Current Affairs Quiz - May 2022

Notes:
As per the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a higher ‘Species threat abatement and restoration (STAR)’ score indicates greater presence of threatened species.
India’s total national STAR score was 41,817, of which 11,585 was for mammals, 10,843 for birds and 19,389 for amphibians. Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka host 51 per cent of the country’s STAR score. India’s national STAR score represented 3.4 per cent of the global STAR.

Notes:
‘Whitely Gold Award’ is annually awarded to people in recognition of their outstanding contribution to conservation.
Charudutt Mishra, a snow leopard conservationist, was awarded the Whitely Gold Award in 2022, for his efforts to involve local communities in conserving snow leopards. He had won the award in 2005. Mishra is also the first international Executive Director of the Snow Leopard Trust (SLT). He also helped establish the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Programme.

Notes:
According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Finance, the government will soon issue a commemorative coin of Rs 100 denomination to mark the birth centenary of Jawaharlal Darda.
Born in 1923, he was a former Congress leader and founder of the Lokmat group of newspapers. The successful businessman and also served as a Minister in Maharashtra for several terms. He passed away in 1997.

Notes:
Sports journalism will step into its 100th year of existence in Assam. On July 1, 1923, the first ever sports news on football match from Sivasagar was published in the weekly magazine named ‘Asomiya’, published by Chandra Kumar Agarwalla.
The Assam Sports Journalists Association (ASJA) has decided to celebrate the occasion with a year-long programme.

Notes:
Reserve Bank of India (Credit Card and Debit Card – Issuance and Conduct) Directions, 2022 was released recently by the RBI.
Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) with a net worth of Rs. 100 crores can issue credit cards. Regional Rural Banks need to collaborate with other banks. Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) and NBFCs registered with the Reserve Bank with a net worth of more than Rs. 100 crores can issue cards subject to certain guidelines.

 

Notes:
Sai Divya, research scholar in Satellite Communications from Andhra Pradesh has developed CubeSat LakshyaSAT, a research nano-satellite.
After she sent the prototype of the Cubesat to the UK, B2Space Company launched the satellite. The CubeSat model, placed inside a space box platform, was sent to the stratosphere to collect various parameters of the stratosphere using a high altitude balloon.

Notes:
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Bombay) has partnered with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) to develop climate solutions at village, city and district level.
The collaboration will help IIT-B to develop sensors and drone-based smart monitoring systems, climate-smart agriculture technology, intelligent early warning systems, wind energy and heat wave forecasts among others.

Notes:
Harshada Sharad Garud made history by becoming the first Indian to win a gold medal in Weightlifting, at the IWF Junior World Championships at Heraklion in Greece.
She lifted 153-kilogram in the 45-kilogram weight category, to finish on top of the podium. Before the 18-year old sportsperson, there are only two Indians to win a medal in IWF Junior World Championships. Mirabai Chanu had won a bronze in 2013 and Achinta Sheuli won a silver medal last year.

Notes:
Due to food poisoning, a 16-year-old died and 40 others were hospitalised in Kerala. As per the district medical officer, the severe food poisoning was caused by a bacterium called ‘Shigella’.
This pathogen can cause intestinal infection which is contagious and can spread through contaminated food or water. The primary symptoms for the infection is diarrhoea and can be accompanied by stomach pain, fever, vomiting.

Notes:
The Kadiri-Lepakshi 1812 is a new variety of groundnut seed, which is said to be drought-resistant and can also withstand inundation.
The acreage of the groundnut crop has witnessed a drastic decline in the country, leading to a severe scarcity of edible vegetable oils in the market. The decline was due to extreme weather incidents and falling productivity of Kadiri-6 variety that is supplied on subsidy by the Andhra Pradesh government.