ANSWER: A

• Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched the eleventh agricultural census to collect data on various parameters, including operational holdings.
• For the first time, the data will be collected through smartphones and tablets.
• According to the agriculture ministry, the fieldwork of the Eleventh Agricultural Census (2021-22) will start in August 2022.
• Agriculture Census is conducted every 5 years.
• The ministry is implementing an agriculture census scheme from 1970-71. The tenth edition of the census was conducted with the reference year 2015-16.
• The agricultural census is the main source of information on a variety of parameters, such as the number and area of ​​operational holdings, their size, class-wise distribution, land use, tenancy and cropping pattern, etc.
• Most of the states have digitised their land records and surveys, which will further accelerate the collection of agricultural census data.
• The use of digitised land records and the use of mobile apps for data collection will enable the creation of a database of operational holdings in the country.
• According to the, Agriculture Minister this computation will bring huge benefits in a vast and agricultural country like India.
• Agricultural computations can also contribute to the mapping of crops so that the country gets its benefits, further it can help in increasing farmers’ income.

ANSWER: A

• Recently, A trilateral meeting of India, France and the United Arab Emirates was held.
• The three sides exchanged perspectives on the Indo-Pacific region and explored the potential areas of trilateral cooperation including Maritime Security, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, Blue Economy, Regional Connectivity, Cooperation in Multilateral Fora, Energy and Food Security, Innovation and Startups, Supply Chain Resilience and Cultural and People-to-People Cooperation.
• They also discussed the next steps to be taken for further trilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

ANSWER: A

• Indian Navy took the delivery of the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier ‘Vikrant’ from Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) in Kochi.
• Designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house Directorate of Naval Design (DND) and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), a Public Sector Shipyard under the Ministry of Shipping (MoS).
• The 262-meter-long aircraft carrier is the largest ever warship to be built in the country. The vessel, which has a displacement of 45,000 tonnes, has been built at an overall cost of close to 20,000 crore rupees.
• The IAC is capable of operating 30 aircraft comprising MIG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31, and MH-60R multi-role helicopters, in addition to indigenously manufactured Advanced Light Helicopters and Light Combat Aircraft.
• The vessel is powered by four Gas Turbines totalling 88 MW power and has a maximum speed of 28 Knots.
• The vessel is scheduled to be commissioned and inducted into the services of the Indian Navy by next month.
• With an overall indigenous content of 76%, IAC is a perfect example of the nation’s quest for Aatma Nirbhar Bharat and provides thrust to Government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.
• The name of India’s first Aircraft Carrier was also INS Vikrant which played a vital role in the 1971 war.
• The Aircraft Carrier was decommissioned on 3Ist January 1997, after 36 years of glorious service to the Navy.

ANSWER: C

• According to the Union Government that India is rapidly emerging as a preferred country for foreign investments in the manufacturing sector.
• According to the Commerce and Industry Ministry FDI Equity inflow in manufacturing sectors have increased by 76 per cent in last financial year compared to 2020-21.
• Karnataka with over 37 per cent and Maharashtra with over 26 per cent are the top two states in receiving highest FDI Equity Inflow.
• According to the Ministry, Singapore and USA have emerged as top two sourcing nations in FDI equity flows into India in 2021-22 followed by Mauritius, Netherland and Switzerland.

ANSWER: D

• For the first time in the history of Bangladesh women outnumber men in its total population.
• The preliminary result of the 6th population census of Bangladesh recorded 8.33 crore women, 8.17 crore men, and 12,629 hijras in the total population.
• Releasing the summary data of the 6th Population and Housing Census 2022 conducted last month, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) revealed that the total population of the country increased from 14.4 crore in 2011 to 16.51 crore in 2022.
• Bangladesh recorded an average annual population growth rate of 1.22 percent., down from the average annual population growth rate of 1.37 percent recorded in 2011.

Other Key Findings of Census:

• The population census also revealed that the percentage of minorities in the total population declined between 2011-2022. The percentage of Hindus declined from 8.54 percent in 2011 to 7.95 percent in 2022. The Buddhist population fell from 0.62 percent in 2011 to 0.61 percent of the total in 2022. The Christian population also fell from 0.31 percent to 0.30 percent of the total during this period. However, the Muslim population increased from 90.39 percent in 2011 to 91.4 percent in 2022.
• The percentage of literacy in the country showed a sharp rise between 2011-2022.  From 51.77 percent in 2011, literacy in Bangladesh now stands at 74.66 percent marking a rise of over 22.89 percent.
• Close to 56 percent of Bangladeshis use mobile phones in 2022 while 30.68 percent of the population is using the internet.
• Dhaka division has the largest population in the country at 4.4 crore people reflecting a population growth rate of 1.94 percent per year.

ANSWER: A

• The fossil wood park situated near Puducherry holds trees that have turned as fossils is believed to be 20 million years old.
• The National Fossil Wood Park situated in the bordering Thirvakkarai village in Viluppuram District of Tamil Nadu will add a feather to the cap of the tourism map of Puducherry if more infrastructure development is done.
• Thiruvakkarai is less than 25 Kilo metres from Puducherry.
• Situated at the banks of Sankarabarani River in the Puducherry Tamil Nadu border, this national fossil wood park hosts around 200 pieces of stone turned trees that are estimated to be more than 20 Million years old.
• These trees are believed to have been drifted to this place that might have been formed due to crushed sediments of the Sankarabarani River due to plate tectonics that would have happened millions of years ago.Even though these trees are scattered in a sprawling 247 acres of land, stone trees that lay in around 15 acres of land are open for the public.

Other fossil parks in India include:

• Indroda Dinosaur and Fossil Park, Gujarat
• Ghughua Fossil Park, Madhya Pradesh
• Salkhan Fossils Park, Uttar Pradesh
• Akal Wood Fossil Park, Rajasthan
• Amkhoi Fossil Park, West Bengal
• Raiyoli Dinosaur Fossil Park, Gujarat
• Rajmahal Hills Fossil Park, Bihar
• Wadadham Fossils Park, Wadadam, Sironcha, Gadchiroli, Maharashtra

ANSWER: C

• The Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (ECGC) launched a new scheme to provide enhanced export credit risk insurance amid rising uncertainties in global trade.
• The scheme provides enhanced export credit risk insurance cover up to 90 per cent to support small exporters under Export Credit Insurance for Banks Whole Business Packaging Credit and Post Shipment (ECIB- WTPC&PS).
• According to ECGC chairman M. Senthilnathan “By giving 90 per cent cover to banks, we expect more small companies to get export credit from banks, benefiting these industries greatly. We expect banks to provide more concessions. The net effect will be a benefit to exporters, involving a reduction in interest rate.”
• SBI is the first to benefit from the new policy and ECGC is in talks with other lenders. ECIB does not cover the entire loss incurred by the bank in respect of the account. The loss is shared between the ECGC and the bank in a specified percentage. The average percentage of cover is estimated to be around 70 per cent for export accounts with limits up to Rs 20 crore. The increased cover percentage will now be 90 per cent.
• The enhanced cover for SBI will be at the premium rate of the previous year, considering its favourable claim premium ratio. For other banks, there may be a marginal increase in the premium rates. The increase in cover will be based on expected interest concession from banks for accounts with export credit working.
• In the financial year 2021-22, ECGC had extended support to exports worth Rs 6.18 lakh crore In addition, as of March 31, 2022, more than 6,700 exporters benefitted through the direct cover issued to exporters and around 9,000 distinct exporters benefitted under the Export Credit Insurance for Banks (ECIB). It should also be noted that about 96 per cent of these are small exporters.

ANSWER: A

• The world champion Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement from Formula One at the end of the season.
• The German racer announced his retirement through a video message on the social media platform, Instagram.
• The 35-year-old said, his goals had changed and he wanted to focus more on family and interests outside the sport.
• Sebastian will end his final season with Aston Martin after winning a total of 53 Grand Prix and 122 podium finishes. Vettel made his debut in 2007.
• His first title win came in 2010 which also made him the youngest title winner. He won four titles for Red Bull in between 2010 to 2013. Vettel who is a legend of the sport is third on the list of all-time Grand Prix winners with 53 victories to his name. Only Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher have more titles than him.
• Sebastian made the announcement ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, the 13th round of the season and the last race before the August break.

ANSWER: D

• Vegetable crops are under attack by white fly in the lower hills of Kangra district. The pest attack comes after the recent damage caused by fall armyworm to the maize crop in the area.
• In the lower hills of the district, vegetable farming is a lucrative occupation. Farmers in these areas produce vegetables such as okra, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, brinjal, cucumber and ridged gourd during the season.
• The farmers claimed that the Agriculture Department was yet to swing into action and visit their fields to monitor and check the attack of white flies.
• As per information, the department was suffering from acute shortage of the field technical staff that could visit the fields and apprise the farmers about the attacks and measures to check the pest.
• According to Dr Rahul Katoch, Deputy Director, Agriculture Department, Palampur. The department has constituted special technical field teams of the state bio-control laboratories at Palampur and Nurpur. The teams will visit the fields and sensitise the vegetable growers about pest attacks. Experts will also suggest remedial measures to them.

ANSWER: C

• Recently, The Cabinet gave approval for declaring the Aryabhatta Geo Informatics and Space Application Centre as the nodal agency for the use of spatial and geo spatial technology in planning and development activities by various departments.

Establishment:

• Government of Himachal Pradesh established the Aryabhatta Geo-informatics & Space Application Centre (AGiSAC) under aegis of the HP Council for Science Technology & Environment (HIMCOSTE) in the year
• The centre has been set up in technological collaboration with Gujarat-based Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geo-Informatics (BISAG).

The following objectives were envisaged for the State Centre:

• To facilitate decentralized planning and decision making.
• To facilitate Monitoring and Evaluation of Government Schemes & Programmes.
• To set up integrated natural resources data management system.
• To provide services/consultancy based on specific user needs in the field of Remote Sensing and GIS.
• To provide wider usage of geo-spatial applications through simultaneous support systems/ software.