Daily Current Affairs Quiz: June 10, 2022

ANSWER: C

• NHAI is National Highway Authority of India.
• It was constituted by an Act of Parliament in 1988 under the administrative control of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
• It has been set up as a Central Authority to develop, maintain and manage the National Highways entrusted to it by the Government of India.
• (NHAI) has created a Guinness World Record for the longest continuously laid bituminous lane of 75 kilometres in 105 hours and 33 minutes on the national highway between Amravati and Akola districts in
• The previous Guinness World Record for the longest continuously laid bituminous was for building 25.275 kilometres of road that was achieved in Doha, Qatar in February 2019 and that task was completed in 10 days.

ANSWER: B

• For the first time in the world, an Indian has been named a Global Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Pioneer for Water Stewardship by the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). 
• The United Nations Global Compact has named ten new SDG Pioneers, who are corporate leaders who are excelling in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by implementing the UN Global Compact Ten Principles on human rights, environment, labour, and anti-corruption.
• Professionals working at any level in a firm engaging in the UN Worldwide Compact were targeted for the global search, with winners picked from every continent.
• Their work covers a wide range of topics, including climate mitigation and adaptation, as well as circular economy and digital transformation.

ANSWER: A

• The Reserve Bank of India hiked the interest Rate — this time by 50 basis points.
• This would tame inflation but pave the way for rise in home, auto and other loan EMIs.
• The six-member monetary committee of the central bank unanimously voted to raise the lending rate by 50 basis points to 4.90 per cent.
• The Reserve Bank has the mandate to keep retail inflation at 4 per cent with a bias of 2 per cent on either side.
• However, retail inflation has been above 6 per cent for the last four months in a row, rising to as high as 7.8 per cent in April.
• The RBI has changed the policy stance to drop the phrase “remains accommodative”, and instead opted for “withdrawal of accommodation” for guiding its future moves.
• The rise in interest rate will discourage borrowing that would impact on availability of liquidity.

ANSWER: D

• The Centre hiked the minimum support price (MSP) for paddy by 100 rupees raising it to 2,040  rupees per quintal for 2022-23 crop year in order to encourage farmers to bring more area under the crop and boost their income.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister approved the increase in MSPs for all 14 kharif (summer) crops for 2022-23 crop year.
• “The Government has increased the MSP of kharif crops for 2022-23 to ensure remunerative prices to the growers for their produce and to encourage crop diversification.
• The Government has taken several steps from beej se bazaar tak (seed to market) that has helped increase income of farmers.
• As per the CCEA decision, the MSP of 14 kharif crops has been increased in the range of 92-523 rupees per quintal.
• The maximum hike has been given in sesamum of Rs 523 per quintal, while the lowest Rs 92 per quintal is in case of maize.
• The MSP of all the 14 crops for 2022-23 is higher by 46-131 per cent when compared to 2014-15. For example, the MSP of paddy (common variety) has been increased by 50 per cent to Rs 2,040 per quintal as against Rs 1,360 per quintal in 2014-15.

ANSWER: D

• India and Vietnam signed a vision document to further broad-base the “scope and scale” of their defence ties by 2030.
• The two nations also firmed up a logistics support pact to allow militaries of the two sides to use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies.
• The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on mutual logistics support is the first such major agreement that Vietnam has signed with any country.
• The two defence ministers signed the ‘Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership towards 2030’ that provides for expansion of defence and military ties in diverse areas.
• India has oil exploration projects in the Vietnamese waters in the South China Sea.
• India and Vietnam are boosting their maritime security cooperation in the last few years to protect common interests.
• Ties between the two countries were elevated to the level of ‘strategic partnership’ during the visit of Vietnam’s then Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to India in July 2007.

ANSWER: D

• The All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), under the Union Ayush Ministry, and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, are jointly working to develop innovative diagnostic tools and equipment for various Ayurvedic procedures.
• According to Dr Tanuja Nesari, Director of the Delhi-based AIIA that at least seven collaborative projects for interdisciplinary research in Ayurveda and applying engineering science principles have been undertaken.
• One is, Dhoopanyantra’ – a fumigation device for aiding wound healing is being developed to eradicate virus and bacteria from the air.
• Early cancer detection and assessment of breast cancer response to Ayurvedic drugs is being developed.
• Others are Ayurvedic rasas (tastes) on gastrointestinal secretions; herbal formulations that would reduce the harmful effects of reusing cooking oil, developing a biodegradable, herbal wound dressing.
• The effects of the ‘Brahmari pranayama’ on the nervous system is also being under study.
• The institute is also planning to establish ‘Respiratory Rehabilitation Centre’ to cater to post-Covid patients, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients, post acute respiratory distress syndrome patients, and interstitial lung disease patients, with ayurveda therapies, yoga, meditation and modern equipment like spirometer, incentive spirometry and bronchodilators medicines.
• A few measures being undertaken where the best of traditional and modern medicine and therapies are being combined in order to provide holistic people-centered health services for all.
• India has committed to Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and Universal Health Coverage by 2030.

ANSWER: B

• Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN) in Higher Education aimed at tapping the talent pool of scientists and entrepreneurs, internationally to encourage their engagement with the institutes of Higher Education in India so as to augment the country’s existing academic resources, accelerate the pace of quality reform, and elevate India’s scientific and technological capacity to global excellence.
• In order to garner the best international experience into our systems of education, enable interaction of students and faculty with the best academic and industry experts from all over the world and also share their experiences and expertise to motivate people to work on Indian problems,
• A system of Guest Lectures by internationally and nationally renowned experts would be evolved along with a comprehensive Faculty Development Programme not only for new IITs, IIMs, IISERs but also for other institutions in the country.

ANSWER: D

• Mumbai broke the world record for highest margin of victory in the history of first-class cricket by beating Uttarakhand by a staggering 725 runs in their Ranji Trophy quarter-final.
• Mumbai broke New South Wales’ 92-year-old Sheffield Shield record when they beat Queensland by 685 runs.
• In the Ranji Trophy, the previous record for highest margin for victory was held by Bengal, who had defeated Odisha by 540 runs in 1953-54.

ANSWER: C

• The 125-year-old British era Kasauli Club celebrated its annual week after a gap of two years of Covid pandemic.
• The club was set up in 1880 as a Reading room.
• Initially, it was open only to British civil servants and Army officers posted at Kasauli and in Dagshai cantonment.
• It was rechristened as ‘Kasauli Club’ on January 1, 1898, by a resolution and was registered on September 21, 1898, at the Registrar’s Office, Lahore.
• The club was later renamed as “The Kasauli Club Ltd” and is now governed by the Companies Act, 1956.
• The club celebrates its annual week comprising cultural and sporting events in the form of ‘Kasauli Week’.
• This cultural bonanza was introduced by the club on May 5, 1922.
• The cultural week will culminate on June 11 and will see events like live band display, sapling plantation, events like Kasauli King, Kasauli Queen, Kasauli Princess, etc.

ANSWER: C

• The post office in Hikkim village of Himachal’s Spiti valley at 14,567ft, which is believed to be the world’s highest post, has got a letterbox shaped office to woo the tourists.
• The tiny post office was located in a historic mud house that was visited by thousands of visitors each year.
• The pictures of Hikkim post office are one of the most widely circulated images from the Spiti valley famous as a 14,567 foot post office.