Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2023

Notes:
Union Home Minister is set to inaugurate a distinctive program called ‘Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar’ as a significant component of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
This initiative falls under the National Mission on Cultural Mapping and is spearheaded by the Ministry of Culture.  The main objective of the project is to culturally map India’s 6.5 lakh villages, spanning 29 states and 7 union territories, on a comprehensive virtual platform.

Notes:
The government has said that integration of child helpline with Emergency Response Support System, ERSS -112 has been completed in nine States in the first phase.
These States are Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Dadra, and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Goa, Gujarat, Ladakh, Puducherry, and Mizoram. A 24×7 dedicated WCD Control Room is set up for Child Helpline in each State and Union Territory and integrated with ERSS-112.

Notes:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India inked a deal for a $295 million loan for the implementation of the Enhancing Connectivity and Sustainability in Bihar Roads Project.
The loan aims to enhance approximately 265 kilometers of state highways in Bihar with climate and disaster resilient features, alongside incorporating road safety elements.

Notes:
China successfully launched its first communications satellite, Lingxi-03, featuring an ultra-thin flexible solar wing to test technologies for a massive 13,000-satellite broadband mega constellation in low-Earth orbit.
It aims to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink. The satellite was launched atop a Long March 2D rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in central China.

Notes:
India’s tiger population increased to 3,682 in 2022, up from 2,967 in 2018, according to an estimate released recently.
This is an upward revision from April this year, when a minimum of 3,167 animals were estimated by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII).

Notes:
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has set up a working group to decriminalise laws to further promote ease of doing business.
The group comprised representatives from industry associations, business chambers, legal professionals, and officials of seven ministries. It would also have representatives of the National Housing Bank, NABARD and CPCB.

Notes:
A stapled visa is an unstamped paper attached to a passport page using a pin or staples, which can be easily torn off or removed as desired.
China has adopted a policy of granting stapled visas to Indian nationals from Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir. While China considers these visas as valid documents, the Government of India has consistently rejected this stance.

Notes:
Department of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare, Government of Meghalaya and Meghalaya Basin Management Agency (MBMA) has recently facilitated market linkages of over 1.3 tonnes of Pineapples to the Middle East.
The pineapples from Meghalaya are being sold across malls in Dubai, Kuwait and Sharjah.

Notes:
Over 13.13 lakh girls and women went missing in the country between 2019 and 2021, with Madhya Pradesh reporting the highest cases at nearly two lakhs, followed by West Bengal.
The data, which was presented by the Union Ministry of Home Ministry (MHA), revealed that 10,61,648 women above 18 years and 2,51,430 girls below that age went missing between 2019 and 2021 across the country. The data was compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau.

Notes:
Pension regulator PFRDA has barred Annuity Service Providers (ASPs) from deploying any agency of intermediaries for sourcing annuities business from NPS subscribers upon their retirement or exit from the NPS.
Annuities under National Pension System (NPS) can be issued by ASPs only under direct channels, as per the official sources.