Current Affairs Quiz - July 2022

Notes:
Eleven districts of West Bengal reported over 65 cases of black fever or ‘Kala-Azar’ disease recently, based on state-administered surveillance.
Kala-azar or Visceral Leishmaniasis is a protozoan parasitic disease, spread by sand-fly bites. The flies are infected with the parasite called ‘leishmania donovani’. The disease is endemic in Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Notes:
Young Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa has won the Paracin Open ‘A’ chess tournament 2022 in Serbia.
The 16-year-old remained unbeaten and scored 8 points from nine rounds. He will be part of a strong India ‘B’ team in the 44th Chess Olympiad to be held in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Notes:
‘Nelson Mandela Day’ is observed on July 18 every year. The United Nations (UN) had declared July 18 as Nelson Mandela Day to honour the leader in 2009.
Nelson Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first President from 1994 to 1999.  He was the first black head of state and the first elected President in a fully democratic election in South Africa.

Notes:
DBS Bank was named as the ‘World’s Best SME Bank’ by Euromoney for second time. The bank also clinched three more awards.
They include World’s Best ‘Financial Innovation of the year’, ‘Asia’s Best Bank for Wealth Management’ and ‘Best Bank in Hong Kong’.

Notes:
The Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB) has recommended G Rajkiran Rai for the position of Managing Director at the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID).
This is the first ever recommendation by FSIB, after it was recently set up.

Notes:
The Sierra de Mijas is a mountain range located in southern Spain. Recently the wildfire in the mountains has caused severe damages.
The fires across France, Greece, Portugal and Spain destroyed thousands of hectares of land, forced thousands from their homes and killed several emergency personnel.

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:
Under ‘Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana’, the States were asked to propose at least 15% of the length of annual projects using any of the new technologies or materials.
The step aims to promote cost-effective and fast construction technologies in the construction of rural roads. The ‘Vision document on New Technology Initiatives, 2022’ has been launched in May 2022.

 

Notes:
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) recently released the compilation of success stories of 75,000 farmers.
To commemorate the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, the e-publication has been prepared by compiling success stories of 75,000 farmers out of all farmers whose incomes have increased. A State-wise brief publication on Doubling Farmers Income has also been prepared. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar also distributed awards to scientists and farmers on the 94th foundation day of ICAR.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India has hiked the minimum capital adequacy ratio (CAR) for Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) to 12 per cent from the earlier ratio of 9 per cent.
The requirement is applied for Tier 1 banks, with deposits above Rs 100 crore. RBI has also provided a path till March 2026 to meet revised CAR norm in phases, for UCBs that don’t meet it currently. This is based on recommendations of a panel headed by N S Vishwanathan, former Deputy Governor.