Current Affairs Quiz - July 2022

Notes:
NHPC has recently signed two agreements to develop green hydrogen technology in Leh, Kargil districts.
As per the agreement signed for Leh district, NHPC will develop a Pilot Green Hydrogen fuel cell-based Microgrid, including hydrogen production, to meet its power requirement. The hydrogen generated in Kargil will be used in fuel cells, to run buses in the local area.

Notes:
Public sector lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) has gone live on the account aggregator ecosystem as financial information user (FIU) as well as financial information provider (FIP).
Union Bank of India, Canara Bank and Indian Bank have also connected to the account aggregator system. Other banks including SBI, BOB and UCO Bank are in the testing phase and some others are in the development phase.

Notes:
National Legal Services Authority Chairman Uday Umesh Lalit launched the country’s first AI-powered digital Lok Adalat during the 18th All India Legal Services Authorities’ meet in Rajasthan.
The Digital Lok Adalat of Rajasthan State Legal Services Authority (RSLSA) was launched amid the recent headlines of India’s growing case pendency.

Notes:
Veteran playback singer Bhupinder Singh, who is famous for his Bollywood songs, passed away recently at the age of 82 in Mumbai.
He is a renowned ghazal singer with a five-decade-long career. He began his career working in the All India Radio, Delhi, as a singer and musician.

Notes:
The Karakoram is a mountain range in Kashmir spanning the borders of Pakistan, China, and India. The glaciers in the central Karakoram have remained the same or even slightly risen during the past few decades, in contrary with the global trend of glaciers losing mass.
Researchers have made progress in finding why a few areas of glaciers in the Karakoram Range are and resisting glacial melt caused by climate change. They have linked the resurgence of western disturbances (WDs) to the phenomenon known as the Karakoram Anomaly.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to adopt a simple four-tiered regulatory framework for Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs).
The framework will be based on size of deposits, with an aim to strengthen their financial soundness. An expert committee, headed by former RBI deputy governor N S Vishwanathan, made a host of recommendations for strengthening the UCBs.

Notes:
The CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa Growth Partnership was launched in 2005 with the support of India’s Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Commerce & Industry. It aimed to encourage the development of private investment from India in African countries.
The 17^th edition of the Conclave is being held in New Delhi. High-level diplomats from around 17 African nations are participating in the summit.

Notes:
India and European Union (EU) recently attended the 10th round of ‘Human rights dialogue’ in New Delhi.
India and the European Union deliberated on the importance of safeguarding freedom, independence and diversity, including human rights defenders and journalists. Germany, a key member of the EU, had earlier criticised Indian authorities over fact-checker Mohammed Zubair’s arrest.

Notes:
The United States added Vietnam, Cambodia, Brunei and Macau to a human trafficking blacklist in its annual report.
The list already included Malaysia, alleging weak efforts to stop forced sex work or assist migrant labourers. The US also added Belarus to the blacklist and placed Bulgaria on a watchlist on concerns it is not taking trafficking seriously.

Notes:
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma launched ‘Swanirbhar Naari’, an initiative of the Handloom and Textiles Department.
The scheme aims to empower the indigenous weavers of the State and to provide financial support to their families. Under the scheme, the government has decided to procure handloom items directly from the indigenous weavers without involving any middle men through Swanirbhar Naari web portal.