Correct Answer :   3,167

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India is home to at least 3,167 tigers, the 2022 census by the National Tiger Conservation Authority released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi showed on Sunday (9th April 2023), an increase of 6.74% from 2,967 in 2018, the previous occasion the big cats were counted in the wild.

* As many as 3,080 tigers were photographed in 2022, compared with 2,461 captured on camera in 2018, according to the Status of Tigers report. India hosts some 75% of the global tiger population living in forests.

* Despite the modest increase of 200 in four years, most tiger reserves in the country are like tiny islands of conservation, with areas outside the protected zones showing unsustainable land use, the report said, which could be responsible for localised extinctions in some parts of central India.

* The Western Ghats, a global biodiversity hotspot, showed a significant decline in numbers, from 981 in 2018 to 824 in 2022, the report said. Out of the approximately 400,000 sq km of forests in tiger states, only a third are in relatively healthier condition..

Source : Hindustan Times

Correct Answer :   Narendra Modi

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (9th April 2023) launched the International Big Cats Alliance (IBCA) in Karnataka.

* PM Modi also inaugurated the 'Commemoration of 50 years of Project Tiger'.

* During the programme, he released the publication 'Amrit Kaal Ka Vision for Tiger Conservation', a summary report of 5th cycle of Management Effective Evaluation of Tiger Reserves.

* He also released a summary report of All India Tiger Estimation (5th cycle).

* PM Narendra Modi also released a commemorative coin on the completion of 50 years of Project Tiger.

* He interacted with field directors of tiger reserves that have scored highest in the recently concluded 5th cycle of the Management Effectiveness Evaluation exercise.

* According to Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the IBCA will focus on the protection and conservation of seven major big cats of the world -- Tiger, Lion, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Puma, Jaguar and Cheetah.

* In July 2019, Prime Minister Modi called for an Alliance of Global Leaders to firmly curb poaching and illegal wildlife trade in Asia.

* Speaking on the occasion, Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav said, "The journey of Tiger conservation, which started in 1973 with nine Tiger Reserves, has reached to 53 reserves in the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav under the Prime Minister's leadership. 23 Tiger Reserves have received international accreditation."

* Earlier on Sunday (9th April 2023), Prime Minister Modi visited Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka where he interacted with frontline field staff and self-help groups involved in conservation efforts, as part of programmes to mark 50 years of 'Project Tiger'...

Source : Business Standard

Correct Answer :   C.R. Rao

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The 2023 International Prize in Statistics, which is regarded as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in statistics, has been awarded to Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao, an Indian-American statistician.

The prize, established in 2016, is presented once every two years to an individual or team that has made significant contributions to science, technology, and human welfare through the use of statistics.

The award is given out by a collaboration of five major international statistics organizations and recognizes major accomplishments by an individual or team. Rao will be honored with the prize, which carries an $80,000 cash award, at the International Statistical Institute World Statistics Congress in Ottawa, Canada, in July.

What was Rao’s 1945 paper about?

* Rao’s groundbreaking paper, ‘Information and accuracy attainable in the estimation of statistical parameters’, was published in 1945 in the Bulletin of the Calcutta Mathematical Society, a journal that is otherwise not well known to the statistics community.

* The paper was subsequently included in the book Breakthroughs in Statistics, 1890-1990. This was an impressive achievement given Rao was only 25 at the time and had just completed his master’s degree in statistics two years prior.

About the C.R. Rao

* Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao, born in Karnataka in 1920, is an Emeritus Eberly professor in the statistics department at Pennsylvania State University. He played a significant role in establishing the Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata and has been associated with the institute since 1941. Rao holds PhD and ScD degrees from Cambridge University.

* In addition to being awarded the Padma Bhusan in 1968 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2001, Rao was the recipient of the SS Bhatnagar Prize in 1963 and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1967. He also received the Wilks Medal of the American Statistical Association in 1979 and the US National Medal of Science in 2002.

* Throughout his career, Rao has held various positions such as Jawaharlal Nehru professor and national professor in India, university professor at the University of Pittsburgh, and Eberly professor and chair of statistics and director of the Center for Multivariate Analysis at the Pennsylvania State University.

Correct Answer :   9th April 2023

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Legendary theatre actor Jalabala Vaidya is no more. The co-founder of Delhi's Akshara Theatre has passed away in the national capital on Sunday (9th April 2023). She was 86-year-old. Jalabala Vaidya was suffering from respiratory ailments, her daughter and theatre director Anasuya Vaidya Shetty said.

* Jalabala Vaidya was born in London. Her parents were Indian author and freedom fighter Suresh Vaidya and English classical singer Madge Franckeiss. Jalabala Vaidya started her career as a journalist. She contributed to a number of national newspapers and magazines in the national capital.

* Jalabala Vaidya received a number of prestigious awards such as Delhi government's Varisht Samman, Sangeet Natak Akademi's Tagore Award, Delhi Natya Sangh Award, the Andhra Pradesh Natya Akademi Honor, and Honorary Citizenship of the City of Baltimore, USA.

* Jalabala Vaidya briefly married to journalist and columnist C.P Ramachandran. Subsequently, she wed playwright-poet Gopal Sharman.

* Jalabala Vaidya's theatrical career began with "Full Circle" in 1968. She co-founded Akshara National Classical Theatre with Sharman.

* Jalabala Vaidya played lead roles in over 20 plays. These plays include "Full Circle", "The Ramayana", "Let's Laugh Again", 'Larflarflarf', "The Bhagavad Gita", "The Cabuliwala", 'Gitanjali', and 'The Strange Case of Billy Biswas"..

Source : Economic Times

Correct Answer :   Mumbai

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According to a survey, published by London-based ‘Time Out’ - a media outlet, Berlin (Germany) was ranked as the city with the best public transport system globally.

* It is followed by Prague (Czech Republic), Tokyo (Japan), and Copenhagen (Denmark).

* While India's city Mumbai secured the 19th spot and was the top-ranked Indian city.

* Mumbai's Suburban Railways form the backbone of public transport for a population of 12.5 million.

List of world's top 10 cities with best public transit system :

1. Berlin
2. Prague
3. Tokyo
4. Copenhagen
5. Stockholm
6. Singapore
7. Hong Kong
8. Taipei
9. Shanghai
10. Amsterdam.

Source : Hindustan Times

Correct Answer :   Droupadi Murmu

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The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu took a historic sortie in a Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft at the Tezpur Air Force Station in Assam (April 8, 2023).

* The President, who is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces, flew for approximately 30 minutes covering Brahmaputra and Tezpur valley with a view of Himalayas before returning to the Air Force Station.

* The aircraft was flown by Group Captain Naveen Kumar, Commanding Officer of the 106 Squadron.

* The aircraft flew at a height of about two kilometers above sea level and at a speed of about 800 kilometers per hour. President Murmu is the third President and second woman President to undertake such a sortie.

* Later in the visitor’s book, the President expressed her feelings by writing a brief note in which she said "It was an exhilarating experience for me to fly in the mighty Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force.

* It is a matter of pride that India's defence capabilities have expanded immensely to cover all the frontiers of land, air and sea. I congratulate the Indian Air Force and the entire team of Air Force Station Tezpur for organising this sortie.”

* The President was also briefed on the operational capabilities of the aircraft and the Indian Air Force (IAF). She expressed satisfaction on the operational preparedness of the IAF.

* The President's sortie in the Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft is a part of her efforts to engage with the armed forces, as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces.

* In March 2023, the President visited INS Vikrant and interacted with officers and sailors on board of the indigenously built aircraft...

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   Secunderabad - Tirupati

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 April 2023 flagged off the Secunderabad-Tirupati Vande Bharat Express train in Hyderabad.

* Vande Bharat Express from Secunderabad to Tirupati will be running six days a week with regular services starting from 9th April 2023 with bookings already open from 8th April 2023 onwards.

* Train Number 20702 Tirupati-Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express will start from Tirupati at 15:15 hrs and reaches Secunderabad at 23:45 hrs.

* Train number 20701 Secunderabad-Tirupati will start from Secunderabad at 06:00 hrs and reaches Tirupati at 14:30 hrs.

* The train stops are at Nalgonda, Guntur, Ongole and Nellore stations in both the directions. It consists of seven AC chair car coaches and one executive AC chair car with the total seating capacity of 530 passengers providing e the fastest travelling facility between these two stations with an exclusive fully AC reserved sitting accommodation.

* AC chair car fare including catering charge from Secunderabad to Tirupati is ₹1,680 and the executive class fare is ₹3080.

* AC chair car fare including catering charge from Tirupati to Secunderabad is ₹1,625 and the executive class fare is ₹3,030...

Source : The Hindu

Correct Answer :   Aleksander Ceferin

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A Slovenian lawyer, Aleksander Ceferin has been re-elected unopposed as Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) president for a four-year term (2023-2027).

* Ceferin was elected as UEFA's seventh president in 2016 to replace Michel Platini, who was barred from football administration in 2015 for ethics violations and was forced to resign from UEFA in 2016 after losing an appeal against his ban.

* The UEFA Champions League is an annual club football competition.

* It is organized by the Union of European Football Associations and contested by top-division European clubs.

* When some of Europe's top clubs attempted to form a European Super League in April 2021, the 55-year-old faced his most difficult challenge.

* The competition posed a direct threat to the Champions League, UEFA's continental club competition and Ceferin urged fans, football federations, and governments to oppose the "disgraceful, self-serving proposal...

Source : India Today

Correct Answer :   Tripura

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Tripura has been given the best state award in the northeastern region by the Centre for successful implementation of e-procurement, Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy said here on Wednesday (5th April 2023).

* To maintain transparency, the state has made it mandatory to go for e-procurement if the value of any government purchase or contract goes beyond Rs. 25,000.

* Impressed by the success in the e-procurement system, the Finance Ministry in association with the Ministry of Electronics and IT gave the best award among the northeastern states at a programme in Delhi, Singha Roy said at a press conference.

* The total value of payments made through e-procurement and Government eMarketplace (GeM) portals increased from Rs. 4,451 crore in 2020-21 to Rs. 7441 crore in 2021-22, he said adding that the figure is Rs. 7,373 crore till December in 2022-23 fiscal.

* Singha Roy said digital payment is being promoted in the government sector to maintain transparency.

* As of now, 80 per cent of payments are made through digital platforms (in Tripura). The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has praised the state for embracing digital payment.

* Except the pension to 82,000 pensioners, all the employees including Anganwadi workers are receiving salary through digital payment.

* Asserting that the northeastern state has been making all-out efforts to increase its revenue, Singha Roy said Tripura’s own tax collection has crossed Rs. 3,000 crore during 2022-23 which is 15 per cent more than that of the last financial year..

Source : Arunachal Times

Correct Answer :   Kerala

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State-owned Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC) has introduced India's first solar-powered hybrid tourist boat – Sooryamshu – in Kochi backwaters.

* The 100-passenger capacity air-conditioned vessel with upper and lower deck offer travellers to cruise along the backwaters, where KSINC proposed to introduce packages.

* Sooryamshu’s solar panels have the capacity to produce 27 KW of energy and it has generators which will enable operation of passenger lift systems and air-conditioners.

* About 75 per cent of the vessel’s energy needs will be met with what is generated by the solar panels while the remaining will come from the generators.

* Built at a cost of Rs.3.95 crores at a facility in Sri Lanka, KSINC plans to use it for two tour packages.

* The first one is the Kadamakkudy package that will offer tourists sightseeing and kayaking at a cost of Rs.799. Kadamakkudy is a cluster of 14 islands located less than 10 kilometres from Kochi city.

* There will be delay in this package as at some spots on the route there are Kerala State Electricity Board low-lying cables which will hinder the smooth passage of the boat. As per R. Girija, Managing Director KSINC they are sorting out the issue with the Board officials.

* The other package will take the tourists to Matsyafed farm in Ernakulam district. Here they can enjoy not only kayaking, paddling and fishing but also savour exclusive seafood offered by the farm.

* KSINC’s other tourist vessels, namely, Nefertiti, Sagar Rani-1, and Sagar Rani-2, are already conducting cruises in collaboration with Kerala State Road Transport Corporation’s budget tourism packages.