Current Affairs Quiz - April 2022

Notes:
Alliance Air’s made-in-India Dornier 228 aircraft has taken its first commercial flight on Dibrugarh-Pasighat route.
The Dornier 228 is based on Do-228 being operated by the Indian Air Force and manufactured by HAL in India. Alliance Air to function as ‘Independent Business Unit’ and it is no longer an Air India subsidiary.

Notes:
Alliance Air was founded in 1996 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of then Indian Airlines, which later merged with Air India.
It was an esrtwhile part of Air India before the latter’s divestment and mainly operates on domestic regional routes as part of the government’s Regional Connectivity Scheme. It was announced that Alliance Air will no longer be part of Air India and will be run as an independent business unit under Government of India.

Notes:
All India Radio News has launched a weekly interactive programme, Abhyaas for Competitive Examinations.
It aims to guide students and job seekers preparing for competitive examinations. The program also includes segments like Explainer, Factfile, Examination Calendar and Question of the Week. A guest speaker or expert responds to the queries of students.

Notes:
The ‘National Conference on Agriculture: Kharif Campaign 2022’ was inaugurated by Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.
During the event, the government announced a food-grain production target of 328 million tonnes for 2022-23. Kharif food-grain production target has been fixed at 163.15 million tonnes, while Rabi food-grain production target has been kept at 164.85 million tonnes. Total food grain production has increased by 25% in the last 6 years from 251.54 to 316.01 million tonnes.

Notes:
The managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva held a meeting with India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the sideline of the annual spring meeting of the IMF and the World Bank in Washington.
During the meeting, both leaders discussed the current geopolitical situation and its economic impact on the economies. The IMF MD also lauded India’s high growth rate and noted India’s well-targeted policy mix has helped the economy to remain resilient.

Notes:
Young Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh clinched victory in the 48th La Roda International Open Chess tournament, scoring eight points from nine rounds.
The 15-year old GM from Tamil Nadu, who remained unbeaten through the nine rounds, defeated Israel’s Victor Mikhalevski in the final round. His compatriot R Praggnanandhaa, another young GM, took the third spot.

Notes:
India’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) said it has raised USD 500 million (over USD 3,800 crore) through its IFSC Gift City branch.
This is the first offshore USD Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) linked syndicated loan raised by SBI through its Gift City branch. MUFG, Bank of America and JP Morgan were the joint lenders for this offering while Fist Abu Dhabi Bank acted as the facility agent.

Notes:
‘Global Ayush Investment and Innovation Summit 2022’ was organised by the AYUSH Ministry to seek investments into the sector and to develop India as the hub for traditional medicine practices. It is organised in the city of Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy (Ayush) Ministry has received Letter of Intent (LOI) from 28 companies amounting to Rs. 6000 crores. This will help create over 5.5 lakh jobs across the country.

Notes:
A group of Indian scientists have discovered a new species of eel named ‘Ariosoma indicum’ from specimens collected from fishing harbours in Kerala and West Bengal.
The newly discovered eel belongs to the Congrid eels group. The term Indicum means that it was found in India. Indian Council of Agriculture Research-National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBFGR), Lucknow is working on fish genetic resources for intellectual property protection.

Notes:
Every year on April 21, the Government of India celebrates ‘Civil Services Day’, to commemorate the day in 1947 when Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first Home Minister of Independent India, addressed the probationers of Administrative Services Officers in Delhi.
In the famous speech, he referred to public workers as the “steel frame of India”. The first such celebration took place on April 21, 2006. ‘The Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration’ is awarded during the occasion annually.