Tnpsc Current Affairs in English – 16th June 2023

1. Which city hosted the ‘G-20 development ministers’ meeting’ in India?

[A] Panjim

[B] Varanasi

[C] Pune

[D] Chennai

Answer: [B] Varanasi

The ‘G-20 development ministers’ meeting’ was held in Varanasi. At the conclusion of the meeting, India released an Outcome document with Chair’s summary, an Action Plan for accelerating progress on Sustainable Development Goals and High-Level Principles on Lifestyles for Sustainable Development. G-20 development ministers reached a consensus on its 14 points, with the exception of two paragraphs related to Russia’s Ukraine invasion.

2. At what level, the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee fixed the Repo rate, in its June 2023 Bimonthly meeting?

[A] 5.50%

[B] 6.00%

[C] 6.50%

[D] 7.00%

Answer: [C] 6.50%

The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee, in its meeting in June 2023, has kept the repo rate, unchanged at 6.50 per cent for the second consecutive monetary policy. This decision to keep the repo rate unchanged was taken unanimously by the six Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members since inflation continues to remain above the 4 per cent target.

3. RBI has decided to permit banks to issue which type of cards, abroad?

[A] RuPay Prepaid forex Cards

[B] Gold denominated Cards

[C] SGB Cards

[D] RuPay Petro Cards

Answer: [A] RuPay Prepaid forex Cards

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to permit banks to issue RuPay Prepaid forex cards to customers and to issue such cards abroad. This move is aimed at broadening the scope of RuPay cards and to increase its international usage. This is expected to expand the payment options for Indian travelling abroad.

4. Huitoto Indigenous group is associated with which country?

[A] Russia

[B] Ukraine

[C] Colombia

[D] Australia

Answer: [C] Colombia

Four Indigenous children of the Huitoto Indigenous group, who were missing for over a month in the Colombian Amazon rainforest after surviving a plane crash, have been reunited with their relatives. The children were discovered after a massive search and rescue operation involving 160 soldiers and 70 Indigenous people who had knowledge of the jungle.

5. India has agreed to set bilateral trade of 1 Billion Euros by end of this decade, with which country?

[A] USA

[B] Russia

[C] Japan

[D] Serbia

Answer: [D] Serbia

Indian President Droupadi Murmu and her Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic have agreed to set a bilateral trade target of one billion euros by the end of this decade, from the present 320 million euros. This agreement was made by both the countries, during Indian President’s three-day State visit to Serbia from the 7th to the 9th of June 2023.

6. Which country is the host of the special Olympics World Games 2023?

[A] India

[B] Japan

[C] Germany

[D] USA

Answer: [C] Germany

The Special Olympics World Games will take place in Berlin, Germany from June 17 to 25 2023. The Indian contingent comprising 198 athletes and Unified Partners and 57 coaches reached Germany to participate in the event. The Union Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs has sanctioned an amount of Rs. 7.7 crores towards the participation of the Indian contingent at the Special Olympics, which is the highest amount sanctioned for the event to date.

7. Power Ministry has asked which institution to initiate the process of coupling multiple power exchanges?

[A] BEE

[B] CERC

[C] DRDO

[D] BHEL

Answer: [B] CERC

Union Power ministry has asked Central Electricity Regulatory Authority (CERC) to initiate the process of coupling multiple power exchanges. The mechanism seeks to ensure uniformity in price discovery of energy at trading platforms. At present India has three power exchanges Indian Electricity Exchange (IEX), Power Exchange of India (PXIL) and Hindustan Power Exchange (HPX).

8. ICAR has signed a MoU with which company, for guiding the farmers on scientific cultivation of different crops?

[A] Microsoft

[B] Google Maps

[C] Amazon Kisan

[D] Future Generali

Answer: [C] Amazon Kisan

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has signed a MoU with Amazon Kisan for guiding farmers on scientific cultivation of different crops for optimum yield and income. Under the agreement, ICAR will provide technological backstopping to the farmers through Amazon’s network. It will improve farmers’ livelihood and boost crop yield.

9. Who is the most successful Indian left-arm spinner in Test cricket, as of 2023?

[A] Bishan Singh Bedi

[B] Anil Kumble

[C] R Ashwin

[D] Ravindra Jadeja

Answer: [D] Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja breaks the record of India’s most successful left-arm spinner, Bishan Singh Bedi. On the third day of the India-Australia World Test Championship final, Jadeja took 267 wickets in 65 Test matches with an economy rate of 2.44 and an average of 24.25. Bedi held this record for the longest time with 266 wickets in 67 matches.

10. Which Indian cricketer has become only the third Indian opener to cross 13,000 runs across formats?

[A] Virat Kohli

[B] Rohit Sharma

[C] Ravindra Jadeja

[D] Shubman Gill

Answer: [B] Rohit Sharma

India captain Rohit Sharma has become the third Indian opener to cross 13,000 runs across formats, after Virender Sehwag (15,758) and Sachin Tendulkar (15,335) to achieve this feat. He is the third-quickest to the mark among all openers, only behind Matthew Hayden (293) innings) and Sachin Tendulkar (295), as he crossed the mark in his 307th innings.

11. Who is the head of the committee set up by the Union Home Ministry in Manipur to facilitate the peace-making process?

[A] Union Home Minister

[B] Manipur Governor

[C] Manipur Chief Minister

[D] Prime Minister of India

Answer: [B] Manipur Governor

The Union Ministry of home affairs has constituted a committee in violence-hit Manipur to facilitate the peace-making process among various conflicting ethnic groups. The peace committee, led by the Manipur governor, will constitute the chief minister, some ministers in the state government, MP, MLAs, leaders from across political parties, and eminent members of civil society, including artists and academics.

12. Which city is the most expensive city in India for expatriates, as per the Mercer’s Cost of Living Report?

[A] New Delhi

[B] Bengaluru

[C] Mumbai

[D] Hyderabad

Answer: [C] Mumbai

A report by Mercer’s Cost of Living has positioned Mumbai as the most expensive city in India for expatriates. According to the report, after Mumbai, cities like New Delhi and Bengaluru fall on the second and third place in the most expensive list for expats list in India. The Mercer’s Cost of Living survey was conducted across 227 cities from across five continents.

13. Which state topped the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) report on overall environmental performance?

[A] Madhya Pradesh

[B] Telangana

[C] Assam

[D] West Bengal

Answer: [B] Telangana

The non-profit Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has released its annual report in which Telangana was ranked in the top in terms of overall environmental performance. Telangana was ranked at the top for its progress in increasing its forest cover and in municipal waste treatment.

14. Which institution has notified four key measures with an aim to strengthen 1,514 urban co-operative banks in India?

[A] NABARD

[B] RBI

[C] Ministry of Finance

[D] Ministry of Cooperation

Answer: [B] RBI

With an aim to strengthen 1,514 urban co- operative banks in India, the Reserve Bank of India has notified four key measures. As per the notification, Cooperative Banks are given two years more to meet the priority sector lending targets, UCBS can now open new branches up to 10 per cent of the number of branches in the previous financial year without prior approval of RBI.

15. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has recently raised its stake in which IT company?

[A] Wipro

[B] Tech Mahindra

[C] Infosys

[D] Tata Consultancy Services

Answer: [B] Tech Mahindra

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has raised stake in the IT Company Tech Mahindra by over 2 per cent. As per the information shared by the LIC, the insurer has raised its stake in Tech Mahindra Ltd from 6.869 per cent to 8.884 per cent of total paid-up capital of the company.

16. Which country has announced for investing more than 100 million US Dollars in the Caribbean region?

[A] India

[B] Japan

[C] China

[D] USA

Answer: [D] USA

The United States of America’s Vice President Kamala Harris has announced that USA will be investing more than 100 million US Dollars in the Caribbean region to crack down on weapons trafficking, help alleviate Haiti’s humanitarian crisis and support climate change initiatives. This announcement was made ahead of an official trip to the Bahamas by the US Vice President.

17. When is the ‘World Day Against Child Labour’ observed?

[A] 10 June

[B] 12 June

[C] 14 June

[D] 16 June

Answer: [B] 12 June

The World Day against Child Labour has been observed annually on 12 June since 2002. This day was established by the International Labour Organization (ILO), and all United Nations member countries have been commemorating it. The World Day Against Child Labour 2023 will focus on the theme of “Week of Action against Child Labour.”

18. Which country developed the ‘JF-22 Wind Tunnel’ for hypersonic testing?

[A] Russia

[B] China

[C] Israel

[D] UAE

Answer: [B] China

China’s self-developed JF-22 wind tunnel is ready for hypersonic tests after passing a final evaluation. Based in the Huairou district north of Beijing and reputedly the world’s fastest, the wind tunnel can simulate the environment in which a spacecraft re-enters the atmosphere. The goal of the JF-22 wind tunnel is to accelerate the development of a space-to-earth shuttle system.

19. Which Tennis player has won the Roland Garros 2023 trophy?

[A] Novak Djokovic

[B] Carlos Alcaraz

[C] Daniil Medvedev

[D] Casper Ruud

Answer: [A] Novak Djokovic

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic has won the Roland Garros 2023 trophy after a victory against Norwegian Casper Rudd. With this win, Novak Djokovic has now reached the tally of 23 Grand Slam titles, the most by any male tennis player. The highest number of grand slams by a tennis player is won by Margret Court – 24 Grand slams.

20. Which country has declared the UN envoy Volker Perthes to be persona non grata in that country?

[A] Sudan

[B] Germany

[C] Ethiopia

[D] South Africa

Answer: [A] Sudan

The Sudanese government has declared the UN envoy to the country, Volker Perthes, to be persona non grata, meaning it no longer recognizes his position in Sudan. This has been notified by the country to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Since 2015, Sudan’s military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been locked in a violent power struggle that has killed more than 860 civilians. Perthes was a key mediator in Sudan since being appointed as special envoy in 2021.