ANSWER: C

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that bringing inflation down cannot be the sole responsibility of the Centre.
• She stressed states also play a critical role in management of prices.
• Inaugurating a conference of Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relation in New Delhi, Ms Sithraman said, during covid pandemic, immediately, handling inflation has become only a subset of handling the economy.
• She said, looking at the context about inflation particularly since 2020, there are so many different factors.
• She said, India’s entire import had two per cent of Russian component and it was ramped up to 12 to 13 per cent within a couple of months.
• The Minister said, there are sanctions but countries are finding their own way to get that Russian crude, gas.

About Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relation (ICRIER)

• Established in August 1981, ICRIER is a policy-oriented, not-for-profit, economic policy think tank. ICRIER’s main focus is to enhance the knowledge content of policy making by undertaking analytical research that is targeted at informing India’s policy makers and also at improving the interface with the global economy.
• ICRIER has two office locations in Delhi.
• ICRIER’s Board of Governors include leading academicians, policymakers, and representatives from the private sector.
• Pramod Bhasin is ICRIER’s chairperson and Dr. Deepak Mishra is Director & Chief Executive.

ICRIER conducts thematic research in the following five thrust areas:

• Growth, Employment and Macroeconomics (GEM)
• Trade, Investment and External Relations (TIER)
• Agriculture Policy, Sustainability and Innovation (APSI)
• Digital Economy, Start-ups and Innovation (DESI)
• Climate Change, Urbanization and Sustainability (CCUS)

ANSWER: C

• Australian Parliament has passed government legislation in view of a pledge to reduce carbon emissions by 43 percent by 2030 and further bring it to zero by 2050.
• The Senate passed the bill with 37 votes to 26 with amendments from independent senator David Pocock, before being passed by the House of Representatives hours later.
• The legislation, which still needs royal assent before it officially becomes law, will set a target greenhouse gas emissions reduction of 43 percent by 2030. It also enshrines net zero emissions by 2050.
• Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said that the passage of the climate change legislation sends a message to the world that Australia is serious about driving down emissions and serious about reaping the economic opportunities from affordable renewable energy.
• Bowen said, it also strengthens transparency and accountability through the annual climate change statement and will ensure public debate informs government decisions.
• The bill is passed with the support of the Greens party and independents.
• This is the first step in climate action following Labour Party coming to power this year.

ANSWER: B

• The European Central Bank made its largest-ever interest rate increase.
• The action came following the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks in a global stampede of rapid rate hikes to arrest record inflation.
• The bank’s 25-member Governing Council raised its key benchmarks by an unprecedented 75 basis points for the 19 countries, using euro currency.
• The ECB had never raised its key bank lending rate by three-quarters of a point since the euro’s launch in 1999.
• The bank said, it expects more hikes ahead because inflation may rise further in the near term.
• The central bank noted that the economy was expected to stagnate later in the year.

About the European Central Bank (ECB)

• The European Central Bank (ECB) is headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
• It has been responsible for monetary policy in the Euro area since 1999, when the euro currency was first adopted by some EU members.

ANSWER: D

• The Union Environment Ministry has for the third time extended the deadline by which coal plants must install pollution-control technologies to reduce emissions, drawing criticism from environment and clean-energy activists.

About:

• The Ministry first specified emission norms for the control of sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and mercury (Hg) from coal-fired power plants.
• However, non-compliance and limited progress by the plants led to a new extension following the recent notification pushing it to 2025.
• According to the latest notification, power plants within a 10-km radius of the NCR and in the vicinity of cities with a population of more than one million have until December 31, 2024, to meet the deadline.
• For power plants within a 10-km radius of “critically polluted” areas (as designated by the Environment Ministry), the deadline has been extended to December 31, 2025.
• Finally, for all other power plants across the country, the deadline stands at December 31, 2026.

ANSWER: B

• China’s first fully solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle has successfully completed its maiden test flight with all onboard systems functioning optimally.

About:

• With a wingspan of 164-ft, the drone is a large machine powered entirely by solar panels.
• The high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) UAV can stay airborne for long durations.
• Named the Qimingxing-50, or Morning Star-50, this drone flies above 20-km altitude where there is stable airflow with no clouds.
• This helps these drones to make the maximum use of solar equipment to stay functional for extended durations.
• The fact that the drone can operate in near-space – 20 km to 100 km above the Earth’s surface – makes it capable of carrying out satellite-like functions.

ANSWER: D

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Plenary Session of 7th Eastern Economic Forum being held in Vladivostok through video conferencing.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India is keen to strengthen its partnership with Russia on Arctic subjects.
• He said, along with energy, India has also made significant investments in the Russian Far East in the fields of pharma and diamonds.
• The Prime Minister said, in 2019, he had a chance to participate in this forum face-to-face and at that time he had announced the Act Far-East policy of India.
• Eastern Economic Forum is an international forum held each year in Vladivostok, Russia, for the purpose of encouraging foreign investment in the Russian Far East.
• It is held each year since 2015 in September, at the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, Russia.

 About Eastern Economic Forum

• EEF is an international forum organised each year in Vladivostok, Russia.
• It was first held in September 2015, at Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, to support the economic development of Russia’s Far East and to expand international cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

ANSWER: A

• The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) Centre for Citizen Services, was inaugurated by Chief Justice of India Uday Umesh Lalit.
• The space at Jaisalmer House which was provided to NALSA would be utilised for the establishment of Legal Assistance Centre for Citizens, Legal Assistance Centre for NRIs, Training Centre, and Digital Command Centre for providing futuristic legal services across the country.
• The NALSA office which was earlier placed at Jamnagar House was shifted to the Additional Building Complex of the Supreme Court of India on November 9, 2021.
• The space at Jaisalmer House which was provided to NALSA would be utilised for the establishment of Legal Assistance Centre for Citizens, Legal Assistance Centre for NRIs, Training Centre, and Digital Command Centre for providing futuristic legal services across the country.

About the NALSA:

• The NALSA has been constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to provide free Legal Services to the weaker sections of the society.
• Its purpose is to provide free legal services to eligible candidates, and to organize Lok Adalats for the speedy resolution of cases.
• While the CJI is the Patron-in-Chief, the second senior most judge of the Supreme Court of India is the executive chairperson of the Authority.
• There is a provision for similar mechanism at the state and district levels also headed by the Chief Justice of High Courts and Chief Judges of District courts respectively. The prime objective of NALSA is speedy disposal of cases and reducing the burden of the judiciary.

ANSWER: D

• The new concept of border tourism has proved a hit in the Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir with the respective governments opening border destinations along the international border (IB) and Line of Control (LOC) for tourists.
• Tourists have started thronging the border destinations that give an eyeball-to-eyeball experience with people across the IB and LOC.
• Teetwal on the LOC in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, Suchetgarh along the IB in the Jammu district and Turtuk on the LOC in Ladakh have registered an increased footfall of tourists following patronage of the respective governments.
• Militarily strategic Turtuk was captured by India during the 1971 war with Pakistan and it has become India’s northernmost village on the LOC. It is attracting a large number of tourists keen to witness the Baltistani culture and stone utensils made locally.
• Governor Manoj Sinha has given a push to border tourism at Suchetgarh.
  In order to promote Teetwal as tourist destination under Border Tourism in the Valley, the Tourism Department in collaboration with district administration of Kupwara, Lolab- Bungus-Dringyari Development Authority (LBDDA), Cultural Academy and Army organised a border tourism festival on the banks of Kishen Ganga at Teetwal near zero line.
• The Director Tourism said that the aim of the Border Tourism Festival at historical Teetwal was to promote the area as a tourist destination besides providing a platform to local artists to showcase their talent.
• He further said that the border tourism has a potential to change the socio-economic condition of the people. He urged the people to get registered for home stays as tourists prefer home stays to enjoy rich cultural heritage.

ANSWER: A

• Vanshika Parmar of Nadaun, Hamirpur, is the first-ever girl from the state to become Miss Earth India 2022 at the tender age of 19.
• The Miss Earth India finale was held this week at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi, where Vanshika was selected as India’s official representative for Miss Earth 2022.
• Now, Vanshika will represent India internationally at the Miss Earth pageant in November in the Philippines where she will compete with representatives from over 90 countries for the coveted crown.
• Miss Earth is one of the top three alpha and mega beauty pageants of the world. Miss Divine Beauty is the licensed franchise holder of Miss Earth India that sends representatives from India to Miss Earth.
• Vanshika is currently pursuing her majors from Miranda House, University of Delhi. In addition to being a beauty queen, she is an academic scholar.
• She is the granddaughter of Colonel Shakti Chand Parmar (Retd). Her father SK Parmar is a Group Captain in the Indian Air Force.

ANSWER: D

• The state government today urged the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to declare the lumpy skin disease (LSD) as an epidemic. There has been a sudden spurt in cases of the disease among cattle in nine districts of the state.
• On August 10, the State Animal Husbandry Department had declared the LSD as a scheduled disease under Chapter II, Section 6 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animal Act 2009.
• However, seeing the recent surge in cases, Sudesh Mokta, Director-cum-Special Secretary, Revenue, wrote to the Central government, requesting it to declare the disease as an epidemic.
• The disease has witnessed a spurt in the past few days. As many as 2,309 head of cattle have died and 55,926 have been infected with the disease in the state till now,” he wrote in the letter to the Joint Secretary, Disaster Management Division, Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
• He added that the disease had cast a shadow on the livestock in the state and so needs to be declared as an epidemic.
• Mokta said, “It is only after the disease is declared as an epidemic that the disaster, relief and rehabilitation component of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) can be provided to aggrieved farmers.
• Nine districts have been affected by the disease but Sirmaur, Shimla and Solan are the worst-hit districts.
• Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti and Kullu have so far not reported any LSD case.
• Kangra has also been affected badly. It has witnessed the death of 566 head of cattle while 18,625 head of cattle have been infected.
• Una district has reported the death of 556 head of cattle while 8,585 head of cattle have been infected.
• Solan district has witnessed 336 deaths while 7,491 head of cattle have been infected with the disease.
• The Animal Husbandry Department claimed that over 1.40 lakh vaccines had been provided to curb the spread of the disease.
• The Himachal Kisan Sabha has demanded that the LSD be declared as an epidemic, as a large number of farmers in the state are dependent on dairy farming.