Current Affairs Quiz - June 2022

Notes:
India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed, nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile from a test range off the Odisha coast.
The missile was developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation of India. It has a range of around 250 km and can carry a one tonne payload. The test comes around 10 days after India tested its Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile Agni-IV, which can travel as far as 4,000 km.

Notes:
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), has developed an Indian Standard for ‘non-electric cooling cabinet made of clay’.
Named as ‘Mitticool refrigerator’, it was developed by a Gujarat-based innovator with an eco-friendly technology. BIS standard specifies the construction and performance requirements of a cooling cabinet made out of clay, which operates on the principle of evaporative cooling without electricity.

Notes:
A high-level committee (HLC) under the chairmanship of Union Home Minister Amit Shah approved an additional central assistance of over Rs 1,000 crore under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to Rajasthan and Nagaland.
The two states were affected by drought during 2021-22. The assistance of Rs 1,003.95 crore to Rajasthan and Rs 39.28 crore to Nagaland is over and above the funds released by the Centre to the states from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).

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:
China recently launched its third aircraft carrier named ‘Fujian’. It is also the country’s most advanced and the first fully domestically built naval vessel.
Fujian is the name of China’s eastern coastal province of Fujian. Liaoning and Shandong are names of the two previous aircraft carriers of China. China plans to have around five aircraft carriers while the next carrier is expected to be nuclear-powered.

Notes:
The 8th meeting of the heads of the border services of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization was held in New Delhi under the chairmanship of India.
The members approved the plan for the preparation and conduct of the Joint Border Operation Friendship Border 2022.  They also approved the work plan of the group of experts of the Border Services of the SCO member states for 2023.

Notes:
The European Commission has recommended that Ukraine should be granted European Union candidate status.
The recommendation from the EU’s executive arm will be discussed by leaders of the 27-nation bloc during the upcoming summit in Brussels. The European Commission also proposed making Moldova, which shares a long border with Ukraine, an EU membership candidate.

Notes:
Former Supreme Court Judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai has been nominated as Chairperson of the Press Council of India.
She replaced the retired Justice CK Prasad who vacated office in November 2021. Justice Desai has also served as the chairman of the Delimitation Commission on Jammu and Kashmir, Public prosecutor for the state of Maharashtra and as a Judge on the Bombay High Court.

Notes:
The Army Training Command (ARTRAC) has announced partnership with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras to establish a 5G Test-bed at the Military College of Telecommunication at Indore.
It will be used for the army’s operational use of 5G technology, especially along the borders. Under the MoU, IIT-Madras would provide consultancy, supported by research for feasibility studies and prototype development on 5G-enabled future communications.

 

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.