Current Affairs Quiz - February 2022

Notes:
Vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech has received approval to conduct Phase-III clinical trials of an intranasal booster dose.
The booster dose will be administered on people who have received both doses of Covaxin. The Drug Controller General of India have approved to undertake the Phase-III trials. The nasal vaccine, BBV154, stimulates immune responses at the nose, which is the site of infection

Notes:
The Government of India has done ‘Conversion or Switch operations’ with the Reserve Bank of India, for an amount of ₹1,19,701 crore.
The transaction involved buying back securities maturing in FY 2022-23, FY 2023-24 and FY 2024-25 from the Reserve Bank and issuing fresh securities for equivalent market value. This conversion will help to reduce the redemption pressure on the Government.

Notes:
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) celebrated its 46th Raising Day on 1 February 2022. It is the fourth largest Coast Guard in the world with the motto of “Vayam Rakshamah” or “We Protect”.
The Indian Coast Guard was inaugurated with seven surface platforms in 1978. It is set to achieve the targeted force levels of 80 aircraft and 200 surface platforms by the year 2025.

Notes:
Veteran Indian hockey goalkeeper PR Srejeesh won the prestigious World Games Athlete of the Year for his 2021 performances.
Sreejesh became the first man and second hockey player to win the award, after India Hockey women’s captain Rani, who won the 2019 prize. He played a significant role in the men’s team that claimed a bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics.

Notes:
Ornithologists have recently described two new species of the flycatcher genus Cyornis and the white-eye genus Zosterops from Meratus Mountains of southeastern Borneo, Indonesia.
Cyornis is a genus of passerine birds, distributed throughout southern Asia, from the Indian subcontinent to Southeast Asia, the Philippines and Indonesia. Zosterops is a genus of passerine birds containing white-eyes.

Notes:
A study was conducted jointly by 100 scientists across the world and it found out that the total number of tree species on Earth is 73,000.
It also highlights that 9,200 tree species have remained mysterious and undiscovered. South America has likely more undiscovered tree species than others at about 40%. As per the estimates, 43 percent of all Earth’s tree species occur in South America, followed by Eurasia (22 percent), Africa (16 percent).

Notes:
As per a recent study by UK researchers, it has been found that Climate change is driving plants to flower earlier and earlier.
The average first flowering date of UK plants is a month earlier than it was before 1986. As per the research team, Plants flowering too early could be disastrous for hibernating and migrating animals, and for crops.

Notes:
NASA has released an updated International Space Station Transition Report. It includes the goals for the next decade of station operations leading to a smooth transition to commercial services.
It also includes the steps being taken to develop both the supply and demand side of the low-Earth orbit commercial economy, and technical steps and budget required for transition.

Notes:
‘World Interfaith Harmony Week’ is an annual event observed during the first week of February, after General Assembly designation in 2010.
The General Assembly established World Interfaith Harmony Week as a way to promote harmony between all people regardless of their faith. This year, the slogan for the observance is ‘Interfaith Pandemic Recovery’.

Notes:
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) provides the Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan for the ‘Project for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR)’.
Surat is set to become the first station for the project. The MAHSR corridor will cover 12 stations in total- Surat, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad, Sabarmati, Bilimora, Bharuch, Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi stations.