Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2022

Notes:
As per the Election Commission of India (ECI), those above the age of 17 can now apply in advance for enrolment in the voters’ list.
The electoral roll will be updated every quarter. Earlier, afrer the recommendations of ECI, the Law Ministry amended the Representation of the People Act to provide for four qualifying dates: January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1 as the eligibility for youngsters to register in electoral rolls.

Notes:
Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the ‘NCB National Conference on Drug Trafficking and National Security’ at Chandigarh.
As a part of the conference, over 30,000 kg of drugs was burnt and disposed of by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) teams in Delhi, Chennai, Guwahati and Kolkata, which was telecast through video-conferencing.

Notes:
A rare 170-carat pink rough diamond weighing 34 grams has been discovered at Lucapa’s Lulo Mine in Angola. Named the ‘Lulo Rose’, it is considered to be the largest pink diamond discovered in the last 300 years.
In 2016, a mining operation yielded a 404-carat white stone named the ‘4th February Stone’. It was the largest ever diamond recovered in Angola.

Notes:
Chile has democratically drafted a constitution for the first time in Chile’s history. The proposed text was written by a 154-member body elected through a popular vote.
The current 1980 constitution that focuses on private rights and free market principles was written during the Augusto Pinochet military dictatorship. Some of the new features include proposals including the president could be re-elected consecutively once, an entire article for environment stating that ‘nature has rights’ and that animals are ‘subjects of special protection’.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet has cleared the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2022, and it will be tabled in ongoing Monsoon session of Parliament. The bill aims to bring in more flexibility and accountability to the Competition Commission of India (CCI).
CCI is a regulatory authority tasked with checking and eliminating business practices that may harm competition. The body consists of a chairperson and 6 members appointed by the central government.

Notes:
Federal Bank has become India’s first bank to list its Payment Gateway platform on the income tax department’s TIN 2.0 platform.
The Payment Gateway enables tax payers to make their payments using modes such as credit/ debit card, UPI, NEFT/RTGS and internet banking.

Notes:
The Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) signed an MoU with the Bangladesh Roads and Highways department in Dhaka for emergency supply of petroleum goods via Bangladesh territory to India.
As per the Indian High Commission, this is an interim set up for urgent supply of petroleum products due to damage caused by the flood in Assam.

Notes:
India and the US will conduct a fortnight-long mega military exercise named ‘Yudh Abhyas’ in Uttarakhand’s Auli in October 2022.
The 18th edition of the exercise is scheduled to include number of complex drills. The last edition of the exercise took place in October 2021 in Alaska in the US. In June 2016, the US designated India a ‘Major Defence Partner’.

Notes:
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das-chaired Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) raised the repo rate by 50 basis points (bps) to 5.40 percent.
The decision was taken to tame persisting high inflation. After the decision, the repo rate is above pre-pandemic levels of 5.15 percent. The overall rate hike in three successive policy meets has gone to 140 basis points.

Notes:
Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council (K-DISC) has partnered with LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network.
This was launched as part of the Connect Career to Campus (CCC) campaign under the Kerala Knowledge Economy Mission (KKEM) initiative. This partnership aims to boost the employability skill among the youth of Kerala.