2024 Latest Current Affairs, Daily Current Affairs in 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020

1 .

With reference to the Alzheimer’s disease, consider the following statements:

1. Alzheimer’s is a degenerative brain disorder that slowly robs people of their memory and thinking abilities.

2. In India, only 1 in 10 people with dementia receive any diagnosis, treatment or care for the disease, according to the World Alzheimer’s Report, 2021.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A)

1 only

B)

2 only

C)

Both 1 and 2

D)

Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer : Both 1 and 2

* An experimental Alzheimer’s drug – Crenezumab – aimed at slowing or preventing cognitive decline in people at risk of developing the disease early has failed in clinical trials, landing a blow to efforts aimed at finding a treatment to the neurodegenerative disease.

* Alzheimer’s is a degenerative brain disorder that slowly robs people of their memory and thinking abilities.

* Worldwide, it is the most common form of dementia or loss of cognitive functioning — thinking, remembering, and reasoning – contributing 60%-70% cases, according to the WHO.

* Progressive and irreversible, it usually begins with mild memory loss, and as symptoms grow severe, patients lose the ability to perform even simple tasks.

* The disease was discovered after Dr Alios Alzheimer examined a memory-loss patient’s brain after her death in 1906 and found abnormal clumps (beta-amyloid plaque) and bundles of fibres (neurofibrillary tangles).

* Pathology of the disease is deposition of an abnormal protein called beta-amyloid in the brain. The plaque and tangles, along with loss of connections between the neurons to transmit messages inside the brain, are key markers of the disease.

What is the India scenario?

* In India, only 1 in 10 people with dementia receive any diagnosis, treatment or care for the disease, according to the World Alzheimer’s Report, 2021.

* An increasing prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, and obesity is expected to drive up the incidence of dementia in India in the coming decades.

* According to the Global Burden of Disease study published this year in The Lancet, India could see a 197% jump in dementia, including Alzheimer’s, from 3.84 million cases in 2019 to 11.44 million cases by 2050.

Hence both statements are correct.

Source : Indian Express

Published On : June 25, 2022

2 .

With reference to Right to Education in India, consider the following statements:

1. The Justice Verma Committee encompassed the insertion of Article 21A in the Constitution.

2. Right to Education is a fundamental right for children between 6-18 years

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A)

1 only

B)

2 only

C)

Both 1 and 2

D)

Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer : Neither 1 nor 2

The Tapas Majumdar Committee (1999) encompassed the insertion of Article 21A.

* In 1993, the Supreme Court’s landmark judgement in the Unnikrishnan JP vs State of Andhra Pradesh & Others held that Education is a Fundamental right flowing from Article 21.

* The 86th amendment to the constitution of India in 2002, provided Right to Education as a fundamental right in part-III of the Constitution. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.

Right to Education a fundamental right for children between 6-14 years.

* Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

* India became one of 135 countries to make education a fundamental right of every child when the act came into force on 1 April 2010.

* The Title of the RTE Act incorporates the words ‘free and compulsory’.

Source : Indian Express

Published On : June 25, 2022

3 .

With reference to the U.S.A gun safety bill, consider the following statements:

1. The bill seeks to ensure strict background checks for gun buyers, especially minors.

2. The bill will release funds for educational institutions, to expand their mental health resources and make schools safer.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A)

1 only

B)

2 only

C)

Both 1 and 2

D)

Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer : Both 1 and 2

The United States Senate has passed a gun safety bill, the most significant action against rising gun violence in the country.

The bill was passed on June 23, hours after the US Supreme Court ruled that Americans have a constitutional right to carry firearms in public for their safety and self-defence.

The bill will now be sent to the Democrat-dominated House of Representatives, where it is likely to sail through, after which it will be sent to US President Joe Biden for his approval.

The bill has been called the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. The bipartisan bill focuses on firearms and improving medical care in the US.

The bill seeks to ensure strict background checks for gun buyers, especially minors. The bill will also release funds for educational institutions, to expand their mental health resources and make schools safer.

Recent Killings :

* The bill was passed exactly a month after a mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where a gunman stormed an elementary school and killed 21 people, including 19 children.

* The Uvalde incident came days after a racial shooting in a Buffalo supermarket in New York, where 10 black people were fatally shot..

Source : Indian Express

Published On : June 25, 2022

4 .

Composite Water Management Index is released by

A)

NITI Aayog

B)

World Health Organisation

C)

Ministry of Jal Shakti

D)

Ministry of Rural Development

Correct Answer : NITI Aayog

NITI Aayog first launched and conceptualized the Composite Water Management Index in 2018 as a tool to instil a sense of cooperative and competitive federalism among the states.

It provided actionable guidance to States on where they were doing well absolutely and relatively and what they needed to focus on to secure their water

The index comprises 9 themes..

Source : The hindu

Published On : June 25, 2022

5 .

Consider the following statements regarding versions of Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC):

1. It is a not-for-profit organization.

2. Existing digital commerce applications and platforms can voluntarily choose to adopt and be a part of the ONDC network.

3. The project to integrate e-commerce platforms through a network based on open-source technology has been tasked to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A)

1 only

B)

1 and 2 only

C)

2 and 3 only

D)

1, 2 and 3

Correct Answer : 1 and 2 only

* Recently, the government has launched the pilot phase of Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) with an aim to “democratise” the country’s fast growing digital e-commerce space

* It is a not-for-profit organization that will offer a network to enable local digital commerce stores across industries to be discovered and engaged by any network-enabled applications. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

* It is neither an aggregator application nor a hosting platform, and all existing digital commerce applications and platforms can voluntarily choose to adopt and be a part of the ONDC network. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

* The project to integrate e-commerce platforms through a network based on open-source technology has been tasked to the Quality Council of India.

* The Quality Council of India (QCI) set up in 1997 is an autonomous body attached to the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Hence, statement 3 is not correct..

Source : The Hindu

Published On : June 25, 2022

6 .

With reference to the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAYU), consider the following statements:

1. It falls under the Government’s mission - Housing for All by 2022.

2. The Mission addresses urban housing shortages among the Economically Weaker Section (EWS)/ Low Income Group (LIG) only.

Which of the statements above is/are correct?

A)

1 only

B)

2 only

C)

Both 1 and 2

D)

Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer : 1 only

Recently, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY)- Urban has completed seven years of successful implementation.

With a total investment of Rs 8.31 Lakh Crore, PMAY-U has so far sanctioned 122.69 lakh houses, out of which more than 1 crore houses have been grounded and over 61 lakh houses have been completed and delivered to the beneficiaries.

About :

* Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) falls under the Government’s mission - Housing for All by 2022 for urban housing being implemented by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).

* It makes home loans affordable for the urban poor by providing a subsidy on the Interest Rate of a home loan during repayment by way of EMI (Equated Monthly Installments).

Beneficiaries:

* The Mission addresses urban housing shortage among the EWS/LIG and MIG categories including the slum dwellers.

* Economically Weaker Section (EWS) - with a maximum annual family income of Rs. 3,00,00.

* Low Income Group (LIG) - with maximum annual family income of Rs. 6,00,000) and

* Middle Income Groups (MIG I & II) - with a maximum annual family income of Rs. 18,00,000)

* A beneficiary family will comprise husband, wife, unmarried sons and/or unmarried daughters.

Four Verticals of PMAY-U:

In Situ Slum Redevelopment (ISSR):

* This vertical will be implemented with the concept “Land as a resource” with private sector participation for providing houses to eligible slum dwellers.

* Slum: It is a compact area of at least 300 people or about 60 - 70 households of poorly built congested tenements in an unhygienic environment usually with inadequate infrastructure and lacking in proper sanitary and drinking water facilities

Affordable Housing through Credit Linked Subsidy (CLSS):

* Beneficiaries of EWS, LIG, MIG (I &II) seeking housing loans from Banks, Housing Finance Companies and other such institutions for acquiring, new construction or enhancement of houses are eligible for an interest subsidy of:

* 6.5% on loan amount up to Rs. 6 Lakh

* 4% on loan amount up to Rs. 9 Lakh

* 3% on loan amount up to Rs. 12 Lakh

Affordable Housing Through Partnership (AHP):

* An affordable housing project can be a mix of houses for different categories but it will be eligible for Central Assistance, if at least 35% of the houses in the project are in the EWS category.

Beneficiary-led individual house construction (BLC):

* Central Assistance up to Rs. 1.5 lakh per EWS house is provided to eligible families belonging to EWS categories for individual house construction/ enhancement.

Demand-driven Approach:

* PMAY-U adopts a demand-driven approach strengthening the ethos of cooperative federalism, housing shortage is decided based on demand assessment by States/Union Territories (UTs).

* The Mission is implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) except the CLSS vertical of the PMAY-U which is being implemented as a Central Sector Scheme.

* Central Sector Schemes are 100% funded by the Union government and implemented by the Central Government machinery.

* Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) a certain percentage of the funding is borne by the States and the implementation is by the State Governments.

Geotagging :

* Geotagging is a process of adding geographical identification to various media like photography.

* Under the PMAY-U guidelines, it is mandatory for the state government to ensure that all houses built under the scheme are geotagged to the Bhuvan HFA (housing for all) application.

* Bhuvan is an Indian Geo Platform developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

* It is a web-based application which allows users to access various map related services.

Women Empowerment:

* The Mission promotes Woman Empowerment by providing the ownership of houses in the name of a female member or in joint names.

* Preference is also given to women (with overriding preference to widows, single women), persons belonging to Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes/Other Backward Classes, Minorities, Persons with disabilities and Transgender.

Initiatives under PMAY-U:

Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs) :

* It is a sub-scheme under PMAY-U.

* This will provide ease of living to urban migrants/ poor in the Industrial Sector as well as in non-formal urban economies to get access to dignified affordable rental housing close to their workplace.

Global Housing Technology Challenge :

* It aims to identify and mainstream a basket of innovative construction technologies from across the globe for the housing construction sector that are sustainable, eco-friendly and disaster-resilient.

CLSS Awas Portal (CLAP):

* It is a common platform where all stakeholders i.e., MoHUA, Central Nodal Agencies, Primary Lending Institutions, Beneficiaries and Citizens are integrated in a real-time environment.

* The portal facilitates processing of applications along with tracking of subsidy status by beneficiaries..

Source : PIB

Published On : June 25, 2022

7 .

With reference to the UN Public Service Award, consider the following statements:

1. It is intended to reward “the creative achievements and contributions of public service institutions that lead to a more effective and responsive public administration in countries worldwide”.

2. The first Awards ceremony was held in 2010.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A)

1 only

B)

2 only

C)

Both 1 and 2

D)

Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer : 1 only

Mo Bus, the bus service of Odisha’s Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT) authority, has been recognised by the United Nations as one of 10 global recipients of its annual Public Service Awards for 2022.

* The public transport service has been recognised for its role in “promoting gender-responsive public services to achieve the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals)”.

* 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.

* The “impact” is that 57 per cent of the city’s commuters now use the Mo Bus, the UN said. Mo E-Ride is estimated to reduce pollution by 30-50 per cent. Also, 40 per cent of Mo Bus conductors are women and 100 percent of Mo E-Ride drivers are women, transgender people, and people from disadvantaged communities.

* In 2019, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs conferred a special award on CRUT, the Bhubaneswar City Bus Modernisation Project, popularly known as the Mo Bus service.

UN Public Service Award

* The UN describes its Public Service Awards as the “most prestigious international recognition of excellence in public service”. It is intended to reward “the creative achievements and contributions of public service institutions that lead to a more effective and responsive public administration in countries worldwide”.

* The first Awards ceremony was held in 2003.

Source : Indian Express

Published On : June 25, 2022

8 .

With reference to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act), consider the following statements:

1. It prohibits a person from the production/manufacturing/cultivation, possession, sale, purchase transport, storage, and/or consumption of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance.

2. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) is a central law enforcement and intelligence agency that has been tasked with combating drug trafficking and the use of illegal substances under the provisions of the NDPS Act.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A)

1 only

B)

2 only

C)

Both 1 and 2

D)

Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer : Both 1 and 2

The government is considering transferring the administration of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act) and Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PITNDPS) Act, 1988 from the finance ministry to Ministry of Home Affairs to bring all issues related to narcotics under one department.

* Currently, while the home ministry governs the Narcotics Control Bureau, the Department of Revenue (DoR) in the finance ministry administers the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance (NDPS) Act of 1985 and the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of 1988.

* The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) is a central law enforcement and intelligence agency that has been tasked with combating drug trafficking and the use of illegal substances under the provisions of the NDPS Act.

* The NDPS Act, prohibits a person from the production/manufacturing/cultivation, possession, sale, purchase transport, storage, and/or consumption of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance.

* The PITNDPS Act, 1988 provides for detention in certain cases for the purpose of preventing illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.

* The transfer was being considered under the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961. Transferring administration of the NDPS Act and PITNDPS to MHA will lead to a single command chain and unification of all matters related to narcotics..

Source : Indiatimes

Published On : June 25, 2022

9 .

With reference to the ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL), consider the following statements:

1. It is the wholly owned subsidiary and overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC).

2. It has made an oil discovery in the recently drilled well, Urraca-IX, in CPO-5 block, Llanos Basin, Colombia.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A)

1 only

B)

2 only

C)

Both 1 and 2

D)

Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer : Both 1 and 2

ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL), the wholly owned subsidiary and overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC), the National Oil Company of India, has made an oil discovery in the recently drilled well, Urraca-IX, in CPO-5 block, Llanos Basin, Colombia.

Well, Urraca-1X was spudded on 20th April 2022 and drilled to target depth (TD) of 10956 ft., encountering 17 ft thick oil-bearing sands at a depth from 10201ft -10218 ft.

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.

Block CPO-5 was awarded to ONGC Videsh Limited in the 2008 bid round of Colombia. 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).

Source : Mint

Published On : June 25, 2022

10 .

When the "International Day of the Seafarer" is celebrated on every year?

A)

26th June

B)

25th June

C)

24th June

D)

23rd June

Correct Answer : 25th June

The “Day of the Seafarer” is celebrated annually on June 25th to honour the vital contribution that seafarers make to global trade and the economy, frequently at considerable personal sacrifice to themselves and their families. Governments, shipping associations, businesses, shipowners, and all other interested parties are asked to support and commemorate the Day in a meaningful and suitable way.

* The International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), 1978, held in Manila, Philippines, in June 2010, adopted a resolution that established the Day of the Seafarer and made significant revisions to the STCW Convention and Code.

* The resolution established the Day of the Seafarer, which was first observed in 2011.

* The annual list of United Nations Observances now includes the Day of the Seafarer.

International Day of the Seafarer, 2022 :

* Although each seafarer’s voyage is unique, they all encounter the same difficulties. With the theme “Your voyage – then and now, share your adventure,” the Day of the Seafarers campaign for 2022 will examine seafarer voyages, including what they entail, how they have changed over time, and what has remained central to seafarers’ reality.

* This campaign offers seafarers the ability to express what is currently on their minds, whether it is the ongoing crew change dilemma or the direction that technology is headed in.

Published On : June 25, 2022