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 Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) recently launched Operation Rakth Chandan recovered 14.63 MT of Red Sanders estimated at Rs 11.70 crores in the international market.
The red sanders were seized from a consignment at ICD Sabarmati which was to be exported to Sharjah, UAE. The suspect container was scanned through a ‘container scanning device’.

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 Controller General of Accounts (CGA) released the fiscal deficit for 2021-22, which improved to 6.71 per cent of the GDP over the revised budget estimate of 6.9 per cent. The fiscal deficit in absolute terms was Rs 15,86,537 crore (provisional).
The increase was mainly on account of higher tax realisation. The tax receipts during the fiscal stood at Rs 18.2 trillion as against the revised estimates (RE) of Rs 17.65 trillion.

Notes:
World No Tobacco Day is observed on May 31 every year to create awareness of the dangers of smoking, tobacco companies and their business practices.
This year’s theme for World No Tobacco Day 2022 is ‘Tobacco: A Threat to our Environment.’ Nearly 3.5 million hectares of land are destroyed every year to grow tobacco. As per the United Nations, consumption of tobacco kills more than 8 million people every year.

Notes:
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan addressed the National Education Ministers’ Conference in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar with a focus on implementation of the new National Educational Policy 2020.
He announced that the Education Ministry is in the process of establishing ‘PM Shri schools’ as the laboratory of NEP 2020. The schools will be fully equipped to prepare students for the future.

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:
Santoor maestro Bhajan Sopori, also called as the ‘saint of santoor’ and ‘King of strings’ passed away recently at the age of 73.
The veteran musician received multiple awards throughout his career, including the Padma Shri in 2004, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1992 and the Jammu and Kashmir State Lifetime Achievement Award.

Notes:
UIDAI has announced that it would provide IPPB postmen with the necessary digital devices such as a desktop or laptop-based Aadhar kit to update the necessary details of Aadhar card holders.
UIDAI also plans to onboard over 13,000 banking correspondents currently working with the Common Service Centre (CSC) of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

Notes:
The forest department of Bihar has recently established an elephant rescue centre at Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) to rehabilitate stray and injured elephants.
The reserve is located in Bihar’s West Champaran district, with Nepal to its north and Uttar Pradesh to its west. In the last few years, several elephants stray into the reserve from the neighbouring Chitwan National Park in Nepal.