Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2024

Notes:
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and the Australian Government held a roundtable to review the Australia-India Critical Agriculture Skills Pilot Project. Led by Shri Atul Kumar Tiwari and Mr. Mathew Johnston, the discussion focused on scaling and replicating the initiative. Representatives from NCVET, NSDC, ICAR, MoE, and ASCI attended. The project, initiated last March, identified five critical agriculture job roles through extensive consultations with 89 experts from 64 organizations.

Notes:
Olympic Day is celebrated worldwide on June 23, marking the foundation of the International Olympic Committee in Paris in 1894. Proposed by Dr. Josef Gruss in 1947, the first Olympic Day was celebrated in 1948. The 2024 theme, “Let’s Move and Celebrate,” encourages global participation in sports. The 33rd Summer Olympics will be held in Paris from July 26 to August 11, 2024.

Notes:
Sreeja Akula of Hyderabad made history as the first Indian table tennis player to clinch a WTT Contender singles title and also secured the doubles title at WTT Contender Lagos 2024. The event, held in Lagos, Nigeria, from June 19 to 23, offered a prize of USD 80,000. Sreeja defeated China’s Yijie Ding 4-1 in the singles final, showcasing her prowess ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics where she has already qualified.

Notes:
Tamluk, located in West Bengal, was a significant ancient city known as Tamralipta or Tamralipti. It served as the capital of the Suhma kingdom and later the Pala Empire during the 7th to 9th centuries CE. Excavations have revealed remnants of the ancient town Chandraketugarh. Today, Tamluk is renowned for its production and export of paan (betel leaf), shedding light on its historical trade importance in Indian kingdoms.

Notes:
Om Birla has been re-elected as Speaker of the Lok Sabha, defeating opposition candidate K Suresh in the first test of strength for the new Modi government. This marks Birla’s second term as Speaker, making him the sixth person to hold the position twice.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs is testing eSakshya, a mobile app developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. It aids police in recording crime scenes and uploading evidence to a cloud-based platform. Each recording can be up to four minutes long, with multiple files per First Information Report (FIR). The app aims to ensure digital evidence integrity, crucial for new criminal laws to prevent potential legal loopholes.

Notes:
India, the largest remittance recipient globally, is expected to receive 124 billion in inward remittances in 2024 and 129 billion in 2025. In 2023, India received $120 billion, marking a 7.5% growth rate, projected to be 3.7% in 2024. The World Bank’s June 2024 Migration and Development Brief highlights these trends, noting India as the leading emigrant origin country with 18.7 million emigrants.

Notes:
The Ministry of Mines launched the Scheme for Partial Reimbursement of Exploration Expenses to accelerate mineral exploration and reduce costs. The scheme offers 50% reimbursement, up to Rs 20 crore, for exploration expenses. This cap increases to Rs 24 crore if a G2 block is auctioned within three years. Funded by the Rs 5,000 crore NMET, recipients must repay the amount over ten years from production start or within one month of receiving lump sum payments.

Notes:
South Korea, the US, and Japan launched their inaugural trilateral multi-domain exercise, Freedom Edge, on South Korea’s Jeju Island. The three-day exercise aims to enhance security cooperation amid North Korea’s strengthened ties with Russia. Activities include ballistic missile defense, air defense, antisubmarine warfare, search and rescue, maritime interdiction, and defensive cyber training. This follows a recent summit where North Korea and Russia signed a strategic partnership treaty, including military support clauses.

Notes:
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has launched the AI Preparedness Index (AIPI) Dashboard, ranking 174 countries on their readiness to adopt AI technologies. Categories include Low-Income Countries (LIC), Emerging Market Economies (EM), and Advanced Economies (AE). Singapore, Denmark, and the United States lead the AE category, while India, an EM, ranks 72nd with a score of 0.49. China ranks 31st with a score of 0.63, reflecting its higher readiness compared to neighboring countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.