Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2023

Notes:
The ‘75th UN Peacekeepers Day’ is observed on 29 May every year. “Peace begins with me” is the theme of the 75th anniversary of Peacekeepers Day.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL marked the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers and the 75th anniversary of United Nations peacekeeping.

Notes:
The Draft Aircraft Bill, 2023 has been proposed by the Civil Aviation Ministry after reviewing the existing Aircraft Act, 1934.
It aims to simplify the regulations of India’s aviation sector. It gives enough powers to administer the regulatory role to statutory body, such as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, meeting regulatory challenges in current scenarios.

Notes:
Currency demand paradox happens when currency in circulation rising when digital payments are rising too. This phenomenon is seen in India.
The RBI has explained the ‘currency demand paradox’ in India. In India, while UPI-led retail digital payments grew at a CAGR of 50 per cent and 27 per cent in terms of volume and value, during 2016-17 to 2021-22, the currency in circulation to GDP ratio also peaked at 14.4 per cent in 2020-21.

Notes:
Indian chess player Gukesh defeats Magnus Carlsen in 97 moves in the Norway Chess blitz tournament.
Gukesh was mentioned by Carlsen last year as the one to watch out for. Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov (6 points) won the title by beating Gukesh (2.5) in the final round while Magnus Carlsen (4.5) finished seventh.

Notes:
Zambia’s Kafue National Park (KNP) is the third largest national park in Africa. New reports reveal that lion and leopard population in this region are rebounding, after 50 years of poaching.
Scientists found leopard densities in southern KNP increased threefold — from about 1.5 leopards in 2019 to approximately 4.4 leopards per 100 square kilometres in 2022. This was due to rigorous counter-poaching operations for four years.

Notes:
CL-20 is the most lethal non-nuclear explosive in existence. A research team in China have recently claimed that they have significantly enhanced the safety of this explosive by designing a five-fold boost to its shock resistance capacity.
Recently, Chinese defence researchers, with the help of 24 hypersonic projectiles, sank an entire US aircraft carrier cavalcade in the South China Sea.

Notes:
Pakistan’s annual inflation rate rose to 37.97% in May, the statistics bureau said, adding to its problems of a balance of payment crisis and the risk of a sovereign default.
In April, the bureau said Pakistan’s CPI at 36.5% was the highest recorded, and this is the national record for the second month in a row.

Notes:
On World Environment Day, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) unveiled a publication called the “Sustainable Green Airports Mission”.
This booklet highlights the sustainability measures undertaken by the AAI and becoming carbon neutral, in line with the Panchamrit goals declared by the Prime Minister of India at COP26.

Notes:
The Indian Navy will take part in a commemorative event at Pietermaritzburg Railway Station near Durban to mark the 130th anniversary of the anti-apartheid struggle.
INS Trishul will visit Durban to honor the incident and the 30-year re-establishment of diplomatic relations between India and South Africa.

Notes:
Out of the four states where locations for biosafety research trials (BRL) of genetically engineered (GE) cotton hybrids were selected, Haryana is the only one that has granted approval.
Telangana and Gujarat have declined to issue no objection certificates (NOC) for conducting the trials during the 2023-24 cropping season, while Maharashtra has not yet provided a response.