Current Affairs Quiz - June 2022

Notes:
The Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) has been approved for continuation till 2025-26 with the total outlay of Rs 13,554.42 crore.
The extension of the scheme is over the 15th Finance Commission Cycle for five years from 2021-22 to 2025-26. The scheme will create sustainable employment opportunities for about 40 lakh persons in five financial years. It is implemented by the Ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises.

Notes:
The Ministry of Defence signed a contract with Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) for the supply of ASTRA MK-I Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Air to Air Missile (AAM).
The contract includes associated equipment for the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy, along with the missile, at a cost of ₹ 2,971 crore under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category. ASTRA MK-I BVR AAM has been indigenously designed and developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

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:
The 118th meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) comprising Indus Commissioners of India and Pakistan was recently organised.
During the meeting, the annual report for the year ending on March 31, 2022, was finalised and signed. The next meeting of the PIC would be held in Pakistan. According to the of the Indus Waters Treaty, around 33-million-acre feet water of eastern rivers- Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi is allocated to India for unrestricted use annually, and about 135 MAF of western rivers-Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab to Pakistan.

Notes:
United States Department of Defense (DoD) announced the authorization of a security assistance valued at up to USD 700 million.
The assistance has been announced to meet critical Ukrainian needs for its fight. This authorization is the eleventh drawdown of equipment from the country for Ukraine since August 2021. The United States has now committed USD 5.3 billion in security assistance to Ukraine.

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:
India and Israel adopted a ‘Vision statement’ for strengthening defence cooperation in future. The statement marked 30 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Israeli counterpart held bilateral talks in New Delhi. The two leaders discussed defence cooperation and the global and regional defence scenario. Israel recently signed the instrument of ratification of the International Solar Alliance.

Notes:
India’s Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu is on a three-nation tour, reached Senegal, a West African country.
India signed three MoUs with the country on 1) visa-free regime for Diplomatic and Official passport holders; 2)renewal of Cultural Exchange Progarmme (CEP) for the period 2022-26 and 3) bilateral cooperation in youth matters.

Notes:
The Martin Ennals Foundation has decided to posthumously pay homage to Father Stan Swamy. He was a Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist from Jharkhand who had been arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case. He worked closely with Adivasi communities to safeguard their land, forest and labour rights.
The Geneva-based foundation presents the award regarded as the Nobel Prize for human rights defenders every year. The recipients of this year’s awards include Daouda Diallo from Burkina Faso, Pham Doan Trang from Vietnam and Abdul-Hadi Al-Khawaja of Bahrain.

Notes:
The National Health Authority (NHA) said that the ‘eSanjeevani’ telemedicine service has been integrated with the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).
This integration allows the existing eSanjeevani users to create their Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) and use it to link and manage their existing health records. The users can also share their health records with doctors on eSanjeevani.