Daily Current Affairs Quiz: May 13, 2024

ANSWER: B

• India participated in the 19th Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) was held in the New York from May 6th to 10th May 2024.
• During the session, India highlighted the Country’s significant advancements in forest conservation and sustainable forest management which led to consistent increase in forest cover over the past fifteen years.
• India also introduced the ‘Green Credit Program’, designed to incentivize entities to take up tree plantation and restoration of degraded forest lands, which aims to further strengthen climate action initiatives.
• Globally, India ranks third in the net gain in the average annual forest area between 2010 and 2020.
• The recent celebrations marking 50 years of Project Tiger and 30 years of Project Elephant underscore India’s commitment to species conservation and habitat protection.
• In October 2023, India hosted the Country Led Initiative under UNFF at Dehradun which was attended by representatives from 40 countries and 20 international organizations and held discussions on forest fire management and forest certification.

 ABOUT UNFF

• It is a high-level intergovernmental policy forum which includes all United Nations member states and permanent observers.
• It promotes “management, conservation and sustainable development of forests.
• It was established in year 2000 by the UN Economic and Social Council with its Headquarter in New York.

ANSWER: D

• The 4th Joint Committee meeting for the review of AITIGA (ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement) was held in Putrajaya, Malaysia from 7-9 May 2024.
• The delegates from India and all 10 ASEAN countries participated in the discussions.
• ASEAN is one of the major trade partners of India with a share of 11% in India’s global trade.
• The bilateral trade stood at USD 122.67 Bn during 2023-24.
• The upgradation of AITIGA will further boost bilateral trade.
• Next meet for the 5th Joint Committee meeting will be held in Jakarta, Indonesia from 29-31 July 2024.

ANSWER: A

• Ministry of Mines Secretary Inaugurated office of Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL) in New Delhi.
• KABIL is a Joint Venture Company formed by NALCO, HCL and MECL, the CPSEs under the Ministry of Mines is entrusted with the important mission of identifying, exploring, acquiring, and developing critical & strategic mineral assets overseas.
• It will play a crucial role in driving India’s growth and self-sufficiency in the realm of critical & strategic minerals aligning with the objectives of “Make in India” and “Viksit Bharat” and India achieving the Net Zero Emission Goal.
• KABIL’s journey was started by the signing of an Exploration and Development Agreement with CAMYEN on January 15, 2024.
  • This agreement granted KABIL exclusive exploration rights for five lithium blocks in Argentina, a key component in the production of batteries essential for various industries, including electric vehicles.
• There is also collaboration of India with Australia who is the leading producer of Lithium ( about 47% of the world- top producer) and Cobalt (about 3% of World- 4th largest producer) by signing G2G MoU ( between Ministry of Mines and DSIR) and B2B MoU ( between KABIL and CMO).

ANSWER: B

• Portal for National Green Hydrogen Mission Launched by Union Ministry of New & Renewable Energy.
• The government held a day-long workshop on “Quality Control in Green Hydrogen: Standards & Testing Infrastructure” at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, New Delhi on May 8, 2024.
• This portal will serve as a one-stop location for information on the Mission and steps taken for the development of the green hydrogen ecosystem in India.
• Reports on “Green Hydrogen Standards and Approval Systems in India” and another one on “India’s Green Hydrogen Revolution” were also released during the workshop.
• Five panel discussions were held at the workshop, where experts from leading technical institutions, regulators and industry deliberated on the following issues pertaining to the green hydrogen ecosystem.
  • Green Hydrogen Ecosystem: Imperatives, Challenges and Way Forward
  • Standards in Hydrogen Storage
  • Standards of Electrolyser Manufacturing & Performance
  • Standards for Green Hydrogen Production Plants & Systems
  • Green Hydrogen based Applications

ANSWER: B

• Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship signs MoU with Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. to conduct two Pilot Projects under the Drone Didi Yojana.
• This scheme was launched last year with aims to train 15,000 women to operate drones for agricultural purposes such as fertilizing the crop, monitoring crop growth and planting seeds by creating new livelihood opportunities for women.
• Under this partnership, MSDE and M&M will conduct two Pilot Projects at the National Skill Training Institute (NSTI), situated in Hyderabad and Noida, to skill 500 women in exclusive batches of 20 women each.
• This collaboration advances the mission of upskilling women for nation-building, particularly through the successful implementation of the Drone Didi program in empowering women in emerging trades.

ANSWER: C

Kerala has banned Oleander flowers in temple offerings.

• Two Kerala government-controlled temple boards, which together manage 2,500-odd temples in the state have banned use of oleander flowers (locally known as Arali) in temple offerings after a 24-year-old woman died after accidentally chewing some oleander leaves.

WHAT IS OLEANDER

• Nerium oleander also known as oleander or rosebay is a plant cultivated worldwide in tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions.
• Known for its drought tolerance, the shrub is often used for ornamental and landscaping purposes.
• In Kerala, the plant is known by the names of Arali and Kanaveeram, and is grown along highways and beaches as a natural, green fencing.
• It is harmful due to the properties of cardiac glycosides (a type of chemical) including oleandrin, folinerin, and digitoxigenin, which are present in all parts of the plant.
• Effects of oleander toxicity include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, rashes, confusion, dizziness, irregular heartbeat, slow heartbeat, and, in extreme cases, death.

USES

• Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India (API), a government document describes the quality, purity, and strength of drugs used in Ayurveda.
• According to API, an oil prepared from the root bark can be used to treat skin diseases.

ANSWER: D

• ISRO tests ‘Made-in-India’ 3D-printed rocket engine PS4 which involves layer-by-layer material addition to create objects from digital models, allowing for complex designs and efficient material usage.
• The PS4 engine plays a critical role in accurately deploying payloads into their intended orbits aboard the PSLV.
• ISRO has employed Laser Powder Bed Fusion technique to redesign the PS4 engine.
• The PS4 stage is the fourth and the topmost stage of the PSLV rocket featuring two liquid engines.
  • Each engine can produce 3 kiloNewtons (kN) of thrust in vacuum conditions, achieving a combined total of 14.6 kN.
• The engine uses the earth-storable bipropellant combinations of Nitrogen Tetroxide as oxidizer and Mono Methyl Hydrazine as fuel in pressure-fed mode and was developed by the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), ISRO.

ABOUT

• PS4 Engine Reimagined with 3-D Printing Technology.
• The engine was manufactured by WIPRO 3D, an Indian company and underwent hot testing at the ISRO Propulsion Complex at Mahendragiri.
• WIPRO 3D is a leading provider of metal additive manufacturing solutions and services.

ANSWER: A

• Two baby girls diagnosed with Kawasaki disease, a condition causing inflammation of blood vessels, were successfully treated at Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH).
• Both babies treated with intravenous immunoglobulin therapy.

ABOUT

• “Kawasaki disease” is a rare heart condition often starts with a high and persistent fever that is not very responsive to normal treatment.
• In this condition immune system attacks the blood vessels, which become inflamed and swollen and tends to affect the coronary arteries which carries blood to the heart muscle.
• Children with the disease might have high fever, swollen hands and feet with skin peeling and red eyes and tongue.
• Kawasaki disease was first discovered by Tomisaku Kawasaki in 1967 in Japan, and the first cases outside of Japan were reported in Hawaii in 1976.

ANSWER: D

• India’s homegrown “largest multilingual and affordable GenAI platform”, Hanooman, launched by the AI business SML India in partnership with 3AI Holding, an Abu Dhabi-based investment company.
• It will available in 98 global languages, including 12 Indian languages.
• It can handle everything from a casual chat to offering professional advice as well as performing complex technical tasks like coding and tutoring.
• Gen AI platform will also offer multimodal and multilingual capabilities, including text, voice, image, and code to users.

GENERAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)

• It is an intelligence of machines that allows them to comprehend, learn, and perform intellectual tasks much like humans.
• AGI emulates the human mind and behavior to solve any kind of complex problem.
• It works by Machine Learning model to learn the platforms and relationship in a data created by humans.

ANSWER: C

Japan defeated Pakistan in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Hockey Tournament 2024.

• Japan won Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey trophy by defeating Pakistan 4-1 in the penalty shoot-out in the final was held at Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh, Malaysia, on 11 May 2024.
• Six teams participated in the event includes Malaysia, Pakistan, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand and Canada.
• Japan won the trophy, with Pakistan in second place.
• Malaysia was in third followed by New Zealand, South Korea, and Canada in last place.

ABOUT  

• Sultan Azlan Shah is a prestigious Hockey tournament in Asia that has attracted the world’s top men’s national hockey teams which held annually.
• India has been a regular participant in the Sultan Azlan Shah Tournament and won the trophy 5 times in 1985, 1991, 1995, 2009, 2010
• Indian team skipped this tournament due to focus on preparing for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics starts on 26 July 2024.