Current Affairs Quiz - June 2022

Notes:
Israel has signed a free trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates, its first big trade pact with an Arab state.
The agreement, which aimed at boosting trade between the two Middle Eastern nations, would encourage more Israeli companies to set up offices in the UAE, particularly in Dubai. The deal with Israel is UAE’s second bilateral free trade agreement after a similar accord with India in February.

Notes:
The second-year anniversary of ‘National AI Portal’ (INDIAai) is celebrated on May 30, 2022. The portal is a joint initiative by the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), National e-Governance Division (NeGD) and NASSCOM. INDIAai released a book on the basics of AI titled ‘AI for Everyone’.
The portal focuses on promoting a unified AI ecosystem in the country and use AI for economic growth. The portal has a repository of over 1000 articles on AI and several news stories, reports, case studies and videos. It has the databases featuring details of government initiatives and start-ups related to AI.

Notes:
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been invited to attend the World Cities Summit (WCS) in Singapore to present the ‘Delhi Model’ and to discuss urban solutions with other leaders.
It is jointly organised by Singapore’s Centre for Liveable Cities and the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

Notes:
Denmark is set to join the European Union’s defence policy after it held a referendum for the decision. Denmark is the only EU member that is not part of the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP).
The Denmark government has succeeded in abolishing an exemption secured in a 1993 referendum on the Maastricht Treaty. Sweden and Finland also placed historic bids to join NATO, which will be taken up at the upcoming summit.

Notes:
Panna Tiger Reserve is located in Vindhyan Hills in northern Madhya Pradesh. The Union Ministry of Jal Shakti recently released the final report of the Integrated Landscape Management Plan for Greater Panna Landscape.
The plan has been prepared in respect of the Ken-Betwa Link Project by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), for better habitat protection, and management of species such as tigers, vultures, and gharial.

Notes:
The species, Eublepharis pictus, also known as the Painted Leopard Gecko, was originally found in Visakhapatnam in 2017.
The species, which was considered as East Indian Leopard Gecko (Eublepharis hardwickii), has now been identified as a member of a new species. It appears to be common in the forests of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. The two species appear to be separated by the Brahmani River.

Notes:
Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) partnered with Accenture to digitally transform its lending business.
The collaboration includes a cloud-native lending platform with digital workflows for application, loan processing, credit underwriting and decision- making, disbursement and loan servicing. A machine learning-based decision engine is also used for risk mitigation.

Notes:
The world’s largest plant- the ribbon weed (Posidonia australis) has recently been discovered off the West Coast of Australia.
It is a sea-grass which is measured to be 180 km in length. Ribbon weed rhizomes can usually grow to around 35cm per year and with this, the scientists arrived at its lifespan of 4,500  years. It has double the number of chromosomes than other similar plants, and managed to survive the volatile atmosphere of the Shark Bay.

Notes:
A US medical team have reconstructed a human ear using the patient’s own tissue to create a 3D bio-implant.
This procedure can be used to treat people with a rare birth defect. The surgery was performed as an early-stage clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the implant for people with microtia, in which the external ear is small and not formed properly.

Notes:
Tata Projects will build the national capital region’s new airport at Jewar, after outbidding the Shapoorji Pallonji Group and Larsen & Toubro for the contract.
Tata Projects will construct the terminal, runway, airside infrastructure, roads, utilities, landside facilities and other ancillary buildings at the Noida International Airport. The new airport is expected to be functional by 2024.