This is the current affairs of 19 & 20 March 2023 Current Affairs, which will help you in your competitive exams.
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1. Which central bank received the ‘Central Bank of the Year 2023’ award?
a. RBI (Reserve Bank of India)
b. National Bank of Ukraine
c. Federal Reserve
d. Bank of England
Answer: b. National Bank of Ukraine
– The International Journal of Central Banking (IJCB) has selected the National Bank of Ukraine as the “Central Bank of the Year” award for the year 2023.
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2. Who won the ‘Governor of the Year’ 2023 award?
a. Shaktikant Das
b. Urjit Patel
c. Jay Powell
d. Andrew Bailey
Answer: a. Shaktikant Das
– The “International Journal of Central Banking” has awarded Shaktikant Das, the Governor of the – Reserve Bank of India, with the “Governor of the Year” award for 2023.
– Shaktikant Das is a 1980 batch IAS officer.
He took charge as the 25th Governor of the RBI on December 12, 2018.
– He was appointed as the Governor after the resignation of Urjit Patel.
Other Governors who have received this award:
– This is the second time that a Governor of an Indian central bank has won this award.
– Before Das, Raghuram Rajan was honored with the “Governor of the Year” award in 2015.
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3. India and which neighboring country started diesel pipeline in March 2023?
a. China
b. Bangladesh
c. Sri Lanka
d. Pakistan
Answer: b. Bangladesh
– Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the India-Bangladesh diesel pipeline on March 18, 2023.
– This will increase cooperation in energy security in both countries.
– This project has been built with the financial assistance of the Indian government.
About the India-Bangladesh diesel pipeline
– Length of pipeline: 130 kilometers
– Cost of pipeline: INR 3.77 billion
– Transportation capacity of pipeline: 1 million metric tons per year
– Where pipeline runs from and to: From Siliguri in West Bengal, India to Parbatipur in Dinajpur district of Bangladesh
– Length of pipeline in India: 6 kilometers
– Length of pipeline in Bangladesh: 124 kilometers
Agreement made in 2017
– In 2017, an agreement was made to import diesel from India through this pipeline.
– This project was supposed to be completed by June 2022, but it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bangladesh
– Capital: Dhaka
– New President: Shahabuddin Chuppu
– Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina
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4. Name the first Tamil author to be nominated for the International Booker Prize?
a. Parvel Ishtar
b. Arjan Kumar
c. Perumal Murugan
d. Rahul Verma
Answer: c. Perumal Murugan
– Author Perumal Murugan’s book ‘Pyre’ has been nominated for the International Booker Prize.
– This is the first Tamil novel to be nominated for this award.
– This means that this book is one of the 13 novels that have been nominated for this year’s International Booker Award, and one of them will receive the award.
– The English translation of the novel ‘Pyre’ has been done by Aniruddhan Vasudevan.
– This novel portrays rural Tamil Nadu in the 1980s. The story revolves around a couple who belong to different castes. Through them, the novel discusses caste-based violence in society.
About Perumal Murugan:
– He is a professor of Tamil literature and has written 10 novels.
Hindi author wins award in 2022:
– In the year 2022, Hindi author Geetanjali Shree became an international award-winning Hindi novelist for her book “Ret Samadhi”.
International Booker Prize:
– The International Booker Prize was formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize.
– The Man Booker International Prize was first awarded in 2005 and is given to the best translated book in English.
– The purpose of this award is to encourage the publication and reading of international fiction literature worldwide.
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5. Which gunnery school of the Indian Navy was awarded the President’s Color by the President in March 2023?
a. INS Kalvari
b. INS Arihant
c. INS Sindhudurg
d. INS Dronacharya
Answer: d. INS Dronacharya
– INS Dronacharya is the gunnery school of the Indian Navy.
– It is located in Kochi, Kerala.
– The school provides training in small arms, naval missiles, artillery, radar, and defense-related techniques.
– The school has also trained naval personnel from friendly countries such as Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Mauritius.
– Indian Navy Chief: Admiral R. Hari Kumar
– Vice Chief: General Anil Chauhan
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6. Name the winner of Saraswati Samman Award 2022?
a. Sivasankari
b. Arjan Kumar
c. Perumal Murugan
d. Rahul Verma
Answer: a. Sivasankari
– This announcement was made by the K.K. Birla Foundation.
– Sivasankari is a Tamil writer.
– She was chosen for the Saraswati Samman award for her autobiography “Surya Vansham.”
– Some of her novels have also been made into films.
She was born on October 14, 1942.
Awards given by the K.K. Birla Foundation:
– Saraswati Samman (Shivshankari)
– Vyas Samman (Jnanpith laureate)
– Bihari Puraskar
– Shankar Puraskar
– Vachaspati Puraskar
– Ghanashyamdas Birla Puraskar
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7. When is World Sparrow Day celebrated?
a. March 17
b. March 18
c. March 19
d. March 20
Answer: d. March 20
– Theme: “I Love Sparrows.”
– This day is celebrated to raise awareness among people about sparrows and to protect them.
– Due to various reasons including increasing pollution, the number of sparrows has decreased.
– World Sparrow Day is an initiative started by Nature Forever Society of India in collaboration with France’s Eco-Action Foundation.
– The first World Sparrow Day was celebrated on March 20, 2010.
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8. On which day the world sleep day is celebrated?
a. Fourth Friday in the month of March
b. Second Friday in the month of March
c. First Friday in the month of March
d. Third Friday in the month of March
Answer: d. Third Friday in the month of March
– In the year 2023, this day was celebrated on March 17th.
– The theme for the year 2023 is “Sleep is essential for health.”
– World Sleep Day is celebrated to raise awareness about the importance of sleep all over the world.
– Its objective is to make people aware of the importance of sleep in life, so that they can understand how important sleep is in their lives.
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9. In which city the conference of tourism ministers of SCO member countries was held in March 2023?
a. Patna
b. Delhi
c. Mumbai
d. Varanasi
Answer: d. Varanasi
– SCO: Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
– Eight members: China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan
– Four observer countries: Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia
– Under the leadership of Union Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mr. Kishan Reddy, a conference of tourism ministers of SCO member countries was held on 17th and 18th March 2023.
– The objective of the conference was to improve tourism.
– Varanasi has been declared as the first tourism and cultural capital of SCO.
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10. Who was elected the new Vice President of Nepal?
a. Ram Sahai Prasad Yadav
b. Mamta Jha
c. Ram Chandra Paudel
d. Virendra Kumar
Answer: a. Ram Sahay Prasad Yadav
– He has been elected as the third Vice President of the country.
– Also there was a presidential election in Nepal in which Ram Chandra Poudel was elected.
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11. In which year did the Union Government set the target of making Railways a ‘net-zero’ carbon emitter?
a. 2030
b. 2035
c. 2040
d. 2045
Answer: a. 2030
– Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha about this.
– Indian Railways has set a target to become net zero carbon emitter by 2030.
The railway’s plan is in two phases to achieve the target:
– Complete conversion to electric trains by December 2023.
– Providing electricity to trains and stations mainly through non-fossil sources by 2030.
– Railway’s steps will help India to achieve its target of reducing carbon emissions by 33% by 2030.
