Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2023

Notes:
The Lok Sabha has recently passed the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill 2023. It aims to expand the scope of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
The Bill acknowledges India’s international commitments and the national target set by the country for achieving Net Zero Emission by 2070.

Notes:
A no-confidence motion is a step typically taken by an Opposition party to compel the current government to demonstrate its majority in the House.
Recently, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla accepted a motion of no-confidence against the government, which was initiated by Congress Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, after fulfilling the requisite headcount of 50 MPs as mandated by the rules.

Notes:
Recently, the University Grants Commission (UGC) approved the Guidelines for Institutional Development Plan (IDP) for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).
These guidelines are intended to assist HEIs in attaining academic and research excellence while enhancing the quality of teaching and learning. Additionally, the IDP will offer direction to HEIs in exercising academic, administrative, financial, and business autonomy, while maintaining accountability.

Notes:
The Kerala state government is set to roll out a unique scheme to provide financial support to first-time overseas emigrants from Kerala.
Titled ‘Shubhayatra’, the project envisages creating a positive and productive migration ecosystem by providing a financial assistance of up to ₹2 lakh with a tax holiday for six months and interest subvention to meet the incidental expense of eligible candidates.

Notes:
Singapore has hanged a 45-year-old woman who was caught with 31 grams of heroin. This is the first time the city-state has executed a woman in nearly 20 years.
Saridewi Binte Djamani was hanged after being convicted of trafficking “not less than 30.72 grams” of the drug in 2018.

Notes:
Resource Efficiency Circular Economy Industry Coalition (RECEIC) was launched on the sidelines of the 4th G-20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group (ECSWG) and Environment and Climate Ministers meeting in Chennai.
Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav said that this mission of this coalition is to promote greater company-to-company collaboration, build advanced capabilities across sectors, bring learnings from diverse and global experiences of the coalition members among others.

Notes:
During the G20 EMPOWER summit in Gandhinagar, India introduced TechEquity, a digital inclusion platform aimed at reducing the gender digital gap.
It is one of the key outcomes of India’s G20 presidency and it will be free for women to use. It will have courses on digital and financial literacy, tech skill development and core skill enhancement. The platform – to be funded by India for the next three years – will be maintained by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Ficci).

Notes:
UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) is a health problem globally, including India, and is particularly common in females, especially during pregnancy.
The Point-Of-Care Testing (POCT) prototype developed at IIT Guwahati, is a photodetector that detects and quantifies a UTI-causing bacteria called ‘Klebsiella pneumoniae’ within five minutes from a patient’s urine sample.

Notes:
On International Tiger Day, it was revealed that Bhutan’s Tiger population has grown by 27% since the previous count in 2015.
The announcement was made following the culmination of Bhutan’s National Tiger Survey 2021-22.

Notes:
According to a recent study titled ‘Global climate-change trends detected in indicators of ocean ecology,’ human-induced climate change has caused a substantial change in the color of Earth’s oceans over the last two decades.
The study revealed that over 56% of the world’s oceans, surpassing the total land area on the planet, have undergone this color shift.