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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 23 July 2022

::NATIONAL::

The total horticulture production in 2021-22 is estimated to be 341.63 million tonnes (MT), an increase of about 7.03 MT over 2020-21. This is an increase of 2.10%, according to the second advanced estimates of area and production of various horticultural crops released by the Union Agriculture Ministry.

Key highlights:

Last year, the total horticulture cultivation was in 27.48 million hectares and according to the second advanced estimates, in 2021-22, it could be 27.74 million hectares.
The Centre said while there could be an increase in production of fruits, vegetables and honey, the cultivation of spices, flowers, aromatics, medicinal plants and plantation crops could decrease over previous year.
The fruits production is estimated to be 107.10 MT compared to 102.48 MT in 2020-21. The production of vegetables is estimated to be 204.61 MT, compared to 200.45 MT in 2020-21.
The fruits production is estimated to be 107.10 MT compared to 102.48 MT in 2020-21. The production of vegetables is estimated to be 204.61 MT, compared to 200.45 MT in 2020-21.
In the case of onion, the production is estimated to be 31.70 MT against 26.64 MT in 2020-21. Potato production is expected to be 53.58 MT, compared to 56.17 MT in 2020-21 and the cultivation of tomato is expected to be 20.34 MT, compared to 21.18 MT in 2020-21. Farmers of the three crops had agitated against the drop in prices last year.

The debut edition of the Common University Entrance Test-UG, will begin on 15th July at test centres in over 510 cities of India and abroad.

About:

With 14.9 lakh registrations, the Common University Entrance Test (CUET)-- the common gateway for undergraduate admission in all central universities -- is now the second biggest entrance exam surpassing JEE-Main's average registration of nine lakh.
NEET-UG is the biggest entrance test in India with an average of 18 lakh registrations.
The CUET (UG)–2022 has been scheduled for approximately 14,90,000 candidates, with around 8.1 lakh candidates in the first slot and 6.80 lakh candidates in the second. These candidates have applied for 54,555 unique combinations of subjects across 90 universities.
The exam will be conducted in two phases. Phase 1 will be held in July and the second one in August. Candidates who have opted for Physics, Chemistry or Biology have been assigned for Phase 2 of the CUET exam given the NEET (UG) - 2022 will be held on July 17.

The GGG index benchmarks the current state and evolution of gender parity across four key dimensions.

About:

GGG index was instituted in 2006 and it aims to support the identification of the most effective policies to close gender gaps.
In 2022, the global gender gap has been closed by 68.1% (slight improvement from 2021).
Although no country has yet achieved full gender parity, the top 10 economies have closed at least 80% of their gender gaps.
At the current rate of progress, it will take 132 years to reach full parity.

Findings about India:

India was the worst performer in the world in the “health and survival” sub-index where it is ranked 146.

Recently, India and Madagascar signed a MoU on tele-education and tele-medicine.

Political and boundaries:

Madagascar is an island country, which is located in the southwestern Indian Ocean,separated from the African coast by Mozambique Channel.
It is the fourth-largest island in the world.
It shares maritime borders with Comoros, France (Mayotte and Réunion), Mauritius,Mozambique and Seychelles.

Geographical features:

Highest mountain is Maromokotro peak and longest river is called as Mangoky.
Madagascar is considered one of the world's top ten biodiversity hotspots due to its isolated location.

India has achieved clean energy targets nine years ahead of schedule, Union Power Minister R.K. Singh said at the Sydney Energy Forum in Sydney.

About:

India has installed 162 GW (1 GW is 1,000 MW) of renewable energy capacity, which is 41% of the 402 GW of electricity installed.
“We reached this target on November 2021 and what our Prime Minister did was ask us to raise our ambition and so in Glasgow (at the UN COP-21) our Prime Minister committed to installing 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030, which would then be 50% of the installed capacity.” Mr. Singh said.
In 2015, India committed to ensuring that 40% of its energy would be from renewable sources by 2030 as part of its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC).

Sydney Energy Forum:

Ministers from the United States, Japan, India, Indonesia, and the Pacific Island nation of Samoa are attending the forum along with leaders of major companies that are committed to low emissions technologies.

US has successfully tested two Lockheed Martin hypersonic missiles—Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) booster amid an arms race with China and Russia.

About:

Hypersonic weapons travel in the upper atmosphere at more than five times the speed of sound (Mach 5), or about 6,200 km per hour.
In 2020, the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully tested a Hypersonic Technology Demonstrated Vehicle (HSTDV) in the form of hypersonic air-breathing scramjet technology.
Earlier in May, Russia said it had successfully test-fired a hypersonic Zircon cruise missile.