Correct Answer :   Both 1 and 2

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The risk of global spread of poliovirus remains a public health emergency of international concern, a World Health Organization (WHO) committee has found after looking into updates from 10 countries. While the risk of global spread of wild poliovirus remains, the risk of circulating vaccine-derived ones is higher.

Polio is a crippling and potentially deadly viral infectious disease that affects the nervous system.

There are three individual and immunologically-distinct wild poliovirus strains

Symptomatically, all three strains are identical, in that they cause irreversible paralysis or even death.

However, there are genetic and virological differences, which make these three strains separate viruses which must each be eradicated individually.

How does it Transmit? : The virus is transmitted by person-to-person spread mainly through the faecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a common vehicle (e.g. contaminated water or food) and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis.

It largely affects children under 5 years of age.

The oral polio vaccine (OPV) contains a live, weakened form of poliovirus that replicates in the intestine for a limited period, thereby developing immunity by building antibodies.

Source : Downtoearth

Correct Answer :   2 Only

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The Kashmir Valley has bucked the trend of Asiatic black attacks on humans rarely reported throughout the animal’s global range.

The Asiatic black bear is known as the Moon bear.

The Asiatic black bear has 7 subspecies, out of which we find the Himalayan Black Bear subspecies in India.

Features: The Asiatic Black Bear has a coat of smooth black fur and can be distinguished by a V of white fur on its chest.

Range: The Asiatic black bear lives in a narrow band stretching from south-eastern Iran to Myanmar, across the Himalayan foothills.

In India, it is found in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Sikkim, and the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Conservation status

IUCN Red List: Vulnerable

CITES: Appendix I

Wild Life Protection Act 1972 : Schedule II

Source : Thehindu

Correct Answer :   February 4

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The International Day of Human Fraternity has been observed every year on February 4.

* The International Day of Human Fraternity was established by the United Nations General Assembly on December 21, 2020.

* This day, which falls in the middle of the International Interfaith Harmony Week is recognised by one of the world’s leading transnational organisations– the United Nations. 

* It underscores the importance of humanity coming together as a united community in times that are increasingly characterised by ethno-nationalistic, political, and economic polarisation.

* The motto is “harmony in difference.”

* “We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”- Martin Luther King Jr.

International Day of Human Fraternity History :

The International Day of Human Fraternity was instituted to celebrate the historic document titled “Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together“, being signed by the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, and Pope Francis on February 4, 2019.

The document promotes the values of love, mutual respect, and cooperation between people of different religions and cultures and aims to create a world where everyone can live in peace and dignity. The day is significant as it highlights the importance of promoting interreligious and intercultural dialogue and cooperation as a way to build a more peaceful and harmonious world.

International Day of Human Fraternity Significance :

In 2023, the day will be marked in the backdrop of multiple conflicts whether on grounds of political ideology, territorial disputes, religious differences, or economic inequities. They mark a sorry human condition, marked by many divides and a lack of peace and harmony.

The International Day of Human Fraternity recognises the importance of compassion, religious tolerance, and respect for one another. These values promote peace and bring the human community together. However, these values are being threatened by division, inequality, and hopelessness. Hate speech, religious division, and conflict are increasing, and all societies and religions are affected by religious extremism and intolerance.

Correct Answer :   $300 million

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Google has invested about $300mn in artificial intelligence start-up Anthropic, days after Microsoft announced a new multiyear, multibillion-dollar investment with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.

* "We're thrilled to be able to partner with Google Cloud on training and deploying useful AI systems," said Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei.

* "We've been impressed with Google Cloud's open and flexible infrastructure. We are excited to partner with Google to scale-up our systems in the coming months."

* Anthropic selected Google Cloud to benefit from the company's deep expertise in large-scale systems for machine learning, and as a partner with shared values around safe and beneficial development of AI.

* By leveraging Google's custom-developed machine learning systems designed to run computationally-intensive workloads, Anthropic will continue to conduct breakthrough AI research on the same infrastructure that powers Google Search and YouTube.

* "At Google, we believe it is imperative to pursue AI boldly and responsibly," said James Manyika, SVP of Technology and Society, Google.

* "We are committed to developing and delivering useful and beneficial applications, applying responsible principles grounded in human values and safety, and evolving our approaches as we learn from research, experience, users, and the wider community. Our partnership with Anthropic is aligned with that philosophy."

* Thomas Kurian, CEO, Google Cloud, said AI has evolved from academic research to become one of the biggest drivers of technological change, creating new opportunities for growth and improved services across all industries.

* Anthropic was founded in January 2021 by the team behind AI breakthroughs such as GPT-3 and Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF).

* Since its founding, Anthropic has published 14 research papers showing how to build language models that are reliable and controllable.

* In 2023, Anthropic began deploying its technology publicly, starting off with a language model assistant named Claude...

Source : Economic Times

Correct Answer :   IBM

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NASA and IBM have collaborated to develop artificial intelligence (AI) based models that will make it easier to mine vast datasets to advance scientific knowledge about Earth, and help the world to adapt to a changing environment.

* The joint work will apply AI foundation model technology to NASA's Earth-observing satellite data for the first time, NASA said in a statement.

* Foundation models are types of AI models that are trained on a broad set of unlabelled data, can be used for different tasks, and can apply information about one situation to another.

* "The beauty of foundation models is they can potentially be used for many downstream applications," said Rahul Ramachandran, a senior research scientist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.

* "Building these foundation models cannot be tackled by small teams; you need teams across different organisations to bring their different perspectives, resources, and skill sets," Ramachandran said in a statement.

* One project will train an IBM geospatial intelligence foundation model on NASA's Harmonized Landsat Sentinel-2 (HLS) dataset, a record of land cover and land use changes captured by Earth-orbiting satellites.

* IBM has developed a natural language processing (NLP) model trained on nearly 300,000 Earth science journal articles to organise the literature and make it easier to discover new knowledge.

* Beyond providing a resource to researchers, the new language model for Earth science could be infused into NASA's scientific data management and stewardship processes...

Source : Business Standard

Correct Answer :   G. Kishan Reddy

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Shri G. Kishan Reddy,  Minister of Tourism, Culture and Development of North Eastern Region (DONER) launched the "Visit India Year 2023" initiative and unveiled its logo at New Delhi on 31st January 2023, kicking off the year of grand plans and activities for promoting tourism in India.

The occasion, Union Minister for Tourism said that 31st Jan 2023 the logo of Visit India Year 2023 is being launched and this in an important year as India is heading  G20.

The Union Minister also said that more than one lakh foreign delegates will visit India this year and they will be showcased entire gamut of  India's Culture, including monuments and festivals.

Shri G. Kishan Reddy added that each foreign delegate of G20 will be a brand ambassador of India's culture, heritage and tourist destinations.

Shri Kishan Reddy further stated that Ministry of Tourism is coordinating with Indian missions and other stakeholders to have a conducive environment for foreign visitors 2023.

Harnessing the momentum created by the recovery of the global industry, preferential sentiment from global travelers for exploring India and building upon the success in growing tourism in India over the years–the Tourism Ministry is on a mission to unlock the untapped potential of tourism in India, making India a 365-day destination.

Encouraging the inbound travel and particularly in the backdrop of India’s G20 Presidency as well as grand celebrations of India@75 Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Ministry of Tourism is celebrating this year as ‘Visit India Year 2023’.

The focus is on inbound travel to India, to highlight varied tourism offerings of our country and showcase them to the global tourists. The priorities include highlighting the unique tourism offerings of every state by leveraging country’s richness in culture, heritage, spirituality, natural beauty and focusing on promoting diverse categories of tourism like sustainable tourism, rural tourism, medical tourism, MICE, and others...

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   March 2026

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The government has extended PM-KUSUM scheme till March 2026 as its implementation was significantly affected due to the pandemic.

The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) Launched in 2019

PM-KUSUM Aim : At adding solar capacity of 30,800 MW by 2022 with total central financial support of Rs 34,422 crore, including service charges to the implementing agencies.

The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) has also conducted a third party evaluation of the scheme and based on the recommendations, the scheme has been extended till 31.3.2026," R K Singh, Minister for New and Renewable Energy said.

The scheme consists of three components :

* Component A is for installation of 10,000 MW of solar capacity by installing small power plants of capacity up to 2 MW.

* Component B aims at installation of 20 lakh standalone solar-powered agriculture pumps.

* Component C is for solarisation of 15 lakh grid-connected agriculture pumps...

Source : Economic Times

Correct Answer :   Eknath Shinde

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The Maharashtra government on Tuesday (31st January 2023) recognised ‘Jai Jai Maharashtra Majha’ as the state song.

* The song will be adopted on February 19, the birth anniversary of the founder of the Maratha empire Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

* The decision was taken by the Maharashtra cabinet, headed by Chief Minister "Eknath Shinde".

* One of the iconic songs in Marathi,  ‘Jai Jai Maharashtra Majha, Garja Maharashtra Majha’, which means ‘Glory to Maharashtra’, was penned by Raja Badhe and sung by balladeer Krishnarao Sable, popularly known as Shaheer Sable.

* “The song ‘Garja Maharashtra Majha’, which talks about the greatness of Maharashtra has been given the status of the state song.

* The original song is of four stanzas, but two stanzas will be given the status of the state song,” Cultural Affairs minister Sudhir Mungantiwar told reporters.

* The song will be sung on Maharashtra Foundation Day on May 1 after the national anthem.

* A statement said the song will also be sung or played in schools after the national anthem...

Source : The Print

Correct Answer :   Azad Engineering Private Ltd

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Azad Engineering Private Limited, a Hyderabad-based precision engineering market leader, has been approved as the first Indian company to supply critical rotating components for nuclear turbines.

* The company has delivered the first set of critical components. These will now be assembled on nuclear turbines built in Belfort, France.

* Azad Engineering has signed a long-term supply agreement with General Electric (GE) Steam Power to supply nuclear turbine components.

* They have signed a long-term agreement with GE Steam Power to manufacture critical rotating parts for nuclear turbines in one of the most stringent environments.

* GE Steam Power informed that it offers a broad portfolio of technologies and services for power plants, helping customers deliver reliable power as they transition to a lower carbon future.

* The world is rapidly moving towards generating energy from green and zero-emission clean energy sources. At present, nuclear power is one of the most cost-effective, clean zero-carbonized electricity sources. It is one of the best alternatives available to coal-based power plants.

* Azad Engineering, an end-to-end solutions provider, is looking to deepen its relationship as a preferred partner over the next 18 to 24 months and continue to enjoy flagship status with a new facility to be completed soon.

Source : ANI

Correct Answer :   7.14%

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The unemployment rate in India has declined to a four-month low at 7.14% in January 2023, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) data has revealed.

* According to the data, the unemployment rate during December 2022 was 8.30%, while in November 2022, it was at 8% and 6.43% in September 2022.

* The data further showed that urban unemployment in January stood at 8.55%, while rural joblessness stood at 6.48%.

* States wise unemployment was the highest in Jammu and Kashmir at 21.8% closely followed by Haryana at 21.7% and Rajasthan at 21.1%. Joblessness in Delhi in January was at 16.7%, Goa at 16.2%, Assam at 16.1% and Tripura at 16%.

* As per the data unemployment was the lowest in states such as Chhattisgarh at 0.5% followed by Odisha at 1.5%, Tamil Nadu at 1.8% and Madhya Pradesh at 1.9%...

Source : Financial Express