Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2022

Notes:
A new edible catfish species has been discovered in the river Cauvery near Mettur Dam named Pangasius icaria ( P. icaria).
As per Indian Council of Agricultural Research, which discovered the species, it belongs to the Pangasius genus. For nearly two centuries Pangasius is represented by one species in India as well as South Asia and is called Pangasius Pangasius.

Notes:
In the category of best performing states in ‘Swachh Survekshan Awards 2022’, Indore was declared the cleanest city for sixth time in a row. It is followed by Surat and Navi Mumbai.
In the state category, Madhya Pradesh secured the first position, followed by Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. The 7th edition of Swachh Survekshan was conducted to study the progress of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) and rank Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) based on various cleanliness and sanitation parameters.

Notes:
Russia’s Vladimir Putin will annex four more areas of Ukraine to Russia, after referendums were held in Luhansk and Donetsk in the east, and in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in the south.
Russia’s annexation of Crimea was undertaken in 2014. The US has announced that it will impose sanctions on Russia because of the staged referendums.

Notes:
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Odisha state government to sanction budgetary allocation of Rs 4967 lakh towards rejuvenation of Sukapaika Drainage Channel project by March 2023.
The NGT directed to rejuvenate the dead river, to mitigate the drinking water crisis of at least three blocks of Cuttack district.

Notes:
In October 2021, RBI announced the scale-based NBFC regulation, which has four layers: base layer, middle layer, upper layer and top layer.
Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released a list of 16 upper layer non-banking finance companies (NBFC-ULs) that must adhere to enhanced regulation. It includes LIC Housing Finance, Bajaj Finance, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services, Shriram Transport among others.

Notes:
Tesla CEO Elon Musk presented a prototype humanoid robot named ‘Optimus’ that shares artificial intelligence software and sensors with its cars’ Autopilot driver assistance features.
The Optimus robot is designed for mass production in millions of units. It carries a 2.3kWh battery pack, runs on a Tesla SoC, and contains Wi-Fi and LTE connectivity. The human-like hands with ‘Biologically Inspired Design’ will make them suitable for picking up objects of various shapes and sizes, holding a bag, and containing a precision grip on small parts.

Notes:
In 2021-22, India is the world’s largest producer and consumer of sugar as well as the world’s second largest exporter of sugar.
India’s sugar exports rose 57 per cent to 109.8 lakh tonnes during 2021-22 marketing year which ended September. This resulted in foreign currency inflow worth about Rs 40,000 crore into the country.

Notes:
The Baltic Pipe natural gas pipeline was officially opened at a ceremony in Szczecin, Poland. The project was initiated by Poland in 2016 following the Crimean War, which triggered an energy crisis.
Leaders from Poland, Norway and Denmark attended the ceremony for launch of the gas transmission system, which is expected to end Poland and Europe’s dependency on Russian gas. The 900-kilometer pipeline will transport natural gas from Norway via Denmark and through Baltic Sea to Poland.

Notes:
National Payments Corporation of India and Central Bank Of Oman signed a MoU to launch the Rupay debit card in Oman.
As per the Embassy of India in Oman, there are about 6,24,000 Indians in Oman. At present, the UAE, Bhutan and Singapore have accepted RuPay-based cards and UPI in the country, and Nepal has allowed usage of RuPay cards.

Notes:
French author Annie Ernaux has been announced as the winner of the 2022 Nobel Prize in literature. The 82-year old writer is known for her novels drawing on personal experience of class and gender.
Over 20 books authored by Annie Ernaux have been school texts in France for decades. One of the contenders for the literature prize this year was the India-born writer and free-speech advocate Salman Rushdie.