Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2022

Notes:
Union Education Ministry has recently signed MoU with FIFA and AIFF for implementing ‘Football4Schools’ initiative in India.
‘Football4Schools’ program is expected to be a positive tool to inspire children and ensure their holistic development, by main-streaming sports along with studies.

Notes:
Indian Agriculture Research Institute has successfully tested two new dwarf varieties: Pusa Narendra Kalanamak 1638 and Pusa Narendra Kalanamak 1652, in Uttar Pradesh.
Kalanamak, a traditional variety of paddy with a black husk and a strong fragrance. It is considered a gift from Lord Buddha to the people of the Sravasti. It is grown in 11 districts of the Terai region of Uttar Pradesh and in Nepal. The crop was affected by ‘lodging’ condition, while the new dwarf variety seeks to give double the yield.

Notes:
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has invited stakeholder comments on the proposed new common ITR form.
At present, taxpayers are required to furnish their Income-tax Returns in various forms including ITR-1 to ITR-7 depending upon the type of person and nature of income.  The draft proposes to introduce a common ITR by merging all the existing returns of income except ITR-7.

Notes:
The Ministry of Education has released the Performance Grading Index (PGI) for States and Union Territories for 2020-21.
The index has evidence-based comprehensive analysis of school education systems across States and UTs. A total of seven States and UTs namely Kerala, Punjab, Chandigarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh have attained Level -2 grading in 2020-21. PGI 2020-21 classified the States and UTs into ten grades of which the highest achievable Grade is Level 1.

Notes:
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in collaboration with the state government of Kerala is organising the 15th Urban Mobility India (UMI) Conference and Expo 2022 in Kochi.
The primary objective of the conference is to spread information to the cities, to help them keep up-to-date with latest and best urban transport practices globally. Senior officers from Central and State Governments policy makers, Managing Directors of Metro Rail Companies, Chief Executives of transport undertakings will participate in this event.

Notes:
China has released plans to further expand the global reach of its home-grown Beidou satellite navigation system.
It is named as the country’s alternative to America’s Global Positioning System (GPS). Beidou set up a first of three Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) for its network in Thailand in the year 2013.

Notes:
Adani New Industries has installed India’s largest Wind Turbine Generator (WTG) at Mundra in Gujarat. The turbine is said to be taller than Statue of Unity (182 meters).
The turbine has been installed by Mundra Windtech Ltd (MWL), a wholly-owned subsidiary incorporated by Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL).

Notes:
Indian men’s team clinched their first-ever gold at the Asian Squash Team Championships. They defeated Kuwait in the final in straight sets in Cheongju, South Korea.
Indian squash players Saurav Ghoshal and Ramit Tandon won their games in the final. Previously, the Indian team had won 2014 Asian Games Gold. Hong Kong defeated Malaysia to win the women’s Asian Team Championship title for the fourth time this millennium.

Notes:
Grama Vandi, the city circular service of the Kerala Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) won the national ‘Commentation Award in Urban Transport’ in the category of ‘City with the best Public Transport System’.
The ‘Grama Vandi’ was launched in association with local self-government institutions in the State. It also won the Award of Excellence in Urban Transport at the Urban Mobility India (UMI) conference, held in Kochi.

Notes:
‘Ezhuthachan Puraskaram’ is the Kerala state government’s highest literary honour, named after Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan, a 16th century devotional poet.
This year, Noted Malayalam fiction writer Sethu has been selected for the Ezhuthachan Award 2022, in recognition of his overall contribution to Malayalam language and literature. The writer is also a recipient of the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award and Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award.