Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2022

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’s Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry co-chaired the 19th ASEAN-India Economic Ministers’ meeting held in Siem Reap City, Cambodia.
The representatives from all 10 ASEAN countries Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam attended the meeting. The bilateral trade between ASEAN and India reached USD 91.5 billion in 2021 increasing by 39.2 per cent year-on-year.

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:
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:
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.

Notes:
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Cadet Corps (NCC) to tackle the issue of plastic pollution.
The aim is to achieve the universal goal of clean water bodies through ‘Puneet Sagar Abhiyan’ and ‘Tide Turners Plastic Challenge programme’. National Cadet Corps is the youth wing of the Indian Armed Forces with its headquarters in New Delhi.

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 National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has reappointed Dilip Asbe as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) of the company for a period of five years.
Dilip Asbe took over as MD&CEO of NPCI in January 2018. NPCI is an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India.

Notes:
The World Bank has approved a USD 350 million loan to Gujarat for spending towards public healthcare services, focussed specially on adolescent girls and disease surveillance.
The funding from World Bank arm International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), will be utilised through the state government’s Systems Reform Endeavours For Transformed Health Achievement In Gujarat (SRESTHA-G) Programme.

Notes:
The Indian Navy launched two indigenously designed and built Diving Support Vessels (DSVs) – Nistar and Nipun in Visakhapatnam.
The vessels were built by Hindustan Shipyard Ltd. The vessels have complex diving support systems and a Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSRV), which will be deployed for deep sea diving and submarine rescue operations.