Daily Current Affairs Today MCQ : 15 March 2023 Quiz

The Centre has approved the additional Central assistance of over 1,816 crore rupees under the National Disaster Response Fund(NDRF) to 5 States which were affected by the floods, landslides, and cloudbursts in 2022.

These States are Assam, Himachal Pradesh,Karnataka, Meghalaya and Nagaland.

Of the total amount, over 520 crore rupees havebeen approved for Assam, 239 crore rupees for Himachal Pradesh, 941 crorerupees for Karnataka, 47 crore rupees for Meghalaya and around 68 crore rupeesfor Nagaland.

A Memorandum of Cooperation, MoC was signed between India and Sweden to strengthen cooperation and promote research networking between research institutions from both countries.

It was signed between Science and Engineering Research Board and the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education, Stockholm, Sweden.

The MoC aims to promote mobility funding opportunities in both countries.

It will facilitate academic cooperation through mobility activities as well as through seminars, workshops and conferences.

The latest report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has revealed that India was the world’s largest arms importer between 2018 and 2022.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Australia, and China were also among the top five, followed by Egypt, South Korea, Pakistan, Japan and the US.

India’s share of the global arms imports was the highest in the past five years at 11%, followed by Saudi Arabia (9.6%), Qatar (6.4%), Australia (4.7%) and China (4.7%).

The Indian Ocean Area will host the third edition of the multilateral exercise La Perouse.

The Royal Australian Navy, French Navy, Indian Navy, Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force, Royal Navy, and United States Navy will all have people, ships, and essential helicopters participating in this event.

Every two years exercise La Perouse, an exercise run by the French Navy, aims to improve maritime domain awareness and maritime cooperation among the participating navies in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) granted an ’Infrastructure Finance Company (IFC)’ status to Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA).

It was earlier classified as an ’Investment and Credit Company (ICC)’.

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA):

It has been promoting, developing and financing new and renewable sources of energy with the motto: Energy for Ever since 1987.

It finances all RE technologies and value chains such as solar, wind, hydro, bio-energy, waste to energy, energy efficiency, e-mobility, battery storage, biofuel and new and emerging technologies.

Chairman and Managing Director: Pradip Kumar Das

Asia’s first female locomotive pilot Surekha Yadav has now become the first female to operate the semi-high speed Vande Bharat Express train.

She achieved the feat as she piloted the semi-high speed train between Solapur station and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai.

Surekha Yadav became India’s first female train driver in 1988.

Hailing from Satara in the western Maharashtra region, Yadav has won many awards at the state and national levels so far for her achievements.

The SoO pact was signed on August 22, 2008 between the tripartite.

The primary objective of SoO pact is initiating political dialogue.

The Kuki outfits who were initially demanding a separate Kuki state have come down to a ’Kukiland territorial council’.

Kuki Territorial Council would have financial and administrative powers independent of the Manipur Assembly and government.

The Joint Monitoring Group (JMG) with representatives from all the signatories, has been formed to oversee the effective implementation of the SoO pact.

Terms under SoO - Security forces, including state and central forces, are not to launch any operations, nor can the underground groups.

The signatories of UPF and KNO shall abide by the Constitution of India, the laws of the land and the territorial integrity of Manipur.

They are prohibited from committing all kinds of atrocities, extortion, among others.

The militant cadres are to be confined in designated camps identified by the Government.

The groups are given arms only to guard their camps and protect their leaders, other arms are deposited in a safe room.

Finance - The UG cadres living in the designated camps are given a monthly stipend of Rs 5000, as a rehabilitation package.

Financial assistance is also being provided to maintain the designated camps.

Manipur government decided to withdraw from the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with 2 hill-based tribal militant groups.

Suspension of Operations (SoO) is a tripartite pact between the Government of India, the Government of Manipur and Kuki insurgent groups in Manipur.

As many as 17 are under the umbrella group Kuki National Organisation (KNO), and 8 are under the United People’s Front (UPF).

The European Union (EU) will develop renewable energy projects with Algeria, stressing the key role of the nation in fighting terrorism and maintaining security and stability in the region.

Undoubtedly, Algeria and the EU share a good partnership in energy, as 90 per cent of Algerian gas exports go to Europe.

Stressing the large potential of Algeria in the field of renewable energy and the importance of bilateral cooperation in gas, Borrell further expressed his hope for settling all trade problems in a bid to boost trade exchange between the two parties.

The EU has agreed to re-launch the high-level security dialogue with Algeria, as the first meeting should be held before the end of the year.

In 2013, Algeria and the EU signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in such areas as oil and gas, renewable energy, and energy efficiency, as well as the legal and regulatory framework.

For now, the EU relies on Algeria as a main gas supplier amid the Ukraine-Russia war.

Pakistan and Iran have signed a contract to increase their electricity exchange.

Under the deal, the electricity exchange capacity between the two countries via the newly built 132-kilovolt transmission lines will increase by 100 megawatts (MW) to reach 200 MW in the first phase.

In the second phase, the two countries will install 70 km of 230-kilovolt electricity transmission lines in Pakistan to raise the electricity exchange capacity to 400 MW.

Iran’s electricity network is currently linked with several neighbouring states, which improved the sustainability of the country’s power network, said Mehrabian.

Bihar has the lowest literacy rate in the country followed by Arunachal Pradesh and Rajasthan, according to Ministry of Education.

According to the data shared by the Ministry of Education, Bihar (61.8 %) has the lowest literacy, followed by Arunachal Pradesh (65.3 %) and Rajasthan (66.1 %).

Kerala has the highest literacy rate (94 %) followed by Lakshadweep (91.85 %) and Mizoram (91.33 %), it said.

The literacy rate in rural India is 67.77 per cent as compared to 84.11 per cent in urban India, it said.