Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2023

Notes:
Union Education Minister releases the first ‘State of Elementary Education in Rural India’ report. The study was focused on children in rural communities between the age of 6 to 16 years from 6,229 rural households across 20 states.
As per the report, 78 per cent parents of girls in rural areas want to educate their children to graduation and above and 82 per cent parents of boys in rural areas want to educate their children.

Notes:
Recently, the World Bank announced a halt on new public finance projects in Uganda due to the government’s enactment of a bill criminalizing same-sex conduct.
The World Bank stated that the Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act goes against the institution’s fundamental values.

Notes:
The Kerala legislative assembly has recently passed a resolution unanimously, urging the Union government to rename the state as ‘Keralam’ in the constitution and all official records. The resolution was introduced in the state assembly by the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Article 3 in the constitution of India, deals with the formation of new states and the alteration of areas, boundaries, or names of existing states.

Notes:
Every year, World Lion Day is observed on August 10. The day was first established in 2013 by Big Cat Rescue – the world’s largest accredited sanctuary dedicated to lions.
The Day is observed annually on a global scale to raise awareness about their conservation and protection. It serves as a platform to educate people about the challenges faced by the lions across the world and to promote efforts to conserve them as well as to celebrate.

Notes:
The Odisha government released guidelines permitting only certified snake handlers to rescue snakes from human areas, with violations leading to penalties under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Rescues are limited to situations where snakes pose threats to humans, and with snakebites accounting for 40% of disaster deaths in the state, the need for trained professionals is paramount.

Notes:
The tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of unified China, is believed to contain dangerous traps and remains unopened despite being discovered in 1974.
While historical records suggest the tomb contains crossbows set to shoot intruders and vast amounts of liquid mercury, recent studies indicate that mercury may be seeping out, leading some to consider non-invasive methods of exploration.

Notes:
The RATIONS (Reducing Activation of Tuberculosis by Improvement of Nutritional Status) trial, published in the Lancet, discovered that nutritional support could reduce tuberculosis incidence by 39%-48% among close contacts of confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis patients.
This study involved 10,345 household contacts across four Jharkhand districts and was integrated into the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme.

Notes:
Maui is the second largest Hawaiian island, located in the US. In the recent natural disaster in the US, numerous wildfires are sweeping across Hawaii, notably Maui Island, resulting in 55 deaths, significant displacement, and destruction of structures and businesses.
The fires, ongoing for over 48 hours, are still not fully contained, with Lahaina, a coastal town on Maui, reported to have been extensively destroyed.

Notes:
As per Home Ministry data, 506.241 kg heroin was seized from Punjab in 2020, 485.581 kg in 2021, 320.884 in 2022 and 248.103 kg till June 30 this year.
Over the last three years, the Border Security Force (BSF) has confiscated the most heroin in Punjab and Rajasthan, and the most ‘ganja’ in Tripura and West Bengal.

Notes:
Saudi Arabia issued nearly USD 9.6 billion in local sukuk following early redemptions. The Sukuk that underwent early redemption were originally scheduled to mature in 2024, 2025, and 2026.
The buyback represents the largest early purchase transaction arranged by National Debt Management Center (NDMC).