Current Affairs

Notes:
Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar released a book titled Indian Agriculture towards 2030: Pathways for Enhancing Farmers’ Income, Nutritional Security and Sustainable Food and Farm Systems.
The book captures the outcomes of the dialogue by NITI Aayog and the Ministries of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare; and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, and facilitated by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN.

Notes:
The third Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Distinguished Indologist Award for the year 2017 was awarded to Professor Hiroshi Marui of Japan in November 2017. He was presented with this award by President Ram Nath Kovind at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.

Notes:
The Election Commission has initiated the delimitation of assembly and parliamentary constituencies in Assam.
It will use the 2001 census figures for the readjustment of seats. The move to redraw the assembly and parliamentary seats of Assam as per Section 8A of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 has been initiated after a request from the Union Law Ministry.

Notes:
The Stone of Scone, also referred to as the Stone of Destiny, is a red sandstone slab weighing 150kg. This stone has been a sacred and significant symbol of Scotland’s monarchy and national identity.
It was moved recently from Scotland’s Edinburgh Castle to London in preparation for King Charles III’s coronation.

Notes:
International Monetary Fund released the Regional Economic Outlook report, which predicted that economies in the Middle East and Central Asia will likely slow down this year because of high inflation and increasing interest rates.
Increase in energy prices and food prices is cited as the reason for this slowdown.

Notes:
The overdose of Fentanyl has resulted in deaths of one in five youngsters aged between 15 to 24 in California.
It is a highly potent drug mainly used as an analgesic. The US sanctioned more than a dozen people and entities in China and Mexico that are linked to the production and distribution of counterfeit and fentanyl-laced pills.

Notes:
Chinese paleontologists have made a new discovery, identifying two previously unknown species of lampreys from fossils estimated to be around 160 million years old.
Lampreys are jawless fish that bear a resemblance to eels in appearance. Generally, these are thought of as parasitic organisms, that use their disc-shaped mouths and sharp teeth to latch onto prey and suck their blood.

Notes:
Globally, an estimated 422 million adults were living with diabetes in 2014, compared to 108 million in 1980. The global prevalence of diabetes has nearly doubled since 1980, rising from 4.7% to 8.5% in the adult population.
‘World Diabetes Day’ is observed on November 14 every year. The theme for World Diabetes Day 2021-23 is access to diabetes care.

Notes:
France, Germany, and Italy have reached an agreement on how to regulate artificial intelligence (AI). The agreement is expected to speed up negotiations at the European Union level.
The agreement includes Binding commitments for both large and small AI providers in the European Union, Rules of conduct, sanctions for violations. The European Parliament presented an AI act earlier this year. The act is designed to contain the risks of AI applications and avoid discriminatory effects.

Notes:
A critically endangered species as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, has been recorded for the first time in Manipur’s Tamenglong district.
The Saurauia Punduana plant was recorded during a recent Rapid Biodiversity Assessment (RBA) field survey. The survey covered the key areas of the biodiversity heritage sites of Longku forest. The local people call this plant as Anoibang.