Current Affairs Quiz - June 2022

Notes:
The pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella) is a pest that infests cotton farms. It is native to Asia. However, this invasive species has spread throughout the cotton-producing countries. Currently, several parts of Punjab are facing the threat of attack by pink bollworm.

Notes:
Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is an initiative of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
It is a government-backed platform that seeks to democratise e-commerce by shifting it from a platform-centric model to an open network for buying and selling goods and services. This enables a buyer registered in one participating e-commerce site to purchase goods from a seller registered in another participating e-commerce.

Notes:
NITI Aayog released a report titled ‘India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy’ recently. The Indian gig workforce is expected to expand to 23.5 million workers by 2029-30, a 200 per cent jump from 7.7 million now.
The report estimates that gig workers will form 4.1 per cent of the total workforce in India by 2029-2030, from 1.5 per cent now. The report stated 47 per cent of the jobs are medium-skilled, about 22 per cent are high-skilled, and about 31 per cent are low-skilled.

Notes:
At the conclusion of the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kigali, Rwanda, all 54 Commonwealth members adopted ‘Living Lands Charter’.
The non-binding agreement mandates that member countries will safeguard global land resources and arrest land degradation and act against climate change, biodiversity loss and towards sustainable management.

Notes:
International Day of the Tropics is observed annually on June 29, to highlight the importance of the tropics and the environmental and socio-economic challenges faced in these regions.
The Tropics are the regions around the equator that lie between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. This region hosts about 40 per cent of the Earth’s population and 80 per cent of its biodiversity.

Notes:
Tapan Deka has been appointed the new chief of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), India’s central intelligence agency. He was serving as the Special Director in IB.
Current chief of Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) Samant Goel has been given another extension of one year in his tenure which comes to an end on June 30.

Notes:
The Indian Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) has started authorising two Indian private firms, for private space sector launches in the country.
Dhruva Space’s Dhruva Space Satellite Orbital Deployer – (DSOD 1U), a technology demonstration payload, and Digantara’s Robust Integrating Proton Fluence Meter (ROBI), a Proton dosimeter payload, were authorised.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the ‘Udyami Bharat’ programme in New Delhi to launch the ‘Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance’ (RAMP) scheme.
He also launched the ‘Capacity Building of First-Time MSME Exporters’ (CBFTE) scheme and new features of the ‘Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme’ (PMEGP). The results of MSME Idea Hackathon, 2022 were announced and National MSME Awards were distributed.

Notes:
Amid the political crisis in Maharashtra, the role and powers of the Deputy Speaker are being discussed.
In the landmark judgment of ‘Kihoto Hollohan vs Zachillhu And Others’ (1992), the Supreme Court upheld the sweeping discretion available to the Speaker in deciding cases of disqualification of MLAs.

Notes:
National Statistics Day is observed in India on June 29 each year, on the birth day of Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis.
The aim is to raise public awareness of the role statistics play in formulating and affecting public policy. The veteran statistician, PC Mahalanobis, is recognised for his contributions to economic planning and statistics. He is the founder of Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) and member of India’s first Planning Commission.