Daily Current Affairs for Competitive Examinations: February 10, 2023
General Awareness Section can be the easiest and most qualifying section in competitive exams with the right focus. To bag a good score in these sections, one must follow the current affairs for at least a few minutes on a daily basis. Current affairs are vastly diversified with topics from politics, finance, sports, etc. and getting lost in this vastness might be confusing sometimes.
Whether you are preparing for a written test or an interview for any competitive exam, you have come to the right place to enhance your GK knowledge.
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– Jim Ryun
Current Affairs: Economy
PhonePe Launches India’s First Cross-Border UPI Payments Service
PhonePe has recently announced that it has launched a service that will allow the fintech firm’s Indian users travelling abroad to pay foreign merchants using Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
Details:
‘UPI international’ supports merchant outlets in UAE, Singapore, Mauritius, Nepal and Bhutan that have a local QR (quick response) code.
Walmart-backed PhonePe said users could make direct payments in a foreign currency from their Indian bank like they do with international debit cards.
How?
PhonePe users can activate their UPI-linked bank account for the service at the merchant location, or before their international trip, via the PhonePe App.
It would require the customer to enter their UPI pin to activate the service.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), in collaboration with NPCI International Payments Limited, plans to roll out UPI International to more countries this year. NPCI developed UPI.
About PhonePe:
PhonePe was founded in December 2015 and has emerged as India’s largest payment app. With 435 million registered users, one in four Indians is now on PhonePe.
Question:
Which of the following UPI payment service providers in India has recently launched India’s first cross-border UPI payments service?
A. Google Pay
B. PhonePe
C. Paytm
D. Razorpay
Answer: B
Check out the Highlights of the Economic Survey 2022-23 by clicking on the link given below: Economic Survey 2022-23
Current Affairs: Economy
India Ranks First In Milk Production In The World
According to production data from the Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT), India is the highest milk producer, i.e., ranking first in the world, contributing twenty-four per cent of global milk production in the year 2021-22.
Details:
The milk production of India has registered a fifty-one per cent increase during the last eight years, i.e., during the years 2014-15 and 2021-22 and increased to twenty-two crore tonnes in the year 2021-22.
This information was given by Shri Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, in a written reply in Lok Sabha recently.
About the National Programme for Dairy Development.
NPDD was launched in February 2014 by merging three existing schemes—Intensive Dairy Development Programme, Strengthening Infrastructure for Quality and Clean Milk Production and Assistance to Cooperatives.
Further, the National Programme for Dairy Development aims to enhance the quality of milk and milk products and increase the share of organised procurement, processing, value addition and marketing.
Schemes:
Various schemes supplement the efforts of states and union territories to promote and develop the animal husbandry and dairying sector across the country.
Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM)
National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD)
Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF)
Supporting Dairy Cooperatives and Farmer Producer Organisations engaged in dairy activities (SDCFPO)
National Livestock Mission (NLM)
Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF)
Livestock Health and Disease Control Programme (LH and DCP)
Data:
Milk production in the country has increased from 146.31 million tonnes in 2014-15 to 221.1 million tonnes in 2021-22, i.e., an increment of 6.38 per cent per annum during the last 8 years.
The value of the output of milk is more than ₹9.32 lakh crore during 2021-22, which is higher than the agriculture produces and even more than the combined value of paddy and wheat.
Egg production in the country has increased from 78.48 billion in 2014-15 to 129.53 billion in 2021-22. Egg production in the country is growing at the rate of 8 per cent per annum.
Question:
According to the recent data by the Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT), which of the following countries holds the first rank in global milk output?
A. Netherlands
B. China
C. USA
D. India
Answer: D
Current Affairs: Space Technology
Chandrayaan-3’s Likely Landing Sites Finalised
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has finalised the coordinates of three possible landing sites for its third lunar mission – Chandrayaan-3 – expected to be launched later this year.
All the probable landing sites are on the moon’s south polar region on the side facing the earth, senior scientists from the space agency said recently.
Details:
Landing sites are decided based on the local and global slope, illumination from the Sun, radio communication with the earth, and crater and boulder sizes.
The prime landing site lies between Manzius U and Boguslawsky M craters (southern pole region) on the moon.
It will be launched by Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk III from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
GSLV is a 3-stage rocket powered by a cryogenic engine
About Chandrayaan-3:
Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2.
Its primary objective is to put a lander and rover in the highlands near the south pole of the Moon in 2023.
It consists of Lander and Rover configurations.
About Lander and Rover:
Lander: Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment measures thermal conductivity and temperature; Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity measures seismicity around the landing site; Langmuir Probe estimates plasma density and variations.
Rover: Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) and Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) for deriving elemental composition in the vicinity of the landing site.
Fact:
Chandrayaan-1 (2008): Successfully inserted into lunar orbit.
Chandrayaan-2 (2019): Successfully launched and inserted into lunar orbit in 2019, but its lander crash-landed on the moon’s surface due to a software glitch.
Other upcoming ISRO missions for 2023 include – Aditya-L1, India’s first dedicated scientific mission to study the sun, and Gaganyaan’s uncrewed ‘G1’ mission.
Question:
ISRO has recently finalised the coordinates of three possible landing sites for its third lunar mission – Chandrayaan-3. These possible landing sites are located on which side of the moon?
A. North Polar region
B. South Polar region
C. Far East region
D. Far West region
Answer: B
Current Affairs: Defence
Indian Forces Seek Armed Predator Drones from the US
The Indian armed forces are seeking 18 armed Predator MQ 9A drones from the US, and electronic and spatial intelligence organisation NTRO will soon acquire eight Indian-manufactured medium altitude long endurance (MALE) drones for border surveillance and reconnaissance, according to people aware of the matter.
About Drone:
The Predator armed drones can fly up to 50,000 feet for up to 24 hours and carry an option of Hellfire air-to-ground missiles for high-value targets or air-to-air missiles to bring down aerial enemy targets.
Of these 18 drones from the US, six drones will be provided to each of the three services.
Naval Version:
The Indian Navy already has two General Atomics-manufactured Sea Guardian (MQ 9B) drones for maritime domain awareness on lease from the US. Currently, the navy is the leading service in armed drone acquisition and deployment.
About Version MQ 9A Drones
The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper is an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, primarily for the United States Air Force.
Top speed: 482 km/h
Range: 1,850 km
Wingspan: 20 m
Weight: 2,223 kg
Unit cost: 16,900,000–16,900,000 USD (2013)
Engine type: Honeywell TPE331
Manufacturer: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems
Question:
The Indian armed forces are seeking to procure 18 armed Predator MQ 9A drones from which of the following countries?
A. Israel
B. UK
C. USA
D. Russia
Answer: C
Current Affairs: Economy
India Received the Highest-Ever Foreign Inward Remittances in a Single year
In 2021–2022, India received a total of US$ 89,127 million inward remittances from foreign, the largest amount ever in a single year, recently said the Union Minister of State for Finance, Mr Pankaj Chaudhary.
The Minister further stated that the value of the Indian Rupee is market-determined, and the RBI closely monitors the foreign exchange markets and intervenes only to maintain orderly market conditions by containing excessive volatility in the exchange rate without reference to any pre-determined target level or band.
Important Data:
The data on inward remittances for the past four years are as follows: US$ 80,185 million in 2020-21, US$ 83,195 million in 2019-20, US$ 76,396 million in 2018-19, and lastly, US$ 69,129 million in 2017-18.
Moreover, the highest share of five major countries in inward remittances to India through Authorised Dealer (ADs) banks are from the United States (23.4%), followed by United Arab Emirates (18%), United Kingdom (6.8%), Singapore (5.7%) and Saudi Arabia (5.1%).
Question:
Consider the following statements
In 2021–2022, India received a total of US$ 89,127 million inward remittances from foreign, the largest amount ever in a single year
India received the highest remittances from Singapore in the given period
Which of the following statements is/are correct
A. Only 1
B. Only 2
C. Both are correct
D. Both are incorrect
Answer: A
Check out the Highlights of Union Budget 2023 by clicking on the link given below: Union Budget 2023-24
Current Affairs: Awards and Recognitions
NTPC Bags ‘ATD Best Awards 2023’ for the 6th Consecutive year
NTPC Limited, the country’s largest power generating company, has been honoured with ‘ATD Best Awards 2023’ by the Association for Talent Development (ATD), USA.
This is the sixth time that NTPC Limited has won this award for demonstrating enterprise success in the field of talent development.
NTPC has successfully created an ecosystem that empowers employees to enhance their skill sets.
About the Awards:
The ATD Best Awards recognises organisations that demonstrate enterprise through talent development.
The award includes small and large private, public, and not-for-profit organisations from across the globe.
The Association for Talent Development, USA, is the world’s largest association in the field of talent development, and ATD’s BEST AWARD is the most coveted recognition in Learning and Development.
About NTPC
The NTPC, which was earlier known as the National Thermal Power Corporation of India is owned by the Government of India. It was set up in 1975.
Headquarters: New Delhi
Chairman and Managing Director: Gurdeep Singh
FactBook: 09-02-2023
TCS Named to World’s Most Admired Companies List by FORTUNE® Magazine
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been named to FORTUNE® magazine’s list of the World’s Most Admired Companies.
Regarded as a barometer of corporate reputation, the list is based on a survey of business executives, directors and analysts around the globe.
Companies are evaluated based on criteria such as innovation, social responsibility, quality of management, global competitiveness, talent management, and quality of products/services.
TCS CEO: Rajesh Gopinathan (Since Feb 2017)
TCS Headquarters: Mumbai
TCS Founders: Faqir Chand Kohli and J.R.D. Tata
TCS Founded: 1 April 1968
China Promotes Rice Bran as Staple Food Due to Food Shortage
China has started promoting Rice bran as the staple food amid the ongoing food shortage in the country.
Rice bran is one of the main byproducts in the process of rice milling.
It is the outer brown layer of brown rice and is separated during the milling process.
The bran fraction contains 14-18% oil.
Rice bran oil is a good source of unsaturated fats, vitamin E, and other important nutrients.
It is currently mostly used as animal feed.
Google Introduces AI Chatbot ‘Bard’ to Compete with Microsoft-Backed ChatGPT
Google has unveiled an experimental conversation AI service called “Bard” as it races to catch up with the wildly popular chatbot ChatGPT from the Microsoft-backed firm OpenAI.
According to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, the service will be initially opened up to “trusted testers” before making it more widely available to the public in the coming weeks.
Bard will compete directly with rival ChatGPT, an AI service created by OpenAI.
Bard is powered by LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications), a large language model that was developed and released by Google in 2021.
Pichai said they would be initially releasing Bard on a “lightweight” version of LaMDA that would require significantly less computing power, enabling them to scale to more users and seek more feedback.
RBI Raises the Repo Rate by 25 Basis Points to 6.5% from 6.25%
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das-headed Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has recently raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.5 per cent from 6.25 per cent.
Repo Rate (RR) is the rate at which the central bank lends money to commercial banks or financial institutions, public or private, in India against government securities.
Das said that four MPC members voted in favour of the repo rate revision versus two members.
The central bank said that its policy stance remains focused on withdrawing accommodation.
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