Current Affairs 24 February 2023

ANS : A 

• US nominates former Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga for World Bank president. 
• U.S. President Joe Biden on 24 February 2023, nominated business executive Ajay Banga to become president of the World Bank.
• Ajay Banga is currently appointed as the vice chairman at private equity firm General Atlantic.
• He has more than 30 years of business experience in handling different roles at Mastercard and the boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods and Dow Inc.

ANS : B 

• China approves USD 700 million loan to Pakistan. 
• China approved a loan of USD 700 million to Pakistan in February 2023. 
• The Board of China Development Bank has approved the facility of USD 700 million for Pakistan.
• This amount is expected to be received by the end of Feb 2023.
• Pakistan’s National Assembly unanimously passed a money bill aimed at raising tax revenues to fulfill the demands set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

ANS : C 

• President Droupadi Murmu confers Sangeet Natak Akademi awards. 
• President Droupadi Murmu on 23 February 2023, conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Awards for the years 2019, 2020 and 2021 in New Delhi. 
• Eight persons in the field of performing arts were given the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, while 128 artistes from the fields of music, dance, theatre, traditional, and folk were honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards.

ANS : A 

• Biswabhushan Harichandan was sworn in as the ninth Governor of Chhattisgarh on 23 February 2023.
• He was administered the oath by Chhattisgarh HC Chief Justice Arup Kumar Goswami.
• Previously, he was the governor of Andhra Pradesh.
• He joined the High Court bar of Orissa in 1962 and the Bharatiya Jan Sangh in 1971.
• He was elected to the State Assembly of Odisha 5 times, and also served as a minister.

ANS : D 

• Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar on 23 February 2023, won the gold medal in the men’s individual 50m rifle 3 positions competition at the ISSF World Cup in Cairo, Egypt.
• He defeated Austria’s Alexander Schmirl with a 16-6 score.
• He also won a gold medal in the Chagwon World Cup in 2022.
• India is on top of the medal tally with four gold and Hungary is in second position with two gold medals.

ANS : B 

• An earthquake of about 6.8 magnitude shook eastern Tajikistan at 5:37 a.m. local time on 23 February 2023.
• Its impact was also felt in China and other neighbouring countries.
• The earthquake struck the mountainous Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous region which was earlier this month hit by a series of deadly avalanches.
• The epicentre was about 82 kms from the nearest border with China.

ANS : B 

• Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), Girish Chandra Murmu has been selected as External Auditor of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva for a four-year term from 2024 to 2027. 
• CAG will succeed the Supreme Audit Institution of Philippines as External Auditor.
• CAG was appointed for its high standing on professionalism, global audit experience and strong national credentials.

ANS : A 

• Defence Secretary Aramane Giridhar has been given an extension in service till October 2024.
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his extension in service as Secretary, Department of Defence, beyond the age of superannuation for a period up to 31st of October, 2024.
• Mr Giridhar is a 1988-batch Indian Administrative Service officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre. 

ANS : C 

• Russia’s space agency Roscosmos successfully launched an empty SOYUZ spacecraft to bring back the stranded astronauts in space.
• Three astronauts were stranded in space as the Soyuz MS-22 capsule started leaking coolant.
• Now, with the leak, the astronauts will return only by September.
• The leak was due to a micrometeoroid, possibly the size of a small rock hitting the satellite.
• The unmanned Soyuz MS-23 lifted off from Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan and had been placed in orbit.
• Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin and U.S. astronaut Francisco Rubio had been due to end their mission in March.
• They were left stuck in space after the cooling system of their Soyuz MS-22 capsule started leaking two months ago.
• 430 kilograms of cargo was sent aboard the replacement craft, including medical equipment, scientific instruments, water, food, and cleaning supplies.

ANS : D 

• The “Healthy Baby” show campaign is being organized across Secunderabad Parliament Constituency.
• The programme was initiated with the distribution of enrollment forms for the “Healthy Baby Show” in every basti, every colony and society of Secunderabad Parliament Constituency.
• The healthy children and their families are being felicitated with certificates and ’Poshan Kits’.