April 2023 Spotlight Merged 2 Lyst6323

SPOTLIGHT
Monthly Current Affairs

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RBI - NABARD - SEBI

SPOTLIGHT – APRIL 2023
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Contents
NATIONAL NEWS ......................................................................................................................................................... 2
STATE NEWS............................................................................................................................................................... 55
AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT..................................................................................................... 65
DEFENCE NEWS ........................................................................................................................................................ 67
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ................................................................................................................ 73
INTERNATIONAL NEWS............................................................................................................................................ 75
REPORTS AND INDICES .......................................................................................................................................... 89
BANKING AND ECONOMY ..................................................................................................................................... 100
GDP FORECASTS .................................................................................................................................................... 127
APPOINTMENTS ....................................................................................................................................................... 128
IMPORTANT DAYS ................................................................................................................................................... 132
AWARDS ..................................................................................................................................................................... 137
SPORTS ...................................................................................................................................................................... 143
MISCELLANEOUS..................................................................................................................................................... 147
QUESTIONS ............................................................................................................................................................... 149
pg. 1
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NATIONAL NEWS
1. Parliament passed the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2023 to amend the Competition Act,
2022.
• The bill gives the power to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to penalise
entities found engaging in anti-competitive behaviour based on their global turnover. So
far, the penalties were decided as a percentage of erring entities’ “relevant” turnover, which
typically means their annual domestic turnover.
• Companies will have to seek CCI’s approval for mergers and acquisitions, in case a
deal’s value is worth more than Rs 2,000 crore, and both the parties have a substantial
business operation in India.
• The bill has also reduced the time limit for approval of mergers and acquisitions from the
existing 210 days to 150 days.
2. Scientists from India and the UK have collaborated to create a real-time early warning
system for floods.
3. Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal launched the
App Version of National Logistics Portal (Marine) ‘Sagar-Setu’.
• It will provide real-time information on activities like vessel-related information, gate,
container freight stations and transactions at fingertips.
• It also enables digital payments required for the clearance process of import and
export like container freight station charges, shipping line charges, transportation charges,
etc.
4. Credit Guarantee Scheme for Micro & Small Enterprises has been revamped with effect
from 1 April 2023.
• Corpus of Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro & Small Enterprises (CGTMSE): It
has been infused with a sum of Rs. 8,000 crore
Rs 9,000 crores.
• Reduction of annual guaranteed fee for loans: It has been reduced for loans up to Rs.1
crore from a peak rate of 2% per annum to as low as 0.37% per annum.
o This will reduce the overall cost of credit to the MSEs to a great extent.
• Limit on ceiling for guarantees: It has been enhanced from Rs.2 crore to Rs.5 crore.
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• Legal Proceedings: It will no longer be required for settlement of claims in respect of

guarantees for loan outstanding up to Rs.10 lakh.
5. According to the Ernst & Young estimates, the space economy of India is projected to grow
to $600 billion by 2025 from $447 billion in 2020.
• By 2025, the value of India’s satellite launch services could almost double to $1 billion.
Source: Economic Times
6. India has become the first country in the world to develop its own sophisticated
mathematical model to track the spread of tuberculosis (TB) cases.
• The model was presented at the 36th Stop TB Partnership Board meeting in Varanasi.
• The model is based on the natural history of the disease, individual cases of infection,
healthcare-seeking behaviour, missed or correct diagnosis, treatment coverage, and
outcome.
• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), India's TB incidence rate per
100,000 population was 210 in 2021, which is equal to 29.50 lakh in absolute numbers.
The mortality rate was 35, which is 4.94 lakh in absolute numbers.
• According to the Indian TB model for 2022 estimated that the TB incidence rate per
100,000 population was 196, which equates to 27.70 lakh in absolute numbers. The TB
mortality rate per 100,000 population was 23, which is 3.20 lakh in absolute numbers.
• As per these estimates, India’s rate of reduction in TB cases was 18%. The global rate
of reduction is 11%.
• These figures also place India at the 36th position in terms of incidence rates (from largest
to smallest incidence numbers).
• India also holds the chairmanship of the Stop TB initiative, a program that operates in 40
countries under the Stop TB banner.
Source: Times of India
7. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully completed the Reusable
Launch Vehicle Autonomous Landing Mission when it landed in Autonomous mode at the
Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) located in Chitradurga, Karnataka.
pg. 3
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8. Ministry of Women and Child Development celebrated the fifth Poshan Pakhwada from
20th March to 3rd April 2023 to raise awareness about the importance of nutrition and
promote healthy eating habits through Jan Andolan and Jan Bhagidari.
• Theme of the campaign - "Nutrition for All: Together Towards a Healthy India"
• This year, the focus of Poshan Pakhwada is to popularise ‘Shree Anna’ (millets).
9. India’s Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), under University
Grants Commission, has partnered with NASA to develop artificial intelligence-based model
for predicting solar storms.
• The new model uses AI to analyse spacecraft measurements of the solar wind (an
unrelenting stream of material from the Sun) and predict where an impending solar storm
will strike, anywhere on Earth, with 30 minutes of advance warning.
10. Skyroot Aerospace, India's top private aerospace company, has successfully fired an
advanced fully 3D-printed cryogenic engine, Dhawan-II.
• The engine will be used in the Vikram rockets of the company.
• The test was conducted at Solar Industries propulsion test facility in Nagpur.
• Dhawan-II is a 3.5 Kilo Newton (kN) engine named after India's top rocket scientist, Dr.
Satish Dhawan.
11. NBCC, the Navratna CPSE under the Ministry of Urban Development, has signed the MOU for
cooperation with Scirocco Enterprises Ltd of Zambia for the construction of 1 lakh low and
medium-cost houses to mitigate an acute shortage of housing in that country.
• The housing units are to be constructed by 2030.
12. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has announced a plan to add 250 GW of
renewable energy capacity in the next 5 years to achieve its target of 500 GW of clean
energy by 2030.
• It will also include setting up of wind power capacity of at least 10 GW per annum.
• The government has decided to invite bids for 50 GW of renewable energy capacity
annually for the next five years i.e., from Financial Year 2023-24 till Financial Year 2027-28.
• MNRE also has declared SJVN Ltd, a public sector enterprise as fourth Renewable
Energy Implementing Agency (REIA) for calling such bids.
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• Presently, Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd. (SECI), NTPC Ltd. and NHPC Ltd.,
are notified by as REIAs for calling such bids.
• India currently has a total renewable energy capacity of 168.96 GW (as of 28th February
2023) with about 82 GW at various stages of implementation and about 41 GW under
tendering stage.
o This includes 64.38 GW Solar Power, 51.79 GW Hydro Power, 42.02 GW Wind
Power and 10.77 GW Bio Power.
13. Central Govt has reached the highest-ever GI registrations in 2022-23 by completing 33 new
GI registrations under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and
Protection) Act 1999.
• The top 5 states holding maximum number of GIs are Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar
Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala.
• It is administered by the Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trademarks, who is
the Registrar of Geographical Indications.
• Now, the total GI products are 465 in India.
14. Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has set up a 14-member committee, headed by
Amitabh Kant, India’s G20 Sherpa and the former CEO of NITI Aayog, to examine stalled
real estate projects and recommend ways to complete them.
15. India and Romania have signed the Defense Cooperation Agreement to set up and expand
Military Cooperation between both countries.
• Purpose - to exchange expertise and knowledge on subjects of mutual interest including
co-development and co-production of military hardware.
16. Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has signed a deal to partner with Amazon
India to stream TV shows and movies produced by government-run studios.
17. Indian Space Research Organisation has successfully tested the throttling of Vikas, its
workhorse launch-vehicle engine.
18. The 2nd Tourism Working Group meeting was held under India's G20 presidency at
Siliguri, West Bengal.
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• The working group meeting was preceded by a Side Event on the theme of ‘Adventure
Tourism as a vehicle for achieving Sustainable Development Goals’.
• The Minister of Tourism, G Kishan Reddy, has felicitated the delegates with Wooden
Owl set from Burdwan District, Dokra GI Hook fish from Bankura District, Banglshree
Silk Pocket Square from Malda District and Chitpore Attar from Kalimpong District to
promote the ODOP items.
• The Tourism Working Group will reconvene for two more meetings including a Ministerial
meeting, which will take place in Goa.
Source: PIB
19. Central Electricity Authority, Ministry of Power has published the list of best performing
power generation companies in the country for the financial year 2022-23.
• West Bengal Power Development Corporation (WBPDCL) has topped the rankings.
• The rankings are based on the performance and efficiency (as measured by the plant load
factor or PLF) of the companies.
• Santaldih Thermal Power Station-West Bengal (2nd), NTPC Korba (3rd), and NTPC
Vindyachal (4th) are the other rankers on the list.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
20. Union Government has approved the Indian Space Policy 2023 to institutionalise and mostly
facilitate private sector participation into the space sector for India.
• The policy will see Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) focusing on research
and development of advanced space technologies.
• The global space industry is worth over $500 billion, with the United States and China
spending the most.
• India’s share in the global space economy was less than 2% at present and the space
policy will help it increase substantially to 10% in the future.
Source: LiveMint
21. Union Cabinet has approved revised domestic gas pricing guidelines and the price of
natural gas will be 10% of the monthly average of the Indian crude basket.
• The guidelines also incorporate the Kirit Parikh Committee’s recommendations.
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• The Kirit Parikh committee, which was set up by the government to review the pricing
formula for gas produced in the country, has recommended complete liberalisation of
natural gas prices by January 1, 2027.
Source: The Economic Times
22. India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ruchira Kamboj handed over the
contribution of USD 2 million to the United Nations Trust Fund in support of the African
Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS).
• ATMIS was established on 1 April 2022 to support the implementation of the Somali
Transitional Plan towards a full handover of security responsibility to the Somali security
forces and institutions by the end 2024.
Source: The Print
23. 8th Anniversary of the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana is being celebrated in 2023. The
scheme was launched in 2015 to facilitate easy collateral-free micro-credit of up to Rs 10
lakh to non-corporate, non-farm small and micro-entrepreneurs.
• Since its inception, the scheme has sanctioned around Rs 23.2 lakh crore in 40.82 crore
loan accounts.
• About 68% of accounts under the scheme belong to women entrepreneurs and 51% of
accounts belong to entrepreneurs of SC/ST and OBC categories.
Source: ANI
24. India has extended a Standby Credit Facility to Bhutan at the reduced interest rate with an
extended settlement period of five years.
• This facility is used to providing additional currency swap support of USD 200 million to
support the Bhutan's 13th Five Year Plan.
• His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the King of Bhutan, paid an official
visit to India.
• India and Bhutan have been collaborating on the fin-tech, start-up, emerging technology,
and hydropower fronts.
Source: Economic Times and PIB
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Diplomatic relations between India and Bhutan were established in 1968.
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• The basic framework of India-Bhutan bilateral relations is the Treaty of Friendship and
Cooperation was signed in 1949, which was updated in February 2007.
• The First Five Year Plan (FYP) of Bhutan was launched in 1961. Since then, India has
been extending financial assistance to Bhutan’s FYPs.
• So far, India has extended a standby credit facility of Rs 1000 crore to Bhutan to help
Bhutan overcome the rupee liquidity crunch. Under this Facility, India provides credit to
Bhutan at a concessional interest rate of 5% per annum. The facility is valid for 5 years.
Source: Ministry of External Affairs
25. Union Cabinet has approved to build a gravitational-wave detection facility in Maharashtra
at a cost of ₹2,600 crore.
• The facility will consist of a detector called the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave
Observatory (LIGO), to be built in the image of the twin LIGO instruments already
operational in the U.S.
• For the first time, the gravitational waves were detected in 2016, which launched a new
era of astronomy.
Source: The Hindu
26. Ministry of Education has released the draft of the “National Curriculum Framework for
School Education 2023”.
• The last edition of the guidelines was launched in 2005.
• A week will be of 5.5 days as opposed to 6 days as suggested by 2005 guideline.
• As per the new guidelines, the class period will be 40 minutes for preparatory and middle
school stages, and 50 minutes for Class 9 onwards.
• The academic year should consist of 180 school days or 34 weeks across all stages of
education.
• These guidelines are concise and to the point as opposed to 2005 guidelines which were
broad and general.
• These new guidelines are based on the National Education Policy of 2020. Class 11-12
students will be allowed to opt a mix of arts, science, and commerce subjects.
Source: Indian Express
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27. Total enrolments under National Pension System (NPS) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY)
have crossed 1.35 crore margin during the Financial Year 2022-23.
• Total enrolments under the National Pension Scheme are 16 lakhs. Of this, NPS-All
Citizen and NPS-Corporate account for 60% of the enrolments, i.e., 10 lakhs. NPS-
Government Employees account for the rest of enrolments i.e., 6 lakhs.
• Total enrolments under APY are over 1.19 crore.
Source: News on Air
28. President Droupadi Murmu flew a sortie in a Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft from Tezpur
Air Force Station in Assam.
• The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces.
• Murmu is the third President and the second woman President to fly such a sortie.
Before her, Former Presidents APJ Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patel had flown the
Sukhoi-30 MKI aircrafts.
29. Central Government has announced to set up the 16th Finance Commission in November
2023. The commission will submit its report in by around October 2025.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Central Government has announced to set up the 16th Finance Commission in
November 2023. The commission will submit its report in by around October 2025.
• The commission is a constitutional body which provides the recommendations for the
devolution of taxes between Centre and States for a period of five years.
Source: The Hindu
30. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has released the summary report of the “Status of tigers 2022”
(tiger census of India) at Mysuru, Karnataka.
• As per the estimates, India is now home to at least 3,167 tigers.
• This is around 6.7% higher than the tiger census of 2018, which pegged tiger numbers at
2,967.
• The report also highlighted the local extinction of tigers in some areas such as Kawal Tiger
Reserve in Telangana.
• India is home to an estimated 70% of the world’s tiger population.
• The report was released on the 50 years of Project Tiger (launched in 1973).
pg. 9
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Knowledge Nuggets -
• India began the tiger census in 2006.
• India estimates tiger numbers every four years.
• The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) under the Union environment
ministry, state forest departments, and Wildlife Institute of India conduct the Census.
• There are seven big cat species in the world, namely tiger, lion, cheetah, leopard, snow
leopard, jaguar, and cougar (Puma). India is the only country in the world to have 5
big cat species (except pumas and jaguars).
• PM also launched the International Big Cats Alliance (IBCA):

o It is being launched with focus on the protection and conservation of 7 major big cats
of the world, viz. Tiger, Lion, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Puma, Jaguar and Cheetah.
o It will be done in collaboration membership of 97 range of countries harbouring these
species.
o It will provide assured support over five years with guaranteed funding of over
Rs.800 crores.
Source: The Wire and Times of India
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31. Festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (FINE)-2023 was organized by the

Department of Science and Technology and the Office of President at Rashtrapati
Bhavan Cultural Center (RBCC) in Delhi.
• The President Droupadi Murmu presented NIF’s 11th Biennial National Grassroots
Innovation and Outstanding Traditional Knowledge Awards to 1093 grassroots
innovators and school students at the national level.
• The festival was organized to promote science, technology and innovation and encourages
citizens to start entrepreneurship.
Source: News on Air
32. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has received the recognition of a National Party by the Election
Commission of India.
• The national status of National Communist Party, Trinamool Congress, and Communist
Party of India has been removed.
• The country now has six national parties — BJP, Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP),
CPI(M), National People’s Party (NPP) and AAP.
33. India-France Business Summit was organized in France to celebrate the 25 years of India-
France Friendship.
• Co-chairs - Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public
Distribution, and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal along with Mr Olivier Becht, Minister delegate
of Foreign Trade, Attractiveness and French Nationals Abroad, Government of France
• The Summit focused on themes including building a green future, emerging technologies,
defence cooperation and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific regions.
• The Minister of Commerce will also visit Italy during his visit.
Source: PIB
34. ‘First International Quantum Communication Conclave’ has been organized by the
Department of Telecommunication in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
• Partners in organization - Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT),
Telecommunications Standards Development Society India (TSDSI) and IEEE
Communications Society-Delhi Chapter
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• Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Telecom Skill Excellence Awards–2022 has been

presented.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• ‘Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Telecom Skill Excellence Awards’ have been instituted by
Department of Telecommunications to encourage telecom ecosystem for their
outstanding contributions in the areas of telecom skilling, services, manufacturing,
applications.
Source: PIB
35. Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched the ‘vibrant villages programme’ in Arunachal
Pradesh bordering China.
• The scheme has a central component of ₹4,800 crore, including ₹2,500 crore exclusively
for road connectivity, for financial years 2022-23 to 2025-26.
• 2,967 villages in 46 blocks of 19 districts, located at the northern border in the states of
Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and Union Territory of
Ladakh have been identified under the scheme.
• In the first phase, 662 villages have been identified for priority on coverage, which
includes 455 villages in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Shah also inaugurated 9 micro hydel projects of Arunachal Government and 14
infrastructure projects Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) worth Rs.120 crore.
• Shah also informed that the central government has given Rs. 44000 crores to the
Arunachal government for the development of infrastructure.
• The Govt is planning to the integrate the Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP) with the
Prime Minister Gati Shakti mega project.
Source: PIB and The Hindu
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36. Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya has approved the inclusion of Serum Institute's
Covovax on the CoWIN portal as a heterologous booster dose for adults.
• Covovax is manufactured through technology transfer from Novavax (American
biotechnology company).
37. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has launched the 'Tulsi Ghat Restoration Project'
of Varanasi, during his visit to Uganda's Kampala.
Uganda’s Trip -
• The project is being implemented in collaboration with Uganda.
• Uganda has been appointed as the chair of the Non-Aligned Movement on behalf of
Africa for the period from 2022 to 2025.
• The NAM chair position rotates every three years during summit conferences. Uganda
was announced the chair of NAM in the last summit of NAM (18th edition) in Azerbaijan.
• Jaishankar has inaugurated the first foreign campus of National Foreign Sciences
University (based in Delhi) at Jinja, Uganda.
Mozambique’s Trip -
• From April 13-15, Jaishankar will visit Mozambique. This will be the first-ever visit by an
External Affairs Minister of India to the Republic of Mozambique. He also paid a visit to
Ethiopia.
Source: The Hindu and India Today
38. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar inaugurated the 200th birth anniversary celebrations of
Swami Dayanand Saraswati in New Delhi.
• Mr Dhankhar released postage stamp on the founder of Arya Samaj.
Source: New on Air
39. Central Government has identified and documented distinctive features of more than one
lakh villages across the country under the ‘Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar’ (My Village My
Heritage) programme.
• The program has been carried out under the National Mission for Cultural Mapping
(NMCM).
pg. 13
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• Purpose – to map the cultural assets and art repositories of the nation i.e., art expressions,
crafts and skills, wisdom tradition and other cultural practices whether oral, aural, visual or
kinetic
• Villages have been categorized into 7-8 categories based on ecological, developmental,
and historical significance, as well as cultural aspects such as famous textiles or
products or connected to some historical or mythological events such as the
Independence struggle or epics like the Mahabharata.
• In the ecological category, Bishnoi village in Rajasthan has been chosen. The village is
famous for Chipko Movement.
• In the development category, Modhera in Gujarat is the first solar-powered village in
India.
• In the historical category, below-mentioned places have been selected.
o Kandel in Madhya Pradesh, the site of the famous "Jal Satyagraha".
o Hanol in Uttarakhand and Vidurashwathar of Karnataka, which are linked to the
Mahabharata.
o Suketi in Himachal Pradesh, Asia's oldest fossil park.
o Pandrethan in Kashmir, the village of Shaivite mystic Lal Ded
Source: The Hindu
40. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Amazon India have signed an agreement in
New Delhi to boost India’s creative economy and promote creative talent in the country.
• As part of the agreement, Amazon Prime Video will sponsor scholarships, create
internship programmes, and offer job opportunities for students of the Film and Television
Institute of India (FTII) and Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute.
Source: News on Air
41. Ministry of Cooperation has approved a one-time grant-in-aid of Rs 30 crore to establish

the Vaikunth Mehta National Institute of Cooperative Management in Pune as a Centre of
Excellence for Cooperative Education and Training.
• This grant will be used for creating essential infrastructure for students and trainees.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Vaikunth Mehta National Institute of Cooperative Management was established in
1967, and is an apex Centre for Cooperative Management Training, Research and
consultancy.
pg. 14
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• It also organises training programmes for cooperative sector officials from SAARC
countries, Ethiopia, Mauritius and other countries.
Source: PIB
42. Supreme Court has ruled that no service tax would be levied on corporate guarantees
provided by a parent company to its subsidiaries as there is no consideration involved,
resolving a long-standing service tax conflict.
43. Minister of Culture, Tourism and Development of North-Eastern Region Shri G. Kishan
Reddy hosted the first India-Central Asia Culture Ministers’ Meeting
• Culture Ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan participated in the meeting.
Source: PIB
44. India and the Netherlands held their first Ministerial-level meeting of the Joint Working
Group in New Delhi.
• India and Netherlands have signed the Strategic Water Partnership in March 2022.
Source: PIB
45. IIT Kanpur's technology business incubator, the Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre
(SIIC), has signed a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Agreement with Kanpur-based
Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited.
• Under the agreement, the Defence PSU will provide financial support to the startup
ecosystem and promote the incubation of new technology, knowledge, and innovation-
based startups at IIT Kanpur.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Eligibility criteria for companies to undertake CSR activities under the Companies
Act, 2013 -
o net worth of Rs 500 crore or more, or
o turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or more, or
o net profit of Rs 5 crore or more
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• The Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited is one of the seven new
Defence Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) formed by converting the Ordnance
Factory Board into fully government-owned enterprises.
Source: Economic Times and Ministry of Corporate Affairs’ website
46. The Indian Armed Forces have set up an inter-services panel, chaired by the Army’s
Adjutant General (incumbent: Bansi Ponnappa) to examine different aspects of disability
pension to their personnel.
• The total defence pensions for 2023-24 is estimated at Rs 1.38 lakh crore.
47. According to the data given by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in the
parliament, Gujarat had the highest utilisation-to-released fund ratio of Members of
Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds in FY23.
• The other major states with the highest utilisation-to-released fund ratio include Jharkhand,
Karnataka, Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
• Uttar Pradesh received the most funds in FY23.
• On the other hand, four union territories, Lakshadweep, Chandigarh, Andaman and Nicobar
Islands, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli received no money in FY23. Among states, Sikkim
received the lowest amount of money at ₹2 crore.
48. SNEHA, a suicide prevention centre, has launched an online chat service for those in
distress and in need of help.
• The live chat facility will be available on SNEHA’s website — https://snehaindia.org/new/ —
between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m.
Source: The Hindu
49. The 2nd edition of the Women 20 (W20) International Meeting will be held in Jaipur from
April 13 to 14.
Source: News on Air
50. India will host the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Young Authors' Conference
in New Delhi.
• Organizers – Ministry of Education along with National Book Trust, India
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• SCO aims at advancing the theme of 'SECURE' (Security, Economic cooperation,

Connectivity, Unity, Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and Environment),
articulated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi initially at the SCO Summit in Qingdao in
2018.
Source: ANI
51. 5th cycle of Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) of Tiger Reserves in India in
2022 has been released by the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
• A total of 53 tiger reserves from 18 states have been covered.
Source: MEE report
52. Unified Portal of the Central Bureau of Narcotics was launched to strengthen the vision of
Digital India in the period of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’.
• Central Bureau of Narcotics is a central government organization dealing with the
international trade of Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances, and Precursor Chemicals
under the ambit of various United Nations Conventions and the provisions of Narcotic
Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.
Source: PIB
53. Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari inaugurated Peerah-
Kunfer Tunnel at Ramban, Jammu and Kashmir.
Source: News on Air
54. International Conference on Defence Finance & Economics was organized in New Delhi.
pg. 17
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• Organizer - Ministry of Defence (Finance)

Source: PIB
55. RailTel Corporation of India Ltd, a CPSU under the Ministry of Railways, has bagged an
order of approx. ₹76.10 crores from Bihar State Electronics Development Corporation
(BSEDC), a Bihar government.
• Purpose – for undertaking for implementation and management of Electronic Knowledge
Network (100 Mbps internet connectivity, wi-fi system and Smart Classes)
Source: The Print
56. Union Minister Jitendra Singh has said that India will get 9% of its electricity from nuclear
sources by 2047.
• The Department of Atomic Energy has been given the target of achieving 20 gigawatts
(GW) capacity of nuclear power generation by 2030.
• This step will make India the third-largest producer of atomic energy in the world after
the US and France.
• Central Govt has already approved the installation of 10 nuclear reactors of 700 MW
each in five states (Karnataka, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan) across India.
• India is establishing the world’s first thorium based nuclear plant “Bhavni” using
Uranium-233 at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu. The experimental thorium plant “Kamini”
already exists in Kalpakkam.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• India has the sixth-highest number of functional nuclear reactors in the world and the
second-highest number of reactors, including those under construction.
• Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) is India’s largest nuclear power plant
located in Kudankulam, Tamil Nadu.
• During 2021-22, nuclear power reactors contributed about 3.15% of the total electricity
generated in the country.
• The present installed nuclear power capacity is set to increase from 6,780 megawatts
(MW) to 22,480 MW by 2031.
57. 7th India-Japan Defence Policy Dialogue was held in New Delhi.
pg. 18
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• It was co-chaired by Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane and Vice Minister of Defence for
International Affairs Oka Masami.
• The Defence Policy Dialogue is an institutionalised mechanism between India and Japan to
discuss bilateral defence cooperation.
Source: News on Air
58. Doordarshan has announced to telecast the ‘DHAROHAR BHARAT KI - Punruthaan ki

Kahaani), a two-part documentary, to showcase the rich heritage of India.
• The documentary will be anchored by popular digital media presenter Kamiya Jani.
Source: PIB
59. India's first semi-high-speed regional rail services have been named 'RAPIDX' by the
National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC).
• The trains will run on the first Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor and will bring
down the travel time between Delhi to Meerut significantly.
60. G20-Science20 conference on ‘Clean Energy for Greener Future’ was held in Agartala,
Tripura on the theme of “Disruptive Science for Innovative and Sustainable
Development”.
• The meeting was chaired by Prof Ashutosh Sharma, President, Indian National Science
Academy and Co-Chair, Science 20.
• Science20 Engagement Group, comprising the national science academies of the G20
countries, was initiated during Germany’s Presidency in 2017.
• The S20 meetings are presided over by India in 2023, and the upcoming meetings will be
held in Lakshadweep and Bhopal, focusing on Universal Holistic Health and Connecting
Science to Society and Culture respectively.
• The Summit Meeting will be held in Coimbatore in July.
Source: PIB
61. Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of the
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
• The Central Bureau of Investigation was established by a resolution of the Ministry of Home
Affairs, Government of India dated 1st April 1963.
Source: PIB
pg. 19
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62. The Central Government is in the process of establishing a first-of-its-kind National Public
Health Museum to showcase models, specimens and studies related to public health.
Source: LiveMint
63. 2nd Energy Transitions Working Group Meeting (ETWG) under India’s G20 Presidency
has concluded successfully in Gandhinagar.
• The 1st ETWG was held in Bengaluru from Feb. 5-7, 2023.
• The 3rd Energy Transitions Working Group Meeting is scheduled to take place in Mumbai
from May 15-17, 2023.
Source: PIB
64. In the financial year of 2022-2023, procurement of goods and services from the
Government-e-Marketplace (GeM) has crossed Rs 2 lakh crore mark.
• According to the Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, India has crossed total exports of $750
billion for the 2022-23 and the final figure is expected to cross $765 billion.
Source: PIB
65. France has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Paris as a guest at the annual
Bastille Day parade in July.
• This would be the first time in over a decade that an Indian Prime Minister will attend the
annual military parade, since Manmohan Singh was invited as the Bastille Day parade
guest in 2009. However, the visit is still being discussed.
• July 14 is the anniversary of the storming of the infamous Bastille prison in 1789 - a turning
point for the success of the French Revolution.
Source: The Hindu
66. Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has hailed the achievement of around
40,000 water bodies having been developed under the Mission Amrit Sarovar in the last 11
months.
• There is a target of constructing 50,000 Amrit Sarovars by August 15, 2023.
• The Mission was launched on April 24, 2022, for developing and rejuvenating 75 water
bodies in each district of the country as part of the "Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav".
• The total number of Amrit Sarovars to be developed under the scheme is around 50,000,
which was set to be completed by August 15 this year.
pg. 20
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Source: Business Standard
67. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Ministry of Science & Technology, has
released the magazines named Vigyan Pragati and Science Reporter.
Source: PIB
68. India’s First Underwater Metro has been established under the Hooghly River, Kolkata. It
will cover the distance from Howrah Maidan station at Esplanade to Sealdah railway
stations.
69. Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Parshottam Rupala
launched the Animal Pandemic Preparedness Initiative and World Bank-funded Animal
Health System Support for One Health.
• Purpose - to enhance India's preparedness and response to animal pandemics, with a
focus on zoonotic diseases that pose a threat to both animal and human health
• In the Animal Pandemic Preparedness Initiative (APPI) all aspects of disease
prevention, control and pandemic preparedness are covered comprehensively.
• The key elements include Integrated disease surveillance & monitoring, early warning
& response, Vaccine/ diagnostics, R&D and production, and ecosystem coordination
with funding and regulatory framework enablers.
• The World Bank-funded project on “Animal Health System Support for One Health
(AHSSOH)” aims at creating an ecosystem for a better animal health management system
using the One Health approach covering five states in India.
• 151 districts in Assam, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka are
covered in this scheme.
• It is a Central Sector Scheme with a budgetary outlay of Rs 1228.70 crores. The
scheme’s duration is 5 years.
Source: PIB
70. Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) have been integrated with Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVKs) and
Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) to promote innovation in the
agricultural sector by involving school students across India.
• For this, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Atal Innovation Mission (AIM),
NITI Aayog have collaborated for this integration.
pg. 21
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• KVKs function as a 'single window agricultural knowledge resource and capacity

development centres', and this collaboration will provide numerous stakeholders with
necessary information, training, and inputs.
71. Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises has increased the coverage ceiling under
its Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) from ₹2 crore
to ₹5 crore per borrower for credit facilities extended by lending institutions to Micro and
Small Enterprises (MSEs).
• The annual guarantee-fee (AGF), which is generally passed on to the borrowers for loans
up to ₹10 lakh has been reduced to 0.37% (from 0.75%) and for loans above ₹10 lakh up to
₹50 lakh to 0.55% (from 1.10%).
• The AGF for loans above ₹50 lakh up to ₹1 crore is 0.60%; above ₹1 crore up to ₹2 crore
(1.20%); and for loans above ₹2 crore up to ₹5 crore (1.35%).
• Earlier, there was a single slab of ₹50 lakh up to ₹2 crore for which the AGF was 1.20 per
cent.
• The changes are effective April 1, 2023.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• CGTMSE, set up by the Government of India and SIDBI, provides guarantee against the
loans taken by MSMEs.
Source: The Hindu Business Line and CGTMSE website
pg. 22
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72. Union Tourism Minister G Krishan Reddy and Social Justice and Empowerment Minister
Dr Virendra Kumar have flagged off the Bharat Gaurav Tourist train to mark the birth
anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar from Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station in New Delhi.
• This train will cover the prominent places associated with life of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar
and the Buddhist heritage to give a holistic experience to the tourists about India's cultural
Heritage.
• These theme-based tourist circuit trains are in line with the “Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat”
and DekhoApnaDesh initiatives to promote domestic tourism.
Source: News on Air
73. ISRO has announced that NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) will map the most
earthquake-prone regions in the Himalayas.
• The data this will generate can potentially give advance warning of land subsidence, as
recently observed in Joshimath, Uttarakhand, as well point to places that are at greatest
risk from earthquakes.
• The total cost of NISAR is $900 million. It will be launched in January 2024.
Source: The Hindu
74. Ministry of Textile has announced to “soon” launch an ecommerce portal for artisans and
rural weavers across India to showcase their traditional craft.
• India Post will take care of the logistics for transportation of goods from producers to end
consumers.
• The Ministry of Electronics and IT's network of nearly 4,00,000 common service
centres (CSCs) — which run digital kiosks in rural areas — will help the artisans
accurately photograph, upload and package their products.
• In the first phase, the Textile Ministry has identified 100 clusters of artisans and mapped
them with the CSCs.
75. Union Minister of State (IC) Science & Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh has launched 'Yuva'
portal for identifying potential young start-ups across the country.
CSIR-National Physical Laboratory -
pg. 23
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• The Minister also launched the 'One Week-One Lab' campaign [see knowledge nugget A] of the
Delhi-based CSIR-National Physical Laboratory.
• The lab also organized a three-days Start-up/MSME/Industry Meet to showcase various
services extended by NPL to industries.
• As part of the Meet, the Metrology Conclave was also organised where a Handbook on
Advances in Metrology at CSIR-NPL was released.
• R&D Conclave & Women in STEM and a one-day Skill Conclave were organized as part
of the meet.
Indian Sign Language AstroLab -

• A new first of its kind ‘Astronomy Lab’ named as “Indian Sign Language AstroLab” has
been inaugurated in Karnal, Haryana. The lab aims to create awareness about the
astronomy among the Divyang-jans (persons-with-disability).
• The lab will enable hearing impaired students to learn about sun, moon and stars, apart
from simple to complex concepts of space.
• The Indian Sign Language AstroLab has 65 pieces of equipment, 24X7 virtual access to
stream over 90 videos and many other facilities.
Knowledge Nuggets -
A) In January 2023, the Minister of S&T had launched the ‘One Week-One Lab’ campaign
to showcase the innovations of the 37 CSIR labs by dedicating one week to each lab.
• Purpose – to make the stakeholders aware of the CSIR’s innovations, so that, they
can avail the benefit of them
B) 108th Indian Science Congress was held from January 3-7, 2023, at R.T.M. Nagpur
University, Nagpur, Maharashtra on the theme of “Science and Technology for
"Sustainable Development with Women Empowerment”.
C) CSIR-NPL is the custodian of Indian Standard Time (IST), generated using an atomic
time scale. It is responsible for measuring and presenting the IST.
• CSIR-NPL Director - Prof Venugopal Achanta
Source: Economic Times, PIB and Indian Science Congress Association’s website
76. Rajesh Subramaniam, Indian American CEO of global transportation giant FedEx, has been
presented with the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman 2023.
pg. 24
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• A total of 27 people won the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman in 2023 (including Rajesh
Subramaniam).
• Subramanian was presented with the award by India's Ambassador to the US Taranjit
Singh Sandhu at a ceremony at the India House.
• The other awardee, Darshan Singh Dhaliwal, was also present at the event.
Knowledge Nuggets -
Background -
• Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas is celebrated on January 9. In 1915, Mahatma Gandhi returned
to India on this day.
• India has been organizing the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention on an annual basis
since 2003 till 2015. From 2015 onwards, the Convention is being organized on a biennial
basis.
17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention -

• In 2023, the 17th edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention was organized on the
theme of "Diaspora: Reliable partners for India’s progress in Amrit Kaal”.
• It was divided into three segments -
o Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (organized by Ministry of Youth Affairs and
Sports) - H.E. Ms. Zaneta Mascarenhas, Member of Parliament of Australia, was
the Chief Guest
o Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention (inaugurated by the PM) - Guest of Honour
was Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali (President of Guyana) and Special Guest of Honour
was Mr. Chandrikapersad Santokhi (President of Suriname)
o Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards 2023 (conferred by the President Droupadi
Murmu) - the highest honour conferred on a Non-Resident Indian and Person of
Indian Origin
India’s Diaspora -
• ‘Diaspora’ is commonly understood to include Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), who are
citizens of India, and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs), including Overseas Citizens of
India (OCI), who are foreign nationals. PIO and OCI cardholders have been merged
under one category OCI in 2015.
pg. 25
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• India has a large diaspora in the world with over 32 million including over 13 million
NRIs and 18 million PIOs spread across the globe, as on December 25, 2021.
Source: PIB and Economic Times
77. Ministry of Panchayati Raj will be celebrating National Panchayat Awards Week during
17th – 21st April 2023 ahead of the National Panchayati Raj Day (24th April 2023).
• The Week will be celebrated on the theme of “Panchayaton ke Sankalpon ki Siddhi ka
Utsav” (पंचायत ं के संकल् ं की ससद्धि का उत्सव).
• This is the 14th National Panchayati Raj Day.
• During the week, 5 conferences will be organized in Delhi on different themes.
• National Panchayat Awards–2023 categories -

Category Purpose
Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Satat Vikas For the performance under individual
Puraskar (DDUPSVP) Localization of Sustainable Development
Goals (LSDGs) themes (aggregating 17
SDGs)
Nanaji Deshmukh Sarvottam Panchayat Satat For the aggregate performance under all 9
Vikas Puraskar (NDSPSVP) LSDG themes
Gram Urja Swaraj Vishesh Panchayat For Green Initiatives implemented by Gram
Puraskar Panchayats
pg. 26
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Carbon Neutral Vishesh Panchayat Puraskar For Green Initiatives implemented by Gram
Panchayats
• Shri Giriraj Singh, Hon’ble Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj has
launched “GS NIRNAY” mobile application.
o GS – Gram Sabha
o NIRNAY – National Initiative for Rural India to Navigate, InnovAte and Resolve
PanchaYat
• Purpose – to record and upload Gram Sabha proceedings open for public view
• The app will provide a means of verification of facts where necessary or in case of queries
that may arise regarding the resolutions undertaken during the Gram Sabha.
• e-GramSwaraj and GeM portals have been integrated to enable the Panchayats to
procure their goods and services through GeM.
o It will bring transparency in procurement by Panchayats by making the process
digital, a major demand raised by Panchayats.
Source: PIB, NPA Guidelines, National Panchayat Awards 2023 list and Economic Times
78. India has contributed USD 500,000 to the UN Women, the United Nations agency for gender
equality and women empowerment for their core budget.
Source: ANI
pg. 27
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79. Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh launched ‘Sangathan Se Samriddhi’ campaign
to empower marginalized rural households by bringing all eligible rural women into the fold
of Self Help Groups (SHGs).
• The government is targeting to bring 10 crore women under the purview of SHGs from the
existing 9 crore.
Source: News on Air
80. Union Minister for Petroleum Hardeep Singh Puri has advanced its target to achieve 20%
ethanol blending in petrol from 2030 to 2025-26.
• The government has increased the ethanol blending in petrol from 1.53% in 2013-14 to
10.17% in July 2022.
• India has set an ambitious target to set up 5000 commercial plants of CBG by 2024- 25
and produce 15 MMT of Compressed Biogas (CBG) which would replace other gaseous
fuels being used in the country.
81. Ministry of Tribal Affairs has launched the Marketing and Logistics Development for
Promotion of Tribal Products from the North-Eastern Region (PTP-NER).
• Purpose – to strengthen livelihood opportunities for tribal artisans through increased
efficiency in procurement, logistics and marketing of tribal products from North-Eastern
States
• The scheme will apply to the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya,
Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim.
• As a part of this scheme, it is planned to initiate empanelment of tribal artisans from North-
Eastern Region by organizing 68 Tribal Artisan Melas (TAMs) w.e.f. 18.04.2023 onwards
during the month of April –May 2023 at various districts of North-eastern Region.
Source: PIB
82. National Health Authority is in the process of adding another feature to its Ayushman
Bharat Health Account (ABHA) app, wherein a user can create his ABHA ID using face
authentication service linked to her/his Aadhar number.
• ABHA ID is an initiative under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)—country’s
digital health ecosystem which enables a user to share and access health records digitally.
pg. 28
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• As of April 16, 2023, 378 million ABHA IDs have been created and 261.7 million health
records have been linked.
Source: LiveMint
83. DRDO-Industry Academia Centre of Excellence (DIA-CoE) has been inaugurated at the
Indian Institute of Technology –Hyderabad.
• The DIA-CoE-IITH is the largest centre among all 15 CoEs in the country.
• DRDO Chairman - Dr Samir V Kamat
Source: News on Air
84. Indian Federation of Green Energy: Compressed Biogas (IFGE-CBG) will organize the two-
day Global Conference on Compressed Biogas under theme of “Towards Progressive
Policy Framework for a Robust CBG Foundation and Growth”.
• Venue - Silver Oak, Indian Habitat Centre, New Delhi
• TERI, Germany’s NAMA Facility, Germany’s GIZ GmbH and LCB Forum (Low Carbon
Biofuel Forum) of Greece are the institutional partners of this organization.
• Organizations like Indian Oil Corporation, Verbio India, Canara Bank, Indian Oil Adani
Ventures Limited - IAV Biogas, SBI Capital, SIDBI, Praj Industries and Maschinenfabrik
Bernard KRONE GmbH of Germany are also supporting this conference.
Source: PIB
85. NITI Aayog is planning a policy on electric vehicles (EVs) running on lithium-ion batteries since
about 75% of the lithium-ion imports come from China.
• India's total lithium-ion imports surged to $2.31 billion in April 2022-January 2023 from
$1.83 billion in the entire 2021-22.
• About 75% or $1.75 billions of these imports were from China, followed by 10% or $248
million from Hong Kong, 9.3% or $216 million from South Korea and miniscule quantities
from Vietnam and Singapore.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• China processes more than 60% of the lithium produced globally, besides 65% of
cobalt and 93% of manganese.
• China has bought the largest lithium mines in Australia and South America.
Countries with largest lithium reserves -
pg. 29
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• Bolivia – 20 million tonnes

• Argentine – close to 20 million tonnes
• United States - 12 million tonnes
• Chile – 11 million tonnes
• Australia - 7.9 million tonnes
• China - 6.8 million tonnes
• India - 5.9 million tonnes in J&K (7th rank globally)
• Germany - 3.2 million tons
Source: Economic Times and List of countries with lithium reserves ET
86. Ministry of Heavy Industries has sanctioned Rs. 800 crores under FAME India Scheme
Phase II to the PSU Oil Marketing Companies (OMC) - Indian Oil (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum
(BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) - for setting up 7432 public fast charging
stations across the country.
• The Committee headed by Director-General of Bureau of Energy Efficiency (incumbent:
Abhay Bakre) recommended certain changes to improve the viability of the development of
public charging infrastructure.
Source: PIB and BEE
87. Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressed the inaugural session of the Global Buddhist
Summit at Hotel Ashok in New Delhi.
• Theme - “Responses to Contemporary Challenges: Philosophy to Praxis”
Source: PIB
88. Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCC) has operationalised the Rewari
Gati Shakti Cargo Terminal (GCT) in public-private-partnership (PPP) mode.
• This becomes the first operational GCT with complete investment from a private player
and zero revenue-sharing on account of the Indian Railways.
pg. 30
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• The Rs 8-crore GCT in Haryana will be operated by Pristine Mega Logistics Park.
89. A two-days National Conference on Female Infertility ‘Srijana’ is being organized by All
India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), under the Ministry of AYUSH at New Delhi.
• According to WHO reports, in 37% of the infertile couple, female infertility was the cause.
• In India, the cases of female infertility are rising and affect approximately 15% of couple.
• Chair of the Conference - Prof. Tanuja Nesari (Director AIIA)
• Chief Guest - Prof. Abhimanyu Kumar, Former VC, DSRRAU Jodhpur
• Guest of Honour - Prof. (Dr) Pooja Bhardwaj
Source: PIB
90. India-Russia Business Dialogue 2023 was held in New Delhi.

• India and Russia have crossed the bilateral trade target of $30 billion before the target
year of 2025.
Source: News on Air
91. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, is returning 15 antique sculptures to the
Government of India after having learned that these were “illegally removed” from India.
• The list includes Madhya Pradesh’s sandstone Celestial Dancer (Apsara) valued at more
than $1 million, West Bengal’s Yakshi Terracotta, a ceramic pot from Chandraketugarh, a
stone bust of Kamadeva, the God of Love, from the second half of the 8th century C.E, a
Svetambara enthroned Jina among other things.
• These artifacts range in date from the 1st century BCE to the 11th century CE.
Source: Hindustan Times
92. As of March 2023, the Ministry of Education had shortlisted around 9,000 schools from
across the country for its flagship Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI).
• They were assessed based on six broad parameters: curriculum, pedagogy and
assessment; access and infrastructure; human resources – leadership; inclusive practices
and gender equity; management, monitoring and governance and beneficiary satisfaction.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• PM SHRI school is a new centrally sponsored scheme that aims at developing more
than 14500 schools across the country.
pg. 31
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• The scheme aims at delivering quality teaching for the cognitive development of students
and creating and nurturing holistic and well-rounded individuals equipped with key 21st-
century skills.
• PM-SHRI scheme was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 5
(Teachers’ Day) in 2022.
• The duration of scheme is proposed to be from 2022-23 to 2026-27; after which it shall
be the responsibility of the States/UTs to continue to maintain the benchmarks achieved
by these schools.
• The total cost of the project will be Rs 27,360 crore spread over a period of 5 years
which includes central share of Rs 18,128 crore.
Source: Indian Express and Dept. of School Education and Literacy
93. For the first time, the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi organised the “Spring
Fiesta” 2023.
• Purpose - to celebrate 69 years of the museum, which was officially inaugurated on March
29, 1954, by Vice President Dr S Radhakrishnan
Source: PIB
94. Ministry of Education has launched the New India Literacy Programme, a Centrally
Sponsored Scheme, with a financial outlay of over Rs 1,000 crores for implementation
during the financial year 2022-23 to 2026-27.
• The scheme aims to cover a target of 5 crore non-literates in the age group of 15 years
and above.
• Estimated outlay - Rs.1037.90 crore, which includes Central share of Rs.700 crore and
State share of Rs.337.90 crore for a period of 5 years from 2022 -27
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Central Government had approved the New India Literacy Program, in February 2022 in
the Union Budget, to achieve the vision of “Education for All” (Adult Education).
• The target for Foundational Literacy and Numeracy for FYs 2022-27 is 5 crore learners
by using “Online Teaching, Learning and Assessment System (OTLAS)” in
collaboration with National Informatics Centre, NCERT and National Institute of Open
Schooling.
• As per the CENSUS 2011, the absolute number of non-literates of the country in 15 years
and above age group is 25.76 crore (Male 9.08 crore, Female 16.68 crore).
pg. 32
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• Saakshar Bharat programme has increased the literacy of 7.64 crore people, throughout
its implementation period of 2009-10 to 2017-18.
• It is estimated that currently around 18.12 crore adults are still non-literate in India.
Source: News on Air and PIB
95. Ministry of Railways has identified 1275 railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station
scheme.
• Of these, 55 are in Karnataka, 87 in Gujarat, 123 in Maharashtra, 82 in Rajasthan,49 in
Assam, 4 in Tripura and 1 each in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram,
Nagaland, and Sikkim.
• Rani Kamalapati Railway Station in Madhya Pradesh has been commissioned through PPP
model.
Source: PIB
96. 1st G20 Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group (DRRWG) meeting took place in
Gandhinagar, Gujarat from March 30 to April 1, 2023.
• National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), under M/o Home Affairs, led the
discussions.
• As a prelude to the main event, a Curtain Raiser: ‘Learning from Disasters: Memorialising
disasters, learning, building back better, investing in resilience’ took place on the 29th of
March 2023 at the Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management (GIDM).
Source: G20’s website
97. IIT-Madras developed a three-dimensional paper-based portable device to detect

adulteration of milk in 30 seconds.
• The research paper was published in the peer-reviewed journal 'Nature'.
98. The Second G20 Sherpas meeting, chaired by India’s G20 Sherpa Shri Amitabh Kant, was
held at the village of Kumarakom, Kerala, from March 30 to April 2, 2023.
• India’s G20 Sherpa Shri Amitabh Kant will also lead discussions with the G20 Troika
comprising India, Indonesia and Brazil.
Source: PIB
pg. 33
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99. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the implementation of a uniform tariff by
Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) in the energy and natural gas
sector.
• This tariff mechanism will help India to achieve the "One Nation One Grid One Tariff"
model and, also propel the gas markets in distant areas.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) was constituted under The
Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board Act, 2006.
• Purpose - to protect the interests of consumers and entities engaged in specified
activities relating to petroleum, petroleum products and natural gas and to promote
competitive markets and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto
• India aims to increase its share of natural gas in the energy mix from current 6.2% to
15% by 2030.
Source: Times of India and PNGRB’s website
100. National Institute of Urban Affairs (under Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs)
organized the first Urban Climate Film Festival through the CITIIS program under U20
engagement events.
• Partners in the Festival - French Development Agency (AFD), and the European Union
• A curated selection of 11 films from 9 countries were showcased to create wider
awareness of the impact of climate change on life in cities and engage the public in the
dialogue on sustainable urban development.
• The selected films will be screened at the festival in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru,
Kolkata, and Ahmedabad over subsequent months.
• 1st screening - M.L. Bhartia Auditorium, Alliance Française, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi. The
inaugural session will be chaired by Shri Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• CITIIS - City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain
• It is a joint program of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the French
Development Agency (AFD), the European Union (EU), and NIUA.
• Purpose - helping 12 Smart Cities in India in implementing innovation-driven and
sustainable urban infrastructure projects
Source: PIB
pg. 34
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101. Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav announced to release one tigress each to
Kota’s Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve and Bundi’s Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve in
Rajasthan.
• Apart from the two tigresses, Gaurs and wild dogs and some other wild animals will also be
released in the reserve area.
• National Chambal Sanctuary is in Madhya Pradesh.
Source: News on Air
102. Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing (SWAMIH) Investment Fund I
has raised Rs 15,530 crore as of March 2023.
• Purpose – to provide priority debt financing for the completion of stressed, brownfield
and Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA)-registered residential projects that fall in the
affordable, mid-income housing category
• SWAMIH has so far provided final approval to about 130 projects with sanctions worth over
Rs 12,000 crore.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Launched in 2019, Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing (SWAMIH)
Investment Fund I is a social impact fund specifically formed for completing stressed
and stalled residential projects.
• The Fund is sponsored by the Ministry of Finance, and is managed by SBICAP
Ventures Ltd.
• This Fund is the ‘lender of the last resort’ for all types of distressed projects.
103. The first edition of India-Africa Army Chiefs’ Conclave was organised on the side lines
of 2nd Africa-India Joint Exercise ‘AFINDEX’ in Pune, Maharashtra.
• Theme of India-Africa Army Chiefs’ Conclave - ‘Africa-India Militaries for Regional Unity
– AMRUT’
Source: PIB
104. Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur has congratulated Anjali
Sharma of Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh for conquering Mount Kilimanjaro in
Africa, wearing Luanchari.
pg. 35
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• She is the first Indian woman to achieve this feat while wearing the Gaddi costume, and
she aims to promote Gaddi culture on mountain peaks.
Source: News on Air
105. ISRO Chairman S Somanath has inaugurated the Space Systems Design Lab of the
Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) at Bopal in
Ahmedabad.
• This state-of-the-art design lab will enable space sector start-ups to transform their
innovative ideas into implementable models at a faster pace.
• IN-SPACe had already announced a Rs 1 crore seed fund scheme for early-stage space
start-ups.
106. Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, has launched three new resources aimed at
fostering innovation and creativity among India's youth.
• The launch event introduced the ATL Tinkering Curriculum, Equipment Manual, and the
Calendar of Activities for 2023-24.
Source: PIB
107. Central Govt aims to bring over 50,000 more villages under Open Defecation Free
(ODF)+ of Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) by 2024.
• So far, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have got the ODF plus status with a
coverage of 100%, 96% and nearly 94%, respectively.
• Centre will provide ₹14,030 crore fund in FY24 to achieve the target.
• More than 40% of Indian villages have declared themselves as ODF plus.
Source: LiveMint
pg. 36
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108. Ministry of Jal Shakti has launched the 1st Census of Water Bodies in convergence with
the 6th Minor Irrigation Census under Centrally Sponsored Scheme “Irrigation Census”.
Key Findings of Census -

A) 24,24,540 water bodies have been enumerated in the country out of which 97.1%
(23,55,055) are in rural areas and only 2.9% (69,485) are in urban areas.
B) 59.5% of water bodies are ponds, followed by tanks (15.7%), reservoirs (12.1%), Water
conservation schemes/percolation tanks/check dams (9.3%), lakes (0.9%) and others
(2.5%).
o West Bengal has highest number of ponds & reservoirs.
o Andhra Pradesh has highest number of tanks.
o Tamil Nadu has highest number of lakes.
o Maharashtra is the leading state for water conservation scheme.
C) 55.2% of water bodies are owned by private entities whereas 44.8% of water bodies are
in the domain of public ownership.
o Out of all public owned water bodies, maximum water bodies are owned by
Panchayats, followed by State Irrigation/State WRD.
o Out of all private owned water bodies, maximum water bodies are in hands of
Individual owner/farmer followed by group of individuals and other private bodies.
D) 78% water bodies are man-made water bodies whereas 22% are natural water bodies.
E) Top States -
o Top 5 States in terms of number of water bodies: West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh,
Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Assam
▪ They constitute around 63% of the total water bodies in the country.
o Top 5 States in terms of number of water bodies in urban areas: West Bengal,
Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Tripura.
o Top 5 States in terms of number of water bodies in rural areas: West Bengal,
Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Assam.
o Top 5 States which lead in the private owned water bodies: West Bengal,
Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Jharkhand.
F) Out of all 'in use' water bodies, major water bodies are being used in pisciculture followed
by irrigation, ground water recharge and domestic/drinking purpose.
pg. 37
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o Top 5 States wherein major use of water bodies is in pisciculture: West

Bengal, Assam, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
o Top 5 States wherein major use of water bodies is in irrigation: Jharkhand,
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal and Gujarat.
G) A major proportion of water bodies i.e., 83.7% (20,30,040) are in use
o Remaining 16.3% (3,94,500) are not in use on account of drying up, construction,
siltation, destroyed beyond repair, salinity and other reasons.
Source: PIB
109. Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar launched
the SATHI (Seed Traceability, Authentication and Holistic Inventory) Portal and Mobile
App.
• It is a Centralized Online System for seed traceability, authentication and seed
inventory to deal with the challenges of seed production, quality seed identification and
seed certification.
• Developers – NIC
• Theme of the portal and app - ‘Uttam Beej – Samriddh Kisan’
• This is the first phase of the portal. The second phase will be launched soon.
• There will be a QR code under this system, through which the seeds can be traced.
• Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Krishi Vigyan Kendras and State
Governments will impart training to farmers and create awareness among farmers about
this portal.
• SATHI portal will ensure quality assurance system, identify the source of seed in the
seed production chain.
• The system (portal and app) will consist of integrated 7 verticals of the seed chain -
Research Organisation, Seed Certification, Seed Licensing, Seed Catalogue, Dealer to
Farmer Sales, Farmer Registration and Seed DBT.
Source: PIB
110. Union Cabinet has approved the National Quantum Mission to scale-up scientific &
industrial R&D for quantum technologies.
• Objective: To seed, nurture and scale up scientific and industrial R&D and create a vibrant
& innovative ecosystem in Quantum Technology (QT).
• Total cost: Rs.6003.65 crore
pg. 38
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• Duration: 2023-24 to 2030-31

• Under it, four Thematic Hubs (T-Hubs) will be set up in top academic and National R&D
institutes on the following domains –
o Quantum Computing
o Quantum Communication
o Quantum Sensing & Metrology
o Quantum Materials & Devices
• These T-Hubs will focus on generation of new knowledge through basic and applied
research and promote R&D in areas that are mandated to them.
Source: PIB
111. IIT-Madras will set up its first international campus in Zanzibar, Tanzania and the
classes will start by October 2023.
• The announcement was made during IIT Madras' 64th Institute Day.
• IIT-Director - V Kamakoti
Source: IIT-M's website
112. Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, and the United Nations Capital
Development Fund (UNCDF) have jointly launched a whitepaper aimed at making India a
global leader in agritech innovation.
• The white paper also aims to expand these innovations to the least developed countries
in Asia and Africa.
• The white paper aims to overcome challenges faced by Agri-Tech start-ups and facilitate
their growth at national and international levels.
Source: The Print
113. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully placed two Singaporean
satellites named TeLEOS-2 and Lumelite-4, in orbit on the PSLV- C55 rocket.
• TeLEOS-2 carries a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload. It will provide all-weather day
and night imaging services.
• Lumelite-4 aims to improve Singapore’s electronic navigation maritime safety systems.
• ISRO Chief S Somnath announced that the first uncrewed Geosynchronous Satellite
Launch Vehicle (GSLV) rocket is expected to be launched in February 2024 as part of the
uncrewed Gaganyaan mission.
pg. 39
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• The crewed Gaganyaan mission will be launched in the fourth quarter of 2024.
114. Log9 (EV batteries manufacturer) has commercially launched India's first indigenously
made lithium-ion battery cell.
• The cell will be manufactured at one of its facilities in Bengaluru.
• Log9 co-founder and managing director - Pankaj Sharma
115. Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao unveiled a 125-feet-tall statue of Dr B

R Ambedkar on the banks of Hussain Sagar, on the occasion of the 132nd birth anniversary
of BR Ambedkar (April 14).
• The total height of the statue is 175-ft, including a 50-ft-high circular base resembling the
edifice of Parliament of India.
• Architect of the Statue - Ram Vanji Sutar and his son Anil Ram Sutar of Ram Sutar Art
Creations in Noida, Uttar Pradesh,
o They have also designed the world’s tallest statue — the Statue of Unity (597
feet) of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Gujarat.
116. Asia’s longest underwater hydrocarbon pipeline beneath the mighty Brahmaputra
River, has been completed by the Indradhanush Gas Grid Limited (IGGL).
• The pipeline connects river island Majuli with Jorhat in upper Assam.
• IGGL CEO - Ajit Kumar Thakur
117. The government will release a commemorative coin of Rs 100 on the 100th episode of
radio programme Mann Ki Baat which will be broadcasted on April 30.
• PM Modi started Mann Ki Baat in 2014 on the radio. It became a regular broadcast at 11
am on the last Sunday of every month.
• National Conclave on Mann Ki Baat @100 was organised by the Ministry of Information
and Broadcasting at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi; inaugurated by Vice President Shri
Jagdeep Dhankar
• The V-P was gifted with a unique Kaavi Painting made by artist Shri Sagar Mule from
Goa. Kaavi paintings are from the Konkan region.
pg. 40
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• He was also gifted with Pattachithra paintings on stone made by Bhagyashree Sahu
from Odisha.
• He also received Etikoppaka Wooden Toys made by C V Raju from Andhra Pradesh.
Source: Hindu Business Line and PIB
118. Ministry of Civil Aviation has launched the 5th round of the Regional Connectivity
Scheme (RCS) – Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN 5.0).
• It focuses on Category-2 (20-80 seats) and Category-3 (>80 seats).
• It has waived off earlier stage length cap of 600 km. Thus, there is no restriction on the
distance between the origin and destination of the flight.
• It has capped viability gap funding (VGF) at 600 km stage length for both Priority and
Non-Priority areas. (It was earlier capped at 500 km.)
• It offers no predetermined routes and will only consider Network and Individual Route
Proposal proposed by airlines.
• It will not award same route to a single airline more than once, whether in different networks
or in the same network.
• Airlines will be required to commence operations within 4 months of the award of the route.
Earlier this deadline was 6 months.
• It includes list of airports that are ready for operation or soon will be ready for operations to
facilitate quicker operationalization of routes.
Source: PIB
119. NINE campaigns under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav-Inclusive Development

(Samaveshi Vikaas) theme were launched on the occasion the National Panchayati Raj Day
at Rewa, Madhya Pradesh.
• Dedicated website and Mobile App were launched on the theme of “Azadi Ka Amrit
Mahotsav – SAMAAVESHI VIKAS”.
Nine Campaigns -
A) Samagra Awas-Convergence under PMAY-G
• In this campaign, additional 45 lakh PMAY-G houses will be sanctioned over and
above 2.50 Crore already sanctioned.
• It will be ensured along with the saturation of benefits provided in convergence with
Schemes providing electricity, LPG, water connections and toilets in all PMAY-G
houses.
pg. 41
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• Duration - April 2023 to August 2023

• Ministry - Ministry of Rural Development
B) Financial Literacy at District Level
• Objective: To create awareness and increase the outreach of various banking & financial
services and social security schemes.
• Coverage: It will be carried out in 500 districts.
• Duration: It has already started from January 2023 and will continue till August 2023.
• Ministry: Ministry of Rural Development
• It is expected to provide need-based training and awareness to 2.0 crore SHG members.
• About 2.5 crore SHG members will be enrolled under Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima
Yojana (PMJJBY) and 3.0 crore under Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY).
D
• 750 SAKSHAM Centres: They will be established during the campaign across states.
• They will serve as a one-stop solution for financial awareness, service delivery and basic
grievances redressal.
C) Promoting Digital Transaction at GP level
• Objective: To create awareness and increase the outreach of various digital modes of
transactions among women SHG members and their households.
• Coverage: It is nationwide campaign to create awareness amongst 50,000 Gram
Panchayats with 3.0 Crore number of transactions.
• It will deploy 20,000 SHG Members as Business Correspondents Sakhi /Digipay Sakhi/
Paypoints.
• Apart from this, awareness camps will be organised at Gram Panchayat level also.
• Duration: February 2023 till August 2023
D) Social Mobilisation of Eligible Rural Women in SHG Network
• Objective: To motivate eligible rural women to join the SHG Network, to bring eligible
SHGs into VOs (Village Organisations) fold, to bring eligible VOs into Cluster Level
Federations (CLFs) fold and to release capitalisation support to eligible SHGs.
• It will mobilise 10 crore rural households by end of FY 2023-24 to bring all vulnerable
and marginalised rural households under SHGs and draw benefits of this initiative.
• It is expected to mobilise 20-lakh left-out households and more than 60,000 SHGs shall
be formed during the period.
pg. 42
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E) Plantation Drive on Riverbanks under MGNREGA
• Under this campaign, plantation drive under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA will be conducted
on the riverbanks.
• It seeks to plant around 4.0 crore plants in around 20,000 km of riverbanks.
• Duration: March 2023 to August 2023
F) Swastha Mahila Samriddha Samaj
• Objectives: To promote health as a Credit-plus activity among Women SHGs in villages
for making ‘Wellness’ a people’s movement.
• To lay emphasis on prevention and control of cancer in women – focus on screening for
breast cancer and cervical cancer.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• During the campaign period, 10 lakh cancer screening/awareness camps will be
organised by PRIs/NRLM units on functional HWCs across the country.
• Duration: January 2023 to August 2023.
• It is also expected to screen 2.5 crore women for breast cancer & cervical cancer each
and cumulative 8 crore footfall for access to women care at AB-HWCs.
G) Natural Farming with SHG Women
• Objectives:
o To restore soil health, including the capture of atmospheric carbon to mitigate
climate change
o To reverse biodiversity loss at the farm and local ecosystem levels
o To maintain/recycle scarce farm resources
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
• It seeks to form/facilitate 10 women-only Farmer Produce Organisations (FPOs) and
organise special campaigns on National/International important days.
• Duration: February 2023 to August 2023
H) Pashudhan Jagriti Abhiyan- Intensive Awareness in Aspirational Districts
• Nodal Ministry: Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DoAH&D).
• Duration: February 2023 to August 2023.
• It seeks to effectively transform the 112 most under-developed districts across the country
by organising around 16,000 village-level camps.
pg. 43
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• This will be achieved by spreading awareness on entrepreneurship and other schemes of

Department, Scientific Management of Disease and Conducting Animal Health Camps at
Aspirational districts.
• Two Animal Health camps per district will be organised in all aspirational districts, and
in each health camp 100 farmers will be participating.
I) SVAMITVA-Meri Sampatti, Mera Haq
• Objective: To provide ‘Record of Rights’ to property owners in inhabited area (abadi) of a
village using latest drone-based survey technology under SVAMITVA Scheme.
• It will generate 1.50 crore “Records of Rights”/ Property Cards under SVAMITVA Scheme
by August 2023.
• Duration: April 2023 to 30th June 2023
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR).
Source: PIB
120. India’s first mobile BSL-3 laboratory named “RAMBAAN” was displayed at the second
G20 Health Working Group Meeting in Panaji, Goa.
• RAMBAAN (Rapid Action Mobile BSL3+ Advanced Augmented Network) is a mobile clinic,
country’s first state-of-the-art health infrastructure for pandemic preparedness.
• RAMBAAN also provides various facilities to ensure proper space utilisation and treatment
and disposal of chemical waste, which helps in preventing possibility of spread of infections.
Source: News on Air
121. Ministry of Labour & Employment has launched Data Sharing Portal and new features
in eShram Portal.
• The Data Sharing Portal will share the data of e-Shram beneficiaries with respective
States/UTs for implementation of social security/welfare schemes for registered
unorganised workers.
• New Features -
o Capturing family details of migrant worker: It will help in providing Child education
and women centric schemes to the migrant workers who have migrated with family.
o Sharing of data of construction workers registered on eShram with concerned
Building and Other Construction Workers’ (BOCW) Welfare Board.
▪ It will ensure registration of eShram construction workers with the respective
BOCW board and access to the schemes meant for them.
pg. 44
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Source: PIB
122. “Re(ad)dress: Return of Treasures” exhibition was organized in New Delhi.

• The exhibition showcased 26 repatriated Indian antiquities during at the Khajuraho G20
culture group meeting in Delhi.
Source: The Hindu
123. Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has launched ‘Learning Science via Standards’, an
educational programme, for students.
• This initiative is designed to help students grasp scientific concepts, principles, and laws.
• The programme features a set of lesson plans that demonstrate how these concepts are
practically applied in the manufacturing, functioning, and quality testing of various products,
as outlined in the appropriate Indian standards.
Source: Financial Express
124. Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) organized the “Collaboration in Sports and
Physical Fitness” Summit in New Delhi.
Source: News on Air
125. External Affairs Minister of India S Jaishankar inaugurated the Sri Lankan exhibition
“Geoffrey Bawa: It is Essential to be There” at the National Gallery of Modern Art in New
Delhi.
• The exhibition was organized to mark the 75th anniversary of Indo-Lanka diplomatic
relations, which falls this year.
• The historic exhibition features the works of Sri Lanka’s iconic architect the late Geoffrey
Bawa.
Source: The Print
126. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has announced to set up a 'One Step' portal
to provide information about foreigners who want to avail treatment in India.
• The govt is working with Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) and
Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) for developing the portal for Promotion of
Medical Value Travel.
pg. 45
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• Ministry of Ayush has signed an MOU with India Tourism Development Corporation
(ITDC), Ministry of Tourism to work together for the promotion of Medical Value Travel in
Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Ministry of Ayush developed a Central Sector Scheme named Champion Service Sector
Scheme for Medical Value Travel.
• Under this scheme, financial assistance in the form of Interest Subsidy is provided to
private investors for the establishment of Super Specialty Hospitals/ Day Care
Centres of the systems recognized under The National Commission for Indian System of
Medicine (NCISM) Act, 2020 or The National Commission for Homeopathy (NCH) Act,
2020 in FY 2021-22.
Source: PIB
127. Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) celebrated its 40th
anniversary in 2023.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Article 323B of Indian Constitution and section 129 of the Customs Act, 1962
established the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT).
• Establishment – October 11, 1982
• Principal Bench – Delhi
• Regional Benches – Total 8 (Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad,
Allahabad (Prayagraj), Chandigarh, and Hyderabad
• Total Strength of a Bench – President + 16 Judicial Members + 16 Technical Members
Source: PIB
128. Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh launched ‘herSTART’ platform to support women-led
startups and encourage women entrepreneurs.
• Purpose - to provide resources and training modules free of cost to aspiring women
entrepreneurs
• It was unveiled at the Bharat Startup Summit and Expo 2023, organised by the PHD
Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also introduced a monthly allowance of ₹20,000 for up
to one year for women-led StartUps.
• At present, India has 5 decacorns - Flipkart, BYJU's, Nykaa, Swiggy and PhonePe.
pg. 46
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• In October 2022, Gujarat University had launched 'herSTART' – a start-up platform in

Ahmedabad.
Source: PIB and PIB
129. 3rd annual edition of the International SME Convention 2023 was organized jointly by
the Ministry of MSME, Ministry of External Affairs, and India SME Forum in New Delhi.
• International Network for SMEs (INSME) and World Union of Small and Medium
Enterprises (WUSME) are the international partners.
• TATA AIA is the insurance partner for the ISC 2023.
• Partner States - Govt. of Madhya Pradesh as a key state partner and Govt. of Uttar
Pradesh as Associate State Partner
Source: PIB
130. Partnership Action against Tuberculosis (PAcT) Summit was organized at Delhi.
• Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya flagged off 75 Trucks with TB awareness
messages that have been provided by Apollo Tyres Foundation, who are actively supporting
the Ni-kshay scheme.
Source: PIB
131. Supreme Court lifted a complete ban on a one-kilometre eco-sensitive zone (ESZ)
around protected areas - forests, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
• In June 2022, the Supreme Court had laid down such ESZs where no developmental work
would be allowed.
132. India has launched Operation Kaveri to evacuate Indians from Sudan.
• INS Sumedha and INS Teg has been deployed for this purpose.
133. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying has notified the Animal Birth
Control Rules, 2023 under Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act, 1960.
• These rules supersede the Animal Birth Control (Dog) Rules, 2001.
Source: PIB
pg. 47
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134. National Health Authority (NHA) has become a participant in the Health Claims
Exchange (HCX) Ecosystem by onboarding on the HCX – Sandbox Environment.
• NHA announced HCX as a new initiative under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission
(ABDM) in 2022.
• NHA has developed a national Health Claims Exchange (HCX) to enable interoperability of
health claims.
• It will help in exchanging claims-related information among various stakeholders,
including payers, providers, beneficiaries, regulators, and observers.
• The interested participants can submit an online application to express their interest to
access the HCX sandbox on https://sbxhcx.abdm.gov.in/.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• National Health Agency was reconstituted as the National Health Authority on 2nd
January 2019
• National Health Authority (NHA) is the apex body responsible for implementing the
“Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana”.
• It has been entrusted with the role of designing strategy, building technological
infrastructure and implementation of “National Digital Health Mission” to create a
National Digital Health Eco-system.
• It is an attached office of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with full functional
autonomy.
• NHA is governed by a Governing Board, chaired by the Union Minister for Health and
Family Welfare.
• It is headed by a Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Incumbent: R.S. Sharma
Source: PIB and NHA’s website
135. Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG) scientists have studied the Electromagnetic Ion
Cyclotron (EMIC) waves, a form of plasma waves observed in the Earth’s magnetosphere, at
the Indian Antarctic station, Maitri.
• India has three research stations in Antarctica, namely Bharati, Dakshin Gangotri and
Maitri.
• Himadri is India's first permanent Arctic research station located at Spitsbergen,
Svalbard, Norway.
Source: PIB and PIB
pg. 48
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136. Union Health Ministry, in collaboration with Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, has
requested states/UTs to develop 100 food streets in 100 districts across the country.
• This pilot project aims to encourage other states to come up with such streets across the
country for ensuring hygienic and safe food practices.
• This unique initiative will be implemented through National Health Mission (NHM), in
convergence with Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and with technical support
from FSSAI.
• The financial assistance for the initiative to States/UTs in the form of Rs.1 crore per food
street per districts will be given to fill up critical gaps.
• This assistance will be provided under National Health Mission (NHM) in the ratio of 60:40
or 90:10.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• In NHM, the fund sharing pattern is 60:40 between Central Government and most of the
States and UTs with Legislature (Delhi & Puducherry).
• For the States of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and North-Eastern
States including Sikkim, the sharing pattern is 90:10 between the Central Government
and the States.
• For UTs without Legislature, funding pattern is of 100% Central Share.
Source: PIB and NHM’s website
137. Indian Railways launched the Puri-Gangasagar Divya Kashi Yatra (under the Bharat
Gaurav Train) from Pune on April 28.
• The train will cover Puri, Kolkata, Gaya, Varanasi and Prayagraj.
• These theme-based trains have been conceptualised to showcase the rich cultural and
religious heritage of Bharat to domestic and international tourists.
• As of March 2023, 26 trips of Bharat Gaurav Trains have been operated covering around 22
states and four Union Territories.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Indian Railways introduced the concept of operating tourist trains on theme-based circuits
under the banner of Bharat Gaurav Tourist Trains in 2021.
138. The next Bharat Gaurav Train from Secunderabad will connect pilgrimage circuit of
Mata Vaishnodevi, Haridwar, Rishikesh, etc.
pg. 49
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• Already, Ganga Pushkarala Yatra: Puri-Kashi-Ayodhya Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train are
being operating at the Secunderabad railway station.
Source: The Hindu
139. Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Textiles, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public
Distribution and Commerce and Industry has launched the Indiahandmade portal in Gujarat.
• Purpose - to provide more than 35 Lakh Handloom weavers & 27 Lakh Handicraft artisans
direct access to consumers while eliminating the middlemen
Source: PIB
140. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has released National Health Accounts
Estimates for India (2019-20).
• NHA estimates for 2019-20 is the 7th consecutive NHA estimates report, since 2013-14.
• It is prepared by National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC) since 2014.
Findings -
A) Total Health Expenditure
• Total Health Expenditure (THE) for India: Rs. 6,55,822 crores (3.27% of GDP and
Rs. 4,863 per capita).
• It constitutes current and capital expenditures incurred by Government and Private
Sources including External/Donor funds.
o The National Health Policy of 2017 aims to increase the health
expenditure of the government to 2.5% by 2025.
• Current Health Expenditure (CHE): Rs. 5,93,659 crores (90.52% of THE)
• Capital expenditures: Rs. 62,163 crores (9.48% of THE).
B) Share of Out-of-Pocket Expenditure in Total Health Expenditure
• Share of Out-of-Pocket Expenditure (OOPE) in Total Health Expenditure (THE): It
has declined from 62.6% in 2014-15 to 47.1% in 2019-20.
• It shows progress towards ensuring financial protection and Universal Health
Coverage for citizens.
C) Share of Government Health Expenditure (GHE) in Total Health Expenditure: It has
increased from 29% (2014-15) to 41.4% (2019-20).
D) Government Health Expenditure’s share in country’s total GDP: It has increased
from 1.13% (2014-15) to 1.35% (2019-20).
pg. 50
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E) Per capita Government Health Expenditure

• Per capita Government Health Expenditure (GHE): It has doubled from Rs. 1,108
to Rs. 2,014 between 2014-15 to 2019-20.
• Government spending on health between 2018-19 and 2019-20 increased by 12%,
more than double the growth rate between 2017-18 and 2018-19 which was at 5%.
F) Government Health Expenditure as % of General Government Expenditure
• Government Health Expenditure as % of General Government Expenditure
(GGE): It has steadily increased from 3.94% to 5.02% between 2014-15 and 2019-20.
• It indicates that healthcare has been the priority for public investment in the country.
G) Share of primary healthcare in Current Government Health Expenditure
• Share of primary healthcare in Current Government Health Expenditure (CGHE):
It has increased from 51.3% in 2014-15 to 55.9% in 2019-20.
• It reinforces the government’s decisions to prioritize primary healthcare in the country.
H) Share of Social Security Expenditure on Health
• Share of Social Security Expenditure (SSE) on health: It has increased from 5.7%
in 2014-15 to 9.3% in 2019-20.
• SSE on health includes government-funded health insurance, medical reimbursement
to government employees, and social health insurance programs.
Source: PIB
141. National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) celebrated its 18th
Foundation Day on 2nd March 2023 on “Empowering Girl Child” at Pradhanmantri
Sangrahalaya, New Delhi.
• NCPCR invited girl children from bordering villages of 75 districts across the country for
the programme.
• Union Minister of WCD and Minority Affairs launched “Child Rights Champions World” a
dedicated feature on NCPCR’s website on child rights literacy.
• Chairperson of NCPCR - Shri Priyank Kanoongo
Source: PIB
142. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 6th edition of Advantage Healthcare India
2023 (One Earth One Health) at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
pg. 51
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• The health ministers from foreign countries like Bangladesh, Armenia, Bhutan, Egypt,
Ghana, Guinea, Maldives, Nigeria, Russia and Somalia are expected to participate in the
summit.
Source: ANI
143. Bureau of Civil Aviation (BCAS) commemorated its 37th raising day in New Delhi.
• The organization now has pan-India presence with 20 regional offices.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) was initially set up as a Cell in the
Directorate General of Civil Aviation in January 1978 on the recommendation of the
Pande Committee.
• The BCAS was reorganized into an independent department under the Ministry of Civil
Aviation on 1st April 1987.
• The main responsibilities of BCAS include laying down standards and measures with
respect to security of civil flights at international and domestic airports in India.
Source: PIB
144. National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has approved eight projects worth around
Rs 638 crore to clean Ganga for Mahakumbh to be organized in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh in
2025.
• Of them, four projects amounting to around Rs 407 crore were approved for removing
pollution in the Shamli district, Uttar Pradesh to clean River Hindon, which is a tributary
of River Yamuna.
• One project is for the development of seven ghats, which are Dashashmedh Ghat, Quila
Ghat, Gyan Ganga Ashram Ghat and Saraswati Ghat in Uttar Pradesh.
• In Bihar, a project to construct three Sewage Treatment Plants have been approved to
prevent the flow of polluted water into River Kiul which is a tributary of Ganga.
• In Madhya Pradesh, a Sewage Treatment Plant was approved at a cost of about Rs 93
crore to prevent the flow of polluted water into River Kshipra, sub-tributary of Yamuna.
• Akhand Param Dham ghat will be constructed at a cost of over Rs 2 crore at Haridwar in
Uttarakhand.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) was registered as a society on 12th
August 2011 under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
pg. 52
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• National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) acts as the implementation arm of
National Ganga Council (NGRBA) which was constituted under the provisions of the
Environmental Protection Act, 1986.
• Prime Minister is the chairperson of the National Ganga Council.
• NMCG Director-General - G Asok Kumar
Source: News on Air and NMCG
145. The ‘Second meeting of ‘G20 Digital Economy Working Group’ (DEWG) was organized
at Hyderabad.
• The third in-person meeting of Digital Economy Working Group is planned to be organised
in the month of June 2023 at Pune, Maharashtra.
Source: G20’s website
146. India-Russia Inter-governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific,

Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) meeting was co-chaired by Denis
Manturov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Industry from Russia and External
Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
• The IRIGC-TEC is the primary institutional mechanism supervising economic
cooperation.
• It comprises six working groups on economic and trade cooperation, modernisation and
industrial cooperation, energy, tourism and culture, science and technology, and IT.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• India and Russia aim to increase their bilateral investment up to USD 50 billion and
bilateral trade to USD 30 billion by 2025.
• The trade target for 2025 was earlier fixed at $30 billion. But the figure was surpassed in
2022 due to India's oil imports from Russia, and there are expectations that the figure will
touch $50 billion in 2023.
• Forums for bilateral cooperation -
o India Russia Intergovernmental Commission for Trade, Economic, Scientific &
Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC)
o India-Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue (IRSED)
o Eastern Economic Forum
o Indo-Russian Annual Summit
Source: The Hindu, Times of India, Economic Times and Embassy of India, Moscow
pg. 53
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147. India and the UK held the second meeting of the India-UK Financial Markets Dialogue
in London. This is the first in-person financial dialogue since 2017.
• The Dialogue focused on six themes: (1) Banking (2) Payments and Cryptoassets, (3)
Insurance and reinsurance, (4) Capital Markets (5) Asset Management, and (6) Sustainable
Finance.
• Chair of India-UK Financial Partnership (IUKFP) - Mr Bill Winters CBE (Group Chief
Executive of Standard Chartered) and Mr Uday Kotak (MD & CEO Kotak Mahindra Bank)
• IUKFP has released a report on ‘Harnessing the power of FinTech and data’. UK-India
FinTech Joint Working Group will implement the recommendations of the report.
Source: PIB
148. IIT-Bombay is introducing a new form of convocation called Commencement Ceremony,

for the first time.
• Director of IIT Bombay - Prof. Subhasis Chaudhuri
• IIT Bombay will confer the award of the Degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) to
Prof. Rohini Godbole, Honorary Professor, Centre for High Energy Physics, IISC
Bangalore, in 2023.
Source: News on Air
149. 13th Meeting of India Thailand Joint Trade Committee (JTC) was held in New Delhi.
• India is working on connecting the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) of India with the
Prompt Pay Service of Thailand and the settlement of trade transactions in local currency.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Thailand is India’s important trading partner in ASEAN with total trade of USD 16.89
Billion in 2022-23. Thailand accounts for 13.6% of India’s total trade with ASEAN.
• India exports gems and jewellery, mechanical machinery, auto and auto components and
agricultural products especially marine products to Thailand.
Source: PIB
150. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has undertaken to translate its
web-based application Food Safety and Compliance System (FoSCoS) in Hindi and all the
regional languages.
pg. 54
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• FoSCoS is a one-point stop for FBOs for their interface with the food safety regulator for all
types of compliances.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS) is an enhanced version of Food Licensing
and Registration System (FLRS) which was launched in 2011 for issuance of pan-India
FSSAI Licenses and Registration.
• The enhanced version was launched in 2020.
According to the website of FoSCoS, 2012 is the launch year of the system. This is the confusion.
Source: News on Air and FSSAI’s FoSCoS
STATE NEWS
1. Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah inaugurated several projects for
development of the Uttarakhand including inauguration of 95 Joint Cooperative Agriculture, 95
Jan Aushadhi Kendras and 95 Jan Suvidha Kendras and computerisation of 670 multipurpose
cooperative societies from Rishikul Ground at Haridwar.
• The Minister also felicitated Rajesh Sazwan with Sehkari Kisan Gaurav Samman 2023
for doing excellent work in the field of horticulture and agriculture.
• He also honoured women self-help group and farmer Bhura Singh under Deen Dayal
Yojana.
• He informed that the work to computerise 63000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies
(PACS) of the country is in progress.
2. Union Home Minister Amit Shah unveiled the statues of Lord Basaveshwara (12th-
century social reformer and Lingayat sect founder) and Kempe Gowda (founder of
Bengaluru city) at Vidhana Soudha, Karnataka state official building.
• Martyrs’ memorial was also inaugurated at Gorata village in Bidar. In 1948, more than
200 people are said to have been massacred by the Razakars of Nizam as the Hyderabad
rulers opposed the state's unification with India.
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s Memorial was also inaugurated in Bidar.
Knowledge Nuggets -
pg. 55
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• Karnataka govt has recently scrapped the 4% reservation quota for Muslims and re-
apportioned it to equally to the Lingayats and Vokkaligas.
• Muslims in the state will compete for the 10% reservation provided for Economically
Weaker Sections of the general category.
3. Va Tech Wabag, a leading player in the water technology space, has bagged a contract from
Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) for building 400
million litres per day (MLD) sea water reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant at a
total cost of about ₹4,400 crore.
• The new plant will cater to the drinking water needs of the entire Chennai City.
• The project has been funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and
seeks to improve Chennai’s water security through a stable source of drinking water in the
form of desalination.
4. Telangana has launched India’s first Cool Roof Policy 2023-2028 to drive state-wide
adoption of cool roofs by making it mandatory to install cool roofing materials, such as solar
reflective paints, tiles or sheets.
• The policy aims to achieve a target of implementing clean roofing technology across 300
square kilometres of roof area — majorly (200 sq. km) covering Hyderabad and rest of the
urban pockets in Telangana.
5. Kerala has introduced the first solar-powered tourist vessel named 'Sooryamshu’ to boost
the state tourism.
• The vessel can accommodate up to 100 passengers at a time and has now begun
operations in the waters of Ernakulam.
6. India Grid Trust (Power infrastructure investment company) has commissioned its first
battery energy storage system (BESS) project coupled with solar panels at its Dhule sub-
station in Maharashtra.
7. Union Cabinet has approved the signing of a tripartite agreement with the German
development bank, KfW, for securing a loan for the Green Energy Corridor (GEC) project
being implemented by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB).
pg. 56
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• The tripartite agreement will be signed by the State government, KSEB and KfW.
• At the current rates, the project will be eligible for a KfW loan of €102.11 million
(approximately ₹916 crore) at 3% to 4% interest. A sum of ₹138.71 crore will be available
as a Central government grant.
8. Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT Madras) has developed electronic kits for the
students of the government schools of Tamil Nadu residing in rural areas to increase their
interest in STEM.
• Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu MK Stalin inaugurated the initiative that will connect 1 Lakh
government school students studying in rural locations with electronic science.
• Tamil Nadu has also launched 'Thiranari Thervu Thittam’ initiative. Under this initiative,
1,000 students (500 male and 500 female) from Class 10 will be selected for providing
them guidance by connecting them to higher education institutions.
• The state govt has also launched the ‘Anaivarukkum IITM’ initiative to encourage
government school students to study at IIT-Madras.
9. Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation has developed a mechanism called Tamil
Nadu Regional Aerial Connectivity through Helicopters (TN REACH).
• Purpose - to utilize over 80 unused helipads across the state to provide intercity and town
connectivity
10. Indian Railways' 12th Vande Bharat Express was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
on Secunderabad (Telangana) - Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh) route.
• This is the second Vande Bharat Express train that will be connecting the two Telegu-
speaking states after the Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat Express.
• The PM has laid the foundation stones for various projects worth over Rs 11,300 crore,
which include AIIMS Bibinagar, in Telangana.
Source: LiveMint and Economic Times
11. PM flagged off the Chennai-Coimbatore Vande Bharat Express at MGR Chennai Central
Railway Station.
• PM will inaugurate various development projects worth over ₹5,200 crores in Chennai.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi also flagged off Kerala's first Vande Bharat Express train
between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasargod at Thiruvananthapuram Central Station.
pg. 57
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Source: Hindustan Times, PIB and Economic Times
12. Scientists at the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), a Council of Scientific
and Industrial Research facility in Hyderabad, have discovered the rare-earth elements
(REEs) in Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh.
• The REEs are lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, yttrium, hafnium, tantalum,
niobium, zirconium, and scandium.
• These metals can be used on electronic devices.
Source: The Hindu
13. Himachal Pradesh government has launched a new project ‘Sanjeevani’ to provide quality
treatment to livestock in a time-bound manner.
• Under the project, the doorstep veterinary services will have curative treatment,
vaccination, artificial insemination, preventive care and all animal husbandry-related
information.
• The farmer is saved from additional expenses like travelling to the point of care and availing
quality medicines.
• The collaboration under National Animal Disease Control Programme-Mobile
Veterinary Van (NADCP-AHD-MVU) will enhance the doorstep delivery of livestock care,
making all veterinary services available for farmers just a phone call away.
14. Maharashtra government has made the submission of payment receipts of vacant land tax or
property tax mandatory for registration of assets in the state.
• Reason - The local bodies in urban and rural areas were unable to collect the vacant land
tax due to the absence of the property owner database.
Source: LiveMint
15. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik chaired the “first-of-its-kind digital” cabinet
meeting from Kyoto, Japan.
• This is first such digital cabinet meet wherein the documents were signed through the
Odisha State-Wide Area Network (OSWAN), entirely through digital mode.
• OSWAN is a digital platform which helps the state administration to carry data, video and
voice traffic, and facilitate inter/intra-departmental communication.
Source: The Print
pg. 58
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16. World’s first conservation and breeding centre for Asian king vulture - Jatayu
Conservation and Breeding Centre (JCBC) - has been established at the UP's Maharajganj
district.
• Asian king vulture is critically endangered and protected under the Wildlife Protection Act.
• Asian king vulture is also known as red-headed vulture (Sarcogyps calvus).
17. Jammu and Kashmir, in collaboration with the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India
(FSSAI), will organise an Eat Right Millet Mela (ERMM) in Jammu and a Walkathon in both
Katra and Jammu towns.
• The Eat Right Millet Mela will feature various activities such as cultural programs, painting
and poster competitions, rangoli and food stalls showcasing millet-based food items.
Source: News on Air
18. India’s first post office constructed using 3D printing technology is being constructed by
Larsen & Toubro in Bengaluru.
• Two years ago, the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated India's first 3D-
printed house at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras campus to boost affordable
housing across the country
Source: Money Control
19. Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi has given his assent to the Prohibition of Online Gambling
and Regulation of Online Games Bill, 2022.
Source: The Hindu
20. Kerala Agricultural University has been notified as a Centre of the Protection of Plant
Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’
Welfare.
• Purpose - to protect rights of Kerala farming communities over the traditional plant varieties
21. Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh would soon be notified as a tiger reserve.
• The Idu Mishmi is a sub-tribe of the larger Mishmi group in Arunachal Pradesh and
neighbouring Tibet.
pg. 59
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• Their language, also called Idu Mishmi, is considered endangered by UNESCO.

22. Gond painting of Madhya Pradesh from Dindori and Sharbati wheat from Madhya
Pradesh have received the GI tag.
23. Eravikulam National Park (ENP) in Kerala has set up a new Fernarium inside the park.
• The National Park is famous for being the natural habitat of Nilgiri tahr in Munnar.
Source: The Hindu
24. Uttarakhand CM Mr. Pushkar Singh Dhami launched ‘A-HELP’ (Accredited Agent for
Health and Extension of Livestock Production) programme.
• Women are chosen under this program to strengthen livestock related activities in
remote rural areas. They will be called “Pashu Sakhis”.
• Roles to be performed by these women include preventing various infectious diseases of
animals, artificial insemination under Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM), tagging of animals
and animal insurance among other things.
• Under the RGM, livestock breed improvement program will be conducted with the help
of large number of trained A-HELP workers who are interested in performing Artificial
Insemination by providing them additional training.
• For launching this program, the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD)
and National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) have signed an MOU to address the
healthcare needs of the livestock population in a village.
• The programme was successfully piloted in Madhya Pradesh and J&K.
Source: PIB
25. First AIIMS hospital of the North-East has been inaugurated in Guwahati, Assam.
• Prime Minister inaugurated Rs 14,300 crore worth of development projects on the first
day of the state's spring festival 'Rongali Bihu'.
• Assam entered into the Guinness World Records by performing the Bihu dance with
11,304 dancers and drummers at a single venue.
26. State festivals celebrated in April 2023-

pg. 60
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• Vaishakhi – North India (majorly Punjab)

• Rongali Bihu – Assam
• Naba Barsha – West Bengal
• Vishu – Kerala
• Puthandu Pirappu – Tamil’s New Year
Source: News on Air
27. Andhra Pradesh government has renamed Bhavanapadu Port in Srikakulam District as
Mulapeta Port on a request from the farmers.
28. Kerala has become the first state to adopt a water budget to tackle the water scarcity in
certain regions there.
• The first phase of the project would cover 94-gram panchayats and 15 block panchayats.
• Purpose - The budget gives data about the availability of water at a particular place and its
consumption based on the population in the region.
o It will create awareness among people regarding the proper use of water, avoiding
its wastage.
• The budget was prepared by the Centre for Water Resource Development Management
and the state’s water department.
• The Public Water Budget was released, along with the launch of the third phase of the Ini
Njan Ozhukatte (Let me flow now) project, for the rehabilitation of irrigation networks
in the Western Ghats.
29. Union Minister of Law Kiren Rijiju has released the Dogri version of the Constitution of
India.
• Dogri is spoken most in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is an officially
recognized language of India.
Source: News on Air
30. Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation Ltd (KSIDC) has received the approval from
Civil Aviation Ministry for developing the Sabarimala Greenfield Airport at Kottayam.
pg. 61
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31. Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency (TNeGA) has signed an MOU with Indian Bank to
integrate its payment aggregator with the e-governance applications of government
departments.
• This will integrate online payment like debit/credit cards, UPI payment wallets, net banking,
e-challans and e-UPI with the government applications to make the payment easier.
32. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin jointly
inaugurated the centenary year celebrations of the anti-caste struggle Vaikom Satyagraha.
• Vaikom Satyagraha (1924-1925) was a nonviolent agitation for access to the prohibited
public environs of the Vaikom Temple in the Kingdom of Travancore, located in Vaikom,
Kerala.
• The Kingdom of Travancore (1729–1949) was spread across Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Source: The Hindu and Wikipedia
33. Department of Posts has released a special cover on the Mahila Samman Savings
scheme.
Source: News on Air
34. Kerala Forest Department has launched “Mission Arikompan” to control a rogue elephant
named “Arikompan” from ravaging the fields.
Source: The Hindu
35. Anji Khad Bridge (built on Anji river) is the second most important bridge of the
Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Project after Chenab Bridge (world's highest rail bridge).
• The bridge connects Katra-Reasi section of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla railway
line.
• Anji Khad is India first “cable-stayed” railway bridge.
36. The 800-year-old Mahim fort in Mumbai has now opened as a tourist spot.
pg. 62
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37. Kerala government has launched the 'One Panchayat, One Playground' project for reviving
the sports culture in the State by opening quality playgrounds in every panchayat of the
southern state.
38. Himachal Pradesh has become the “first state” to create a DNA database of unidentified
bodies.
• Purpose - to identify bodies to help the family members in performing the last rites of the
deceased
Source: The Print
39. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has launched three online services - Pro-
active Divyang Pension Service, 'Tau se Poochho' WhatsApp chatbot and online booking of
government rest houses - to digitally empower people.
40. The 5th edition of HUN- a Thadou Cultural Festival 2023 started at Thomas Ground in
Kangpokpi district of Manipur.
• HUN festival is an annual cultural festival and a civilising act of the Thadous community of
Manipur, and it is celebrated at the arrival of the new year.
• The Miss Universe 2021 Harnaz Kaur Sandhu and other celebrities are expected to join the
festival.
Source: News on Air
41. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched first of its kind heavy lift logistics drone
(can transport 50kg over 10kms) on the opening day of "Odisha Skill Conclave 2023".
• It was made by Odisha-based start-up BonV Aero.
• BonV Aero is an IIT Mandi, AIC CV Raman Global University Odisha and NITI Aayog-
backed venture building Electric Aerial Vehicles for Cargo transportation.
42. Assam and the Arunachal Pradesh governments have signed an agreement in presence of
Union Home Minister Amit Shah to resolve their five-decade-old border dispute.
pg. 63
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43. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India's first water metro in Kerala's Kochi to
connect 10 islands around the city in Malabar coast through battery-operated electric hybrid
boats.
• The project is worth ₹747 crore which has identified 15 routes connecting islands spanning
78 km.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• India’s first Underwater metro – Hooghly River, Kolkata
• India’ first undersea bullet train – Mumbai to Ahmedabad (a stretch of the Mumbai-
Ahmedabad bullet train; it will be built in Thane creek.)
• India’s first water metro – Kochi, Kerala
Source: Hindustan Times and Times of India
44. Uneecops Technologies Ltd (Delhi-based green hydrogen and solar developer) will set up
the First Green Hydrogen Microgrid Project in Leh Region for one of India's major hydro-
power companies.
45. Gujarat government is planning to move 40 Asiatic lions (also known as the Persian lion) to
the Barda Wildlife Sanctuary, which is located 100 km from the Gir Forest National Park.
• Gir Forest National Park is the only home of the Asiatic Lions in India.
Source: Down to Earth
46. Phase-IV of Sagar Parikrama will cover the stretches of Uttar Kannada, Udupi, and Dakshan
Kannada in Karnataka.
Source: PIB
47. Matua Dharma Maha Mela 2023 was organized in West Bengal by the All India Matua
Mahasangha.
Source: PIB
48. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot launched ‘Mehangai Rahat’ camps in Sanganer
district’s Mahapura village.
• These camps will be organised across the state from April 24 to June 30 so that the
benefits of various welfare schemes of the state government reach the beneficiaries.
pg. 64
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49. Manamadurai pottery from Tamil Nadu has earned a Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
• Manamadurai is a small village in Sivagangai district. The Vaigai river flows through it.
Source: The Hindu
50. Khongjom Day is celebrated in Manipur, to honour the martyrs who fought in 1891 Anglo
Manipuri War, at Khongjom in Thoubal district of Manipur.
Source: News on Air
AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

1. European Commission (EC) has granted protected geographical indication (PGI) for
India’s unique Kangra tea, which is grown in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district.
• This will come into effect from April 11, 2023.
• EU grants Protected designation of origin (PDO), Protected geographical indication
(PGI), and Geographical indication of spirit drinks (GI) to protect the names of specific
products to promote their unique characteristics, linked to their geographical origin as well
as traditional know-how.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Grown since the mid-19th Century, Kangra tea is known for its unique flavour and taste. It
is available as black and green teas.
• Kangra tea is grown at an elevation ranging from 900 to 1,400 metres above sea level
with the annual rainfall being 270-350 cm.
• Tea Board is a statutory body, set up in 1954 via Tea Act of 1953. It has 31 members
(including Chairman).
2. Central Government has estimated that over 341 lakh metric tonnes wheat will be procured
during Rabi Marketing Season 2023-24.
• The wheat has been procured from Madhya Pradesh in the areas of Ujjain, Dewas, Indore,
Shajapur and Sehore.
Source: News on Air
pg. 65
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3. Ministry of Commerce & Industry has released the data on agriculture exports for April
2022-January 2023.
• The agricultural exports have amounted to USD 43.37 billion, registering an increase of
6.04% over the exports of USD 40.90 billion during the corresponding period of the
previous financial year (April 2021 to January 2022).
• During the 2021-22, India’s agricultural export touched the highest ever level of USD
50.21 billion.
Source: PIB
4. The National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal has produced India's first cloned
female calf of the desi breed Gir which can produce more than 15 litres of milk per day.
• India's first cloned Gir female calf named 'Ganga' weighing 32 kg was born and is growing
well.
• India’s indigenous cattle breeds are Gir, Sahiwal, Tharparkar, and Red-Sindhi etc.
• NDRI started its work on cloning high-yield desi breeds like Gir, Red Sindhi and Sahiwal
in 2021, in collaboration with Uttarakhand Livestock Development Board (ULDB),
Dehradun.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• According to NDDB’s website, India has 50 well-defined indigenous breeds of cattle
and 17 breeds of buffaloes.
• In the last one year, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has registered
10 new breeds of livestock species, including cattle, buffalo, goat and pig. This has
taken the total number of indigenous breeds to 212 as of January 4, 2023.
• New breeds -
o three cattle breeds (Kathani, Sanchori, Masilum),
o one buffalo breed (Purnathadi),
o three goat breeds (Sojat, Karauli, Gujari) and,
o three pig breeds (Banda, Manipuri Black, Wak Chambil).
Source: Economic Times, NDDB’s website, and Down to Earth
5. Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar
inaugurated the Farm Machinery Technology Summit, organized by Confederation of
Indian Industry (CII) and Tractor and Mechanization Association (TMA).
pg. 66
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• An amount of Rs.6120.85 crore has been released to the states from 2014-15 to 2022-23
for various activities like training, testing, setting up of Custom Hiring Centres, hi-tech hubs
and Farm Machinery Banks (FMBs) under the Sub-Mission on Agricultural
Mechanization (SMAM).
• There are about 85% small farmers in the country.
Source: PIB
6. Ministry of Food Processing Industries organized a 2-day Millets Fair-cum-Exhibition at

the ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur, Rajasthan as part of the Millet
Mahotsav series.
• Rajasthan is the largest producer of millet in India contributing more than 16% share in
India’s production.
• In addition to the Millets Mahotsav, a mega-food event “World Food India 2023” will be
organized by the Ministry from 3rd to 5th Nov 2023 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
Source: PIB
DEFENCE NEWS
1. Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) has successfully conducted a field firing test of its latest 3rd
generation man-portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM), Amogha-III.
• This indigenous missile has been developed under Integrated Guided Missile
Development Programme (IGMDP).
2. Indian Navy and Sri Lankan Navy have conducted their SLINEX 2023 (10th edition).
3. Ministry of Defence signed a contract with Ultra Dimensions Pvt. Ltd. (UDPL),
Vishakhapatnam for modernisation of Naval Aircraft Yards (NAYs) at Goa and Kochi, at a
cost of approx. Rs 470 crore.
4. Central Government has approved the Indian Army’s decision to induct women officers in
the Regiment of Artillery.
Source: The Indian Express
pg. 67
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5. India has achieved the highest defence exports in FY 2022-23 to Rs 16,000 crores approx.
Source: PIB
6. Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane inaugurated a new production facility in Nashik to

boost manufacturing of indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft Tejas.
• It is the third production line of the Tejas jets set up by the Hindustan Aeronautics
Limited (HAL), the maker of the aircraft.
• The HAL has two manufacturing facilities for LCA Tejas in Bengaluru.
• HAL also handed over 100th Sukhoi-30 MKi ROH aircraft, repaired and overhauled, to the
Indian Air Force (IAF).
• HAL has registered the highest-ever revenue from operations of ₹26,500 crore
(provisional and unaudited) for the financial year 2022-23.
Source: The Economic Times and LiveMint
7. Exercise Cope India 23 will commence at Air Force Station, Kalaikunda in West Bengal.
pg. 68
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• The Indian Air Force (IAF) element will include the Su-30 MKI, Rafale, Tejas and Jaguar
fighter aircraft.
• Air Forces of India and US began the Cope India exercise in 2004.
Source: PIB
8. Bengaluru-based Raman Research Institute (RRI) has joined hands with the Indian Navy to
develop secure maritime communications using quantum technologies.
• The MOU was signed with the Weapons and Electronics Systems Engineering
Establishment (WESEE), the R&D establishment of the Indian Navy.
Source: The Hindu
9. Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) organized a large-scale Joint Military Exercise
‘Ex KAVACH’ involving the assets of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard.
Source: PIB
10. Indian Navy has conducted the “Prasthan” exercise in the offshore development area off
Maharashtra’s Mumbai.
• Indian Air Force, Indian Coast Guard, ONGC and Directorate General of Shipping
participated in the exercise.
Source: India Today
11. India is acquiring armaments worth over $300 million from the US to enhance the capabilities
of the MH 60 'Romeo' choppers (the most advanced multi role helicopters currently in service
with the Indian Navy).
12. The first edition of the biannual Army Commanders conclave 2023 will be conducted in
Hybrid format from April 21.
• The physical meet will take place in Delhi.
• ‘2023’ has been designated as the ‘Year of Transformation’ by Indian Army.
• The forum will discuss progress on Agnipath Scheme and digitisation and automation
initiatives.
• During the conclave, the Army decided to operationalise Command Cyber Operations
and Support Wings (CCOSWs) to augment the cyber capabilities of the Indian army.
pg. 69
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Knowledge Nuggets -
• Army Commanders Conference is an apex-level biannual event that is an institutional
platform for conceptual-level deliberations, culminating in making important policy
decisions for the Indian Army.
Source: News on Air
13. The first batch of 2,585 Agniveers, including 273 women of the Indian Navy passed out from
the portals of INS Chilka in Odisha in a first of its kind- ceremonial night passing out parade
held under the aegis of Southern Naval Command.
14. Ministry of Defence signed three contracts – two with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL),
Ghaziabad and one with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) – at a total cost nearly Rs 5,400
crore.
• BEL –
o First - to procure Automated Air Defence Control & Reporting System ‘Project
Akashteer’ worth Rs 1,982 crore for the Indian Army.
o Second - to acquire Sarang Electronic Support Measure (ESM) systems along with
associated Engineering Support Package from BEL, Hyderabad at an overall cost of
Rs 412 crore for the Indian Navy.
• NSIL -
o To procure an advanced Communication Satellite, GSAT 7B for the Indian Army
at an overall cost of Rs 2,963 crore.
Knowledge Nuggets -
A) Project Akashteer -
• The Automated Air Defence Control & Reporting System ‘Project Akashteer’ will
empower the Air Defence units of the Indian Army.
• Akashteer will enable monitoring of low-level airspace over the battle areas of Indian
Army and effectively control the Ground Based Air Defence Weapon Systems.
B) Sarang Systems -
pg. 70
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• Sarang is an advanced Electronic Support Measure system for helicopters of the

Indian Navy, designed and developed indigenously by Defence Electronics
Research Laboratory, Hyderabad under programme Samudrika.
• The scheme will generate an employment of approximately two lakh man-days over a
period of three years.
C) Programme SAMUDRIKA -
• Under the program, Seven Electronic Warfare Systems will be developed for the
Indian Navy’s different platforms viz., Ships, Helicopters and Aircrafts,
• These seven systems are grouped under two projects namely Ship-Borne projects &
Air-Borne Projects.
o Ship-borne systems are SHAKTI, NAYAN and TUSHAR.
o Air-Borne systems are SARANG, SARAKSHI, SARVADHARI and NIKASH.
Source: PIB and DRDO’s website
15. Defence Ministry has signed contracts with Indian shipyards for the acquisition of the 11 next
generation offshore patrol vessels (OVPs) at an overall cost of nearly Rs 19,600 crore.
• The contract also includes the next six generations of missile vessels.
• Of the 11 ships, seven will be indigenously designed, developed and manufactured by Goa
Shipyard Ltd (GSL) and four by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE),
Kolkata.
• Ministry of Defence has also signed a contract with Bharat Electronics Limited,
Bangalore for procurement of 13 Lynx-U2 Fire Control Systems for Indian Navy at a
total cost of over Rs 1,700 crore under Buy {Indian – IDMM (Indigenously Designed
Developed and Manufactured)} category.
• These fire control systems will be deployed on the offshore patrol vessels.
16. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has termed the signing of contract for procurement of Akash
Weapon System and 12 Weapon Locating Radars, WLR Swathi (Plains) for the Indian
Army, at an overall cost of over Rs 9,100 crores.
• The contract for WLR Swathi (Plains) was signed with Bharat Electronic Limited (BEL) at
a cost of over Rs 990 crore.
Source: News on Air
pg. 71
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17. INS Sumedha was docked at Port Algiers, Algeria in March 2023.
• INS Sumedha is an indigenously built stealth offshore patrol vessel that is equipped with
state-of-the-art weapons and sensors.
Source: PIB
18. The Combined Commanders’ Conference was held in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on the
theme of ‘Ready, Resurgent, Relevant’.
Source: PIB
19. The 3rd General Sundarji Memorial Lecture was organised by the Indian Army at
Manekshaw Centre, Delhi Cantonment to commemorate the memory of one of India’s
foremost military thinkers.
• The lecture remembered the dynamic and visionary General K Sundarji, the 13th Chief of
the Army Staff, who is also fondly called as the ‘Father of the Mechanised Infantry
Regiment’.
Source: PIB
20. Indian Army has signed a deal with Economic Explosives Limited (EEL) Nagpur for
procuring over 450 Nagastra-1 drones (fully indigenous loitering munitions), which can strike
enemy targets with precision.
• These loitering munitions (drones) can carry out surveillance up to 15 Km range and strike
targets with their warhead.
• The deal can cost up to Rs 300 crores.
• EEL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Solar Industries India Limited.
Source: ANI
21. Second edition of bilateral naval exercise ‘Al-Mohed-Al Hindi-23’ was conducted by Indian
Navy and Royal Saudi Naval Forces at WNC, Mumbai.
• INS Tarkash is scheduled to participate in second edition, along with an Offshore Patrol
Vessel and Indian Navy Dornier.
• First edition of exercise was conducted off Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia in 2021.
Source: Indian Navy’s website
pg. 72
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22. India has successfully carried out the maiden flight trial of a sea-based endo-atmospheric
interceptor missile from a ship off the coast of Odisha in the Bay of Bengal.
• The endo-atmospheric missiles are the ones that operate within the earth's atmosphere that
covers an altitude below 100 km.
• Prior to this, DRDO has successfully demonstrated land-based BMD (Ballistic Missile
defence) system with capability to neutralize ballistic missile threats.
Source: PIB
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
1. Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has signed an MOU with Indian Institute of
Technology, Bombay (IIT-Bombay) to develop a robust touchless biometric capture
system for easier usage by people anytime, anywhere.
• UIDAI and IIT Bombay will carry out joint research to build a mobile capture system for
fingerprints along with liveness model integrated with the capture system.
• The National Centre of Excellence in Technology for Internal Security (NCETIS) of the
IIT-Bombay will conduct the research.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• The NCETIS is a joint initiative by IIT Bombay and the Ministry of Electronics and
Information Technology (MeitY), under its flagship Digital India Programme.
• The NCETIS is aimed at developing indigenous technology solutions for Internal Security
forces in broad areas of Electronic System Design and Manufacturing.
Source: UIDAI’s website
2. India has signed an MOU with the UN World Food Programme (WFP) for humanitarian
food assistance of 10,000 tonnes of wheat for the people of Afghanistan.
• Afghanistan is struggling with the food crisis.
3. Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) has signed an MOU with the Ministry of Home Affairs
and the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) to conduct the defence exams in 13 local
languages, other than Hindi and English.
• The new arrangement will be effective from January 1, 2024.
pg. 73
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Knowledge Nuggets -
• Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) is the collective name of central police
organisations in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• CAPF is further classified into three: Border Guarding Forces—Assam Rifles (AR),
Border Security Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and Sashastra Seema
Bal (SSB); Forces for Internal Security—Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF); and Special Task Force—National Security
Guard (NSG).
Source: The Hindu
4. IIT-Roorkee has signed an MOU with the National Science and Technology Centre for
Disaster Reduction (NCDR), Taiwan.
• Purpose - to increase between NCDR and the Centre of Excellence in Disaster
Mitigation and Management (CoEDMM) of IIT Roorkee for developing technology
solutions to natural hazards
• The researchers from IIT Roorkee and NCDR aim to co-establish an early warning
sensor network equipped with P-Alert sensors at selected locations in Uttarakhand.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• South Asia Alliance of Disaster Research Institutes (SAADRI) is a platform for
alliance partners to seek collective contributions towards the regional need of disaster
risk reduction and climate-change induced risk resilience.
• SAADRI has member countries from South Asia and beyond.
• The SAADRI Secretariat is hosted at the Centre of Excellence in Disaster Mitigation
and Management (CoEDMM), IIT Roorkee, India.
Source: ANI
5. Indian Army and Tezpur University, Assam have signed an MOU for training the Indian
Army personnel in the Chinese language.
• Tezpur University, established in 1994 by an act of parliament as a central university, is one
the pioneers in the Northeast in the teaching of foreign languages including Chinese with
highly qualified faculty.
Source: The Print
pg. 74
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6. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi and Oil India Ltd. (OIL)
have signed an MoU for Joint R&D activities and technological advancement across the
energy value chain.
Source: PIB
7. SAIL-Bokaro Steel Plant (in Bokaro, Jharkhand) has signed an MoU with
Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL) to implement 5G/ IT/ Telecom and
other wireless communication technologies in SAIL-Bokaro Steel Plant.
Source: PIB
8. Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has signed an MOU with the European Union
Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for cooperation in aviation safety.
• The agreement was signed on the first day of the EU-India Aviation Summit in Delhi.
• The Airport Authority of India also signed a declaration of intent with Eurocontrol, a
pan-European, civil-military organisation dedicated to supporting European aviation.
Source: The Print
9. V.V. Giri National Labour Institute (VVGNLI), an autonomous institute under the Union
Labour Ministry, has signed an MOU with the Associated Chambers of Commerce &
Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).
• Purpose - for promoting professional and organizational development in areas related to
jobs and labour
Source: VVGNLI
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. European Union has removed Pakistan from its list of "High-Risk Third Countries”.
• High-Risk Third Countries is a list that includes countries without robust anti-money
laundering and countering terrorist financing regimes.
• In October 2022, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) removed Pakistan from the list
of countries under “increased monitoring.
• Pakistan Prime Minister - Shehbaz Sharif
pg. 75
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2. Georgia has become the first American state to pass a resolution condemning
Hinduphobia and anti-Hindu bigotry.
3. For the first time since the Apollo era, NASA named a crew of astronauts for a lunar
expedition.
• Astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman will be joined by Canadian
astronaut Jeremy Hansen on the Artemis II mission, which is scheduled to launch late
next year.
4. United Kingdom has announced to become the 12th member of the Comprehensive and
Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
• It is the bloc’s first expansion since its inception.
• The United Kingdom’s acceptance, likely to be finalized at the upcoming CPTPP
ministerial meeting in Auckland, New Zealand in July 2023.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)
is a free trade agreement (FTA) between Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile,
Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam.
• The CPTPP was signed by the 11 countries on 8 March 2018 in Santiago, Chile.
• The regional trade bloc came into effect in 2018. The CPTPP is one of the world’s
largest free trade agreements (FTA).
• The bloc accounts for 13% of the world’s income.
5. Finland has become the 31st member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
• The accession coincides with the 74th anniversary of the signing of NATO’s founding treaty
i.e., “Washington Treaty” on 4 April 1949 by 12 founding members.
6. NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has made its 49th flight, which broke two different
records–that for the highest altitude and the highest speed–achieved by any self-propelled
aircraft outside of Earth.
• Ingenuity has been flying on the Mars’ surface for over two years now, and it has covered
over 11 kilometres in that time.
7. China has launched its Tianlong-2 rocket into orbit.

pg. 76
[Type here]
8. Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have just discovered the four
most distant galaxies ever seen, located a little over 13 billion light-years from Earth.
• Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) is the primary imaging instrument of the James Webb
Space Telescope (JWST).
• NIRCam made a significant contribution in the discovery of these galaxies.
Source: Wion
9. SpaceX successfully launched Intelsat’s IS-40e communications satellite, which will help
the SpaceX meet growing demand for connectivity on planes while also carrying its first hosted
payload for NASA.
• IS-40e also carries NASA’s Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO)
hosted payload, touted to be the first instrument to monitor air pollution across North
America from geostationary orbit.
Source: spacenews.com
10. Iran has successfully tested a long-range, high-precision kamikaze drone loaded with a 50 kg
warhead.
• Iran has also developed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), dubbed as Me’raj 532 (suicide
drone).
Source: Wion and News on Air
11. Norwegian company Norled has successfully launched the ‘World’s first’ liquid hydrogen-
powered ferry’ named ‘MF Hydra’.
• It is a hybrid that uses both batteries and liquid hydrogen fuel cells.
Source: H2 View
12. Israel successfully launched the “Ofek-13” spy satellite into space. It is most advanced
satellite of its kind.
• The satellite will provide the military with better-quality images than its predecessors. It has
unique radar observation capabilities, and it will enable intelligence collection in any
weather and conditions of visibility.
Source: Space.com
pg. 77
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13. US Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS Milius conducted a navigational rights and freedoms
mission in the South China Sea near the Spratly Islands.
• Spratly Islands is a disputed archipelago between China and Philippines in the South
China Sea.
Source: News on Air
14. Bahrain has launched the Golden Licence initiative for incentivizing investments and job
creation.
• The Golden Licence is designed to provide streamlined services and benefits to local and
foreign businesses with large-scale investment projects in Bahrain.
• Companies with significant strategic projects and investments exceeding US $50 million or
those creating more than 500 jobs in Bahrain will be eligible for the Licence.
Source: News on Air
15. US President Joe Biden arrived in Northern Ireland to commemorate the 25th anniversary
of the Good Friday Agreement.
• The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement, was signed on April 10,
1998, to end the violent conflicts in the Northern Ireland.
• Northern Ireland was created in 1921 and remained part of the UK when the rest of Ireland
became an independent state.
pg. 78
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• This created a split in the population between unionists, who wish to see Northern Ireland
stay within the UK, and nationalists, who want it to become part of the Republic of Ireland.
Source: BBC and The Print
16. France is hosting the multinational wargame codenamed Orion, which is expected to be
held from the third week of April to May 5 at Mont-de-Marsan.
• In a first, Indian Rafale combat aircraft are likely to participate in this exercise.
• The exercise involves many of the NATO and other important allies.
Source: The Print
17. US and the Philippines conducted their largest-ever joint military drills named as Balikatan
exercise.
Source: BBC news
18. European Space Agency (ESA) will launch the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE)
mission on April 13, 2023, from a spaceport in French Guiana.
• After a travel of eight years, the explorer will reach Jupiter in 2031 which will be set off on
an Ariane 5 launcher.
• JUICE is aimed to conduct detailed exploration of the largest planet of the solar system and
its icy moons.
• The mission is constructed by an industrial consortium led by Airbus Defence and Space.
• NASA will launch its Europa Clipper in October 2023 to study Jupiter's Europa moon. It
will reach the planet in 2030.
• So far, only two other spacecraft have examined Jupiter – Galileo probe between 1995 and
2003; Juno is circling the planet since 2016.
19. ‘Operation Cookie Monster’ is a massive operation to tackle cybercrime in the USA.
• The operation is being led by FBI, USA and the Dutch National Police.
Source: Reuters
20. Japan has launched Overseas Security Assistance (OSA) to provide military aid to "like-
minded" countries especially in Asia to expand its influence in the Indo-Pacific region and to
counter China's aggressive push over Taiwan and the South China Sea issues.
pg. 79
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• The OSA is an expansion of Japan's official development assistance (ODA) - one of the
world's largest foreign aid programs.
21. NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) has released a breath-taking image of
the Crab Nebula, a celestial object.
• The nebula is located 6,500 light-years away from Earth.
• Nebula means a bright area in the night sky that is caused by a mass of dust or gas or by a
large cloud of stars that are far away.
Source: Space.Com
22. International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a new four-year extended arrangement under
the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of around USD 15.6 billion as part of a USD 115 billion
total support package for Ukraine.
23. Italy has banned OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot.

• Italian government has introduced a draft bill to impose penalties up to Rs 90 Lakh on
public and private entities, that use foreign languages, especially English, instead of Italian
in official communications.
Source: CNBC TV
24. Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre of UAE has announced that the Rashid Rover,
onboard the HAKUTO-R Mission 1 Lunar Lander, is scheduled to land on the Moon on 25th
April 2023.
Source: News on Air
pg. 80
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25. Turkey has launched the world's first drone carrier and the country’s largest assault ship
named ‘The Anadolu’.
Source: Eurasian Times
26. Ghana has become the first country in the world to approve a new malaria vaccine from
Oxford University for fighting malaria.
Source: Reuters
27. Severe Tropical Cyclone Ilsa has hit Western Australia close to Port Hedland, the world's
largest iron ore export hub.
• It is a category 2 cyclone.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• As per the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale provided on the website of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the USA, the cyclones are divided into five
categories based on wind speed.
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s website and BBC
28. Japan, India and France have announced a common platform for talks among bilateral
creditors to coordinate restructuring of Sri Lanka's debt.
• It remains uncertain, whether Sri Lanka's biggest bilateral creditor - China - will join the
initiative, launched by Japan.
pg. 81
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• Sri Lanka owes $7.1 billion to bilateral creditors, with $3 billion owed to China, followed by
$2.4 billion to the Paris Club and $1.6 billion to India.
Source: Reuters
29. North Korea carried out an underwater nuclear attack drone named "Haeil-2" test.
Source: Republic World
30. Kenya launched its first operational earth observation satellite named “Taifa-1” onboard a
SpaceX rocket from the United States.
Source: Reuters
31. China successfully launched Fengyun-3G into space, its first satellite dedicated to
measuring precipitation, especially heavy rainfalls during catastrophic weather in global
regions, which could provide a powerful tool for monitoring and forecasting of global
meteorological disasters.
Source: Reuters
32. A US-based company, Biofire has launched the world’s first 'smart guns' that uses
biometric identification, and only authorized persons are allowed to fire from the gun.
Source: LiveMint
33. Germany has switched off its last three nuclear reactors recently. Now, the country has put an
end to its atomic power.
• Reason – to make the country safe from the nuclear risks and waste
Source: News on Air
34. UK has organized ‘Indo + Caribbean: The creation of a culture’ exhibition to shed light on
the Indo-Caribbean culture that exists in Museum of London Docklands, London.
35. UK and nine other partner countries are providing training to Ukrainian soldiers under its
“Operation Interflex”.
• The other nations involved in the initiative are Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Norway,
Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Lithuania, and the Netherlands.
pg. 82
[Type here]
• Venue of Training - four locations in the U.K. (Yorkshire, Kent, Wiltshire, and
Northumberland)
• UK has also announced to send a squadron of Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine.
Source: The Hindu and The Guardian
36. Russia's navy fired supersonic anti-ship missiles named “P-270 Moskit Missile” on a mock
target in the Sea of Japan.
37. Saudi Arabia has agreed to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a "dialogue
partner".
• At present, Iran is an Observer State. Although, the country has received the approval to
join the grouping as a member. The procedure of its accession is under progress.
38. International Conference on Human-Wildlife Conflict and Coexistence was hosted by

IUCN in Oxford, UK.
• The Conference is a response to the Target 4 of the Kunming-Montreal Global
Biodiversity Framework agreed at the UN Biodiversity Conference in December 2022.
Source: IUCN’s website
pg. 83
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39. IMF has approved a new four-year extended arrangement under the Extended Fund
Facility (EFF) of around USD 15.6 billion as part of a USD 115 billion total support package
for Ukraine.
Source: IMF’s website
40. Proba-3 is a technological demonstration mission by the European Space Agency.

• It consists of two small satellites - Coronagraph Spacecraft (CSC) and the Occulter
Spacecraft (OSC).
• The two small satellites will be launched together in 2024 into the Earth’s orbit.
Source: ESA’s website
41. NASA researchers have developed a new computer model, called the Deep Learning
Geomagnetic Perturbation (DAGGER) model.
• The model integrates artificial intelligence (AI) with satellite data to forecast geomagnetic
disturbances and provide a warning for impending solar storms.
Source: NASA’s website
42. USA, along with the 10 other nations, issued the first-ever significant anti-spyware
declaration for recognising the threat posed by the misuse of commercial spyware and the
need for strict domestic and international controls on the proliferation and use of such
technology.
• Other countries - Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, New Zealand, Norway,
Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom
Source: Wion
43. International Seabed Authority has approved the deep-sea mining of ocean's floor for
extracting cobalt, copper, nickel, and manganese - key battery materials - from potato-sized
rocks called "polymetallic nodules" on the ocean's floor at depths of 4 to 6 km (2.5 to 4 miles).
Knowledge Nuggets -
• The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is an autonomous international organization
established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
(UNCLOS) and the 1994 Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1994 Agreement).
• ISA HQ - Kingston, Jamaica
pg. 84
[Type here]
• Members - ISA has 168 Members, including 167 Member States and the European
Union (as of 1 May 2020)
Source: Reuters and ISA’s website
44. Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has announced to launch a gold-backed digital currency and
legalize them in the country in order to stabilizing its local currency.
• Capital – Harare and Currency – Zimbabwean Dollar
Source: Financial Express
45. Paris banned rental electric scooters from the streets of its city.
46. Red squirrels of Wales have contacted squirrel pox.

Source: BBC
47. Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the United Arab Emirates
(UAE) have signed a host member agreement to officially open the bank's first overseas
office, an Interim Operational Hub, in Abu Dhabi.
• The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development will represent the UAE on the bank's board.
• President of AIIB - Jin Liqun
pg. 85
[Type here]
• As of April 2023, AIIB has approved 212 projects amounting to over USD 40 billion in 33
member countries.
48. Mongolia’s first greenfield oil refinery, being built on the outskirts of the capital city,
Ulaanbaatar, will be completed by 2025.
• It is being developed by Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Limited (MEIL) of India.
49. Relatively Space, a startup company based in California, had launched the world’s first 3D-
printed rocket named ‘Terran 1’, as part of the “Good Luck, Have Fun” (GLHF) mission.
Source: Relatively Space
50. Chitwan National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the first-ever national park of
Nepal (set up in 1973).
Source: UNESCO
51. SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, is a Boeing (747SP)
aircraft, equipped with a telescope to conduct research in stratosphere.
• SOFIA made the first-ever measurement of heavy atomic oxygen in Earth’s upper
atmosphere (mesosphere and lower thermosphere).
Source: NASA blog and NASA Sofia overview
pg. 86
[Type here]
52. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) had launched H3 rocket, which was nto
successful because of an engine failure during liftoff from the JAXA Tanegashima spaceport.
Source: Reuters
53. 5th session of the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond
National Jurisdiction will be held in New York in June 2023.
Source: UN’s website
54. VLT Survey Telescope (VST) is located at European Southern Observatory’s (ESO)
Paranal Observatory, Chile.
• It is one of the largest telescopes in the world designed for surveying the sky in visible light.
Source: ESO’s website
55. Indonesia had launched the “dawn school trial”, starting the classes at 5:30 am.
• Sunrise happens at 5.53 am in the country.
56. Rwanda has become the first African country to establish the mRNA Vaccine Production
Facility, developed by the German pharmaceutical company BioNTech.
57. Bhutan will be removed from the list of Least Developed Countries of UN on December 13,
2023.
• Bhutan will become the seventh country to graduate from the list.
• United Nations General Assembly had announced this exclusion in 2018 due to its
sustainable development efforts.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• The Least Developed Countries (LDCs) list was established by the United Nations in
1971.
• Criterion: All LDCs have a gross national per capita income (GNI) of below $1,018
• These countries also have low scores on the indicators such as nutrition, health, literacy,
school enrolment, and high scores for economic and environmental vulnerability.
pg. 87
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• There are currently 46 LDCs, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF). The list is
reviewed every three years by the UN Economic and Social Council.
• Six countries have graduated from LDC status between 1994 and 2020.
• Both inclusion and graduation from the LDC category is based on three criteria:
o GNI per capita
o Human Assets Index (HAI), measuring health and education outcomes
o Economic and Environmental Vulnerability Index
Source: The Quint
58. Baidu, the Chinese search giant, introduced its new chatbot named Ernie Bot
59. Samsung Electronics aims to build the world's largest semiconductor manufacturing
base near Seoul, capital of South Korea.
• The Korea-based company aims to establish a chip-making mega cluster in Gyeonggi
Province by 2042.
60. United States’ Pennsylvania has declared the Hindu festival of Diwali as a national holiday.
Source: NDTV
61. NASA’s retired Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI)
spacecraft re-entered Earth’s atmosphere, almost 21 years after its launch.
• From 2002 to its decommissioning in 2018, RHESSI observed solar waves from its low-
Earth orbit, helping scientists understand the underlying physics of how such powerful
bursts of energy are created.
Source: NASA
62. Europe’s most powerful nuclear reactor, Olkiluoto 3, has started functioning normally.
• The Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant is in Finland.
Source: Reuters
63. Exercise INIOCHOS-23, a multi-national air exercise, is hosted by the Hellenic Air Force of
the air force of Greece.
pg. 88
[Type here]
• Indian Air Force (IAF) is also participating in this exercise with four Su-30 MKI and two C-17
aircraft.
Source: ANI
64. European Union’s Parliament is working on the “Markets in Crypto Act (MiCA)”.
• The legislation seeks to reduce risks for consumers buying crypto assets. The legislations
will make the providers liable if they lose investors’ crypto assets.
Source: CNBC
65. WHO, UNICEF, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, along
with Immunization Agenda 2030 have launched “The Big Catch-up”, a targeted global
initiative to boost vaccination among children.
• Purpose - to reverse the declines in childhood vaccination recorded in over 100 countries,
which are driven by the COVID-19 pandemic
Source: WHO’s website
66. Ukraine has received the U.S.-made ‘Patriot’ surface-to-air guided missile systems.
Source: The Hindu
67. Jitgadhi festival is observed in Nepal to mark the victory over the British government, then
East India Company, by the Nepal Army.
• A Nepal Army led by Colonel Ujir Singh Thapa conquered the Jitgadhi fort in 1872 by taking
down the British Army.
Source: News on Air
REPORTS AND INDICES

1. 3rd edition of the India Justice Report (IJR) 2022 has been released DAKSH,
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Common Cause (NPO), Centre for Social
Justice, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy and TISS-Prayas.
• Top in larger states – Karnataka (1st), followed by Tamil Nadu (2nd)
• Top in smaller states – Sikkim (1st), followed by Mizoram (2nd)
• Parameters – Prison, Police, Judiciary, and Legal Aid
pg. 89
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2. World Bank has released the “Striving for Clean Air: Air Pollution and Public Health in
South Asia”.
• Nine out of the world’s 10 cities with the worst air pollution are in South Asia.
• Ambient air pollution is a public health crisis in South Asia. It is causing an estimated 2
million premature deaths each year.
• In South Asia, nearly 60% of the population lives in areas where concentrations of 5
exceed an annual mean of 35 μg/m3 (WHO prescribes 5 μg/m3).
3. International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has released the “World Energy
Transitions Outlook 2023: 1.50 C” report.
• Existing renewable power targets would increase total renewable power capacity to 5.4
terawatts (TW) by 2030, representing less than half of the 11.2 TW needed for a 1.5°C
pathway.
• A total of 295 gigawatts (GW) of renewables was added worldwide in 2022, the largest-
ever annual increase in renewable energy capacity.
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• Investment in renewables reached USD 0.5 trillion in 2022; however, this is less than
one-third of the average investment needed each year in renewables under the 1.5°C
Scenario.
4. World Trade Organization has released the “Global Trade Outlook 2023” report.
• As per the report, the world merchandise trade volume is projected to grow 1.7% in 2023
before picking up to 3.2% in 2024.
• Trade volume growth in 2022 was slower than expected at 2.7% following a fourth quarter
slump, but still stronger than worst case scenarios considered at the start of the war in
Ukraine.
• The value of world merchandise trade rose 12% to US $ 25.3 trillion in 2022, inflated in
part by high global commodity prices.
• The value of world commercial services trade increased 15% in 2022 to US$ 6.8 trillion.
Digitally delivered services exports were worth US$ 3.82 trillion in the same year.
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5. Airports Council International has released the rankings of the world’s busiest airports for
passengers in 2022.
• Number 1 - Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
• India – Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi at 9th rank
6. Global magazine Time Out has released the list of “Best Public Transport in the World
2023” in London.
• Top ranker – Berlin (1st), Prague (2nd), Tokyo (3rd), Copenhagen (4th), and Stockholm
• Mumbai is at the 19th rank.
• A total of 19 cities have been identified in this list.
Source: TimeOut’s website
7. State Energy Efficiency Index 2021-22 has been developed by the Bureau of Energy
Efficiency (BEE), a statutory body under the Ministry of Power, in association with Alliance
for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
• Objective – to assess the performance of states in Energy Efficiency implementation
• Total - 36 states and UTs
• Parameters - 50 indicators across seven (7) sectors: buildings, industry, municipal
services, transport, agriculture, electricity distribution companies (DISCOMs), and cross-
sector
• Period of Assessment - 2020-2021 and 2021-2022
• Categories – The states have been divided into four categories based on their
performance i.e., Front Runner, Achiever, Contender, and Aspirant.
• Top -
o Front Runner - Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan and Telangana (>60
points)
o Achiever - Assam, Haryana, Maharashtra, and Punjab (50-60 points)
o Contender - Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh,
Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh (30-49.5 points)
o Aspirant – remaining 19 states and UT (<30 points)
• Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Chandigarh are the top-performing states in their
respective state groups.
• Telangana and Andhra Pradesh showed the most improvement since the last index.
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• National Energy Conservation Awards 2022 – Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Assam
Source: State Energy Efficiency Index 2021-22 report
8. International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released the 'Stacking up the benefits Lessons
from India's Digital Journey'.
• India has developed a world-class digital public infrastructure (DPI) to support its
sustainable development goals.
• It consists of three different layers—unique identity (Aadhaar), complimentary payments
systems (Unified Payments Interface, Aadhaar Payments Bridge, Aadhaar Enabled
Payment Service), and data exchange (DigiLocker and Account Aggregator).
• The Government of India estimates that, up to March 2021, about 1.1% of GDP in
expenditure was saved due to the digital infrastructure and other governance reforms.
Source: IMF’s report
9. World of Statistics organization has released the ranking of the world's "most criminal
countries".
• Total - 135
• Top – Venezuela (1), followed by Papua New Guinea (2), Afghanistan (3), South Africa (4),
Honduras (5)
• India stood at 77th rank while the US (55th) and UK (65th) were ahead of India in the
criminal ranking country.
• Japan is at the 135th rank.
• Separately, the World Population Review (WPR) ranked Afghanistan in the fourth spot on
the list of countries with the highest crime rate in 2023. India was ranked at 71st.
Source: LiveMint
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10. Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released the Business Environment Rankings
(BER) 2023.
• Total - 82 countries
• Parameters – 91 indicators
• Top - Singapore, Canada, and Denmark
• Of the 17 economies in the Asian region, India is ranked 10th in the 2023- 27 forecast
period, up from 14th in 2018-22 period.
11. UNCTAD has released the “Trade and Development Report Update: Global Trends and
Prospects” report.
• The report projects India’s economic growth to decline to 6% in 2023 from 6.6% in 2022
because of the declining government expenditure.
• The global growth rate is projected to decline because of slowing global growth and the
financial fallout because of rising interest rates.
Source: Official report of UNCTAD
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12. Stanford University has released the “Artificial Intelligence Index Report 2023”.
• Total – 127 countries
• Total investments in AI startups in India stood at $3.24 billion in 2022, placing it ahead
of South Korea, Germany, Canada and Australia, among others.
• India has been ranked behind the US, China, the UK and Israel.
• AI startups in India received total funding of $7.73 billion during 2013-2022, making it the
sixth leading country with the most AI investments during the period. Nearly 40% of this
investment was made last year.
Source: Official report of Stanford University’s index and LiveMint
13. UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization has released “The status of women in agrifood
systems” report.
• As per the report, closing the gender gap in farm productivity and the wage gap in agrifood
systems would increase global gross domestic product by 1% (or nearly USD 1 trillion).
• This would reduce global food insecurity by about 2 percentage points, reducing the
number of food-insecure people by 45 million.
Source: Official report of FAO
14. UN Population Fund (UNFPA) has released the “State of World Population 2023” report.
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• In November 2022, the United Nations announced that the human population had
surpassed 8 billion people, and two-thirds of people were living in places where fertility
rates had fallen below the so-called “replacement level” of 2.1 births per woman.
• India will become the world’s most populous country with a population of 142 crore by
the end of 2023, surpassing China.
Source: UNFPA’s official report
15. Henley and Partners has released the World’s Wealthiest Cities Report 2023.
• Total - 97 cities
• World’s Top 10 -
• Top 5 in Asia-Pacific -
Source: Henley and Partners’ Index

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16. UNICEF has released the “State of the World’s Children 2023” report.
• Between 2019 and 2021, UNICEF estimates that 67 million children missed out entirely or
partially on routine immunization; 48 million of them missed out entirely.
• Globally, 1 in 5 children are unvaccinated and under-vaccinated, leaving them vulnerable to
a range of vaccine-preventable diseases.
Source: UNICEF’s official report
17. World Bank has released the Logistics Performance Index 2023.
• Total - 139 countries
• Top – Singapore (score 4.3)
• India’s rank – 38th (score 3.4)
• Parameters – Customs, Infrastructure, International shipments, Logistics competence and
equality, Timeliness, and Tracking and tracing
• Scale of Score – 0 (lowest) to 5 (highest)
Source: World Bank’s official report
18. The OMI Foundation, a policy research and social innovation think tank, has released the
Ease of Moving Index-India Report 2022.
• The report was launched in Delhi by Kunal Kumar, joint secretary and mission director of
Smart Cities Mission, and Shombi Sharp, United Nations resident coordinator in India.
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• The report has categorised cities into promising cities, rising cities, booming cities and
mega cities.
• Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu was ranked the best and Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh the
worst.
• All cities were rated on nine parameters which included impetus for active and shared
mobility, seamless mobility, towards Vision Zero, mobility for all, affordable mobility, efficient
and reliable mobility, clean mobility, future mobility and investment in city.
• Gurugram ranked eighth on the index.
19. World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has released the “State of the World’s Climate
2022” report.
• Global mean temperature in 2022 was 1.15 [1.02 to 1.28] °C above the 1850-1900
average.
• The years 2015 to 2022 were the eight warmest in the instrumental record back to 1850.
2022 was the 5th or 6th warmest year.
• Melting of glaciers and sea level rise - which again reached record levels in 2022 - will
continue to up to thousands of years.
• Global mean sea level (GMSL) continued to rise in 2022. The rate of global mean sea level
rise has doubled between the first decade of the satellite record (1993-2002, 2.27 mm∙yr-)
and the last (2013-2022, 4.62 mm yr).
Source: WMO’s website
20. SIPRI has released the “Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2022” report.
• World military expenditure rose by 3.7% in real terms in 2022, to reach a record high of
$2,240 billion.
Source: SIPRI’s Official Report
21. Bain and Company released the “India Venture Capital Report 2023”.
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• Investments grew 1.4x over the first half of 2021–2022 but saw a 70% decline in the second
half of 2022 compared to the second half of 2021.
• Within Asia-Pacific, the share of India-focused VC investments reached 20% for the first
time, and India continued to account for ~5% of global VC funding in line with 2021.
Source: Bain and Company
22. International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) released the Global Food Policy
Report 2023.
• 205 million people across 45 countries experienced crisis-level acute food insecurity or
worse in 2022.
• The number of undernourished is likely to increase by 196 million people, raising the total to
768 million by 2021.
• An annual investment of $300-400 billion is required to make food systems more resilient
and sustainable.
• Three solutions suggested by the report to make food systems more reliable, which are
crisis prediction and preparation; building resilience before and during crises; and making
crisis response supportive and inclusive of vulnerable groups.
• Investing in early warning systems is essential to save lives, livelihoods, and money.
Source: IFPRI’s report
23. United Nations’ High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism launched a new
report titled “A Breakthrough for People and Planet: Effective and Inclusive Global
Governance for Today and the Future”.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism (HLAB) was established by
the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in September 2021.
• The Executive Office of the Secretary-General acts as the Secretariat for the High-
Level Advisory Board.
• Co-Chairs - Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Liberia) and Stefan Löfven (Sweden)
Source: UN News and HLAB’s website
24. World Bank has released the “World Development Report 2023: Migrants, Refugees, and
Societies” report.
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• About 184 million people (including 37 million refugees) — 2.3% of the world’s
population — are migrants. Almost half of them is in low- and middle-income countries.
• The report offers a framework based on a “match and motive” matrix that focuses on two
factors: how closely migrants’ skills and attributes match the needs of destination countries
and what motives underlie their movements.
o The framework aims to maximize the development impacts of cross-border
movements on both destination and origin countries and on migrants and refugees
themselves.
Source: World Bank
BANKING AND ECONOMY

1. Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has released the Foreign Trade Policy 2023
to guide the exports and imports of India.
• Objective - to boost the country's exports to $2 trillion by 2030 by shifting from incentives
to remission and entitlement-based regime.
• India's overall exports, including services and merchandise exports, has already crossed
US$ 750 Billion and is expected to cross US$ 760 Billion in FY24.
• 4 pillars of the policy -
i) Incentive to Remission
ii) Export promotion through collaboration - Exporters, States, Districts, Indian
Missions,
iii) Ease of doing business, reduction in transaction cost and e-initiatives and,
iv) Emerging Areas – E-Commerce Developing Districts as Export Hubs and
streamlining SCOMET policy.
• The FTP 2023 encourages recognition of new towns through “Towns of Export
Excellence Scheme” and exporters through “Status Holder Scheme”.
• Four new towns, namely Faridabad, Mirzapur, Moradabad, and Varanasi, have been
designated as Towns of Export Excellence (TEE) in addition to the existing 39 towns.
• India’s e-commerce has an export potential in the range of $200 to $300 billion by 2030.
E-Commerce exports through courier has been raised from ₹5Lakh to ₹10 Lakh in the
FTP 2023.
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• The FTP 2023 focuses on streamlining the SCOMET (Special Chemicals, Organisms,
Materials, Equipment and Technologies) policy, pertaining to their export and import.
2. Axis Bank and Shriram Housing Finance Limited (SHFL) have partnered for co-lending
through the Yubi Co.Lend platform (formerly known as CredAvenue).
• Through this partnership, both the lenders will offer secured MSME loans and home loans
to the middle and low-income segment borrowers based in rural and semi-urban regions.
3. Godrej Capital has signed an MOU with the State Bank of India (SBI) to deepen their
partnership, wherein the latter would provide various financial products and offerings.
4. AMNS Luxembourg Holding S.A., the parent company of ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India,
has entered a $5 billion loan deal with a consortium of Japanese lenders.
• ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India is a 60/40 joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Nippon
Steel Corp, owned by AMNS Luxembourg Holding S.A.
5. MSME-focused NBFC lender Ambit Finvest has partnered with Skaleup, the digital
technology services arm of Bajaj Finserv’s subsidiary, to develop a D2C (direct-to-customer)
mobile app for instant loans and a web-based digital lending platform.
• The platform would enable MSME business owners for loans through a completely
paperless and automated digital onboarding process.
6. Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co Ltd (ABHICL) has announced its bancassurance
partnership with UCO Bank for the distribution of health insurance products through the
bank’s branches across India.
7. BharatPe Group partnered with Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) to equip women
entrepreneurs with domain knowledge as well as the financial and technical know-how
needed to fulfil their business goals.
• Launched under ‘BharatPe Cares’, a corporate social responsibility initiative by BharatPe
Group, this partnership is in line with the Group’s brand purpose to empower lives through
inclusive, innovative and reliable fintech solutions.
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8. India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), in collaboration with Airtel, launched the WhatsApp
banking services to enable its customers across India to access banking services on their
mobile phones in just a few clicks.
• The Airtel–IPPB Whatsapp banking solution will build multi-language support for
enabling added convenience to customers, especially to those in the rural parts of the
country to access banking services in their preferred language.
9. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has granted a licence to
Acko to operate the life insurance business.
• The last company to have received a licence for life insurance was Edelweiss in 2011.
10. IRDAI also gave a nod to microfinance company Credit Access to commence a life
insurance business.
11. DBS Bank India has launched ‘digiportfolio’, an investment solution based on the risk
appetite of the investor.
• The platform will create a set of investment options that match the risk preferences of
investors. The platform is an easy, one-stop solution for users to invest money with ready-
made baskets of mutual funds.
• The ‘digiPortfolio’ provides instant access to investors with two plans starting at a minimum
investment of Rs 10,000 and going up to Rs 50,000.
12. IRDAI has recognized Life Insurance Corporation, General Insurance Corporation, and
New India Assurance Ltd as the Domestic-Systematically Important Insurers.
13. Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has entered into a record 95 Advance Pricing
Agreements (APAs) in FY 2022-23 with Indian taxpayers.
• Of these, 63 are unilateral and 32 are bilateral.
• It is the highest ever APA signings in any financial year since the launch of the APA
program.
• An advance pricing agreement (APA) is an ahead-of-time agreement between a taxpayer
and a tax authority on an appropriate transfer pricing methodology (TPM) for a set of
transactions at issue over a fixed period.
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14. PhonePe, Bengaluru-based startup, backed by retail giant Walmart, has launched a
hyperlocal commerce app, called Pincode, that is powered by the Open Network for Digital
Commerce (ONDC).
• Pincode will work with local shops and is going live initially in Bengaluru.
15. Ministry of Finance has revised the interest rates on the small saving schemes for the first
quarter of 2023-24.
Instrument Interest Rates Interest Rates Payment
(Q4 of FY 2022- (Q1 of FY 2023-
23) 24)
Savings Bank 4.0 4.0 Annual
Deposit (SB)
1 Year Time 6.6 6.8 Quarterly
Deposit (TD)
Deposit (TD)
Deposit (TD)
Deposit (TD)
5 Year Recurring 5.8 6.2 Quarterly
Deposit (RD)
5 Year Senior 8.0 8.2 Paid Quarterly
Citizens Savings
Scheme (SCSS)
5 year Monthly 7.1 7.4 Paid Monthly
Income Scheme
(MIS)
5 Year National 7.0 7.7 Annual
Savings Certificate
(NSC)
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Public Provident 7.1 7.1 Annual

Fund (PPF)
Scheme
Kisan Vikas Patra 7.2 (will mature in 7.5 (will mature in Annual
(KVP) 120 months) 115 months)
Sukanya 7.6 8.0 Annual
Samriddhi Account
Scheme (SSAS)
16. Life Insurance Corporation of India has increased its shareholding in Bata India from
4.472% to 5.008% for Rs 108 crores.
17. According to a recent report by NASSCOM, the revenue generated by small and medium
enterprises (SMEs) in the Indian tech industry is estimated to reach $40 billion by FY30.
• With over 10,000 SMEs in the sector, it is expected to contribute around $15 billion-$20
billion, accounting for 7%-9% of the overall FY23 tech industry revenue.
• This represents a significant increase from the pre-pandemic share of 4%-6%.
18. IDBI Bank has launched a new “Amrit Mahotsav FD” scheme of 444 Days offering higher
interest rates on these deposits for regular and senior citizens.
• Under the Amrit Mahotsav FD scheme of 444 Days, the bank offers interest rate of
7.15% to general, NRE and NRO. For senior citizens, the bank offers 7.65%.
• IDBI Bank announced the launch of e-Bank Guarantee (e-BG) facility, in partnership with
National e-Governance Services Ltd (NeSL), to replace paper-based BG issuance
process with e-stamping and e-signatures.
o e-BG can be processed with e-stamping and e-signatures and delivered instantly to
the beneficiary all in a matter of a few minutes.
19. Union Bank of India becomes the first bank in the country to open a Special Rupee Vostro
Account through its corresponding bank in Malaysia i.e., India International Bank of
Malaysia.
pg. 104
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20. Tata Consultancy Services has been selected by Bane NOR, the Norwegian government
agency responsible for maintaining, operating, and developing the Norwegian railway
networks.
• TCS will provide services spanning identity governance and administration (IGA), access
management, identity lifecycle management and application management operations in a
managed services model.
21. State Bank of India (SBI) has extended its "WECARE" Senior Citizens' Term Deposit
program, which was introduced in May 2020, for a period of up to June 30, 2023.
• The interest rate offered under the scheme is 7.5% for tenure ranging from 5 years to 10
years.
22. Karur Vysya Bank has signed a pact with SBI Life Insurance to offer their insurance
products to customers at its branches.
23. Axis Bank, in partnership with Visa, launched ‘Digital Dukaan’, a comprehensive digital
solution to empower merchants to accept payments through various digital modes and manage
their day-to-day business digitally.
• Digital Dukaan is an Android Smart POS application, specifically designed to address
business requirements such as accepting digital payments, inventory management, billing
and much more.
• Key features of the app -
o Inventory management – Hassle-free managing of stocks; receipt of alerts &
reminders on limited stocks along with pre-loaded catalogue
o Digital Billing – Quick billing, as it accepts multiple payment modes like Credit /
Debit Cards, UPI etc.
o Customized real-time business reporting- Getting customized reports to efficiently
manage the business
o Digital Khatabook - Easy to manage credits and payment collection from customers
o Customer management - Managing customer data at one place and offering loyalty
options
24. Canara Bank has introduced a premium payroll account designed to meet all banking
requirements of its salaried customers.
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• The product comes with multiple features, including free term life insurance, insta overdraft,
free personal air accident insurance cover.
25. Razorpay has partnered with UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) to process
payments for online Aadhaar services.
26. South Indian Bank Ltd. has tied up with Cholamandalam MS General Insurance to offer the
latter’s health and general insurance products to the bank’s customers.
27. Fairfax-backed non-banking financial company (NBFC), IIFL Finance (IIFL) has secured $100
million in long-term funding, jointly, from Export Development Canada (EDC) and Deutsche
Bank (German).
• It secured $50 million from EDC and $50 million from Deutsche Bank, respectively.
28. RBI has released its bi-monthly policy of April 2023.

• GDP forecast for 2023-24 - 6.4%
• RBI has also announced auction new 5-year government bonds, which are set to mature
in 2028, to raise approximately ₹8,000 crore in the first bond auction of the current financial
year, scheduled on April 06, 2023.
o The Union Government has expressed its intent to raise up to ₹33,000 crore by
auctioning three securities that will mature in 2028, 2033, and 2052.
Source: RBI’s website
29. RBI has released its Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies – April 2023.
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Important highlights -
A) Operation of Pre-Sanctioned Credit Lines at Banks through the UPI
• RBI has expanded the scope of UPI by enabling transfer to / from pre-sanctioned
credit lines at banks, in addition to deposit accounts.
• In other words, the consumers will be able to use UPI to make payments, which are
financed by the credit given by banks.
B) Grievance Redress Mechanism for delay in updation of information by Credit
Information Companies
• A compensation mechanism for delayed updation/rectification of credit information
has been put in place.
• There is a provision for SMS/ email alerts to customers when their credit information
is accessed from CICs;
• A timeframe for disclosure of data received by CICs from Credit Institutions for display
on the website of CICs has been put in place.
C) Development of Centralised Web portal for Public to Search Unclaimed Deposits
• At present, the deposits remaining unclaimed for 10 years in a bank are transferred to
the “Depositor Education and Awareness” (DEA) Fund maintained by the RBI.
• RBI has decided to develop a web portal on which banks have to disclose the
information of unclaimed deposits of users. This will help users to search their
unclaimed deposits across banks on one portal.
• The search results will be enhanced by use of certain AI tools.
D) Enhancing Efficiency of Regulatory Processes
• RBI will launch a secured web-based centralised portal named ‘PRAVAAH’ (Platform
for Regulatory Application, Validation and AutHorisation) to simplify and
streamline application processes.
• The portal will show time limits for deciding on the applications/approvals sought. This
measure will bring greater efficiencies into regulatory processes and facilitate ease of
doing business for the regulated entities of RBI.
Source: RBI’s Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies
Note: To understand the technicalities of these steps, you can watch this video of RBI 247.
30. According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, bank credit has increased by 15% year-on-
year (YoY) in 2022-23 (FY23), against 9.6% YoY in 2021-22 (FY22).
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• Bank deposits expanded 9.58% YoY in FY23, against 8.9% YoY growth seen in the
previous financial year (FY22).
31. TVS Supply Chain Solutions, an integrated supply chain solutions provider, has won a UK
government contract for providing spares and accessories for the Land Rover Wolf, a
military vehicle.
32. State-owned non-banking finance firm REC Ltd has raised USD 750 million (about Rs 6,138
crore) through issuance of green bonds.
• The green bond has tenure of 5 years with a maturity date of April 11, 2028.
33. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman visited the USA for attending the annual spring
meetings of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF),
along with G20 meetings.
• These meetings are scheduled to take place from April 10 to April 16, 2023, in the WBG
and IMF Headquarters in Washington DC.
• During the official visit, a meeting of the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable will be co-
chaired by India, IMF, and the World Bank on April 12 to discuss the current global debt
landscape and ways to address existing challenges in debt restructuring.
• She will host the Second G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG)
meeting under India’s G20 Presidency, along with RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das as the
co-chair on April 12-13, 2023.
34. SEBI has approved a Rs 33,000-crore backstop emergency fund for debt mutual funds
(MFs), also known as the Corporate Debt Market Development Fund (CDMDF).
• The initial corpus of fund will be Rs 3,000 crore, which will come from Mutual Funds
schemes and Asset Management Companies of mutual funds.
• SBICAP will be the largest contributor in this fund.
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35. NSE Indices Ltd, a subsidiary of National Stock Exchange (NSE), has launched India’s first
ever Real Estate Investment Trusts (Reits) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs)
Index.
• The new index— Nifty Reits and InvITs index—aims to track the performance of Reits and
InvITs that are publicly listed and traded on the NSE.
• The Nifty Reits & InvITs Index has a base date of 1 July 2019 and a base value of 1,000.
The index will be reviewed and rebalanced on a quarterly basis.
• The top constituents of Nifty Reits & InvITs index include Embassy Office Parks Reit
(32.9% weight), Powergrid Infrastructure Investment (20.2%), Mindspace Business
Parks Reit (15.3%), India Grid Trust (15.3%).
Source: LiveMint
36. According to the National Securities Depository’s (NSDL) data, overseas flows into Indian
capital markets originating from tax-haven Mauritius witnessed the sharpest decline, while
Norway and Singapore gained favour in 2022-23 (FY23).
• Now, Singapore is the second biggest jurisdiction for foreign portfolio investor (FPI) flows
after the US. Meanwhile, Mauritius’ ranking has dropped to 4 (from 2) at the end of 2021-
22.
37. Ministry of Finance has notified the change in the interest rate on General Provident Fund
(GPF) at 7.1% for the April to June 2023 quarter.
• The GPF rate is also applicable for other similar provident funds such as the State Railway
PF, Armed Forces Personnel PF, Defence Services Officers’ PF and Indian Ordnance
Factories Workmen’s PF.
• General Provident Fund is a type of provident fund that is available only for government
employees in India. All government employees are allowed to contribute a certain
percentage of their salary to the General Provident Fund.
38. RBI has released the “Master Direction on Outsourcing of Information Technology
Services”.
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• The guidelines provide detailed norms for outsourcing of IT services by banks, NBFCs
and regulated financial sector entities to ensure that outsourcing of IT services do not
undermine the quality of these services to customers.
• The norms will come into effect from October 1, 2023.
Source: LiveMint
39. Japanese lender JICA has partnered with Citibank to provide $125 million funding line to
Indusind Bank for on-lending to the agriculture sector.
• The funding includes a JPY 13 billion (approx. $97.45 million) loan from the Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and another $30 million from Citi to the IndusInd
Bank.
• JICA's has already given over ₹4,000 crore support to India to build the Mumbai Trans
Harbour Link.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• In the past, Citi Bank has committed USD 1 trillion to sustainable finance by 2030, as
well as expanding access to basic services for 15 million underserved and low-income
households, including 10 million women.
Source: LiveMint
40. Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) has entered into an agreement with the
Asian Development Bank (ADB) to boost Delhi's power distribution network.
• As part of the agreement, ADB will subscribe to non-convertible debentures worth ₹1.5
billion, which is equivalent to $18.2 million.
• The funds will be utilized for grid enhancements.
• Additionally, TPDDL will receive a $2 million grant from ADB to partially finance the
purchase and integration of a pilot Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).
Source: LiveMint
41. Kotak Mahindra General Insurance has partnered with actyv.ai (AI-powered platform) to
offer bite-sized insurance products to new-age micro, small and medium enterprises.
• Purpose - to provide insurance solutions to support the business sustainability of small
businesses
pg. 110
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42. RBI has issued detailed guidelines for acceptance of ‘green deposits’ by banks and NBFCs
wherein the funds could be used for financing activities like renewable energy, green transport
and green buildings.
• The framework will come into effect from June 1, 2023.
• Regulated entities would be required to allocate the proceeds raised through green
deposits towards a specified list of green activities/projects.
43. RBI has released a draft circular on “Fair lending practice, penal charges on loan
accounts”.
• Purpose – to regulate banks for overcharging borrowers in the guise of penal interest rates
and has come up with proposals to protect borrowers from unjustified rates
• Penalty should be levied as a charge and not as a compounding interest rate.
• It has also stipulated that penalty will not be applied as ‘penal interest’ that is added to the
rate of interest charged on the advances.
44. Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has achieved the best-ever annual production
during the financial year 2022-23.
• The company recorded over 19.4 million tonnes of hot metal and around 18.3 million tonnes
crude steel production.
Source: News on Air
45. Central Government has notified amnesty scheme for small businesses, non-filers of final
returns, and taxpayers whose Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration has been
cancelled.
• In February, the GST recommended that for GST taxpayers whose registration has been
cancelled for non-filing of returns be given amnesty by allowing them to file applications for
revocation within a specified date.
• Separately, the CBIC has also rationalised late fee for delayed filing of annual return in
(Form GSTR-9) for 2022-23 onwards, for small businesses with turnover up to Rs 20
crore.
• Those with an aggregate turnover of up to Rs 5 crore in FY23, would be charged late fee of
Rs 50 per day, subject to a maximum of an amount calculated at 0.04% of his turnover.
pg. 111
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46. GST collection crossed Rs 18 trillion in FY23 – a record since the inception of GST on 1st
July 2017.
• This was also a significant year in terms of the average monthly collections that crossed Rs
1.51 trillion for the fourth time in March.
47. According to NASSCOM’s ‘India’s Tech SMEs: Rising in the Global Digital Arena’ report,
revenue for the Indian tech small and medium enterprises (SME) sector is expected to grow
by double digits to $40 billion by FY30.
• The sector is expected to contribute 7–9% to the overall FY23 tech industry revenue at $15
billion - $20 billion, higher than the pre-pandemic share of the tech industry at 4-6%.
48. According to the data given by the Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, India's merchandise
imports increased by 16.5% to $714 billion as against $613 billion in FY22 in FY23.
• Merchandise exports from India - $447 billion (6% rise from $442 billion in FY22)
• Services exports during 2022-23 - $323 billion (increased by 27.16% as compared to
USD 254 billion in 2021-22)
• Services’ imports during 2022-23 - $177.94 billion in 2022-23
pg. 112
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• Overall Exports during 2022-23 - USD 770 billion (increased by 14% as against $676
billion in 2021-22)
• Overall imports during 2022-23 - $892.18 billion
• Trade Deficit in 2022-23 - (-) USD 122.00 Billion
Source: PIB
49. The City Union Bank Ltd., (CUB) in association with Kaizen Secure Voiz Pvt. Ltd., has
launched India’s first voice biometric authentication service for logging into its mobile
banking application named “CUB All in One”.
Source: The Hindu
pg. 113
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50. Canara Bank and NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd (NBBL) have launched the cross-border inward
bill payment services for Indians based in Oman.
• NRIs can now leverage the robust platform offered by the Bharat Bill Payment System
(BBPS) to make bill payments on behalf of their families through the Musandam
Exchange.
• Indians living in Oman will now be able to make quick, simple and secure payments of bills
for services back home.
• Now, Canara Bank has become the first public sector bank in India to offer inbound
cross-border bill payments through BBPS.
• Musandam Exchange, managed by Canara Bank, is also the first exchange house in
Oman to go live on cross-border inbound bill payments.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• The cross-border bill payment service is already live in Kuwait, facilitating inbound
remittances across utilities like electricity, water, mobile phone, gas, credit card bills, and
more.
51. HDFC Bank has signed a "Master Inter Bank Credit Agreement" with Export Import Bank
of Korea for a USD 300 million line of credit.
• This line of credit would be utilised by HDFC Bank towards funding requirements of
companies, having Korean equity holders as well as companies having business
relationship with Korean companies.
52. HDFC Mutual has launched its three new mutual fund schemes, which are HDFC S&P BSE
500 Index Fund, HDFC NIFTY Midcap 150 Index Fund and HDFC NIFTY Small-cap 250 Index
Fund.
• The three investment schemes allow investors to diversify their portfolio to large, mid and
small-cap segments.
Source: LiveMint
53. Chennai-based drone start-up Garuda Aerospace has become the first drone company to
receive Agri Drone Subsidy for their agricultural drones.
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• Garuda Kisan Drones were given to eight farmers under the Agri-drone subsidy at an event
held in Pune.
• This subsidy is part of the Indian government’s efforts to promote the use of agricultural
drones.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• In December 2022, Garuda Aerospace launched India’s first drone skilling and
training virtual e-learning platform at its manufacturing facility in Chennai.
• Garuda Aerospace had also announced ‘drone yatra’ and ‘Operation 777’ to educate
and demonstrate the efficacy of drones for different agricultural uses across 777 districts
in India.
• The company aims to manufacture at least 1 lakh kisan drones by 2024.
• The Indian drone market is expected to reach $5 billion in 2024.
• India will become a hub of drone technology and the country requires at least 1 lakh
drone pilots by 2023.
Drone Subsidies -
• Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM), being implemented by the
Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW), provides the subsidies to
farmers for purchasing and renting of drones.
54. Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) has been accorded the status of
Miniratna Category-I Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE).
• Incorporated in the year 2011, SECI is the primary implementing agency of the Ministry of
New and Renewable Energy.
Source: PIB
55. Indian Oil Corporation is planning to set up a joint venture with US-based clean energy
technology company LanzaJet Inc and multiple domestic airlines for production of
sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
• The proposed venture will set up a plant to make SAF with alcohol-to-jet technology at the
state-run company’s Panipat refinery in Haryana at a cost of Rs 3,000 crore.
• IOCL will hold 50% stake while LanzaJet Inc will hold 25%. The remaining 25% stake
would be offered to a bunch of airline companies.
pg. 115
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56. State Bank of India (SBI) has extended the validity of Amrit Kalash special fixed deposit
(FD) scheme.
• The bank previously introduced this retail term deposit programme, and it was valid from
February 15, 2023, through March 31, 2023. Now, it has been extended till 30th June
2023.
• The specific tenor scheme of “400 days" (Amrit Kalash) at Rate of Interest of 7.10 % w.e.f.
12- April- 2023. Senior Citizens are eligible for rate of interest of 7.60%.
Source: LiveMint
57. Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has launched 'Mission 50K-EV4ECO'
scheme on a pilot basis for strengthening the EV ecosystem.
• The pilot scheme, which is the precursor to EVOLVE scheme by SIDBI-World Bank, has
two components -- direct lending and indirect lending.
• Under direct lending, SIDBI will directly give loans to eligible MSMEs (including
aggregators, fleet operators, and EV leasing companies) for the purchase of electric
vehicles and develop charging infrastructure, including battery swapping.
• The indirect scheme is targeted at NBFCs.
• SIDBI aims at promoting EV as a priority in line with the national mission of EV30@30.
Centre is targeting to achieve at least 30% sales to be electric by 2030.
58. Paycraft, a homegrown payments company, has associated as Official Ticketing Service
Provider to Chennai Metro for the Singara Chennai Card.
• Paycraft will be managing the end-to-end NCMC (National Common Mobility Card (NCMC))
Card ticketing system for Chennai Metro.
• NCMC compliant card known as SINGARA Chennai Card issued on Paycraft’s Ticketing
and Payments Platform.
59. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has enabled FASTag-based payments at
forest entry points across Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR).
• Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL), a company incorporated by
NHAI, will carry out electronic tolling.
pg. 116
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• The tiger reserve is spread across both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
60. According to the provisional data released by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, more than
Rs 19.68 lakh crore gross direct tax was collected in 2022-23, which was Rs 7.21 lakh crore
in the financial year 2013-14.
• In these years, the gross tax collections have increased by 172.83%.
• The net direct tax collection has witnessed 160% growth since 2013-14. More than Rs
16.61 lakh crore were collected as Direct Tax in 2022-23, which was over Rs 6.38 lakh
crore in financial year 2013-14.
• According to CBDT’s data, the direct tax to Gross Domestic Product ratio has increased
from 5.62% in 2013-14 to 5.97% in 2021-22.
• The direct tax buoyancy at 2.52 in the financial year 2021-22 is the highest direct tax
buoyancy recorded over the last 15 years.
o A tax is said to be buoyant if the tax revenues increase more than proportionately in
response to a rise in national income or output.
• The net direct tax collections rose by 17.63% to Rs 16.61 lakh crore in 2022-23,
exceeding the Revised Estimates of Rs 16.5 lakh crore.
Source: PIB and PIB
61. According to provisional data of the commerce ministry, the US has emerged as India's
biggest trading partner in FY23, with USD 128.55 billion worth of bilateral trade in 2022-23.
• The bilateral trade was increased by 7.65% as against USD 119.5 billion in 2021-22.
• The bilateral trade between India and China has declined by about 1.5% to USD 113.83
billion during 2022-23 as against USD 115.42 billion in 2021-22.
62. Citi India has completed its first blockchain-enabled Letter of Credit (LC) transaction on
Contour for its client Cummins India Limited (Cummins), a diversified industrials
manufacturing company.
• The transaction took place on Contour, a global digital trade finance network, powered
by blockchain technology, that enables multiple parties – banks, corporates, and logistic
partners – to collaborate seamlessly and securely in real-time on a single platform.
• Citi is a founding member bank of Contour.
pg. 117
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63. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) notified a framework for the upfront
collection of funds from eligible issuers of debt securities.
• The set guideline is to build the Settlement Guarantee Fund of the Limited Purpose
Clearing Corporation (LPCC).
• The new framework allows the stock exchanges to collect an amount of 0.5 basis points
of the issuance value of debt securities per annum, based on its maturity value.
• This collected amount would be placed in an escrow account before the allotment of the
debt securities.
• Within one working day of the amount receipt, the amount will be transferred to the LPCC
bank account. Afterwards, LPCC will disclose the contribution of each issuer in the fund.
• The new framework will come into force from 1 May 2023.
Source: Business World
64. India's forex reserves increased by USD 6.306 billion to USD 584.755 billion for the week
ended April 7.
• In October 2021, India’s forex reserves reached an all-time high of USD 645 billion.
• RBI’s forex reserves comprise of gold, foreign currency, IMF’s Special Drawing Rights, and
IMF’s Reserve Tranche.
65. Karnataka Bank has launched “KBL CENTENARY MAHOTSAV”- a special campaign for the
Home loans.
• Under the KBL Centenary Mahotsav campaign, customers can avail Home Loan with
discount in upfront fee, attractive rate of interest starting from 8.75%, Nil processing
charges for Home Loan and other benefits.
• Karnataka Bank Limited was incorporated on February 18th 1924 at Mangaluru.
Source: Karnataka Bank’s website
66. AU Small Finance Bank (AU SFB) has integrated with the Bharat Bill Payment System
(BBPS) to launch bill payment services through video banking.
pg. 118
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67. HDFC Bank has launched Regalia Gold Credit Card —a super-premium credit card in its
Regalia range of credit cards.
Source: HDFC Bank’s website
68. Worldline, a global leader in payment services, has published the ‘India Digital Payments
Annual Report' for 2022.
• In 2022, payment modes like UPI, Debit and Credit cards, Prepaid Payment Instruments –
Mobile and Prepaid cards processed 87.92 billion transactions worth INR 149.5 trillion.
• UPI Person-to-Merchant (P2M) and Person-to-Person (P2P) are the most preferred
payment modes among consumers with a market share of 40% and 44% in terms of
transactions volume (UPI was 84% in total).
• In the year 2022, UPI clocked over 74.05 billion transactions in volume and INR 126 trillion
in terms of value.
• Top 10 cities with the highest number of transactions at physical touch points in 2022 for
Worldline India were Bengaluru, New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad,
Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, and Coimbatore.
• The top 10 states & UT with the highest transactions for at physical touch points in 2022
for Worldline India were Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh,
Delhi, Telangana, Gujarat, West Bengal, and Punjab.
Source: The Worldline
69. State Bank of India (SBI) has approved long-term fundraising of up to $2 billion in debt
during the financial year 2023-24.
pg. 119
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• Earlier in February, SBI had raised $1 billion in syndicated social loans, making it the
largest ESG loan raised by a commercial bank in the Asia Pacific market.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• A syndicated loan refers to financing offered by a group of lenders—referred to as a
syndicate—who work together to provide funds for a single borrower.
Source: Economic Times and Investopedia
70. South Indian Bank has launched flexible saving products for NRI customers dubbed as SIB
SEAFARER and SIB PULSE for mariners and healthcare professionals are just the instances
for the same.
Product Specifications
SIB SEAFARER • Flexibility to maintain a minimum
balance of Rs.10,000/- in linked
accounts (eligible for the latest 2 NR
Accounts opened)
• No minimum balance required for the
maintenance of the NRI Term Deposit of
Rs.2,00,000/- and above
SIB PULSE • Flexibility to maintain a minimum
balance of Rs.10,000/- in linked
accounts (eligible for the latest 2 NR
Accounts opened)
• NR Term Deposit above Rs.2 Lakh or •
RD with minimum monthly instalment
above Rs.20,000/-
71. Indian Banks' Association (IBA) has constituted a 4-member working group on asset
reconstruction companies (ARCs).
• Members -
o Hari Hara Mishra, CEO of Asset Reconstruction Companies Association,
o Purshotam Agarwal, chief investment officer of National Asset Reconstruction
Company (NARCL),
o Mythili Balasubramanian of Edelweiss, and
pg. 120
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o Tarun Kumar, director of Encore Asset Reconstruction Company

Knowledge Nuggets –
• Indian Banks' Association (IBA) was formed in 1946 with 22 members. Now, the number
of members has grown steadily.
• CEO of IBA - Shri Sunil Mehta
Source: Times of India and IBA’s website
72. RBL Bank has launched an innovative Digital Fixed Deposit (FD) scheme available to new-
to-bank customers.
• The digital FD offers investors an interest rate of up to 7.8% and a duration of 15 months
to 725 days.
• It will be accessible on the Bank’s MoBank App.
73. NTPC Ltd has signed an agreement with Chempolis India to explore the feasibility of setting
up a bamboo-based bio-refinery at Bongaigaon in Assam.
• The bio-refinery project shall utilize bamboo for production of 2G ethanol, bio-coal for
thermal power plants and other value-added products.
Source: The Print
74. Apple has launched its flagship retail stores in India.

• The first two stores have been opened in Mumbai and Delhi (Saket) respectively.
75. Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd, also known as Vizag Steel, is a central public sector
undertaking, under the complete ownership of Ministry of Steel, based in Visakhapatnam.
• RINL's Vizag steel plant is the country's first shore-based plant where the company
manufactures various special products.
• The company owns a plant, having an annual capacity of about 7 million tonnes (MT).
• In 2021, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its 'in-principle' approval
for 100% disinvestment of the government stake in RINL.
76. Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a loan of USD 230 million to Bangladesh to
help the rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in the north-eastern in May–June 2022.
pg. 121
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• The assistance under the Flood Reconstruction Emergency Assistance Project will help
in the reconstruction, improvement of resilience, and economic recovery of northeastern
districts Bangladesh.
Source: News on Air
77. Wholesale Price-based Inflation (WPI) for March 2023 declined to a 29-month low of 1.34%.
• Retail inflation, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), fell to a 15-month low of 5.66%
in March, due to ease in the food and fuel baskets.
Source: News on Air
78. Central Govt, in consultation with the RBI, has planned to borrow Rs 8.88 lakh crore
(57.55%) in the first half of 2023-24.
• Total borrowings planned for FY24 - Rs 15.43 lakh crore
• RBI has fixed the Ways and Mean Advances (WMA) limit for H1 of FY 2023-24 at Rs
1,50,000 crore.
• In the second half of FY24, the govt will issue the Sovereign Green Bonds.
Source: PIB
79. Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global has bought 1.73% stake in Bajaj Electricals;
increasing the total holding up to 3.03%.
80. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) accepted bids worth Rs 5,500 crore at an auction for conversion
and switching of five government of India (GoI) bonds against the notified amount of Rs 11,000
crore.
• As for floating rate bond (FRB) maturing in 2024, for conversion into paper to be
redeemed in 2032, it accepted Rs 2,000-crore bids, as against the notified amount of Rs
4,000 crore.
• The government aimed at switching bonds worth Rs 1 lakh crore in 2022-23.
Source: Business Standard and MoneyControl
81. Federal Bank has entered into a Banking Correspondent agreement with Chennai-based
KiVi, an agri-fintech start-up operated by Agrosperity Tech Solutions, to expand its agri-
lending operations in Tamil Nadu.
• Federal Bank launched its first of its kind instant KCC platform in September 2022.
pg. 122
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Source: Hindu Business Line
82. The Indian Banks’ Association has published the EASE Reforms Index for Q3 FY 2022-23.
• The performance of PSBs is measured on five themes under EASE 5.0,
• Union Bank of India has ranked at the top in this index.
• Union Bank of India has set the benchmark under the four themes i.e., “Digitally - enabled
customer offerings”, ‘Big data and analytics’, ‘Modern Technology Capabilities’ and
“Employee development and Governance” by securing 1st rank amongst PSBs.
Source: Indian Bank’s Association’s website
83. RBI has granted AU Small Finance Bank a licence to act as Authorized Dealer Category-I
(AD-I) under section 10 of Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 to deal in foreign
exchange.
• An ‘Authorised Dealer’, as per the FEMA Act, is an entity which has been authorised by
RBI to undertake the foreign exchange activities.
• Equitas Small Finance Bank has also received the Authorized Dealer Category-I (AD-I)
License from RBI.
Source: LiveMint
84. Agri-tech company Fasal has partnered with State Bank of India (SBI) to provide quick, easy,
and collateral-free loans to farmers at very competitive rates.
• These loans will be disbursed under the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme.
pg. 123
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• This facility will be initially available in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, and

Madhya Pradesh and later expand to other regions.
• In case, the farmer has already exhausted his/her KCC limit, SBI will provide the financing
through other Agri schemes.
• In the 2023 budget, the government announced to increase the agriculture credit target
by 11% to Rs 20 lakh crore for FY24.
• Founder of Fasal - Shailendra Tiwari
85. GIFT City’s branch of the IndusInd Bank has entered into a $100 million long-term loan
agreement with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).
• Purpose - to provide credit facilities to business partners of Japanese construction
equipment companies in India
• Under this initiative, IndusInd Bank will provide credit facilities to companies that comprise
the supply chain of the Japanese original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in India.
• Japan’s Mizuho Bank and Joyo Bank and Singapore’s Shizuoka Bank will also co-
finance this facility.
86. Emkay Global Financial Services has received an in-principle approval from SEBI to
launch its mutual fund business in India.
• As per the Sebi website, the in-principle approval is under consideration of four entities -
Unifi Capital, Alpha Alternatives, Abira Securities and Wizemarkets Analytics.
Source: Money Control
87. Blackstone-sponsored real estate investment trust, Nexus Select Trust has received approval
from the SEBI for its initial public offering of Real Estate Investment Trust.
• It will be the first-ever IPO of REIT in India.
88. Fintech major CRED has launched peer-to-peer UPI payments on its app to allow its users to
use UPI for making payment to non-CRED users by searching their contact list and adding
phone numbers, or UPI ids.
pg. 124
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89. CoRover, a Bengaluru-based startup, has collaborated with the Life Insurance Corporation
of India (LIC) to launch “LIC Mitra”, a conversational AI-powered chatbot.
• CoRover.ai has developed LIC Mitra, which is available on LIC’s website and mobile app.
• It is powered by technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML),
and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to understand and respond to users’ queries in
multiple languages.
Source: CNBC
90. Bangalore-based financial services start-up, InPrime Finserv (legal name – STK credit private
limited) has received the approval from RBI to operate as a Non-Banking Financial Company
(NBFC).
91. ICICI Bank has introduced the first-of-its-kind easy EMI facility for UPI payments made by
scanning QR code.
• Now, the bank’s customers can instantly buy products or services just by scanning the
required merchant QR code at a store and making payments in EMIs.
• Customers can pay transaction amount above ₹10,000 in easy instalments in three, six or
nine months.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• ICICI Bank was the first bank to introduce PayLater facility in 2018 to enable customers
to shop online, pay bills and pay to any merchant UPI ID at physical stores instantly.
Source: LiveMint
92. Mastercard has collaborated with M1xchange to offer a digital invoice discounting solution
to farmers, farmer producer organizations (FPOs), and agri-MSMEs through “Farm Pass”.
• Purpose – to connect farmers and FPOs to directly connect with buyers, negotiate the best
price for their produce, and get paid faster
• Farm Pass is part of Mastercard’s broader Community Pass platform. It connects farmers
directly with buyers, empowering them to negotiate the best price for their produce.
• All FPOs registered on Farm Pass will get instant access to a network of more than 55
banks and NBFCs via M1xchange.”
Source: Mastercard’s website
pg. 125
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93. RBI has approved the HDFC Bank to meet its Priority Sector Lending (PSL) targets within
the next three years; in the wake of its merger with HDFC Ltd.
94. Axis Bank and HDFC Bank would acquire up to a 9.94% stake in insurtech startup Go Digit
Life Insurance.
• Both banks will invest ₹69.90 crore each
Source: LiveMint
95. RBI has released the “Order Books, Inventories and Capacity Utilisation Survey on the
Manufacturing sector (OBICUS) for Q3:2022-23".
• The survey was conducted during Q4:2022-23 covering 762 manufacturing companies.
• The survey provides a snapshot of demand conditions in India’s manufacturing sector
during October-December 2022.
Source: RBI’s website
96. RBI injected Rs 1.1 trillion into the banking system for the largest liquidity infusion in a day
since April 24, 2019.
• This is the first time since April 24, 2019, that the RBI infused more than Rs 1 trillion into the
banking system.
97. Indian iron ore miner NMDC Ltd is exploring lithium reserves in Perth, Australia
• NMDC is the majority owner of a mine located in Mt Bevan in Australia.
pg. 126
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Knowledge Nuggets -
• National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), a Navratna Public Sector Enterprise
under the Ministry of Steel, Government of India is the single largest producer of iron ore
in India.
• NMDC is considered to be one of the low-cost producers of iron ore in the world.
• It also operates the only mechanized diamond mine in India at Panna, Madhya
Pradesh.
• NMDC has its own R&D Centre at Hyderabad which is recognized as a Centre of
Excellence by United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
• CMD of NMDC - Amitava Mukherjee
Source: Economic Times and NMDC’s website
98. ITC Ltd has defeated HDFC to become the seventh largest firm by m-cap (market
capitalisation) on Bombay Stock Exchange as on April 28, 2023.
• Reliance has the highest m-cap on BSE in India, followed by TCS.
• In the Banks-Private category, HDFC Bank has the highest m-cap, followed by ICICI
Bank, and Kotak Mahindra.
• In the Banks-Public category, SBI has the highest m-cap, followed by Bank of Baroda,
and Punjab National Bank.
Source: MoneyControl and LiveMint
GDP FORECASTS
1. World Bank has lowered India's FY24 economic growth forecast to 6.3% from its
December estimate of 6.6%.
• The update has been made in the India Development Update (IDU) report.
• According to the report, India's current account deficit is also likely to come down to
2.1% in 2023-24, as against 3% in 2022-23.
• Inflation in India will further be eased to 5.2% in the financial year 2023-24 against 6.6% in
the previous fiscal.
2. Asian Development Bank has released the “Asian Development Outlook- April 2023”.
pg. 127
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3. International Monetary Fund has released the World Economic Outlook-April 2023 report.
• IMF expects global inflation to slow to 7% this year, down from 8.7% last year. It is then
expected to fall to 4.9% in 2024.
Observations from the report -

• The report has downgraded the GDP forecast for the world and India from its previous
estimate.
• The report highlights concern over high inflation, rising geopolitical tensions, financial
stability, impact of war in Ukraine as the causes for lowering of GDP forecast.
• Close to 90% of advanced economies will experience slowing growth this year, while Asia's
emerging markets are expected to see a substantial rise in the economic output -- with
India and China predicted to account for half of all growth.
Source: IMF’s WEO report and LiveMint
4. Morgan Stanley has forecasted a 6.2% growth rate for India in FY24.
APPOINTMENTS
1. Rajib Kumar Mishra has been appointed as the CMD of PTC India.
2. Praveer Sinha has been re-appointed as the CEO and MD of Tata Power for a period of 4
years.
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3. The president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin
Zayed Al Nahyan, has named his eldest son Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al
Nahyan as the crown prince of Abu Dhabi.
4. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has appointed Neeraj Nigam as the new Executive Director
(ED) with effect from April 03, 2023.
5. Vice Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh has been appointed as the Vice-Chief of the Naval Staff.
• Chief of Naval Staff - Admiral R Hari Kumar
• Vice Admiral Suraj Berry took over as the new Chief of Personnel of the Indian Navy.
• Vice Admiral Atul Anand assumed charge as the Director General Naval Operations.
6. Sudha Shivakumar has been appointed as the 40th President of FICCI Ladies Organization
(FLOW).
7. Axis Securities has appointed Pranav Haridasan as its new Managing Director & CEO for a
tenure of 3 years.
• Pranav Haridasan will succeed the current MD & CEO, B Gopkumar, who is moving to
Axis Asset Management Company as MD & CEO.
8. India has been elected to the UN Statistical Commission by the UN Economic and Social
Council (ECOSOC) for a four-year term.
• South Korea was another country to win the other seat in the Asia Pacific States
category.
• India was also elected on two other important subsidiary bodies -- the Commission on
Narcotic Drugs and the Programme Coordinating Board of the Joint UN Programme
on HIV/AIDS.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of the six principal organs of
the UN System established by the UN Charter in 1945. It consists of 54 members of the
United Nations elected by the General Assembly.
pg. 129
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• The Statistical Commission is the highest body dealing with international statistical
activities and is responsible for standards setting in the field of statistics. India was a
member of the Statistical Commission last in 2004.
• The Commission on Narcotic Drugs supervises the application of international drug
control treaties, while the Programme Coordinating Board of UNAIDS supports and
provides strategic direction for an international response to HIV/AIDS.
9. Ministry of Corporate Affairs has nominated G Mahalingam and Deepak Mohanty with
effect from October 15, 2022, to the board of IL&FS Ltd.
• Non-executive chairman of IL&FS - CS Rajan
• Managing Director - Nand Kishore
10. RBI has approved the re-appointment of Sanjay Agarwal as Managing Director & CEO and
Uttam Tibrewal as Whole Time Director of AU Small Finance Bank (SFB).
Source: LiveMint
11. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has been re-elected for a second term.
• Cuba Capital – Havana; Currency - Cuban peso
Source: ANI
12. RBI has approved the appointment of Kaizad Bharucha as deputy MD and Bhavesh Zaveri
as executive director of HDFC Bank for a 3-year terms effective April 19, 2023.
• CEO of HDFC Bank - Sashidhar Jagdishan
13. JioCinema, owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Viacom18, has signed up Rohit Sharma as
its brand ambassador.
• Rohit Sharma is the captain of the men’s cricket India.
Source: LiveMint
14. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has announced bureaucratic reshuffle.
New Post Person
Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Anurag Jain
Highways
pg. 130
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DPIIT Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh

Secretary, Department of Social Justice and Saurabh Garg (earlier the CEO of UIDAI)
Empowerment.
Director-General of National Archives of India Arjun Singhal
Additional charge of Secretary, Department of Arun Baroka (Secretary, Department of
Fertilizers. Chemicals & Petro- Chemicals)
Secretary Department of Animal Husbandry Alka Upadhyaya
and Dairy.
Officer on Special Duty, Ministry of Tourism Vidyavanthi V
Additional secretary of department of Rakesh Ranjan
agriculture and farmers welfare
Source: CNBC
15. Walt Disney Company-owned Star Sports has signed cricketer Rishabh Pant as its latest
‘Believe Ambassador’.
• The company has other cricketers as its ‘Believe Ambassadors’ like Hardik Pandya,
Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer.
• The ‘Believe Ambassadors’ represent different parts of the country as well as different IPL
Teams.
16. Oliver Dowden has been appointed as the Deputy Prime Minister of United Kingdom.
Source: DNA India
17. Shreekant M Bhandiwad has been appointed as the chairman of Karnataka Vikas
Grameena Bank (KVGB).
18. Shahabuddin Chuppu sworn in as Bangladesh’s 22nd president.

Source: Al Jazeera
19. Eric Garcetti, former Los Angeles Mayor, was appointed as the new US ambassador to
India.
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IMPORTANT DAYS
1. March 16 - National Vaccination Day/Immunization Day/Polio Ravivar
Source: WHO
2. March 28 - Universal Acceptance Day

• National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI), a non-for-profit company, under the aegis of
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), organized a two-day event on
this day.
Source: PIB
3. In 2024, the Earth Hour will be observed on March 30.

• Renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik, celebrity chef Ranveer Brar and musician
Nakash Aziz has become the Goodwill Ambassadors for Earth Hour India 2023.
4. March 31 - International Transgender Day of Visibility
5. April 1-7 – Prevention of Blindness Week
6. April 1 - Utkal Divas or Odisha Day (separation of the Odisha from the Bihar on 1 April 1936)
Source: The Quint
7. April 2 – International Children’s Book Day; Theme - “I am a book, read me”

• The poster for this day has been designed between author Vagelis Iliopoulos and illustrator
Photini Stephanidi.
Note: According to some websites, “Celebrating Creativity – The Power of imaginations” is the theme of this
day.
8. April 2 – World Autism Awareness Day; Theme - Transformation: Toward a Neuro-Inclusive

World for All
9. April 3 – Army Medical Corps Raising Day (259th edition)
10. April 4 - International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action
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• The campaign to celebrate this day is “Mine Action Cannot Wait”.
11. April 5 –
• International Day of Conscience
• National Maritime Day / Merchant Navy Flag Day; Theme - “Amrit Kaal in Shipping”
12. April 5 – First Merchant Navy Flag

• To mark the importance of the day government is celebrating by organising the National
Maritime Week from 30.03.2023 to 05.04.2023.
• Maritime Excellence Awards 2023 given by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways-
Category Purpose Winner
Sagar Samman Varuna Award Highest maritime honour Captain Thanuvelil Koshy
Joseph
Sagar Samman Award for Lifetime exceptional and Indra Nath Bose (a marine
Excellence distinguished achievements engineer)
Sagar Samman Award for Gallantry at Sea award to Captain Anil Choudhary
Gallantry Indian Seafarers (including
officers) of Merchant Navy
Source: PIB and Economic Times
13. April 6 - International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (10th edition); Theme -
“Scoring for People and the Planet”
14. April 7 -
• International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Rwandan Genocide
• World Health Day (75th edition); Theme – Health for All
15. April 8 - International Romani Day

Source: EU’s website
16. April 9 – CRPF Valour Day (58th edition); to commemorate the CRPF personnel who died
during the 1965 Indo-Pak war
Source: Daily Pioneer
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17. April 10 – World Homeopathy Day (birth anniversary of the founder of Homoeopathy, Dr
Christian Fredrich Samuel Hahnemann)
• The Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH) under the Ministry of
AYUSH, has organised a scientific convention in New Delhi on the theme of
‘Homoeoparivar- Sarvajan Swasthya, One Health, One Family’.
• An MOU was signed between CCRH and the Department of Homoeopathy, Government
of Kerala for conducting clinical trial on immunological responses of Arsenicum album (a
homeopathic medicine) in COVID-19.
• CCRH signed MoU with 70 State/National Homoeopathic Medical Colleges.
Source: PIB
18. April 11 – National Safe Motherhood Day

• The White Ribbon Alliance India (WRAI) initiated this day to highlight the importance of
maternal health and reduce maternal mortality rates in the country.
19. April 11 - Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jayanti

• Mahatma Jyotirao Govindrao Phule was born on April 11, 1827. He was a social activist,
thinker, writer and anti-caste social reformer in Maharashtra.
Source: India Today
20. April 12 –
• International Day for Street Children
• International Day of Human Space Flight
• 35th Foundation Day of SEBI (Estb. April 12, 1988)
o On this day, SEBI released its new logo.
Source: UN and ANI
21. April 13 – Siachen Day (39th edition)
pg. 134
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• Operation Meghdoot was the codename for the Indian Armed Forces' operation to seize
control of the Siachen Glacier in the then state of Jammu and Kashmir, precipitating the
Siachen conflict.
Source: Republic World
22. April 14 – National Fire Services Day; Theme - Learn Fire Safety, Increase Productivity
• According to some websites, “Awareness in Fire Safety for Growth of National
Infrastructure (AGNI)” is the theme of National Fire Services Day/Week 2023.
Source: News18
23. April 14 - World Chagas Disease Day; Theme - Time to integrate Chagas disease into primary
health care
Source: WHO’s website
24. April 15 – World Art Day

Source: UNESCO
25. April 15 – Himachal Pradesh Statehood Day (75th edition; created in 1948)
Source: News on Air
26. April 16 – World Voice Day; Theme – Your Voice Matters

Source: Dysphonia International
27. April 17 – World Hemophilia Day; Theme - Access for All: Prevention of bleeds as the global
standard of care”
Source: World Foundation for Hemophilia’s website
28. April 18 – International Day of Monuments and Sites / World Heritage Day; Theme - Heritage
Changes
• UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites lists consists of 40 heritage sites from India. Out of
these, 32 are cultural, 7 are natural, and one, the Khangchendzonga National Park, is of
mixed type. India has the sixth-largest number of sites in the world.
Source: Business Standard, Indian Express, and UNESCO World Heritage Sites’ List
pg. 135
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29. April 19 - World Liver Day; Theme - ‘Be Vigilant, Do Regular Liver Check-Up, Fatty Liver Can
Affect Anyone.’
30. April 20 – UN Chinese Language Day; Theme - Chinese Wisdom for a Green World
31. April 21 – Civil Services Day (16th edition); Theme - "Viksit Bharat: Empowering Citizens and
Reaching the Last Mile"
• The Vice-President of India, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar unveiled an e-book on ‘National Good
Governance Webinar Series’ during the event.
• 15 awardees were conferred the PM’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration
2022.
Category Winners
“Innovation (Centre) category” National Covid-19 Vaccination Program
of Health Ministry
PM Gati Shakti Master Plan of DPIIT
“Innovation (State) category” Mission Youth of Jammu and Kashmir
State Organ and Tissue Transplant
Organisation (SOTTO), Gujarat
“Innovation (District) category” “Operation Parivartan” of Maharashtra’s
Solapur district
“Operation Sanvardhan” of Uttar
Pradesh’s Rampur district
“Swachh Jal through Har Ghar Jal Madhya Pradesh’s Burhanpur district
Yojana” Tamil Nadu’s Kancheepuram district
“Swasth Bharat through Health and Maharashtra’s Latur district
Wellness Centres” Andhra Pradesh’s Anakapalli district
“Samagra Shiksha” Uttar Pradesh’s Chitrakoot district
Gujarat’s Mahesana district
“Aspirational District Programme” Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla district
Jharkhand’s Gumla district
Source: PIB and The Print

pg. 136
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32. April 21 – World Creativity and Innovation Day

• World Creativity and Innovation Week is observed from April 15-21.
33. April 22 - International Mother Earth Day / Earth Day; Theme - Invest in Our Planet
34. April 23 – World Book and Copyright Day; Theme - Indigenous Languages
35. April 23 – UN English Language Day

Source: list of UN languages’day
36. April 24 – International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace

37. April 26 - World Intellectual Property Day; Theme - Women and IP: Accelerating innovation
and creativity
Source: WIPO’s website
AWARDS
1. Alia Mir, a woman from Jammu and Kashmir, has been honoured with the Wildlife
Conservation Award by the J&K administration for her conservation efforts in the region.
• Alia is the first woman from Kashmir who works for the charity Wildlife SOS organisation
which is part of the Wildlife Rescue Team.
2. Tapoban (an Assam-based NGO that cares for special and autistic children) has won the
Children’s Champion Award 2023 in the health and nutrition category.
• The award, instituted by the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights in 2022,
recognises individuals and institutions championing the cause of children in education,
justice, health, nutrition, sports, and artistic expression.
pg. 137
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3. Two CBI officers posted in Chandigarh were given President’s Police Medals for
Distinguished Service during the Diamond Jubilee Celebration function.
• The two officers were Joint Director, Vineet Vinayak, Chandigarh Zone, CBI, and
Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Seema Pahuja, CBI, Chandigarh.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi conferred the medals on the two CBI officers.
4. Philanthropist and art collector Kiran Nadar conferred "Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur"
(Knight of the Legion of Honour) by French Ambassador to India Emmanuel Lenain.
• Reason – her outstanding contribution in the field of art
• In 2022, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) joined hands with Alkazi Foundation, and
the French Institute in India to create "Converges", the largest exhibition of original
pictures from French photographers ever shown in India.
• This exhibition was brought to India as part of "Bonjour India 2022", a six-month cultural
festival organised by France across India as a present for India's 75th Independence
anniversary.
• It is the highest French civilian award, established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte.
5. Olivier Awards 2023 (47th edition) have been announced.

• The Olivier Awards are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise
excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital.
• Chennai-born Singaporean Actress Anjana Vasan has won the “Best Actress in a
Supporting Role” award.
6. Forbes World’s Billionaires List 2023 has been released.

• Top - Bernard Arnault (CEO of LVMH)
• India - Mukesh Ambani (9th rank)
7. Tripura has been awarded as the best performing state among north-eastern states in the
implementation of e-procurement.
• In this context, Tripura has been rewarded for completing the work within a specified time
under the power department's Saubhagya Yojana.
8. Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has given 'Life Membership' to World Cup winning captain
Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
pg. 138
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• The club has also honoured Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, former women's national captain
Mithali Raj and the legendary Jhulan Goswami.
• A total of 19 new honorary life members who represented eight Test-playing countries were
honoured.
9. Bharat Biotech has won the `Best Production /Process Development’ award as part of the
Vaccine Industry Excellence (ViE) awards at the World Vaccine Congress 2023 held in
Washington, USA during April 3-6.
• Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech was the only Indian company in the list of VIE awards
in various categories, including best clinical trial company, best clinical trial network, best
central/specialty laboratory award, best contract research organisation, best
production/process development award, among others.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• Bharat Biotech is the world’s first producer of intranasal Covid-19 vaccine,
iNcovacc.
• Its intramuscular vaccine, Covaxin, is part of India’s public vaccination programme and
was also exported.
• The World Vaccine Congress is the largest global meeting for the stakeholders in the
vaccine value chain.
10. Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has secured the top position in Time Magazine's annual
TIME100 list.
Source: Time Magazine
11. Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao, a prominent Indian American mathematician and statistician,
has been chosen for the 2023 International Prize in Statistics for his monumental work 75
years ago that revolutionised statistical thinking.
• The award will be presented to Rao at the biennial International Statistical Institute
World Statistics Congress in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
• He was also awarded the title of Padma Bhushan by the Indian Government (1968) and
Padma Vibhushan in 2001.
Knowledge Nuggets -
pg. 139
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• The prize, given by the International Prize in Statistics Foundation, carries an award of
USD 80,000.
• The International Prize in Statistics is awarded every two years by a collaboration
among five leading international statistics organisations.
• The award is equivalent to the Nobel Prize in this field. The International Prize in
Statistics, along with the COPSS Presidents' Award, are the two highest honours in the
field of Statistics.
Source: LiveMint
12. The highest honour of Poland, the Order of the White Eagle, was presented to Ukraine’s
President Volodymyr Zelensky by the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda.
Source: Wion
13. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of Aditya Birla Group, received the ‘Business Leader of
the Decade Award’ at All India Management Association's (AIMA) 13th Managing India
Awards.
• Tata Steel Chairman T V Narendran was facilitated with 'AIMA-JRD Tata Corporate
Leadership' award.
• Leading engineering services company ABB India bagged the 'MNC in India of the Year'
award.
14. Rajasthan's Nandini Gupta has been crowned Femina Miss India World 2023.
15. Union Home Minister Amit Shah conferred the 'Maharashtra Bhushan-2022' Award on
social reformer Appasaheb Dharmadhikari.
• The award carries a prize money of Rs 25 lakhs.
16. Utsa Patnaik, a renowned economist, has been selected for the Malcolm Adiseshiah Award
2023.
Knowledge Nuggets -
pg. 140
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• The award is given every year by the Chennai-based Malcolm & Elizabeth Adiseshiah
Trust.
• The award will be given with a citation and a prize money of ₹2 lakh at a function to be
held in Chennai.
Source: The Hindu
17. Tata Steel has been recognised as 2023 Steel Sustainability Champion by the World Steel
Association for the 6th consecutive year.
• The Sustainability Champions were announced at the World Steel Special General
Meeting of the Board of Members held in Vienna, Austria.
• CEO & Managing Director, Tata Steel - T.V. Narendran
Knowledge Nuggets -
• The World Steel Association (worldsteel) is a non-profit organisation with headquarters
in Brussels, Belgium.
Source: Tata Steel’s website
18. Hurun Research Report has published the Global Unicorn Index 2023.
• India retains 3rd place with 68 unicorns.
• USA is at 1st position with 666 unicorns, China is at second with 316, and UK is at 4th with
49 unicorns, followed by Germany and Israel at 5th and 6th place.
pg. 141
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Source: Hurun’s website
19. For the first time, Karnataka has won the national award for the best implementation of
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
• The state recorded a 47.74% increase in the enrolment of farmers under the scheme
between the kharif season 2021 and 2022.
• The area covered under the scheme increased by 41.80% in the state.
20. Wing Commander Deepika Misra became the first woman officer in the Indian Air Force to
be presented a gallantry award i.e., Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry) at an Investiture
Ceremony held at the Air Force Auditorium in Subroto Park, New Delhi.
• Purpose - for "exceptional courage" displayed during a flood relief operation in Madhya
Pradesh
• Other awardees – 2 IAF officers were awarded Yudh Seva Medal, 13 officers and air
warriors received Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry), 13 officers Vayu Sena Medal and 30 got
Vishisht Seva Medal
• A total of 58 people -- 57 from the IAF and one from the Army -- received the awards.
Source: CNBC
21. Indian Navy has instituted two awards in memory of India's first Chief of Defence Staff Gen.
Bipin Rawat.
• First award - General Bipin Rawat rolling trophy for women officer
pg. 142
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o It will be awarded to the ‘Women Agniveer Trainee standing First in Overall Order of
Merit.’
• Second award - Gen. Bipin Rawat’s rolling trophy for the ‘Most Spirited Officer’
o This award recognizes and celebrates the spirit of General Rawat and encourages
officers to imbibe his qualities of conviction and decisiveness.
Source: News on Air
22. Ratan Tata, the Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, was conferred with Australia's highest
civilian honour, the Order of Australia, for his efforts in strengthening the India-Australia
bilateral relations.
Source: India Today
23. Midfielder Hardik Singh and goalkeeper Savita Punia conferred with the men’s and women’s
Indian ‘Balbir Singh’s Hockey Player of the Year’ awards.
• This was the fifth edition of Hockey India Annual Awards.
• Hockey India Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award for 2022 - Gurbux
Singh (Rs 30 lakh and a trophy)
• Best defender – Harmanpreet (men’s hockey team captain)
• Hockey India Dhanraj Pillay Award for Forward of the Year 2022 - Vandana Katariya
• Best Goalkeeper for 2022 - Krishan B Pathak was named the
• Best midfielder award - Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam
• Asunta Lakra Award for upcoming women’s player of the year for 2022 - Mumtaz Khan
• Indian junior men’s team that won gold at the Sultan of Johor Cup 2022 was also
felicitated with each player earning Rs 2 lakh each and the coaching staff receiving Rs 1
lakh each.
SPORTS
1. 2023 Madrid Spain Masters (Badminton) - Men’s singles: Kenta Nishimoto (Japan);
Women’s Singles: Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (Indonesia)
pg. 143
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2. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (Belgian-Dutch motosport racer) has won the Formula 1
Australian Grand Prix.
3. For the first time ever, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) has integrated Khelo India
Games Certificates with DigiLocker, to allow athletes, support staff, technical officers, Chef
de Missions, competition manager etc. to access their Khelo India certificates through the
digital platform.
Knowledge Nuggets -
• DigiLocker is a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) under Digital
India programme.
• It was launched in 2015.
Source: Financial Express and The Print
4. Indian shuttler Priyanshu Rajawat has won his first BWF World Tour Super 300 title by
defeating Denmark's Magnus Johannesen in the Orleans Masters’ Badminton Tournament
2023 in Paris.
• Women's singles - Carolina Marín (Spain)
5. Chennai will host the 2nd edition of the Street Child Cricket World Cup 2023 in September,
in partnership with Save the Children India, and Street Child United (organizer of the world
cup).
Source: Street Child United’s website
6. World Chess Armageddon Championship Series 2023 will take place from March 5-
September 20, 2023, in many different regions across the world.
• Teenaged Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh has won the World Chess Armageddon Asia &
Oceania event held in Berlin, Germany.
Source: Chess.com and News18
7. Novak Djokovic (Serbia) remained on No. 1 in ATP rankings for a record 380th week.
• 2nd rank - Carlos Alcaraz (Spain)
Source: The Hindu
8. Daniil Medvedev won the Miami Open for his fourth title of the year and 19th overall.
pg. 144
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• He beats Italy’s Jannik Sinner.

• Women’s singles – Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic), her first tournament
Source: Sportstar
9. At the 36th edition of Asian wrestling championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, India has won
a total of 14 medals (1 gold, 3 silver, and 10 bronze).
• Gold winner – Aman Sherawat (57 kg)
• Silver winner - Nisha Dahiya (68 kg), Antim Pangal (53 kg), Rupin (55kg)
• Bronze winner – total 10
• Indian Women wrestlers bag seven medals (two silver and five bronze) to finish third at
Asian Wrestling Championship.
Source: Olympics.com
10. Chennai will host the Asian Hockey Men’s Championship after 15 years.
11. Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur launched a mobile app -- Know Your Medicine – to
increase awareness about risks associated with use of nutritional supplements.
• The application has been developed by the National Anti-Doping Agency.
12. Madrid Spain Masters Super 300 badminton tournament 2023 – Men's singles: Kenta
Nishimoto (Japan); Women’s Singles: Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (Indonesia)
Source: BWF website
13. Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports and Information & Broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur
has announced to spend Rs 3,200 crores under the Khelo India campaign in the next 5
years.
• With this, the best facilities will now be available to the players across the country.
Source: News on Air
14. Andrey Rublev (Russian professional tennis player) has won his first Masters’ title at the
Monte Carlo Masters’ Tournament held at Monte Carlo in Monaco.
• He defeated Denmark’s Holger Rune.
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Source: Outlook India
15. Indian duo of Suryakumar Yadav (cricketer) and Harmanpreet Kaur (cricketer) have won the
Wisden Almanack's leading T20I cricketer and Cricketer of the Year award (1st woman to
get this) respectively.
• Harmanpreet is one of the five Cricketers of the Year announced in the 2023 Wisden
Cricketers' Almanack.
• Tom Blundell, Ben Foakes, Daryl Mitchell and Matthew Potts are the other Cricketers of the
Year 2023.
Source: ANI and Wisden’s website
16. India won the Tri-nation International Football competition by defeating Kyrgyzstan at the
Khuman Lampak Stadium in Imphal, Manipur.
• The competition took place among India, Kyrgyzstan, and Myanmar.
Source: The Hindu Sportstar
17. Lionel Messi (Argentinian player) scored his 100 international goals in Santiago del Estero,
city in Argentine.
• He achieved this feat in a match against Curaçao (an Island country and a Constituent
country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands).
• Curaçao Capital – Willemstad and Currency - Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG)
Source: CNN and Wikipedia
18. Nitu Ghanghas won Gold in 48 kg category at the IBA Womens World Boxing
Championship held at the K.D. Jadhav Hall, IG Stadium, New Delhi.
• Nitu defeated Mongolia’s Altantsetseg Lutsaikhan.
• She became the only sixth Indian boxer, male or female, to win a World championship.
Source: News on Air
19. Indian weightlifters Dhanush Loganathan and Jyoshna Sabar won bronze medals in their
respective categories in the IWF World Youth Championships in Durres, Albania.
• Jyoshna (aged 14) lifted 115kg. She competed in the category of 40kg event.
• Dhanush (aged 16) lifted a total weight of 200 kg, in the men’s 49kg event. He also won a
silver medal in the snatch category.
Source: News on Air
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20. Gary Ballance (Zimbabwe cricketer) has announced retirement.

Source: espncricinfo
21. Satwik SaiRaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have become the first Indian Men's Doubles
pair to win the Badminton Asia Championships 2023 Title.
• Men’s Singles - Anthony Ginting (Indonesian)
• Women’s Singles - Tai Tzu-ying (Taiwan)
Source: PIB and Olympics.com
22. China won the gold medal in Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championship 2023 held in
Dubai, UAE.
Source: BWF website
23. 2023 Sudirman Cup will take place at Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre, China from 14-21
May.
Source: The Hindu
MISCELLANEOUS
1. Sarah Thomas (Malayali littérateur) has passed away. She has won the Kerala Sahitya
Akademi Award.
2. Salim Aziz Durani (Afghan-born Indian cricketer) has passed away.
3. Ryuichi Sakamoto (Oscar-winning Japanese composer, record producer, and actor) has
passed away.
4. “Courting India: England, Mughal India and the Origins of Empire” book has been
authored by Nandini Das.
Source: Bloomsbury
5. Indian politician Ghulam Nabi Azad has released his autobiography 'Azaad'.
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6. Veteran Liberation War fighter and legendary public health activist of Bangladesh Dr Zafrullah
Chowdhury passed away in Dhaka.
Source: News on Air
7. Muthuvans are a tribe of cultivators who dwell in the hilly regions of Tamil Nadu’s
Coimbatore and Madurai and Kerala’s Adimali and Devikulam forest regions of Idukki
district.
Source: Wikipedia
8. Raccoon Stealer is a kind of malware that steals various data from an infected computer.
• An information stealing malware that is usually delivered through email, known as Raccoon
Stealer, was used to target eight Central government entities, including central paramilitary
forces and the Income Tax department.
9. “The Great Bank Robbery” book has been authored by Sabyasachee Dash and V. Pattabhi
Ram.
10. Keshub Mahindra (chairman emeritus of the Mahindra Group) has passed away at 99.
11. Former India cricketer Salim Durani has passed away. He was the first cricketer to receive the
Arjuna Award.
Source: Sportstar
12. “Gandhi: Siyasat Aur Sampradayikta” book has been authored by Piyush Babele
(journalist).
Source: Outlook India
13. Uttara Baokar (national award-winning actress) has passed away.

14. Nevado del Ruiz is a stratovolcano located in the central part of Colombia.
Source: BBC
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15. Virginia Tower Norwood (an American aerospace engineer, inventor, and physicist), fondly
called as “the mother of Landsat” has passed away.
Source: The New York Times
16. ck Fosbury, the legendary American high jumper, has passed away.
Source: Hindu Sportstar
17. Kenzaburō Ōe, the Nobel Prize-winning Japanese author, passed away.
18. Sika deer (Japanese deer or Northern spotted deer) is a species of deer native to East Asia
(including Japan, Taiwan, and eastern parts of China).
19. HAL Cheetah helicopter crashed near Mandala in Arunachal Pradesh.

• HAL has been manufacturing Cheetah helicopter since 1970.
Source: HAL’s website
20. The 400-year-old Danish Fort in Tharangambadi, Tamil Nadu will be revamped.
Source: New Indian Express
21. Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman launched
‘Reflections’, a book authored by eminent banker Shri Narayanan Vaghul (considered as the
architect of modern banking in India).
Source: PIB
QUESTIONS
Q.1) Recently, the Parliament has passed the found engaging in anti-competitive behaviour
Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2023 to amend based on their domestic turnover
the Competition Act, 2022. Which of the following [b] Companies will have to seek CCI’s approval
is the correct statement(s) about the Bill? for mergers and acquisitions, in case a deal’s
[a] The bill gives the power to the Competition value is worth more than Rs 4,000 crore
Commission of India (CCI) to penalise entities
pg. 149
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[c] The bill has also reduced the time limit for Q.5) Who has been felicitated with the Sehkari
approval of mergers and acquisitions from the Kisan Gaurav Samman 2023?
existing 210 days to 150 days [a] Keshav Sangwan
[d] The bill gives the power to the Competition [b] Rajesh Sazwan
Commission of India (CCI) to conduct inspection [c] Neerja Sekhar
of companies found suspicious of anti-competitive [d] Gopal Sadhwani
activities [e] Pankaj Salodia
[e] The bill mandates the tech companies to seek
CCI’s prior approval for actualizing expansion, Q.6) Which product from Himachal Pradesh has
merger, acquisitions or any type of operational got the protected geographical indication (PGI)
changes tag from the European Commission?
[a] Kullu Shawl
Q.2) With which European country has India [b] Himachali Kala Zeera
collaborated to create a real-time early warning [c] Kangra Tea
system for floods? [d] Kinnauri Shawl
[a] France [e] Chamba Rumal
[b] UK
[c] Denmark Q.7) Which company has developed the 3rd
[d] Norway generation man-portable Anti-Tank Guided
[e] Finland Missile (ATGM), Amogha-III?
[a] Bharat Dynamics Ltd
Q.3) Which of the following pairs is correctly [b] MTAR Technologies
matched? [c] BEML
1) IMPRESS - To encourage inclusive growth and [d] Paras Defence and Space Technologies
development of various sectors [e] Bharat Forge Ltd.
2) ShaGun - To encourage social science
research in policy relevant areas Q.8) Which country has been removed from the
3) ENSURE - To capture and showcase list of "High-Risk Third Countries” by the
innovations and progress in Elementary European Union?
Education [a] Namibia
4) Sagar-Setu – To provide real-time information [b] Zimbabwe
on activities and enable digital payments [c] Iran
5) Jan Samarth - To make subsidy payment [d] Pakistan
process better, simpler and transparent [e] Uganda
[a] 1
[b] 2 Q.9) Who is mentioned on the list of astronauts
[c] 3 on the Artemis II mission?
[d] 4 [a] Christina Koch
[e] 5 [b] Jasmin Moghbeli
[c] Joan Elizabeth Higginbotham
Q.4) What is the corpus of Credit Guarantee Fund [d] Frank Borman
Trust for Micro & Small Enterprises (CGTMSE)? [e] Alan Shepard
[a] Rs. 5,500 crores
[b] Rs. 8,000 crores Q.10) Which of the following is not among the
[c] Rs. 4,000 crores pillars of the Foreign Trade Policy 2023?
[d] Rs. 2,300 crores 1) Export promotion through collaboration -
[e] Rs. 6,600 crores Exporters, States, Districts, Indian Missions
2) Incentive to Remission
3) Reduction in the emission intensity of GDP
pg. 1
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4) Emerging Areas – E-Commerce Developing Q.15) Which bank has launched ‘digiportfolio’, an
Districts as Export Hubs and streamlining investment solution based on the risk appetite of
SCOMET policy the investor?
5) Ease of doing business, reduction in [a] DBS Bank India
transaction cost and e-initiatives [b] UCO Bank
[a] 1 [c] Central Bank of India
[b] 2 [d] Indian Overseas Bank
[c] 3 [e] Union Bank of India
[d] 4
[e] 5 Q.16) How many Advance Pricing Agreements
(APAs) were signed by Central Board of Direct
Q.11) The Foreign Trade Policy 2023 focuses on Taxes with Indian taxpayers in FY 2022-23?
streamlining the SCOMET policy to strengthen [a] 95
their exports and imports. What does ‘M’ stand for [b] 113
in the full form of SCOMET? [c] 78
[a] Market [d] 55
[b] Marginal [e] 49
[c] Monetize
[d] Material Q.17) Pincode is the e-commerce app of which
[e] Mark company?
[a] PhonePe
Q.12) What is the tagline of UCO Bank? [b] Paytm
[a] Honours Your Trust [c] IndiaMART
[b] Relationships beyond Banking [d] FirstCry
[c] Ek Parivar Ek Bank [e] AJIO
[d] Together we can
[e] Your own Bank Q.18) What is the interest rate on Kisan Vikas
Patra in Q1 of FY24?
Q.13) Which FinTech company has partnered [a] 6.9%
with Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), [b] 7.5%
as part of its CSR initiative, to equip women [c] 7.2%
entrepreneurs with domain knowledge as well as [d] 7.9%
the financial and technical know-how needed to [e] 6.3%
fulfil their business goals?
[a] BharatPe Q.19) Which organization releases the India
[b] PhonePe Development Update (IDU) report?
[c] Zestmoney [a] International Monetary Fund
[d] Onecard [b] Morgan Stanely
[e] Lendingkart [c] Goldman Sachs
[d] European Investment Bank
Q.14) Which bank has launched Whatsapp [e] World Bank
banking services, in collaboration with Airtel?
[a] Ujjavan Small Finance Bank Q.20) Who is the CEO and MD of Tata Power?
[b] Bank of Baroda [a] Praveer Sinha
[c] Equitas Small Finance Bank [b] Sukant Vatsa
[d] India Post Payments Bank [c] Bappa Dey
[e] DBS Bank [d] Kapendra Dubey
[e] Shashi Gambhir
pg. 2
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Q.21) India has become the first country in the Q.25) Central Govt has reached the highest-ever
world to develop its own sophisticated GI registrations in 2022-23 by completing 33 new
mathematical model to track the spread of GI registrations under the Geographical
tuberculosis (TB) cases. In consideration of the Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection)
above statement, which of the following is the Act 1999. How many products are GI tagged now
correct statement? after this inclusion?
[a] According to the World Health Organization [a] 465
(WHO), India's TB incidence rate per 100,000 [b] 367
population was 120 in 2021 [c] 522
[b] According to the Indian TB model for 2022 [d] 167
estimated that the TB incidence rate per 100,000 [e] 239
population was 108
[c] As per the India’s model estimates, India’s rate Q.26) Who is the chair of the 14-member
of reduction in TB cases was 22% committee formed by the Union Housing and
[d] The global rate of reduction is 23% Urban Affairs Ministry to examine stalled real
[e] All are correct estate projects and recommend ways to complete
them?
Q.22) Recently, Inter-University Centre for [a] Vijay Kumar Saraswat
Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), under [b] Urvashi Prasad
University Grants Commission, has partnered [c] Gopal Dutt
with NASA to develop artificial intelligence-based [d] Amitabh Kant
model for predicting solar storms. Which country [e] Shashi Singh
does the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy
and Astrophysics belong to? Q.27) Which state has launched India’s first Cool
[a] Australia Roof Policy 2023-2028?
[b] India [a] Madhya Pradesh
[c] Germany [b] Maharashtra
[d] UK [c] Tamil Nadu
[e] France [d] Telangana
[e] Gujarat
Q.23) Which company has developed the
Dhawan-II cryogenic rocket engine? Q.28) Recently, United Kingdom has announced
[a] Bellatrix Aerospace to become the 12th member of the
[b] Skyroot Aerospace Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for
[c] Agnikul Cosmos Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Identify the
[d] Astrome Technologies correct statement with regards to the
[e] Vesta Space Technology Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for
Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
Q.24) Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has 1) Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement
announced a plan to add ____ GW of renewable for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is a free
energy capacity in the next 5 years to achieve its trade agreement (FTA) between Australia, Brunei
target of 500 GW of clean energy by 2030. Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia,
[a] 100 Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, Singapore and
[b] 250 Vietnam.
[c] 300 2) Inclusion of UK is the bloc’s first expansion
[d] 280 since its inception.
[e] 400 3) The regional trade bloc came into effect in
2015. The bloc accounts for 13% of the world’s
income.
pg. 3
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[a] Only 1 [a] 2003

[b] Only 1 and 2 [b] 2019
[c] Only 2 [c] 2020
[d] Only 2 and 3 [d] 2014
[e] Only 3 [e] 2016
Q.29) Which of the following issues is the Q.34) Which bank launched ‘Digital Dukaan’, a
“Washington Treaty” related to? comprehensive digital solution to empower
[a] Establishment of World Bank and IMF merchants to accept payments through various
[b] Promotion of shared responsibilities in relation digital modes and manage their day-to-day
to importation of hazardous chemicals business digitally?
[c] Protection of the ozone layer [a] IDFC First Bank
[d] Regulating treaties between states [b] HDFC Bank
[e] Establishment of North Atlantice Treaty [c] Bank of India
Organization [d] Axis Bank
[e] Bank of Baroda
Q.30) Which state has topped in the larger states’
category of the 3rd edition of the India Justice Q.35) Who has been appointed as the executive
Report (IJR) 2022? director of RBI in April 2023?
[a] Tamil Nadu [a] Kedar Burande
[b] Karnataka [b] Jyoti Mehta
[c] Kerala [c] Deba Prasad Tripathy
[d] Andhra Pradesh [d] Neeraj Nigam
[e] Odisha [e] Rohit Anand
Q.31) What is the tenure of the “Amrit Mahotsav Q.36) Who has been appointed as the 40th
FD” scheme of IDBI Bank? President of FICCI Ladies Organization?
[a] 444 days [a] Krishna Rajendran
[b] 500 days [b] Meghna Makhija
[c] 655 days [c] Latika Vasnik
[d] 680 days [d] Sudha Shivakumar
[e] 400 days [e] Meenakshi Prasad
Q.32) Which has become the first bank in the Q.37) Who has been appointed as the Managing
country to open a Special Rupee Vostro Account Director & CEO of Axis Securities for a tenure of 3
through its corresponding bank in Malaysia i.e., years?
India International Bank of Malaysia? [a] Rohit Anand
[a] Union Bank of India [b] Pranav Haridasan
[b] Bank of India [c] Sonika Khattar
[c] IDBI Bank [d] Kuldeep Tickoo
[d] Bank of India [e] Suresh Kumar
[e] State Bank of India
Q.38) When is the International Day of
Q.33) Recently, the State Bank of India (SBI) has Conscience observed?
extended its "WECARE" Senior Citizens' Term [a] April 10
Deposit program for a period of up to June 30, [b] April 5
2023. The interest rate offered under the scheme [c] April 7
is 7.5% for tenure ranging from 5 years to 10 [d] April 3
years. When was the product introduced by SBI? [e] April 17
pg. 4
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Q.44) As per a newspaper report published in

Q.39) Which NPO has won the Children’s April 2023, Union Cabinet has approved the
Champion Award 2023 in the health and nutrition signing of a tripartite agreement with the German
category? development bank, KfW, for securing a loan for
[a] Tapoban the Green Energy Corridor (GEC) project being
[b] Pragti Education implemented by the _____?
[c] Akshaya Patra Foundation [a] Maharashtra State Electricity Board
[d] ISCI Foundation [b] Gujarat State Electricity Board
[e] Butterflies India [c] Delhi State Electricity Board
[d] Kerala State Electricity Board
Q.40) Who was conferred "Chevalier de la Légion [e] Uttarakhand State Electricity Board
d'Honneur" (Knight of the Legion of Honour) by
French Ambassador to India Emmanuel Lenain? Q.45) Recently, the World Trade Organization
[a] Sourav Singh Bhadouria has released the “Global Trade Outlook 2023”
[b] Ashish Shukla report. Which of the following statement(s) is/are
[c] Harish Kumar Roy incorrect about the report?
[d] Kiran Nadar 1) The world merchandise trade volume is
[e] Priyanka Garg projected to grow 1.7% in 2023 before picking up
to 3.2% in 2024
Q.41) With which country has India signed the 2) The value of world merchandise trade rose
Defense Cooperation Agreement to set up and 12% to US $ 25.3 trillion in 2022
expand Military Cooperation between both 3) The value of world commercial services trade
countries? increased 15% in 2022 to US$ 6.8 trillion
[a] Romania 4) Digitally delivered services exports were worth
[b] UAE US$ 3.82 trillion in the same year.
[c] France [a] Only 1 and 2
[d] Belgium [b] Only 2, 3 and 4
[e] Uruguay [c] Only 1, 2, and 3
[d] Only 4
Q.42) With which OTT platform has Union [e] None are incorrect
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting signed a
deal to stream TV shows and movies produced Q.46) What was the growth rate of bank’s credit
by government-run studios? on a year-on-year basis in 2022-23, as per RBI’s
[a] Netflix data?
[b] Amazon [a] 15%
[c] Jio Cinema [b] 9.8%
[d] Zee5 [c] 7.9%
[e] Hotstar [d] 6.3%
[e] 8.7%
Q.43) Which state has introduced the first solar-
powered tourist vessel named 'Sooryamshu’ to Q.47) What is Indira Gandhi International Airport’s
boost the state tourism? position in the Airports Council International’s
[a] Karnataka world’s busiest airports for passengers in 2022?
[b] Andhra Pradesh [a] 13th
[c] Maharashtra [b] 22nd
[d] Kerala [c] 9th
[e] Chhattisgarh [d] 10th
[e] 8th
pg. 5
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Q.48) In its bi-monthly policy of April 2023, RBI [a] India aims to increase the value of Indian
has announced to launch a secured web-based space industry to $10 billion by 2030
centralised portal named ‘PRAVAAH’ to simplify [b] India aims to increase the expenditure on the
and streamline application processes. The portal research and development to $2 billion
will show time limits for deciding on the [c] India aims to leverage the private sector by
applications/approvals sought. This measure will increasing its value to $5 billion by 2035
bring greater efficiencies into regulatory [d] India aims to increase its share in the global
processes and facilitate ease of doing business space market from 2% to 10%
for the regulated entities of RBI. What does “V” [e] India aims to reduce the cost of space mission
stand for in the full form of PRAVAAH? and satellite launches by 2025
[a] Verification
[b] Vilification Q.52) Recently, the 8th Anniversary of the
[c] Virulent Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana was celebrated
[d] Validation in 2023. The scheme was launched in 2015 to
[e] Vindication facilitate easy collateral-free micro-credit of up to
Rs 10 lakh to non-corporate, non-farm small and
Q.49) Recently, India has been elected to the UN micro-entrepreneurs. Since its inception, the
Statistical Commission by the UN Economic and scheme has sanctioned around _____ in 40.82
Social Council (ECOSOC). South Korea was crore loan accounts. About ____ of accounts
another country to win the other seat in the Asia under the scheme belong to women
Pacific States category. The UN Economic and entrepreneurs and ____ of accounts belong to
Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of the six entrepreneurs of SC/ST and OBC categories
principal organs of the UN System, which was respectively.
established by the UN Charter in 1945. The [a] Rs 12.5 trillion; 12%; 39%
Statistical Commission is the highest body [b] Rs 23.2 trillion; 68%; 51%
dealing with international statistical activities and [c] Rs 15.6 trillion; 78%; 12%
is responsible for standards setting in the field of [d] Rs 20.9 trillion; 78%; 22%
statistics. What is the tenure of India in this [e] Rs 16.8 trillion; 67%; 11%
commission and when did India join the
commission last time? Q.53) Which country has received the Standby
[a] 4 years; 2004 Credit Facility worth USD 200 million from India?
[b] 2 years; 2014 [a] Bhutan
[c] 5 years; 2013 [b] Senegal
[d] 6 years; 2001 [c] Nepal
[e] 1 year; 2019 [d] Sri Lanka
[e] Bangladesh
Q.50) Which state has been awarded as the best
performing state among north-eastern states in Q.54) Identify the correct statement from the
the implementation of e-procurement in April options given below.
2023? [a] Diplomatic relations between India and Bhutan
[a] Tripura were established in 1968
[b] Arunachal Pradesh [b] The Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation was
[c] Meghalaya signed between India and Bhutan in 1949
[d] Nagaland [c] India has been extending financial assistance
[e] Mizoram to Bhutan for its Five-Year Plans
[d] Only A and B
Q.51) Which of the following statement(s) is/are [e] Only A, B, and C
correct about the Indian Space Policy 2023?
pg. 6
[Type here]
Q.55) Recently, the Ministry of Education has [c] Uttar Pradesh

released the draft of the “National Curriculum [d] Himachal Pradesh
Framework for School Education 2023”. When [e] West Bengal
was the last National Curriculum Framework for
School Education launched? Q.61) Where was the ‘First International Quantum
[a] 2005 Communication Conclave’ organized?
[b] 2013 [a] Delhi
[c] 2009 [b] Gwalior
[d] 2010 [c] Surat
[e] 2006 [d] Gandhinagar
[e] Chennai
Q.56) How many total enrolments were registered
under the National Pension Scheme and Atal Q.62) Which of the following statement(s) is/are
Pension Scheme respectively? correct with regards to ‘vibrant villages program’?
[a] 16 lakhs and 1.19 crore 1) The scheme has a central funding component
[b] 75 lakhs and 1 crore of ₹4,800 crore.
[c] 35 lakhs and 1 crore 2) 2,967 villages in 46 blocks of 19 districts have
[d] 55 lakhs and 75 lakhs been chosen under the scheme
[e] 1.19 crore and 20 lakhs 3) In the first phase, 662 villages have been
identified as priority on coverage, which includes
Q.57) Which article of the constitution provides for 455 villages in Sikkim.
the setting up of a Finance Commission? [a] Only 1
[a] Article 248 [b] Only 1 and 2
[b] Article 280 [c] Only 2 and 3
[c] Article 300 [d] Only 3
[d] Article 187 [e] Only 2
[e] Article 119
Q.63) Who has won the World Chess
Q.58) What is the estimated number of tigers as Armageddon Asia & Oceania event held in Berlin,
per the latest tiger census 2022? Germany?
[a] 3,167 tigers [a] Garry Kasparov
[b] 2,189 tigers [b] D Gukesh
[c] 2.460 tigers [c] Fabiano Caruana
[d] 3,109 tigers [d] Wesley So
[e] 5,600 tigers [e] Pentala Harikrishna
Q.59) Where was the Festival of Innovation and Q.64) Daniil Medvedev won the Miami Open for
Entrepreneurship (FINE)-2023 organized? his fourth title of the year and 19th overall. Who
[a] Bhopal was defeated by Medvedev at the Miami Open?
[b] Mysore [a] Jannik Sinner
[c] Delhi [b] Pete Sampras
[d] Surat [c] Carlos Alcaraz
[e] Gandhinagar [d] Andre Agassi
[e] Andy Murray
Q.60) Which state has launched a new project
‘Sanjeevani’ to provide quality treatment to Q.65) Where is the Vaikunth Mehta National
livestock in a time-bound manner? Institute of Cooperative Management located?
[a] Uttarakhand [a] Mumbai
[b] Maharashtra [b] Pune
pg. 7
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[c] Chandigarh [c] Denmark

[d] Amritsar [d] Finland
[e] Bangalore [e] Sweden
Q.66) Which Indian state has chaired “first-of-its- Q.72) “Ofek-13” spy satellite belongs to which
kind digital” cabinet meeting from Kyoto, Japan? country?
[a] Tamil Nadu [a] Israel
[b] Kerala [b] UAE
[c] Maharashtra [c] Germany
[d] Odisha [d] Belgium
[e] Telangana [e] Moldova
Q.67) Where is the Jatayu Conservation and Q.73) US Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS
Breeding Centre located? Milius conducted a navigational rights and
[a] Madhya Pradesh freedoms mission in the South China Sea near
[b] Uttar Pradesh the Spratly Islands. The islands are a disputed
[c] Karnataka archipelago between China and ____ in the
[d] Assam South China Sea?
[e] Punjab [a] Japan
[b] Philippines
Q.68) Which state/UT will organise the Eat Right [c] Indonesia
Millet Mela (ERMM)? [d] Thailand
[a] Delhi [e] Australia
[b] Ladakh
[c] Jammu and Kashmir Q.74) Which country has launched the Golden
[d] Puducherry Licence initiative for incentivizing investments and
[e] Lakshadweep job creation?
[a] UAE
Q.69) Which city houses India’s first 3D-printed [b] Bahrain
house? [c] Finland
[a] Ahmedabad [d] South Africa
[b] Raichur [e] Brazil
[c] Chennai
[d] Bengaluru Q.75) What is the corpus of the Corporate Debt
[e] Mumbai Market Development Fund?
[a] Rs 25,000 crore
Q.70) Which country developed the kamikaze [b] Rs 14,000 crore
drone? [c] Rs 33,000 crore
[a] Saudi Arabia [d] Rs 40,000 crore
[b] Iran [e] Rs 50,000 crore
[c] North Korea
[d] Turkey Q.76) Recently, NSE Indices Ltd, a subsidiary of
[e] Azerbaijan National Stock Exchange (NSE), has launched
India’s first ever Real Estate Investment Trusts
Q.71) ‘MF Hydra’ is the ‘World’s first’ liquid (Reits) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts
hydrogen-powered ferry’. Which country houses (InvITs) Index. The new index— Nifty Reits and
the ferry at present? InvITs index—aims to track the performance of
[a] Norway Reits and InvITs that are publicly listed and
[b] Netherlands
pg. 8
[Type here]
traded on the NSE. What is the base year of this [b] IIT-Calcutta
index? [c] IIT-Delhi
[a] 2017 [d] IIT-Madras
[b] 2019 [e] IIT-Kanpur
[c] 2020
[d] 2018 Q.82) Who is the chair of the inter-services panel
[e] 2015 formed by Indian Armed Forces to examine
different aspects of disability pension to their
Q.77) What is the interest rate on General personnel?
Provident Fund for the April to June 2023 [a] Navy’s Rear admiral
quarter? [b] Air vice marshal
[a] 6.5% [c] Army’s Lieutenant general
[b] 7.1% [d] Army’s Adjutant General
[c] 8.7% [e] Navy’s Admiral
[d] 4.5%
[e] 6.6% Q.83) Which state had the highest utilisation-to-
released fund ratio of Members of Parliament
Q.78) Who is the author of “Courting India: Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS)
England, Mughal India and the Origins of Empire” funds in FY23, according to the data given by
book? Ministry of Statistics and Programme
[a] Anish Giri Implementation in the parliament?
[b] Nandini Das [a] Gujarat
[c] Arundhati Roy [b] Uttar Pradesh
[d] Aravind Adiga [c] Karnataka
[e] Vikram Seth [d] Andhra Pradesh
[e] Telangana
Q.79) What is the global inflation projection for
2023 by IMF in its World Economic Outlook-April Q.84) Which is the top-rated tiger reserve in the
2023 report? 5th cycle of Management Effectiveness
[a] 5.5% Evaluation (MEE) of Tiger Reserves in India in
[b] 6.2% 2022?
[c] 7.8% [a] Satpura
[d] 7% [b] Bandipur
[e] 8.1% [c] Pench
[d] Periyar
Q.80) When is the CRPF Valour Day observed? [e] Bhadra
[a] May 16
[b] August 10 Q.85) Which ministry will organize the Shanghai
[c] April 9 Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Young Authors'
[d] June 15 Conference 2023?
[e] July 1 [a] Ministry of Home Affairs
[b] Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
Q.81) Recently, the Startup Incubation and [c] Ministry of Skill Development and
Innovation Centre (SIIC) has signed a Corporate Entrepreneurship
Social Responsibility (CSR) Agreement with [d] Ministry of Education
Kanpur-based Advanced Weapons and [e] Ministry of Culture
Equipment India Limited. SIIC is the technology
business incubator of which IIT? Q.86) Identify the correct statement(s) from the
[a] IIT-Bombay options given below.
pg. 9
[Type here]
[a] India will get 9% of its electricity from nuclear Q.91) On which route are India's first semi-high-
sources by 2047 speed regional rail services available?
[b] India will achieve 20 gigawatts (GW) capacity [a] Delhi-Meerut
of nuclear power generation by 2030 [b] Secunderabad-Chennai
[c] India will soon become the third-largest [c] Bengaluru-Chennai
producer of atomic energy in the world after the [d] Kolkata-Guwahati
US and France [e] Mumbai-Pune
[d] India is establishing the world’s first thorium
based nuclear plant “Bhavni” in Tamil Nadu Q.92) Where was the G20-Science20 conference
[e] India has the third-highest number of on ‘Clean Energy for Greener Future’ organized?
functional nuclear reactors in the world [a] Guwahati
[b] Bhopal
Q.87) Which university has been notified as a [c] Indore
Centre of the Protection of Plant Varieties and [d] Agartala
Farmers’ Rights Authority under the Ministry of [e] Chennai
Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare?
[a] Central Agricultural University Q.93) Recently, the 2nd Energy Transitions
[b] Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University Working Group Meeting (ETWG) under India’s
[c] Punjab Agricultural University G20 Presidency has concluded successfully in
[d] Kerala Agricultural University Gandhinagar. The 1st ETWG was held in
[e] Assam Agricultural University Bengaluru from Feb. 5-7, 2023. Where will the
3rd Energy Transitions Working Group Meeting
Q.88) With which institute has Unique be organized?
Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) signed an [a] Gandhinagar
MOU to develop a robust touchless biometric [b] Mumbai
capture system for easier usage by people [c] Bangalore
anytime, anywhere? [d] Delhi
[a] IIT-Bombay [e] Bhopal
[b] IIT-Kanpur
[c] IIT-Kharagpur Q.94) What is the target of Mission Amrit
[d] IIT-Calcutta Sarovar?
[e] IIT-Delhi [a] Constructing 23,000 Amrit Sarovars by August
15, 2024
Q.89) Which country/state/region/territory signed [b] Constructing 50,000 Amrit Sarovars by August
the Good Friday Agreement to end its civil war? 15, 2023
[a] Northern Island [c] Constructing 40,000 Amrit Sarovars by August
[b] Spratly Island 15, 2025
[c] Philippines [d] Constructing 50,000 Amrit Sarovars by August
[d] Socotra Island 15, 2025
[e] Cuba [e] Constructing 35,000 Amrit Sarovars by August
15, 2023
Q.90) Which country is organizing the
multinational wargame codenamed Orion? Q.95) Which state does the Sharbati wheat
[a] USA belong to?
[b] Germany [a] Rajasthan
[c] Japan [b] Madhya Pradesh
[d] Australia [c] Gujarat
[e] France [d] Andhra Pradesh
[e] Bihar
pg. 10
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2) 151 districts in Assam, Odisha, Madhya

Q.96) Which national park has recently set up a Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka are
new Fernarium inside the park? covered in this scheme.
[a] Eravikulam National Park 3) It is a Central-Sponsored Scheme with a
[b] Jim Corbett National Park budgetary outlay of Rs 1228.70 crores.
[c] Orang National Park [a] Only 1 and 2
[d] Khangchendzonga National Park [b] Only 3
[e] Nagarhole National Park [c] Only 1
[d] Only 2 and 3
Q.97) How much is India’s highest defence [e] Only 1, 2, and 3
exports in 2022-23?
[a] Rs 11,250 crores approx. Q.102) As per a newspaper report published in
[b] Rs 10,000 crores approx. April 2023, Canara Bank and NPCI Bharat BillPay
[c] Rs 5,000 crores approx. Ltd (NBBL) have launched the cross-border
[d] Rs 16,000 crores approx. inward bill payment services for Indians based in
[e] Rs 12,700 crores approx. _____. NRIs can now leverage the robust
platform offered by the Bharat Bill Payment
Q.98) How many indicators were used in the System (BBPS) to make bill payments on behalf
Business Environment Rankings (BER) 2023? of their families through the _____. This cross-
[a] 78 border bill payment service is already live in ____.
[b] 91 [a] Bahrain; Bahrain Bourse; UAE
[c] 82 [b] Oman; Musandam Exchange; Kuwait
[d] 45 [c] Saudi Arabia; Tadawul Exchange; Oman
[e] 67 [d] UAE; Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange;
Armenia
Q.99) What is India’s rank in the world's "most [e] Australia; Australian Securities Exchange;
criminal countries" list released by the World of Philippines
Statistics organization?
[a] 77th Q.103) In April 2023, Uttarakhand CM Mr.
[b] 86th Pushkar Singh Dhami launched ‘A-HELP’
[c] 43rd (Accredited Agent for Health and Extension of
[d] 55th Livestock Production) programme. For launching
[e] 91st this program, the Department of Animal
Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) and ______
Q.100) Which organization has released the scheme have signed an MOU to address the
“Artificial Intelligence Index Report 2023”? healthcare needs of the livestock population in a
[a] QS Rankings village.
[b] Times [a] Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya
[c] Forbes Yojana
[d] Stanford University [b] National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM)
[e] EIU [c] Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana
[d] Mission Antyodaya
Q.101) Identify the correct statement(s) about the [e] National Social Assistance Scheme
World Bank-funded Animal Health System
Support for One Health? Q.104) State Bank of India (SBI) has extended
1) The program aims at creating an ecosystem for the validity of Amrit Kalash special fixed deposit
a better animal health management system using (FD) scheme. The bank previously introduced this
the One Health approach covering five states in retail term deposit programme, and it was valid
India from February 15, 2023, through March 31, 2023.
pg. 11
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Now, it has been extended till 30th June 2023. Q.109) In April 2023, UNCTAD released the
What is the tenure of the FD scheme? “Trade and Development Report Update: Global
[a] 555 days Trends and Prospects” report. The report projects
[b] 400 days India’s economic growth to decline to 6% in 2023
[c] 666 days from 6.6% in 2022. Which of the following
[d] 444 days reasons have been cited by the report for this
[e] 700 days decline?
1) Fall in government spending
Q.105) In which month did West Bengal celebrate 2) Increase in Fed interest rates
Naba Barsha festival 2023? 3) Falling value of the Indian Currency
[a] April 4) Hike in the crude oil prices
[b] May [a] Only 1
[c] June [b] Only 2 and 3
[d] August [c] Only 2, 3, and 4
[e] January [d] Only 4
[e] Only 3 and 4
Q.106) Which country has launched the world's
first drone carrier ship - ‘The Anadolu’? Q.110) Which bank has launched India’s first
[a] Germany voice biometric authentication service for logging
[b] China into its mobile banking application, in
[c] USA collaboration with Kaizen Secure Voiz Pvt. Ltd.?
[d] France [a] City Union Bank
[e] Turkey [b] Bank of India
[c] Canara Bank
Q.107) Who has received the ‘Business Leader of [d] HDFC Bank
the Decade Award’ at All India Management [e] State Bank of India
Association's (AIMA) 13th Managing India
Awards? Q.111) What is the new coverage ceiling under its
[a] Salil Parekh Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small
[b] Chander Prakash Gurnani Enterprises (CGTMSE) for a single borrower?
[c] Parag Agrawal [a] Rs 5 crore
[d] Kumar Mangalam Birla [b] Rs 2 crore
[e] Gopal Vittal [c] Rs 1 crore
[d] Rs 10 crore
Q.108) Which countries have announced a [e] Rs 4 crore
common platform for talks among bilateral
creditors to coordinate restructuring of Sri Lanka's Q.112) What is the maximum percentage of
debt? guarantee given by the government under Credit
1) India Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small
2) France Enterprises (CGTMSE) for loans up to Rs 5 lakh,
3) USA taken by women SC entrepreneurs?
4) Brazil [a] 80%
5) Japan [b] 70%
[a] Only 1, 2 and 3 [c] 75%
[b] Only 2 and 3 [d] 85%
[c] Only 1, 3 and 5 [e] 90%
[d] Only 2, 4, and 5
[e] Only 1, 2, and 5 Q.113) Where is the Bhavanapadu Port located?
[a] Karnataka
pg. 12
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[b] Andhra Pradesh [d] May 12

[c] Telangana [e] March 16
[d] Odisha
[e] Tamil Nadu Q.119) When is World Hemophilia Day observed?
[a] April 17
Q.114) Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) has [b] April 25
signed an MOU with the Ministry of Home Affairs [c] April 20
and the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) to [d] April 15
conduct the defence exams in 13 local [e] April 16
languages, other than Hindi and English. The new
arrangement will be effective from ______. Q.120) How much amount is expected to be
[a] October 1, 2023 spent on the Khelo India campaign in the next 5
[b] June 1, 2023 years?
[c] April 1, 2024 [a] Rs 1,400 crores
[d] January 1, 2024 [b] Rs 2,900 crores
[e] January 1, 2025 [c] Rs 4,420 crores
[d] Rs 3,200 crores
Q.115) Which country launched its first [e] Rs 1,890 crores
operational earth observation satellite named
“Taifa-1”? Q.121) Five portals of the government have been
[a] South Korea matched with their respective purposes. Some of
[b] UAE the purposes and portals have been mismatched.
[c] North Korea Identify the mismatched pair among those given
[d] Saudi Arabia as options.
[e] Kenya [a] YUVA - for identifying potential young start-
ups across the country
Q.116) Which bank has completed its first [b] SHREYAS – to enable educational institutions
blockchain-enabled Letter of Credit (LC) and industry to facilitate apprenticeship
transaction on Contour for its client Cummins [c] TAPAS - to provide online course in the key
India Limited (Cummins), a diversified industrials areas of Social Defence -Elderly care, Substance
manufacturing company? (Drug) Abuse prevention and Transgender issues
[a] Union Bank of India [d] SIDHEE - a repository of policy focussed
[b] Bank of Maharashtra initiatives executed by BEE for MSME Sector
[c] Karnataka Bank [e] PENCIL – to brings uniformity and
[d] HDFC Bank transparency in power procurement by the
[e] Citi India DISCOMs and promote competition in electricity
sector
Q.117) How much is the forex reserves of India
for the week ended April 7? Q.122) Recently, Union Minister of State (IC)
[a] USD 584 billion Science & Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh has
[b] USD 450 billion launched the 'One Week-One Lab' campaign of
[c] USD 675 billion the Delhi-based CSIR-National Physical
[d] USD 789 billion Laboratory. In January 2023, the Minister of S&T
[e] USD 133 billion launched the ‘One Week-One Lab’ campaign to
showcase the innovations of all the CSIR labs by
Q.118) When is the World Voice Day observed? dedicating one week to each lab. How many
[a] June 19 CSIR labs are in India as of April 2023?
[b] April 16 [a] 43
[c] August 20 [b] 37
pg. 13
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[c] 65 [e] Gram Urja Swaraj Vishesh Panchayat

[d] 55 Puraskar
[e] 80
Q.126) Recently, Shri Giriraj Singh, Hon’ble Union
Q.123) As per a news article published in April Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj
2023, the Indian Sign Language AstroLab has has launched “GS NIRNAY” mobile application to
been inaugurated by Union Minister of State (IC) record and upload Gram Sabha proceedings
Science & Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh in ____. open for public view. The app will provide a
The lab aims to create awareness about means of verification of facts where necessary or
astronomy among the Divyang-jans (persons- in case of queries that may arise regarding the
with-disability). The lab will enable hearing resolutions undertaken during the Gram Sabha.
impaired students to learn about sun, moon and What does ‘N’ stand for in the full form of
stars, apart from simple to complex concepts of NIRNAY?
space. The Indian Sign Language AstroLab has [a] National and Navigate
____pieces of equipment, 24X7 virtual access to [b] Nation and Normalise
stream over 90 videos and many other facilities. [c] Nominal and National
[a] Surat; 110 [d] Nation and Negotiate
[b] Gwalior; 78 [e] Negotiate and Normalise
[c] Karnal; 65
[d] Indore; 89 Q.127) Union Minister for Petroleum Hardeep
[e] Delhi;26 Singh Puri has advanced its target to achieve
20% ethanol blending in petrol from 2030 to
Q.124) SEAFARER and PULSE are the saving 2025-26. India has set an ambitious target to set
products for mariners and healthcare up 5000 commercial plants of CBG by 2024- 25
professionals of which bank? and produce ____MMT of Compressed Biogas
[a] South Indian Bank (CBG) which would replace other gaseous fuels
[b] Central Bank of India being used in the country.
[c] Bandhan Bank [a] 15 MMT
[d] Dhanlakshmi Bank [b] 23 MMT
[e] Karnataka Bank [c] 36 MMT
[d] 45 MMT
Q.125) Ministry of Panchayati Raj has celebrated [e] 10 MMT
National Panchayat Awards Week during 17th –
21st April 2023 ahead of the National Panchayati Q.128) How many Tribal Artisan Melas (TAMs)
Raj Day (24th April 2023). The Week was will be organized under the recently launched
celebrated on the theme of “Panchayaton ke Marketing and Logistics Development for
Sankalpon ki Siddhi ka Utsav”. The awards are Promotion of Tribal Products from the North-
given in four categories. Which of the following Eastern Region (PTP-NER) scheme?
categories assesses the performance of Gram [a] 97
Panchayats individually for Localization of [b] 56
Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs) [c] 45
themes? [d] 68
[a] Nanaji Deshmukh Sarvottam Panchayat Satat [e] 28
Vikas Puraskar
[b] None of those given as options Q.129) Which IIT hosts the country’s largest
[c] Carbon Neutral Vishesh Panchayat Puraskar DRDO-Industry Academia Centre of Excellence
[d] Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Satat Vikas (DIA-CoE)?
Puraskar [a] IIT-Madras
[b] IIT-Hyderabad
pg. 14
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[c] IIT-Delhi [e] State Bank of India

[d] IIT-Ropar
[e] IIT-Kharagpur Q.135) Which part of the Indian Armed Forces
organized the “Prasthan” exercise in the offshore
Q.130) Which of the following institution plans to development area off Maharashtra’s Mumbai?
review India's strong push to electric vehicles [a] Indian Army
(EVs) running on lithium-ion batteries since about [b] Indian Navy
75% of the lithium-ion imports come from China? [c] Indian Air Force
[a] Brookings Institution [d] Indian Coast Guard
[b] NITI Aayog [e] Indian Border Security Forces
[c] Centre for Civil Society
[d] Strategic Foresight Group Q.136) The first edition of the biannual Army
[e] Research Foundation for Governance in India Commanders conclave 2023 will be conducted in
Hybrid format from April 21. The physical meet
Q.131) RBL Bank has launched an innovative will take place in Delhi. The forum will discuss
Digital Fixed Deposit (FD) scheme available to progress on Agnipath Scheme and digitisation
new-to-bank customers. What is the tenure of this and automation initiatives. Which year has been
product? designated as the ‘Year of Transformation’ by
[a] 10 months to 17 months Indian Army?
[b] 12 months to 20 months [a] 2025
[c] 20 months to 25 months [b] 2023
[d] 15 months to 24 months [c] 2027
[e] 17 months to 23 months [d] 2024
[e] 2030
Q.132) Which has become the first state to adopt
a water budget? Q.137) Which company has been recognised as
[a] Kerala 2023 Steel Sustainability Champion by the World
[b] Rajasthan Steel Association for the 6th consecutive year?
[c] Gujarat [a] ArcelorMittal
[d] Maharashtra [b] Valin Steel Group
[e] Telangana [c] Ansteel Group
[d] Tata Steel
Q.133) Who has been selected for the Malcolm [e] IMIDRO
Adiseshiah Award 2023?
[a] Utsa Patnaik Q.138) Which among the following is not among
[b] Navin Kumar Rajak the top 5 wealthiest cities of the Asia-Pacific
[c] Shyam Sunder Region, as per World’s Wealthiest Cities Report
[d] Shashi Gambhir 2023 of Henley and Partners?
[e] Bappa Dey [a] Hong Kong
[b] Singapore
Q.134) With which bank has Tamil Nadu e- [c] Tokyo
Governance Agency (TNeGA) signed an MOU to [d] Shanghai
integrate its payment aggregator with the e- [e] Ulaanbaatar
governance applications of government
departments? Q.139) Regalia Gold Credit Card is the product of
[a] Bank of India which bank?
[b] Union Bank of India [a] HDFC Bank
[c] HDFC Bank [b] Bank of Baroda
[d] Indian Bank [c] Bank of India
pg. 15
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[d] Citi Bank PM SHRI school is a centrally sponsored scheme

[e] Central Bank of India that aims at developing more than 14500 schools
across the country. The selected schools must
Q.140) Who has become the first woman to undergo a process of assessment, which is based
receive Wisden Cricketer of the Year award on certain parameters. Identify the parameters
2023? from the options below, which are not among the
[a] Gargi Banerjee parameters of assessment of this scheme?
[b] Nilima Jogalekar 1) curriculum, pedagogy and assessment
[c] Runa Basu 2) access and infrastructure
[d] Harmanpreet Kaur 3) human resources – leadership
[e] Renuka Singh 4) inclusive practices and gender equity
5) management, monitoring and governance
Q.141) Where is the first-ever Gati Shakti Cargo 6) beneficiary satisfaction
Terminal (GCT) in public-private-partnership [a] Only 1, 2, and 6
(PPP) mode operationalized? [b] Only 6
[a] Surat [c] Only 2, 3, and 4
[b] Karnal [d] Only 5
[c] Fatehpur [e] None of those given as options
[d] Rewari
[e] Sambalpur Q.145) How many parameters are used in the
EASE Reforms Index to assess the performance
Q.142) How much does the Centre Govt plan to of public sector banks?
borrow in the first half of FY24? [a] Five
[a] Rs 6.79 lakh crore [b] Twelve
[b] Rs 5.45 lakh crore [c] Seven
[c] Rs 8.88 lakh crore [d] Eight
[d] Rs 4.23 lakh crore [e] Four
[e] Rs 11.75 lakh crore
Q.146) For the first time, the National Gallery of
Q.143) Where is the Metropolitan Museum of Art Modern Art, New Delhi organised the “Spring
located? Fiesta” 2023 to celebrate 69 years of the
[a] New York museum. When was the museum established?
[b] Copenhagen [a] April 13, 1967
[c] Dublin [b] March 29, 1954
[d] Madrid [c] May 11, 1978
[e] Cornwall [d] April 20, 1954
[e] May 1, 1957
Q.144) As of March 2023, the Ministry of
Education had shortlisted around 9,000 schools Q.147) Recently, the Ministry of Education has
from across the country for its flagship Pradhan launched the New India Literacy Programme, a
Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI). PM- Centrally Sponsored Scheme, with a financial
SHRI scheme was announced by Prime Minister outlay of over Rs 1,000 crores for implementation
Narendra Modi on September 5 (Teachers’ Day) during the financial year 2022-23 to 2026-27. The
in 2022. The scheme aims at delivering quality scheme aims to cover a target of 5 crore non-
teaching for the cognitive development of literates in the age group of 15 years and above.
students and creating and nurturing holistic and The target for Foundational Literacy and
well-rounded individuals equipped with key 21st- Numeracy for FYs 2022-27 will be achieved by
century skills. using OTLAS in collaboration with the National
Informatics Centre, NCERT and the National
pg. 16
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Institute of Open Schooling. What does OTLAS Q.152) Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory
stand for? Board (PNGRB) is a statutory body in India,
[a] Online Teachers, Learners, and Assesses’ constituted under The Petroleum and Natural Gas
System Regulatory Board Act of ____. Its primary
[b] Online Targeted Learning and Assessment functions include regulation of refining,
Software transportation, distribution, storage, marketing,
[c] Online Training, Learning, and Assessment supply and sale of petroleum products and
Software natural gas.
[d] Online Teaching, Learning and Assessment In March 2023, the Petroleum and Natural Gas
System Regulatory Board (PNGRB) announced to
[e] Online Teaching, Learning, and Assessment implement a uniform tariff in the energy and
Structure natural gas sector to achieve the "One Nation
One Grid One Tariff" model and, also propel the
Q.148) Who has won the Sagar Samman Varuna gas markets in distant areas.
Award 2023? Considering the above statements, what is the
[a] Indra Nath Bose target of India with regards to increasing its share
[b] Thanuvelil Koshy Joseph of natural gas in the energy mix from ___ to ____
[c] Anil Choudhary by 2030?
[d] Tarun Kumar Aich [a] 2006; 6.2% and 15%
[e] S C Dash [b] 2010; 6% and 12%
[c] 2001; 5% and 10%
Q.149) Ministry of Railways has identified 1275 [d] 2005; 10% and 20%
railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station [e] 2007; 12% and 30%
scheme. Which state has the maximum number
of identified railway stations under this scheme? Q.153) National Institute of Urban Affairs (under
[a] Andhra Pradesh Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs) organized
[b] Maharashtra the first Urban Climate Film Festival through the
[c] Gujarat CITIIS program under U20 engagement events.
[d] Madhya Pradesh Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct
[e] Tripura with regards to the CITIIS program?
1) The CITIIS program is a joint program of the
Q.150) Which IIT has developed a three- Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, US Agency
dimensional paper-based portable device to for International Development, Japan
detect adulteration of milk in 30 seconds? International Cooperation Agency, and NIUA
[a] IIT-Roorkee 2) The CITIIS program aims at helping 21 Smart
[b] IIT-Ropar Cities in India in implementing innovation-driven
[c] IIT-Madras and sustainable urban infrastructure projects
[d] IIT-Kharagpur 3) CITIIS stands for City Innovations to Ignite,
[e] IIT-Delhi Invigorate, and Sustain
[a] Only 1 and 3
Q.151) Who led the Second G20 Sherpas [b] Only 1 and 2
meeting 2023? [c] Only 2
[a] Piyush Goyal [d] All are incorrect
[b] Amitabh Kant [e] Only 2 and 3
[c] S Jaishankar
[d] Nirmala Sitharaman Q.154) Where is the Mukundra Hills Tiger
[e] Rajnath Singh Reserve located?
[a] Kota
[b] Ranthambore
pg. 17
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[c] Sawai Q.160) Central Govt aims to bring over ______

[d] Mokalsar more villages under Open Defecation Free
[e] Sariska (ODF)+ of Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) by
2024.
Q.155) How much fund has been raised by [a] 67,000
Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income [b] 50,000
Housing (SWAMIH) Investment Fund I as of [c] 45,000
March 2023? [d] 23,000
[a] Rs 14,760 crore [e] 78,000
[b] Rs 18,230 crore
[c] Rs 20,890 crore Q.161) Which state is implementing the “Mission
[d] Rs 15,530 crore Arikompan”?
[e] Rs 26,866 crore [a] Kerala
[b] Karnataka
Q.156) Which field is Dhanush Loganathan [c] Arunachal Pradesh
related to? [d] Himachal Pradesh
[a] Weightlifting [e] Assam
[b] Boxing
[c] Athletics Q.162) What is the capital of Curaçao?
[d] Swimming [a] Belmopan
[e] Gymnastics [b] Willemstad
[c] Yaounde
Q.157) Where did the first edition of India-Africa [d] Praia
Army Chiefs’ Conclave take place? [e] Kinshasa
[a] Pune
[b] Guwahati Q.163) When was the First Merchant Navy Flag
[c] Itanagar observed?
[d] Subansiri [a] April 5, 2023
[e] Dimapur [b] April 19, 2022
[c] April 23, 2023
Q.158) Nitu Ghanghas won gold in ____ category [d] April 15, 2019
at the IBA Womens World Boxing Championship [e] April 10, 2018
held at the K.D. Jadhav Hall, IG Stadium, New
Delhi. Q.164) India won the Tri-nation International
[a] 53 kg Football competition 2023 by defeating _____?
[b] 48 kg [a] Kyrgyzstan
[c] 70 kg [b] Thailand
[d] 67 kg [c] Sri Lanka
[e] 49 kg [d] Malaysia
[e] Bangladesh
Q.159) Where is the Space Systems Design Lab
of the Indian National Space Promotion and Q.165) Which of the following statements
Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) located? mentions the objectives of Project Akashteer?
[a] Surat [a] To put smart-fencing the borders between
[b] Ahmedabad India and Pakistan
[c] Bhopal [b] To empower the air defence units of the Indian
[d] Indore Army
[e] Guwahati [c] To curb infiltration across the Line of Control in
J&K
pg. 18
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[d] To procure Lynx-U2 Fire Control Systems for [b] BLOW

Indian Navy [c] STORM
[e] To procure 11 next generation offshore patrol [d] SUNSHINE
vessels for Indian Navy [e] CRYPTO
Q.166) Which country organized the ‘Indo + Q.171) Which state has the highest number of
Caribbean: The creation of a culture’ exhibition? ponds & reservoir, as per the 1st Census of Water
[a] Netherlands Bodies of India?
[b] Germany [a] West Bengal
[c] Canada [b] Maharashtra
[d] UK [c] Madhya Pradesh
[e] USA [d] Gujarat
[e] Andhra Pradesh
Q.167) Which country has agreed to join the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a Q.172) Recently, the Union Agriculture and
"dialogue partner"? Farmers Welfare Minister Shri Narendra Singh
[a] Saudi Arabia Tomar launched the SATHI Portal and Mobile
[b] Israel App. It is a Centralized Online System for seed
[c] Armenia traceability, authentication and seed inventory to
[d] Iran deal with the challenges of seed production,
[e] Myanmar quality seed identification and seed certification.
How many verticals of the seed chain will be
Q.168) Where was the International Conference integrated in the SATHI Portal and Mobile App?
on Human-Wildlife Conflict and Coexistence [a] Five
organized? [b] Seven
[a] UK [c] Three
[b] Finland [d] Four
[c] Norway [e] Eight
[d] Japan
[e] Philippines Q.173) Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO) has successfully placed two foreign
Q.169) Proba-3 is a technological demonstration satellites named TeLEOS-2 and Lumelite-4, in
mission by the European Space Agency. It orbit on the PSLV- C55 rocket. Which countries
consists of two small satellites - Coronagraph had signed an agreement with ISRO for launching
Spacecraft (CSC) and the Occulter Spacecraft these two satellites?
(OSC). By which year will the mission enter [a] Singapore
Earth’s orbit? [b] Ghana
[a] 2029 [c] Guinea-Bissau
[b] 2027 [d] Australia
[c] 2024 [e] Saudi Arabia
[d] 2026
[e] 2030 Q.174) In which state is Asia’s longest
underwater hydrocarbon pipeline established?
Q.170) NASA researchers have developed a new [a] Madhya Pradesh
computer model named _____ to integrate [b] Tripura
artificial intelligence (AI) with satellite data to [c] Gujarat
forecast geomagnetic disturbances and provide a [d] Assam
warning for impending solar storms? [e] Maharashtra
[a] DAGGER
pg. 19
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Q.175) Ministry of Rural Development launched cooperation in aviation safety. The agreement
the Samagra Awas-Convergence under PMAY-G was signed on the first day of the EU-India
campaign in April 2023. In this campaign, Aviation Summit. Which did the summit take
additional 45 lakh PMAY-G houses will be place?
sanctioned over and above 2.50 Crore already [a] Vienna
sanctioned. It will be ensured along with the [b] Tallinn
saturation of benefits provided in convergence [c] Riga
with Schemes providing electricity, LPG, water [d] Delhi
connections and toilets in all PMAY-G houses. [e] Vilnius
When will this campaign end?
[a] May 2023 Q.180) Where has Beijing-based Asian
[b] July 2023 Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) announced
[c] August 2023 to set up its first overseas office?
[d] September 2024 [a] UAE
[e] January 2024 [b] Saudi Arabia
[c] Oman
Q.176) Which ministry has launched the [d] Bahrain
campaign called Social Mobilisation of Eligible [e] Indonesia
Rural Women in SHG Network?
[a] Ministry of Rural Development Q.181) Which state has launched the 'One
[b] Ministry of Panchayati Raj Panchayat, One Playground' project for reviving
[c] Ministry of Women and Child Development the sports culture in the State by opening quality
[d] Ministry of Finance playgrounds in every panchayat?
[e] Ministry of Skill Development and [a] Kerala
Entrepreneurship [b] Karnataka
[c] Odisha
Q.177) From which company is India procuring [d] Andhra Pradesh
the Nagastra-1 drones, fully indigenous loitering [e] Maharashtra
munitions, which can strike enemy targets with
precision? These loitering munitions (drones) can Q.182) Currency volatility occurs when there are
carry out surveillance up to 15 Km range and rapid changes to the exchange rate of a currency
strike targets with their warhead. pair in a short period of time. So, if the US Dollar
[a] Garuda Aerospace began to rise and drop in value compared to
[b] Paras Aerospace Pound Sterling, this would be classed as currency
[c] Throttle Aerospace pair volatility. The higher the volatility, higher is
[d] Economic Explosives Limited the risk of economic failure. The case study of
[e] Dhaksha Unmanned Systems Zimbabwe is the classic example of it.
Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe is an ongoing period
Q.178) Which university is training Indian army of currency instability, which began in February
personnel in the Chinese language? 2007. In April 2009, Zimbabwe stopped printing
[a] Tezpur University its currency, and currencies from other countries
[b] Indira Gandhi National Open University were used. In June 2019, the Zimbabwean
[c] Jawaharlal Nehru University government announced the reintroduction of the
[d] Indira Gandhi National Tribal University Real Time Gross Settlement dollar (RTGS), to be
[e] Mizoram University known simply as the "Zimbabwe dollar", and that
all foreign currency was no longer legal tender.
Q.179) Directorate General of Civil Aviation But all these measures went in vain as the
(DGCA) has signed an MOU with the European inflation rate of this African nation was not ready
Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for to slow down. To prevent the country from the
pg. 20
[Type here]
economic risks emanating from the currency [d] Only A and B

volatility, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has [e] Only B and C
announced to launch a commodity-backed digital
currency. Considering the above paragraph, Q.186) Which state has become the “first state” to
which of the following statement(s) is/are the create a DNA database of unidentified bodies?
correct inference? [a] Himachal Pradesh
1) Incessant printing of currency notes leads to [b] Gujarat
economic risks which can cost an economy an [c] Punjab
arm and a leg [d] Haryana
2) The biggest mistake of Zimbabwe, which lead [e] Uttar Pradesh
to its economic failure, was to declare all foreign
currencies as illegal tenders Q.187) Which bank has partnered with Agri-tech
3) Shifting to a commodity-backed currency would company Fasal to provide quick, easy, and
not be able to solve the risks of currency volatility collateral-free loans to farmers at very competitive
for Zimbabwe rates?
4) The commodity Zimbabwe is planning to use to [a] Union Bank of India
hedge its currency volatility risks is gold [b] State Bank of India
[a] Only 1, 2 and 3 [c] Bank of Baroda
[b] Only 1 and 4 [d] Bank of India
[c] Only 2 and 3 [e] Indian Bank
[d] Only 1, 3 and 4
[e] Only 3 and 4 Q.188) Who has been appointed as the chairman
of Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB)?
Q.183) What is the score of India in the World [a] Nalin Kumar Srivastava
Bank’s Logistics Performance Index 2023? [b] Shreekant M Bhandiwad
[a] 2.8 [c] Gopal Sadhwani
[b] 3.4 [d] Dhanpreet Kaur
[c] 4.2 [e] Mihir Kumar Jha
[d] 4
[e] 3.9 Q.189) Which state has won the national award
for the best implementation of Pradhan Mantri
Q.184) Which country’s Government ‘Pension Fasal Bima Yojana?
Fund Global’ has bought 1.73% stake in Bajaj [a] Uttar Pradesh
Electricals; increasing the total holding up to [b] Karnataka
3.03%? [c] Kerala
[a] Finland [d] Gujarat
[b] Germany [e] Madhya Pradesh
[c] Norway
[d] Denmark Q.190) How many islands are connected by
[e] United Kingdom India's first water metro in Kerala's Kochi (as of
April 2023)?
Q.185) Which Small Finance Bank has received a [a] 23
licence from RBI to act as Authorized Dealer [b] 10
Category-I (AD-I) under section 10 of Foreign [c] 20
Exchange Management Act, 1999 to deal in [d] 17
foreign exchange? [e] 22
[a] AU Small Finance Bank
[b] Equitas Small Finance Bank Q.191) Where was the “Re(ad)dress: Return of
[c] Utkarsh Small Finance Bank Treasures” exhibition organized?
pg. 21
[Type here]
[a] Indore [e] University of Calcutta

[b] New Delhi
[c] Bhopal Q.197) Which edition of the International SME
[d] Guwahati Convention 2023 was organized jointly by the
[e] Mysore Ministry of MSME, Ministry of External Affairs,
and India SME Forum in New Delhi?
Q.192) Which organization has launched the [a] 3rd
‘Learning Science via Standards’, an educational [b] 7th
programme, for students? [c] 8th
[a] BIS [d] 10th
[b] NOVOD [e] 11th
[c] NCCD
[d] NIAM Q.198) Which state will be covered in Phase-IV
[e] CIPET of Sagar Parikrama?
[a] Kerala
Q.193) With which country has India collaborated [b] Karnataka
to organize “Geoffrey Bawa: It is Essential to be [c] Maharashtra
There” exhibition at the National Gallery of [d] West Bengal
Modern Art in New Delhi? [e] Odisha
[a] Bangladesh
[b] UK Q.199) Which edition of the ‘Al-Mohed-Al Hindi-
[c] Denmark 23’ exercise was organized in Mumbai?
[d] Netherlands [a] 2nd
[e] Sri Lanka [b] 4th
[c] 10th
Q.194) Which ministry is planning to launch the [d] 8th
'One Step' portal to provide information about [e] 6th
foreigners who want to avail treatment in India
[a] Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Q.200) Which of the following is the world’s first
[b] None of those given as options 3D-printed rocket?
[c] Ministry of Ayush [a] Ceres-1
[d] Ministry of External Affairs [b] Terran 1
[e] Ministry of Tourism [c] Proson-M1
[d] Hyperbola-1
Q.195) How many Customs, Excise and Service [e] RP-3
Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) are operational
in India? Q.201) When was the National Health Authority
[a] 9 (NHA) constituted?
[b] 8 [a] 2019
[c] 10 [b] 2011
[d] 4 [c] 2020
[e] 2 [d] 2015
[e] 2012
Q.196) Which university launched ‘herSTART’
platform? Q.202) Which of the following is India’s only
[a] Gujarat University permanent Arctic research station?
[b] University of Delhi [a] Bharati
[c] Indira Gandhi National Tribal University [b] Maitri
[d] Indian Institute of Technology, Ahmedabad [c] Himadri
pg. 22
[Type here]
[d] Himganga [e] Indus

[e] Dakshin Gangotri
Q.207) What is the target of India and Russia with
Q.203) How much is the financial outlay of 100 regards to their bilateral investments?
food streets for each district? [a] USD 10 billion
[a] Rs.2 crore [b] USD 50 billion
[b] Rs.1 crore [c] USD 25 billion
[c] Rs.4.5 crore [d] USD 12 billion
[d] Rs.3 crore [e] USD 35 billion
[e] Rs.5 crore
Q.208) Which state launched ‘Mehangai Rahat’
Q.204) How much is the Total Health Expenditure camps?
(THE) of India, as per the National Health [a] Madhya Pradesh
Accounts Estimates for India (2019-20)? [b] Rajasthan
[a] 2.87% [c] Andhra Pradesh
[b] 2.56% [d] Maharashtra
[c] 1.87% [e] Gujarat
[d] 3.27%
[e] 3.89% Q.209) Which state celebrates the Khongjom
Day?
Q.205) Who is the chairperson of the National [a] Nagaland
Commission for Protection of Child Rights [b] Mizoram
(NCPCR)? [c] Tripura
[a] Kedar Burande [d] Manipur
[b] Chandra Sekhar [e] Assam
[c] Vikram Sahay
[d] Priyank Kanoongo Q.210) Where was the Millets Fair-cum-Exhibition
[e] Prithul Kumar organized?
[a] Rajasthan
Q.206) River Kiul is the tributary of which river? [b] Gujarat
[a] Yamuna [c] Madhya Pradesh
[b] Godavari [d] Maharashtra
[c] Krishna [e] Telangana
[d] Ganga
1 C 51 D 101 A 151 B 201 A

2 B 52 B 102 B 152 A 202 C
3 D 53 A 103 B 153 D 203 B
4 B 54 E 104 B 154 A 204 D
5 B 55 A 105 A 155 D 205 D
6 C 56 A 106 E 156 A 206 D
7 A 57 B 107 D 157 A 207 B
8 D 58 A 108 E 158 B 208 B
9 A 59 C 109 A 159 B 209 D
10 C 60 D 110 A 160 B 210 A
11 D 61 A 111 A 161 A
12 A 62 B 112 D 162 B
pg. 23
[Type here]
13 A 63 B 113 B 163 A
14 D 64 A 114 D 164 A
15 A 65 B 115 E 165 B
16 A 66 D 116 E 166 D
17 A 67 B 117 A 167 A
18 B 68 C 118 B 168 A
19 E 69 C 119 A 169 C
20 A 70 B 120 D 170 A
21 A 71 A 121 E 171 A
22 B 72 A 122 B 172 B
23 B 73 B 123 C 173 A
24 B 74 B 124 A 174 D
25 A 75 C 125 D 175 C
26 D 76 B 126 A 176 A
27 D 77 B 127 A 177 D
28 B 78 B 128 D 178 A
29 E 79 D 129 B 179 D
30 B 80 C 130 B 180 A
31 A 81 E 131 D 181 A
32 A 82 D 132 A 182 B
33 C 83 A 133 A 183 B
34 D 84 D 134 D 184 C
35 D 85 D 135 B 185 D
36 D 86 E 136 B 186 A
37 B 87 D 137 D 187 B
38 B 88 A 138 E 188 B
39 A 89 A 139 A 189 B
40 D 90 E 140 D 190 B
41 A 91 A 141 D 191 B
42 B 92 D 142 C 192 A
43 D 93 B 143 A 193 E
44 D 94 B 144 E 194 A
45 E 95 B 145 A 195 A
46 A 96 A 146 B 196 A
47 C 97 D 147 D 197 A
48 D 98 B 148 B 198 B
49 A 99 A 149 B 199 A
50 A 100 D 150 C 200 B
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SPOTLIGHT

Monthly Current Affairs

RBI - NABARD - SEBI

• Legal Proceedings: It will no longer be required for settlement of claims in respect of

Source: Ministry of External Affairs

• PM also launched the International Big Cats Alliance (IBCA):

31. Festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (FINE)-2023 was organized by the

• Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Telecom Skill Excellence Awards–2022 has been

41. Ministry of Cooperation has approved a one-time grant-in-aid of Rs 30 crore to establish

• SCO aims at advancing the theme of 'SECURE' (Security, Economic cooperation,

Source: MEE report

• Organizer - Ministry of Defence (Finance)

58. Doordarshan has announced to telecast the ‘DHAROHAR BHARAT KI - Punruthaan ki

Source: Business Standard

• KVKs function as a 'single window agricultural knowledge resource and capacity

Source: The Hindu Business Line and CGTMSE website

CSIR-National Physical Laboratory -

Indian Sign Language AstroLab -

17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention -

• National Panchayat Awards–2023 categories -

Countries with largest lithium reserves -

• Bolivia – 20 million tonnes

Source: PIB and BEE

90. India-Russia Business Dialogue 2023 was held in New Delhi.

97. IIT-Madras developed a three-dimensional paper-based portable device to detect

Source: News on Air

Key Findings of Census -

o Top 5 States wherein major use of water bodies is in pisciculture: West

• Duration: 2023-24 to 2030-31

115. Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao unveiled a 125-feet-tall statue of Dr B

119. NINE campaigns under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav-Inclusive Development

• Duration - April 2023 to August 2023

• Ministry: Ministry of Rural Development

• This will be achieved by spreading awareness on entrepreneurship and other schemes of

122. “Re(ad)dress: Return of Treasures” exhibition was organized in New Delhi.

• In October 2022, Gujarat University had launched 'herSTART' – a start-up platform in

E) Per capita Government Health Expenditure

146. India-Russia Inter-governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific,

148. IIT-Bombay is introducing a new form of convocation called Commencement Ceremony,

Source: Hindustan Times, PIB and Economic Times

• Their language, also called Idu Mishmi, is considered endangered by UNESCO.

26. State festivals celebrated in April 2023-

• Vaishakhi – North India (majorly Punjab)

AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

6. Ministry of Food Processing Industries organized a 2-day Millets Fair-cum-Exhibition at

6. Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane inaugurated a new production facility in Nashik to

• Sarang is an advanced Electronic Support Measure system for helicopters of the

7. China has launched its Tianlong-2 rocket into orbit.

Source: News on Air

23. Italy has banned OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot.

Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s website and BBC

Source: Times of India

38. International Conference on Human-Wildlife Conflict and Coexistence was hosted by

40. Proba-3 is a technological demonstration mission by the European Space Agency.

Source: Financial Express

46. Red squirrels of Wales have contacted squirrel pox.

Source: NASA blog and NASA Sofia overview

REPORTS AND INDICES