Daily Current Affairs Quiz : March 26, 2022

ANSWER: C

• Solomon has signed an agreement with China which could allow Chinese soldiers and police to be deployed in the Pacific nation.

About Solomon Islands

• It is an archipelagic state in Melanesia, located in southwest Pacific Ocean. It is geographically positioned in the Southern and Eastern hemispheres of the Earth.
• Neighborhood: Located to the southeast of Papua New Guinea and to the northwest of Vanuatu.
• Geographical Features: A wide-spread archipelago of mountainous, heavily forested volcanic islands (some active) and a few low-lying coral atolls.
• The highest point in the Solomon Islands is Mount Popomanaseu and lowest point is the Pacific Ocean.

ANSWER: A

• Recently, Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati felicitated 75 trained candidates of Project UNNATI under MGNREGA.

About Project UNNATI

• A Skilling project to upgrade the skill base of the MGNREGA beneficiaries, enabling them to move from the current partial employment to full-time employment and reduce their dependence on MGNREGS.
• Provides training for one adult member (age 18-45 years) of a household who has completed 100 days of work under MGNREGA.

ANSWER: A

• The government is set to give a renewed thrust to use of geographical indications (GI) tag for promotion of unique agricultural products with high commercial potential in the global markets. One of selected product is Assam Kaji Nemu.
• Also known as the Assam Lemon, it is a sour citrus fruit and is exclusively used for appetizing, drinks, industries and medicinal uses.
• It is comparatively larger than the regular lemon.
• Produced all-round the year, it is cultivated on Loamy and fertile soil.
• Other significant GI of Assam – Joha Rice, Chokuwa rice.

ANSWER: D

• It has been inaugurated in Bengaluru.
• Set up as a Section 8 company under Companies Act, 2013, with an initial capital contribution of Rs 100 crores.
• RBIH aims to encourage and nurture financial innovation in a sustainable manner through an institutional set-up.
• It creates an ecosystem that focuses on promoting access to financial services and products for the low-income population in the country.
• Hub would bring convergence among various stakeholders (BFSI Sector, Start-up ecosystem, Regulators and Academia) in the financial innovation space.

ANSWER: C

• Government e-Marketplace (GeM) achieved annual procurement of Rs. 1 lakh crore in Financial Year 2021-22

About GeM:

• One stop portal to facilitate online procurement of common use Goods & Services required by various Government Departments / Organizations / PSUs.
• Launch Year: 2016
• Hosted by: Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D) under Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• Benefits: Transparency, efficiency and speed in public procurement.

ANSWER: C

• PACER scheme has been approved for continuation during 2021-2026.

About PACER scheme

• Comprises the Antarctic program, Indian Arctic program, Southern Ocean program and Cryosphere and Climate program.
• Implemented through National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
• Achievements:
• Executed 39th & 40th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica (41st ongoing).
• Automatic Weather Station (AWS) systems installed at Baralacha La, in the Spiti region.
• IndARC mooring system was deployed in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard.
• Executed 11th Indian Southern Ocean Expedition.

ANSWER: C

• A picture book edition co-authored by Nobel Peace Prizewinners 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso) & Archbishop Desmond Tutu, titled “The Little Book of Joy” will be released in September 2022.
• The illustrations provided by artist Rafael López and Rachel Neumann & Douglas Abrams collaborated on the text. This book focuses on the meaning of true happiness, which is not in the materialistic world but lies in the nature of human beings.
• In 2016, they also co-authored the book titled “The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World”, which became a bestseller & sold more than 1 million copies and translated into more than 40 languages.

ANSWER: B

• The World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD)has issued the Wildlife Conservation Bond (WCB) to support of South Africa’s efforts to conserve endangered species of Black Rhino.
• Wildlife Conservation Bond (WCB) is also known as “Rhino Bond”. It is a five-year $150 million Sustainable Development Bond. It includes a potential performance payment from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
• The bond will contribute to protecting and increasing black rhino populations in two protected areas in South Africa namely the Addo Elephant National Park (AENP) and the Great Fish River Nature Reserve (GFRNR).

ANSWER: D

• Asia’s largest Tulip Garden is located in Srinagar. This garden houses more than a million tulips. This garden has been a major global tourist attraction in Kashmir. On 23^rdMarch, it has been reopened to the public after being shut for the past nine months.

About the Srinagar Tulip Festival

• Annually in the month of April, the Jammu and Kashmir government organizes the tulip festival which kicks off the tourism season of the union territory. This festival includes multiple musical events, cultural programmes, conferences, and food fests. The blend of colours from the different varieties of tulips attracts hundreds of tourists to Kashmir from various parts of India.

About the Tulip garden

• On the foothills of the Zabarwan range, the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden is located. It overlooks Srinagar’s Dal lake.
• In 2008 it was initially opened by then Chief Minister Ghulam Mabi Azad. Since then it has been attracting lakhs of visitors from several parts of the country to Srinagar.
• More than 50 gardeners worked tirelessly for the past nine months to get this garden ready for the festival. The garden will remain open till April end, as this is the duration of the tulips blooming. Apart from tulips, flowers like daffodils, hyacinths, and ranunculus have also been added to this garden.

ANSWER: A

• The annual Mangaluru Kambala’s fifth edition will be held on the grounds of Goldfinch City in Bangra Kulur on 26^thand 27^th March 2022.
• Around 150 pairs of buffalo bulls will be taking part in this event.
• This event generally takes place in November, but due to the COVID-19 restrictions, for the second year running, this event is being held in March.
• The season’s last two Kambalas will be organized in April in Uppinangady and Venur.

What is Kambala?

• It is a buffalo race held annually in Karnataka. This event is sponsored by the local Tuluva landlords in the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts.
• Kambala samithis organize these events. Annually, more than 45 races are held in the coastal region of coastal Karnataka.

Format of this race

• The race track where this event takes place is a paddy field that is slushy. Whip-lashing farmers drive the buffaloes. The winners earn silver and gold coins.
• Some of the organizing committees award a gold coin which is of eight-grams to the winner whereas in some places cash prizes are given.
• The buffaloes taking part in this event are decorated with head-pieces made of silver and brass, bridle made of ropes, and coloured jhuls. Paavade is the name of the towel that is used to cover the neck of the buffalo.

ANSWER: C

• Hwasong-17: Intercontinental ballistic missile was test fired by North Korea has test fired its biggest-yet Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), Hwasong- 17 as per the orders of their Supreme leader Kim Jong Un.
• The Hwasong-17 was launched directly from a Transporter Erector Launcher (TEL) vehicle, with 11 axles.
• The missile flew 1,090 km (681 miles) at a maximum altitude of 6,248.5 km (3,905 miles) and hit a target in the Sea of Japan after travelling 67.5 minutes in air.
• Its predecessor, the Hwasong-15, which was tested in November 2017 reached an altitude of about 4,475 km and covered 950 km over 53 minutes.
• About Hwasong-17:
• Diameter — 2.5 metres.
• Mass — when fully fuelled, is between 80,000 to 110,000 kg.
• Fuel type — Two-stage, liquid fuelled.

ANSWER: D

• The United Nations (UN)’s International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade is annually observed across the globe on 25th March to commemorate the memory of the victims of Transatlantic Slave Trade.
• The day also offers the opportunity to honour and remember the people who have suffered and died because of the slavery system.
• The theme of 2022 International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade is “Stories of Courage: Resistance to Slavery and Unity against Racism”.
• The United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) adopted the resolution 62/122 on 17th December 2007 and declared 25th March of every year as International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
• The first-ever International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade was observed on 25th March 2008.
• The resolution also called for the establishment of an outreach programme to mobilize educational institutions, civil society and other organizations to inculcate in future generations the “causes, consequences and lessons of the transatlantic slave trade, and t communicate the dangers of racism and prejudice”.

ANSWER: B

• A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT), Palampur, and Dev Surya Himalayan Organic Pvt Ltd, Palampur, to promote the cultivation of lemongrass and aromatic marigold among farmers of local villages.
• The CSIR-IHBT will provide 10 lakh lemongrass slips and 75 kg of seeds of aromatic marigold under the CSIR Aroma Mission.
• CSIR-IHBT Director Sanjay Kumar said that the Aroma Mission was started in 2017 to promote the cultivation of high-value aromatic crops for the socio-economic uplift of farmers and employment generation in rural areas.

ANSWER: A

• The first Dharamsala Literature Festival being hosted by the Kangra district administration began.
• The Dalai Lama’s message carrying his blessings was read out by his spokesperson during the inaugural session of the festival.
• Tenzin Tsundue and Nyen Tsering Tashi along with Tenzin Cheoying engaged in a conversion over the evolution of Tibetan literature. The session touched the Tibetan literature, as it evolved in exile and how it highlighted the plight of Tibetans.
• Deputy Commissioner of kangra said that the Dharamsala Literature Festival would be made a regular affair.

About Dharmshala

• Dharamshala is the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, India.
• It serves as administrative headquarters of the Kangra district after being relocated from Kangra, a city located 18 kilometres away from Dharamshala, in 1855.
• The city has been selected as one of a hundred in India to be developed as a smart city under Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship “Smart Cities Mission”.
• On 19 January 2017, the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Virbhadra Singh, declared Dharamshala as the second capital of Himachal Pradesh, making it the third national administrative division of India to have two capitals after the state of Maharashtra and the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.