Current Affairs Quiz - April 2022

Notes:
A heat-stable COVID-19 vaccine is being developed in India by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru and biotech start-up company Mynvax.
It does not need cold chain storage and the candidate has generated strong antibody response against coronavirus variants, as per the tests done on mice. The vaccine uses a part of the viral spike protein called the receptor-binding domain (RBD), which allows the virus to connect with the host cell to infect it.

Notes:
On the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a 108 feet statue of Lord Hanuman in Gujarat’s Morbi.
It is the second of the four statues being built in the four directions across the country, as part of the ‘Hanumanji Char Dham’ project. The first statue of the series was built in Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla in 2010. The work on the third statue, in the south at Rameswaram has started.

Notes:
Crypto lender Nexo has partnered with global payments company Mastercard to launch the world’s first “crypto-backed” payment card.
The card available in selected European countries initially, allows users to spend without having to sell their digital assets such as bitcoin. The card can be used at 92 million merchants worldwide where Mastercard is accepted, allowing investors to spend up to 90 per cent of the value of their crypto assets.

Notes:
Rajasthan has become the first State in the country to get the L-root server, which will enable the State government to provide its digital services and implement e-governance with seamless internet connectivity.
The new facility will strengthen internet infrastructure as well as help improve security of internet-based operations.

Notes:
The 2022 edition of the Invictus Games is held in The Hague, Netherlands. During the inaugural event, Prince Harry paid tribute to the Ukrainian team.
The first edition of the Games was held in London in 2014 and the 2023 edition will be held in Dusseldorf, Germany. The Invictus Games are an international sporting competition meant for wounded and sick military service personnel and war veterans.

Notes:
Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri said that 80 out of the 100 Smart Cities in the country have Integrated Command and Control Centres.
The Ministry is set to complete the work in the remaining 20 cities by August 15, 2022. The Smart Cities Mission was launched in 2015 to promote cities that provide core infrastructure, clean environment and give a decent quality of life to their citizens through the application of “Smart Solutions”. The Centre will provide financial support to the extent of Rs 48000 crores over five years.

Notes:
President Ram Nath Kovind participated in the diamond jubilee celebrations of the India International Centre (IIC), New Delhi.
It is an international platform for exchange of views, the idea of which was initially proposed by John D Rockefeller III to Dr S Radhakrishnan, then Vice-President of India. It was founded in the year 1958. Former J&K Governor NN Vohra is the President of IIC, at present.

Notes:
A group of Indian scientists have discovered a new species of eel named ‘Ariosoma indicum’ from specimens collected from fishing harbours in Kerala and West Bengal.
The newly discovered eel belongs to the Congrid eels group. The term Indicum means that it was found in India. Indian Council of Agriculture Research-National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBFGR), Lucknow is working on fish genetic resources for intellectual property protection.

Notes:
Every year on April 21, the Government of India celebrates ‘Civil Services Day’, to commemorate the day in 1947 when Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first Home Minister of Independent India, addressed the probationers of Administrative Services Officers in Delhi.
In the famous speech, he referred to public workers as the “steel frame of India”. The first such celebration took place on April 21, 2006. ‘The Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration’ is awarded during the occasion annually.

Notes:
India’s captain Rohit Sharma and ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah have been honoured by Wisden as two of their Five Cricketers Of The Year.
They were named along with New Zealand opener Devon Conway, England pacer Ollie Robinson and South Africa Women captain Dane van Niekerk. England skipper Joe Root was named Leading Cricketer in the World in the 2022 edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack.