Daily Current Affairs MCQs : 13 February 2024 - Humanities/Arts MCQ

Six forest authorities were suspended for negligence in curbing teak smuggling in Kawal Tiger Reserve, located in the north-eastern part of Telangana. Declared a Tiger Reserve in 2012, it lies at the southern tip of the Central Indian Tiger Landscape, with diverse habitats, including dense forests and water bodies. The reserve, a catchment for Godavari and Kadam rivers, is vital for its rich flora, including extensive teak and bamboo, hosting 673 plant species.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, inaugurated Unified Payment Interface (UPI) services in Sri Lanka and Mauritius, and RuPay card services in Mauritius via video conferencing. Mr. Jugnauth announced the co-branded RuPay card as Mauritius’ domestic card. This initiative aims to enhance economic ties and connectivity between the countries, providing convenience to their citizens. Sri Lankan President congratulated Modi on the consecration of Shri Ram Mandir and highlighted longstanding economic relations.

Violence erupted in Uttarakhand as a mosque and madrasa on Nazool land were demolished. Nazool land, owned by the government, is leased for 15-99 years and used for public purposes. Originating from British rule, it was confiscated from opposing kings and royals, marked as Nazool land. Governed by The Nazool Lands (Transfer) Rules, 1956, it’s often utilized for schools, hospitals, and housing societies. The government can renew or cancel leases, leading to recent conflicts in Uttarakhand.

The former Vice-President of India and Union Minister for Culture will inaugurate the ‘Dakshin Bharat Sanskritik Kendra’ in Hyderabad, part of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India’s national academy for music, dance, and drama. Established in 1953, it aims to preserve and promote India’s diverse cultural heritage. The Akademi operates autonomously under the Ministry of Culture, with a Chairman appointed by the President for a five-year term. Fully funded by the government, it coordinates regional Akademies, promotes research, and encourages collaboration for the enrichment of Indian culture.

An Alaskan man recently became the first to die from Alaskapox, an orthopox virus discovered in 2015. It is DNA virus belonging to the same genus as smallpox, monkeypox, and cowpox, it primarily affects small mammals. Symptoms include skin lesions, swollen lymph nodes, and muscle pain, with mild illnesses usually resolving in a few weeks. While human-to-human transmission hasn’t been observed, orthopoxviruses can spread through direct contact with lesions. Immunocompromised individuals may face a higher risk of severe illness.

Airbnb has inked an agreement with the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB) to build host capacity in lesser-explored destinations. Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Airbnb will undertake capacity building activities in the selected pilot locations to enhance local hospitality standards. This partnership with Airbnb will further expand our efforts to promote homestay culture in the state.

Avalon Technologies Limited (Avalon), an Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) company, announced that it is now a strategic manufacturing partner for C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing), a R&D organization of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). This will enhance the indigenous manufacturing capability of High-Performance Computing (HPC) systems as part of the ‘RUDRA’ programme, which aims at designing and manufacturing of supercomputers in India. The programme is poised to demonstrate India’s competency to design, develop, build and deliver as per nation’s multidisciplinary computing needs, and has critical strategic and national importance.

Nikhil Mukund Wagh, PRO at Goa Shipyard Limited, received the "Maha Gaurav 2024" award for his remarkable contribution to the public relations field.

The Government of India signed a loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for 37 billion Japanese Yen ($250 million) for the construction of the 82- kilometer Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor.

Union Bank of India has collaborated with Accenture to design and develop a scalable and secure enterprise data lake platform to boost its operational efficiency. This will also enhance its ability to offer customer-centric banking services and manage risk.
Accenture will work with the Bank to build new Al and machine learning models that can help generate actionable insights for improved business forecasting, facilitate personalized offers for customers and enable intelligence for fraud detection, prevention, and mitigation.