Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2024

Notes:
The TRISHNA mission, a collaboration between ISRO and CNES, aims to monitor surface temperature and water management globally. Its objectives include detailed monitoring of energy and water budgets, assessing urban heat islands, and detecting thermal anomalies. The mission features two primary payloads: CNES’s Thermal Infra-Red sensor and ISRO’s VNIR-SWIR payload. Operating in a sun-synchronous orbit, TRISHNA will significantly enhance climate monitoring and urban planning over its 5-year operational life.

Notes:
Peru and Slovakia became the most recent countries to sign the Artemis Accords, bringing the total number of signatory nations to 42. The Artemis Accords are a set of non-binding principles that outline a framework for peaceful cooperation in space and on the moon. They are based on the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 and are intended to guide civil space exploration and use in the 21st century. The accords reinforce the commitment of signatory nations to best practices and norms of responsible behavior, such as the public release of scientific data.

Notes:
Independent advisers to the US FDA unanimously determined that the benefits of the new Alzheimer’s drug, Donanemab, outweigh its risks. Similar to Lecanemab, Donanemab targets amyloid beta plaques, showing a 35.1% cognitive decline reduction in early-stage patients over 76 weeks. While it doesn’t cure Alzheimer’s, it slows progression. FDA concerns initially delayed approval due to side effects like brain swelling. India faces a growing Alzheimer’s challenge with inadequate national planning.

Notes:
Chief Minister Pema Khandu was sworn in for a third consecutive term on June 13, 2024, at the DK State Convention Centre in Itanagar. He announced that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s election manifesto will guide Arunachal Pradesh’s new government for the next five years. Additionally, his Council of Ministers will meet to outline a development roadmap within the first 100 days of their tenure.

Notes:
Researchers have discovered a new great ape species, Buronius manfredschmidi, from approximately 11.6 million years ago during the late Miocene Epoch. This diminutive ape, weighing around 10 kilograms, is the smallest known great ape. The discovery enhances our understanding of ancient ape diversity in Europe and their ecological interactions.

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The NCRB has launched the “NCRB Sankalan of Criminal Laws” mobile app to provide comprehensive information on new criminal laws, effective from next month. The app compiles the Bharatiya Nayaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, with features like chapter and section indexing, old-to-new law comparison charts, and offline functionality. Available on Google Play and Apple App Store, it benefits the public, court officers, advocates, law students, and police officers.

Notes:
South America’s Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetland spanning Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay, faces severe wildfires. This UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve is crucial for its biodiversity, including jaguars and caimans. With less than 5% protected, threats like cattle grazing and pollution from waste and pesticides endanger its ecosystem.

Notes:
The Ministry of Finance issued guidelines for arbitration and mediation in domestic public procurement contracts to streamline dispute resolution for government entities. Key points include avoiding automatic arbitration in large contracts, restricting arbitration to disputes under Rs. 10 crores, preferring institutional arbitration, and adopting mediation for high-value matters. Arbitration is a quasi-judicial ADR process governed by the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, and mediation follows the Mediation Act, 2023.

Notes:
Shruti Vora, a 53-year-old from Kolkata, became the first Indian to win a three-star Grand Prix event in equestrian. She triumphed in the CDI-3 event at the FEI Dressage World Cup in Lipica, Slovenia, on June 7, 2024, scoring 67.761 points on her horse Magnanimous. Vora has previously represented India in the 2022 Dressage World Championships and the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games.

Notes:
Efforts are underway to relocate two tigresses and one tiger to retain four tigers in Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR), located in Jharkhand’s Chhota Nagpur plateau. Part of Betla National Park, PTR is among India’s first nine tiger reserves under ‘Project Tiger’ and conducted the first-ever tiger census in 1932. The reserve features diverse terrain, rich in minerals like bauxite and coal, and includes rivers North Koyal, Auranga, and Burha.