ANSWER: A

• ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL), the wholly owned subsidiary and overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC), has made an oil discovery in Llanos Basin, Colombia.
• ONGC Videsh has earlier discovered commercial oil in the Lower Sand pay in Mariposa and Indico fields in the block in 2017 and 2018 respectively, which are currently commercially producing @ 20,000 bbl oil per day.
• ONGC Videsh holds 70% participating interest (PI) in the block along with operatorship, remaining 30% is held by partner Geopark.
• ONGC Videsh has a significant presence in oil & gas sector in Colombia, with three other exploratory blocks in the country and joint ownership of the oil producing company Mansarovar Energy Colombia Ltd (MECL).

ANSWER: D

• During the meeting, Heads of State discussed intra-BRICS cooperation in areas like trade, counter-terrorism, traditional medicine, health, environment, reform of multilateral institutions and combating covid-19 pandemic.

Theme of the BRICS Summit:

• BRICS Summit 2022 held under the theme of “Foster High-Quality BRICS Partnership, Usher in a New Era for Global Development.”

KEY POINTS:

• 14th BRICS Summit held in virtual mode in 2022.
• According to reports, a BRICS Plus virtual conference was held as part of the main meeting with ministers from countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Argentina, Nigeria, Senegal, and Thailand.
• BRICS Plus is a new phase in the expansion of BRICS – already known for its combined economic growth potential – that aims to welcome more countries and enhance economic conditions.

ANSWER: B

• Former Australian cricketer, Lisa Sthalekar has become the first female president of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Association (FICA), the sport’s international players association.
• Sthalekar joins a shortlist of former cricketers including Barry Richards, Jimmy Adams and Vikram Solanki to have held the post of FICA president.

Career of Lisa Sthalekar:

• Sthalekar played 8 Tests, 125 ODIs and 54 T20Is for Australia between 2001 and 2013, finishing her career with a World Cup win.
• Last year, she was inducted into the Australian cricket hall of fame and has been a regular member of the broadcasting media around the world.
• She has also worked with the Australian Cricketers’ Association and has experience in player welfare.

ANSWER: B

• New Space India Limited (NSIL)launched GSAT-24, following the space reforms leasing the entire satellite’s capacity to Direct-to-Home (DTH) service provider Tata Play.
• This was the company’s first “demand-driven” communication satellite mission. The satellite, developed by the Indian Space Research Organization for NSIL, was successfully launched into geostationary orbit from Kourou in French Guiana by the Ariane 5 rocket (South America).

Key Points:

• GSAT-24is a 4180 kg 24-Ku band communication satellite that provides pan-India coverage for DTH application requirements.
• The commercial arm of ISRO, NSIL was established in March 2019 and is a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the Department of Space (DOS).
• NSIL was required to carry out operational satellite missions on a “demand driven” model as part of the “space reforms” announced by the government in June 2020.
• Under this model, NSIL is responsible for building, launching, owning, and operating satellites as well as providing services to its devoted customer.
• The 15-year mission life of GSAT-24is configured on ISRO’s tried-and-true I-3k Bus.
• To suit the needs of its devoted customer Tata Play, the DTH division of the Tata Group, the whole satellite capacity on board GSAT-24 will be leased.

ANSWER: B

• Jitendra Singh, Union Minister for Jammu and Kashmir, officially opened the Seismology Observatory in the Udhampur district.
• The Ministry of Earth Sciences spent 20 lakh rupees to establish the third such Center in J&K.

KEY POINTS:

• The observatory will compile a comprehensive seismic record of Udhampur, Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, and many more districts.
• According to  Jitendra Singh, the central government plans to open 152 earthquake observatories over the next four months, including three more in the Kashmir division.
• 100 additional seismological centres of this type will emerge nationwide over the next five years to enhance real-time data collection and monitoring.
• India is getting closer to being a key player in the development and knowledge of seismology.
• The J&K, particularly South and North Kashmir, are in the seismic zone and have such observatories set up.

ANSWER: D

About the report: 

• The report is based on the data collected from over 100 million Coursera users from more than 100 countries who learned a new skill during the past year.
• The report benchmarks three of the most in-demand skill areas driving employment in the digital economy – business, technology, and data science.
• The Global Skills Report (GSR) 2022 by Coursera states that India’s proficiency in data science has reduced from 38% in 2021 to 26% in 2022, leading to a 12-rank drop. In terms of overall skills proficiency, India has slipped 4 places to be ranked 68th globally and 19th in Asia.
• However, the report reveals that India has improved its technology proficiency levels from 38 percent to 46 percent, improving its position by six spots.

Key points:

• West Bengal leads the Indian states in terms of skills proficiency with the state showing the highest levels of digital skills proficiency in the country.
• Andhra Pradesh is among the top three performing states with high proficiency in business and technology skills.
• For the second year in a row, Switzerland had the highest-skilled learners followed by Denmark, Indonesia, and Belgium.

ANSWER: C

• The Indian Air Force is conducting the first Warfare & Aerospace Strategy Program (WASP) culminating with a Capstone Seminar at Air Force Auditorium, New Delhi.
• Capstone seminars are interactive seminars based on peer-to-peer discussion and presentations.
• The seminar will be conducted under the aegis of College of Air Warfare and Centre for Air Power Studies.
• Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, Chief of the Air Staff, shall deliver the keynote address on the occasion which is being attended by senior officers from all three Services, air power scholars, academia from principal think tanks and premier colleges of the country.
• This Capstone Seminar aims to showcase the learning objectives of WASP and help the IAF leadership to validate the desired outcomes from the program.
• The participants shall present papers on contemporary topics concerning application of air power in recent conflicts and the changing doctrinal precepts that establish the dominant role of air power in national security.
• The WASP was conceptualised by the IAF with the purpose of creating a pool of mid-career air power practitioners with strategic acumen and a deep understanding of warfare history and theory.
• It aims to enhance the doctrinal vision of the participants and cultivate their aptitude for effective arguments on strategy. It will further hone the ability of the participants to link varied thoughts and theories about whole-of-government approach to statecraft.
• The course was organized at College of Air Warfare (CAW) which is IAF’s premier institute for Air Power Studies.

ANSWER: B

• Union Minister of State for M/o Food Processing Industries, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel inaugurated the National Conference on Millets on the theme ‘The Future Super Food for India’ in New Delhi, organised by industry body ASSOCHAM with the support of M/o Food Processing Industries.
• The conference has been organised to discuss opportunities and challenges in ensuring food and nutritional security.
• Millets have been among the oldest eatables in the country. It is a crop grown from small seeds which can be grown well in dry areas or even on lands with deficient and low fertility thus is known as the superfood of India.
• Due to their short growing season, millets can develop from seeds to ready-to-harvest crops in just about 65 days and this characteristic of the millets is of vital importance in thickly populated regions of the world.
• If stored properly, millets can keep well for two years or beyond. There is a need to mainstream millets to improve India’s nutrition outcomes.
• The Government of India has already revised the guidelines to facilitate the movement of the surplus production of millets to other states.
• The provision of inter-state transportation of surplus millets through the Food Corporation of India (FCI) is incorporated to cater for advance demands placed by consuming states before the start of procurement.
• The major millets producing states in India include Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
• India is the 5th largest exporter of millets globally.
• The year 2023 will be the international year of millets that will create value generation and promotion of sustainable products in food choices.

ANSWER: B

• Justice Amjad Ahtesham Sayed of the Bombay High Court has been appointed Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
• The Supreme Court Collegium had recommended his name on May 17, 2022.
• Born on January 21, 1961, Justice Sayed did LLB from Bombay University in 1984.
• He was an assistant government pleader, Bombay High Court, original side.
• He appeared in PILs related to mangroves, garbage dumping, free/concessional medical treatment for the poor in charitable hospitals, bio-medical waste and malnutrition on behalf of Union of India/state government.
• A keen sports enthusiast, he was on the panel of several public undertakings.
• Justice Sayed was appointed Judge of the Bombay High Court on April 11, 2007.

ANSWER: D

• According to, State Chief Information Commissioner Narinder Chauhan, around 90,000 applications are received under the Right to Information (RTI) Act every year in the state.
• The RTI Act was playing an important role in strengthening public participation in the democratic process and ensuring transparency and accountability in governance and administration.
• The service providers had also been sensitised and people were also getting benefits of the Act.
• The Documents available in the office should be listed in a systematic manner. The compliance of various financial rules and office manuals should be ensured in office document management.
• He also replied to queries and addressed doubts about various aspects related to the Act while interacting with the officers. He asked them to ensure timely disposal of applications received under the RTI Act.
• The officers were instructed to avoid the tendency of unnecessary secrecy. People should be aware of all decisions that affect their lives.