Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2023

Notes:
Debt-for-nature swaps are financial arrangements where a fraction of a developing country’s foreign debt is waived, and in return, the country makes investments in local environmental conservation. Debt-for-nature swaps have been implemented successfully in many countries to promote environmental conservation. However, they are not seen as a long-term solution since only small portion of the debt is waived off.

Notes:
Syed Haider Raza, known as S.H. Raza, was an Indian artist known for his abstract paintings. He was a founding member of the Progressive Artists’ Group of Bombay.
He was the recipient of numerous awards and accolades throughout his career. Raza passed away in 2016 at the age of 94. The walls of Centre Pompidou in Paris will come alive with S.H. Raza’s paintings as part of the largest-ever exhibition of his work.

Notes:
Issues concerning ‘corrupt practice’ is dealt with by Section 123 of the Representation of People’s Act, 1951.
Recently, the Supreme Court observed that no individual in India cast their votes based on the education qualifications of the candidate. Therefore, false information regarding the electoral candidate’s education qualifications cannot be considered as corrupt practice.

Notes:
February 21 is observed as the International Mother Language Day Its aim is to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism across the world.
It was first announced by the UNESCO’s General Conference in 1999 and formally recognized by the UNGA in 2002. The year 2008 marked the International Year of Languages. The theme for 2023 is ‘Multilingual education – a necessity to transform education’.

Notes:
China has introduced a 30 days paid marriage leave plan is aimed at increasing the country’s declining birth rate.
This policy change aims to encourage young couples to get married and have children, and is seen as an effective way to increase the fertility rate. The extension of marriage leave is especially being implemented in areas with relatively slow economic development.

Notes:
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a free trade agreement between 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Philippines Senate recently ratified the country’s entry into the RCEP. The RCEP, which was signed in 2020, represents the largest trade bloc in history. RCEP aims to increase economic integration and reduce trade barriers among its member nations.

Notes:
South Korea’s fertility rate is the lowest in the world. The average number of expected babies per South Korean women over her reproductive life declined from 0.81 in 2021 to 0.78 in 2022.
The country requires fertility rate of 2.1 to maintain a stable population. However, its number of deaths surpassed the births since 2020. The low fertility rate is causing major economic concerns in South Korea.

Notes:
Anopheles stephensi is a mosquito species that can transmit both Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax malaria parasites.
Recently, Kenya recorded this species, making it the sixth and the latest country in Africa to report the invasion of this vector. The species is well adapted to urban areas and has been spreading to new regions, including parts of East Africa.

Notes:
The Institute for Competitiveness released the second edition of the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Index 2022. It measures the literacy of children below the age of 10.
The index measures states based on five key parameters including educational infrastructure, access to education, basic health, learning outcomes, and governance. It ranked West Bengal as the top performer and Uttar Pradesh as the lowest among large state category.

Notes:

• According to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India, Maharashtra, New Delhi and Goa have the maximum mutual fund penetration in India, due to high income levels, high literacy rates and substantial inflows rom corporations and high net-worth individuals (HNIs).
• While Jharkhand is one of the top 10 states with a depth of 13%, MF penetration is barely 5-6% in Telangana and Kerala. Jharkhand ranks 16^th in terms of per capita AUM (Rs 10, 750) despite having a higher penetration.
• The highest per capita AUMs are in New Delhi, Goa and Maharashtra. These are the only three states where the per capita AUM exceeds Rs. 1 lakh.
• The states with the lowest per capita AUM are Manipur, Bihar and Tripura.
• Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Bihar have the lowest penetration rates among large states.