Daily Current Affairs Quiz: July 08, 2022

ANSWER: C

• The Chief Minister of Karnataka had invited the Korean delegation to participate in the Bengaluru Tech Summit and Karnataka Global Investors Meet that are slated to be held in November.
• According to Ambassador to India Chang Jae-bok, Korea is keen to further strengthen its economic relations with Karnataka.
• Many startups are eager to invest in Karnataka. Already over 40 Korean companies have a presence here.
• The Korean Consular office has organised a programme– Korea on the move– in Bengaluru, which is drawing a huge response from the people.”
• According to Chief Minister of Karnataka, strengthening of relations between the Republic of Korea, which is a global powerhouse in electronics and automobiles sector, and Karnataka which is a frontline state in technology, would give a boost to the bilateral economy.
• India and Karnataka state are emerging as major economies with skilled human resources. India is a hot favourite as an investment destination.
• Karnataka is at the forefront among the states attracting about 38 per cent of the total FDI flowing into the country,
• Karnataka is the home to the highest number of international R&D centres in the world, it is the global hub of technology-based industries.

ANSWER: A

• UK is an important strategic partner and India shared a multifaceted partnership with UK.
• India said that the resignation of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will not impact its relationship with UK as both countries share a close multifaceted partnership.
• Notably, India and the UK announced their intention to have a comprehensive free trade agreement during a virtual summit held in May 2021 between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his then British counterpart Boris Johnson.
• Formal negotiations on the proposed FTA between the two countries started early this year.
• A number of non-tariff barriers, like rules related to investor protection, intellectual property rights, and harmonisation of governance and standards, are among the key sticky points in the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that India and the United Kingdom target to sign by Diwali this year.
• The UK and India have established the Science and Innovation Council in 2010 to jointly undertake scientific projects.
• The two countries launched the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative (CFLI) in September 2021 to support climate and green energy projects in India.
• India-UK relations were elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2021, based on a shared commitment towards democracy, fundamental freedoms and multilateralism,

ANSWER: D

• The 2022 edition of The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report presents updates on the food security and nutrition situation around the world, including the latest estimates of the cost and affordability of a healthy diet. The report also looks at ways in which governments can repurpose their current support to agriculture to reduce the cost of healthy diets, mindful of the limited public resources available in many parts of the world.
• The report was jointly published today by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

KEY POINTS:

• As many as 828 million people were affected by hunger in 2021 – 46 million people more from a year earlier and 150 million more from 2019.
• After remaining relatively unchanged since 2015, the proportion of people affected by hunger jumped in 2020 and continued to rise in 2021, to 9.8 percent of the world population. This compares with 8 percent in 2019 and 9.3 percent in 2020.
• Around 2.3 billion people in the world (29.3 percent) were moderately or severely food insecure in 2021 – 350 million more compared to before the outbreak of the COVID‑19 pandemic. Nearly 924 million people (11.7 percent of the global population) faced food insecurity at severe levels, an increase of 207 million in two years.
• The gender gap in food insecurity continued to rise in 2021 – 31.9 percent of women in the world were moderately or severely food insecure, compared to 27.6 percent of men – a gap of more than 4 percentage points, compared with 3 percentage points in 2020.
• Almost 3.1 billion people could not afford a healthy diet in 2020, up 112 million from 2019, reflecting the effects of inflation in consumer food prices stemming from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures put in place to contain it.
• An estimated 45 million children under the age of five were suffering from wasting, the deadliest form of malnutrition, which increases children’s risk of death by up to 12 times. Furthermore, 149 million children under the age of five had stunted growth and development due to a chronic lack of essential nutrients in their diets, while 39 million were overweight.
• Progress is being made on exclusive breastfeeding, with nearly 44 percent of infants under six months of age being exclusively breastfed worldwide in 2020. This is still short of the 50 percent target by 2030. Of great concern, two in three children are not fed the minimum diverse diet they need to grow and develop to their full potential.
• Looking forward, projections are that nearly 670 million people (8 percent of the world population) will still be facing hunger in 2030 – even if a global economic recovery is taken into consideration

ANSWER: C

• Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asked the NITI Aayog to map all the different projects such as Industrial Corridors, Freight Corridors, Defence Corridors, NIMZ (National Industrial Manufacturing Zones) PLI-based industry parks, PM-Mitra parks, Medical & Pharma Parks and Logistic Parks to understand the need for bringing them under PM GatiShakti.
• Chairing the first meeting of the Apex Monitoring Authority constituted to review the activities of National Industrial Corridor Development programme, the finance minister also asked the Shipping Ministry to map out all the seaports connected to various industrial corridors to see whether there are meaningful linkages.
• According to the Finance Minister PM’s GatiShakti National Master Plan was expected to bring about greater coherence in all investments in infrastructure projects.
• The Apex Monitoring Authority comprises the finance minister as Chairperson, Minister-in- charge, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Minister of Railways, Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Minister of Shipping, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, and chief minister(s) of states concerned.

ANSWER: D

• According to a recent report, more than two-thirds of blue-collared employees in India earn less than Rs 15,000 per month.
• According to the report by payroll management app Salarybox, females in the workplace made Rs 12,398 on average, which was 19 per cent less than their male colleagues, which brings forth the country’s wide gender pay disparity.
• The data also highlights that less than 15 per cent of the employee base earns in the range of Rs 20,000-40,000 per month (on an average Rs 25,000), calling attention to the fact that a vast majority of Indians have difficulties securing even a livable wage.
• Interestingly, the majority of firms pay wages below the minimum wage set by the Central Pay Commission (CPC), that is Rs 18,000 per month.
• The report is based on a database of over a million employed workforce from more than 850 districts around the country.
• The report also found that only 27 per cent of the workforce is made up of women, whereas 73 per cent of the workforce is made up of men.
• Employees working at supermarkets, grocery/kirana/general stores as well as the garments/textile industries are paid at the lower end of the scale, with an average monthly salary of Rs 8,300.
• Logistics and transport, IT software, and tailoring /boutiques emerge as the businesses that pay the most to females, with primary roles being of telecallers, documentation executives, and recruitment associates.
• According to the resources, Economic development is still not translating into enough jobs for the yearly influx of educated young people entering the workforce. A much bigger proportion of Indians work in the informal sector, and they have been hit hard in recent months by increasing inflation, particularly in food prices.

ANSWER: D

About Forest Act:

• Forest Right Act (FRA) was enacted in 2006 which recognises the rights of forest-dwelling tribal communities and other traditional forest dwellers to forest resources on which these communities were dependent for a variety of needs, including livelihood, habitation and other sociocultural needs.
• It recognizes and vest the forest rights and occupation in Forest land in Forest Dwelling Scheduled Tribes (FDST) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFD) who have been residing in such forests for generations.

KEY POINTS:

• According to Odisha’s ST and SC Development Secretary Ranjana Chopra, Odisha set to launch Mission 2024 for FRA in which State aims to grant all kinds of forest rights whether it is individual, community or habitat.
• All tribals will be granted their rightful ownership. The Mission is under scrutiny by the Finance Department and the Planning and Convergence Department.
• All old records of rights (land pattas) have been digitised and the future pattas would also be digitised. A dedicated website has been hosted to keep all records.
• The whole process of demarcation of land and reaching out to last citizen has been facilitated by non-government organsiation partners.

ANSWER: C 

• First India Animal Health Summit 2022 was held at NASC Complex, New Delhi understanding the significance of animal health towards the broader objective of the country’s food and nutrition security, rural incomes and prosperity and overall economic development.
• Shri Rupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying was the chief guest at the inaugural function of ‘India Animal Health Summit 2022’ organized by Indian Chamber of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) and the Agriculture Today Group.
• The two-day event will host a plethora of panel discussions ranging from topics such as Animal Health policy initiatives to Business environment & investment opportunities in the Animal Health sector.

ANSWER: B

• India’s first Autonomous Navigation facility, TiHAN was inaugurated by Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Science & Technology at the IIT Hyderabad campus.
• Developed at a budget of Rs. 130 crores by the Union Ministry of Science & Technology, TiHAN (Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation) is a multidisciplinary initiative that will make India a global player in the futuristic and next generation ‘smart mobility’ technology.
• TiHAN Testbed will provide a unique platform for high quality research between academia, industry and R&D labs both at the national and international level, thus making India a global leader in autonomous navigation technologies.”
• This testbed includes simulation platforms that allow for non-destructive testing of algorithms and prototypes. Several real-world scenarios can be emulated on the testbed. In terrestrial systems, a few examples of these scenarios are Smart Cities, Signalised Intersections, Autonomous Vehicle Interactions with Cyclists and Pedestrians, Wireless Networking among vehicles and Road-Side Units, etc.
• The autonomous vehicle testbed also provides dummy signboards, pedestrians, overpasses, and bikers to test all real-world conditions.

ANSWER: A

KEY POINTS:

• According to Virender Sharma, state project director of the Samagra Shiksha scheme, the 21st century skills will be imparted to students of Class VI to XII in government schools to help them deal with peer pressure, develop critical thinking and improve decision making. The skills will be imparted through activities and inter-house competitions. Clubs will be set up to boost confidence and build leadership qualities among students.
• Robotics labs would be established in 100 schools as a pilot project to equip students with the knowledge of robotics and drones.
• A bank of 17,000 to 18,000 questions had been prepared to analyse and assess the learning outcomes of students of Class III, IV, VII, X and XII, which would act as a reference point and standard for teachers.
• Under the STARS (strengthening teachers and result for states) project, entrepreneurship mindset courses will be started in Kangra. English improvement courses will be introduced in 100 schools and career counselling will also be started for students of Class IX to XII. e-content for better learning will also be available for student.
• Rs 650 crore would be received in five years under the STARS project for language improvement, increasing pass percentage in Class X, vocational training and several other indicators.

ANSWER: B

• Rural Development and Animal Husbandry Minister Virender Kanwar laid the foundation stone of a cow sanctuary in Beetan village of Haroli Assembly segment in Una District. A sum of Rs 2.87 crore will be spent to develop the sanctuary on 540-kanal plot.
• Six sheds would be constructed to provide shelter to 500 stray cattle. The HP State Industrial Development Corporation would complete the civil works in three months. in the past four-and-a-half years, around 20,000 stray cattle had been provided shelter. additional space to provide shelter to 5,000 stray animals was being created.
• The minister said the government was providing a monthly grant of Rs 700 per animal to the sanctuaries to ensure fodder and medical assistance for the animals.
• These efforts by the state government had significantly brought down the rate of accidents caused by stray cattle. Besides, the move will prevent destruction of standing crops by these cattle.