Current Affairs Quiz - May 2022

Notes:
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Semicon India Conference-2022 in Bengaluru.  The consumption of semiconductors is expected to cross USD 110 billion by 2030 and India has the world’s fastest growing start-up ecosystem.
The Government of India recently launched ‘Production Linked Incentives’ (PLI) schemes that offer incentives of over 26 Billion Dollars in 14 key sectors.

Notes:
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) launched M15 petrol on a pilot basis in Assam’s Tinsukia district. It has a 15 per cent blend of methanol with petrol.
Methanol is being manufactured by Assam Petrochemical Ltd near the Digboi refinery. The government had earlier extended the timeline for the disbursement of loans and completion of projects related to ethanol. The Government also provides financial assistance in the form of interest subvention.

Notes:
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel launched a scheme titled ‘Mukhyamantri Mitaan Yojna’ (Mitaan stands for friend), which will be implemented as a pilot project in 14 civic bodies, including the state capital Raipur
Under the scheme, Residents of the 14 municipal corporations can avail around 100 public services, including delivery of birth, caste, income and marriage certificates, at their doorstep.

Notes:
India and Germany recently inked a joint declaration of intent on Indo-German Green Hydrogen Task Force
India and Germany also agreed to work together with focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) startups as well as AI research and its application in sustainability and health care. India’s Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Minister Jitendra Singh visited Germany as part of his official tour.

Notes:
P-75 India (P-75I) is the second project to build submarines for the Indian Navy, after first phase of P-75, signed in 2005 with France.
The P-75I phase seeks the construction of six conventional submarines with better sensors and weapons and the Air Independent Propulsion System (AIP).  France’s Naval Group recently exited from the project as the French Navy does not use AIP, which was required by the Indian Navy. The announcement came a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to France.

Notes:
Due to food poisoning, a 16-year-old died and 40 others were hospitalised in Kerala. As per the district medical officer, the severe food poisoning was caused by a bacterium called ‘Shigella’.
This pathogen can cause intestinal infection which is contagious and can spread through contaminated food or water. The primary symptoms for the infection is diarrhoea and can be accompanied by stomach pain, fever, vomiting.

Notes:
Global Report on Food Crises an annual report launched today by the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC).
It is an international alliance of the United Nations, the European Union, governmental and non-governmental agencies working to tackle food crises together. As per the report, around 193 million people in 53 countries or territories experienced acute food insecurity at crisis or worse levels in 2021, with an increase of 40 million people than that of 2020.

Notes:
The Punjab government recently announced Rs 1,500 incentive per acre for farmers opting for Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR).
Last year, 18% of the total rice area in the state was under DSR while the government target was 10 lakh hectares. According to the studies by Punjab Agriculture University (PAU), DSR technique can help save 15% to 20% water and sometimes to 23%. It can also solve labour shortage problem as paddy seeds are sown directly with machine, without paddy nursery and transplantation.

Notes:
Cynthia Rosenzweig, a senior research scientist at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), received the 2022 World Food Prize from the World Food Prize Foundation.
World Food Prize is a prestigious award conceived as the ‘Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture’. Rosenzweig was selected for the award for her research to understand the relationship between climate and food systems and forecast how they will change in the future.

Notes:
The report titled Politics of Disinformation has been released by the Delhi-based non-profit Future of India Foundation.
As per the report, the disinformation on social media platforms is harming youths in India with no serious efforts shown by companies to tackle the issue. The report also highlighted low digital literacy and low credibility of institutional media across the country.