Current Affairs Quiz - June 2022

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A draft notification was approved by the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways recently for the introduction of Bharat New Car Assessment Program (Bharat-NCAP). Under this initiative, cars will be given star ratings based on their performance in crash tests.

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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.

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Scientists have discovered the world’s largest recorded bacterium Thiomargarita magnifica in a Caribbean mangrove. It was measured to be more than a centimetre long. It can reach a maximum length of 2 cm.

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A new species of jumping spider christened Pseudomogrus sudhii was discovered by a group of researchers in the Thar Desert in Rajasthan’s Desert National Park. The new species was named after the renowned arachnologist Sudhikumar.
This 4-millimetre-long spider is found only in India and United Arab Emirates. The male members of this species have dark brown head covered with small white hairs, black eye region and a dark band along the pale-yellow coloured abdomen. The females’ head is yellow with black eyes and white spotted light-yellow abdomen.

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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.

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The UNGA adopted a resolution in December 1987 to declare June 26 as the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. It is also known as World Drug Day.
The objective of this day is to combat drug abuse and illegal drug trade across the world and to strengthen global cooperation. The theme for this year is “Addressing drug challenges in health and humanitarian crises”. It focuses on the existing and emerging global drug-related challenges that are caused by the pandemic, climate crisis, supply chain disruption and inflation.

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Odisha’s Dhenkanal forest department has announced plans to install automatic sirens near its national highway to protect elephants from accidents.
These sensor-based sirens will ring and a red light will turn on when elephants cross the road to alert drivers within a distance of up to 1 kilometre.  The pilot project has been initiated by ‘Change’, a voluntary organization.

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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.

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Dr V Krishnamurthy, former chairman of public sector undertakings such as Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and Maruti Udyog (now Maruti Suzuki), passed away recently.
He is regarded as the ‘Father of Public Sector Undertakings’. He had served as Secretary of Industries for the Government of India, Member of the Planning Commission, and many other Prime Minister’s Committees. He was conferred Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan for his services.

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India successfully tested the indigenously-designed Abhyas – a High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT).
The trial was carried out by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Odisha’s Chandipur. Earlier, DRDO and the Army successfully tested an indigenously-developed anti-tank guided missile in Maharashtra.