Current Affairs Quiz - April 2022

Notes:
Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih issued an order banning the ‘India Out’ campaign. Led by former President Yameen, the campaign accuses the Maldivian government of allowing Indian military presence in the island nation.
President Solih has opted for an ‘India first’ foreign policy. The Maldives’s National Security Council announced its decision that the campaign to incite hatred against India is a threat to national security.

Notes:
The United Nations (UN) celebrates English Language Day on April 23 every year, in honour of English playwright William Shakespeare as the date marks both his birthday and day of death.
The UN observes language days for each of its six official languages, to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity. UN Spanish Language Day is also observed on 23 April, to pay tribute to Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.

Notes:
The World Book and Copyright Day is celebrated on April 23, to promote the joy of books and reading. The theme for World Book and Copyright Day 2022 is “Read, so you never feel low.”
Each year, UNESCO and the international organisations representing the three major sectors of the book industry (publishers, booksellers, and libraries) select the World Book Capital for a one-year period. Guadalajara (Mexico) is the World Book Capital of 2022 and the city of Accra (Ghana) is the Capital for 2023.

Notes:
Finland won Locked Shields 2022, the world’s largest and most complex international cyber-defence live-fire exercise, from the 24 teams participated in this year’s event.
The joint team Lithuania-Poland took second place, followed by the joint Estonian-Georgian team. The exercise evolved around 5,500 virtualized systems that were subject to 8,000 live-fire attacks. Locked Shields 2022 was organized by NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE).

Notes:
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released ‘Space Equity action plan’ to make space more accessible. It aims to provide opportunity in underserved and underrepresented communities in the federal government.
In 2021, NASA spent USD 19.6 billion on goods and services, but only 10% of the total expenditure was provided to small disadvantaged businesses.

Notes:
‘Pranahita Pushkaralu’ is a mega river festival dedicated to worshipping the Pranahita, a tributary of the River Godavari, in Telangana.
The festival was celebrated for the first time following the creation of Telangana state. It started at the venues created on the shores of Pranahita. Over 6 lakh devotees from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka states took part in the 12-day long festival.

Notes:
Palli, situated in Jammu and Kashmir’s border district of Samba became the country’s first ‘carbon neutral panchayat’.
Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi recently dedicated to the nation a 500 KV solar plant installed in a record time of nearly three weeks. Under ‘Gram Urja Swaraj’ programme, 1,500 solar panels in a total area of 6,408 square metres will provide clean electricity to 340 houses in the model panchayat.

Notes:
The board of top micro-blogging company Twitter has agreed to a USD 44bn takeover offer from the billionaire Elon Musk.
Elon Musk is the world’s richest person, according to Forbes magazine, with an estimated net worth of USD 273.6bn. He runs the electric vehicle maker Tesla and the aerospace firm SpaceX.

Notes:
Formula One world champion Max Verstappen and Jamaican Olympic sprint queen Elaine Thompson-Herah have been named 2022 Laureus World Sportsman and Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year respectively
Italian Men’s Football Team won their second Laureus Team of the Year Award while Global tennis sensation Emma Raducanu received the Laureus Breakthrough of the Year Award.

Notes:
The 11th Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Vinod Rai has authored a book titled ‘Not Just A Nightwatchman: My Innings in the BCCI’.
The Supreme Court of India appointed Vinod Rai as the interim president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2017. The book is said to be a transparent commentary on the functioning of BCCI under the guidance of the Committee of Administrators (CoA).