Current Affairs Quiz - February 2022

Notes:
Manipur got its first-ever good freight train connectivity post independence, as the first freight train arrived at the Rani Gaidinliu station of the north-eastern state.
Earlier, a passenger train from Silchar in Assam reached the Bongaichungpao railway station in Manipur. This is a part of the 111 km long Jiribam-Imphal new line project, which will connect Imphal with Guwahati.

Notes:
NASA’s ‘Oceans Melting Greenland airborne mission’ has found that Greenland’s glaciers that empty into the ocean, such as Apusiaajik Glacier, are at greater risk of rapid ice loss.
It revealed that ice loss from Greenland’s ice sheet contributes more to the global rise of the oceans than any other single source. If all of Greenland’s ice sheet were to melt, global sea levels would rise by about 24 feet (7.4 meters).

Notes:
Antonio Costa is serving as the current Prime Minister of Portugal since 2015. The 60-year old leader of Socialist Party has been re-elected for the second term in the snap general election.
The vote was called in November last year after former Communist and Left Bloc allies joined the right to strike down his minority government budget.

Notes:
A 6,000- crore Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP) programme for MSMEs has been announced in the Union Budget, which will be rolled out in the coming five years.
The programme would improve the competitiveness and productivity of MSMEs. The World Bank in June 2021 had approved USD 500 million for the programme to support the government to support the MSMEs impacted by the Covid crisis.

Notes:
Dutch King Willem-Alexander officially opened the Ijmuiden Sea Lock, which is claimed to be the largest sea lock in the world.
The 500-metre long and 70-metre-wide structure replaces a smaller 100-year-old one at Ijmuiden, a port city connecting the North Sea Canal to the port of Amsterdam. The structure is deep enough that ships will not have to wait for a favourable water level to enter the canal.

Notes:
A new study has been done at an altitude of 3106 meters at the top of the mountain “Hoher Sonnenblick” in the “Hohe Tauern” National Park in Austria
The study is investigating the amount of plastic trickling down on us from the atmosphere. According to the study. About 30% of the nanoplastic particles measured on the mountain top originate from a radius of 200 kilometers, from cities. Around 10% of the particles measured in the study were blown onto the mountain by wind and weather over 2000 kilometers.

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 Delhi Government has announced to dedicate a nearly one-kilometre-long stretch in North Delhi to Olympic champions such as Neeraj Chopra, PV Sindhu, Ravi Dahiya and others.
It has been named as Olympics Vithi or Olympics Boulevard. This is a part of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s ambitious streetscaping project.

Notes:
A tripartite MoU has been signed between State Bank of India, Indira Gandhi Centre for the Arts and National Culture Fund for developing ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Centre for Design’ at Red Fort, Delhi.
The ABCD project is being implemented by IGNCA, an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture. The project aims for Economic Value Addition to GI products. It will also provide a platform for artisans and designers, to provide a wide market.

Notes:
New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell was named the recipient of the ICC ‘Spirit of Cricket’ award 2021 for his significant gesture played during T20 World Cup semi-final versus England.
Mitchell, who opened the batting for New Zealand in the World Cup, won the award for his gesture during the game. He felt he had obstructed the way of bowler Adil Rashid in that moment.