Current Affairs Quiz - July 2022

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) seminar ‘Swavlamban’.
NIIO, in association with the Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO) aims at inducting over 75 new indigenous technologies/products into the Indian Navy. This project is named SPRINT (Supporting Pole-Vaulting in R & D through iDEX, NIIO and TDAC).

Notes:
NTPC and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) have signed an agreement to set up a joint venture company for meeting the power requirements of projects of IOC refineries.
NTPC Green Energy (NGEL), a wholly owned subsidiary of NTPC, will form the JV Company for supplying RE-RTC power to Indian Oil Corporation.

Notes:
The British government launched an ‘Aviation Passenger Charter’ to help passengers know their rights when faced with problems at airports.
Long queues and cancelled flights caused by staff shortages have caused chaos, prompting airlines to cut back their schedules. The new charter helps passengers know what to do if they are confronted by cancellations, delays or missing baggage.

Notes:
The government slashed the newly-introduced windfall tax on petrol, diesel, aviation fuel, and crude oil, after a global oil price ease.
The move, which is effective from July 20, will give relief to top fuel exporters like Reliance Industries, and oil explorers like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). A windfall tax is levied on companies deemed to have made unreasonably high profits, normally due to unusually favourable market factors.

Notes:
Go Digit General Insurance has launched ‘Pay as you Drive’ (PAYD) add-on feature for motor insurance Own Damage (OD) policies.
Customers who drive less will now pay less with this feature. Digit will use odometer reading, telematics data and annual kilometre opted to give this discount.

Notes:
An MoU was signed by Union Environment Minister of India and Deputy Prime Minister of Namibia, in New Delhi.
It paves way for reintroduction of eight cheetahs in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. The MoU also covers cooperation on wildlife conservation and sustainable biodiversity utilisation. India will train Namibian candidates in wildlife management courses at the Wildlife Institute of India.

Notes:
‘World Brain Day (WBD) 2022’ is marked every year on July 22, to increase public awareness and promote advocacy related to brain health.
This year, the World Brain Day is dedicated to the theme “Brain Health for all”. WBD 2022 campaign will focus on five key messages globally: Awareness, Prevention, Advocacy, Education and Access.

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:
Varuna, India’s first drone that can carry human pay-load has a range of 25 km. The passenger drone can carry 130 kg payload and has 25-33 minutes of flight time.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently watched the demonstration of India’s first passenger drone, Varuna. ‘Varuna’ drone has been designed and developed by a startup ‘Sagar Defence Engineering’.

Notes:
Karnataka health minister K Sudhakar recently inaugurated India’s first brain collaborative health clinic in Bengaluru.
The Clinic at Jayanagar General Hospital, Bengaluru has been established by the state health dept under the Karnataka Brain Health Initiative (KaBHI) in association with NIMHANS.