Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2023

Notes:
The COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) has secured three new licensing agreements via the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP). Launched in May 2020 with WHO and Costa Rica’s collaboration, backed by 44 Member States, UN agencies, and partners like MPP, C-TAP operates under the Solidarity call to action. Its mission is to facilitate the voluntary sharing of intellectual property, knowledge, and data among developers of COVID-19 treatments, diagnostics, vaccines, and health products. This initiative aims to expedite technological advancements and enhance global production capacity to combat the pandemic.

Notes:
Mexico’s Supreme Court has made a decision by ruling that all federal criminal penalties for abortion are unconstitutional, effectively decriminalizing abortion across the country.
This decision does not automatically guarantee access to abortion for all Mexican women, as the country has a federal system with varying state laws. Some 20 Mexican states still criminalize abortion, necessitating further legal efforts to remove penalties and ensure access.

Notes:
The Directorate of Prisons in Odisha has submitted a proposal to attach GPS-enabled tracking/monitoring devices to the ankles of undertrial prisoners (UTPs).
The potential first-of-its-kind policy in India aims to ease overcrowding in prisons, a long-standing issue in the country. The proposal focuses on attaching tracking devices to undertrial prisoners accused of non-heinous crimes to allow them to lead normal lives outside of jail while being monitored.

Notes:
Divya Deshmukh recently clinched the women’s rapid title at the Tata Steel Chess India tournament.
The 17-year-old chess player from Nagpur earned the title of woman grandmaster in the year 2021 at the age of 15. She won the Asian Women’s Chess Championships title this year. She is currently ranked 7th in the list of the nation’s women’s players.

Notes:
India, under its G20 presidency, has introduced two initiatives that have gained consensus within the G20 Agriculture Deputies Group.
The first initiative is the “Deccan High-Level Principles on Food Security and Nutrition, 2023,” and the second is an international research initiative focused on millets and ancient grains. Both initiatives are expected to feature prominently in the G20 outcome document.

Notes:
The Department of Consumer Affairs has invited public feedback on the Draft Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns.
Dark patterns are deceptive design practices used to manipulate user behavior. The guidelines define dark patterns, such as “False Urgency” and “Confirm shaming,” and aim to prevent practices that mislead or deceive consumers. They seek to ensure transparency, protect consumer interests, and promote fairness in the digital marketplace.

Notes:
The Durand Cup is associated with Football. Recently, Mohun Bagan clinched the Durand Cup 2023 trophy beating East Bengal at Kolkata. This is the 132nd Durand Cup tournament and Mohun Bagan team has won the trophy after 23 years.
With this victory, Mohun Bagan SG became the first team in the history of Durand Cup to win 17 titles.

Notes:
The G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration has underscored the importance of women’s empowerment, with a particular focus on bridging the digital gender divide.
The declaration announced the creation of a new ‘Working Group on Empowerment of Women’ to support the G20 Women’s Ministerial, with its first meeting scheduled during Brazil’s G20 presidency. The declaration also calls for regulatory policy frameworks that enable women and girls to actively participate in national digital strategies.

Notes:
The Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, Chief of the Indian Air Force, has received the first C-295 transport plane for India from global aircraft manufacturer Airbus at a facility in Seville, Spain.
India has contracted 56 of these planes, with 16 being manufactured in Spain and the remaining 40 produced by a Tata-Airbus joint venture in Vadodara, Gujarat.

Notes:
The Uttar Pradesh State Institute of Education (SIE) has come up with a first-of-its-kind dialects dictionary containing 76,000 words in regional dialects/languages of the State like Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Braj and Bundelkhandi.
This initiative aims to conserve regional dialects of the State and also aims to remove linguistic barriers across various parts of the state.