Current Affairs Quiz: February 21 2023

Current Affairs for UPSC: Jagran Josh presents Daily Current Affairs news for all students and readers preparing for several competitive examinations. In today’s quiz session, the most important questions with their answers are compiled here. These include the New CEO of NITI Aayog, Dadasaheb Phalke Awards 2023, ISSF World Cup and more. 

1. Which former IAS officer has been appointed as the new CEO of NITI Aayog?

(a) Nripendra Mishra

(b) Alok Ranjan

(c) Vinod Rai

(d) BVR Subramanyam

2. Who has become India's 80th Grandmaster in Chess?

(a) Vignesh NR

(b) Pranesh M

(c) Visakh NR

(d) Nihal Sarin

3. Which film has been selected as the 'Film of the Year' at the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival 2023? 

(a) Kantara

(b) Gangubai Kathiawadi

(c) RRR

(d) The Kashmir Files

4. Which country won the 10m air pistol mixed team gold in the ISSF World Cup?

(a) Uzbekistan

(b) India

(c) USA

(d) China

5. With which country has India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) launched cross-border connectivity?

(a) USA

(b) Malaysia

(c) Singapore

(d) Qatar

6. In which state India's first semiconductor facility will be set up by the Vedanta-Foxconn JV?

(a) Bihar

(b) Madhya Pradesh

(c) Gujarat

(d) Karnataka

7. When is International Mother Language Day celebrated every year?

(a) 20 February

(b) 21 February

(c) 22 February

(d) 23 February

Answers

1. (d) BVR Subramanyam

Former IS officer BVR Subrahmanyam has been appointed as the new CEO of NITI Aayog. He will replace Parameswaran Iyer, who is about to assume the Executive Director (ED) position at the World Bank for three years. Subramaniam, a 1987 batch IAS officer of the Chhattisgarh cadre, retired on September 30, 2022. NITI Aayog was formed on January 1, 2015, and replaced the Planning Commission. The Prime Minister of the country leads the NITI Aayog organization. The Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog is appointed by the Prime Minister.

2. (a) Vignesh NR

India's 24-year-old chess player Vignesh NR has become the 80th grandmaster after defeating Germany’s Ilse Schneider. Along with this, he also won the 24th Nordwest Cup 2023 title in Germany. Earlier, Vignesh's brother Visakh NR became the 59th Grandmaster of India in the year 2019. For the first time in India's Grandmaster Chess history, two brothers have become India's Grandmasters. Pranesh M is the 79th Grandmaster of India and he achieved this feat after winning the Rilton Cup in Stockholm. The title of Grandmaster (GM) is given to chess players by the world chess organization FIDE.

3. (c) RRR

Recently Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival 2023 was organized in Mumbai. In this award show, the film The Kashmir Files directed by Vivek Agnihotri was given the Best Film Award. In the same award show, Ranbir Kapoor was also awarded the Best Actor Award for the RRR film directed by SS Rajamouli. Moreover, the film RRR has been chosen as the ‘Film of the Year’ at this award show. Alia Bhatt has been awarded the Best Actress Award for her brilliant performance in Gangubai Kathiawadi whereas the award for Best Promising Actor was given to actor Rishabh Shetty of the superhit film Kantara.

4. (b) India

India's 10m air rifle mixed team consisting of Rudranksh Balasaheb Patil and R Narmada Nitin has won the gold medal in the ISSF World Cup 2023. The same 10-meter air pistol mixed team also won the gold medal in this event. The 10m air pistol mixed team consisted of Varun Tomar and Rhythm Sangwan. Varun Tomar wins a bronze medal in the men's 10m air pistol event. The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) is the governing body of the events such as Olympic Shooting in Rifle, Pistol and Shotgun Categories.

5. (c) Singapore

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong inaugurated the virtual launch of cross-border connectivity between the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and PayNow in Singapore on February 21, 2023. With this initiative, people of both countries will get help in money transfers like getting funds instantly and at a low cost from their mobiles. According to the data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), UPI recorded over 7.82 billion transactions worth Rs 12.82 trillion in December 2022 which is a major record in itself.

6. (c) Gujarat

Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta and behemoth Foxconn have announced their joint venture to set up a semiconductor and display manufacturing facility in the Dholera Special Investment Zone. This will be India's first semiconductor manufacturing unit. The Vedanta-Foxconn company has signed an MoU with the Gujarat government to invest Rs 1,54,000 crores for making semiconductors and to facilitate manufacturing facilities.

7. (b) 21 February

International Mother Language Day is celebrated every year on 21 February. It is held annually across the world since the year 2000. In the year 1999, UNESCO announced that World Mother Language Day will be celebrated on February 21. This began with the initiative of Bangladesh. The theme of International Mother Language Day 2023 is "Multilingual Education-Need to Transform Education" (Multilingual education – a necessity to transform education). Recognizing the struggle of the Bengali people for their language and culture, UNESCO announced it to be celebrated in 1999.

Also Read: Current Affairs Quiz: February 20 2023