Current Affairs Quiz - June 2022

Notes:
National Statistical Office (NSO) marginally slashed its year-on-year gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to 8.7 per cent, down from 8.9 per cent estimated in February.
The fourth quarter (January-March period of 2021-22) GDP growth was recorded at 4.1 per cent. The economy witnessed a 6.6 per cent contraction in 2020-21. The latest GDP growth estimate is lower than the second advance estimate of 8.9 per cent (released in February) and first advance estimate of 9.2 per cent (released in January).

Notes:
Former State Bank of India Deputy Managing Director Natarajan Sundar has been appointed as the Managing Director and CEO of NARCL (National Assets Reconstruction Company Ltd) as MD & CEO.
NARCL is the joint initiative of Public and Private Sector Banks, and is expected to takeover bad loans from banks and focus on resolution and recoveries. NARCL has shareholding from 15 Indian Banks and Canara Bank is the sponsor bank.

Notes:
‘Hurricane Agatha’, the first of the Pacific season hit Mexico and the casualties climbed to at least 10 dead and around 20 missing in southern Mexico.
Heavy rains triggered landslides and flooding in the country. The storm was the strongest to make landfall along Mexico’s Pacific coast in May since record keeping began in 1949. Mexico is regularly hit by tropical storms on both its Pacific and Atlantic coasts, between May and November.

Notes:
The Har Ghar Dastak campaign 2.0 was organised across the country to ensure complete Covid-19 vaccination of all eligible beneficiaries.
The special focus was on those in the 12-14 age group and precaution dose for those above 60. The two-month long door-to-door campaign will run between June 1 and July 31. The first Har Ghar Dastak campaign was conducted in November 2021. As many as 193.6 crore doses have been administered across the country, 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:
Maharashtra government has decided to make six Road Transport Office’ (RTO) services online. People, who need a permanent driving licence or verification for an international driving licence will need to go to the RTO.
Maharashtra’s transport department provides 80 online services and now six more services have been included.

Notes:
World Bicycle Day is celebrated every year on June 3, to develop a culture of cycling for basic transportation, commutation, and strengthening physical and mental health.
Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur launched a nationwide ‘Fit India Freedom Rider Cycle Rally’ from Major Dhyan Chand Stadium, Delhi on the occasion of World Bicycle Day 2022.

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:
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.