19th & 20th February 2023 Daily Current Affairs in English
1. What is the name of the first cruise ship manufactured in India?
[A] Ganga Vilas
[B] Bharat Vilas
[C] Histo Brustro
[D] Bharat Café
Answer : [A] Ganga Vilas
The MV Ganga Vilas is a river cruise ship manufactured in India. It was flagged off in January 2022 by the Prime Minister. Ganga Vilas is also the longest Motor Vessel of its kind in the world. It is also significant as the first cruise ship to be manufactured in India. It is on course to creating a world record for sailing the longest along several river systems, entered Assam from Bangladesh, 39 days after leaving Varanasi.
2. Which city is the host of the ‘Technotex 2023’ event of Ministry of Textiles?
[A] New Delhi
[B] Mumbai
[C] Guwahati
[D] Gandhi Nagar
Answer : [B] Mumbai
‘Technotex 2023: Envisioning Indian Technical Textiles at 2047’ is the flagship event of the Ministry of Textiles. It will be organized in Mumbai in collaboration with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Its main purpose is to promote textiles that are specifically designed for specific purposes.
3. Which city is the host of the ‘International Engineering and Technology Fair 2023’?
[A] New Delhi
[B] Mumbai
[C] Bengaluru
[D] Ahmedabad
Answer : [A] New Delhi
The International Engineering and Technology Fair 2023 was inaugurated recently by President of India Droupadi Murmu in New Delhi. This is the 25th edition of the global fair. It covers 11 areas of emerging technologies and provides a global platform to bring together policymakers, technical experts, CEOs, sourcing personnel, diplomats, government and trade dignitaries.
4. ‘Jal-Jan Abhiyan’ was recently inaugurated in which state/UT?
[A] Uttar Pradesh
[B] Rajasthan
[C] Maharashtra
[D] Gujarat
Answer : [B] Rajasthan
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the ‘Jal-Jan Abhiyan’ in Rajasthan. It is jointly implemented by the Ministry of Jal Shakti and the Brahma Kumaris organization. The Jal Jan Abhiyan is a campaign that seeks to promote the conservation of water. It involves raising public awareness about the importance of water preservation. It aims to reach at least 10 million people and organize 10,000 programs. The Brahma Kumaris organization is currently headquartered in Mount Abu in Rajasthan.
5. ‘KAVACH-2023’ is a national-level hackathon organized by which Union Ministry?
[A] Ministry of Education
[B] Ministry of Electronics and IT
[C] Ministry of Skill Development
[D] Ministry of Defence
Answer : [A] Ministry of Education
KAVACH-2023 is a national level hackathon that was launched to find innovative ideas and technological solutions to address the cyber security challenges. It is being organized by the Union Education Ministry’s Innovation Cell, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D, MHA) and Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C, MHA).
6. ‘eSanjeevani’ platform is associated with which Union Ministry?
[A] Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
[B] Ministry of Home Affairs
[C] Ministry of External Affairs
[D] Ministry of Education
Answer : [A] Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
eSanjeevani, also known as National Teleconsultation Service, is a government initiative that provides online outpatient doctor (OPD) consultation service to citizens. This firs-of-its-kind scheme was launched in 2019 and it is being implemented by the Union Health Ministry. The eSanjeevani OPD portal and System was developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). The platform recently registered a new record by delivering teleconsultation services to 10 crore beneficiaries.
7. The Delhi Police is a law enforcement agency that comes under the aegis of which Union Ministry?
[A] Ministry of Defence
[B] Ministry of Home Affairs
[C] Ministry of External Affairs
[D] Ministry of Culture
Answer : [B] Ministry of Home Affairs
The Delhi Police is a law enforcement agency that comes under the aegis of the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is responsible for the National Capital Territory of India (NCT) and is currently one of the largest metropolitan police forces in the world. On February 16, the Delhi Police Raising Day was observed. The year 2023 marks the 76th Raising Day.
8. Which Union Ministry launched the ‘Best Tourism Village Competition’?
[A] Ministry of Home Affairs
[B] Ministry of Tourism
[C] Ministry of Culture
[D] Ministry of Rural Development and Entrepreneurship
Answer : [B] Ministry of Tourism
The Best Tourism Village Competition was launched recently by the Union Ministry of Tourism. A portal related to the same was also launched along with the Rural Tourism Portal and the Global Tourism Investor Summit 2023 portal. The Competition to recognize the best tourism village from across India. It will be organized in 3 stages. It will seek entries from district level, state level and the national level. The villages will be evaluated based on Sustainable Development Goals.
9. ‘H3 Rocket’, which was seen in the news, has been developed by which country?
[A] USA
[B] Israel
[C] Japan
[D] UAE
Answer : [C] Japan
The H3 rocket is a Japanese launch vehicle developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The first launch attempt of the H3 rocket was expected to take place in February, 2023. However, it was aborted due to an anomaly in the first stage system. The second launch attempts is expected to take place at the end of March this year.
10. When is the ‘Global Tourism Resilience Day’ observed every year?
[A] February 10
[B] February 12
[C] February 14
[D] February 17
Answer : [D] February 17
The Global Tourism Resilience Day (GTRD) is observed on February 17 each year. It was adopted by the United Nations in the year 2023 and this year marks the inaugural edition. Its objective is to highlight the importance of tourism resilience at the international level. In 2019, tourism sector accounted for 7 percent of global trade and 10 percent of global GDP. It is the third largest export industry in the world.
11. When is the ‘International Childhood Cancer Day’ observed?
[A] February 12
[B] February 15
[C] February 17
[D] February 19
Answer : [B] February 15
The International Childhood Cancer Day (ICCD) is observed across the global level on February 15. This day commemorate the establishment of the Childhood Cancer International, which is a federation of child cancer support groups from across the world. This International federation was founded in the year 1994. The objective of the ICCD is to bring global awareness about children with cancer. It also seeks to provide assistance for them. “Better Survival” is the slogan for this 3-year initiative of International Childhood Cancer Day campaign.
12. Which institution launched the ‘Government Securities Lending Directions, 2023’?
[A] NITI Aayog
[B] RBI
[C] SEBI
[D] World Bank
Answer : [B] RBI
The Reserve Bank of India released the Draft Reserve Bank of India (Government Securities Lending) Directions, 2023. These draft norms seek to regulate the lending and borrowing of government securities (G-secs) in the securities lending market. According to the draft norms, the Government Securities Lending (GSL) transactions can be done for a minimum duration of 1 day and a maximum duration of 90 days.
13. As per the ‘Analysis of State Electric Vehicle Policies’ report, which states have the most comprehensive EV policies?
[A] Maharashtra, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh
[B] New Delhi, Haryana and Bihar
[C] Assam, New Delhi and Kerala
[D] West Bengal, Assam and Karnataka
Answer : [A] Maharashtra, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh
The “Analysis of State Electric Vehicle Policies and Their Impact” Report was released recently by Climate Trends. According to the report, Maharashtra, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh have the most comprehensive EV policies. Over the last 5 years, 16 of the 26 states and UTs have released EV policies between 2020 and 2022.
14. Which legislation seeks to combat espionage activities in India?
[A] Official Secrets Act, 1923
[B] Foreigners Act, 1946
[C] Indian Evidence Act, 1872
[D] Indian Penal Code, 1860
Answer : [A] Official Secrets Act, 1923
The Official Secrets Act, 1923 is a colonial-era legislation that seeks to combat espionage activities in India. It strongly prohibits activities that involve helping adversary countries against India. It also bans the entry, inspection, or even passing over a prohibited government area or site like an electrical substation. Recently, 10 sensitive installations on 6 states and 1 union territory were declared as out of bounds under the Official Secrets Act.
15. Which state/UT recently launched the ‘Shrama Shakthi Scheme’?
[A] Kerala
[B] Karnataka
[C] Andhra Pradesh
[D] Madhya Pradesh
Answer : [B] Karnataka
The Sharma Shakthi Scheme was launched recently by the Karnataka Government. Under this scheme, the state government will provide a financial aid of Rs.500 per head every month to landless women farm labourers. It will be implemented through the direct benefit transfer (DBT). Free bus passes for working women, school and college going girl students, Free skill training initiative for women are part of the scheme.
16. India’s first ring metro corridor is expected to be operationalized in 2024 in which state/UT?
[A] New Delhi
[B] Mumbai
[C] Kolkata
[D] Hyderabad
Answer : [A] New Delhi
India’s first ring metro corridor is expected is to be operationalized in 2024 in Delhi. The Majlis Park-Maujpur corridor will be the first and only ring metro corridor in India. The total length of this ring metro corridor is 71.15 km and it will have a total of 8 stations. This ring metro corridor is expected to ease travel for passengers from Faridabad, Noida, Ghaziabad, and Bahadurgarh.
17. The mPassport Police App was introduced recently by which Union Ministry?
[A] Ministry of External Affairs
[B] Ministry of Defence
[C] Ministry of Home Affairs
[D] Ministry of Electronics and IT
Answer : [A] Ministry of External Affairs
The mPassport Police App was introduced recently by the Union External Affairs Ministry. The aim of this application is to simplify and hasten the process of police verification of passport issuance. It will reduce the verification time by five days from the previous verification time of 15 days to complete this process. With this application, the police personnel can submit digital and paperless verification reports via mobile tablets. It was launched for the Delhi Police jurisdiction alone.
18. Which state government has announced ‘ Cyber Security Operation Centre’?
[A] Karnataka
[B] Kerala
[C] West Bengal
[D] Odisha
Answer : [A] Karnataka
The state government of Karnataka is planning to establish a Cyber Security Operation Centre (CSOC) to safeguard government websites and online services. The CSOC will help the government keep pace with emerging technologies and cyber threats and minimize the cost of upgrading and maintaining these technologies. This first-of-its-kind centre will help cloud-based technologies and data centres increase access to critical infrastructure by improving their security.
19. Which country has recently terminated the ‘Immigrant Investor Programme’?
[A] Sweden
[B] Ireland
[C] USA
[D] Australia
Answer : [B] Ireland
The government of Ireland has recently terminated the Immigrant Investor Programme. Under this initiative, citizens of the non-EU countries were permitted to acquire residency in Ireland if they make an investment of at least 1 million euros in the country. This programme also provided visas to those donating 5 lakh euros to philanthropic causes. This programme has overseen investments of around 1.2 billion euros for almost 10 years. It was terminated as such initiatives are seen as a security risk.
20. ‘Digital Services Act’, which was in the news recently, is associated with which bloc?
[A] European Union
[B] ASEAN
[C] G-20
[D] G-7
Answer : [A] European Union
The Digital Services Act was approved by the European Union in 2022 to update the bloc’s legal framework on illegal content, transparent advertising and disinformation on intermediaries and harmonize similar national laws in the EU. Tech giants like Google, Twitter and Meta are facing stricter rules under the Digital Services Act. This Act categorizes those companies having more than 45 million users as very large online platforms. They are subject to obligations under the law like risk-management and external and independent auditing.