General Knowledge(GK) (or) General Awareness

Correct Answer :   $31.8 Billion

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India's gold imports, which have a bearing on the current account deficit, fell about 30% to $31.8 billion during April-February 2023 due to high customs duty and global economic uncertainties, according to data from the commerce ministry.

* Imports of the yellow metal stood at $45.2 billion in the corresponding period of 2021-22.

* The imports are in the negative zone since August 2022.

* Silver imports, however, rose by 66% to $5.3 billion during April-February 2023.

* The significant fall in gold imports though has not helped in narrowing the country's trade deficit -- the difference between imports and exports. The merchandise trade deficit for April-February 2022-23 was estimated at $247.52 billion against $172.53 billion in the year-ago period.

* According to industry experts, high import duty on gold and global economic uncertainties are the reason for the dip in the imports of the precious metal.

* "India imported about 600 tonnes of gold during April-January 2023, and it is down because of high import duty. The government should take a view on the duty part to help domestic industry and push exports," former GJEPC chairman and managing director of Kama Jewelry Colin Shah said..

Source : The Hindu

Correct Answer :   SBI

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The State Bank of India (SBI) is planning to launch new variants of current account (with balances of ₹50,000 and ₹50 lakh) and “Parivar” (family) savings account in FY24 to minimise the gap between deposit growth and credit growth.

* The new plans come in the wake of deposit growth lagging credit growth over the last few quarters.

* Domestic deposits of India’s largest bank grew 8.86 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) by the end of 2022, while domestic advances were up 16.91 per cent y-o-y.

* SBI expects that its domestic deposits and domestic advances will grow about 12 per cent and 16 per cent y-o-y, respectively, in FY24.

* The low proportion of low-cost current account (CA) deposits (5.6 per cent of the total domestic deposits of ₹40,48,149 crore by the end of December 2022) is a drag on the bank’s net interest margin (NIM).

* As a result, growing the CA deposits has emerged as a clear actionable and focus area for the bank, Dinesh Kumar Khara, Chairman, said in an internal document seen by businessline.

* To grow retail liabilities, the bank has placed more than 500 RMCAs (Relationship Managers for Current Accounts) in various Circles and launched CA product “Shubharambh” for start-ups.

Source : The Hindu Businessline

Correct Answer :   World Bank

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World Bank Group President David Malpass said on Monday (10th April 2023) that the lender has revised its 2023 global growth outlook slightly upward to 2% from a January forecast of 1.7%.

* But the slowdown from stronger 2022 growth will increase debt distress for developing countries.
 
* Malpass told a media briefing that the upward revision was due to an improved outlook for China's recovery from Covid-19 lockdowns, with growth now pegged at 5.1% this year compared to 4.3% in the bank's January Global Economic Prospects report.
 
* Advanced economies, including the U.S., are also doing a bit better than the World Bank anticipated in January, Malpass said.
 
* But the departing World Bank chief warned that turmoil in the banking sector and higher oil prices could again put downward pressure on growth prospects later this year. A bank asset maturity mismatch will take some time to work through and banks are likely to pull back credit.
 
* Malpass said that technical meetings this week with Chinese officials can help "break the ice" on potential movement on badly needed debt relief for poor countries.
 
* Malpass said China also would be able to score some political points at a fairly low cost for its lending institutions..

Source : Business Standard

Correct Answer :   David Warner

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Delhi Capitals skipper David Warner on Saturday (8th April 2023) became the quickest batter to reach the 6000-run mark in the Indian Premier League (IPL) during a match against Rajasthan Royals at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati.

* He is now only the third batter to enter the elite club after Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan, skipper of Punjab Kings. The burly Australian took 165 innings to climb Mt. 6k, while Kohli had taken 188 and Dhawan 199 to achieve the same.

* Warner, who has donned the Orange Cap on three occasions, in IPL 2015, 2017 and 2019, got to the milestone with a boundary. Trent Boult, who removed Prithvi Shaw and Manish Pandey in the opening over on Saturday, sent in a short ball that was pulled behind square for four.

* The left-hander brought up a 44-ball fifty with a four off Ravichandran Ashwin. It was Warner’s 57th half-century in the IPL. He has also struck four centuries in the tournament. Warner also moved to the topped of the batting charts for the season during the knock.

* Warner’s Delhi, thus far, has lost both its IPL 2023 matches - against Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants..

Source : The Hindu

Correct Answer :   Agra

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Exercise Cope India 23, a bilateral air exercise between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the United States Air Force (USAF) is being held at Air Force Stations Arjan Singh (Panagarh), Kalaikunda and Agra.

Exercise Aim : To enhance mutual understanding between the two Air Forces and share their best practices.

* The first phase of the exercise has commenced on Monday (10th April 2023). This phase of the exercise will focus on air mobility and will involve the transport of aircraft and Special Forces assets from both the Air Forces. Both sides will field the C-130J and C-17 aircraft, with the USAF operating an MC-130J, as well.

* The exercise also includes the presence of Japanese Air Self Defence Force aircrew, who will participate in the capacity of observers.

* The Indian Air Force has recently been engaged in multiple multinational exercises in which the US has also participated including the EX Desert Flag in the UAE and Ex Cobra Warrior in the UK.

* The field training exercise focused on enhancing US-Indian mutual cooperation by building on existing capabilities, aircrew tactics and force employment.

* Cope India began in 2004 as a fighter training exercise held at Air Station Gwalior, India...

Source : The Print

Correct Answer :   D Gukesh

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Indian young Grandmaster D Gukesh has won the title of World Chess Armageddon Asia and Oceania event. Gukesh emerged winner in a topsy-turvy summit clash late on Sunday (9th April 2023).

* He won the feat by defeating former world rapid champion Nodirbek Abdusatarov of Uzbekistan in the final.

* Talking about other Indians, Vidit Gujarati and Karthikeyan Murali have also won this title. Former world champion Viswanathan Anand has congratulated Grandmaster D Gukesh on his victory.

* The 16-year-old Indian won in a field that included former world classical champion Vladimir Kramnik, Daniil Dubov, Yangyi Yu (China), Vidit Gujrathi and Karthikeyan Murali (both India) and Param Maghsoodloo (Iran), apart from Abdusattorov.

* The All India Chess Federation is the central administrative body for the game of chess in India. It was established in 1951.

Correct Answer :   Rashid Khan

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* Rashid Khan of Gujarat Titans has broken the record of taking the most hat-tricks in T20 cricket. He achieved this feat in an IPL match played against KKR in Ahmedabad.

* Rashid made Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Shardul Thakur his victims for three consecutive balls. Rashid has gone ahead of other bowlers in the world by completing his fourth hat-trick in this short format of cricket.

* In the year 2008, while playing for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), former India bowler Lakshmipathy Balaji took his first hat-trick of the IPL.

Correct Answer :   Priyanshu Rajawat

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Indian badminton player, Priyanshu Rajawat (21) has clinched the men's singles title of the Orleans Masters Super 300 tournament 2023 on Sunday (9th April 2023).

* He defeated Denmark’s Magnus Johannesen by 21-15, 19-21, and 21-16.

* While the women's singles title was lifted by Carolina Marín from Spain.

Other Winners :

Men's Double : Chen Boyang & Liu Yi (China)
Women's Double : Rena Miyaura & Ayako Sakuramoto (Japan)
Mixed Double : Chen Tang Jie & Toh Ee Wei (Malaysia).

Source : Times of India

Correct Answer :   Bharat Biotech

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Bharat Biotech has won the `Best Production /Process Development’ award as part of the Vaccine Industry Excellence (ViE) awards at the World Vaccine Congress 2023.

* The Congress was held during 3rd April to 6th April 2023 in Washington, USA.

* Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech was the only Indian company in the list of VIE awards in various categories, including best clinical trial company, best clinical trial network, best central/specialty laboratory award, best contract research organisation, best production/process development award, among others.

* Bharat Biotech is the world’s first producer of intranasal Covid-19 vaccine, iNcovacc. Its intramuscular  vaccine, Covaxin, is part of India’s public vaccination programme and was also exported...

Source : The Hindu Businessline

Correct Answer :   ₹23.2 lakh crore

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The Ministry of Finance (Nirmala Sitharaman) announced  that the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) has sanctioned 41 crore loans amounting to ₹23.2-lakh-crore in the past eight years.

* The scheme has shown significant success in promoting entrepreneurship, with 68% of accounts under the scheme belonging to women entrepreneurs and 51% belonging to entrepreneurs from SC/ST and OBC categories.

* This data highlights that the availability of easy credit to budding entrepreneurs has led to innovation and a sustained increase in per capita income.

* PMMY scheme aims : To provide loans of up to ₹10 lakh to small entrepreneurs to start or expand their businesses. The announcement demonstrates the success of the government’s initiative in promoting financial inclusion and entrepreneurship in India.

Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) :

* The Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) was launched on April 08, 2015, by the Government of India with the aim of providing collateral-free microcredit up to Rs 10 lakh to non-corporate, non-farm small and micro-enterprises. The scheme is a part of the Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA) initiative, which was launched to support small and micro enterprises across the country.

* The loans are provided by various financial intermediaries such as banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), and microfinance institutions (MFIs). Although 41 crore loans have been sanctioned under the PMMY scheme, there may be a slight lag between the sanctioning and disbursement of loans due to processing of various documents. Nonetheless, the scheme has proven to be a successful initiative in promoting entrepreneurship and financial inclusion among women and underprivileged categories.

* The Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) is designed to fulfill one of the three pillars of financial inclusion, which is “Funding the Unfunded”. The other two pillars are “Banking the Unbanked” and “Securing the Unsecured”. The loans under PMMY are categorized into three types based on the borrower’s need for finance and the stage of the business’s maturity.

* These categories are Shishu (loans up to ₹50,000), Kishore (loans above ₹50,000 and up to ₹5 lakh), and Tarun (loans above ₹5 lakh and up to ₹10 lakh).

* The loans under PMMY are provided for both term loan and working capital components of financing for income-generating activities in manufacturing, trading, and service sectors, including activities related to agriculture such as poultry, dairy, and beekeeping.

* The lending institutions determine the interest rates as per the guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In the case of a working capital facility, interest is charged only on the amount held overnight by the borrower..