1. NASA selected two science missions, the Multi-Slit Solar Explorer (MUSE) and the Helios Warm, to improve our understanding of the Sun’s dynamics.
A) The MUSE mission will help scientists understand the driving force behind the corona warming of the Sun.
B) This mission is a constellation of nine spacecraft.
C) This mission will provide a unique capability to investigate disturbances.
D) The total budget of this mission is 250 million dollars.
2. Russia and Belarus started joint military exercises near the Belarusian border with Ukraine.
A) These exercises are seen as a significant element in the Kremlin’s menacing posture towards its neighbour.
B) The Minsk agreement was written in 2014 by the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, composed of Russia, Ukraine and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
3. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted that, for 2022-23, the Centre’s gross domestic product (GDP) deflator projection is 3 to 3.5 per cent.
A) GDP Deflator is also known as ‘implicit price deflator’. It is a measure of general price inflation.
B) Nominal GDP is the market value of goods and services which are produced in an economy.
C) When nominal GDP is adjusted for inflation, it is called Real GDP.
4. India and Australia have set up an aggressive 30-day timeline for finalising the early harvest agreement (EHA).
A) Both the countries also inked a pact in the field of tourism for enhancing cooperation and encouraging the expansion of bilateral relations.
B) Australia is India’s 15th largest trading partner.
5. One Ocean Summit, a declaration on “High Ambition Coalition (HAC) on biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ)” was introduced.
A) The One Ocean Summit was organised under the leadership of the French President.
B) The BBNJ Treaty is also known as the “Treaty of the High Seas”. It is an international agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.
C) BBNJ Treaty provides an opportunity to fill gaps and address weaknesses in ocean governance.
6. Central government has set the target to replace diesel with renewable energy in the agricultural sector by 2024.
A) Through KUSUM Scheme, the central government is also running a scheme to solarise agriculture. This would help in installing solar-run irrigation systems.
B) The PM-KUSUM scheme was announced in Budget 2018, Under the scheme, farmers are given the option to sell additional power, generated through solar power projects installed on their barren lands, to the grid.
7. The Philippines Senate has postponed the ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) after Farmers and other civil society groups in the country took a cue from India’s decision to stay out of RCEP.
A) RCEP was first introduced during the 19th ASEAN Summit in Bali, Indonesia.
B) India was a member of the RCEP drafting committee in 2011.
C) The free trade agreement is aimed at making products and services available to the ASEAN member states and FTA partners.
8. Foreign Ministers of India, Australia and Japan recently noted that QUAD is cooperating on sharing intelligence information on threats in the Indo-Pacific region.
A) QUAD is the informal strategic dialogue between India, Japan, the USA, and Australia with a shared objective of ensuring and supporting a “free, open and prosperous” Indo-Pacific region.
B) Aim of QUAD Grouping aims to counter China’s aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific region.
9. NASA’s Parker Solar Probe took its first visible-light images of the surface of Venus from space.
A) WISPR was designed to see faint features in the wind and solar atmosphere.
B) The first WISPR images were taken in July 2020, when Parker embarked on its third flyby.
C) WISPR was designed to see faint features in the wind and solar atmosphere.
10. A new Skill and Entrepreneurship Development University has been being planned in the Kalyana-Karnataka region.
A) The Skill Development University is being planned for inclusive development of the region.
B) The Kalyana-Karnataka Region was formerly known as Hyderabad–Karnataka region in Karnataka.
C)In this university there is a norm of reserving 8 per cent seats for the candidates from the Kalyana-Karnataka region in recruitment and education institutions across other parts of Karnataka.
