General Knowledge(GK) (or) General Awareness

Correct Answer :   Aasif Sheikh

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Nepalese Wicketkeeper-batsman Aasif Sheikh has been declared the winner of the 2022 Christopher Martin-Jenkins Spirit of Cricket Award.

* The Award is presented every year by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), UK in conjunction with the BBC. 

* The CMJ Spirit of Cricket Award was created in 2013 by MCC and the BBC in memory of former MCC President and BBC Test Match Special commentator Christopher Martin-Jenkins (CMJ), who was passionate about promoting the spirit of the game.

* Sheikh was honoured for his sporting conduct shown in a Men’s T20 International between Nepal and Ireland in February 2022.

* The match in Al-Almerat, part of the Oman Quadrangular T20I Series, saw Aasif refuse to run out Ireland’s Andy McBrine, who was accidentally upended by bowler Kamal Airee when attempting a run in the 19th over of the Irish innings, according to a statement issued by the MCC 20th Mar 2023.

* The first time in its history, MCC and BBC invited public nominations for the award in December 2022 and Aasif Sheikh’s conduct for Nepal was adjudged to be the winning entry.

* Sheikh will be officially presented with the CMJ Spirit of Cricket Award later this year. He was also awarded the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award for his actions in January of this year..

Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   22.7 Million Rupees

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Monday (20th March 2023) it fined private lender RBL Bank Ltd 22.7 million rupees ($274,915) for not complying with certain directives on loan recovery agents.

* The RBI noticed "deficiencies in regulatory compliance" after it examined complaints received against the Mumbai-based lender's recovery agents during the financial years 2018-19 to 2021-22, the central bank said in a statement.

* The RBI said RBL failed to ensure that the loan recovery agents it engaged during those periods did not resort to intimidation or harassment and that it did not ensure police verification of the agents before employing them.

* RBL did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment.

* Last year (2022), the RBI issued a circular advising the financial institutions it regulated to "strictly ensure that they or their agents did not resort to intimidation or harassment of any kind", and that any violation would be "viewed seriously"..

Source : Economic Times

Correct Answer :   5.53%

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The government has taken various reforms following which asset quality of public sector banks has improved significantly with gross NPA ratio declining from the peak of 14.6 per cent in March 2018 to 5.53 per cent in December 2022, Parliament was informed on Monday (20th Mar 2023).

* All PSBs are in profit with aggregate profit being Rs 66,543 crore in 2021-22, and that further increased to Rs 70,167 crore in first nine months of current financial year (FY 23), Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat K Karad said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.

* At the same time, resilience has increased with provision coverage ratio of PSBs rising from 46 per cent to 89.9 per cent in December 2022, he said, adding capital adequacy ratio of PSBs improved significantly from 11.5 per cent in March 2015 to 14.5 per cent in December 2022.

* Total market cap of PSBs (excluding IDBI Bank, which was categorised as private sector bank in January 2019) increased from Rs 4.52 lakh crore in March 2018 to Rs 10.63 lakh crore in December 2022, he said.

* Karad also said banks, earlier placed under Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework by RBI, have made significant improvement..

Source : Economic Times

Correct Answer :   Pune

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* The 10-day Africa-India Field Training Exercise (AFINDEX 2023) will be organized in Pune, India from March 21 to March 30, 2023 to strengthen the military ties between the countries.

* The India-Africa Army Chiefs Conclave will be held in Pune from March 28-29, 2023.

* The exercise will promote the idea of Africa-India Militaries for Regional Unity (AMRUT) and will focus on incorporating the current dynamics of UN peacekeeping operations (UNPKF) through practical and comprehensive discussions and tactical exercise.

* The first AFINDEX was held in Pune in March 2019 which saw the participation of 20 African nations. In 2020, the India-Africa Defence Ministers Conclave was held on the sidelines of the DEFEXPO in Lucknow.

Theme : A comprehensive validation exercise on the theme “Humanitarian Mine Actions and Peace Keeping Operations”..

Source : Hindustan Times

Correct Answer :   UBS Group

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Switzerland’s second largest bank (Credit Suisse Bank) and one of the most influential banks in global history, was sold to UBS, which is Switzerland’s largest bank and a long-time rival.

* The deal was hurriedly brokered by Swiss government and regulators in a bid to not just contain the crisis of confidence in Credit Suisse, which reportedly faced withdrawals of close to $10 billion last week, but also to stop the contagion to other banks.

* UBS will be paying around $3.2 billion to Credit Suisse. According to The Wall Street Journal, “The Swiss government said it would provide more than $9 billion to backstop some losses that UBS may incur by taking over Credit Suisse.

* The Swiss National Bank also provided more than $100 billion of liquidity to UBS to help facilitate the deal.”

* This is a spectacular collapse for the 166-year old bank. But what is even more stunning is that this is the third major bank that has collapsed in just the past 10 days..

Source : Indian Express

Correct Answer :   Carlos Alcaraz

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Spain's Carlos Alcaraz defeated Russia's Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-2 to win the Indian Wells Masters 2023 singles title. With this, he has become the ninth and youngest player to win the Indian Wells and Miami titles.

Nadal won six titles before the age of 20. With this, Alcaraz has reached number 1 in the World ATP rankings.

Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Sunday evening with a 19-match winning streak behind him, confidence flowing. He was the in-form player on the tour, a champion established as the best hard-court player of his generation. And yet, by the end, none of that mattered. Forty-five minutes into the final, he was completely out of ideas.

Alcaraz’s victory followed a maiden WTA 1000 triumph for Elena Rybakina, who also won her first important title since her maiden grand slam triumph, edging out Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (11), 6-4 in a tense, mentally exhausting tussle.

With his third career Masters 1000 title and eighth overall, Alcaraz will regain the ATP’s No 1 ranking, rising above Novak Djokovic, who is absent from Indian Wells and the Miami Open due to his vaccination status. This was the first time that Alcaraz has won a Masters 1000 title without dropping a set..

Source : The Guardian

Correct Answer :   Rachna Bisht Rawat

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* Journalist and author Rachna Biswat Rawat recently published and wrote a book called "Bipin: The Man Behind the Uniform".

* This book focuses on the life, personality and principles of the late General Bipin Rawat.

* India's first Chief of Defense Staff died in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu in the year 2021.

* This book was presented by the author Rachna to the Defense Minister of India, Rajnath Singh. It is a tribute to the life and achievements of General Rawat.

Correct Answer :   Bengaluru

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The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is organising a young scientist programme, Yuva VIgyani Karyakram (YUVIKA), to impart basic knowledge on space technology, space science and space applications to students of Class IX.

* The registration for the programme starts 20th March 2023.

* ISRO said that it has chalked out this programme to ‘catch them young’ and that it is also expected to encourage more students to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) based research and careers.

* The YUVIKA program will be conducted between May 15 and May 26, 2023 at seven centers.

* Interested students studying in Class 9 as on 1 January 2023 within India are eligible to apply..

Source : The Hindu

Correct Answer :   Rohan Bopanna

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Rohan Bopanna proved age was just a number after becoming the oldest ATP Masters 1000 champion at 43 years old, with victory in the BNP Paribas Open men’s doubles.

* Alongside playing partner Matthew Ebden, the unseeded pair dispatched top-ranked duo Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski, to claim the men’s doubles title at Indian Wells, winning 6-3 2-6 10-8.

* The triumph was the pair’s second title together following last month’s success in Doha at the Qatar open. Bopanna described the win as “Truly special.”

* In winning his 24th tour-level trophy, the former doubles world number three broke the record for oldest masters champion held by former partner Daniel Nestor.

* The Indian, whose family own a coffee plantation in the Indian state of Karnataka, added: “Some days I tell Matt I maybe just practiced 20 minutes, but I’d rather rest the body and be ready for our matches.”

* Ebden and Bopanna now hold an 11-4 record together this season and have moved up to 18th and 11th in the ATP doubles rankings..

Source : CNN

Correct Answer :   Rao Inderjit Singh

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Mos (IC) for MoSPI, Rao Inderjit Singh released the Women and Men in India 2022 report.

Highlights :

* India’s sex ratio is expected to improve from 943 in 2011 to 952 by 2036.

* The Labor Force Participation Rate (above 15 years) has been increasing since 2017-2018.

* However, the rate was 77.2% for males and only 32.8% for females in 2021-22.

* It has also highlighted the gender disparity in wages, with men in rural areas earning more than women in urban areas..

Source : Times of India