General Knowledge(GK) (or) General Awareness

Correct Answer :   $750 Million

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) bought $750 million on a net basis in the spot foreign exchange market in March, data released on Monday (22nd May 2023) as part of the central bank's monthly bulletin showed.

* The RBI said it purchased $6.91 billion and sold $6.16 billion. In February, the central bank had bought $254 million on a net basis in the spot market.

* The Indian rupee appreciated by 0.6% against the dollar in March. The unit traded in a range of 81.6150 to 82.80.

* The RBI's net outstanding forward purchase stood at $23.6 billion as of end-March, compared with a net purchase of $20.47 billion at the end of the previous month, data released on Monday showed.

* The central bank intervenes in the spot and forwards market to curb exchange rate volatility. The currency was at 82.8275 to the dollar on Monday (22nd May 2023)..

Source : India Times

Correct Answer :   Yes Bank

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* As per the announcement (23rd May 2023) of Red Hat, Inc., YES BANK has adopted Azure Red Hat OpenShift to transform its next-generation mobile banking applications for an efficient mobile banking experience for its customers.

* It will enable YES BANK to improve customer experience and provide innovative banking solutions.

* It will have the agility and flexibility to increase the demand and also support creating a seamless customer experience across multiple banking solutions..

Source : ANI

Correct Answer :   Thalapathy Vijay

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Thalapathy Vijay received the Best Actor Award at the Osaka Tamil International Film Festival 2023 held in Japan.

He was awarded for his performance in 'Master' (directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj), released in 2021

While Kangana Ranaut has bagged the Best Actress Award for her performance in Thalaivii.

Other winners :

* Best Tamil Film: Sarpatta Parambarai
* Best Director: Pa. Ranjith (Sarpatta Parambarai)
* Best Supporting Actor: K. Manikandan
* Best Supporting Actress: Lijomol Jose.

Source : News18

Correct Answer :   Gulab Chand Kataria

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Assam Governor Gulab Chand Kataria on Sunday (21st May 2023) released a book titled ‘Partitioned Freedom’ written by Ram Madhav at an event in Guwahati and said that India has always been looked upon as a land of wealth and wisdom.

* Speaking on the occasion, Governor Kataria said, “India is the most ancient civilization of the world and has always been looked upon as a land of wealth and wisdom.

* India has been credited to have developed philosophy, mathematics, science, and technology of a very high order, which had attracted scholars from all over the world. India’s contribution to the march of civilization goes back several thousand years.”

* “Before the advent of Britishers, Indian goods were internationally recognized for their quality and craftsmanship. India had a much bigger presence in industry and manufacturing than any nation in Europe or Asia. Historical records establish the level of progress and prosperity attained by India before the advent of the Europeans,” the governor added.

* On the occasion, the Governor mentioned that the country achieved independence at the cost of many human lives.

* “However, the consequent independence achieved was a result of losing several human lives and dividing India into two nations. As a result, when India became independent, the atmosphere was not of merriment and jubilation,” the Governor said.

* The Governor further said that the people of the nation are working very hard to mitigate the problems stemming from partition and take the country forward by making use of the ancient glories and past heritage.

* The Assam Governor said that the government has been working relentlessly on the roadmap to use the opportunity that democracy has given this country.

* “Government is working on mission mode to rediscover the lost vitality that existed in the country before independence.”..

Source : The Print

Correct Answer :   Neeraj Chopra

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* Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra is the new world number one in men’s javelin throw, as per the latest rankings released by World Athletics.

* Chopra, who became the first Indian to win a gold medal in a track and field event at the Tokyo Olympics, leads reigning world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada by 22 points.

* Chopra began his 2023 season by winning the first Diamond League meeting in Doha on 6 May 2023 with a world-leading effort of 88.67m.

* The 25-year-old Indian will next be in action at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Games at Hengelo, the Netherlands on June 4 followed by the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku in Finland on June 13.

Top 5 in Men’s Javelin Throw (as per rankings released by World Athletics on May 16, 2023) :

1. Neeraj Chopra (IND) - 1455 points
2. Anderson Peters (GRN) - 1433 points
3. Jakub Vadlejch (CZE) - 1416 points
4. Julian Weber (GER) - 1385 points
5. Arshad Nadeem (PAK) - 1306 points.

Source : Sports

Correct Answer :   Shaili Singh

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Indian athlete Shaili Singh clinched a bronze medal at the Golden Grand Prix 2023 athletics meet in the women's long jump event in Yokohama, Japan.

21st May 2023, Shaili Singh attempted a jump of 6.65 meter, which provided her third place on the podium at the Yokohama meet, a World Athletics Continental Tour gold label event.

Germany’s Maryse Luzolo won the gold medal with an effort of 6.79 meter while Australia’s Brooke Buschkuehl bagged the silver medal with a 6.77 meter leap.

During the Indian Grand Prix 4 athletics meet in Bengaluru which concluded last month, Shaili Singh registered a jump of 6.76 meter, her personal best jump, the second-best by an Indian woman after the legendary athlete Anju Bobby George 6.83 meter.

Two years back, Shaili Singh had won a silver medal win at the World Athletics UNDER-20 Championships in Nairobi..

Source : News on Air

Correct Answer :   Daniil Medvedev

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In Italian 2023 Open final, world number three tennis star Daniil Medvedev clinched his maiden claycourt title after beating Holger Rune 21st May 2023.

In the men's singles final, the Russian beat the 20-year-old Danish player 7-5, 7-5. It is Medvedev's fifth title of 2023 and victory lifts him above Novak Djokovic to second in the world rankings.

Overall he captured 20 career titles. He will also be the second seed at the French Open, which starts at Roland Garros on 28th of this month.

The men's doubles title has been captured by Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski in Rome. The Monegasque-Polish duo defeated Robin Haase and Botic van de Zandschulp 7-5, 6-1 in the men's doubles final to won their maiden ATP Masters 1000 title.

Australian-Belgian pair of Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens have become the women’s doubles champions after defeating top-seeded Americans Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula 6-4 6-4 .

Earlier, Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina clinched her fourth WTA title with victory in the women's singles final as Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina retired with a injury when Rybakina was leading 6-4, 1-0...

Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   Chandigarh

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Chandigarh has received the first rank in the best Urban Local Body category of the National Water Award 2022.

The Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation declared the 4th National Water Award in 2022.

The Ground Water Augmentation Awards and National Water Awards were launched in 2007.

Aim : To encourage all stakeholders for adopting innovative practices of groundwater augmentation through rainwater harvesting.

Source : The Print

Correct Answer :   Kamal Haasan

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Veteran actor, Kamal Haasan will be honored with the Outstanding Achievement in Indian Cinema award at the 23rd IIFA Awards 2023, held in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

* Manish MalhotraHe was awarded various awards including Padma Shri (1990), Padma Bhushan (2014), and Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2016.

* Manish MalhotraWhile Ritesh Deshmukh and Genelia D'Souza will be honored with Outstanding Achievement in Regional Cinema.

* Manish Malhotra will also receive the Outstanding Achievement in Fashion in Cinema..

Source : Economic Times

Correct Answer :   3 gold and 1 bronze

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In Archery World Cup Stage 2 at Shanghai on Saturday (20th May 2023), teenage Indian archer Prathamesh Jawkar defeated the world number one Mike Schloesser of the Netherlands to win a maiden World Cup gold medal in the men's individual compound section.

In the non-Olympic compound section, India bagged two gold with the mixed team duo of Ojas Deotale and Jyothi Surekha Vennam beating top-seeded Korean team 156-155.

This was a successive World Cup gold medal for the mixed pair duo that had also won in the Antalya leg last month.

Earlier, in the Compound mixed team event yesterday, mixed team duo of Sheetal & Rakesh also bagged gold.

Meanwhile, Avneet Kaur won bronze medal in the women’s individual compound category with a 147-144 victory over Ipek Tomruk of Turkey..

Source : AIR