Current Affairs Quiz - June 2022

Notes:
The first train under the Indian Railways’ ‘Bharat Gaurav’ scheme was flagged off between Coimbatore North railway station in Tamil Nadu for Sainagar Shirdi in Maharashtra.
This particular train will be operated by a private operator ‘South Star Rail’. It will depart from Coimbatore every Tuesday reach Shirdi on Thursdays. The objective of the theme is to showcase India’s rich cultural heritage and historical places, to the people of India and the world.

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:
Union Steel Minister Ram Chandra Prasad Singh inaugurated a six-lane highway in Surat made of steel slag, a first-of-its kind.
The road constructed using 100 per cent slag, which is a by-product of steel manufacturing. The road has been jointly made with the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), which is a laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel (AMNS).

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:
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:
Australia’s new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced ambitious climate targets for his country.
He has pledged to cut carbon emissions by 43% from 2005 levels by 2030, up from the previous government’s target of between 26% and 28%. Australia is one of the world’s highest per capita carbon emitters. While Canada is aiming to reduce emissions up to 40% by 2030 from 2005 levels, U.S has a target of 52%.

Notes:
A team of scientists has discovered a new species of bamboo-dwelling bat from a bamboo forest in Meghalaya.
It was named as ‘Glischropus meghalayanus’ after the state of Meghalaya, which is celebrating its 50 years of statehood. With this discovery, the total number of bat species from India stands at 131 species with Meghalaya registering the highest bat diversity with 67 species.

Notes:
Three-day international literary festival ‘Unmesh’ was organised at the state of Himachal Pradesh. The festival was inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Culture Arjun Ram Meghawal.
Over 425 writers, poets, translators, critics and personalities from 15 countries, representing over 60 languages, are participating in the event. The festival is being organised by the Union Ministry of Culture and the Sahitya Akademi with the support of the Himachal Pradesh Department of Art and Culture as part of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.

Notes:
Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) recently clarified that the Padma Bridgeis not part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
It is a multipurpose road-rail bridge across the Padma River, the main distributary of the Ganges. When completed it will be the largest bridge in Bangladesh and the first fixed river crossing for road traffic. BRI or the ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative is a flagship programme of President Xi Jinping for trade and connectivity and India has raised concerns over the BRI projects.

Notes:
Vaikom Muhammed Basheer was a famous writer of Malayalam literature. He was a recipient of the Sahitya Academy Fellowship and Padma Shri award.
The 28th death anniversary of writer Vaikom Muhammed Basheer is set to be marked at his residence at Beypore with a range of programmes named ‘Basheer Fest’. The event will be organised in association with Chalachitra Academy, Folklore Academy and Sahitya Akademi and others.