Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2022

Notes:
India is set to host of the Governing Body session of ‘International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture’ (ITPGRFA).
The pact, which came in force in 2004, has been ratified by 149 countries. Member countries at the New Delhi summit of ITPGRFA are likely to reach a consensus on benefit-sharing of germ plasm which will provide access to better quality seeds.

Notes:
Poland has recently opened a new canal for ships to sail from Baltic Sea to Vistula Lagoon ports. The waterway is expected to give full sovereignty in the northeastern region of Poland.
The new canal would also mean that ships no longer must secure Russia’s permission to sail from the Baltic Sea to the ports of the Vistula Lagoon.

Notes:
Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh recently launched a web portal named ‘CM Da Haisi’ (Inform to CM).
It seeks to receive complaints and grievances from the general public. The complainants can also check the status of their complaints. The Public Grievances Redressal and Anti-Corruption Cell at CM Secretariat will also use the portal to collaborate with the concerned departments.

Notes:
As per recent data, as many as 1,703 Corporate Insolvency Resolution Processes (CIRPs) ended up in liquidation orders till June 2022. The processes took an average of 428 days for liquidation.
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has amended regulations to allow sale of one or more assets of an entity undergoing insolvency resolution process. The amendments aim to provide better market-linked solutions for stressed companies.

Notes:
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has unveiled a detailed framework for Social Stock Exchange (SSE).
It specifies minimum requirements for a Not-for-Profit Organisation (NPO) for registration and disclosure requirements. The capital markets regulator SEBI earlier notified rules for Social Stock Exchange (SSE) to provide social enterprises with an additional avenue to raise funds.

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:
The Ministry of Tourism had identified 15 tourist circuits under its Swadesh Darshan scheme including Ramayana Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Coastal Circuit and Desert Circuit among others.
Union Tourism and Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy announced a special tourist train to cover the ‘Ambedkar Circuit’. The train will visit key sites associated with Dr BR Ambedkar including Mhow (his birthplace called Dr. Ambedkar Nagar in Indore), London (where he resided and studied), Nagpur (also studied here), Delhi (where he passed away) and finally Mumbai (where he was cremated.)

Notes:
The Appointments committee of the Cabinet appointed Rajiv Bahl- a senior World Health Organisation researcher- as the Director General of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Bahl is the head of research on maternal and newborn child, adolescent health and aging at the World Health Organisation (WHO). He will also be the Secretary, department of health research (DHR). Prior to joining WHO, he was a Senior Scientist at the AIIMS for 10 years.

Notes:
Dorna Sports, the international organiser of MotoGP, signed a MoU with Fairstreet Sports, promoters of the race in India.
The ‘Grand Prix of Bharat’ is scheduled to be held in 2023 at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida. The international motorcycling federation (FIM) publishes the calendar of Grandprix events every year.

Notes:
Indian author and poet Meena Kandasamy has been announced as this year’s recipient of the Hermann Kesten Prize by the PEN Centre in Germany.
The Hermann Kesten Prize honours personalities who stand up for the rights of persecuted authors and journalists. Her notable works include The Gypsy Goddess, When I Hit You: Or, A Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife, Ayaankali, Tamil Tigresses and poems such as Touch, and Ms Militancy.