Daily Current Affairs Quiz: June 28, 2022

ANSWER: D

• The people of Goa have celebrated the Sao Joao festival, the feast of St John the Baptist with traditional enthusiasm after a two-year coronavirus-induced gap.
• The festival is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, who baptised Lord Jesus on the river of Jordan and is celebrated at the onset of monsoon.
• Siolim, a village in North Goa, hosts a traditional canoe parade on the occasion of Sao Joao.

About the Festival:

• A large number of people participated in the boat parade in Siolim village of Goa’s Bardez taluka, marking the beginnng of revelry in the ‘Sao Joao’ festival.
• Traditionally, people jump into the well but since the wells are fast disappearing, people prefer to celebrate it in swimming pools.
• The festival is marked to herald the monsoon season in the state every year in June. People are often seen having a great time by enjoying and dancing in the artificial rain which adds charm to the celebrations.

ANSWER: D

• Mo Bus, Odisha-based public transport service has been honoured with a prestigious United Nations award, for their role and efforts in helping the world recover better from Covid19.
• According to UN, the public transport service has been recognised for its role in “promoting gender-responsive public services to achieve the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals)”.
• Among the other winners of this year’s awards, announced by Liu Zhenmin, United Nations Under Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs during a virtual event to commemorate the United Nations Public Service Day (celebrated on June 22), were public service initiatives from Thailand, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Panama, the Philippines, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and Ukraine.

Recognition for Odisha:

• The UN recognition said the “problem” was that “bus services in the city of Bhubaneswar needed improvement”, as a result of which “the majority of people used private vehicles, two-wheelers and auto-rickshaw to commute instead of taking public transportation”.
• As the “solution”, the Odisha government in 2018 “reorganized the public transit services in the city to provide an integrated, reliable and inclusive public bus service system”. Mo Bus, the UN noted, has incorporated “real-time technologies like live tracking, travel planner and e-ticketing”, and an e-rickshaw system called ‘Mo E-Ride’ has been introduced as a last-mile feeder service.

ANSWER: B

About NASSCOM:

• The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) is a non-governmental organisation in India that works to promote the country’s technology sector. NASSCOM was founded in 1988 and is a non-profit organisation. NASSCOM launched a programme in 2013 to support 10,000 businesses in India by 2023. NASSCOM supports activities aimed at Indian start-ups.

KEY POINTS:

• NASSCOM, an Indian non-governmental trade association and advocacy group, claims that an integrated AI and data use plan could boost India’s GDP by $500 billion by 2025.
• The NASSCOM, in collaboration with EY and with backing from Microsoft, EXL, and Capgemini, has introduced an AI Adoption Index to track sectoral progress on AI adoption in the nation.
• The index was the first comprehensive analysis of AI adoption trends in India, starting with four important industries: banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), consumer packaged goods (CPG), retail, healthcare, and industrials & automotive.
• Together, these industries could account for more than 60% of AI’s potential value-add to the nation’s GDP by 2025, which is estimated to be between $450 and $500 billion.
• According to the top body, investments in AI have increased significantly over the past two years, rising from $36 billion in 2020 to a high of $77 billion in 2021.
• Even while India’s current pace of AI investments was projected to expand at a CAGR of 30.8 percent and reach $881 million by 2023, it would still only account for 2.5 percent of the $340 billion in total worldwide AI expenditures.
• This would present a huge chance for Indian businesses to increase their investments in and adoption of AI in order to promote equal growth across all sectors.

ANSWER: D

• The annual ranking of the world’s most liveable cities has just been released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), and 2022’s Global Liveability Index shows some marked differences from the previous year.
• The EIU, which is a sister organization to The Economist, ranked 173 cities around the world on a variety of factors, including health care, crime rates, political stability, infrastructure and access to green space.

2022’s Global Liveability Index: The top 10           

1. Vienna, Austria
2. Copenhagen, Denmark
3. Zurich, Switzerland
4. Calgary, Canada
5. Vancouver, Canada
6. Geneva, Switzerland
7. Frankfurt, Germany
8. Toronto, Canada
9. Amsterdam, Netherlands
10. Osaka, Japan and Melbourne, Australia (tie)

10 LEAST LIVEABLE CITIES AROUND THE WORLD IN 2022:

1. Tehran, Iran
2. Douala, Cameroon
3. Harare, Zimbabwe
4. Dhaka, Bangladesh
5. Port Moresby, PNG
6. Karachi, Pakistan
7. Algiers, Algeria
8. Tripoli, Libya
9. Lagos, Nigeria
10. Damascus, Syria

Key points:

• The cities in India have fared poorly in the list of the world’s most liveable cities. India’s national capital New Delhi has been ranked 112th in the list of most liveable cities. While India’s financial capital Mumbai is ranked at 117th position.
• The Pakistani city of Karachi and Bangladesh capital Dhaka are among the least liveable cities in the world.

ANSWER: A

• The Indian Air Force announced that three Su-30 MKI planes and two C-17 transport aircraft are taking part in a month-long tactical leadership programme in Egypt.
• According to the statement, the exercise offers a singular chance to highlight the IAF’s capabilities and reach against the backdrop of the current geopolitical situation.
• In Egypt (Cairo West Airbase), the Indian Air Force would send three Su-30MKI aircraft, two C-17 aircraft, and 57 IAF personnel to the Egyptian Air Force Weapon School to take part in a tactical leadership programme.
• This particular exercise, which simulates numerous conflict situations using air assets in a big force engagement context, is unique.
• The goal of the exercise is to improve defence cooperation between the two nations and exchange best practises.
• The Indian Air Force (IAF) stated that the initiative will also give a chance to display the Su-30 MKI made in India as well as the nation’s proficiency for further indigenization of spare parts and components.

ANSWER: B

History:

• The Micro-Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day was marked by the United Nations General Assembly in its 74th Plenary on April 6 2017. The move came after the International Council for Small Business (ICSB) 2016 World Conference Declaration on the urgent need to recognise MSME’s role in global development.
• Recognising the potential of the MSME and their role in strengthening economies, June 27 is celebrated as the Micro-Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day.
• The day is aimed at raising public awareness of the contribution of MSMEs to global economic growth and sustainable development.
• MSME or Micro-Small and Medium-sized Enterprises are crucial for the growth of a country as they form the backbone of the economy.
• They are enterprises that usually employ not more than 250 employees but are responsible for creating more than two-thirds of all jobs globally.

Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day 2022: Significance

• According to the United Nations, formal and informal MSMEs account for 70 per cent of the total employment and 50 per cent of the GDP. Moreover, the sector makes up for 90 per cent of all firms.
• With such significant contribution to the economy, MSMEs are essential for innovations, job creation, and productivity growth.
• Despite being a key player in generating jobs, MSMEs face challenges in working conditions, informality, and productivity.
• The MSME day is celebrated to unlock the potential of the enterprise and utilise it for bolstering the global economy.

ANSWER: B

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Nitin Gupta, IRS, Member Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) as chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes.
• He is an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer of the 1986 batch of the Income Tax cadre. He is serving as the Member (investigation) in the Board.
• The post of the CBDT chief was being held in an additional capacity by Board member and 1986- batch IRS officer Sangeeta Singh after J B Mohapatra retired on April 30.
• The CBDT is headed by a chairman and can have six members who are in the rank of special secretary. It is the administrative body for the Income Tax department.

ANSWER: C

• Madhya Pradesh wrote history as they won their maiden Ranji Trophy title, beating Mumbai by 6 wickets in the final at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
• Under the leadership of Aditya Shrivastava, the team defeated 41-time champions Mumbai. The team was coached by former India wicketkeeper-batsman Chandrakant Pandit.

History of Ranji Trophy:

• The Ranji Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between multiple teams representing regional and state cricket associations. The competition currently consists of 38 teams, with all 28 states in India and four of the nine union territories having at least one representation.
• The competition is named after the first Indian cricketer who played international cricket, Ranjit Singh, who was also known as ‘Ranji’. The first match of the competition was held on 4 November 1934 between Madras and Mysore at the Chepauk ground in Madras in the final.
• Mumbai (Bombay) have won the tournament the maximum number of times with 41 wins including 15 back-to-back wins from 1958–59 to 1972–73.

ANSWER: C

• The Award is conferred by Ministry of Power to the CPSUs for their outstanding contribution to the country-wide campaign Swachh Bharat Abhiyan initiated by Government of India.
• All the Public Sector Undertakings under Ministry of Power are evaluated on the basis of activities carried out during Swachhta Pakhwada.
• During Swachhta Pakhwada held from 16-31st May 2022, SJVN had formulated Swachhta Pakhwada Action Plan to undertake various activities across all its project locations & offices in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
• This included awareness campaigns, special drive to encourage eco-friendly material instead of plastic, tree plantation drives, installation of dustbins in public places and cleaning up of rivers situated nearby Project’s area, distribution of sanitization/personal hygiene materials in local communities etc.
• In addition to cleanliness drives for promoting segregation of waste, vermicomposting, reuse of waste water for agriculture etc. and to increase public awareness motivational speeches, nukaad nataks, competitions and awareness programs were organized.
• Along with short term impact programs, long term impact programs such as construction of multipurpose Check Dam at Nahan, Bio-diversity Park in Shimla, river cleanliness drives are also being executed by SJVN.
• Nand Lal Sharma is the Chairman & Managing Director of the SJVN.

ANSWER: C

• The Avishkar Foundation, Solapur, Maharashtra, declared the Avishkar Achievers Award-2022 felicitating personalities in different categories across the country.
• The Best Nation-Builders Teacher Award has been given to Flying Officer Dr Chaman Lal Kranti Singh, an assistant Professor cum head, department of journalism and mass communication, Vallabh Government College, Mandi.
• He is a member of the Cable Regulation Act 1995.
• He holds the rank of Flying Officer in the NCC Air Force Squadron of Himachal Pradesh.
• He is actively engaged in teaching, research, community development, programme, adventure sports, and institutional training of NCC Air force cadets.