Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2022

Notes:
The International Equal Pay Day is observed annually to highlight gender pay gap. It is a United Nations-recognized event that falls on September 18.
International Equal Pay Day was first observed back in 1996 by the National Committee on Pay Equity. The main aim of the event is to end the history of gender discrimination that women are facing across the world.

Notes:
Tropical Cyclone Fiona strengthened into a hurricane as it hit Puerto Rico, a Caribbean island and unincorporated U.S. territory.
The National Weather Service warned that the Blanco River in the southeast coastal town of Naguabo had surpassed its banks and urged people living nearby to move immediately.

Notes:
The 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 77) was inaugurated recently in New York followed by the High-Level Week
The UN General Assembly (UNGA) is the main policy-making organ of the United Nations. This year’s theme is ‘A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges’ with focus on crises such as COVID-19, climate change and conflict and need for solutions to build global sustainability and resilience.

Notes:
The Ethereum crypto-currency has announced a shift of its consensus algorithm from proof-of-work (PoW) to environment-friendly proof-of-stake (PoS).
With this event called ‘The Merge’, the energy used to maintain the whole Ethereum network will drop by 99.9 percent, which will result in a 0.2 percent decrease in world electricity use.

Notes:
Union Minister of Education and Skill Development Dharmendra Pradhan launched the SCALE (Skill Certification Assessment for Leather Employees) app.
It provides a one-stop solution for skilling, learning, assessment, and employment needs of the leather industry. He launched the application during a visit to CSIR-Central Leather Research Institute, Chennai.

Notes:
India’s Presidency of the prestigious Asia-pacific Institute of Broadcasting Development, AIBD has been extended for one more year.
This was decided by the AIBD member countries at the two-day General Conference held in New Delhi. At present, CEO of Prasar Bharati and Director General of Doordarshan- Mayank Kumar Agrawal is the President of AIBD.  Malaysia-based AIBD was established in 1977 as a regional inter-governmental organisation of UN-ESCAP.

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:
US Senate recently ratified Kigali Amendment to the 1987 Montreal Protocol on ozone pollution, to limit use of refrigerants.
The international agreement requires participating nations to phase down production and use of hydrofluorocarbons, also known as HFCs, by 85% over the next 14 years. More than 130 countries, including China, India and Russia, have formally ratified the agreement.

Notes:
Indian IT major Wipro has terminated the services of 300 employees, who were found to be working for its competitors simultaneously.
The act is also called as ‘Moonlighting’. Companies worry that this practice might create a conflict of interests, data breaches, and mis-use of company’s Intellectual Property (IP) and assets.

Notes:
The Union Government has formed a five-member committee to consider a legally enforceable mechanism for regulating the marketing practices of pharmaceutical firms.
It is chaired by V K Paul, member (health) of NITI Aayog. At present, the publicity and promotion made by pharma companies is supervised under Uniform Code of Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP), the Indian Medical Council Regulations, 2002, and by the Central Board of Direct Tax.