Daily Current Affairs Quiz: August 30, 2022

ANSWER: C

• Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has called for the integration of One District One Product, ODOP initiative with Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).
• The Minister said, Open Network for Digital Commerce would help in further expanding the frontiers of One District One Product by bringing buyers and sellers together.
• The Minister was speaking on the launch of One District One Product Gift Catalog and Storefront on GeM in New Delhi.
• He opined that the G20 summit which is set to take place in the country soon, is a great opportunity to showcase One District One Products.
• The Minister also called for the expansion of availability of genuine products to counter fake products in the market.

About One District One Product (ODOP)

• It was launched in January 2018, by the Uttar Pradesh Government, and due to its success, was later adopted by the Central Government.
• The ‘One District, One Product (ODOP) was later launched by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries in 2018, to help districts reach their full potential, foster economic and socio-cultural growth, and create employment opportunities, especially in rural areas.
• The initiative is carried out with the ‘Districts as Exports Hub’ initiative by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Department of Commerce.
• It is a centrally sponsored scheme to be shared by the central government and states in 60:40 contributions.

About the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC)

• The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is a government-backed project which is aimed at enabling small merchants and mom-and-pop stores in parts of the country to access processes and technologies that are typically deployed by large e-commerce platforms.
• It is an initiative aiming at promoting open networks for all aspects of the exchange of goods and services over digital or electronic networks.
• ONDC is to be based on open-sourced methodology, using open specifications and open network protocols independent of any specific platform.
• ONDC is a private non-profit Section 8 company established by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) of the Government of India to develop open e-commerce.

ANSWER: C

• NASA) postponed the test fight for Artemis 1 spacecraft. The launch was postponed owing to the fuel leak and an engine problem, which was reported during the lift-off.
• Once launched, Artemis 1 will test the Orion spacecraft, a capsule that will orbit the moon and one day carry human crew members there.
• However, the launch was scrubbed off and the next launch will not take place until Friday, i.e September 2, at the earliest.

What is Artemis 1?

• Named after Apollo’s mythological twin sister, Artemis, the spacecraft is, according to NASA, the world’s most powerful rocket, which is capable of carrying more payload into deep space than any other vehicle.
• The first flight of the new Space Launch System (SLS), Artemis 1 is a heavy-lift vehicle. Nearly 100-metre tall (a few metres taller than the Statue of Liberty), the rocket can deliver 4 million kg of thrust.
• A first in the series of increasingly complex missions to the Moon, Artemis 1 is an uncrewed mission.
• There will be three test dummies –Helga, Zohar and Moonikin Campos — fitted with sensors to measure vibration, cosmic radiation, and other conditions.
• During the six-week-long mission, Artemis 1 and the capsule will travel a distance of around 65,000 km to the moon and was scheduled to end with the capsule’s splashdown in the Pacific Ocean in October.

Why was the launch postponed?

• The launch was postponed due to a malfunctioning RS-25 engine, which was to be bled with liquid hydrogen and oxygen to condition it, before launch.
• However, the team engineers noticed that one of the engines was not bleeding as expected. While the countdown clock was put on hold at T minus 40mins, the launch team was unable to resolve the issue.
• A crack also seemed to appear in the inner tank’s flange, however, after a thorough inspection, the launch team was able to confirm that there were no structural cracks in the tank.

Artemis 1 mission

• The launch of Artemis 1 represented a milestone in America’s quest to put astronauts back on the surface of the moon, for the first time in 50 years, after the Apollo programme ended.
• Artemis 1 launch will also be the first flight in NASA’s 21st century moon-exploration programme.
• According to nasa.gov, with Artemis 1 on the lunar surface, NASA aims to demonstrate new technologies, business approaches, and capabilities that are needed for future explorations, including Mars.
• The launch also aims to help more in the study of the moon, its origin, and history.

Artemis 1 cost

• The cost of Artemis 1 is estimated at $4 billion. With the delays and technical faults, the entire programme will now set NASA back at least $93 billion, by the time astronauts land on the moon once again.

ANSWER: A

• Venezuela and Colombia have dispatched ambassadors to each other’s capitals yesterday to rebuild relations between the two countries that have been broken for more than three years.
• Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro appointed former Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia as his country’s next ambassador to Colombia two weeks ago.
• On other hand, the new Colombian ambassador, Armando Benedetti, was welcomed in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas by Deputy Foreign Minister Rander Pena Ramirez, as media reported.
• According to reports, the normalization process will also include the full reopening of the border. The borders have remained closed to vehicles. The relationship between the two South American neighbors soured during the 2015 migrant crisis.
• In 2019, Colombia’s former President Ivan Duque cut off ties with Caracas altogether after refusing to recognize Maduro’s election. Embassies and consulates in both countries were closed, while flights between the two countries were also grounded.

ANSWER: A

• In Rajasthan, Rajiv Gandhi Rural Olympic Games have started in more than 11,000 panchayats this morning. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot inaugurated the games at the state-level function organised at Pal Panchayat of Luni block in Jodhpur district.
• About 2 lakh 25 thousand teams are participating in these games, in which about 30 lakh players are showing talent.
• The state government claims that the Rural Olympics is one of the biggest sporting events in the world.
• Under the Rural Olympics, 6 sports-Kabaddi, Shooting Ball, Volleyball, Hockey, Kho-Kho and Tennis Ball Cricket are being played.
• These games are first being organized at the Gram panchayat level after that there will be competitions at block, district and state level. More than 20 lakh male and about one million females are participating in these games.
• The special feature of these games is that more than one lakh participants are above 50 years of age.
• At the same time, more than 1,500 players are above 70 years of age.
• The objective of this event is to create an environment for sports in the villages, to search for sporting talent and to develop mutual bonding among people in villages.

ANSWER: A

• The 50th All Manipur Shumang Leela Festival 2021-2022 kicked off at Iboyaima Shumang Leela Shanglen at Palace Compound in Imphal. Manipur Governor La Ganesan and Chief Minister N. Biren Singh attended the inaugural function.
• During the festival, the Governor also distributed medals to the winners of 49th All Manipur Shumang Leela Festival 2020-21.
• Manipur Governor La Ganesan in his inaugural speech said that Shumang Leela has become a powerful medium for mass education besides giving entertainment and relaxation
• La. Ganesan said that the present day Shumang Leelas have been trying to focus on the issues of moral values, unity and integrity. It has also been trying to strengthen the bond of brotherhood and friendship among various communities in the State.
• Chief Minister N. Biren Singh while speaking at the function said that the government is committed to extend support to the artists in the State.
• He said, Chief Minister’s Pension Scheme for Artists has been implemented and separate budgetary allocation has been made for organizing Shumang Leela Festival. He said, under AYUSHMAN BHARAT and CMHT all artists will be covered.

About Shumang Leela

• It is also called Shumang Kumhei.
• It is a traditional form of theatre in
• ‘Shumang’ means courtyard and ‘Leela’ means play.
• The theatre is arranged in the form of open air from four sides.
• All the characters, including women, are played by male actors.
• It was officially recorded for the first time in the state with the Harischandra leela in 1918.
• However, the form is much older and is believed to have existed during the reign of King Chandrakriti (1851-1886).
• In 2017, Sougrakpam Hemanta was conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in recognition of his contribution in Shumang Leela, thus became the first person to receive the award for this art form.
• The theatre form remains a popular medium to spread awareness on social issues.

ANSWER: C

• World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has removed the “nine-dash line” from a heatwave map posted on its Facebook page.
• UN organization edited its post about the ongoing heatwaves in China and removed the “nine-dash line” while only showing the mainland part of the country.
• This call was taken after Vietnam had asked WMO to remove the infamous nine-dash line to respect its sovereignty in the East Sea.
• Vietnam Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang called for WMO’s attention on the matter and dismissed the “so-called nine-dash line.”
• Vietnam has repeatedly dismissed the so-called nine-dash line as well as other maritime statements that go against international laws and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982).
• The Foreign Ministry spokesperson said nations and organizations around the world must “remove and edit unsuitable content” that violates Vietnam’s sovereignty.
• The nine-dash line, at various times also referred to as the ten-dash line and the eleven-dash line has been used by China to illegally claim huge swathes of the South China Sea, known in Vietnam as the East Sea.
• Beijing’s self-claimed line has been internationally condemned and rejected as it has no legal basis internationally.
• With the growing assertiveness of China in the South China Sea region, the discontent of South East Asian countries has amplified.
• Owing to Beijing’s imperialistic attitude in the region, the resentment in these ASEAN countries has been on the rise since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Writing for Inside over, Italian expert Federico Giuliani contended that there are reasons for South East Asian countries to be wary of China as Beijing stepped up its hegemony in the region and mounted pressure on littoral countries.
• According to Giuliani, the grievances of the ASEAN nations are not only limited to their sovereignty. Chinese encroachment on the vast reserves of natural gas and oil strips them of valuable marine resources that can boost their economic development.
• The author points out how Beijing issues direct threats of military attack if ASEAN countries do not stop their activities of oil drilling or exploration. China sends its vessels across the South China Sea, often violating maritime boundaries, and takes over disputed islands to build military bases.
• Chinese aeroplanes also carry out incursions in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of these nations
• It has even threatened countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam for even carrying out economic activities such as drilling in their own maritime territories that are authorised by The Hague’s international arbitration court,
• Exerts believes that Beijing is fast losing trust among the South East Asian countries.

ANSWER: D

• The CWRC near Kaziranga National Park has completed 20 years of providing emergency care, treatment and rehabilitation to indigenous wild animals displaced due to various reasons.

About CWRC 

• It is a joint initiative of the Assam Forest Department, the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
• It was established on August 28, 2002.
• It currently has two satellite facilities called mobile veterinary services. These are located in eastern Assam at Guijan in Tinsukia district (Dibru Saikhowa National Park) and in western Assam at Charaikhola (Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary).
• It continues to be the only facility in India to have successfully addressed the welfare and conservation of 357 species including elephant, leopard, rhino, tiger, clouded leopard, black bear, wild buffalo, hog deer, muntjac, wild boar and monkeys.
• It has become a model now in the field of wildlife conservation and its needs in Assam.

Kaziranga National Park

• Kaziranga National Park in the northeast Indian state of Assam is a world heritage site, notified by UNESCO in 1985.
• It is the oldest park in Assam along the river Brahmaputra on the North and the Karbi Anglong hills on the South.
• National Highway 37 passes through the park area and tea estates, hemmed by table-top tea bushes.
• The park holds the world’s largest population of the greater one-horned rhinoceros and provides refuge to a large number of wild animals including the endangered Royal Bengal tiger and the Asian elephant.

ANSWER: C

• Two U.S. Navy warships sailed through international waters in the Taiwan Strait, the first such operation since a visit to Taiwan by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi enraged China which regards the island as its territory.

About:

• Pelosi’s Taiwan trip in early August infuriated China which saw it as a U.S. attempt to interfere in its internal affairs.
• China subsequently launched military drills near the island which have since continued. China has never ruled out using force to bring Taiwan under its control.
• The Taiwan Strait is a 180-kilometer-wide strait separating the island of Taiwan and continental Asia. The narrowest part is 130 km wide.
• The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north.
• Former names of the Taiwan Strait include the Formosa Strait or Strait of Formosa, from a dated name for Taiwan; and the Strait of Fokien or Fujian, from the Chinese province forming the strait’s western shore.

ANSWER: C

• Agriculture Minister Virender Kanwar said that a flower market would be opened in Una. It will be the second such market in the state after Parwanoo.
• He was speaking at a ‘Kisan Sammelan’ organised in Takka village of Kutlehar Assembly segment.
• Kanwar said the farmers of Una district cultivate flowers on a large scale, but face difficulties in marketing the produce.

Other Initiatives in Una

• He said a new vegetable and fruit market is being constructed in Rampur village near Una city and tenders amounting to Rs 2.5 crore have been awarded for the works.
• He said that additional land is being procured adjacent to the existing plot of the vegetable market for its expansion.
• The minister said the Rs 1,010-crore second phase of the JICA-assisted crop diversification project has been initiated. It will be implemented in all districts of the state.

Other Initiatives in Agriculture Sector in State

• He informed that the state government has promoted the plantation of asafoetida in Kullu and Mandi districts besides saffron in Lahaul and Spiti.
• In Una, Hamirpur and Bilaspur districts, cinnamon cultivation has been promoted to boost farm income.
• A MoU would soon be signed with IHBT Palampur for providing 40,000 saplings of cinnamon every year to the department for distribution to the farmers.
• Agriculture Department officers spoke about the new techniques and interventions in agricultural practices.

ANSWER: D

• The Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVN) won two ‘Gold Awards’ in the 12th Exceed Environment, HR and CSR Awards 2022.
• The awards were presented for the SJVN’s mobile health van service, ‘Satluj Sanjeevani Sewa’, and for its extensive efforts in the preservation of environment.
• The SJVN is committed to fulfill its societal commitment and strives to enhance the quality of life of its stakeholders and follows best practices for environment preservation,” said SJVN chairman Nand Lal Sharma.
• Satluj Sanjeevani Sewa was started under the umbrella of SJVN CSR Foundation in 2012 for providing free medical consultancy services and medicines at the doorsteps of the local communities through mobile health vans.
• These mobile health vans have facilitated medical treatment of more than 10 lakh people in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Maharashtra, covering more than 100 Gram-Panchayats and 200 community locations.
• Every mobile health van is managed by a qualified medical team comprising of a Doctor, Pharmacist and allied staff and these vans are also equipped with basic diagnostic test equipment.