Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2023

Notes:
Scientists from Australia and the UK have discovered a new disease called “Plasticosis” in birds. This disease is caused by the consumption of plastics.
It leads to long-term inflammation and the formation of scar tissue in the digestive system of birds. The study has found that plastic consumption can cause serious damage to the digestive system of birds, making them vulnerable to parasites.

Notes:
The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment’s flagship program, Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (NMBA), aims to raise awareness about substance abuse among youth in India.
It has a particular focus on higher education institutes, university campuses, schools, and community engagement. Recently, the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment and Brahma Kumaris inked a Memorandum of Understanding to make NMBA more effective and widespread.

Notes:
The Digital India Bill is the proposed successor to the Information Technology Act, 2000, which currently regulates entities on the internet in India.
The Ministry of Electronics and IT will hold a public consultation at Bengaluru to present the basic guiding principles and architecture of this proposed legislation. The Digital India Bill aims to ensure that the internet in India is open, free from user harm and criminality, and that there is an institutional mechanism of accountability.

Notes:
The final full moon of the winter season, called the Worm Moon, was visible on March 6 and 7 in the year 2023. The name of this full moon is derived from the time it appears in the year when winter subsides in the Northern hemisphere, leading to the earthworms emerging from the ground as the soil softens.

Tribes named each full moon after the weather events occurring during that time. March’s full moon is also referred to as the Sap Moon.

Notes:
Swachhotsav, a 3-week long women-led cleanliness campaign under the Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0, has been launched by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
It aims to recognize and celebrate the shift from women in sanitation to women-led sanitation. The Women Icons leading Sanitation & Waste Management (WINS) Challenge-2023 was also announced during the launch event.

Notes:
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has introduced the Global Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Infrastructure.
It aims to provide standardized and real-time tracking of greenhouse gases. The new platform integrates space-based and surface-based observing systems to improve the measurement of planet-warming pollution and inform policy decisions.

Notes:
The VLT Survey Telescope (VST) is located at the Paranal Observatory in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile and is adjacent to the four Very Large Telescope (VLT) Unit Telescopes.
It is the world’s largest telescope specifically designed to survey the sky in visible light. The program is a collaboration between the Italy’s OAC and the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The VLT Survey Telescope has recently captured the detailed image of IC 4701, an emission nebula found in the Sagittarius constellation.

Notes:
BSE and UN Women India launched a new programme, ‘FinEMPOWER’, at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
It is a year-long joint capacity-building programme between BSE and UN Women to empower women towards financial security.

Notes:
Chabahar Port is a seaport located in southeastern Iran on the Gulf of Oman. It is the only oceanic port in Iran.
India has announced that it would deliver 20,000 metric tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan via the Chabahar Port in Iran. The shipment will be sent in partnership with the UN World Food Programme.

Notes:
India hosted the third session of the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR) at New Delhi.
Over 1200 subject experts, practitioners, academicians and delegates deliberated upon various cross cutting issues on disaster risk reduction based on the 10-point agenda on Disaster Risk Reduction given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sendai Framework.