Daily Current Affairs Quiz: April 1 2024

Ans (A)
Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi took oath as a judicial member of Lokpal.
The Lokpal of India is headed by Justice AM Khanvilkar administered the oath to him.
Justice Ritu Raj previously served as the Chairperson of the 22nd Law Commission of India.
He has also been the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court. Pankaj Kumar and Ajay Tirkey took oath as Lokpal members.
The Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013 provided for the establishment of Lokpal for the Union and Lokayukta for the States.
These institutions are statutory bodies without any constitutional status.
They perform the function of an “ombudsman” and inquire into allegations of corruption against certain public functionaries and related matters.
In 1809, the institution of the ombudsman was inaugurated officially in Sweden.
In the 20th century, the Ombudsman as an institution developed and grew most significantly after the Second World War.
New Zealand and Norway adopted this system in the year 1962 and it proved to be of great significance in spreading the concept of the ombudsman.

Ans (A)
Microsoft has appointed Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-Madras) graduate Pavan Davuluri as the new head of both Windows and Surface.
Davuluri replaces previous Windows chief Mikhail Parakhin.
Microsoft Windows versions use the GUI model of communication.
GUI is the acronym for Graphical User Interface.
Graphical User Interface refers to a user interface using a mouse, icons, and windows.
It displays objects that convey information, and represent actions that can be taken by the user.
The objects change color, size, or visibility when the user interacts with them.

Ans (E)
Bangladesh’s Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid has recently become the first umpire from Bangladesh to be included in the ICC elite panel of umpires.
India’s Nitin Menon has joined this panel for the fifth time. Menon remains the only Indian in the 12-member club.
The Elite Panel of ICC Umpires is a panel of cricket umpires appointed by the International Cricket Council to officiate in Test matches and One Day Internationals around the world.

Ans (A)
Writer and former chairman of Karnataka Sahithya Academy Professor Gurulinga Kapse died following a prolonged illness at the age of 96.
He has also written on philosophy, spirituality, and Kannada prose and poetry besides editing several felicitation volumes.
Kapse has translated literary works from Marathi to Kannada.
He was honored with Karnataka Sahitya Academy and Nataka Academy awards.

Ans (D)
Union Government notified a 3-10% MGNREGA wage hike for 2024-25.
Centre announced a 3-10% wage hike for MGNREGA workers for FY 2024-25, effective April 1, with Goa & Karnataka seeing the highest increases.
The new average MGNREGA wage is set at ₹289/day, up from ₹261, reflecting CPI-AL adjustments and inflation in rural areas.
Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development previously highlighted that the wages were inadequate due to the rising cost of living.

Ans (B)
India released second tranche of ₹500 crore to Bhutan
India has released the second tranche of ₹500 crore to Bhutan for the development of infrastructure related to the GyalSung Project.
This came after PM Modi concluded a fruitful two-day state visit to Bhutan during which he assured Thimphu of New Delhi’s firm support in its quest for development and agreed to provide ₹10,000 crore to the Himalayan nation over the next five years.

Ans (C)
Skyroot Aerospace successfully test-fired stage-2 of Vikram-1 rocket
Hyderabad-based startup Skyroot Aerospace achieved a milestone with the test-firing of stage 2 of its first orbital rocket under development, Vikram-1-1.
The stage-2 engine called Kalam-250 was test-fired at Sriharikota.
The test, lasting 85 seconds, showcases a peak thrust of 186kN.
Kalam-250 features a carbon composite rocket motor, flex nozzle, & precision actuators for trajectory control.

Ans (A)
China launched a satellite for atmospheric, and space environment monitoring
China added to its fleet of secretive meteorological satellites with the launch of Yunhai-3 (02).
China successfully launched a satellite for environmental monitoring from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China’s Shanxi Province.
It will be used for tasks such as atmospheric and marine environment detection, space environment monitoring, disaster prevention, and reduction.

Ans (C)
Tata Passenger Electric Mobility (TPEM) partners with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) to establish 5,000 public charging stations nationwide by the end of 2024.
The collaboration will utilize HPCL’s fuel station network and insights from over 1.2 lakh Tata EVs on Indian roads to set up chargers at locations frequented by Tata EV owners.
Both companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for this purpose.
They are also exploring the introduction of a convenient payment system through a co-branded RFID card to streamline the charging experience.
HPCL, with over 21,500 fuel stations nationwide, aims to install 5,000 electric vehicle charging stations by December 2024.

Ans (D)
In a significant development, the central government has approved the appointment of Nidhu Saxena as the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) of the Bank of Maharashtra.
Nidhu Saxena will take over the top leadership role at the Bank of Maharashtra from AS Rajeev, who has been selected as the Vigilance Commissioner in the Central Vigilance Commission.
The appointment is subject to further orders and will remain in effect until the earlier of three years or until further instructions are issued.
Prior to this appointment, he served as the Executive Director at Union Bank of India.