Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2024

Notes:
Kuwait launched its inaugural Hindi radio broadcast on Apr 22, hailed by the Indian Embassy for fostering stronger ties between India and Kuwait. The Indian community, numbering around 1 million, constitutes Kuwait’s largest expatriate group, as reported by ANI. This move underscores the significance of Indian presence in Kuwait and reflects efforts to cater to the needs and interests of the expatriate population.

Notes:
The Indian Air Force (IAF) recently conducted a successful test firing of the Crystal Maze 2 missile, also known as ROCKS. Originating from Israel, this air-launched medium-range ballistic missile is designed for targeting high-value stationary and relocatable assets like long-range radars and air defense systems. It boasts extended stand-off range capabilities compared to its predecessor, Crystal Maze 1, with a range of over 250 kilometers. With options for penetration or blast fragmentation warheads, it’s effective in GPS-denied environments.

Notes:
Indian Bank, based in Chennai, has partnered with Tata Power Solar Systems to offer loans under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana. This initiative, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 13, 2024, aims to provide free electricity to one crore households in India through rooftop solar systems. Eligible households, meeting specific criteria, can receive up to 300 units of free electricity monthly. The government has allocated Rs 75,021 crore for this scheme.

Notes:
On Earth Day 2024, Bhutan leads the Sustainable Finance for Tiger Landscapes Conference, striving to raise $1 billion in a decade to safeguard crucial tiger habitats. Co-hosted by Bhutan’s Queen Jetsun Pema Wangchuck, the event, in collaboration with the Royal Government of Bhutan and the Tiger Conservation Coalition, highlights sustainable finance, the UN’s Global Biodiversity Framework, and essential public-private partnerships for tiger conservation.

Notes:
The Tamil Nadu government intends to denotify a significant portion of the Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary. Situated along the Bay of Bengal between Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, Pulicat Lake is India’s second-largest brackish water lake, following Odisha’s Lake Chilika. Sriharikota Island acts as a barrier between the lagoon and the Bay of Bengal. Fed by the Kalangi and Arani rivers, the sanctuary hosts the largest gathering of flamingos.

Notes:
The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Assam’s Barak Valley has sparked indifferent responses from intending applicants, who prioritize clearing their names from the foreigner’s tribunal and ending detention camps over CAA benefits. Implemented in March, the CAA aims to expedite citizenship for undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan arriving before December 31, 2014. Despite expectations of positive impacts, Barak Valley’s voters remain disengaged, with upcoming polls in Silchar and Barak Valley showing little influence from the CAA outcome.

Notes:
According to a Food and Agriculture Organisation report from 2023, rice paddies contribute 8% of all human-made methane in the atmosphere. In response, Vietnamese farmers are adopting the alternate wetting and drying technique to mitigate methane emissions while growing rice. This water-saving method involves flooding fields intermittently, reducing water usage in irrigated fields. Additionally, they utilize large drones to efficiently spray organic fertilizer onto knee-high rice seedlings, enhancing agricultural sustainability.

Notes:
A Ministerial Round Table Conference convened on April 24, 2024, during the 26th World Energy Congress in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Discussions centered on the transformative impact of the COP28 UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai. The Congress, themed ‘Redesigning Energy for People and Planet’, aimed to shape global energy transitions amidst unpredictability.

Notes:
Members of the Dongria Kondh tribe, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group, threaten election boycott unless ‘false’ anti-mining protest cases are withdrawn. The tribe, self-identified as Jharnia, resides in Odisha’s Niyamgiri hills. They halted Vedanta Resources’ mining plans, invoking the Forest Rights Act through Gram Sabhas, protecting their environment and cultural heritage. Vedanta’s failure to secure approval led to the tribe’s victory in a ‘David and Goliath’ battle, highlighting indigenous empowerment against corporate interests.

Notes:
During US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s recent visit to China, discussions highlighted the concerning production and export of “synthetic opioid precursors,” particularly fentanyl. These opioids mimic substances in the opium poppy plant and activate opioid receptors, causing pain relief and euphoria, but also high addiction risks. Fentanyl, 100 times more potent than morphine, poses significant overdose risks, marked by pinpoint pupils, unconsciousness, and breathing difficulties.