Current Affairs Quiz - February 2022

Notes:
Italian President Sergio Mattarella has been elected to a second term in the recent round of elections.
Mattarella was reconfirmed with a broad majority, in the voting done by lawmakers and regional representatives. The 80-year old Jurist-Academic has been serving as the country’s President since 2015.

Notes:
Ministry of Electronics and Information and Technology (MeitY) has released a draft report on India Digital Ecosystem Architecture 2.0 or the InDEA 2.0.
InDEA 2.0 proposes a model of ‘Federated Digital Identities’, which seeks to optimise the number of digital identities that a citizen needs to have. The draft report is headed by former MeitY secretary J Satyanaraya as Chairman and current secretary Ajay P Sawhney as Co-Chairman.

Notes:
The Hoysala Temples of Belur, Halebid and Somnathapura in Karnataka have been finalised as India’s nomination for World Heritage List for the year 2022-2023.
This was announced by the Union Culture Ministry. The ‘Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysala’ are on UNESCO’s Tentative list since 2014.

Notes:
Ministry of Commerce and Industry notified the second phase of the scheme for enhancement of competitiveness in the capital goods sector.
The scheme was notified with a financial outlay of ₹1,207 crore. It would consist of a budgetary support from the government of ₹975 crore and the rest of ₹232 crore would come through the industry contribution.

Notes:
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma recently inaugurated the ‘Shillong Technology Park’. Several companies have submitted their assent to open their branches.
At present, Meghalaya has 70% population below the age of 35 years. The first phase building of the Technology Park will create employment for more than 1,500 people directly, will generate more jobs indirectly.

Notes:
Paleontologists have identified two new types of fossil flowers- Eophylica priscastellata and Phylica piloburmensis in Myanmar.
They have been found in cretaceous amber from the Hkamti and Tanaing mines, northern Myanmar, dated to at least 99 million years ago. The fossils show that their flowers, fruits, leaves and pollen have not changed after 100 million years of evolution.

Notes:
The Scheme of Assistance to NSFs is a Central Sector Scheme and the main source of funding for preparation of national teams for all major national and international competitions.
The Union Government has approved continuation of Scheme of Assistance to National Sports Federations (NSFs) with an outlay of Rs. 1575 crore for XV Finance Commission Cycle (2021-22 to 2025-26).

Notes:
Arif Khan, who will be competing in the Slalom and Giant Slalom events, is the only contestant from India, in the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022.
India announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, after the honour of carrying the Olympic torch went to a Chinese soldier who was wounded in the Galvan clash two years ago.

Notes:
An igloo cafe, claimed to be the world’s largest, has been opened at Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir. With a height of 37.5 feet and a diameter of 44.5 feet, this was the world’s largest cafe of its kind.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the biggest igloo cafe is in Switzerland, and its height is 33.8 feet and diameter 42.4 feet.

Notes:
According to the Salesforce Global Digital Skills Index, among 19 countries, India has the Index’s highest digital readiness score at 63 out of 100.
In India, 72 per cent of respondents say they are actively learning digital skills to prepare themselves for future of work. 66 percent said they are equipped with resources to learn digital skills. The Index is based on a survey of over 23,500 workers in 19 countries, with an average global score of 33.