Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2024

Notes:
South Korea plans a Mars landing by 2045, investing 100 trillion won ($72.6 billion) in space exploration. President Yoon Suk Yeol announced this at the launch of the Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA), which aims to boost South Korea into the top five space powers. KASA will support the aerospace industry, with the first lunar lander planned for 2032. South Korea also plans at least three more space launches by 2027.

Notes:
Indian researchers have recently uncovered a new ant species, Paraparatrechina neela, in Arunachal Pradesh’s remote Siang Valley. Belonging to the rare genus Paraparatrechina, this species is distinguished by its metallic blue color, reflected in its name “neela,” meaning blue in many Indian languages. It marks the first discovery of a new Paraparatrechina species in 121 years, showcasing its unique features like a subtriangular head and distinct coloration.

Notes:
In FY24, RBI relocated 100 metric tonnes of gold from the U.K. to Indian vaults in Mumbai and Nagpur. India’s gold reserves surged to 822 metric tonnes, with nearly 50% now stored domestically. RBI’s banknotes are secured by assets like gold, Government Securities, and Foreign Currency Assets, as per the RBI Act, 1934. The recent geopolitical tensions emphasized risks of storing gold abroad, exemplified by Western nations’ freezing of Russian assets.

Notes:
A recent river cleanup campaign, part of the PLEASE (Plastic Free Rivers and Seas of South Asia) program, removed 24,575 kg of waste from the Sunkoshi River and its banks. The Sunkoshi, also called the ‘river of gold,’ is in Nepal, forming part of the Koshi River system. Originating from the Zhangzangbo Glacier in Tibet, it joins the Ganga in Bihar, India, before emptying into the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh. It’s renowned for challenging rapids and popular for rafting in Nepal.

Notes:
An international study announced the discovery of living shallow-marine stromatolites on Sheybarah Island, Red Sea, Saudi Arabia. Stromatolites, sedimentary formations, are primarily created by photosynthetic microorganisms like cyanobacteria. Their surface layer hosts active microbes, while the underlying build-up resembles lithified remnants of past microbial communities. Stromatolites played a vital role in the Great Oxygenation Event, altering Earth’s atmosphere. The world’s largest living stromatolite system is found in Hamelin Pool.

Notes:
The Sundhnukagigar Volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted for the fifth time since December 2023. Iceland, known as the Land of Fire and Ice, sits on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where Eurasian and North American plates diverge, making it volcanically active. Hotspots, like the Reunion hotspot, and divergent plate margins, such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, contribute to volcanic activity. Volcanoes, vents in the Earth’s crust, release gases like water vapor, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide upon eruption.

Notes:
Poet and playwright Siddhalinga Pattanashetti has been awarded the prestigious Gudleppa Hallikeri Award for 2024 by the Gudleppa Hallikeri Memorial Foundation, Hosaritti (Haveri District). The announcement was made by Veeranna Chekki, senior trustee of the foundation. This 19th award presented on June 6, commemorating Gudleppa Hallikeri’s birth anniversary. Hallikeri (1906–1972) was a notable Indian freedom fighter from Karnataka, known for founding the Gandhi Grameena Gurukul and using nonviolent protests. He worked closely with Mahatma Gandhi and others for Karnataka’s unification, and a college in Haveri is named after him.

Notes:
Recent research identified a novel protein, “Neo,” crucial in bacterial defense against bacteriophages. Discovered by Stephen Tang and Samuel Sternberg in Klebsiella pneumoniae, Neo is part of the DRT-2 system. It involves rolling-circle reverse transcription of non-coding RNA, producing double-stranded cDNA upon phage infection. This cDNA generates mRNAs encoding the Neo protein, which induces bacterial cell dormancy, protecting the population from phage spread.

Notes:
The National Level Coordination Committee (NLCC) convened its inaugural meeting at the Ministry of Cooperation, New Delhi, to discuss the world’s largest grain storage plan. This initiative aims to bolster agricultural infrastructure at grassroots levels through the establishment of warehouses, processing units, and Fair Price Shops in Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS). It integrates various government schemes and is implemented by agencies like NCDC, NABARD, FCI, and CWC in collaboration with concerned States/UTs.

Notes:
The Prime Minister of Nepal marked the completion of the final blast of the Head Race Tunnel for the Arun-3 Hydro Electric Project. This 900 MW run-of-the-river hydropower initiative, situated on the Arun River in Eastern Nepal, utilizes flowing water for electricity generation without a large dam. Developed by SJVN Arun-III Power Development Company, a subsidiary of India’s Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam, it operates on a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer basis, benefitting both countries.