Current Affairs Quiz - June 2022

Notes:
The new species of sea anemone called Stylobates calcifer lives in a symbiotic relationship with a hermit crab species called Pagurodofleinia doederleini. It was discovered at the depth of 100 to 400 meters in Pacific Ocean off the coast of Japan.

Notes:
The UNGA has adopted the resolution to designate June 24 as the International Day of Women in Diplomacy. Its purpose is to promote the full and equal participation of women at all levels of diplomacy.

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:
The Patna Marine Drive is a 20.5 km long expressway which is currently being constructed in Bihar. The first phase of this project was inaugurated recently by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
The expressway is also known as the Ganga driveway. It is expected to be completed by the start of 2024. The project commenced in 2013 on the birth anniversary of Indian independence activist Jayaprakash Narayan. The cost of this project is estimated to be Rs.3,160 crore.

Notes:
The research wing of the Uttarakhand Forest Department has discovered a rare carnivorous plant species named Utricularia Furcellata in the Uttarakhand’s Mandal Valley.
This discovery is significant as this plant is found for the first time in western Himalayan region. The plant belongs to the genus bladderworts. It uses complex plant structures to trap targets ranging from protozoa to insects, mosquito larvae and tadpoles. It uses the mechanical process of creating a vacuum or negative pressure area to attract preys into the trap door.

Notes:
Parameswaran Iyer, a 1981-batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog.
He is also the former Secretary of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, who led the government’s Swachh Bharat Mission. The new CEO succeeds Amitabh Kant , who retires on June 30 this year.

Notes:
Ministry of Education released the Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D) for 2019-20, and noted that schools across India performed poorly under the category of digital learning.
The top performing districts were Jaipur, Sikar and Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan. The PGI-D structure has 600 points, under six categories – Outcomes, Effective Classroom Transaction, Infrastructure Facilities & Student’s Entitlements, School Safety & Child Protection, Digital Learning and Governance Process.

Notes:
State Bank of India’s latest Ecowrap recent report stated that ‘Income inequality in India has been on a decline since FY17’.
The report noted that India also fared well during coronavirus pandemic in terms of navigating income shocks across population.  Sikkim and Goa led the states with a ratio of per capita income exceeding 3.

Notes:
India and the UK announced to create a joint Commonwealth Diplomatic Academy programme to train young and aspiring diplomats from both nations.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his UK counterpart announced plans for the establishment of the new academy to jointly promote Commonwealth values after the meeting in Rwanda.

Notes:
Arm Ltd, the British chip technology firm owned by SoftBank Group, has recently launched a set of new chip technologies aimed at making video games on smart-phones look better while preserving battery life. The latest products are designs for graphics processing units, or GPUs, which are often used for video processing in gaming. Arm upgraded plans for its central processing units (CPUs).