Test: May 2022 Weekly Current Affair - 2 - UPSC MCQ

Under the periodic labour force survey (PLFS), a quarterly bulletin is released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), giving estimates of labour force indicators namely unemployment rate, Worker Population Ratio (WPR), Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) etc.
As per the October-December 2021 edition, the unemployment rate for persons of 15 years and above in urban areas slipped to 8.7 per cent from 10.3 per cent in the quarter year-ago. In the July-September 2021, it was 9.8 per cent in urban areas.

As per the Archaeological Survey of India, the latest round of excavations at the Rakhigarhi in Haryana’s Hisar has revealed street system on raised platforms, houses with extensive layouts, and a drainage system.
It is a 5,000-year-old Harappan site and was one of the five iconic sites announced in the 2020 Budget Speech. The site is also considered the biggest Harappan-era site.

The United States has launched “Affordable Connectivity Program” to provide subsidies on internet service to lower-income households.
It has been announced that 20 internet companies have agreed to provide discounted service to people with low incomes. The USD 14.2 billion funding for the program is a part of the USD 1 trillion infrastructure package passed by Congress last year. With the new program, about 48 million households will be eligible for USD 30 monthly plans for 100 megabits per second or higher speed.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service became the first in Asia to join NATO’s cyber defence group. South Korea has been under Cyber-threats from China and North Korea.
NIS was accepted as a contributing participant for NATO’s Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE). It was a cyber defence hub founded in Estonia, in 2008 and is focused on cyber-security research, training, and exercises.

The United Nations designated 12 May the International Day of Plant Health (IDPH) to raise global awareness on protecting the plant health.
As per the UN, protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect biodiversity and the environment, and boost economic development. Plants make up 80% of the food we eat and 98% of the oxygen we breathe.  Up to 40% of food crops are lost due to plant pests and diseases every year.

Frank Wilczek, the Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist and author was honoured with this year’s prestigious Templeton Prize.
The Award was established in 1972 by the late philanthropist Sir John Templeton and it is considered as one of the most lucrative individual awards. It is awarded to individuals whose life’s work symbolises a fusion of science and spirituality. Previous winners include Jane Goodall, Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

India’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) between Delhi and Meerut, is being designed by global mobility provider Alstom in Hyderabad and manufactured in Savli, Gujarat.
The first trainset of the system was handed over to the National Capital Region Transport Corporation for the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Phase 1. India’s first semi high-speed regional train can move passengers at 180 km/hour.

A person in the United Kingdom (UK) has been diagnosed with the rare viral infection Monkeypox. The patient recently came back from Nigeria and has been receiving treatment at the hospital.
Monkeypox occurs predominately in central and west Africa. Most of its infections last till two to four weeks and result in swelling of the lymph nodes as well as causes rashes on the body.

Tamil Nadu has become the first state in the country to offer breakfast in government schools, along with the mid-day meal.
Chief Minister MK Stalin announced the breakfast scheme for students studying in Classes 1 to 5 in the state. The special nutritional scheme is based on a public health study by the government on the malnourished children in the state. Tamil Nadu was also a pioneer of the midday meal scheme.

The Sawa Lake, a biodiverse wetland situated near the city of Samawa, Iraq has disappeared mainly due to human activity and climate change.
The five-square-kilometre lake has been drying up since 2014 and he causes have been climate change and rising temperatures. Over 1000 wells illegally dug for agriculture in the region and cement and salt factories constructed near-by the lake have drained significant amounts of water.

India has been unanimously elected as the new Chair of the Association of Asian Election Authorities (AAEA) for 2022-2024.
Commission on Elections, Philippines was the previous chair of AAEA. Currently, 20 Asian Election Management Bodies (EMB) are members of AAEA and Election Commission of India (ECI) is a founder member of the EMB of AAEA. New members include Russia, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Taiwan, and the Philippines.

India’s retail inflation in April 2022 surged to 7.79 per cent in April, largely driven by rising fuel and food prices, touching its highest point in last eight years.
The previous high was recorded at 8.33 per cent in May 2014. 6.95 per cent inflation is recorded in the month of March. Food inflation accounted for nearly half the consumer price index (CPI) basket, reached high in April. Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) upper tolerance limit for retail inflation is 6 %.

The UK recently released some competition rules for big tech companies like Google and Facebook, missing which will attract huge fines from the country.
UK established Digital Markets Unit (DMU) to curb authority of big tech companies over news publishers. It was announced that DMU will be given powers to curb the predatory practices of some firms. The regulator will have the power to fine companies up to 10% of their global turnover if they fail to comply.

John Lee was elected as Hong Kong’s next leader by an Election committee who cast their votes in a secret ballot. The committee included around 1,500 largely pro-Beijing members.
Lee, who was formerly Hong Kong’s Chief Secretary, will begin his five-year term replacing outgoing Chief Executive Carrie Lam. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China which returned to Chinese rule in 1997 from the UK.

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd first became the first Indian company to cross USD 100 billion annual revenue.
For the fiscal 2021-22, Reliance reported a net profit of ₹60,705 crore on a revenue of ₹7.92 lakh crore (USD 102 billion). The earnings rose due to the high oil refining margins, growth in telecom and digital services and strong retail business. Rise in broadband subscribers, online retail and new energy investment are also the reasons for rise in earnings.

Veteran architect Balkrishna Doshi was conferred the prestigious Royal Gold Medal 2022, one of the world’s highest honours for architecture, awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
The 94-year-old architect is the only one from India. He is also the first to receive both the Royal Gold Medal and the Pritzker Architecture Prize, referred to as the Nobel Prize of architecture.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually addressed ‘Utkarsh Samaroh’ event held at Bharuch in Gujarat. It was organized to mark the celebration of 100 percent saturation of four key schemes of the state government in the district.
Over 12000 beneficiaries were identified across the four schemes, which include Ganga Swaroopa Aarthik Sahay Yojana, Indira Gandhi Vrudh Sahay Yojana, Niradhar Vrudh Aarthik Sahay Yojana and Rashtriya Kutumb Sahay Yojana.

The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW), Government of India and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
As per the MoU, UNDP will provide technical support towards the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) scheme & Kisan Credit Card – Modified Interest Subvention Scheme. UNDP has been providing technical assistance for the last 4 years.

Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur launched the mascot ‘Dhakad’ along with official logo and official jersey of the Fourth Khelo India Youth Games.
Haryana is hosting the fourth edition of the Khelo India Youth Games from June 4 to June 13 at Panchkula and other cities. Five traditional games like gatka, thang-ta, kalarippayattu, mallakhamb and yogasana have been introduced for the first time in Khelo India Youth Games.

Every year World Thalassemia day is observed on May 8 across the world, to create awareness about the disease and to sensitise about the struggle of patients suffering from the disease.
Thalassemia is a genetic blood disorder that doesn’t let the body to create enough haemoglobin. The theme for this year’s World Thalassemia day is ‘Be Aware.Share.Care: Working with the global community as one to improve thalassemia knowledge.’

The French President Emmanuel Macron suggested building a broader political community of democratic states around the European Union.
This new European organisation “European Political Community” would allow democratic European nations to find a new space for political cooperation, security, cooperation in energy, transport, investment, infrastructure etc. It will include Ukraine and other countries like Georgia and Moldova, who are also occupied by Moscow’s troops.

South Korea’s new President Yoon Suk-yeol has recently won the Presidential Elections by the narrowest margin ever.
He was a Prosecutor and played a significant role in convicting former president Park Geun-hye for abuse of power. He gained public attention after his investigations into some of the country’s high-profile corruption scandals.

The Hungarian Parliament has elected Katalin Novak as the country’s first-ever female president. The 44-year-old Minister is also Hungary’s youngest-ever head of state
Novak, who recently served as a minister for family policy. She was known for the government policies including tax breaks and handouts designed to encourage young families to have more children.

Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep S Puri launched the BHARAT TAP initiative at the ‘Plumbex India’ exhibition.
BHARAT TAP initiative will provide low-flow, sanitary-ware at scale, and thereby reduce water consumption at source considerably. The Puri also launched ‘Nirmal Jal Prayas’ initiative which will work for saving of 500 crore litres of water per year.

India’s biggest-ever initial public offering (IPO), by Life Insurance Corp (LIC), has been fully booked under all categories.
The portion set for policyholders was booked 6.11 times, employees by 4.39 times, retail investors by 1.99 times, non-institutional investors by 2.91 times and qualified institutional buyers (QIB) by 2.83 times. The government will raise ₹ 21,000 crore from selling a 3.5 per cent stake in the country’s top insurer. This is only a third of the original target fixed by the government.