Correct Answer :   Sania Mirza

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Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza has been roped in as a mentor by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for the inaugural Women’s Premier League 2023.

* Sania Mirza, now 36, is India’s most successful women’s tennis player with six Grand Slams and 43 WTA titles.

* Sania Mirza’s role at RCB will be to inspire and encourage the newly-formed women’s cricket team, which also includes India’s Under-19 star Richa Ghosh among other upcoming youngsters.

* Indian opener Smriti Mandhana, Australian star all-rounder Ellyse Perry, New Zealand’s captain Sophie Devine and England’s skipper Heather Knight will be some of the other top players seen in the RCB colours at WPL 2023, which will run from March 4 to March 27, 2023.

Source : Olympics

Correct Answer :   18%

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Gross direct tax collections grew 24% to Rs 15.67 trillion so far FY2023, the finance ministry said on Saturday (11th Feb 2023).

* After adjusting for refunds, the net direct tax collection stood at Rs 12.98 trillion, a growth of 18.40%.

* The net collections are about 79% of Revised Estimates (RE) of direct tax collection for current FY2023.

* The revised estimates for the current fiscal pegged direct tax revenues at Rs 16.50 lakh crore, higher than the budget estimates of Rs 14.20 trillion.

* "The provisional figures of direct tax collections up to 10th February, 2023 continue to register steady growth. Direct tax collections up to 10th February, 2023 show that gross collections are at Rs 15.67 trillion which is 24.09% higher than the gross collections for the corresponding period of last year," Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).

* In the current fiscal (2022-23), the revenues from direct tax (which includes income and corporate taxes) are projected to grow by over 17 per cent compared to 2021-22 fiscal when the collection was Rs 14.08 trillion...

Source : Business Standard

Correct Answer :   HDFC Bank

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Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Bank on Monday (13th February 2023) announced that it has launched a pilot known as 'OfflinePay' to test offline digital payments for customers and merchants enabling payments transactions even when there is no mobile network.

* The HDFC, it has launched the first-of-its-kind digital payment solution, in partnership with Sweden based Crunchfish Digital Cash AB, a subsidiary of Crunchfish AB, for merchants and customers under the RBI’s Regulatory Sandbox Program.

* Aim : The digital payment solution would boost adoption of digital payments in smaller towns and rural areas with poor network connectivity.

* It can enable cashless payments during large public events, fairs and exhibitions despite network congestion; underground metro stations, parking lots, and retail stores with network blind spots; and even in airplanes, sea-ferries, and trains with no network...

Source : CNBCTV18

Correct Answer :   Smriti Mandhana

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Smriti Mandhana on Monday (13th Feb 2023) received the highest bid of ₹3.4 crore for the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League(WPL) auctions held in Mumbai.

* Mandhana, whose bidding began at a base price of ₹50 lakh, was finally sold to the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

* RCB and Delhi Capitals were the main contenders in the bidding war.

* Deepti Sharma raked in ₹2.6 crore and will represent the team from Lucknow, owned by Capri Global Holdings Pvt. Ltd, UP Warriorz.

* Jemimah Rodrigues went for ₹2.2 crore to Delhi Capitals, which also bought under-19 captain Shafali Verma for ₹2 crore.

* Richa Ghosh was sold to RCB for ₹1.9 crore. 

* Harmanpreet Kaur ( ₹1.8 crore) to Mumbai Indians

* Renuka Singh ( ₹1.5 crore) to RCB.

* Pooja Vastrakar was sold for ₹1.9 crore to Mumbai Indians.

* The five teams for this year are RCB, Gujarat Giants, Delhi Capitals, UP Warriorz, and Mumbai Indians.

* The highest bid for an international player was by Mumbai Indians, which picked up England’s Natalie Sciver for ₹3.2 crore.

* Wicketkeeper-batter from Australia, Beth Mooney, was sold to the Gujarat Giants for ₹2 crore, while Ellyse Perry was sold to RCB for ₹1.7 crore.

* Tahlia McGrath went to UP Warroirz for ₹1.4 crore.

* Out of 1,525 players who were registered for the auction, 409 made it to the final list, comprising 246 Indians and 163 overseas players. There were also eight players from associate nations. All five teams had a salary purse of ₹12 crore per team for this edition.

* Tuhin Mishra, co-founder and managing director of Baseline Ventures, which manages players like Mandhana and under-19 skipper Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia and Richa Ghosh, said the auction created history..

Source : Mint

Correct Answer :   Rayyana Barnawi

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The first-ever woman astronaut of Saudi Arabia will be going to space this year (2023), the latest move by the kingdom to revamp its ultra-conservative image.

* Saudi woman astronaut "Rayyana Barnawi" will join fellow Saudi Ali Al-Qarni on a 10-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) this year (2023).

* Barnawi and Al-Qarni will fly to the ISS aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as part of a mission by the private space company Axiom Space.

* The Ax-2 will be launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

* Axiom Space carried out its first private astronaut mission to the ISS in April 2022 under which four private astronauts spent 17 days in orbit.

* In 2019, Saudi's neighbour the United Arab Emirates became the first Arab country to send one of its citizens into space.

* Astronaut Hazzaa al-Mansoori spent eight days on the ISS. Another fellow Emirati, Sultan al-Neyadi, will also make a voyage to the space station in February 2023.

* Neyadi, fondly called "Sultan of Space", will become the first Arab astronaut to spend six months in space when he blasts off for the ISS aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.

* Saudi de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been trying to shake off the kingdom’s austere image through a push for reforms.

* During his regime since 2017, Saudi women have been allowed to drive and travel abroad without a male guardian. Women’s proportion in the workforce has more than doubled since 2016, from 17% to 37%.

* In the oil-rich country in 1985, sent country’s royal Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, an air force pilot on a US-organised mission. It became the first Arab Muslim country to travel to space.

* Years later in 2018, the country set up a space program and last year launched another to send astronauts into space as part of Prince Salman’s Vision 2030 agenda for economic diversification..

Source : Mint

Correct Answer :   Wu Yibing

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23-year-old Wu Yibing on Sunday (12th February 2023) scripted history by becoming the first man from China to win a title on the ATP Tour title at the Dallas Open 2023.

* He came up with a stunning comeback-from-behind victory over local hero John Isner in the final of the Dallas Open in Texas, USA. Wu prevailed 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/3) and 7-6 (14/12) in a thriller that extended for 2 hours and 58 minutes.

* He also becomes the second man from China to break into the top 100 of the ATP rankings.

* While the duo of Jamie Murray (United Kingdom) and Michael Venus (New Zealand) won the doubles title at the same event

* Wu Yibing's win will certainly inspire a generation of Chinese men, who havenot managed to make a mark at the ATP level in the past. No Chinese man had ever managed to win a title on the ATP tour or manage to beat a top 10 opponent in the past but Wu achieved both the feats in Dallas. En route to the final, Wu defeated World No.8 Taylor Fritz in the semi-final..

Source : India Today

Correct Answer :   Real Madrid

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Real Madrid has won the Club World Cup 2023 for a record-extending fifth time in the final held in the Abdellah stadium, Rabat, Morocco.

* Real Madrid has defeated Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal by 5-3.

* Vinícius Júnior (Brazillian) scored twice and assisted Karim Benzema to lead Real Madrid.

* Real Madrid last won the tournament in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018.

* Madrid also won three Intercontinental Cups in 1960, 1998, and 2002. a match between European and South American champions, which merged with the Club World Cup in 2005..

Source : Times of India

Correct Answer :   Kotak Mahindra Bank

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The Kotak Mahindra Bank has announced that it will acquire 100% equity shares of Sonata Finance (SFPL) for Rs 537 crore.

* Sonata Finance is a non-banking finance company, which is engaged in microfinance.

* This acquisition will provide Kotak Mahindra Bank access to 502 branches across the ten states.

* The SFPL will become a wholly owned subsidiary of the bank after receiving regulatory and other approvals.

* SFPL has Rs 1,903 crore of assets, servicing a customer base of 9 lakh with 2,882 employees.

* Kotak Mahindra Bank plans to use the acquisition to scale up its operations in the rural and semi-urban markets in the northern states of India...

Source : Times of India

Correct Answer :   154 medals

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The fifth Khelo India Youth Games will culminate 11th February 2023 with a colourful ceremony at the Upper Lake in Bhopal.

* Union Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Anurag Singh Thakur and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will be the chief guests of the concluding ceremony.

* Union Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs Nisith Pramanik will also be present in this ceremony.

* The Khelo India Youth Games-2022 started on the 30th of January. Around six thousand players from different States contested with all their energy and fervour for medals in 27 different sports in these 13 days.

* Maharashtra has retained the first position in the medals tally by winning 154 medals. These include 53 gold, 54 silver and 47 bronze medals.

* Haryana is in the second position with a total of 116 medals, including 40 gold while Host Madhya Pradesh is in the third position with 90 medals including 37 gold medals...

Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   Prashant Saxena

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Indian Navy’s Captain Prashant Saxena AWPS (Mbi) launched Ammunition Cum Torpedo Cum Missile (ACTCM) Barge, Yard 125 (LSAM 15) on February 10, 2023.

* The Barge was launched at M/s Suryadipta Projects Pvt Ltd in Thane.

* The ACTCM Barge has been equipped with auxiliary systems developed by indigenous manufacturers, making it stand true to the ‘Make in India’ resolve of the Ministry of Defence.

* In accordance with the “AatmaNirbhar Bharat” objectives of the Government of India, a contract for the building of eleven ACTCM Barges was concluded with the MSME, M/s Suryadipta Projects Pvt Ltd, Thane. The Barge has been constructed with a service life of 30 years.

* “Contract for construction of 11 x ACTCM Barge was concluded with M/s Suryadipta Projects Pvt Ltd, Thane, an MSME, in consonance with “AatmaNirbhar Bharat” initiatives of the Government of India,” read an official statement by the Ministry of Defence.

* The availability of ACTCM Barges will help Indian Navy fulfil its operational commitments by easing the transportation, embarkation, and discharge of supplies and ammunition onto the Navy ships at outer harbours and alongside jetties...

Source : News on Air