Current Affairs Quiz - April 2022

Notes:
The Asurgarh fortified settlement was excavated by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in Odisha’s Kalahandi district.
Recently, it has been ascertained to be the oldest among the major fortified settlements in the State, as it dates back to the ninth century BC. The archaeologists used ‘Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS)’ radiocarbon technique, which established the Asurgarh era as spanning over three cultural phases from 9th century BC to second-third century AD.

Notes:
A recent study organised by Ferns (a nature conservation society) in association with the Kerala Forest Department, showed that there has been a significant growth of invasive plants, especially Senna spectabilis, in the forest areas of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR).
The growth of such plants in the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary is a matter of serious concern to the conservation of wildlife habitats.

Notes:
Ever since the Soviet Union conquered the Kuril Islands in 1945, the ownership has been challenged by Japan.
In the latest version of the 2022 Diplomatic Bluebook, which was published by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Northern Territories are “islands over which Japan has sovereignty, but now are illegally occupied by Russia.”

Notes:
As part of ‘Operation Matysa’, as much as 3,645.88 kg of stale and chemical-laced fish has been seized and destroyed in the state of Kerala.
Over 100 inspections were conducted across the State, as per the statement from the office of Health Minister Veena George. Fish samples were collected and sent to the Food Safety department’s laboratories for analysis.

Notes:
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the continuation of the Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme till December 2024.
Through the scheme, affordable collateral-free loans are given to street vendors. The scheme aimed to facilitate loans for an amount of Rs 5,000 crore while the recent approval has increased the loan amount to Rs 8,100 crore.

Notes:
Ministry of Development of North-East Region is organising North-East Festival across all the eight North Eastern States from as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
The Seven-day Festival aims to showcase the achievements of North Eastern Region with the Spirit of ‘Hum Kisi Se Kam Nahi’. The programmes will cover the critical areas including infrastructure, investment potential, energy needs and role of women.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet approved an additional funding of Rs 820 crore for India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) for expansion of its services to all post offices in the country.
Out of the 1.56 lakh post offices, IPPB currently operates from 1.3 lakh post offices. Since the launch, it has opened over 5.25 crore accounts with 82 crore aggregate number of transactions. The Cabinet has approved a future fund infusion worth Rs 500 crore for meeting regulatory requirements and technological upgradation.

Notes:
The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has launched a revamped Zero Defect Zero Effect (ZED) Certification Scheme.
The first phase of the programme will focus on manufacturing MSMEs while the second would be for those MSMEs in the services sector. The number of parameters required for a Gold category ZED certificate has been recently reduced from 50 to 20.

Notes:
India recently commemorated the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.  India and Japan had established their diplomatic relations on April 28, 1952.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida recently visited India for two days for the 14th India-Japan Annual Summit with PM Modi. The two countries also launched several new initiatives including development of India’s northeast, bamboo cultivation and processing, among others.

Notes:
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) released the ‘World Review of Capture Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022’.
As per the report, over 95 percent of the 2.3 million motorized small-scale fishing vessels operate uninsured. It also highlighted that Insurance coverage for fisheries, aquaculture units is very minimal in India. It suggested the involvement of public and private insurance providers to undertake proactive measures.