Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2023

Notes:
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) issued guidelines for the first time for conducting ‘preliminary assessment’ of child suspects.
The guidelines will help to determine whether a child should be treated as a minor or not in criminal cases which come under the ‘heinous’ offences category of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. Juvenile Justice Board is responsible for conducting preliminary assessment.

Notes:
The first orbital flight test of the Starship was scheduled to be conducted. It is the most powerful rocket ever built to ferry humans to the Moon and beyond.
The vehicle, known as Starship, has been built by entrepreneur Elon Musk’s SpaceX company. The uncrewed mission was called off minutes before the planned launch from Texas.

Notes:
The G20 Space Economy Leaders Meeting was organized in Shillong in April 2023. The Meeting is being organised under India’s G20 presidency by the Department of Space, Government of India.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will be organizing the precursor event of this meeting.

Notes:
Union Minister of State for Tourism Shripad Naik inaugurated a Millets Food Festival of the member countries of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Mumbai.
It includes a variety of cuisines made of different millets prepared by chefs from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan, Russia and India.

Notes:
The Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) for the safety and security of journalists will be drafted by the Union Home Ministry.
The decision comes after three assailants posing as journalists killed gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf in Prayagraj while they were speaking to journalists.

Notes:
The State of World Population report titled ‘8 Billion Lives, Infinite Possibilities’ was released recently by the United Nations Population Fund.
According to this report released by UNFPA, India is now the most populous country in the world, as it has surpassed China’s population numbers.

Notes:
National Climate Vulnerability Index, developed by the Department of Science and Technology, is used by the Indian government to estimate the impact of heatwaves.
A new study has revealed that more than 90 percent of the population is at risk of heatwaves and India has been underestimating the impact of heatwaves on its development.

Notes:
The Scientists of Indian Antarctic station, Maitri, have recently identified and studied the characteristics of Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron (EMIC) waves, which are a form of plasma waves.
These waves are said to play an important role in precipitation of killer electrons (electrons having speed close to speed of light, which form the radiation belt of planet Earth), which are hazardous to our space-borne technology and instruments.

Notes:
Recently, a group of researchers from Tel Aviv University in Israel have reported that their team pick up distress noises – very distinct, high-pitched sounds in the ultrasonic range made by plants when they faced stress.
This phenomenon was stated a century ago by Indian scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose, who demonstrated that plants feel pain and have sensations just like animals.

Notes:
A “civil union” refers to the legal status that allows same-sex couples specific rights and responsibilities normally conferred upon married couples. These civil unions would be accompanied by rights such as inheritance rights, employment benefits to spouses, which are generally conferred upon married couples.
Recently, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, began hearing a batch of petitions seeking legal recognition of same sex marriage.