Current Affairs Quiz - June 2022

Notes:
Charon is one of the five natural satellites of the dwarf planet Pluto. According to a new study, Charon has a “red cap” because of chemicals called tholins. These chemical compounds absorbed a specific colour of the Sun’s UV rays to become red and get deposited around the natural satellite’s north pole.

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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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The 1973 Roe v Wade ruling of the US Supreme Court held that laws that severely restrict or deny a woman’s access to abortion violates the Constitution’s right to privacy. The US Supreme Court had recently reversed this landmark ruling, allowing individual states to permit or restrict the procedure themselves.

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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:
June 27 is celebrated as the Micro-Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) Day. The day is aimed at raising public awareness of the contribution of MSMEs to global economic growth and sustainable development.
The United Nations General Assembly declared the day in the year 2017. According to the UN, formal and informal MSMEs account for 70 per cent of the total employment and 50 per cent of the GDP. Moreover, the sector makes up for 90 per cent of all firms.

Notes:
Iran has launched a solid-fueled rocket into space named ‘Zuljanah’. It is a a 25.5 meter-long rocket, capable of carrying a satellite of 220 kilograms.
The satellites will gather data in low-earth orbit. Zuljanah is named after the horse of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

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An informal inter-governmental grouping called the Partners in the Blue Pacific (PBP) was launched by the United States, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
It is a five-nation ‘informal mechanism’ to support Pacific islands and to boost diplomatic, economic ties in the region. The Indo-Pacific region accounts for 63 per cent of the global GDP and 46 per cent of the world’s merchandise trade.

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The DRDO and the Indian Navy have successfully tested the indigenous ship-borne weapon system Vertical Launch Short Range Surface to Air Missile (VL-SRSAM).
The VL-SRSAM was designed based on Astra missile. It was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, as the first air-to-air missile. Astra is also an all weather beyond-visual-range missile.

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:
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.