Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2023

Notes:
The Indian junior men’s hockey team defeated New Zealand 6-2 to enter the semifinals of the Sultan of Johor Cup. Indian player Amandeep Lakra hit a hat-trick.
The Sultan of Johor Cup is an annual, international under-21 men’s field hockey tournament held in Malaysia.

Notes:
The Group of Seven (G7) industrial nations officially adopted a code of conduct for companies involved in the development of advanced artificial intelligence systems.
Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) economies as well as the European Union, kicked off the process in May at a ministerial forum dubbed the ‘Hiroshima AI process’. The code aims to promote safe, secure, and trustworthy AI worldwide and will provide voluntary guidance for actions by organizations developing the most advanced AI systems.

Notes:
A research endeavor led by Japanese scientists and a team from the Japan Aerospace Space Agency (JAXA), has achieved the successful cultivation of mouse embryos aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
This significant experiment represents a pivotal stride in exploring the potential for human reproduction in the space environment.

Notes:
Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and Tel Aviv University, Israel, have developed an aerogel adsorbent that can remove trace pollutants from wastewater.
The aerogel is made of graphene-modified silica and can remove small particles and microorganisms from wastewater.

Notes:
The Central Railway has successfully implemented the Block Proving by Axle Counter (BPAC) system in the Vasind-Asangaon section of Mumbai Division.
This BPAC system plays a crucial role in ensuring the highest level of safety for train operations.

Notes:
According to a report from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) titled ‘The Impact of Disaster on Agriculture and Food Security,’ there has been a significant increase in the frequency of extreme disaster events over the past five decades.
In the 1970s, the world experienced approximately 100 disaster events per year. However, in the last two decades, that number has risen to around 400 disasters annually on a global scale. This trend highlights the growing challenges and risks that disasters pose to agriculture and food security worldwide.

Notes:
Lucy is a NASA space probe on a twelve-year journey to eight different asteroids. Lucy Spacecraft came within 430 kilometers of the small asteroid named Dinkinesh. Dinkinesh is less than 1 kilometer wide, making it so small that it is nearly imperceptible from Earth.
The first images returned by Lucy reveal that the small main belt asteroid Dinkinesh is actually a binary pair. The team estimates that the larger body is approximately 790 metres at its widest, while the smaller is about 220 metres in size.

Notes:
The report, titled ‘Hunger Hotspots’ for the period between November 2023 and April 2024, was published recently.
The new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) indicates that acute food insecurity is expected to deteriorate in 18 hunger hotspots until April 2024. These hotspots encompass 22 countries or territories, including two regional clusters.

Notes:
The Jharkhand state Cabinet has given its approval for the implementation of the Mukhya Mantri Ujjwal Jharkhand Yojana, with a budget allocation of Rs 1,485.39 crore.
This scheme aims to provide electricity to rural hamlets and households that currently lack access to electricity, as well as to cover the remaining unserved urban areas.

Notes:
Mundra Port in Gujarat became the first port in the country to handle 16 million metric tonnes (MMT) of cargo in a month in October 2023.
This was the highest volume ever handled by any port in India. Mundra Port is owned by the Adani Group and is the flagship of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ). It has a capacity to handle 338 MMT of cargo per year, which is the largest among all operational ports in India.