Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2023

Notes:
SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages Abadi and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) Scheme of Ministry of Panchayati Raj has been conferred with the prestigious National Award for e-Governance 2023 (Gold) for Application of Emerging Technologies for Providing Citizen Centric Services.
It was granted at the 26th National Conference on e-Governance (NCeG) organized by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Government of India in Indore.

Notes:
The Language Diversity Index (LDI) measures the probability that two people selected from a population at random will have different mother tongues, indicating the linguistic diversity of a country’s population. It ranges from 0 (everyone has the same mother tongue) to 1 (no two people have the same mother tongue).

Notes:
The U.S. Air Force conducted a test of an unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
The missile was launched from a silo and successfully delivered a re-entry vehicle to a target approximately 4,200 miles away in the Pacific Ocean. The test was deemed an important demonstration of the nation’s nuclear deterrent capability.

Notes:
Hitachi Payment Services, a subsidiary of Japan-based Hitachi, introduced India’s first UPI-ATM in partnership with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) during the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai.
This UPI-ATM allows customers to withdraw cash without the need for a debit or credit card. The United Payments Interface (UPI) is a mobile payment method operated by NPCI that enables instant and free fund transfers between bank accounts.

Notes:
Astronomers recently discovered “Bubble of galaxies” an enormous cosmic bubble packed with galaxies that stretches nearly 1 billion light-years across and located within our galactic neighborhood. It is estimated to be located just 820 million light years from our galaxy.
Within this vast bubble, called “Ho’oleilana,” lies the Bootes supercluster of galaxies, surrounded by an expansive void known as “the Great Nothing.”

Notes:
The International Monetary Fund and Financial Stability Board has recommended cross border co-operation and information sharing for consistent regulation of crypto assets, the two said in a joint report to the Group of 20 nations.
As per the Synthesis Paper, the FSB will, by 2025-end, conduct a review of the status of the implementation of the two sets of high-level recommendations at the jurisdictional level.

Notes:
The G20 Leaders’ Summit endorsed pivotal role of tourism and culture in sustainable socio-economic development and prosperity.
The ‘G20 Leaders Declaration’ highlighted the importance of the ‘Goa Roadmap for Tourism’ as a means to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It focusses on key priorities such as Green Tourism, Digitalization, Skills, Tourism MSMEs, and Destination Management.

Notes:
A study warns that the invasive non-native ant species, the red fire ant (Solenopsis invicta), has become established in Italy and poses a threat to Europe and the UK due to global heating.
These ants have a powerful sting, damage crops, and can infest electrical equipment. They are known to form “super colonies” rapidly, prey on invertebrates, vertebrates, and plants, and out-compete native ants, insects, and herbivores for food. The red fire ant is considered one of the most destructive invasive species globally, causing an estimated $6 billion in damage each year.

Notes:
The U.S.-Mexico border has been identified as the world’s deadliest land migration route, according to data from the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM).
In 2022, the IOM recorded 686 deaths and disappearances among migrants along the border, with 307 of those deaths occurring in the Sonora and Chihuahua deserts. These figures likely underrepresent the actual death toll due to missing data.

Notes:
The Delhi government is set to unveil its EV Policy 2.0, which will prioritize electric vehicle (EV) retro-fitment as a key strategy for promoting clean energy and extending the lifespan of existing vehicles. EV retro-fitment involves converting traditional petrol or diesel vehicles into electric ones by replacing their internal combustion engines with electric powertrains.