General Knowledge(GK) (or) General Awareness

Correct Answer :   Mumbai

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The Churchgate railway station in Mumbai will soon be renamed after the first governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) CD Deshmukh (Chintaman Dwarakanath Deshmukh).

The station will be called 'Chintamanrao Deshmukh station'.

The first national executive meeting of Shiv Sena under "Eknath Shinde" passed a resolution demanding that the Churchgate train station in Mumbai be named for former RBI governor and finance minister CD Deshmukh.

Who is CD Deshmukh :

* CD Deshmukh, a famous economist, was born on 14 January 1896 in a Marathi family in Raigad district of Maharashtra.

* After studying in England, he joined thecivil service and became the first Indian governor of the RBI in 1943 under the British Raj.

* Later, as the Union Finance Minister from 1950 to 1956, CD Deshmukh contributed to the economic development of the country.

* One of Deshmukh's notable achievements as governor was the establishment of the Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) in 1948.

* IFCI was established to provide long-term finance to industrial projects, which was vital to the development of India's industrial sector.

* He also played a major role in setting up the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) after World War II.

* He represented India at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944, where the IMF and the IBRD were established.

* He was knighted by the British government in 1944 and awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in 1959..

Source : Times Now News

Correct Answer :   Seychelles

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Indian Navy-affiliated IFC-IOR (Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean region) has inked an MoU with the Seychelles-based Regional Coordination Operations Centre (RCOC) on 22 February 2023.

The MoU signed by Capt Rohit Bajpai, Director, IFC-IOR and Capt Sam Gontier, Director, RCOC.

Aim : To promote collaboration between the two Centres towards enhancing maritime domain awareness, information sharing and expertise development.

Directors of both IFC-IOR and RCOC unanimously upheld the need to elevate the information sharing mechanism and analysis so that actions at sea can be cued accordingly.

The directors affirmed that ‘the MoU will enhance trust and improve synergy between the centres towards furthering collaborative maritime safety and security in the Indian Ocean Region’.

The High Commissioner of India to Seychelles and senior officals and representatives of the IFC-IOR and RCOC participated in the MoU-signing event.

IFC-IOR will be collating, fusing and disseminating intelligence on ‘White Shipping’ in the Indian Ocean.

The IFC-IOR, which was established in 2018, coordinates with regional countries on maritime issues and acts as a maritime security information sharing hub for the Indian ocean region. Since its inception, IFC-IOR has effectively formed connects with several multinational maritime security centres.

The current initiative too will result in deeper collaboration between the two centres. The initiative will pave way for the centres to form a common maritime understanding in order to counter non-traditional maritime security threats, including terrorism, piracy, armed robbery, arms smuggling, human and contraband trafficking, Illegal Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing, poaching, etc.

It is pertinent to note that the RCOC and the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC), in Seychelles, are a part of the maritime defence architecture in the Western Indian Ocean..

Source : News on Air

Correct Answer :   Aiden Markram

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* South African all-rounder Aiden Markram has been appointed as the new Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) Captain ahead of IPL 2023.

* He replaced Kane Williamson, who was released by Sunrisers Hyderabad, after which the franchise was looking for a new captain.

* Markram recently won the SA20 title to Sunrisers Eastern Cape in January 2022.

* IPL 2023 will start on March 31, in Ahmedabad. In the first match, the Gurjarat Titans will be facing the four-time champion Chennai Super Kings.

Correct Answer :   Shelly Oberoi

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Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Shelly Oberoi was on Wednesday (22nd February 2023) elected the mayor of Delhi.

* Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) "Shelly Oberoi" defeated BJP's Rekha Gupta by a margin of 34 votes to become the mayor of Delhi.

* Shelly Oberoi polled 150 votes while Gupta received 116 votes out of the total 266 votes polled.

* She was elected to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) from Patel Nagar's Ward Number 86.

* The voting was held at the Civic Centre. The Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena had given his nod to convene the municipal House for holding the mayoral election following the apex court order.

* In a shot in the arm for the AAP, the apex court also held that the members nominated to the MCD by the Lt Governor cannot vote to elect the mayor.

Electoral College for election of mayor :

Elected councillors - 250

Lok Sabha MPs - 7 (Delhi)

Rajya Sabha MPs - 3 (Delhi)

MLAs - 14

* Delhi Assembly Speaker has nominated 13 AAP and one BJP member to the House.

* The total number of votes in the mayoral polls are 274.

* The numbers game favours the AAP, which has 150 votes against the BJP's 113.

About Shelly Oberoi :

Shelly Oberoi, 39, was a visiting Assistant Professor at Delhi University. She is also a lifetime member of the Indian Commerce Association. She has pursued her Doctorate in Philosophy from the School of Management Studies (SOMS), Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).

She is also the recipient of best paper awards in different national and international conferences and has won a Gold medal (Prof Manubhai Shah Award) at ICA Conference. She completed her BCom from Janki Devi Memorial College of Delhi University.

Correct Answer :   HDFC Bank

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HDFC Bank, a major private sector bank, and UAE-based Lulu Exchange have signed an MoU to strengthen cross-border payments between India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

* In the first phase of the partnership, Lulu Exchange's expertise and regulatory framework would be utilised to launch a digital inward remittance service titled 'RemitNow2India'.

* It will allow UAE individuals resident to send money to any bank account in India via IMPS and NEFT through HDFC digital banking channels. a release issued by the bank on Tuesday (21st Feb 2023).

* The partnership will also look to strengthen the existing relationship between the two entities in India, where LuLu Financial Group operates LuLu Forex and the NBFC division LuLu Finserv.

* Arvind Vohra, Group Head of Retail Branch Banking in HDFC Bank, said the partnership will build on each other's strengths. "While HDFC Bank potentially gains access to remittances from Lulu Exchange's employees, customers and other stakeholders, Lulu Exchange can capitalise on a trusted name with a vast network"..

Source : Economic Times

Correct Answer :   Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar

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In Shooting, India's Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar on Wednesday (22nd Feb 2023) claimed the gold medal in the men's individual 50m rifle 3 positions competition at the ISSF World Cup 2023 in Cairo, Egypt.

The 22-year-old Tomar, who had also won a gold in the Chagwon World Cup last year(2022), won 16-6 in the gold medal contest to comfortably beat Austria's Alexander Schmirl.

* Earlier, India's Tilottama Sen had won a bronze medal in the women’s 10m Air Rifle.

* India is placed comfortably on top of the medal tally with four gold.

* Hungary is in second position with two gold medals.

* 10m air rifle mixed team : Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil and R Narmada Nithin

* 10m air pistol mixed team : Varun Tomar and Rhythm Sangwan

* Men's 10m air rifle : Rudrankksh Patil.

Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   State Bank of India

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* A real-time payments system linkage was established between India and Singapore using the UPI platform, State Bank of India on Wednesday (22nd Feb 2023) announced a partnership with PayNow, the online payment system of the city state, for cross-border payments.

* The facility is offered through SBI's Bhim SBIPay mobile application and the linkage will allow fund transfers from India to Singapore through registered mobile numbers, and from Singapore to India using the UPI ID.

* The UPI-PayNow linkage is a significant milestone towards developing an infrastructure for cross-border payments between the two countries and the initiative closely aligns with the G20's priorities of driving faster, cheaper, and more transparent cross-border payments.

* The inward bilateral remittance between the two countries was around USD 949 million in 2021 according to the World Bank bilateral remittances matrix, the bank said.

* SBI chairman Dinesh Khara said the initiative will go a long way in boosting the digitisation initiatives, providing easy, seamless cross-border payment facility to users.

Source : India Times

Correct Answer :   INS Nireekshak

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* In a first for the Indian Navy, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R Harikumar awarded an ‘on the spot’ Unit Citation to INS Nireekshak in Kochi.

* Reason : For deep sea diving and undertaking salvage operations under the most challenging circumstances

* He also awarded commendations to the crew involved in the salvage operation.

* Navy chief Admiral Harikumar visited INS Nireekshak at Kochi on Monday (20th February 2023). He interacted with the diving team of the ship involved in the salvage operations at a depth of 219 metres in the Arabian Sea and commended the vessel’s crew on the safe and successful conduct of the operations under the most challenging circumstances.

* According to Indian Navy, this is the deepest salvage carried out in the country’s waters. During his address to the ship’s crew, Admiral Harikumar complimented the dedicated effort of the ship in conducting the deep diving operations. He exhorted the undaunted spirit of the ‘Men Behind the Machine’.

* Nireekshak had also recently completed a solemn dive off Gujarat coast to pay homage by laying wreath at 80 m depth, the resting site of erstwhile Khukri, which sank during the 1971 war.

* INS Nireekshak is a Dive Support and Submarine Rescue Vessel of Indian Navy.

* Built by Mazgaon Shipbuilders in 1985, the ship has been in service with the Navy since 1989 and was commissioned in the year 1995.

* INS Nireekshak has been part of various diving operations and holds the record for the deepest dive carried out in the country to a depth of 257 m...

Source : The Print

Correct Answer :   T K Rangarajan

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A veteran CPI-M leader, T K Rangarajan has been honored with the Sansad Ratna Lifetime Achievement Award 2023.

Thirteen MPs were nominated for the Sansad Ratna Awards 2023.

The 13th edition of the award ceremony will be held on March 25 in New Delhi.

Sansad Ratna Awards :

* It was instituted in 2010 and inspired by the teachings of former President APJ Abdul Kalam.

* It recognizes and felicitates the top-performing MPs based on their work in the apex legislative body.

Source : Indian Express

Correct Answer :   Tilottama Sen

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* Indian teen "Tilottama Sen" has won bronze medal in the women’s 10m Air Rifle at ISSF World Cup 2023 at Cairo in Egypt.

* The 14-year-old Sen won second bronze for India, fifth overall after ending the top eight ranking round with a score of 262.

* She missed out on the gold medal match by the narrowest possible margin of 0.1.

* Great Britain’s "Seonaid Mcintosh" won gold and Switzerland’s Olympic Champion "Nina Christen" came second to win silver.

* The third day of the event was yet another profitable day for India with Rudrankksh Patil earlier winning gold in the men’s Air Rifle.

* India is placed comfortably on top of the medal tally with three golds, with Hungary, Britain and Slovakia winning the other three awarded. Four more finals are scheduled in the next couple of days..

Source : AIR