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Current Affairs: Defence 

World’s largest cyber defence exercise concluded in Tallinn

• For four days, from 18 April to 21 April, more than 3,000 participants from 38 nations protected real computer systems from real-time attacks. They were trained in tactical and strategic decision-making in critical situations. In addition to defending systems, teams were tasked with reporting incidents, executing strategic decisions, and solving forensic, legal, and media challenges.
• Locked Shields is a training exercise that pits an attacking Red Team against defending Blue Teams, composed of NATO CCDCOE member states and partner nations.

About Locked Shields

• It is an annual cyber defence exercise that simulates a large-scale cyber incident.
• Rapid Reaction Teams from different countries work together to assist a fictional nation in managing a massive cyber attack.
• Blue Teams, comprised of CCDCOE member nations, protect the mock state’s information systems and critical infrastructure from thousands of attacks.

Rationale: 

• The exercise aimed to improve the skills and capabilities of the participating teams and enhance international cooperation and communication in cyber defence.
• The exercise included both defensive and offensive operations, with Red Teams simulating attacks and Blue Teams defending.

What is CCDCOE?

• The CCDCOE is a NATO-accredited knowledge hub for cyber defence, which includes international experts from the military, government, academia, and industry, and is currently representing 39 sponsoring and contributing nations. 
• The CCDCOE supports mainstreaming cybersecurity into NATO and national governance. The CCDCOE is also responsible for identifying and coordinating education and training for all NATO bodies across the Alliance.

Question: 1

World’s largest cyber defence exercise recently concluded in Tallinn. This place is the capital of which of the following countries?

A. Estonia

B. Latvia

C. Lithuania

D. Iceland 

Answer: A

Check out the Highlights of the Economic Survey 2022-23 by clicking on the link given below:
Economic Survey 2022-23

Current Affairs: National Interest 

The Civil Aviation Ministry launches UDAN 5.0

• The government has launched the fifth round of the Regional Connectivity Scheme—UDAN—to further enhance the connectivity to remote and regional areas of the country.
• The scheme was launched by the Ministry of Civil Aviation for regional airport development and regional connectivity enhancement.
• It is a part of the National Civil Aviation Policy 2016.
• The scheme is applicable for a period of 10 years.

Key Features of UDAN 5.0:

• It focuses on Category-2 (20-80 seats) and Category-3 (>80 seats) aircraft.
• There is no restriction on the distance between the origin and the destination of the flight.
• VGF to be provided will be capped at 600 km.
• No predetermined routes would be offered.
• The same route would not be awarded to a single airline.
• The exclusivity of operation provided to an airline will be withdrawn.
• Prevent exploitation of the monopoly on a route.
• Airlines would be required to commence operations within four months.

Major Objectives:

• Improve air connectivity to remote and regional areas of India.
• Development of remote areas and enhancing trade and commerce and tourism expansion.
• Enable common people to access air travel with affordable rates.
• Employment creation in the aviation sector.

Question: 2

The Civil Aviation Ministry recently launched the UDAN 5.0 scheme. Which of the following is not a feature of this scheme?

1. It focuses on Category-2 (20-80 seats) and Category-3 (>80 seats) aircraft
2. There is no restriction on the distance between the origin and the destination of the flight
3. VGF to be provided will be capped at 600 km
4. The scheme is applicable for 25 years

Answer: D

Current Affairs: Report and Ranking 

New York City tops the list of the world’s wealthiest cities in 2023

• New York City has emerged as the biggest millionaire hotspot, with over 340,000 people having a net worth of over $1 million.
• The Wealthiest Cities Report 2023 by “Henley & Partners” noted that the most-populous US city has seen a 40 per cent rise in High-net-worth Individuals (HNWIs) in the last decade.
• A person with a total net worth of over $1 million comes under the category of Hig-net-worth Individuals (HNWIs).
• Another US city, Los Angeles, comes in sixth place, with over 205,000 HNWIs. 
• Japan’s capital Tokyo is second on the list with 290,300 HNWIs, while London and Singapore occupy the fourth and fifth positions, respectively.
• China’s three cities are ranked in the top 10.
• Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region of China, is seventh (129,500 HNWIs), China’s capital Beijing is eighth (128,200 HNWIs), while Shanghai is in the ninth position (127,200 HNWIs).
• Mumbai is in the 21st position, with over 59,000 HNWIs. India’s financial capital is also the top-ranked Indian city on the list. Delhi, ranked 36th, is home to nearly 30,000 millionaires. India’s capital city is followed by Bengaluru, Kolkata and Hyderabad.
• The report noted that two southern Indian cities – Bengaluru (88 per cent) and Hyderabad (78 per cent) – have been among the ten fastest-growing millionaire hubs in the last decade.

Question: 3

Which city recently topped the list of the world’s wealthiest cities in 2023?

A. Mumbai 

B. New York

C. Beijing

D. Dubai

Answer: B

Current Affairs: National Interest 

Centre conducts the first-ever census of water bodies across the country

• The Ministry of Jal Shakti has conducted the first-ever Census of water bodies across the nation. 
• The census provides a comprehensive inventory of India’s water resources, including natural and man-made water bodies like ponds and lakes. 
• In the census, over 24.24 lakh water bodies have been enumerated in the country, out of which more than 23 lakh water bodies are in rural areas and nearly 69,000 are in urban areas. 
• The top five States in terms of the number of water bodies are West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Assam, which constitute around 63 per cent of the total water bodies in the country. 
• The Census also highlighted disparities between rural and urban areas and varying levels of encroachment and revealed crucial insights into the country’s water resources.

Question: 4

How many water bodies have recently been listed in rural areas of the country according to the first-ever census of water bodies conducted by the Ministry of Jal Shakti recently?

A. 23 lakh approx

B. 25 lakh approx

C. 28 lakh approx

D. 30 lakh approx

Answer: A

Current Affairs: International

“India-built Mongolia refinery by 2025”

• Mongolia’s first oil refinery, built and funded with Indian assistance, will be completed by 2025, said the country’s Ambassador Dambajav Ganbold. 
• In an interview, Ganbold said the first stage of Mongol Oil Refinery, built with a $1.2 billion Indian soft loan, will be completed at the end of this year.

Details:

• Mongolia also hopes to attract Indian investment in its mining and metals, with plans to start shipping coking coal to India by 2024. 
• Mongolia also has key rare earth metals, which may be crucial to India’s ambitions to build cutting-edge technological capabilities in semiconductors and green mobility.

Facts:

• The refinery will enable Mongolia to satisfy 70% of its domestic demand.
• According to the nation’s ambassador, Dambajav Ganbold, the first oil refinery in Mongolia, which is being constructed on the outskirts of the capital city of Ulaanbaatar with funding from India, will be finished by 2025.
• Mongolia also intends to entice investment from India in its mining and metals industries with the intention to start shipping coking coal to India by 2024.

Check out the Highlights of Union Budget 2023 by clicking on the link given below:
Union Budget 2023-24

Factbook: 25-April-2023

Star Sports Signs Rishabh Pant as “Believe Ambassador”

• Star Sports, the official television broadcaster of IPL 2023, has signed India cricketer Rishabh Pant as its latest ‘Believe Ambassador’.
• The Network said it also has other current cricketers as its ‘Believe Ambassadors’ like Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer.
• With this, Star Sports has expanded its roster from two ambassadors in 2017 to six now, with Virat Kohli continuing his association.
• The Disney Star recently broke all viewership records on TV across IPL seasons, with 36.9 crore viewers tuning in to the Live broadcast of the first 19 matches.

Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM)

• External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar co-chaired the 4th India-CARICOM Ministerial Meeting with his Jamaican counterpart Kamina J Smith at the CARICOM Secretariat in Guyana.
• The Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) is a regional group of nations that encourage common policy and economic goals.
• The CARICOM was formed in 1973 and consisted of 20 nations, including 15 full-time members and five associate members.
• The CARICOM was formed after the founders had enacted the Treaty of Chaguaramas.
• It was established to replace the Caribbean Trade Area, which had failed in its mission to develop policies in the region pertaining to labour and capital.
• The treaty was revised in 2002 to allow for the eventual establishment of a single market and a single economy.

India and China hold the 18th round of corps commander talks

• India and China held the 18th round of Corps Commander Level talks at the Chushul-Moldo meeting point in the Eastern Ladakh sector.
• The corps commander-level talks started to resolve the matters between the two sides in the eastern Ladakh area after the Chinese side tried to alter the status quo on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) by aggressively moving forward with heavy weaponry and a large number of troops in 2020 during the initial period of the Covid pandemic.

West Bengal adds four new biodiversity heritage sites

• Bengal has added four new biodiversity heritage sites (BHS) in West Bengal, taking the total tally to eight.
• Char Balidanga comprises two islands on the Hooghly with tropical riverine vegetation of tall grasses and swampy flat lands that are periodically inundated with tidal ebbs.
• State Horticulture Research and Development Station campus in Deypara, in Nadia
• Namthing Pokhari is a Himalayan natural wetland.
• The Amkhoi Fossil Park has unique geological and paleo-botanical features. It is the first wood fossil park in West Bengal.
• As per Section 37 of the Biological Diversity Act, the State Governments are empowered to notify areas of biodiversity importance as Biodiversity Heritage Sites.

Question: 5

Which of the following States recently added the sites Char Balidanga and Namthing Pokhari to its list of biodiversity heritage?

A. Odisha

B. Assam

C. West Bengal

D. Chattisgarh

Answer: C

Operation Kaveri was launched to evacuate Indians from Sudan

• India initiated Operation Kaveri to evacuate its citizens from unrest-stricken Sudan. As per External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s tweet, the operation is currently in progress, and roughly 500 Indians have already arrived at Port Sudan.
• Two C-130 aircraft and INS Sumedha for the safe evacuation of stranded Indians in Sudan.
• Official data states that there are roughly 4,000 Indians in Sudan.
• The evacuation operation follows talks held by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with counterparts in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
• Both countries offered “practical support on the ground” during the talks.

Also, check:

Daily current affairs for April 20, 2023	Daily current affairs for April 21, 2023
Daily current affairs for April 24, 2023	Daily current affairs for April 25, 2023

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