle East, and Africa (IMEA) region, stationed in Dubai since June 2020, Vishal Sharma joins Godrej.

The region’s record-breaking sales and profit growth were the result of Vishal’s leadership of Ecolab’s strategy and operations in IMEA.

He worked for Diversey, Inc for 12 years before joining Ecolab in 2013.

The first foreign university to establish a campus in India will be Deakin University of Australia.

The autonomous campus will be built in Gujarat International Financial Tec-City (GIFT) City.

While visiting Ahmedabad, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Norman Albanese is anticipated to make the official announcement.

Key Points -

Another Australian institution of higher learning among them is the University of Wollongong (UOW).

According to the research, it is ranked 10th in Australia and 85th overall. It is significant to remember that IFSCA regulations will apply to colleges operating in GIFT City, whereas UGC regulations would not.

The National Education Strategy document, released by the Narendra Modi administration in July 2020, made the government’s commitment to accepting international universities public.

Senior Indian Information Service (IIS) officer, Rajesh Malhotra has been appointed as the principal director general of the Press Information Bureau (PIB).

He will be the principal spokesperson of the government of India.

He will replace Satyendra Prakash, who took charge as principal DG of PIB in August 2022.

Rajesh Malhotra -

Malhotra, a 1989 batch officer, had been working in Ministry of Finance since January 2018.

Malhotra has over 32 years of operational experience in planning and implementation of media and communication strategies for the Election Commission of India.

It was in June, 1919 that a small cell was created in the Home Department.

It was rechristened the Central Bureau of Information under a full-fledged Director.

In 1923, it came to be known as the Bureau of Public Information.

A study undertaken in 1936 led to the reorganisation of the Bureau into a modern publicity organisation.

The designation of the head of the organisation was subsequently changed to Principal Information Officer in 1938.

In 1941, the Bureau was placed under the Department of Information and Broadcasting.

Press Information Bureau acquired its present name in 1946, and became a department of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting after 1947.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, once again overtook the position of richest person in the world on February 28, according to a Bloomberg Billionaires Index report.

The second-placed French business tycoon Bernard Arnault has a net worth of 185 billion dollar, trailing Tesla CEO Elon Musk by 187 billion dollar.

Musk’s net worth will reach $50 billion in 2023 and he will own a 13% share in Tesla at the time.

Since October 2022, Bernard Arnault had held the top spot on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which he held until February 27.

Moody’s now expects India’s real GDP growth to be 5.5% in 2023, up from the earlier projection of 5%, and to be 6.5% in 2024.

The upward revisions for India also incorporate a significant increase in capital expenditure budget allocation to Rs 10 lakh crore (3.3% of GDP) for fiscal year 2023-24, up from Rs 7.5 lakh crore for the fiscal year ending in March 2023.

A decade after retirement of Sachin Tendulkar, there has been planned to install a life-size statue of him inside the iconic Wankhede stadium where he played his last game for India.

The statue will be unveiled on April 23.

It will be the legend’s 50th birthday.

Key Points -

Tendulkar already has a stand named after him at Wankhede Stadium.

Apart from Sachin, MCA has also honoured former Indian Captain Sunil Gavaskar with a corporate box and batsman Dilip Vengsarkar with a stand.

Life-size statues of cricketers inside stadiums are rare in the country.

However, there are wax statues of several players with stands named after them in their respective state associations.

Also, many former cricketers have their statues at Madame Tussauds in London.

Tendulkar played 200 Test matches, 463 one-day internationals, and one T20 for India. His record of most centuries (100) and most runs in international cricket (34,357) still stands tall and unbroken.

Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi has assumed the position of Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command on February 28, 2023 (Tuesday).

He took the charge from Vice Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh (PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC) who has retired after serving in the military for around four decades.

Previously, he served as the Chief of Personnel at the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence (Navy) before taking the reins of the top-tier Mumbai-based command.

Achievements -

His other achievements include working as an Assistant Chief of Naval staff (policy and plans) and Flag Officer Commanding the Eastern Fleet.

Clarence William Nelson II, the Administrator of NASA has recently announced the designation of Dr Nicola Fox as the Associate Administrator for the Agency’s Science Mission Directorate.

Nicola has previously served as the Director of NASA’s Heliophysics Science Division.

Recently, she becomes the first woman to have been considered for the role of leading the Science Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington DC, USA.

NASA’s Science Head Role -

Dr Nicola J. Fox is the first woman to have been offered the leading role at NASA headquarters.

The Chief role at NASA’s Science Directorate involves the responsibility of supervising NASA’s Space and Earth Science programs.

The Science Directorate of NASA is a unit with an annual budget of approximately 7 billion dollars that controls several programs varying from the robotic hunts for past life on Mars to exploring distant galaxies with the James Webb Space Telescope.

Recently, the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush attended the Siang Unying Festival - which is an important festival of the Adi community at Boleng, Arunachal Pradesh.

Key Points -

The festival of Unying is celebrated to honour the season of cultivation, the beginning of the Adi community’s new year, the arrival of spring seasons as well as to strengthen the bond among the community.

The Adi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh is believed to have come from southern China in the 16th century.

They are the Tibeto-Burman language-speaking population.

They reside in the far north inhabiting East Siang and Lower Dibang Valley districts of Arunachal Pradesh.

The Adis are experts at making cane and bamboo items.

Solung (harvesting festival where animal sacrifices and rituals are performed) and Aran (a hunting festival where all the male members of the family go for hunting) are also among the major festivals of the Adi tribes.