Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2023

Notes:
As per the recently released National Health Account (NHA) estimates report for India 2019-20, the share of Out-of-Pocket Expenditure (OOPE) in total Health Expenditure (THE) has declined from 62.6% to 47.1%.
The continuous decline in the OOPE in the overall health spending is observed to be in line with the increased public spending in health care, which show progress towards Universal Health Coverage in India.

Notes:
Spheroidal carbonaceous particle (SCP) is a component of fly ash and is a by-product of industrial high-temperature combustion of coal and fuel-oil.
Recently, researchers from British Antarctic Survey and the University College London, for the first time identified SCP in an Antarctic ice core. The sample dated back to 1936, indicating physical markers of fossil fuel combustion have been trapped in ice layers for decades.

Notes:
Mobile vaccine printer is an innovative technology developed by researchers at MIT. This small device is capable of producing hundreds of vaccine doses within a single day.
It has the potential to provide vital vaccines to individuals in remote regions who lack the required resources for conventional vaccine storage and transportation.

Notes:
Washington Declaration is a bilateral agreement that was recently signed between the US and South Korea.
According to this agreement, while South Korea will not develop its own nuclear weapons, the US will aid in the use of the nuclear weapons in case of potential conflict with North Korea.

Notes:
Quasars are short for “quasi-stellar radio sources”, and they were first discovered six decades ago. They are in supermassive black holes, at the centre of galaxies.
A quasar is an extremely luminous and powerful active galactic nucleus. According to a new study, the collision of two galaxies is likely to ignite a quasar.

Notes:
The twenty-second session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) will take place at United Nations Headquarters, New York.
United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is the largest annual gathering of indigenous people. The priority theme of the session is: “Indigenous Peoples, human health, planetary and territorial health and climate change: a rights-based approach”.

Notes:
Union Budget announced the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate (MSSC), a new small-savings scheme for women and was launched for investments from April 1, 2023. The interest rate on deposits made under this Program is 7.5% per year.
The Union Minister Smriti Irani opened the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate (MSSC) account recently.

Notes:
The Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) or bio-jet fuel is used to power aircraft with minimum carbon footprint.
Recently, the Indian Institute of Petroleum has tied up with Indigo, Spicejet and the three Tata Airlines to support the production of the SAF.

Notes:
A stalagmite is a mound of mineral sediments that forms upwards as a result of water dripping onto the cave floor.
Scientists, using a stalagmite from a cave near Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district, revealed that three droughts, which occurred 4,200 years ago, each lasting 20 to 90 years, resulted in the destruction of Harappa, Rakhigarhi and Dholavira.

Notes:
Hydrophone is a low-cost microphone designed to be used for recording or listening to underwater sound.
Researchers have used this instrument to record the sounds of marine organisms in coral reefs off the coast of south Goa to understand their behaviour.