Correct Answer :   The Runway to Billion Opportunities

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 14th edition of Asia's biggest Aero Show - Aero India 2023 in Bengaluru on February 13, 2023.

* Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal VR Choudhary led the Gurukul formation during the flypast at the opening ceremony of the Mega Air Show.

* 731 executives are participating in the mega show out of which 633 are domestic and 98 are of international level.

* According to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the theme of Aero India 2023 is "The Runway to Billion Opportunities" (The Runway to a Billion Opportunities). Over 80 nations are participating in this Mega Aero India 2023..

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   Narendra Modi

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway in Karnataka 12th March 2023.

Constructed at a cost of over 8400 crore rupees, a 10 lane Bengaluru Mysuru Expressway will boost connectivity and socio-economic growth in Karnataka.

Mr Modi also laid the foundation stone for the Mysuru-Kushalnagar highway. Addressing at a public rally in Mandya, Mr Modi said, the 118-km-long  Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway will reduce the travel time between Bengaluru and Mysuru from three hours to about 75 minutes.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that infrastructure development taken up extensively in India not only brings comfort in travel but also generates employment, brings in investment and also finds ways to generate revenue for the local population.

He said that the expressway connects the tech city of Bengaluru with the traditional city of Mysuru. He noted that this will help the growth of tourist destinations in Ramanagara and Mandya too.

The four lanes to Kushalnagar will connect tourist places in Kodagu and provide road connectivity to Mangaluru in the coming days. The Prime Minister stressed that the double-engine government in the State and Centre has accelerated development in Karnataka.

The Prime Minister said the double-engine Government is aiming to reach every marginalised section of society. He said the BJP government has been working for the poor and prioritising shelter and water supply issues. Farmers' problems are also being taken care of, he added. He said that huge investment is taking place in different sectors of the economy to speed up growth...

Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   Nagpur

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In Maharashtra, a new initiative called 'Beggar-Free City' has been started in Nagpur. Commissioner of Police of Nagpur City, Amitesh Kumar said that, notification of 144 CrPC has been issued in this regard.

* Notices have been served to people. While speaking to reporters he said that they will strictly enforce this and begging will not be allowed in public places.

* This is the joint venture of Nagpur City police and Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) social welfare department.

* The NMC has made special arrangements to accommodate homeless people in the shelters owned by it.

* The civic body has kept a bus and an ambulance ready to shift the beggars caught in police drive to its shelter home..

Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   India and Australia

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India and Australia on Friday (10th March 2023) signed an audio-visual co-production agreement that seeks to offer filmmakers financial incentives amounting to up to 30 per cent of the expenditure incurred in the respective countries.

* The agreement was signed by Information and Broadcasting Secretary "Apurva Chandra" and Australian High Commissioner "Barry O’Farrell" during the ongoing visit of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to India.

* Australia is the 16th country with which India has a co-production agreement that would benefit mainly small filmmakers keen on shooting movies, web series, advertisements or carrying out post-production work or visual effects in that country.

* “For all qualifying projects, the international film production company can claim a payable cash incentive of up to 30 per cent on qualifying expenditure in India, subject to a maximum of Rs 2 crore,” Chandra told reporters here.

* Australia will also offer reciprocal benefits to Indian filmmakers shooting or engaged in post-production activities in that country.

* Chandra said in case of shooting of foreign films, a 5 per cent bonus, up to a maximum of Rs 50 lakh, as additional reimbursement would be granted for employing 15 per cent or more manpower in India.

* In addition to the incentives from the Centre, a number of state governments also offer concessions to foreign filmmakers.

* India announced incentive schemes for shooting foreign films and audio-visual co-production projects at the Cannes Film Festival last year.

* The incentive schemes came into effect from April 1 last year (2022) and at least 25 applications were received in the last six months.

* The government established a Film Facilitation Office (FFO) to ease the process of film shooting in India. The FFO acts as a single-window platform for coordination with various states as well as bodies such as the Indian Railways and the Archaeological Survey of India among others.

* Chandra said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has also engaged Invest India to run the FFO...

Source : The Print

Correct Answer :   1.78 Billion

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The World Bank has announced financial aid of 1.78 billion dollars to provide relief and recovery for earthquake-hit Turkey.

The earthquake caused widespread damage in southeastern Turkey and its surrounding areas.

Based on the extensive experience of the World Bank in Disaster Risk Management, an effective damage assessment has also been initiated to estimate the magnitude of the disaster and identify priority areas in Turkey.

Through contingent emergency response components (CERCs), 780 million dollars have been offered in immediate assistance. Under ‘Operation Friend' India is also helping Turkey.

Correct Answer :   India and US

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India and the US on Friday (10th March 2023) inked an initial pact on increasing private sector cooperation in the area of semiconductors under which the two countries would facilitate business opportunities and develop an ecosystem with a view to reduce their dependency on China and Taiwan.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on establishing semiconductor supply chain and innovation partnership under the framework of IndiaUS Commercial Dialogue was signed by US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal during the Commercial Dialogue here.

According to a joint statement, both sides have agreed to set up a semiconductor sub-committee, led by the Department of Commerce for the US side and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Ministry of Commerce and Industry for the Indian side.

The committee will convene its first engagement in mid-year to review recommendations from the joint industry-led task force launched in connection with the iCET (Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies).

Raimondo, who was on a four-day visit to India, was accompanied by the chief executive officers of 10 US companies. She met several ministers besides holding meetings with Goyal...

Source : Business Standard

Correct Answer :   New Delhi

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The second edition of 'World Food India-2023’ will be organised by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India, from 3-5 November, 2023 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

* The Curtain Raiser Event to WFI-2023 was held 10th March 2023 in National Media Centre, New Delhi. During the event, Union Minister of Food Processing Industries, Shri Pashupati Kumar Paras, and Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries and Jal Shakti, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, launched the website, publicity brochure and promotional video for WFI-2023.

* Addressing the Curtain Raiser event, Shri Pashupati Kumar Paras emphasised that India is one of the fastest-growing economies with many investment opportunities, especially in the food processing sector.

* He outlined five pivotal elements of the WFI-2023 as Millets - ‘Shree Anna-The Super Food of India’, Innovation and Sustainability ‘Green Food’, White Revolution 2.0, making India an export hub and focus on technology and digitisation.

* Shri Paras said that during the three-day event, the government expects leading players in the food processing sector from across the globe to showcase their strengths.

* Shri Paras added that industry professionals' meets, exhibitions and Food Street - a specially curated food experience arena, are also planned to explore collaborations and B2B/G contracts. He said that the event will highlight the myriad opportunities, infrastructure available, incentives, and benefits to the investors...

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   7th March 2023

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Pat McCormick, who became the first diver to sweep the 3-meter and 10-meter events at consecutive Olympics, has died. She was 92.

* She died Tuesday (7th March 2023) of natural causes at an assisted living facility in the Orange County city of Santa Ana, her son, Tim, said.

* McCormick won the springboard and platform events at the 1952 Helsinki Games. She accomplished the feat again four years later at the Melbourne Games. Tim McCormick was born just five months before the Olympics in Australia.

* Greg Louganis equaled McCormick’s accomplishment when he swept the 3-meter and 10-meter titles at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and again in 1988 at Seoul.

* McCormick’s daughter, Kelly Robertson, competed on the same Olympic teams as Louganis.

* She won a silver medal on springboard in 1984 and a bronze in the same event in 1988.

* Pat McCormick won the James Sullivan Award as the nation’s top amateur athlete in 1956, the second woman to do so.

* Born Patricia Joan Keller on May 12, 1930, in Seal Beach, California, as a youngster she was known for executing dives that weren’t allowed in competition while practicing off a bridge.

Born : May 12, 1930 Seal Beach, California, U.S.

Died : March 7, 2023 (aged 92) Orange County, California, U.S.

Source : Indian Express

Correct Answer :   Narayan Rane

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Union Minister for MSME Shri Narayan Rane launched the MSME Competitive (LEAN) Scheme at the NDMC Convention Centre, Delhi on 10th March 2023.

* Speaking on the occasion Shri Rane said that LEAN has the potential to become a national movement and that it aims to provide a roadmap to global competitiveness for the MSMEs of India.

* He added that LEAN will not only attempt to improve quality, productivity & performance, but also the capability to change the mind-sets of manufacturers and transform them into a world class manufacturers. Union MoS, MSME Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma also addressed the gathering.

* This Scheme is an extensive drive to create awareness amongst MSMEs about LEAN Manufacturing practices and motivate and incentivize them to attain LEAN levels while also encouraging them to become MSME Champions.

* Under the scheme, MSMEs will implement LEAN manufacturing tools like 5S, Kaizen, KANBAN, Visual workplace, Poka Yoka etc under the able guidance of trained and competent LEAN Consultants to attain LEAN levels like Basic, Intermediate and Advanced. Through the LEAN journey, MSMEs can reduce wastages substantially, increase productivity, improve quality, work safely, expanding their markets, and finally becoming competitive and profitable.

* To support MSMEs, Government will contribute 90% of implementation cost for handholding and consultancy fees. There will be an additional contribution of 5% for the MSMEs which are part of SFURTI clusters, owned by Women/SC/ST and located in NER.

* In addition to the above, there will be an additional contribution of 5% for MSMEs which are registering through Industry Associations/ Overall Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) organizations after completing all levels. There is a unique feature to encourage Industry Associations and OEMs for motivating their supply chain vendors to participate in this scheme...

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   30%

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The world is off-track to achieve its global target of reducing sodium intake by 30% by 2025, which is essential to save millions of lives globally, according to a first-of-its-kind report by the World Health Organization (WHO).

* Sodium, an essential nutrient, increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and premature death when consumed in excess.

* The main source of sodium is table salt (sodium chloride), but it is also a part of other condiments such as sodium glutamate which is naturally found in some foods and is also used as a flavour enhancer.

* The global average salt intake is estimated to be 10.8 grams per day, more than double the WHO recommendation of less than 5 grams of salt per day (one teaspoon).

* The report shows that only 5 per cent of WHO member states are protected by mandatory and comprehensive sodium reduction policies and 73 per cent of members lack full range of implementation of such policies.

* India has mandatory declaration of sodium on pre-packaged food but no other mandatory measure, WHO said.

* Implementing highly cost-effective sodium reduction policies could save an estimated seven million lives globally by 2030.

* It is an important component of action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of reducing deaths from noncommunicable diseases.

* However, only nine countries -- Brazil, Chile, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Uruguay -- have a comprehensive package of recommended policies to reduce sodium intake...

Source : Tribune India