Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2023

Notes:
Madhya Pradesh raised the financial aid given to women in the Ladli Behna Scheme from ₹1,000 to ₹1,250 per month.
About 1.25 crore women will be benefited from this decision. Women in the 23-60 age group get the assistance if they are not income tax payees and the annual income of their families is less than ₹2.5 lakh annually. The Chief Minister also announced 35 percent reservation for women in government jobs.

Notes:
Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari unveiled the prototype of the world’s first Bharat Stage (BS)-VI-compliant electrified flex-fuel car, developed by Toyota Kirloskar Motor.
The car, which runs on 100 per cent ethanol (E100), is based on the Toyota Innova HyCross. It can cover 40 per cent of its distance on ethanol and the remaining 60 per cent on electric, with the petrol engine shut off.

Notes:
Thiruvonam, the most auspicious day during the Onam festival, is celebrated throughout Kerala. Onam is a harvest festival that celebrates the return of King Mahabali/Maveli to his beloved state.
The festival is celebrated for ten days and each day holds a lot of significance. Onam also marks the beginning of the Malayalam year, called Kolla Varsham.

Notes:
The French government announced its decision to ban children from wearing the abaya, the loose-fitting, full- length robes worn by some Muslim women, in state-run schools.
France has enforced a ban on religious symbols in state schools since 2004, to uphold its strict brand of secularism, known as laicite.

Notes:
Australia is set to hold a landmark national referendum in October to recognize the country’s Indigenous people in its constitution.
More than 17 million registered voters across the country will vote on October 14, to decide whether to amend the Constitution, in order to establish a new advisory body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The historic referendum called “Voice to Parliament”, if approved, would recognize Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the country’s constitution.

Notes:
President Droupadi Murmu released the commemorative coin on Late NT Rama Rao on his centenary year at Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre.
NT Rama Rao, who founded the Telegu Desam Party (TDP), also served as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh for three terms. He initiated many public welfare programs.

Notes:
In a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Karnataka Cabinet approved the formation of fact-checking units to tackle ‘fake news syndicates’.
The government would introduce legislation against the propagation of fake news and propose punishment for the spread of fake news.

Notes:
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy has launched a new type of frigate, the Type 054B, China’s Ministry of National Defense.
Type 054B is the larger and more advanced version of Type 054A, which currently forms the backbone of the PLAN (People’s Liberation Army Navy).

Notes:
In Athletics, India’s Avinash Sable qualified for his maiden Diamond League Final after finishing fifth in the men’s 3000m steeplechase race at the Xiamen Diamond League 2023 in China.
Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali, the reigning Olympic and world champion, won the Xiamen track and field event with a meet record. India’s Neeraj Chopra (men’s javelin throw) and Murali Sreeshankar (men’s long jump) have already entered the Diamond League Final.

Notes:
In the Satkosia Tiger Reserve, two highly decomposed elephant carcasses were recently discovered. This reserve is situated in the Odisha, spanning across four districts: Angul, Cuttack, Boudh, and Nayagarh. The reserve covers a vast area of 1136.70 sq km, with 523.61 sq km designated as the core area. It’s also part of the Mahanadi Elephant Reserve and serves as the confluence of two significant bio-geographic regions in India: the Deccan Peninsula and the Eastern Ghats. Satkosia’s terrain is characterized by hills, moderate to steep slopes, and narrow valleys. The forest primarily consists of North Indian tropical moist deciduous forests and Moist peninsular low-level sal. Sal trees dominate the landscape, often growing in dense clusters, alongside species like Asan, Dhaura, Bamboo, and Simal. The reserve is home to a variety of wildlife, including tigers, leopards, elephants, spotted deer, sambar, chowsingha, barking deer, bison, wild dogs, sloth bears, jackals, giant squirrels, and porcupines. It also provides a natural habitat for two endangered species: the freshwater crocodile and the gharial.