Correct Answer :   Australia

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Ratan Tata, the chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons has been conferred with Order of Australia (AO) honour, the highest civilian honour of the country. He was honoured for his longstanding commitment to the India Australia bilateral relations.

In March 2023, the Government of Australia appointed Ratan Tata as Honorary Officer in the General Division for distinguished service to “the Australia-India bilateral relationship, particularly to trade, investment and philanthropy.”

The Australian government, in its citation said, "In recognition of his support for the Australia-India relationship, Mr Ratan Tata is worthy of formal national recognition with an appointment as an Honorary Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AO)."

"Ratan Tata has been a strong and influential advocate for deeper ties between Australia and India, including advocating for the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, which was finalised in 2022, and supporting visiting business and government leaders in India," it added...

Source : CNBC

Correct Answer :   26th April 2023 to 28th April 2023

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The Y 20 Pre Summit Meeting under G20 hosted by the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs is slated to start on Wednesday (26th April 2023) and more than 100 delegates would attend the meeting. The meeting is being organised from 26th to 28th April 2023.

Nagaraj Naidu Kakanur, Joint Secretary G20, Saugat Biswas, Divisional Commissioner, Ladakh; Pankaj Kumar Singh, Director, Youth Affairs; Manish Gautam, Director, PIB; Falit Sijariya, Representative of the Y20 India Secretariat and Prof. Rajendra S. Dhaka, Chairman Indian National Young Academy of Science (INYAS) addressed the media at the Curtain Raiser of Y20 Pre-Summit on Tuesday in Leh.

Five Y20 themes :

* Shared Future: Youth in Democracy and Governance
* Future of Work: Industry 4.0, Innovation & 21st Century Skills
* Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction: Making Sustainability a Way of Life
* Peace Building and Reconciliation: Ushering in an era of No War
* Health Wellbeing & Sports: Agenda for Youth

Source : The Print

Correct Answer :   25th April 2023

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Parkash Singh Badal, former Chief Minister of Punjab and senior leader of Shiromani Akali Dal passed away in Mohali last evening, 25th April 2023. He was 95. Mr. Badal, a five-time chief minister.

President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have condoled the demise of the SAD leader.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur has also expressed condolences on the demise of the leader. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be paying tribute to the departed leader at SAD Headquarters in Chandigarh today. Later, his mortal remains will be taken to his native village Badal in Punjab and his last rites will be performed tomorrow afternoon.

Prakash Singh Badal was born on 8 December 1927 at Abul Khurana in Punjab province. Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch started his political career in 1947 as a sarpanch of his native village Badal and went on to become the Chief Minister of Punjab for five times.

Prakash Singh Badal remained active in politics throughout his life. He entered the state Assembly from Malout in 1957 as the Congress nominee and in 1969, entered the Assembly from Gidderbaha seat on the SAD ticket. He was Shiromani Akali Dal President from 1995 to 2008 and was elected to Assembly for ten times, losing only twice.

Badal became the Chief Minister for the first time in 1970. Heading the coalition government, he was the youngest Chief Minister. But the government did not complete its term. Later, he became the Chief minister for four times, from 1977 to 1980, 1997 to 2002, 2007 to 2012, and from 2012 to 2017.

He was also a leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Assembly from 1972 to 1977, from 1980 to 1983, and from 2002 to 2007. In 1977, he briefly joined Morarji Desai’s government as the Agriculture minister at the Centre. The Government of India awarded him the second-highest civilian award, Padma Vibhushan, in 2015...

Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   Sydney

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Australia is set to host the third in-person Quad Summit on 24th May 2023 in Sydney, as announced Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday (26th April 2023).

* The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue comprises of India, the US, Japan and Australia.

* This will be the first time Australia will be hosting the meeting, which comes amid growing global concerns over China's increasing assertiveness in the region.

* The meeting will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

* The leaders will discuss how they can deepen their cooperation on issues that matter to the people of the Indo-Pacific, including critical and emerging technologies, high-quality infrastructure, global health, climate change, maritime domain awareness and other pressing issues.

* US President Joe Biden is set to arrive in Australia after attending the G7 Leaders' Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, from May 19 to May 21, the White House announced on 25 April 2023..

Source : CNBC

Correct Answer :   New Delhi

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India as the Chair of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in 2023 will host the SCO Defence Ministers’ Meeting on 28 April 2023 in New Delhi.

* Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an intergovernmental organization established in 2001.

* The SCO membership includes Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan besides India. Apart from the member states, two observer countries Belarus and Iran will also be participating in the SCO Defence Ministers Meeting on 28 April 2023.

* The Defence Ministers will discuss amongst other issues matters concerning regional peace and security, counter terrorism efforts within SCO and an effective multilateralism.

* The theme of India’s Chairmanship of SCO in 2023 is ‘SECURE-SCO’. India attaches special importance to SCO in promoting multilateral, political, security, economic and people-to-people interactions in the region.

* The ongoing engagement with SCO has helped India promote its relations with the countries in the region with which India has shared civilizational linkages, and is considered India’s extended neighbourhood.

* SCO pursues its policy based on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations, non-interference in internal affairs, equality of all member States and mutual understanding and respect for opinions of each of them.

* Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh will also hold bilateral meetings with the Defence Ministers of participating countries on the side-lines of the SCO Defence Ministers’ Meet...

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   DRDO

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A four-day International Conference on ‘Optimising Human Capital of Armed Forces: Psychological Perspective’ organised by Defence Institute of Psychological Research (DIPR), a Delhi-based laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was inaugurated in Delhi on April 25, 2023.

Aim : The conference aims to deliberate recent advances, emerging trends and challenges of psychology with respect to human capital of the Armed Forces upon world over. The conference has participation from the three Services, DRDO labs and academia.

* Major themes of the conference include emerging trends in personality assessment, leadership, psychological testing and neuro-cognitive assessment, psychological warfare & psychological functions under hi-tech and extreme environments.

* It has keynote addresses, panel discussions and sessions from luminaries of psychology from Indian and international academia and research institutions which includes speakers from USA, UK and Australia.

* During the inaugural function, Chief Guest, Member NITI Aayog Dr VK Saraswat appreciated the contributions of DIPR and said that the technology continues to evolve rapidly and needs to be integrated effectively. He stated that cognitive warfare and cognitive domain operations are emerging as one of the significant new dimensions and will play a decisive role in future warfare. He emphasised that in the current era of techno-centric warfare, psychology will play a vital role in creating optimum man-machine interface.

* Secretary Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO and Chief Patron of the conference Dr Samir V Kamat, through his message, emphasised on the importance of research in the relevant domains and conveyed his best wishes to the delegates and organisers for fruitful deliberations on diverse areas, exchange of new ideas and perspectives for strengthening research efforts at DIPR for the Indian Armed Forces.

* Adjutant General, Indian Army Lt Gen CB Ponnappa hoped that the wide areas being deliberated during the conference will be helpful for the Armed Forces.

* Director General Life Sciences, DRDO Dr UK Singh highlighted the collaborative approaches among Psychological Sciences, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine learning, data mining and big data analysis using psychological system approach for addressing very complex problems when it comes to the military psychology and advanced warfare techniques.

* Director, DIPR Dr K Ramachandran stated that the international conference will be a great enabler to bring to the fore various trends and emerging challenges in military psychology...

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   Shreekant M Bhandiwad

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Shreekant M Bhandiwad has taken charge as the new chairman of Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB) on Monday (24th April 2023).

* Outgoing chairman P Gopikrishna handed over the charge to the new incumbant. Shreekant M Bhandiwad holds a master’s degree in agricultue and is also a certified associate of Indian Institute of Bankers.

* A native of Dharwad, Shreekant carries with him the experience of 29 years in Canara Bank, having worked across India (Haryana, Rajasthan, Bihar and Karnataka) in various capacities.

* Prior to his joining as chairman of KVGB, Shreekant Bhandiwad was heading the Patna circle of Canara Bank. P Gopikrishna has been repatriated to Canara Bank as circle head, Bengaluru..

Source : Times of India

Correct Answer :   Jupiter

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Neobanking platform "Jupiter" has secured a non-banking financial company (NBFC) licence from the Reserve Bank of India to enter into the lending business, a move which will double its disbursal rate for the year, founder of Jupiter Jitendra Gupta..

* "We were lending in partnership with an NBFC under the Loan Service Providers (LSP) model, but the process is very cumbersome. It is not an easy model to make economic revenue. With the new licence we will be able to scale our business fast," said Gupta.

* The startup will be offering the loan under Amica Financial Technologies, the private entity which operates Jupiter, Gupta said. "With this licence, we will have better control of destiny, have the direct integrations for the KYC and will be easier access and offer better to customers and chase scale in a very formal way," he added.

* Gupta also said that the license will help in addressing the many uncertainties and overcome regulatory hurdles.

* "Today under the Digital Lending Guidelines there are some grey areas around FLDG (First Loan Default Guarantee), scrutiny on what is allowed and not allowed in digital lending, loan app bans...There are so many uncertainties and with the licence, we can get this out of the way," Gupta said.

* To date, the company disburses small ticket loans of less than Rs 50,000 with a tenure of 3-6 months through Trillion Loans NBFC. However, with the new NBFC licence, Jupiter will look at offering loans from Rs 50,000 up to Rs 1 lakh...

Source : Money Control

Correct Answer :   Sachin Tendulkar

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The West Stand at the Sharjah cricket stadium has been renamed after Indian former cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar in a special ceremony in the UAE, honouring the Indian cricket legend on his 50th birthday on Monday (24th April 2023).

* Not only does it coincide with the birthday of the Indian legend, but it also marks the 25th anniversary of the famous back-to-back centuries he scored against Australia in 1998 in a packed stadium.

* The 143 Tendulkar had scored here on April 22 and 134 two days later in the final of the Coca-Cola Cup, a triangular series between India, Australia, and New Zealand has been recorded in the books as a veritable desert storm.

* The Sharjah Cricket Stadium joins the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in honouring the Indian Maestro in this manner on the occasion of his 50th birthday.

* Sharjah Cricket Stadium still holds the Guinness record for most One-Day internationals played (244) and have seen some of the most memorable moments in cricketing history occur on this hallowed ground...

Source : Mathrubhumi

Correct Answer :   Bhupender Yadav

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Union Minister for Labour and Employment "Bhupender Yadav" on Monday (24th April 2023) launched new features in eShram Portal in the presence of Arti Ahuja, Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment and other senior officers of the ministry.

The new features added in eShram portal will enhance its utility and facilitate ease of registration for unorganised workers. The eShram-registered workers can now connect with employment opportunities, skilling, apprenticeship, pension scheme, digital skilling and states’ schemes through the portal.

As on March 16, 2023, as many as 28.64 crore unorganised workers registered on eShram portal.

The minister of State for Labour and Employment Rameswar Teli on March 16 in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha informed that as on March 10, 2023, a total of 28.64 crore unorganised workers have been registered on eShram portal.

In the reply it was stated that as on March 31, 2022, a total of around 3,250 representations have been lodged in the Grievance Management System claiming for accidental deaths/ disability by eShram registrants.

The Ministry has taken several steps to provide benefits to eShram registrants :

* The eShram portal is integrated with National Career Service (NCS) Portal. Till date over 13 lakh, eShram job seekers have registered on NCS portal. eShram is also integrated with Pradhan Mantri Shram-Yogi Maandhan (PM-SYM).

* PM-SYM is a voluntary and contributory pension scheme for unorganised sector workers who are aged between 18-40 years. eShram registered users can seamlessly get benefit of PMSYM Scheme. eShram registrant, who is registered on NCS can avail digital skills training which is free of cost, according to the statement from teh ministry.

* In Andaman Nicobar Islands, as many as 28,541 registered in the eShram portal. As many as 79,44,509 were registered in Andhra Pradesh; 1,40,935 were registered in Arunachal Pradesh; 69,37,489 were registered in Assam; 2,85,73,732 were registered in Bihar; 1,74,223 were registered in Chandigarh, 82,67,354 were registered in Chhattisgarh; 32,53,701 were registered in Delhi; 58,322 were registered in Goa; 93,61,906 were registered in Gujarat and 52,59,088 were registered in Haryana.

* As many as 19,24,152 were in Himachal Pradesh; 33,82,813 were registered in Jammu & Kashmir; 91,61,363 were registered in Jharkhand; 75,04,588 were registered in Karnataka; 59,05,051 were registered in Kerala; 29,301 were in Ladakh; 2,442 were in Lakshadweep; 1,69,41,863 were registered in Madhya Pradesh; 1,35,07,560 were registered in Maharashtra; 4,05,373 registered in Manipur; 2,89,751 were in Meghalaya; 58,345 were registered in Mizoram; 2,18,759 were registered in Nagaland; 1,33,30,505 were in Odisha; 1,76,507 were registered in Puducherry; 54,98,061 were registered in Punjab; 1,28,21,298 were registered in Rajasthan and 25,016 were registered in Sikkim.

* As many as 83,91,059 were in Tamil Nadu, 41,27,415 were registered in Telangana; 72,914 were registered in The Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu; 8,44,823 were registered in Tripura; 8,30,22,007 were registered in Uttar Pradesh; 29,73,004 were registered in Uttarakhand and 2,58,06,407 were registered in West Bengal.

* The eSharm portal is the national database of unorganised workers including migrant workers, construction workers, gig and platform workers, etc..

Source : The Print