Current Affairs Quiz - June 2022

Notes:
The first-ever girl Panchayat of India named ‘Balika Panchayat’ was organised in several villages of Gujarat’s Kutch district.
This is an initiative of the Women and Child Development Welfare department of the Gujarat Government under the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ campaign. Balika Panchayat is managed by people in the 11-21 age group and aims to promote the social and political development of girl children.

Notes:
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) organized an eight-day long mango festival in Bahrain to boost the export of Mangoes.
Commerce and Industry Ministry said, 34 varieties of mangoes from states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha are being displayed at eight different locations of Bahrain’s Al Jazira group supermarket.

Notes:
Foreign bank HSBC India announced that it will lend USD 250 million to high-growth, tech-led start-ups in India.
India is the third largest start-up ecosystem in the world. Recently there is a rise in the debt needs of the start-ups in India and a ‘funding winter’ is impacting equity funding to the sector. This issue is set to be addressed by the commercial banking vertical of HSBC India.

Notes:
To strengthen air connectivity to the state and boost tourism, Jharkhand government slashed VAT (value added tax) on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) to 4 per cent from 20 per cent.
Recently, the price of ATF was reduced by 1.3percent which was the first reduction after it was hiked for 10 rounds of hike in ATF prices. ATF constitutes about 40 per cent of the operating cost of an airline.

Notes:
Germany announced emergency measures including increased use of coal to boost gas storage levels and to phase out imports.
As Germany relies on Russia for most of its gas, it is affected after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine which led to cut in deliveries. The new measures include increased reliance on coal-fired power plants and an auction system to incentivise industry to consume less.

Notes:
Sri Lankan cabinet passed the 21st Amendment to the Constitution to empower Parliament over the executive president.
The 21st Amendment is expected to dissolve the section, which gives unfettered powers to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa after abolishing the 19th Amendment that will strengthen Parliament. It also includes reforms including barring dual citizens from contesting elections to hold public office.

Notes:
A part of Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary in Ladakh is going to become a Dark Sky Reserve, which will help promote astronomy-tourism. Once this region is declared as the Hanle Dark Sky Reserve, efforts will be undertaken to protect the night sky from superfluous illumination and light pollution.

Notes:
The first case of monkeypox was recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the year 1970. It is a rare zoonotic disease caused by the monkeypox virus, which belongs to the Poxviridae family. Its symptoms are similar to smallpox but milder.

Notes:
Hampi, located at the banks of the Tungabhadra River, is an ancient village in Karnataka’s Vijayanagara district. This UNESCO World Heritage Site was the capital of the Vijayanagar Empire in the 14th century.

Notes:
The Spitsbergen treaty or the Svalbard Treaty recognizes sovereignty of Norway over the Arctic Archipelago of Svalbard, which is located between mainland Norway and the North Pole. It provides citizens of signatory countries the equal right to exploit the archipelago’s resources. However, only two countries – Norway and Russia – have utilised this benefit.