Daily Current Affairs Today MCQ : 27 March 2023 Quiz

The Kerala government has been fined Rs 10 crore by the Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for their inability to prevent the uncontrolled pollution of the designated Ramsar sites.

The penalty was imposed on the basis of the ’polluter pays principle’ which had to be deposited in a ring-fenced account to be operated under the authority of the Chief Secretary.

The penalty of 10 crore has been imposed which had to be made within a month.

The penalty will be utilised for conservation/restoration measures by preparing an action plan to be preferably executed within six months.

National Green Tribunal (NGT) -

It is a special body established under the National Green Tribunal Act (2010).

Aim: To effectively and expeditiously deal with cases related to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources.

Ramsar Sites -

These are wetlands deemed to be of "international importance" under the Ramsar Convention.

It is named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, where the convention was signed in.

Ramsar sites are trans-boundary in which case more than one Contracting Party is responsible for their conservation and management.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has announced the government will set up a sports university in the Kumaun region’s Haldwani town.

The international stadium of Haldwani will be upgraded into a sports university.

Earlier, the chief minister also held a meeting with the officials and discussed the proposed university.

Sports university -

A sports university is an institution of higher education that specializes in sports-related academic programs and research, as well as athletic training and competition.

The Agriculture Minister of India, Narendra Singh Tomar, has introduced a new platform called "DigiClaim" on the national crop insurance portal.

This platform is aimed at expediting the disbursement of insurance claims to farmers who have availed themselves of crop insurance.

The Minister used the platform to transfer a total insurance claim of Rs 1260.35 crore to insured farmers in several Indian states.

The technology behind this platform has been developed through the integration of the National Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP) and the Public Finance Management System (PFMS).

National women’s hockey team midfielder Salima Tete has appointed the AHF Athletes Ambassador from India for a term of two years.

Tete accepted the certificate and the position during the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) Congress in Mungyeong, Korea.

Tete, who led the Indian women’s junior hockey team to a fourth-place finish at the 2021 FIH Women’s Junior World Cup in Potchefstroom, South Africa, is among four players from Asia to be appointed for the position.

As the AHF Athletes Ambassador, Tete, along with the other selected athletes from Asia, will play a leadership role in the international representation, development, and advocacy of athletes.

She will also be working towards promoting awareness about athletes’ rights and welfare in the region.

Luis Caffarelli, 74, has won the 2023 Abel Prize "for his seminal contributions to regularity theory for nonlinear partial differential equations including free-boundary problems and the Monge-Ampère equation".

The prize includes a monetary award of 7.5 million kroner (roughly $720,000) and a glass plaque designed by Norwegian artist Henrik Haugan.

It is awarded by The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, on behalf of the Ministry of Education.

Niels Henrick Abel -

Niels Henrik Abel (1802-1829) was a Norwegian mathematician who made important contributions to the field of mathematics, particularly in the areas of algebra and analysis.

He is known for proving the impossibility of solving fifth-degree polynomial equations by radicals, a problem that had puzzled mathematicians for centuries.

The Real-time Performance Monitoring Dashboard of MoPSW called "Sagar Manthan" was virtually launched by Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Ayush Shri Sarbananda Sonowal.

"Sagar Manthan" -

The digital platform is designed to have all integrated data related to the ministry and other subsidiaries.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by MoS, MoPSW Shri Shripad Y Naik, MoS, MoPSW Shri Shantanu Thakur and other officials from the ministry.

Significance -

The newly launched dashboard is expected to enhance the functioning of different departments by providing well-coordinated and up-to-date information in real-time.

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has demonstrated its commitment to promoting the growth of India’s maritime transport sector by launching the "Sagar Manthan" Dashboard, which represents a step towards digitalization and transparency in the sector.

The government of Tamil Nadu has decided to declare Thanthai Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary as the 18th wildlife sanctuary in the state.

This sanctuary covers an area of 80,567 hectares in the forest regions of Anthiyur and Gobichettipalayam taluks in Erode district, and includes reserve forest areas in Anthiyur, Bargur, Thattakarai, and Chennampatti.

It is home to a variety of wild animals such as tigers, elephants, leopards, wild boars, gaurs, and deer.

This wildlife sanctuary is located in close proximity to other sanctuaries such as Malai Mahadeshwara wildlife sanctuary, BRT Wildlife Sanctuary, Cauvery wildlife sanctuary in Karnataka.

It serves as a connecting point between Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve and Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary.

This announcement was made during the state budget.

The newly designated wildlife sanctuary will facilitate the appointment of additional anti-poaching watchers and camps.

A report presented by UNESCO at the UN 2023 Water Conference in New York reveals that a significant portion of the world’s population still does not have access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.

The report indicates that 26% of the global population lacks safe drinking water, while 46% do not have access to well-managed sanitation facilities.

UN 2023 Water Conference -

It will be the second UN Conference dedicated to water after the one held in Mar del Plata, Argentina, in 1977.

UN has launched a global campaign called ’Be the Change’ to mark World Water Day 2023.

The WWDR is published by UNESCO on behalf of UN-Water and its production is coordinated by the UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme.

It is an annual report released on Launched on World Water Day (22nd March) every year.

80% of people living under water stress lived in Asia; in particular, northeast China, as well as India and Pakistan.

Gordon Moore, who helped start the company Intel in 1968 and predicted that computing power would continue to increase over time (known as “Moore’s Law”), has passed away at the age of 94.

Moore was an important figure in the semiconductor industry and played a key role in putting Intel’s processors in most personal computers.

He is widely known for his observation in 1965, which came to be known as "Moore’s Law", which states that the number of transistors on a microchip will double every 18-24 months, while the cost of production will decrease.

Moore served as the CEO of Intel Corporation from 1975 to 1987 and later as the chairman of the board from 1997 to 2000.

Anurag Behar, the CEO of Azim Premji Foundation and founding vice-chancellor of Azim Premji University, has authored a new travel book titled "A Matter of the Heart: Education in India".

The book is a collection of 110 stories, based on Behar’s experiences working at the foundation, and sheds light on the state of education in India beyond the major cities.

About the book -

Education is the key to creating a better future for individuals, communities, societies, and the world.

But what does education really mean, and how can we build a better future beyond the cities and the elite schools?

Anurag Behar’s collection of essays takes us on a journey to remote villages in India where we can see the state of education.

This book highlights the true essence of education, which lies in the heart, and the importance of empowering people to create a better future.