Q1: Which team won the 1st season of WPL held at Wankhede Stadium?
a) Mumbai Indians
b) Delhi Capitals
c) RCB
d) UP Warriors
Solution: option a.)
Mumbai Indians have been crowned champions at the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) after Nat Sciver-Brunt’s unbeaten 60 secured their seven-wicket victory against Delhi Capitals in the final at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.
Hayley Matthews (16 wickets) wins the Purple Cap, while Meg Lanning (345 runs) wins the Orange Cap.
Nat Sciver-Brunt is the Player of the Match
Q2: Which Bank signed the Bancassurance agreement with SBI Life Insurance Company LTD?
a) Axis Bank
b) Karur Vyas Bank
c) SBI
d) ICICI Bank
Solution: option b.)
Karur Vysya Bank executed an agreement as an additional bancassurance partner in the life insurance category with SBI Life.
Bancassurance is an arrangement between a bank and an insurance firm through which the insurer sell its products to the bank’s customers.
Recently, Bharti AXA Life Insurance, a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and global insurance firm AXA, entered into a bancassurance tie-up with Unity Small Finance Bank (Unity Bank) to sell its life insurance products through the lender’s 111 branches of the network.
This month, SBI Life Insurance declared an interim dividend of ₹2.5 per share for its investors for the financial year 2022-23.
SBI Life Insurance MD: Arijit Basu
SBI Life Insurance (H.Q): New Delhi
Karur Vysya Bank MD: B. Ramesh Babu
Karur Vysya Bank (H.Q): Karur
Q3: Who has been as appointed as the AHF Athletes Ambassador?
a) Salima Tete
b) Anju Bobby George
c) PT Usha
d) Mary Kom
Solution: option a.)
The Indian Women’s Hockey Team midfielder Salima Tete has been appointed as the AHF Athletes Ambassador from India for a term of two years between 26th March 2023, to 25th March 2025.
Salima led the Indian Women’s Junior Hockey Team as Captain to a fourth-place finish at the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup South Africa 2021, South Africa.
The Asian Hockey Federation is the governing body for the sport of field hockey in Asia.
It now has 33 member associations.
Headquarters: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Formation: 1958.
Q4: Cabinet approves ___% hike in dearness allowance to central government employees?
a) 4
b) 5
c) 7
d) 3
Solution: option a.)
The cabinet has announced a 4% increase in dearness allowance for central government employees and pensioners. With a four per cent increase in DA, the total DA becomes 42 per cent of the basic pay.
The increase in dearness allowance will benefit over 47 lakh central government employees and over 69 lakh pensioners.
The increase in Dearness Allowance is as per the approved formula, which is based on the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission. Dearness Allowance (DA) is compensation given to employees to offset the effects of inflation and is calculated as a percentage of an employee’s basic salary.
The inflation rate varies depending on the location, job profile and organisation’s policies.
Q5: Government set up a panel to improve the New Pension system. Who is the chairman?
a) Deepak Verma
b) Abhay Manohar
c) Rajiv Bhatia
d) T V Somanathan
Solution: option d.)
Amidst several States deciding to move back to the old defined benefit-based pension system, the Centre has decided to constitute a committee headed by Finance Secretary TV Somanathan to suggest ways to make improvements to the National Pension System (NPS) for government employees.
“I propose to set up a committee under the Finance Secretary to look into this issue of pensions and evolve an approach which addresses the needs of the employees.
Q6: Which state government hiked the inter-caste marriage incentive to Rs 10 lakhs under Dr Savita Ben Inter caste marriage scheme?
a) Rajasthan
b) Tamil Nadu
c) Maharashtra
d) Jharkhand
Solution: option a.)
Aimed at promoting social harmony and unity, the Rajasthan government has announced doubling the incentive for inter-caste marriages to Rs 10 lakhs.
Effective immediately, inter-caste couples tying the knot will now receive Rs 10 lakhs, up from the previous incentive of Rs 5 lakhs.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had recently announced this in the 2023-24 Budget after which a notification was issued by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment on Thursday.
Under the revised Dr Savita Ben Ambedkar Inter-caste Marriage Scheme, Rs 5s lakh will be put in a fixed deposit for eight years, while the remaining Rs 5 lakhs will be deposited in a joint bank account for the newlyweds.
The scheme, launched in 2006, initially provided with Rs 50,000 which was later increased to Rs 5 lakhs in April 2013.
Q7: The Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB) has selected Siddhartha Mohanty as the new chairman of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). LIC was established in which year?
a) 1956
b) 1960
c) 1950
d) 1965
Solution: option a.)
▪ As per the guidelines, the chairman is selected from the four managing directors of the company.
▪ At present, he is an MD of LIC and was earlier given interim charge as chairman for a period of three months, effective from March 14, 2023.
▪ The final decision will be taken by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
▪ Replaced to: Mangalam Ramasubramanian Kumar.
▪ LIC appoints Tablesh Pandey as managing director.
Q8: Government hikes raw jute MSP Rs 300 to Rs _____ per quintal?
a) 4200
b) 4500
c) 5000
d) 5050
Solution: option d.)
▪ Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) increased the minimum support price (MSP) of raw jute by Rs 300 to Rs 5,050 per quintal for the 2023-24 season.
▪ The approval is based on the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) recommendations.
▪ MSP of Raw Jute (TD-3 equivalent to earlier TD-5 grade) has been fixed at Rs 5,050 per quintal for the 2023-24 season.
▪ The announced MSP for raw jute for the 2023-24 season is in line with the principle of fixing the MSP at a level of at least 1.5 times the all-India weighted average cost of production announced by the Government in the Budget for 2018-19.
▪ It assures a minimum of 50 per cent as profit margin.
Q9: Union Cabinet extends subsidy of ____ rupees per cylinder for Ujjwala Yojana Scheme?
a) 350
b) 200
c) 250
d) 300
Solution: option b.)
▪ The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has extended the subsidy of 200 rupees per LPG cylinder for a period of one year, under the PM Ujjwala Yojana.
▪ It will be provided to the Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries for up to 12 refills per year.
▪ The total expenditure on it in 2022-23 will be 6,100 crore rupees and in 2023-24 will be 7,680 crore rupees.
▪ The government launched PM Ujjwala Yojana in May 2016 to provide deposit-free LPG connections to women of poor households.
Q10: Mansukh Mandaviya chairs ____ Board Meeting of Stop TB Partnership.
a) 37
b) 32
c) 38
d) 36
Solution: option d.)
▪ Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare Dr Mansukh Mandaviya chaired the 36th Board Meeting of the Stop TB Partnership in New Delhi on 25 March.
▪ India has identified 3 important health priorities under the G20 Presidency.
▪ All of these focus on universal health coverage and are relevant to the response to TB elimination.
▪ A lot of extraordinary work is being done on the ground through innovations in TB case finding, mathematical modelling, digital interventions and surveillance.
About Stop TB Partnership
• Stop TB Partnership was founded in 2001.
• This is a United Nations-hosted organisation that amplifies the voices of the people, communities, and countries affected by TB.
• It aims to eliminate tuberculosis as a public health problem.
• Secretariat – Geneva, Switzerland.
Q11: Who inaugurated the Vedic Heritage portal?
a) Narendra Tomar
b) Amit Shah
c) Narendra Modi
d) Bhupendra Yadav
Solution: option b.)
▪ Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the Vedic Heritage Portal on 23 March 2023 at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) in New Delhi.
▪ The portal aims to communicate messages enshrined in the Vedas.
▪ It will help common people to have a general understanding of the Vedas.
▪ The portal will be a one-stop solution for the user, who would like to search for any information regarding the Vedic heritage.
▪ The audio-visual recording of four Vedas has been uploaded on the Vedic Heritage portal.
Q12: Who inaugurates the real-time performance monitoring dashboard ‘Sagar Manthan‘?
a) Sarbananda Sonowal
b) Narendra Modi
c) Narendra Tomar
d) Amit Shah
Solution: option a.)
▪ The real-time performance monitoring dashboard of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), known as ‘Sagar Manthan’ was recently inaugurated by the Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways and AYUSH, Sarbananda Sonowal.
▪ ‘Sagar Manthan’ is a digital platform designed to hold all the integrated data related to the Ministry and other subsidiaries.
▪ This is a step towards digitization and transparency in the maritime transport sector.
▪ The platform was developed internally under the guidance of Sudhanshu Pant, Secretary, MoPSW and was efficiently completed in less than 1.5 months.
▪ The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways showcased its commitment to promote the growth of India’s maritime transport sector by launching the ‘Sagar Manthan’ dashboard.
Q13: NGT fines how much amount on Kerala govt for failure to protect Ramsar sites?
a) Rs 10 Crore
b) Rs 20 Crore
c) Rs 15 Crore
d) Rs 25 Crore
Solution: option a.)
▪ The Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in New Delhi has imposed a penalty of ₹10 crores on the Kerala government for its failure to check the indiscriminate pollution of the Vembanad and Ashtamudi lakes (listed as Ramsar sites).
▪ The Bench was led by its chairperson Adarsh Kumar Goel.
▪ The penalty of ₹10 crore had to be utilized for conservation/restoration measures by preparing an action plan to be preferably executed within six months.
Q14: Co-founder of which company, Gordon Moore passes away?
a) HP
b) HCL
c) Intel
d) Dell
Solution: option c.)
▪ Intel co-founder and creator of Moore’s Law, Gordon Moore passed away at the age of 94 in Hawaii.
▪ He was the driving force behind the development of modern computing devices. ▪ He started working on semiconductors in the 1950s and co-founded the Intel Corporation in 1968.
▪ He was best known for coining Moore’s law which predicted the speed of advances in computer chips that came to explain the exponential improvement in technology of all kinds.