Current Affairs Quiz - June 2022

Notes:
Israel archaeologists have recently found a 2,100-Year-Old ancient farmstead at the archaeological site of Horbat Assad in Israel.
They also unearthed loom weights used for weaving garments, large ceramic storage vessels, and iron agricultural implements, including various picks and scythes. The ancient coins retrieved date the farmstead to the second half of the second century BCE.

Notes:
National Statistical Office (NSO) marginally slashed its year-on-year gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to 8.7 per cent, down from 8.9 per cent estimated in February.
The fourth quarter (January-March period of 2021-22) GDP growth was recorded at 4.1 per cent. The economy witnessed a 6.6 per cent contraction in 2020-21. The latest GDP growth estimate is lower than the second advance estimate of 8.9 per cent (released in February) and first advance estimate of 9.2 per cent (released in January).

Notes:
The ‘International Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories’ is observed from May 25 to May 31.
In the UN Charter, a Non-Self-Governing Territory is defined as a Territory “whose people have not yet attained a full measure of self-government.” At present, there are 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories remaining.

Notes:
Andhra Pradesh government’s Anti-Corruption Bureau has developed a mobile application named “ACB 14400” for lodging complaints against corruption.
The ‘ACB 14400’ application, once opened, will feature two categories – Live Report and Lodge Complaint. In the ‘Live Report’ section, users can click photographs, record audio or videos of live acts of corruption and submit complaints instantaneously.

Notes:
India and Israel adopted a ‘Vision statement’ for strengthening defence cooperation in future. The statement marked 30 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Israeli counterpart held bilateral talks in New Delhi. The two leaders discussed defence cooperation and the global and regional defence scenario. Israel recently signed the instrument of ratification of the International Solar Alliance.

Notes:
Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) partnered with Accenture to digitally transform its lending business.
The collaboration includes a cloud-native lending platform with digital workflows for application, loan processing, credit underwriting and decision- making, disbursement and loan servicing. A machine learning-based decision engine is also used for risk mitigation.

Notes:
Union Minister of State Dr Jitendra Singh addressed the ‘Start-up India-2022 Expo and Conclave’ as the Chief Guest.
It was organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce in New Delhi.  After the launch of ‘StartUp India StandUp India’, the number of StartUps in India has grown to 70,000 from about 400 from 2014 to 2022.

Notes:
‘Farishtey Dilli Ke’ scheme was launched in October 2019, to encourage people to rescue those who have met with road accidents.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that about 13,000 lives have been saved by good samaritans under the ‘Farishtey Dilli Ke’ scheme. Under the scheme, the Delhi government incurs the expenditure for treating eligible road accident victims and gives incentives to those who helped them.

Notes:
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the West Bengal government to close all hotels and restaurants or camping stations inside the Buxa Tiger Reserve within two months.
NGT stated that the conversion of forest villages to revenue ones cannot be allowed to permit commercial activities in such areas. The forest department had informed the NGT that the activities are confined to areas which were once ‘forest villages’ and designated as ‘revenue villages’ in 2014.

Notes:
A multinational peacekeeping exercise- Ex Khaan Quest 2022 commenced recently in Mongolia. Military contingents from 16 countries including India are participating in the exercise.
As per India’s Defence Ministry, Indian Army is represented by a contingent from the Ladakh Scouts. The 14-day exercise will enhance the level of defence co-operation among participating countries.