Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2024

Notes:
On 31 July 2024, President Droupadi Murmu appointed Preeti Sudan, a 1983 batch IAS officer and former Union Health Secretary, as the new Chairperson of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), succeeding Dr. Manoj Soni. Sudan, the second woman to hold this position, has played key roles in government programs like Ayushman Bharat and Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao. The UPSC, established in 1950, is an independent constitutional body.

Notes:
India’s Health Minister announced a new action plan to manage Zika virus Disease. Zika is a mosquito-borne RNA virus discovered in Uganda in 1947 and first reported in humans in 1952. It mainly affects tropical and subtropical regions and spreads through bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito. The plan aims to manage and control the virus’s impact effectively.

Notes:
The Assam government is planning a grand Jhumur dance performance with 8,000 tea tribe artists. Jhumur is a traditional dance of Assam’s tea tribes, performed during autumn. It features young girls dancing in fields or under trees, with male members playing instruments like the Madal drum, flute, and Taals. The dance depicts daily life, joys, sorrows, and aspirations, and serves as recreation, ritual worship, courting, and prayer for rain.

Notes:
Archaeologists have discovered a terracotta pipeline during the 10th phase of excavation at Keeladi, a Sangam Era site in Tamil Nadu. This find highlights advanced water management practices from over 2,600 years ago. Keeladi, located near Madurai, has revealed over 20,000 artifacts, suggesting the Sangam Era began around 600 BCE, earlier than previously thought. Additional discoveries include rice husks from 3,200 years ago and evidence of early iron technology.

Notes:
The Ministry of Ayush signed an 85 million agreement with the WHO to support the Global Traditional Medicine Centre (GCTM) in Jamnagar, Gujarat, over the next 10 years. This funding will expand the centre and support its research. The agreement was signed by Arindam Bagchi and Dr. Bruce Aylward at WHO headquarters in Geneva. The GCTM, established with a total investment of 250 million, aims to enhance global health through traditional medicine combined with modern science. The Union Ministry of Ayush is the nodal body for the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre (GTMC) in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

Notes:
Alarming tiger deaths and hunting incidents have been reported in Madhya Pradesh’s Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. Located in Umaria district between the Vindhyan and Satpura ranges, it became a national park in 1968 and a tiger reserve in 1993. Known for its valleys, hills, plains, and the historic Bandhavgarh fort, the reserve has tropical moist, deciduous forests with sal, mixed forest, grasslands, and bamboo.

Notes:
India selected Group Captains Shubhanshu Shukla and Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair for the Axiom-4 mission. They will train in the U.S., and their experience will benefit India’s human space program. Axiom-4 is the fourth private astronaut mission by NASA and Axiom Space, expected to dock with the ISS for fourteen days. SpaceX is the launch provider for this mission.

Notes:
The fifth ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) Joint Committee meeting in Jakarta from July 29 to August 1, 2024, aimed to enhance economic cooperation between ASEAN and India by reviewing the 2009 AITIGA. ASEAN is a key trade partner for India, with significant trade volumes and a notable trade deficit. The meeting focused on improving the trade agreement and fostering deeper economic collaboration.

Notes:
The Western Ghats, crucial for biodiversity, still lack official ecologically sensitive area notifications from the Union environment ministry, 14 years after the 2011 Gadgil Committee Report. The 2011 Gadgil Committee Report, or Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) Report, was commissioned by India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests. It recommends measures for the sustainable development and ecological preservation of the Western Ghats, a region noted for its rich biodiversity and environmental importance.

Notes:
Researchers have recently identified a new clade of Candida auris, increasing the total number to six globally. Candida auris is a multi-drug-resistant fungal pathogen that can cause a range of infections, from skin infections to severe, life-threatening bloodstream infections. It was first identified in Japan. It spreads mainly in healthcare settings through contaminated surfaces or person-to-person contact. The fungus can either colonize parts of the body without symptoms or cause serious infections if it enters the bloodstream or wounds.