Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2022

Notes:
A Beijing-based gene firm successfully cloned a wild Arctic wolf for the first time in the world. The wild Arctic wolf is also called as the white wolf or polar wolf.
The animal is native to the High Arctic tundra of Canada’s Queen Elizabeth Islands. The cloning is regarded as a milestone achievement in conserving rare and endangered species. Maya’s donor cell came from skin sample of wild female Arctic wolf, while its oocyte came from a female dog. Maya’s surrogate mother is a beagle dog.

Notes:
World Alzheimer’s Day is being observed on September 21. This year the theme for world Alzheimer’s month 2022 is ‘Know dementia, Know Alzheimer’s’.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. It is a progressive brain disease which results in loss of memory and thinking skills. It destroys the brain cells leading to memory loss, memory changes, erratic behaviour, and loss of body functions.

Notes:
Kazakhstan is set to host Conference on Confidence Building Measures and Interaction in Asia (CICA) Summit in capital Astana.
The country has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the CICA Summit. This year’s summit, which is to be held in the year of the 30th anniversary of CICA, will give Central Asian countries an opportunity to expand ties with India. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee attended the first CICA Summit in July 2002 in Kazakhstan.

Notes:
‘India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI)’ is a hypertension intervention under the National Health Mission of India. It is a collaborative initiative of Union Health Ministry, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), state governments and World Health Organization-India.
IHCI won the ‘2022 UN Interagency Task Force and WHO Special Programme on Primary Health Care Award’ was announced at the UN General Assembly side event.

Notes:
The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal announced recently that India’s longest river cruise service for over 4,000 km will start in 2023.
The river cruise service will be operated between Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Bogibeel in Assam. The route will connect rivers Ganga and Brahmaputra via Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBRP). The Union Minister also inaugurated Bogibeel Riverfront Passenger Jetty built by Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR).

Notes:
Defence Accounts Department (DAD) signed a memorandum of understanding with Bank of Baroda and HDFC Bank, to onboard them as Service Centres under the System for Pension Administration (SPARSH) initiative.
The MoU will onboard around 8000 branches of Bank of Baroda and 6000 branches of HDFC Bank as Service Centres to provide last mile connectivity to pensioners.

Notes:
New York topped latest rankings from the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) and remained as the world’s most favoured financial centre for fourth year.
London retains its second position while Singapore overtook Hong Kong to come in third. Paris returned to the top 10 to replace Tokyo. However Moscow was pushed down 22 places to 73rd after its invasion of Ukraine and resultant severing of ties from Western countries. GFCI is compiled by Z/Yen, a London-based think tank and China Development Institute.

Notes:
World Rhino Day is celebrated every year on September 22 to raise awareness about the five rhino species including the greater one-horned rhino, Sumatran rhino, Javan rhino, black rhino and white rhino.
The theme for this year’s World Rhino Day is ‘Five Rhino Species Forever.’ The rhino species is on the verge of extinction due to poaching, climate change and disturbance in the natural habitat.

Notes:
Central Public Sector Enterprise- REC Limited, formerly called as the Rural Electrification Corporation has been accorded the ‘Maharatna’ status.
An order to this effect was issued by the Department of Public Enterprises, under the Ministry of Finance. REC is a Non-banking Finance Company which focuses on Power Sector Financing and Development across India. With the grant of ‘Maharatna’ status, REC can also enter into technology Joint Ventures or other strategic alliances.

Notes:
The Rajasthan Assembly recently passed the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2022.
The bill proposes that the registration of companies would not be cancelled even if they fail to file the return for six months. Input Credit Tax has been reformed in the Bill, which also seek to start the system of issuing credit notes.