Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2024

Notes:
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) approved the resumption of the big cat relocation project in Satkosia Tiger Reserve, Odisha, after a four-and-a-half-year suspension. Satkosia Tiger Reserve is located in Odisha, spanning four districts: Angul, Cuttack, Boudh, and Nayagarh. It covers 1,136.70 sq. km., with a core area of 523.61 sq. km., and is part of the Mahanadi Elephant Reserve. The reserve is a meeting point of the Deccan Peninsula and Eastern Ghats regions. The terrain is hilly with slopes and valleys; the Mahanadi River flows through it.

Notes:
Oceanographers found a new seamount on the Nazca Ridge, 900 miles off Chile’s coast. Nazca Ridge is a submarine ridge in the southeastern Pacific Ocean near South America. It is around 1,100 kilometers long and varies in width. The ridge starts at the Nazca Plate off Peru and extends southwest towards Easter Island, Chile. It was created by volcanic activity from a hotspot in the Earth’s mantle. The ridge consists of unusually thick basaltic ocean crust.
It is tectonically active, subducting beneath the South American Plate at the Peru-Chile Trench.

Notes:
The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet approved a new social media policy to regulate content on platforms like Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube. Social media influencers can earn up to ₹8 lakh per month by promoting government schemes. The policy aims to create job opportunities for residents within the state and those living elsewhere. Platforms are divided into four categories based on followers for payouts. Maximum monthly payouts range from ₹2 lakh to ₹8 lakh depending on the platform and content type. A digital agency named ‘V-Form’ will manage government advertisements. The policy includes guidelines for handling objectionable content, targeting anti-national, anti-social, fake news, or inflammatory posts.

Notes:
Poachers killed two chitals in Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) and stole a rifle from a forest guard. It is located in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri, and Bahraich districts. It lies near the India-Nepal border, in the foothills of the Himalayas and the Terai plains. The Gomti River originates from Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, with other rivers like Sharda also flowing through it. The reserve has a North Indian moist deciduous type of vegetation. It experiences a hot and dry climate with dry teak forests. Chitals, common in Indian forests, inhabit subtropical grasslands and forests across South Asia.

Notes:
Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Vishnu Dev Sahay announced that on September 2, during the Tija-Pora festival, he will release the 7th installment of the Mahtari Vandan Scheme. The scheme will provide Rs. 1,000 each to 7 million eligible women. Eligibility includes Chhattisgarh residents aged 21+ as of January 1, 2024, including married, widowed, divorced, or abandoned women, excluding income taxpayers and government employees. Tija-Pora celebrates the role of bulls and buffaloes in farming, marking the end of the agricultural season. The Government of Chhattisgarh introduced the Mahtari Vandana Yojana to provide financial aid to women in need. The scheme was initiated by the Prime Minister of India. It aims to support women in Chhattisgarh by offering financial benefits to those who qualify.

Notes:
The 2024 edition of Indo-French bilateral naval ‘Exercise Varuna’ held in the Mediterranean Sea from September 2-4, 2024, involving advanced tactical exercises. The Indian Navy’s P-8I aircraft landed at Air Base 125 Istres-Le Tube in France for its first-ever European deployment. This was for the 22nd edition of Exercise Varuna with the French Navy. The last time an Indian Navy aircraft flew in France was 63 years ago when the Alize aircraft from INS Vikrant operated at Hyeres Airbase. The India-France naval exercise began in 1993, was named ‘Varuna’ in 2001, and reflects a strong strategic partnership between the two countries.

Notes:
Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly introduced Zero Hour for the first time in its proceedings. Zero Hour, an Indian parliamentary invention from the Sixties, is gradually being adopted by state assemblies. It is a convention, not a rule, and is not mentioned in the rules of Parliament or State Assemblies. Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker, Kuldeep Singh Pathania, announced its introduction at the start of the monsoon session on 3 September 2024. Zero Hour begins at 12:30 PM, after the Question Hour, and lasts for 30 minutes. During Zero Hour, members can raise urgent matters of public importance, with each member getting about a minute to speak.

Notes:
Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan recorded the highest growth in real Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) in FY24 among the 10 largest states. Telangana, the ninth largest state, grew at 9.2%, reaching ₹7.9 lakh crore, surpassing national GDP growth of 8.2%. Tamil Nadu, the third largest state, saw an 8.2% growth, reaching ₹15.7 lakh crore. Rajasthan, the seventh largest state, grew by 8%. GSDP measures the total value of all goods and services produced within a state’s boundaries in a year. GSDP is crucial for understanding a state’s economic growth and development trends over time.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Textiles launched the VisioNxt web portal to make India a global fashion leader. The portal provides real-time, India-specific fashion trend insights, reducing reliance on foreign forecasting agencies. It was launched by Union Minister Giriraj Singh on 5 September 2024 in New Delhi. The India-specific Fashion Trend Book ‘Paridhi 24×25’ was also unveiled at the event. The VisioNxt portal was developed by the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT). Located at NIFT Chennai, VisioNxt uses AI and emotional intelligence, with a prediction model called “DeepVision” to interpret Indian fashion trends.

Notes:
The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry set a target of 500 million tonnes of steel production by 2034 at the 5th ISA Steel Conclave. India is the second-largest producer of crude steel, surpassing Japan in 2018. In FY24, India produced 143.6 million tonnes (MT) of crude steel and 138.5 MT of finished steel. India’s finished steel consumption rose to 138.5 MT in FY24, up from 119.17 MT in FY23. In FY24, finished steel exports stood at 7.49 MT, while imports were 8.32 MT. The per capita steel consumption in India was 86.7 kg in FY23.