General Knowledge(GK) (or) General Awareness

Correct Answer :   Axis Bank

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* Private sector lender Axis Bank and Shriram Housing Finance Limited (SHFL) on Thursday (30th March 2023) announced partnership under the co-lending model through the Yubi Co.Lend platform.

* Through this partnership, both the lenders will offer secured MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) loans and home loans to the middle and low-income segment borrowers based in rural and semi-urban regions.

* The partnership will leverage the financial expertise of Axis Bank, and loan processing technology of SHFL to assess the credit profile of borrowers and provide them loans at competitive interest rates.

* This partnership will cater to potential customers who are either new to credit or untapped by larger institutions and build a secured loan book, it said, adding, the collaboration will leverage the tech platform, Yubi to process loans seamlessly as per the co-lending guidelines..

Source : Money Control

Correct Answer :   Narendra Modi Stadium

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IPL 2023 : The 16th edition of Indian Premier League will begin today i.e. on 31 March 2023 at 7:30 PM IST. IPL 2023 will begin with a clash between heavyweights Chennai Super Kings and defending champions Gujarat Titans.

* The opening ceremony will be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

* The T20 cricket extravaganza will be played across 12 venues with the Narendra Modi Stadium hosting the opener while the final of the tournament will be played on 28 May 2023 at the same venue in Ahmedabad.

* Livestream of the event will be available on the Jio Cinema OTT app for free.

Who are performing at the opening ceremony?

The opening ceremony of this year's IPL will also have an element of music as Arijit Singh will perform at the event. Actress Tamannaah Bhatia and Rashmika Mandana will also be performing at the opening ceremony of IPL 2023. Apart from them, many other celebs from the film industry will be preforming. Some reports have stated that Katrina Kaif, Tiger Shroff will also be performing at the opening ceremony..

Source : Mint

Correct Answer :   Haryana

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Indian Railways has successfully completed 100% electrification of railway network in the state of Haryana in March 2023 and with this achievement, Haryana has become the first state in India to have 100% electrified railway network.

* The electrification project covers the existing broad gauge network of 1,701 route kilometres in Haryana.

* Haryana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated the people of the state for this achievement.

* The completion of this project will reduce the dependence of Indian Railways on imported crude oil and also save foreign exchange.

* Electrification of Railways will help reduce carbon emissions and contribute towards the goal of a sustainable and environment-friendly transport system in India.

* Indian Railways is working towards achieving 100% electrification of its railway network in the country to increase efficiency, reduce dependence on fossil fuels and promote clean energy sources.

* Electrification of the railway network will also significantly reduce air pollution caused by diesel locomotives, thereby improving air quality.

* Recently (February 2023), 100% railway electrification was also done in Uttar Pradesh. Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Division is the first 100 per cent electrified rail division of Indian Railways.

About Indian Railways :

* It is one of the largest railway networks in the world and was established in 1853 during British colonial rule.

* Indian Railways covers a vast network of over 67,000 km, connecting almost every corner of the country.

* It operates a variety of trains including local passenger trains, express trains, superfast trains and luxury trains.

Correct Answer :   Andhra Pradesh

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The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) conducted Regional Search and Rescue exercise during 28 -29 March 2023 at Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh.

Exercise Aim : To simulate a real time maritime distress scenario and highlight the functioning of Search and Rescue (SAR) organisation for a mass rescue operation. The exercise involved all stakeholders with effective use of available resources towards M-SAR (Maritime Search and Rescue) contingency efficiently.

* The exercise simulated an Offshore Support vessel (OSV) carrying more than hundreds of passengers that reported a distress call of major fire onboard off Kakinada.

* Maritime Rescue Sub Centre (MRSC) Kakinada coordinated with all resource agencies to save the lives in distress. The state disaster contingency plan was invoked to support the operations at sea.

* External Fire Fighting of the distressed vessel, Abandon ship drill, deployment of Rescue boat, Jason Cradle, Scramble net, Life raft, life buoy, surveillance by drone, de-induction of casualty rescue by helicopter and medical management were conducted during the exercise.

* The ashore preparations included setting up of Incident Command Post, Triage for treatment of casualties and necessary facilities for management of critical casualties.

* Sea area off Kakinada was chosen as the venue for the exercise considering the large-scale exploration and production activities in the Krishna Godavari basin which makes the area potential to emergencies necessitating large scale SAR response.

* The two-day long workshop and exercise enhanced knowledge and understanding, promoting cooperation and coordination amongst member agencies for a Mass Rescue Operation (MRO), wherein the efforts of a single agency may not be sufficient...

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   Naveen Jindal

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The University of Texas at Dallas has conferred Indian industrialist Naveen Jindal with a lifetime achievement award in recognition of his accomplishments in industry, politics and education.

* An alumnus of the University of Texas at Dallas' 1992 batch, Jindal received the award in a ceremony held on March 25, 2023.

* Jindal is the second person to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of Texas at Dallas after Nobel Laureate Aziz Sancar.

* As a student at the university, Jindal served as both Student Government vice president and president and earned the Student Leader of the Year Award. He was recognized with the University's Distinguished Alumni award in 2010.

* To celebrate the success of their distinguished alumni, the University of Texas at Dallas honoured him by rechristening their School of Management as the Naveen Jindal School of Management in 2011.

* The lifetime achievement award is the highest honour that the University of Texas Dallas bestows on alumni, to recognize a graduate whose extraordinary contributions have bettered society, transformed the university and inspired others to reach new heights of excellence....

Source : DH

Correct Answer :   Shakib Al Hasan

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Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan became the all-time leading wicket-taker in T20 Internationals during Bangladesh’s 2nd T20I against Ireland in Chattogram on Wednesday (29th March 2023).

* Shakib’s total wickets tally now stands at 136, two more than Tim Southee’s 134. The Bangladesh all-rounder started the contest with 131 wickets to his name and picked a fifer.

* Shakib got the wickets of Ross Adair, Lorcan Tucker,Gareth Delany, Harry Tector and George Dockrell during the innings, with Dockrell being the milestone wicket.

* He finished the four over quota with figures 5-22. Earlier in the match, Shakib struck 38 runs off 24 deliveries as Bangladesh mounted 202 runs in the rain-reduced 17-over match.

* Shakib reached the record tally in 114 matches. His career bowling-average stands at 20.67 at an economy rate of 6.80. He will be in action for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League 2023..

Source : The Hindu

Correct Answer :   YES Bank

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YES Bank has issued its first electronic-Bank Guarantee (e-BG) in partnership with National E-Governance Services Limited (NeSL).

* The API integration with the Digital Document Execution (DDE) platform of NeSL has enabled complete digitisation of the existing paper-based process for issuance and maintenance of Bank Guarantee (BG).

* This includes digital stamping and signing, which significantly reduces the issuance turnaround time (TAT).

* The NeSL portal will manage the entire lifecycle of the bank guarantee including issuance, amendment, invocation and cancellation, enabling trade finance stakeholders to access the documents from this secure repository, it said in a release.

* Given our market leadership in the digital payments space, YES Bank aims to be the leader in the trade finance digitisation domain as well,” Ajay Rajan, Country Head – Digital and Transaction Banking Group at YES Bank, said.

* The integration with NeSL is in line with the bank’s other collaborations with public digital utilities like Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC), Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), Account Aggregator (AA), and Government e-Marketplaces (GEM), to accelerate digitisation and enable ease of doing business for MSME and corporate customers.

* An e-BG issued through NeSL’s 24X7 platform becomes instantly available and the beneficiary can access it on completion of a simple and one-time registration process...

Source : The Hindu Businessline

Correct Answer :   Tanzania

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Tanzania has announced (21st March 2023) its first outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus disease (MVD), after five fatalities and three further cases were reported at a hospital in the country’s north-west Kagera region.

* Through contact tracing, approximately 161 people have been identified as at risk of infection, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The government has deployed an emergency response team to the area and neighbouring countries have stepped up surveillance.

* The efforts by Tanzania’s health authorities to establish the cause of the disease is a clear indication of the determination to effectively respond to the outbreak,” said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO’s regional director for Africa.

* Patients displaying symptoms of the disease were first detected last week in two Kagera villages, according to a health memorandum on Tuesday (21st  March 2023) by the Tanzanian health minister Ummy Mwalimu.

* MVD was first discovered in 1967 in Marburg and Frankfurt in Germany and Belgrade, Serbia. It is from the same “virus family” as Ebola and causes a severe hemorrhagic fever, while fatality rates have varied from 24% to 88%.

* There have been several outbreaks since its discovery, with the worst being Angola in 2004-2005, where there were 252 cases and 227 deaths.

* The virus is initially transmitted to people from fruit bats, and then from person to person through body fluids or contaminated objects. Family members and health workers are particularly vulnerable to infection.

* Symptoms : The disease can range from fever, nausea and rash at the onset, to jaundice and severe weight loss as the disease progresses. It has an incubation period of up to 21 days.

* There are no vaccines or treatments for the virus, but according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, alleviating symptoms by rehydration or managing the patient’s blood and oxygen levels, can increase the chances of survival..

Source : Theguardian

Correct Answer :   Aliya Mir

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Jammu and Kashmir’s only female wildlife rescuer, Aaliya Mir who works as a project manager with Wildlife SOS, a non-governmental organisation established in 1995 to protect and conserve India’s natural heritage, forests and wildlife, has been awarded by the administration for her work and conservation efforts.

* Aaliya, a wildlife conservationist has become the first woman from J&K to be felicitated with an award for her conservation efforts in the region.

* She received the award from Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on the International Day of Forests event held by the Department of Forest, Ecology and Environment of the J&K government.

* Aaliya was felicitated with an award in recognition of her efforts spanning diverse aspects of wildlife conservation.

* This includes the rescue and release of wild animals, treatment of injured animals, human-wildlife conflict mitigation, and managing two bear rescue centres in Kashmir.

* Despite having rescued Asiatic black bears, Himalayan brown bears, birds, leopards and other mammals, Aaliya is best known for her work with snakes.

* Over the years, she has rescued snakes from the most unlikely places like kitchens, lawns, gardens and toilets of residences, government buildings and offices, school and university premises, and from tyres and engines of vehicles.

* One particular instance made headlines when the Wildlife SOS team led by Mir rescued a Levantine viper – a highly venomous snake – from the chief minister’s residence in an hour-long operation and safely released it back into the wild...

Source : Greaterkashmir

Correct Answer :   Axis Bank

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Private sector lender Axis Bank on Thursday (23rd March 2023) launched 'MicroPay', first pocket-sized swipe machine of India, based on 'Pin on Mobile' technology for accepting digital payments.

* The bank launched 'MicroPay' along with Ezetap by Razorpay and MyPinpad as the technical solution partners.

* Micropay is a "Pin on mobile" solution that enables a merchant's smartphone to act as a Point-of-Sale (POS) terminal, providing a unique customer experience and simplifying digital payments.

* This solution has the potential to revolutionise digital payments in India, especially in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities where retail and grocery stores often have limited working capital and need cost-effective payment options.

* The launch of Micropay by Axis Bank is expected to have a significant impact on small businesses, making digital payments more accessible and cheaper.

'Micropay' and 'PIN on Mobile' technology :

* The new Pin on mobile technology offers merchants an affordable way to accept payments through cards, UPI and BAR codes while maintaining high security standards.

* Pin on mobile technology is a small, low-cost card reader that connects via Bluetooth to a merchant's smartphone.

* Customers can enter their Pin directly on the merchant's device, in compliance with PCI standards for software-based Pin entry on COTS phones, ensuring the security of the Pin...

Source : CNBC