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:
Israel archaeologists have recently found a 2,100-Year-Old ancient farmstead at the archaeological site of Horbat Assad in Israel.
They also unearthed loom weights used for weaving garments, large ceramic storage vessels, and iron agricultural implements, including various picks and scythes. The ancient coins retrieved date the farmstead to the second half of the second century BCE.

Notes:
Flipkart has launched an initiative to cater to millions of Indian students and support their academic and extracurricular interests.
The e-commerce firm has launched a dedicated virtual storefront on its app, called the ‘Flipkart Student’s Club’. This store will include several brands, offering a wide selection to enhance the shopping experience of students.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the RBI Annual Report 2021-22. As per the report, the total number of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICNs) of all denominations detected in the banking sector increased to 2,30,971 pieces.
There was an increase of 16.4 per cent, 16.5 per cent, 11.7 per cent, 101.9 per cent and 54.6 per cent in the counterfeit notes detected in the denominations of Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 200, Rs 500 and Rs 2,000, respectively. The total expenditure on security printing during 2021-2022 was ₹4,984.8 crore as against ₹4,012.1 crore in the previous year.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed ‘Garib Kalyan Sammelan’ in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, marking the completion of eight years of the government.
The programme is organised across the country at state capitals, district headquarters, and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs). The Prime Minister also released the 11th instalment of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme of around Rs. 21,000 crore to more than 10 crore beneficiary farmer families.

Notes:
The Global Mercy, the world’s largest civilian hospital ship, made its debut in Africa in the port of Dakar, the capital city of Senegal.
It is scheduled to stay in Senegal for four weeks to train health professionals before returning in 2023 to provide surgical care for the poor. The giant ship measures 174 meters long and 28.6 meters wide and it comprises of 12 decks.

Notes:
GST revenue for May was recorded at nearly Rs 1.41 lakh crore, a 44 per cent increase over the same month last year, as per the Finance Ministry.
This is the fourth time that the monthly GST collection has crossed Rs 1.40 lakh crore mark since the inception of GST and the third straight month since March 2022. In March GST revenues were at Rs 1.42 lakh crore, while in February it was at Rs 1.33 lakh crore.

Notes:
The Times Higher Education (THE) released the 2022 edition of the Asia University Rankings with universities from 31 countries and territories.
India is the third most-represented country, with 71 universities making it to the list. Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore is the only institute to make the top-50 list at 42^nd rank. JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research (65^th), IIT Ropar (68) and IIT Indore (87) were in top 100 list.

Notes:
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar is on a five day visit to Slovakia and the Czech Republic. He is set to attend the GLOBSEC 2022 Forum in Slovakia and speak on the topic ‘Taking Friendship to the Next Level: Allies in the Indo-Pacific Region’.
He is scheduled to meet Minister of European and International Affairs of Austria Alexander Schallenberg on the sidelines of the GLOBSEC 2022 Forum. The Czech Republic will be taking over the EU Presidency from next month.

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.