Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2024

Notes:
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is set to conduct ‘Gagan Shakti-2024’, the nation’s largest air military exercise, involving all Air Force stations. Held every five years, it will commence on April 1, 2024, at Pokhran’s field firing range. Approximately 10,000 airmen will participate, with maneuvers spanning the Western and Northern fronts. The Indian Army is aiding logistical support, ensuring synergy across sectors for operational rail mobilization.

Notes:
IIT Kanpur recently signed an MoU with Conlis Global, a Canadian biotech company, for licensing a groundbreaking technology promoting bone healing and regeneration. Nano Hydroxyapatite-based Porous Composite Scaffolds, developed indigenously, possess biodegradable, osteoinductive, and osteopromotive properties crucial for bone regeneration. Highly biocompatible, these scaffolds demonstrate robust mechanical strength and foster excellent interaction between polymer networks and solvents, facilitating cell-material interactions with osteoblast cells.

Notes:
Released by the Interactive Entertainment and Innovation Council (IEIC) and WinZO, the report highlights India’s dominance in gaming. With 568 million users, India leads as the largest gaming market globally, projected to hit $6 billion by 2028. The industry’s growth is evident, with Indian gaming companies soaring from 25 in 2015 to over 1400 in 2023. MeitY oversees gaming regulations, facilitating 100% FDI and initiatives like the Draft National AVGC Policy and National AVGC Centre of Excellence.

Notes:
The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP) in Bengaluru unveils OptiDrop, a groundbreaking microfluidic chip-based platform. OptiDrop simplifies single-cell studies, cutting costs and enabling precise analysis within encapsulated droplets. Supported by BIRAC, DST, and MHRD, its features include live data visualization and a ‘closed’ system design. With applications spanning diagnostics, therapeutics, agriculture, and animal health, OptiDrop facilitates drug screening, water contamination monitoring, CAR-T cell sorting, CRISPR-modified cell selection, and single-cell genomics.

Notes:
Widespread damage to cardamom plantations in Kerala due to drought has led to significant losses for farmers. With fears of further crop destruction, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Idukki suggest strategies like foliar application of PPFM and disease prevention treatments to mitigate the impact on cardamom production, emphasizing the urgent need for action to safeguard livelihoods in affected regions.

Notes:
Forest authorities in Andhra Pradesh’s Alluri Sitharama Raju district recently harvested water from an Indian laurel tree (Terminalia elliptica). Also known as Asna or Indian laurel, it grows mainly in dry and moist deciduous forests. Its wood is prized for furniture and musical instruments, while its leaves sustain silkworms for Tussah silk production. Medically, the bark treats diarrhea, yielding oxalic acid. Additionally, its bark and fruit are sources of pyrogallol and catechol for dye and leather tanning.

Notes:
Venomous Pelagia noctilucas, or purple-striped jellyfish, are blooming along Visakhapatnam’s coast in Andhra Pradesh. Jellyfish blooms occur when populations rapidly increase due to warm ocean temperatures. These blooms detrimentally impact fishing and tourism industries. Natural factors like ocean and wind currents can also contribute to these occurrences.

Notes:
India’s DRDO and Strategic Forces Command successfully tested the ‘Agni-Prime’ ballistic missile at Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha. Range sensors, including two ships, captured data. Witnessed by top officials, Agni-P is a medium-range ballistic missile with nuclear capabilities, designed as successor to Agni-I and II. It boasts a 1,000-2,000 km strike range, advanced technology from Agni-IV/V, and features composite materials for lightweight and strength. It’s a two-stage, solid-fueled, road-mobile missile with dual navigation.

Notes:
Romania has developed the world’s most powerful laser, which is part of the European Union’s Infrastructure ELI project. The laser, called the “Extreme Light Infrastructure-Nuclear Physics”- (ELI-NP) laser, is located in Magurele, Romania, near Bucharest. It uses Chirped-Pulse Amplification, which is a groundbreaking technology based on the inventions of Nobel Physics Prize winners Gerard Mourou and Donna Strickland. The laser is operated by the French company Thales and is expected to have revolutionary applications in healthcare and space exploration.

Notes:
The “Mother of Dragons” comet, officially Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, is now visible in the Northern Hemisphere after dusk. A ‘Halley-type’ comet, it orbits roughly every 71 years with a 30 km wide nucleus. Composed of ice, dust, and rocky material, it transitions from solid to gas as it nears the Sun. Classified as a Jupiter-family comet, it reaches perihelion near Mars’ orbit and will approach Earth closely in June 2024.