Current Affairs Quiz - June 2022

Notes:
US central bank has announced its biggest interest rate rise in nearly 30 years to control surging inflation.
The Federal Reserve announced that it would increase its benchmark rate by three-quarters of a percentage point to a range of 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent. It is the largest rate hike since 1994, and is expected to push up the cost of borrowing for homes, cars and other loans.

Notes:
Microsoft has shut down its iconic Internet Explorer (IE) browser after 27 years. It was one of the oldest browsers launched in the year 1995.
Microsoft has asked its users to switch to its modern Edge browser, while the virtual version of the older browser will be available to users. In 2022, Chrome is the most popular and widely used browser in the world with over 70 % market share.

Notes:
European Space Agency’s Gaia mission has released a set of new data, which has revealed the phenomena of ‘starquakes’.
Starquakes are massive movements on the surface of stars similar to earthquake. The star-mapping Gaia probe has covered almost 1.8 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy. The data has also revealed the largest chemical map of the entire Milky Way, showing the DNA of millions of stars.

Notes:
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras have developed a robot to clean septic tanks without human intervention.
Named HomoSEP, the product development was further supported by GAIL (India). Initially, ten units are planned to be deployed across Tamil Nadu. The robots have been developed to eliminate manual scavenging.

Notes:
The ‘Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC)’ functions under the aegis of Ministry of Labour and Employment.
ESIC has announced that its Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) Scheme will be implemented throughout the country by the end of 2022. The health insurance scheme is fully implemented in 443 districts and partially implemented in 153 districts. As many as 148 districts are not covered under the ESI Scheme at present.

Notes:
South Korea launched its first domestically built space rocket ‘Nuri’ in the country’s second attempt. Earlier, the country failed to place a payload into orbit.
If the launch is successful, South Korea will become the world’s 10th nation to place a satellite into space with its own technology. The performance verification satellite will also help South Korea launch more satellites.

Notes:
The Indian Coast Guard’s Eastern Region inducted the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Mark III, the first aircraft of the newly created “840 Squadron”.
It was indigenously designed and developed Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Mark III by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). HAL has delivered 13 out of 16 such aircraft to the Indian Coast Guard till date.

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:
Noc Kupaly is celebrated by Poland and other Slavic countries during the shortest night of the year (summer solstice). This pagan festival celebrates the idea of fertility and purification. The celebrations involve bonfire lighting, herb collecting and bathing in a river.

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.