Daily Current Affairs Quiz: February 16, 2024

Notes:
The Uttar Pradesh government is collaborating with the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IITR) to improve disaster management. The government is set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IITR to strengthen disaster preparedness and mitigation efforts.

Notes:
The Indian government, through the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, has issued guidelines for pilot projects under the National Green Hydrogen Mission, focusing on using Green Hydrogen in the transportation sector. With decreasing costs of renewable energy and electrolyzers, vehicles utilizing green hydrogen are expected to be cost-competitive soon. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, along with Scheme Implementing Agencies, will conduct pilot projects to replace fossil fuels in transportation with green hydrogen, supporting technology and infrastructure development.

Notes:
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, part of a joint mission with ESA and ASI, recently unveiled a vast ocean beneath the icy surface of Saturn’s moon Mimas. Launched in 1997, Cassini orbited Saturn from 2004 to 2017, contributing vital insights about the planet and its moons. Weighing 2,125 kg, it mapped Titan’s surface with radar and studied Saturn’s magnetic field. Cassini’s Huygens probe, weighing 349 kg, landed on Titan, discovering six moons and identifying Enceladus and Titan as potential locations for extraterrestrial life.

Notes:
Archaeologists unearthed an eighth-century Kotravai sculpture, dating back to the Pallava period, near Ulundurpet, Tamil Nadu. The Pallava Dynasty, a prominent South Indian power from the 3rd to 9th centuries, ruled northern Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. Known for supporting Buddhism, Jainism, and Brahminical faith, the Pallavas were patrons of music, painting, and literature. Their origins trace back to the Andhra Satavahanas, gaining autonomy and establishing Kanchipuram as their capital in the 4th century CE.

Notes:
Researchers at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia discovered a new millipede genus and five species in Tanzania’s Udzungwa Mountains. According to the USC, Attemsostreptus leptoptilos is one of five new species of millipedes with 200 legs that were discovered in Tanzanian jungles in February 2024. The other four species are Attemsostreptus cataractae, Attemsostreptus julostriatus, Lophostreptus magombera, and Udzungwastreptus marianae.