Correct Answer :   Both (A) and (B)

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On April 3, 2022, the Benarasi Paan, which was featured in Amitabh Bachchan’s famous song “Khaike Paan Benaras Wala,” was granted the Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

* This means that these products have unique qualities specific to their respective regions.

* The Benarasi Paan, known for its distinct taste and unique blend of ingredients, has been awarded the GI tag along with three other Varanasi-based products: Banarasi Langda Mango, Ramnagar Bhanta (Brinjal), and Adamchini Rice.

* The expert Rajinikant, who is a Padma Awardee in GI, has confirmed the designation of these products.

* GI status helps in promoting and protecting the unique identity and quality of traditional products from a specific region, and can also help in boosting the local economy by increasing the demand for these products.

* It’s good to see that the government and organizations like NABARD are working towards promoting and protecting traditional products from different parts of India.

* Geographical Indication (GI) tag is a form of intellectual property protection that is used to recognize products originating from a particular geographical area, and which possess qualities or a reputation that are unique to that area.

* The GI tag indicates that the product has a particular quality, reputation or other characteristic that is essentially attributable to its origin in that region. It helps to protect the unique identity of such products, and to promote their marketing and export. The GI tag is granted by the Geographical Indications Registry, which operates under the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry...

Source : Business Today

Correct Answer :   April 5, 2023

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National Maritime Day is celebrated on April 5 across the country to commemorate the sailing of the first Indian commercial vessel, SS Loyalty. The ship sailed from Mumbai to London.

* National Maritime Day is meant to appreciate the contribution of maritime trade to the growth of the Indian economy and the significance of India's strategic location in international trade.

* National Maritime Day History :  The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways started this day in 1964. This year will mark the 60th National Maritime Day.

* National Maritime Day Significance :  This day is considered to be very important for the maritime sector and it is observed annually to honour the history, ongoing development, and forward-looking vision.

* The purpose of National Maritime Day is to recognise and honour the significant contribution that the maritime industry makes to the growth of the Indian economy. On this day, an annual award ceremony is organised to honour the many players in the shipping sector. The Sagar Samman Varuna Award is given for outstanding contribution to the maritime sector.

* National Maritime Day 2023 Theme : The government announces a theme for National Maritime Day every year. The theme for the 60th maritime day has not been announced as yet. Last year, the theme was ‘Sustainable Shipping beyond COVID-19.’

* Maritime India Vision 2030 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the ‘Maritime India Vision 2030’ in November 2020 at the Maritime India Summit. It is a 10-year blueprint for the development of the Indian maritime sector.

* The vision seeks to improve India's waterways, support the shipbuilding sector, and promote cruise tourism...

Source : CNBC TV

Correct Answer :   Ajay Bhatt

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The decision to induct women officers in the Artillery was taken on March 20, Minister of State for Defence, "Ajay Bhatt" informed the Lok Sabha on March 31, 2023.

* He was replying to a question by BJP MP from Vadodara, Ranjanben Dhananjay Bhatt, who had asked whether the government proposes to include women in the Artillery units and if so, the steps taken in this regard so far.

* Government has approved the induction of women in the Regiment of Artillery on March 20, 2023, the minister said in his one line reply.

* General Manoj Pande, the Chief of Army Staff, in January had announced that a proposal to induct woman officers in the Regiment of Artillery had been sent to the government. The General had said at the time that gender empowerment in the Army is a focus area and that women are expected to do very well in the Artillery.

* The exact number of woman officers who will be inducted into Artillery will only be known at the time of the commission of the next batch from Officers Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai later this year.

* Artillery is a combat support arm of the Army and is the largest in size after the Infantry. The Artillery Regiments comprise various calibres of guns, surface to surface missiles, tracked guns, mortars and unmanned aerial platforms.

* On March 1, Centre also approved the induction of woman officers in Remount and Veterinary Corps. Out of 20 officers indicted into RVC in 2023, four are women, informed Ajay Bhatt in Parliament.

* First batch of woman cadets has started training in NDA with effect from July 2022 and second batch from January 2023...

Source : Indian Express

Correct Answer :   IIT Kanpur

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* The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur will host the Youth20 (Y20) Consultation under the G20 Presidency of India, from today (5th April 2023).

* More than one thousand two hundred youth delegates from across India and abroad will attend the two-day event.

* The Y20 Consultation is a platform that brings young people together to connect, share ideas and experiences, and deliberate on finding innovative solutions to pressing global concerns.

* The Y20 Consultation, under the aegis of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, is a pan-India activity in the run up to the final Youth-20 Summit to be held in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh...

Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   PhonePe

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* PhonePe has launched Pincode, a new consumer-facing application, which will be a part of India's Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) framework as the Walmart-backed fintech decacorn looks to strengthen its e-commerce forays, three months after Flipkart completed full ownership separation of the payments startup.

* Pincode, a buyer app, will focus on hyperlocal commerce and is available for download on both Google Play and the App store, Sameer Nigam, co-founder and CEO, PhonePe said at its launch in Bengaluru.

* Pincode will launch in six major categories including grocery, food, pharma, electronics, home decor and fashion.

* Starting with Bengaluru, Pincode will expand city by city, Nigam said. However, the company plans to limit its expansion to no more than 10 cities in the first year.

* Customers can search for stores by browsing for category and can have multiple carts at the same time with one active cart per store. Buyers can also save multiple carts.

* Nigam said that they aim to have one lakh orders a day by December on the app.

* PhonePe marks the first time that there is a dedicated app by a player for ONDC. ONDC is an initiative of the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce...

Source : Money Control

Correct Answer :   United States

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India is going to sign a weapons deal with the United States soon to buy American weapons, including the Hellfire missiles and Mark 54 anti-submarine torpedoes, in a step towards strengthening their military hardware cooperation.

* These weapons are going to be fitted on the 24 MH-60 helicopters that are going to be fully inducted into the Navy in the near future.

* The proposal for buying the weapons package for the MH-60 Romeo choppers is being moved forward briskly and the deal is expected to be signed sooner. Speaking to India Today, top government officials informed that the deal would be inked under the Foreign Military Sales route.

* The plan to induct the Hellfire missile missiles, which are precision-guided weapons, comes after they have been used by the American forces against high-value targets. The other major weapon includes the MK 54 lightweight torpedoes which are used by US surface ships, fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, and are their primary anti-submarine warfare weapon.

* It is also already inducted into the Indian Navy’s P-8I anti-submarine warfare and surveillance planes. India and the US have signed an over-Rs 16,000 crore deal to buy 24 MH-60 Romeo helicopters from Lockheed Martin in 2020 under fast-track procedures in a government-to-government deal to hasten the process.

* The 24 MH-60 Romeos would be equipped with multimode radars and night-vision devices as well as armed with missiles, torpedoes and other precision-guided weaponry. The MH-60s are going to replace Sea King choppers which will be on their way out of the force very soon.

* The MH-69 helicopters can operate from frigates, destroyers, cruisers and aircraft carriers..

Source : India Today

Correct Answer :   Telangana

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In a bid to make Telangana a heat resilient state, municipal administration and urban development department has launched India’s first Cool Roof Policy 2023-2028 at CDMA office at Masab Tank on Monday (3rd April 2023).

* The policy aims to drive state-wide adoption of cool roofs by making it mandatory to install cool roofing materials, such as solar reflective paints, tiles or sheets.

* The five-year policy, which came into force on 1st April 2023, and would be in operation till March 31, 2028.

Aim : To achieve a target of implementing clean roofing technology across 300 square kilometres of roof area — majorly (200 sq km) covering Hyderabad and rest of the urban pockets in Telangana.

* MAUD minister KT Rama Rao stated that they chose to launch the policy in April rather than December so that the issue would be taken seriously during summer.

* “This policy isn’t framed with a myopic vision but with a long-term vision to serve well for future generations. Even in New York, the target set was just 10 lakh sq feet, but we have set an ambitious target of bringing 300 sq km, which is 20% of the area inside ORR,” Rao explained.

* Rao said that the government would be implementing the scheme across all government buildings and housing schemes. “We are also making this mandatory and enforcement will be done in this regard..

Source : Times of India

Correct Answer :   1 Only

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Recently, the world-famous Basohli Painting which is popular for its miniature art style from Kathua district of Jammu has obtained the Geographical Indication (GI) Tag.

* Basholi paintings originated in the Basholi region of Jammu and Kashmir.

* It is a reputed school of miniature paintings known for its vivid, evocative colours, bold lines, and deep-set facial patterns.

* It is considered the first school of Pahari paintings.

Patronage : The Basholi painting style flourished during the 17th and 18th centuries under the patronage of local rulers and wealthy merchants.

Features of the Bisholi painting :

* It has peculiar characteristics, they have perfect geometrical patterns, bright colours and glossy enamel.

* Colours used : Ochre yellow, brown, and green grounds predominating.

* The figures in the paintings are shown clad in rich costumes, stylised faces and large bulging eyes lent unique individuality to these paintings.

* Themes : The portraits of local rulers, Radha-Krishna, and Madhava-Malati love themes and themes from the Bhagavata Purana.

* These are painted on paper, cloth, or wood using natural pigments and dyes...

Source : Times of India

Correct Answer :   Colombia

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Recently, People living on the upper slopes of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano in Colombia are being evacuated after an increase in seismic activity.

* Nevado del Ruiz is an ice-clad stratovolcano located in the Andes Mountains of Colombia, South America.

* It is part of the former Ruiz-Tolima volcanic complex as well as the dangerous Pacific Ring of fire.

Previous eruption :

* The volcano has erupted several times in the past, with the most catastrophic eruption occurring on November 13, 1985.

* Since the 1985 eruption, has remained active, with several smaller eruptions occurring in the years following the disaster...

Source : BBC

Correct Answer :   Pacific Ocean

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* Recently, scientists photographed a snailfish swimming 8,336 meters below sea level near Japan, making it the deepest recorded fish ever caught on camera.

* Scientists dropped an autonomous "lander" camera into the Izu-Ogasawara Trench near Japan and filmed the snailfish.

* It is located in the western Pacific Ocean, on the boundary between the Philippine Sea Plate and the Pacific Plate.

* It is one of the most seismically active regions on Earth.

* The trench is formed by the Pacific Plate subducting beneath the Philippine Sea Plate...

Source : Science Alert