Daily Current Affairs Quiz: June 17, 2023

ANSWER: B

ANSWER: A

ANSWER: B

ANSWER: C

• The Time Release Study (TRS), a performance evaluation instrument, calculates how long it takes to release cargo from customs facilities.
• It calculates the time it takes for cargo to arrive and be free of charge for domestic clearance for imports and for cargo to arrive and be carried away by the carrier for exports.
• The report examines the country’s major entrance and shipping points, including seaports, air cargo complexes (ACCs), inland container depots (ICDs) and integrated check posts (ICPs).

KEY CONCLUSIONS:

• The results underline the significance of the “Path to Promptness” strategy, which includes rewards for dependable clients, risk-based facilitation, and early filing of import documentation. All port categories for cargoes that include all three criteria meet the National Trade Facilitation Action Plan release time target.
• The NTRS 2023 focuses more emphasis on assessing export release time in line with the government’s focus on export promotion.
• The report makes a distinction between physical clearance (the end of the logistics procedures) and regulatory clearance (customs release). When taking regulatory approval into account, the analysis shows that the National Trade Facilitation Action Plan release time objective has been met for the majority of port categories.

ANSWER: C

• The Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) certifies 98 Trainers trained in the cluster-based Training of Trainers project under the SANKALP programme.

ABOUT SANKALP PROGRAMME:

• The Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) programme was launched in
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE)
• It is a World Bank loan-assisted project and is aligned with the overall objectives of the National Skill Development Mission (NSDM).
• The project focuses on transforming the overall skilling ecosystem of India, covering both central and state-level agencies for improved outcomes.
• It also encourages innovative best practices at the local level, resulting in enhanced access, quality and capacity in the skilling ecosystem and improved access to and completion of skills training for female trainees and other disadvantaged groups.
• Strategy: Under SANKALP four key result areas have been identified viz –
• Institutional Strengthening (at National, State & District level)
• Quality Assurance Quality Assurance of skill development programs;
• Inclusion of marginalised population in skill development; and
• Expanding Skills through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).

ANSWER: B

• Recently, Justice Clocks have been installed across the court complexes of high courts.
• Justice Clock is a LED display message sign board system (electronic signage system).
• It is to make effective use of database created through National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) and to make the information available to public.
• Initiative of Ministry of Law and Justice.
• Aim – To bring awareness to the public about justice sector, advertising the various schemes of the department and to give status of various fields to the public.
• Contents displayed – The clock will display the schemes of the Department of Justice and how citizens can benefit from the projects such as e-Courts, Access to Justice and Legal Aid to Poor.
• At present the following contents are being displayed
• Live Case Status (The details of ongoing cases in respective Court rooms are displayed during Court proceedings.)
• Case Pendency in District Courts
• E-courts videos
• NJDG Public Portal and District Court Services videos
• A total of 39 Justice Clocks are functional in 25 High Courts.

 ANSWER: B

• An advanced wound care product developed by the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), named Cholederm, has won the approval of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) as a Class D medical device.
• Cholederm is a wound healing material derived from the extracellular matrix of the de-cellularised gall bladder of pigs and tissue engineered as membrane forms of a scaffold.
• It healed different types of skin wounds including burn and diabetic wounds in rats, rabbits or dogs etc. faster than similar products currently available in the market
• It is the first indigenously developed product to meet all regulatory requirements.
• The scaffold modulated the scarring reactions in subcutaneous, skeletal-muscle and cardiac tissues.
• It is the Central Drug Authority for discharging functions assigned to the Central Government under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940.
• It works under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
• Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI):
• DCGI is the head of the department of the CDSCO of the Government of India responsible for approval of licences of specified categories of drugs such as blood and blood products, IV fluids, vaccines and sera in India.

ANSWER: C

• The Guwahati Railway Station located in Assam has received the prestigious ‘Eat Right Station’ certification from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

ABOUT THE NEWS

• FSSAI has acknowledged Guwahati Railway Station for its commitment to providing high-quality and nutritious food options to passengers.
• As the first railway station within the North East Frontier Railway to receive this certification, Guwahati Railway Station has successfully met the stringent guidelines laid down by FSSAI.
• The ‘Eat Right Station’ certification is a testament to the station’s compliance with FSSAI’s established standards for food storage and hygiene practices.
• This certification is an acknowledgment of the station’s efforts in maintaining the benchmark in serving safe and wholesome food to the passengers.
• At present, 66 stations across the country have been certified while two stations are in the process of obtaining the certification. Mumbai Central Railway Station became the first Eat Right Station with a rating of four stars.
• The maximum number of railway stations certified under the program are from Madhya Pradesh with 18. MP is followed by Rajasthan and Delhi with 7 Eat Right Stations.

FOOD SAFETY AND STANDARDS AUTHORITY OF INDIA (FSSAI):

• It is a statutory body.
• It functions under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
• FSSAI was established as per the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
• The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 is a comprehensive law that governs food safety and regulation in India.

ANSWER: A

• A documentary titled ‘When Climate Change Turns Violent’ has won a special prize in the ‘Health for All’ category at the 4th Annual Health for All Film Festival held at the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva.
• The documentary has been directed by Vandita Saharia of She was the only Indian among the winners.

ABOUT THE NEWS

• This documentary has been directed by Vandita Saharia from Rajasthan. She was the only Indian in the list of winners.
• The 32-minute documentary ‘When Climate Change Turns Violent’ focuses on the relationship between domestic violence, climate change and human trafficking.
• The ceremony announced the winning films for seven different categories, while four films received special mentions by the jury.

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO)

• Establishment: 7th April, 1948
• Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
• Member: 194 countries
• It is an intergovernmental organization that usually works in collaboration with the ministries of health of its member states.

ANSWER: C

• Every year on June 17th, the World Day to battle Desertification and Drought is marked to raise public awareness of global efforts to battle desertification. The event provides an opportunity to acknowledge that land degradation neutrality is attainable via problem-solving, significant community involvement, and cooperation at all levels.
• The theme of the International Day Against Desertification, and Drought 2023 is “Her land. Her rights”
• The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) first discussed this day in December 1994 in order to tackle desertification and drought. This day was observed in 1995 for the first time.

DESERTIFICATION:

• Desertification is “the degradation of dry, semi-arid and sub-humid lands resulting from various factors, such as climatic variations and human activities”, as defined by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
• In other words, land is desertified when it can no longer support the same plant growth it had in the past, and the change is permanent on a human time scale.

DROUGHT:

• Drought is the deficit of rainfall over a long period, such as a season, a year or several years, related to the statistical average of a region.
• The lack of rainfall produces a water deficit for humans, animals, and plants.

CAUSES OF DESERTIFICATION

• ‘Climatic variations’ and ‘Human activities’ can be regarded as the two main causes of desertification.
• Climatic variations: Climate change, drought, moisture loss on a global level
• Human activities: These include overgrazing, deforestation and removal of the natural vegetation cover, agricultural activities in the vulnerable ecosystems of arid and semi-arid areas, which are thus strained beyond their capacity.

ANSWER: B

• To counter China’s strengthening of infrastructure along the border in Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti, 75 villages out of total 210 will be developed under the Vibrant Village programme.

ABOUT THE NEWS

• The 75 identified villages fall in Pooh and Kalpa blocks of Kinnaur and Kaza in Lahaul and Spiti district.
• District authorities have been asked to prepare plans to promote economic activities in these villages.
• The focus will be on strengthening road network and ensuring better connectivity under Vibrant Village programme.

ABOUT VIBRANT VILLAGE PROGRAMME

• It is a Centrally sponsored scheme, announced in the Union Budget 2022-23 (to 2025-26) for development of villages on the northern border, thus improving the quality of life of people living in identified border villages.
• It will cover the border areas of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Ladakh.
• It will cover 2,963 villages with 663 of them to be covered in the first phase.