Daily Current Affairs for Competitive Examinations: April 05, 2023
Current affairs are a significant part of the government examinations. Although it is easy to score well on this section, preparation may be a challenge. We have selected the best of the most current news and put it together in Embibe’s Current Affairs series. Our experts selected the questions on this page based on the important events that occurred.
Current Affairs: Defence
India’s defence exports reach an all-time high of ₹16,000 crore
India has achieved a remarkable milestone as the country witnessed an all-time high level of defence export worth approx ₹16,000 crore to over 85 countries.
In only six years, defence exports surged over ten times amid a number of reforms and policy initiatives taken by the government.
India has achieved a remarkable milestone of over ten times increase in defence exports since 2016-17.
India has a target of US $5 billion for defence exports by 2024-25.
Some of the major initiatives are:
Formulation of a Defence Export Strategy and constitution of a Defence Export Steering Committee (DESC) and Export Promotion Cell (EPC)
A negative list of countries for defence export by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)
End-to-end online export authorisation curtailing delays and bringing Ease of Doing Business
The criterion for Indigenous Content (IC) in Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) while allowing the government to fund up to 70% of development costs.
Increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) to 74% through the automatic route and the notification of three Open General Export Licences (OGEL), a one-time export licence to export specified items to specified destinations
Significance of defence export Making the Indian defence Industry part of the global defence value chain
Increasing domestic manufacturing capacity, encouraging the use of new technology, and enhancing the “Make in India” in the defence industry
Q1.) India has a target of US $5 billion for defence exports by
(A) 2030-31
(B) 2026-27
(C) 2025-26
(D) 2024-25
Answer: D
Check out the Highlights of the Economic Survey 2022-23 by clicking on the link given below: Economic Survey 2022-23
Current Affairs: Planet in Focus
India celebrates 50 successful years of “Project Tiger”
Celebrating five decades of tiger conservation, India recently marked the 50th anniversary of “Project Tiger”.
Project Tiger was launched in 1973 to protect tigers in India.
It is a centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) providing central assistance to the tiger states for tiger conservation in designated tiger reserves.
It was launched against the backdrop of a declining population of tigers, which had fallen below 2000 in the 1970s.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is its implementing authority, established in 2005 under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
It has an overarching supervisory/coordination role and approves the Tiger Conservation Plan prepared by the State Governments. NTCA consists of the Minister in charge of the MoEFCC (as Chairperson), the Minister of State in the MoEFCC (as Vice-Chairperson), 3 MPs, and the Secretary of MoEFCC.
Facts:
With a current population of about 3,000 tigers, India is home to more than 70% of the global tiger population.
While Project Tiger initially covered nine tiger reserves, India now has 53 reserves covering approximately 2.4% of the country’s geographical area.
India achieved a doubling of tiger population in 2018, 4 years ahead of the targeted year 2022.
Q2.) In which year India launched “Project Tiger” for tiger conservation?
(A) 1992
(B) 1986
(C) 1990
(D) 1973
Answer: D
Current Affairs: National Interest
Chhattisgarh’s Nagri Dubraj rice variety got a geographical indication tag
After Jeeraphool rice in 2019, Dubraj is the second brand to get the GI tag.
“Maa Durga Swa Sahayata Samuh”, a women’s self-help group from Nagri in the Dhamtari district, was harvesting Dubraj and had applied for a GI tag.
Features: The Nagri Dubraj is known as the Basmati of Chhattisgarh because of its fragrance. The grain finds reference in Valmiki Ramayana. The rice is of an indigenous variety and has small grains.
Q3.) The Nagari Dubraj rice variety, which recently got the GI tag, belongs to which state?
(A) Karnataka
(B) Maharashtra
(C) Chhattisgarh
(D) Madhya Pradesh
Answer: C
Current Affairs: National Interest
World’s highest frozen lake marathon
In Ladakh, the country’s first-ever Frozen Lake Marathon on Pangong Tso has been officially registered in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s highest Frozen Lake marathon.
About the event:
The theme of the marathon is ‘The Last Run’.
Aim: To promote winter as well as border tourism in Ladakh while creating awareness of climate change.
It was organised as part of the vibrant village Program to accelerate the pace of development in border villages.
The 21 km long marathon began at Luking village and was organised by the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council in collaboration with the Adventure Sports Foundation of Ladakh.
The Pangong Tso Lake:
Pangong Lake, situated at a height of almost 4,350 m, is the world’s highest saltwater lake.
Pangong Lake, one of the most famous lakes in Leh Ladakh, derives its name from the Tibetan word “Pangong Tso”, which means “high grassland lake”.
One-third of the nearly 160 kilometres-long lake lie in India and the other two-thirds in China.
Current Affairs: Defence
India-Africa Army Chiefs’ Conclave
India has extended a line of credit, touching nearly $14 billion to 42 nations in the African Union. It is looking at increasing the funds to support the defence capacity of countries in the region, besides traditional sectors like railways, ports and roads.
About the conclave:
Senior military officers from 31 countries in the region took part in the first India-Africa Army Chiefs’ Conclave in Pune.
At the conclave, a key focus area was the display of India-made military equipment — from indigenous Arjun battle tanks to specialised armoured vehicles manufactured by private companies like Tata Group and Kalyani Group.
Artillery guns, including the Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System, Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers and small arms like India-made Israeli rifles like Tavor and Negev light machine guns, were also highlighted.
Q4.) Which city conducted the first India-Africa Army Chiefs’ conclave?
(A) Bengaluru
(B) Mumbai
(C) Pune
(D) Delhi
Answer: C
Current Affairs: Defence
10th Edition of India-Sri Lanka bilateral maritime exercise SLINEX-2023 begins
The 10th edition of the annual India-Sri Lanka bilateral maritime exercise SLINEX-2023 began in Colombo on 3 April.
The exercise is being conducted in two phases of three days each, the harbour phase and the sea phase.
INS Kiltan and INS Savitri represent the Indian Navy, while SLNS Vijayabahu and SLNS Samudra represent the Sri Lankan Navy.
Apart from this, Chetak helicopters and Dornier maritime patrol aircraft of the Indian Navy, and Dornier and BEL 412 helicopters of the Sri Lankan Air Force are also participating in the exercise.
The 9th edition of this exercise was concluded on 10 March 2022 at Visakhapatnam, in the Bay of Bengal.
SLINEX-2023 aims to enhance interoperability, improve mutual understanding and exchange best practices and procedures in multi-dimensional maritime operations between the two navies.
Q5.) The recently begun 10th edition of “SLINEX” is a bilateral maritime exercise between India and which other country?
(A) Sweden
(B) Sri Lanka
(C) Saudi Arabia
(D) Sudan
Answer: B
Current Affairs: Defence
India-U.S. air exercise ‘Cope India’ to begin next week
The Indian Air Force will soon kick off Cope India’s exercise with the US Air Force (USAF) at the Kalaikunda Airbase in West Bengal.
It is a bilateral joint exercise between Indian Air Force (IAF) and the United States Air Force (USAF).
Cope India began in 2004 as a fighter training exercise.
The exercise has evolved to incorporate subject matter expert exchanges, air mobility training, airdrop training, large-force exercises, and fighter-training exercises.
The exercise will further enhance operational capability and interoperability between these two air forces.
The last edition of the exercise was held in 2019.
Q6.) _____ is a joint exercise between Indian Air Force (IAF) and US Air Force (USAF)?
(A) Al Nagah
(B) Indra
(C) Bold Kurukshetra
(D) Exercise Cope India
Answer: D
Check out the Highlights of Union Budget 2023 by clicking on the link given below: Union Budget 2023-24
Factbook: 04-April-2023
Indian Partition Refugee Assistance Scheme
The Central government scheme to provide financial assistance to over 5,000 Hindu and Sikh families who migrated to India from Pakistan’s West Punjab after the 1947 partition has faced several challenges.
Out of 5,764 eligible families, only 903 families have received the grant so far, with several claims being unable to process due to the lack of original documents, such as refugee cards. The scheme has also been affected by corruption allegations and demands for bribes from revenue officials.
Additionally, the division of the grant amount among several members of the family has resulted in a low payout for some families.
The J&K administration conducted special camps to help families apply for the grant, but many have not been able to produce the required documents.
The Ministry of Home Affairs reimburses the funds to the J&K administration based on the verification of records done by them, and the scheme has been extended till 31 March 2024, with ₹25 crore allotted for the scheme in the 2023-24 budget.
NASA Selects First Woman, first Black Astronauts for Artemis II Moon Mission
After a 50-year break, NASA has announced the names of the four astronauts who will be taking humans back to the Artemis II Moon Mission.
For the first time, a woman astronaut, Christina Koch, and a black astronaut, Victor Glover, will be part of a lunar mission.
The team, along with Reid Wiseman and Jeremy Hansen, will orbit the Moon in a capsule in late 2022 or early 2025.
While they will not land on the Moon, their mission will prepare the way for a future crew to make a touchdown.
The most recent human spaceflight mission to the Moon was Apollo 17 in December 1972, and the first landing was made by Apollo 11 in 1969.
The next lunar landing, known as Artemis-3, is not expected to happen until at least a year after Artemis-2. Currently, NASA does not possess a system that can bring astronauts down to the lunar surface, but Elon Musk’s SpaceX company is developing one.
MF Hydra’: World’s first liquid hydrogen-powered ferry gets operational
Norwegian company Norled has successfully launched the world’s first ferry that runs on liquid hydrogen.
The vessel, called MF Hydra, is a hybrid that uses both batteries and liquid hydrogen fuel cells.
It underwent sea trials for two weeks after initial testing at Hjelmeland Quay earlier this year.
The Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA) has given final approval for the ferry to operate. This milestone achievement is a significant step towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the maritime industry, as hydrogen fuel cells produce only clean water as a byproduct.
The ferry, MF Hydra, has received clearance from the Norwegian Maritime Administration to start sailing.
The vessel, delivered in 2021, has a length of 82.4 metres and can carry up to 300 passengers and 80 vehicles. With its two 200 kW fuel cells, two 440 kW generators, and two Schottel thrusters, it can travel at a speed of 9 knots.
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