Weekly Current Affairs – 15th-21st January 2023

Important News – World

1. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) awarded $ 425 million to which aircraft industry company for the agency’s sustainable flight demonstrator project _____Boeing.

Note:

➢ Boeing and NASA will work together to build, test, and fly a full-scale demonstrator aircraft.

➢ They will also validate technologies, that aimed to lower emissions.

➢ NASA will invest $425 million and the remaining amount of the agreement funding (estimated at 725 million dollars) will be contributed by the Boeing and its partners.

2. During the visit to Maldives, EAM Dr. S Jaishankar announced an additional grant of how much Maldivian Rufiyaa for community development projects in Maldives ___________100 Million Maldivian Rufiyaa.

Note:

➢ He also witnessed an MoU between Maldivian National University and Kochi University of Science & Technology.

➢ He has also announced that India has handed over two sea ambulances to help the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).

➢ India has completed 23 out of 45 impactful community development projects.

3. Which mobile application was fined 5.5 million euros ($5.95 million) by the Data Privacy Commissioner (DPC) of Ireland for an additional breach of the EU’s privacy laws ________WhatsApp.

Note:

➢ The DPC acts as the EU’s lead privacy regulator for Meta.

➢ The DPC has issued a similar order to Meta’s other main platforms, Facebook and Instagram, which stated Meta must reassess the legal basis upon which it targets advertising through the use of personal data.

4. How many Indian companies have been featured in the list of the world’s top 10 most valuable IT service brands list, released by Brand Finance’s rankings for 2023 _______Four.

Note:

➢ Four Indian companies are TCS (2), Infosys (3), HCLTech (8), and Wipro (9).

➢ While Accenture has succeeded in retaining its position as the most valuable IT services brand for the fifth consecutive year.

➢ While IBM ranked fourth followed by Capgemini, NTT Data, Cognizant.

5. According to the report, released by the Dealroom and London & Partners, India ranked _ globally with USD $24.1$ billion worth of venture capital (VC) investments in 2022 _______4th.

Note:

➢ The United States of America (USA) with a USD $233.3$ billion tech investment topped the list, followed by China (USD 48 billion) and the United Kingdom (UK) (USD $29.9$ billion).

➢ As per the research, USD $10.7$ billions of the total tech investment to India went into Bengaluru-based companies.

6. Name the Indian, who has been ranked second on Brand Finance’s list of the world’s top CEOs _____Mukesh Ambani

Note:

➢ Top performer of Brand Guardianship Index 2023: Jensen Huang (Nvidia CEO).

➢ The Index was released annually by brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance, celebrates CEOs who balance the needs of commercial success with long-term brand building and personal reputation management.

➢ Satya Nadella has been slipped to 3rd place, followed by Sundar Pichai.

Honor & Awards

1. R’Bonney Gabriel is associated with which country who has been crowned the Miss Universe 2022 at the 71st Miss Universe pageant organized in New Orleans, Louisiana ______USA.

Note:

➢ She is a model, fashion designer, and sewing instructor who prioritizes the environment in her work.

➢ She is also the first Filipino American to win Miss USA.

➢ Amanda Dudamel from Venezuela was the first runner-up, and Andreína Martínez from the Dominican Republic was the second runner-up.

2. DNPA has announced Digital Impact awards 2023 in eight categories. What is the full form of DNPA ________Digital News Publishers Association.

Note:

➢ The Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) has announced Digital Impact awards 2023 in eight categories.

➢ Categories (Best Use of Digital Media):

➢ For Health – CoWIN App

➢ For Women & Child Welfare Reforms – (A) Poshan Tracker App, (B) Himmat Plus Ap

➢ For Ease of Living –Digilocker

➢ For Financial Reforms – PMJDY

➢ For Human Resource Development & Education – DIKSHA

➢ For Sustainability and Environment Protection – CAMPA

3. Name the writer who won the first-ever Federal Bank Literary Award 2022 for his autobiography ‘Oranweshananthinte Katha’ ________K Venu.

Note:

➢ The award was presented by the chairman and independent director of the Federal Bank, Balagopal Chandrasekhar.

➢ It was presented at an event held as part of the ongoing sixth edition Kerala Literature Festival, Kozhikode beach.

➢ The prize money was handed over by Nandakumar V (executive vice-president of the bank).

4. Which Indian film has won the Critics Choice Awards 2023 in the Best Foreign Language Film category _____RRR.

Note:

➢ India’s ‘RRR’ directed by SS Rajamouli has won the Critics Choice Awards 2023 in the Best Foreign Language Film category and Best Song category for ‘Naatu Naatu’

➢ Television:

Best Actor: Bob Odenkirk (Best Drama Series: Better Call Saul)

Best Actress: Zendaya (Euphoria)

➢ Film:

Best Actor: Brendan Fraser (The Whale as Charlie)

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett (Tár)

Best Director: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Best Movie: Everything Everywhere All at Once)

5. Which bank was awarded the Best Small Bank Award 2022 under the category of banks with a book size of less than ₹1 lakh crore, in the Best Banks Survey for the year 2022 conducted by Business Today-KPMG ________Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB).

Note:

➢ The award was presented by Union Minister, Nitin Gadkari to S.Krishnan (TMB MD and CEO).

➢ TMB was awarded under the category of banks with a book size of less than ₹1 lakh crore.

➢ BT-KPMG: It is conducting BT-KPMG Best banks survey and awarding the best banks with 37 parameters.

6. The writer of the book titled, ‘Broke to Breakthrough’ has won Gaja Capital Business Book Prize 2022. Who is he _ Harish Damodaran.

Note:

➢ This book is a detailed and perceptive account of the rise of dairy company Hatsun Agro and its founder R.G.Chandramogan.

➢ Gaja Capital Business Book Prize:

➢ It was instituted in 2019.

➢ Aim: To encourage Indian entrepreneurs, writers, and journalists to tell stories

7. “Naanera” has won the ‘Golden Kailasha’ award for the best movie at the 8th Ajanta-Ellora film festival. This movie belongs to which regional cinema ________Rajasthani.

Note:

➢ It was directed by Deepankar Prakash.

➢ It has also bagged awards for best director, best screenplay, and best editor.

➢ Best Actress: Akshatha Pandavapura

➢ Best Actor: Jeetu Kamal (Bengali film: Aparajito)

➢ As many as 55 films were screened in this five day film festival.

8. Dr Sanduk Ruit, who won the top civilian award of Bahrain, the ISA Award for Service to Humanity, is associated with which country _______Nepal.

Note:

➢ He is a co-founder of the Himalayan Cataract Project.

➢ He is a pioneer in delivering high-quality microsurgical procedures in remote eye camps.

➢ The award carries a cash prize ($1 million), a certificate, and a gold medal

➢ He was awarded the Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia (2007), the Ramon Magsaysay Award (2006), and Padma Shri (2018).

Sports News

1. Name the Indian duo in tennis who won the men’s double Bangkok Open title 2023 organized at Nonthaburi, Thailand ________Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni.

Note:

➢ They defeated Christopher Rungkat and Akira Santillan (Indonesian-Australian team).

➢ With this win, Yuki will get a career-high doubles rank of 90 and Saketh should also touch a career-best 74 in the ATP doubles chart.

➢ They will next compete in the Australian Open where they have been given a wild card entry.

2. Yonex- Sunrise India Open 2023, also known as India Open, is being organized in which sports complex from 17-22 January 2023 ________KD Jadhav Indoor Hall.

Note:

➢ The tournament organized at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall.

➢ Since 2008, it will be the first time when India Open is organized in the super 750 status category.

➢ The tournament will see some top players from 29 countries, and a total of 97 players will compete in various categories.

3. Which media company has won the bid for the media rights for the Women’s IPL for a whopping Rs 951 crore for five years _________Viacom 18.

Note:

➢ The auction for the T20 League was conducted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in Mumbai.

➢ BCCI will launch the Women’s Indian Premier League in March 2023.

➢ The detailed terms and conditions governing the tender process including eligibility requirements etc. are contained in the ‘Invitation to Tender’ (ITT).

4. Who won the men’s singles Malaysia Open title 2023, after defeating Kodai Naraoka from Japan ______Viktor Axelsen.

Note:

➢ While Akane Yamaguchi (Japanese player) lifted the title in the women’s final, after beating South Korea’s An Se-young.

➢ Men’s doubles: Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto (Indonesia)

➢ Women’s doubles: Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan (China)

➢ Mixed doubles: Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong (China)

5. Name the India cricketer who become the fifth Indian player to score a double-hundred in the One Day International (ODI) match against New Zealand ________Shubman Gill.

Note:

➢ With this feat, he has broken several records including the fastest Indian to score 1,000 runs in ODI cricket (19 ODI innings).

➢ He has also broken the records of Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli, who complete 1,000 runs in 24 innings.

➢ He also broke Tendulkar’s record of the highest individual score against New Zealand in an ODI.

6. Who has defeated Aditya Mehta by 9-6 to win the final of the ‘Baulkline’ NSCI All India Snooker Open 2023 __ Laxman Rawat of Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB).

Note:

➢ Cash prize: Rs 3 lakh (winner); Rs 1.5 lakh (Runner-up)

➢ NSCI Snooker Open Crown is a snooker tournament, organized by the National Sports Club of India (NSCI).

➢ This is open to players from all over India and features a best-of-17-frame final.

7. Which team has lifted the 14th CEC Ice Hockey Cup 2023 in the men’s category, after defeating the Humas Warriors Drass ___________Friends Pashkum.

Note:

➢ While in the women’s category, DownHill Kargil won the cup, after beating Wakha Mulbekh.

➢ CEC LAHDC Kargil, Feroz Ahmad was the chief guest of this event.

➢ The tournament was held in Ladakh and was participated by 27 teams, including 4 Women’s teams.

➢ The efforts of the Rural Development Dept and Youths service and Sports Dept were appreciated.

Books and Authors

1. Who is a writer of a book titled ‘COACHING BEYOND: My Days with the Indian Cricket Team’ _______R. Kaushik & R. Sridhar.

Note:

➢ The book reflects primarily on R. Sridhar’s seven-year coaching tenure with the Indian cricket team as its fielding coach.

➢ This book isn’t as technical as it is anecdotal.

Science and Defence

1. European officials and Carl XVI Gustaf (Swedish King) have inaugurated the first mainland orbital launch complex of the European Union in which country __________Sweden.

Note:

➢ Aim: To bolster the capacity to launch small satellites into space with a new launchpad in Arctic Sweden.

➢ The new facility should complement the EU’s current launching capabilities in French Guiana.

2. Astronomers from McGill University in Canada and which institute detected a radio signal, originating from atomic hydrogen in a distant galaxy _______Indian Institute of Science (IISc).

Note:

➢ The signal was detected with the help of data from the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) in Pune.

➢ The findings have been published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

➢ It is also the first confirmed detection of strong lensing of 21 cm emission from a galaxy.

3. According to a report, the Shukrayaan I, the ISRO Venus mission may be delayed until which year _______2031.

Note:

➢ The mission was scheduled to launch in December 2024

➢ The concept was conceived in 2012

➢ After five years, the Department of Space received a 23% increase in the 2017–2018 budget and ISRO started preliminary investigations

➢ The best time to launch from Earth to Venus is once every 19 months or thereabouts

4. Which Indian institute incubated firm has developed an Indigenous Mobile Operating System named ‘BharOS’ _______IIT Madras.

Note:

➢ About BharOS:

➢ It can be installed on commercial off-the-shelf handsets.

➢ It provides access to trusted apps from organization-specific Private App Store Services (PASS).

➢ It comes with No Default Apps (NDA), which means that users are not forced to use apps that they may not be familiar with or that they may not trust.

➢ Developed by: JandK Operations Private Limited

5. A Science Literature Festival ‘Vigyanika’ will be organized from 22-23 January 2023 at the Indian International Science Festival (IISF) in which state of India __________Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

Note:

➢ “Science Literature Festival” is being organized as part of the 8th IISF.

➢ In 2023, IISF is being coordinated and organized by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Ministry of Science & Technology, and Vijnana Bharati.

6. The Geotail spacecraft ended after 30 years in orbit due to the failure of the spacecraft’s remaining data recorder. This was a mission operation of NASA and which space agency _______JAXA.

Note:

➢ Reason: Failure of the spacecraft’s remaining data recorder.

➢ This mission was launched on July 24, 1992.

➢ Geotail orbited Earth had gathered an immense dataset on the structure and dynamics of the magnetosphere, Earth’s protective magnetic bubble.

➢ It was originally slated for a four-year run, but the mission was extended due to its high-quality data return.

7. The fifth and last vessel of the series of Fast Patrol Vessels (FPV), the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ship ‘Kamla Devi’ was commissioned at Kolkata, West Bengal. It was designed, built, and delivered by which ship building and repairing company ________Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd.

Note:

➢ ICGS Kamla Devi:

➢ It is 48.9 meters long and 7.5 meters wide with a displacement of 308 Tons.

➢ It has three engines and water jets.

➢ It is capable of a top speed of 34 knots and an endurance of over 1,500 nautical miles.

8. Which edition of the bilateral naval exercise between India and France ‘VARUNA’ was organized on the Western Seaboard from 16 -20 January 2023 ________21st.

Note:

➢ It will witness advanced air defense exercises, tactical manoeuvres, surface firings, underway replenishment, and other maritime operations.

➢ This exercise will provide an opportunity to learn best practices from each other.

➢ It was initiated in 1993 and was christened ‘VARUNA’ in 2001.

9. Which edition of “SAINYA RANAKSHETRAM 2.0” was organized by the Indian Army under the aegis of HQ Army Training Command from October 2022 to January 2023 ________Second.

Note:

➢ Aim: To provide a platform to identify indigenous talent in niche domains and enhance the standard of training in domains of Cyber Deterrence, Security Software Coding, Electro Magnetic Spectrum Operations.

10. The 14th edition of Aero India 2023 will be held in which city from 13-17 February 2023 ________Yelahanka, Bengaluru.

Note:

➢ This event will be a combination of the major trade exhibition of the aerospace and defence industries as well as an aerial display by IAF.

➢ It will also be participated by global leaders and big investors in the aerospace industry.

➢ This platform provides a unique opportunity for the exchange of information, and new developments in the aviation industry.