Daily GK and Current Affairs Quiz – 7th & 8th May 2023

Correct Answer:  B. INS Magar

Explanation:  INS Magar, the oldest Landing Ship Tank (Large), was decommissioned by the Indian Navy after 36 years of service on May 06 at the Naval base in Kochi. The decommissioning ceremony was attended by Vice Admiral MA Hampiholi, Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command, as well as Air Marshal B Manikantan, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Air Command. Commander Hemant Salunkhe commanded the ship during its service. The event included the release of the ship’s timeline and a special postage cover.

• The Navy announced that a “Barakhana” was held by INS Magar to honor former Commanding Officers, Officers, and onboard veterans before the decommissioning ceremony.
• The ship was launched on November 16, 1984, by Meera Tahiliani and commissioned by late Admiral R H Tahiliani on July 18, 1987, at Garden Reach Shipyard and Engineers Limited, Kolkata.
• The Navy further shared that during its service, INS Magar was part of various amphibious exercises, humanitarian missions, and operations such as Samudra Setu during the COVID-19 pandemic, wherein over 4,000 Indian nationals were repatriated.
• Moreover, the vessel played a significant role in the evacuation of more than 1,300 survivors after the Tsunami in 2004, and had also conducted joint military exercises with the Indian Army.

Correct Answer:  C. Chandigarh

Explanation:  India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh opened the country’s first Indian Air Force Heritage Centre in Chandigarh on 8 May, under a memorandum of understanding between the Indian Air Force and the Union Territory of Chandigarh. The centre spreads over 17,000 square feet and celebrates the Indian Air Force’s role in previous conflicts such as the 1965, 1971, and Kargil Wars, as well as the Balakot air strike, through murals and memorabilia. Last year, the Union Territory of Chandigarh and the Indian Air Force entered into a memorandum of understanding to establish the Centre. The inauguration event was attended by Chandigarh’s administrator and governor Banwarilal Purohit, Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari, and the city’s MP Kirron Kher.

Correct Answer:  C. Indian Council of Agricultural Research

Explanation:  Central government constituted 11-member committee under the chairmanship of Sanjay Garg, the Additional Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education and Secretary of ICAR. The main aim of the high-level committee is to restructure the 94-year-old Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to achieve the objective of Amrit Kal. Scientists, experts from NITI Ayog, representatives from the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, and the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying are members of this committee. The committee will submit its report within 30 days.

Earlier, committees under Dr MS Swaminathan and Dr RA Mashlekar were constructed to restructure ICAR. However, the government never implemented the recommendations of the committee. ICAR-affiliated institutes have played a key role in achieving food self-sufficiency. The government is now planning to shift from grain-centric research to nutrition-centric research and help farmers in producing crops for global requirements.

Correct Answer:  B. 258 million

Explanation:  The flagship publication of the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC), ‘Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2023’, estimates that nearly 258 million people (i.e. 22.7% of the analysed population) in 58 food-crisis countries/territories were faced acute food insecurity at crisis or worse levels (IPC/CH Phase 3-5) in 2022, up from 193 million people in 53 countries and territories in 2021. This is the highest number in the 7-year history of the GRFC. GRFC 2023, is the 7th edition of the annual report produced by the Food Security Information Network (FSIN), was launched by GNAFC – an international alliance of the United Nations, the European Union, governmental and non-governmental agencies, working to tackle food crises together.

• 253 million people were in Stressed (IPC/CH Phase 2) in 41 countries/territories with IPC/CH analyses in 2022. Around 35 million people were in Emergency (IPC/CH Phase 4) in 39 countries/territories.
• As per the report, more than 40% of the population in IPC/CH Phase 3 or above resided in just 5 countries – Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, parts of Nigeria (21 states and the Federal Capital Territory(FCT)), and Yemen.

Correct Answer:  C. BharatPe

Explanation:  BharatPe Group, a fintech startup, announced the rebranding of its loyalty program, PAYBACK India, the multi-brand loyalty program to “Zillion”. The new web address for Zillion is https://zillionrewards.in/. This new brand identity is in line with BharatPe’s vision to make Zillion ubiquitous to loyalty and rewards across India. Zillion aims to target customers across age groups and add a new dimension to their overall shopping experience, across categories and brands. Zillion will have a wide range of options for customers to earn and redeem points at a variety of partners across India. Customers will be able to earn ‘Zillion coins’ across the network of offline and online partners, including groceries, fuel, entertainment, travel, apparel, and more.

Correct Answer:  D. Cristiano Ronaldo

Explanation:  According to Forbes’ World’s 10 Highest-Paid Athletes 2023, Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) has become the highest-paid athlete in the world in 2023 after he moved to Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr in January 2023, after his exit from Manchester United, nearly doubling his annual salary to an estimated USD 75 million. He topped the list with a total earning of USD 136 million – USD 46 million on-field and USD 90 million off-field. He has topped the list for the first time since 2017. Paris-Saint Germain (PSG)’s forward Lionel Messi (Argentina) stands 2nd with a total earning of USD 130 million. 24 years old PSG player and France National football team captain Kylian Mbappé is ranked 3rd with a total earning of USD 120 million. He entered the list of the top 10 for the first time and he is the youngest member (under 30) featured on the 2023 list. Top 5 in The World’s 10 Highest-Paid Athletes 2023:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
2. Lionel Messi (Argentina)
3. Kylian Mbappe (France)
4. LeBron James (United States (US))
5. Canelo Alvarez (Mexico)

Correct Answer:  D. 7th May

Explanation:  World Athletics Day, established by the International Amateur Athletic Federation, is celebrated on May 7th each year. The aim of this day is to promote sports and exercise as a means of preventing diseases and maintaining good health. The focus is on encouraging people to participate in athletics and other fitness activities to keep themselves healthy. The theme for World Athletics Day 2023 is “Athletics for All – A New Beginning,” which focuses on promoting diversity and inclusivity in athletics and making sports accessible to people regardless of their gender, age, ability, or background. The primary aim of World Athletics Day is to encourage sports and physical activities worldwide, although the event’s theme may change every year.

Correct Answer:  B. CU-Chayan

Explanation:  University Grant Commission (UGC) Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar launched a new recruitment portal called CU-Chayan for Central University faculty, declaring it to be completely user-friendly and suitable for the needs of all the stakeholders in the recruitment process. The UGC created the CU-Chayan portal with the aim of developing an enabling environment for both universities and applicants, with universities able to manage every aspect of the recruitment process independently. Currently 31% seats are vacants across different universities.

• The CU-Chayan portal is a unified recruitment platform that is tailored specifically to the recruitment of faculties in Central Universities.
• The portal serves as a common platform for listing vacancies, job advertisements, and postings across all Central Universities.
• Moreover, the registration and application process is entirely online, from application to screening to alerts for portal users.
• The CU-Chayan portal offers a personalized dashboard that is built to manage the application process. It provides transparency and access to every facet of the recruitment process.
• It offers a variety of features to assist applicants, including a consolidated list of job openings from all participating universities, a singular login for applying to any of the universities, and customised dashboards to aid in the application process.
• Additionally, applicants can use a range of filters like university name, location, job title, category, subject, employment type, experience, education level, and more to look for jobs.

The portal was developed in cooperation with the Vice Chancellors of Central Universities, and feedback was taken into consideration when creating it. The CU-Chayan portal can be modified to meet the unique requirements of each university, and the UGC will provide training to Central Universities in its use. The reservation system for recruitment would also not be impacted, and individual universities would continue to adhere to the Government of India’s reservation system and create their respective rosters in compliance with DOPT guidelines.

Correct Answer:  C. Nepal

Explanation:  Nepal have qualified for the Asia Cup 2023 after winning the ACC Men’s Premier Cup. The team, led by Rohit Paudel defeated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by seven wickets in the final that was played across two days at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur. Put into bat, UAE struggled to find their momentum as they lost wickets at regular intervals and were eventually bowled out for a below-par score of 117 in 33.1 overs. Asif Khan top-scored for UAE with a patient knock of 46 runs off 54 balls, while Lalit Rajbanshi was the pick of the bowlers for Nepal with excellent figures of 4 wickets for just 14 runs in 7.1 overs. Nepal, therefore, joined India and Pakistan in Group A of the Asia Cup to be played in September. Nepal, UAE and Oman will also take part in the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup in July where they will face ‘A’ teams of five full-member teams.

Correct Answer:  B. Max Verstappen

Explanation:  Max Verstappen defeated Sergio Perez to win the Miami Grand Prix May 2023. Fernando Alonso, who started second, claim third-place. George Russell was fourth, finishing ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. Red Bull have now won all five races of the 2023 season. Max Verstappen belongs to team Red Bull.

Correct Answer:  C. Praveen Chithravel

Explanation:  Indian athlete Praveen Chithravel achieved an extraordinary feat by winning the men’s triple jump event at an athletics meet in Havana, Cuba, with a record-breaking national mark of 17.37m. He surpassed the previous men’s triple jump national record of 17.30m, set by Renjith Maheswary at the third Indian Grand Prix in Bangalore in 2016. Praveen Chithravel achieved this exceptional mark with his fifth jump at the Prueba de confrontacion 2023, amidst a headwind reading of -1.5m/s, which is below the permitted wind assistance for official records (+2.0m/s). Nonetheless, all national records require ratification from the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).

Correct Answer:  C. M.N. Nandakumara

Explanation:  A well-known UK-based Sanskrit scholar and the Executive Director of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan centre in London has been conferred an honorary MBE by King Charles III for services to Indian classical arts in Britain. Dr M.N. Nandakumara, who hails from the village of Mattur in Karnataka, has been associated with the Bhavan for 46 years. The honorary award, approved by the British monarch for foreign nationals for their contribution to public life, was confirmed by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) earlier this month and will be formally awarded at a ceremony at a later date.

The honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) has been conferred “for services to the teaching, performance and accessibility of Indian classical arts in the UK”. The centre, registered as the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan with the Charity Commission in England, operates a series of classes including Yoga, Indian languages, dance and music. Before the COVID pandemic it had 900 students enrolled for its classes and while that number has since dipped somewhat due to a switch to online classes, its chief is confident of a boost in the coming months as he sees a growing interest among the youth in learning about Indian arts and culture.

Correct Answer:  C. Ayushmann Khurrana

Explanation:  Manufacturer of mattresses, Wakefit Innovations Private Limited, has signed actor Ayushmann Khurrana as Wakefit.co’s brand ambassador. The company has roped in the actor to create resonance with the local community. Besides being the face of the brand and spearheading upcoming campaigns, the actor will also help the brand in spreading awareness about sleep health and its importance in the modern context.

Khurrana, in the digital ad films does a commentary the company has titled ‘Sleep India Sleep’ on sleep deprivation in the country. “With his dynamism and youthful energy, the actor can be seen urging the audience to prioritise their sleep health and take a pledge to sleep better. This video forms the initiation of the brand’s partnership with him and is in tandem with its marketing philosophy which aims to create meaningful conversations about improving the quality of sleep and home among Indians.

Correct Answer:  D. Jeremy Lalrinnunga

Explanation:  Indian weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga won the silver medal in the snatch event at the Asian Weightlifting Championship held in Jinju, Korea. Jeremy Lalrinnunga, 20, won the silver medal in the snatch event with a lift of 141 kg in the 67 kg category. He became the only Indian weightlifter to win a medal at the Asian Weightlifting Championship this year. The gold medal in the 67 kg weight category went to China’s He Yuji, who finished the event with a higher weight than Lalrinnunga.

Asian Weightlifting Championship:

• It is an event focused on weightlifting and is organised by the Asian Weightlifting Federation.
• This championship is specially designed for athletes from Asian countries.
• Men have been participating in the Asian Weightlifting Championships since 1969, while women have been participating since 1988.
• The objective of the championship is to promote the sport of weightlifting and encourage athletes to showcase their skills and abilities.