Current Affairs Quiz - June 2022

Notes:
Maharashtra has overtaken Uttar Pradesh (UP) to regain its position as India’s top sugar producer, in the year 2021-22, after five-year gap.
The state’s output for the 2021-22 crushing year-October-September- stood at 138 lakh tonnes (lt). That is highest ever beating the previous 107.21 lakh tonnes of 2018-19. Maharashtra is followed by Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.

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:
Russia has launched a new “Foreign debt payment system”, an arrangement similar to that used for payments for its gas supplies to pay its dollar-denominated foreign debts.
Russia will offer the holders of its Eurobond obligations to accept a payment system bypassing the Western financial infrastructure. Russia has not defaulted on its international debts since the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution when the Soviet Union was created.

Notes:
The government raised the premium for Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), to make them economically viable.
The premium rate of PMJJBY has been revised upward to Rs 1.25 per day, with an increase from Rs 330 to Rs 436 annually. The annual premium for PMSBY has been hiked from Rs 12 to Rs 20. The new premium rates are effective from June 1, 2022.

Notes:
Indian women’s shooting team of Elavenil Valarivan, Shreya Agarwal and Ramita have bagged a gold medal for India in the 10m air rifle women’s team event at the ISSF World Cup 2022.
This was India’s first medal at the ongoing ISSF World Cup being held in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet expanded the scope of the public procurement portal Government e-Marketplace (GeM) to allow cooperative societies to register as buyers.
This would help cooperatives in getting competitive prices through an open and transparent process. Over 8,54,000 registered cooperatives and their 270 million members will be benefitted. The registration of cooperatives as buyers was not covered within the existing mandate of GeM, so far.

Notes:
Croatia is set to adopt the euro currency from the start of 2023 after meeting all the criteria to join the European Commission.
This move will make Croatia the 20th European country to use the single currency. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement that Croatia has made a step towards adopting the Euro common currency.

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:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the national portal for credit-linked government schemes named ‘Jan Samarth Portal’.
Jan Samarth Portal is a one-stop digital portal linking government credit schemes, to connect beneficiaries to lenders. It provides people with the right government benefits through simple and easy digital processes.

Notes:
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and India’s public service broadcaster Prasar Bharati are exploring the feasibility of a technology called ‘direct-to-mobile’ (D2M) broadcasting.
It allows broadcasting video and other forms of multimedia content directly to mobile phones, without the need of an active internet connection. The technology is also expected to improve consumption of broadband and utilisation of spectrum.