Current Affairs Quiz - June 2022

Notes:
India launched one of its longest running coastal clean-up campaigns recently, in which 75 beaches of the country to be cleaned up to commemorate ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.
The coastal clean-up drive will be carried out in the country for 75 days from 3rd of July to 17th of September 2022, which is also the International Coastal Clean-up Day. The drive is aims to remove one thousand 500 tonnes of garbage from the sea coasts.

Notes:
According to the quarterly report published by Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), Tamil Nadu has displaced West Bengal to emerge as the largest State in terms of the outstanding portfolio of microfinance loans.
The gross loan portfolio (GLP) of Tamil Nadu as of March 31, 2022 stood at ₹36,806 crore while the overall microfinance industry has a total GLP of ₹2,85,441 crore as of March 31, 2022. Banks held the largest share of the portfolio in micro-credit followed by NBFC-MFIs.

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:
The Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change has defined a list of items that will be banned from next month. The announcement of ban was made last year.
As per the notification, the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of following single-use plastic, including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene, commodities shall be prohibited with effect from the 1st July, 2022.

Notes:
According to a World Gold Council (WGC) report titled ‘Gold refining and recycling’, India has emerged as the fourth largest recycler in the world.
India has recycled 75 tonnes in 2021 while China topped the chart as it recycled 168 tonnes followed by Italy in the second position with 80 tonnes and the US at the third rank with 78 tonnes in 2021. India’s gold refining capacity increased by 1,500 tonnes (500 per cent) in 2021 from 300 tonnes in 2013.

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:
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 Indian Coast Guard’s new air squadron named 840 Squadron was created in Chennai on June 20, 2022. The squadron was initially created with an indigenous ALH Mark-III aircraft. This is the first such aircraft to be stationed in the eastern region.

Notes:
Khumbu Glacier is situated at Nepal’s Khumbu region between Mount Everest and the Lhotse-Nuptse ridge. Like many other glaciers in the Himalayas, Khumbu Glacier is melting at a rapid pace. This is making it highly hazardous for Nepal’s Everest base camp.

Notes:
The UN announced world’s first-ever floating city named Oceanix City in April this year. It is going to be set up off the coast of South Korea’s second-largest city, Busan. The construction process is going to commence next year.