Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2023

Notes:
The Italian parliament has given its approval to a contentious bill that makes it a criminal offense for citizens to travel abroad to pursue surrogacy arrangements.
This law, which has faced significant opposition, is specifically aimed at discouraging Italians from participating in surrogacy arrangements, and it carries the possibility of substantial fines exceeding USD 1 million and potential prison sentences of up to two years for those found guilty.

Notes:
Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 is one of the four bills introduced by the Centre in the Lok Sabha recently.
The bill grants authority to the Lieutenant Governor to appoint two members, with one being a woman, from the Kashmiri migrant community, and one member from the displaced persons from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) to the legislative assembly of Jammu and Kashmir.

Notes:
Recently, International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a London-based think tank, in collaboration with India’s Bharat Shakti defense platform, organized the UK-India Defence and Military Technology Cooperation workshop in London.
The workshop aimed to explore joint initiatives in defense research and industrial production, focusing on various themes such as the changing strategic context of UK-India defense relations, perspectives on India’s Atmanirbhar program, and the UK’s defense technology partnerships.

Notes:
OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, and Anthropic have teamed up to create the Frontier Model Forum, aiming to regulate the development of large machine learning models, particularly “frontier AI models” that surpass current advanced capabilities.
These foundation models pose potential risks to public safety, and the forum will focus on ensuring their safe and responsible development, collaborating with policymakers, academics, and companies to advance AI safety research and establish best practices for deploying such models.

Notes:
The Global ESG Conclave 2.0, organised by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India was held in Dubai.
The sessions were aimed to shed light on integrating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors into strategic business decisions and quantifying their impact on financial infrastructure and sustainability.

Notes:
The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2023 was passed recently by the Lok Sabha. It aims to boost ease of doing business and living in India.
It aims to redefine regulations in the country by decriminalizing minor offenses under 42 Acts, thereby reducing compliance. The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry presented the proposed legislation in Parliament in December of the previous year.

Notes:
The NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has recently captured a captivating near-infrared image of the dynamic young stars, Herbig-Haro 46/47.
These are in the Vela constellation, which are about 1,470 light-years away from Planet Earth. These stars are actively forming and orbiting each other in a mesmerizing display. These stats are an  important object to study because it is relatively young — only a few thousand years old.

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:
The Hyderabad-based International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) released BARI Chinabadam-12 (ICGV 07219), an improved groundnut variety in Bangladesh.
The variety is available for cultivation for the upcoming season post rains. It has resistance to foliar fungal diseases and matures four days earlier than its counterpart.

Notes:
The compound mixed archery team of Aman Saini and Pragati clinched a gold medal, India’s fourth in the event, at the World University Games in Chengdu, China.
The Indian archers have also won two more medals in archery in men’s and women’s compound team events.