Current Affairs Quiz - February 2022

Notes:
As per a recent research, Kaziranga National Park in Assam, is releasing more carbon than it is absorbing.
The National Park is home to the largest-population of the one-horned rhinoceros in the world. Usually, forests absorb more carbon than they release, which makes them carbon sinks. This is mainly due to decreasing rainfall in the region.

Notes:
Israel’s Ministry of Transport and Road Safety has announced the country’s first certification for unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAVs) to operate in civilian airspace.
With this, it has become the first country to allow drones in civilian airspace. For safety purposes, international aviation regulations prohibit uncertified aircraft from flying in civilian airspace.

Notes:
A team of astronomers has discovered a new planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, the star closest to the Sun.
The planet named ‘Proxima d’, is the third detected in the system. It is among the lightest of the exo-planets discovered so far. The astronomers used the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) in Chile to spot this exo-planet.

Notes:
India is placed third in the globe on the US Green Building Council’s (USGBC) 2021 global list for sustainable spaces.
It is a ranking of the top 10 nations and areas outside of the United States for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) in 2021. India has 1,649 LEED certified buildings with a total area of 46.2 million gross square metres, with a 10% rise in LEED certified space since 2020.

Notes:
The Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL) is a government printing and minting agency. It functions under the Ministry of Finance.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched the first colour souvenir coin on ‘Panchtantra’ on the occasion of 17th foundation day of Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL).

Notes:
India and Australia have signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Tourism cooperation in New Delhi.
The Memorandum of Understanding in the field of tourism will enhance cooperation and encourage Expansion of bilateral relations in tourism. It will facilitate Exchange of information and data related to tourism, Cooperation between tourism stakeholders.

Notes:
Southern Railway has introduced Quick Response (QR) code-based payment of ticket fare in Automatic Ticket Vending Machines (ATVMs).
This aims to encourage cashless transactions and digital payments. As per the Railway administration, journey and platform tickets can be purchased using QR code facility. Renewal of season tickets can also be completed digitally.

Notes:
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has captured its first visible light images of the surface of Venus from space.
Parker used its Wide-Field Imager (WISPR) to image the entire night side in wavelengths of the visible spectrum and extending into the near-infrared. Venus’ surface is usually hidden from sight as it is covered in thick clouds.

Notes:
Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, Lieutenant-colonel in the national armed forces, has been declared President of the African country Burkina Faso.
The country’s top constitutional body has announced this decision after a coup last month. In the month of January, officers led by Damiba forced out the country’s elected president, Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

Notes:
The Andhra Pradesh Police has initiated ‘Operation Parivartan’, a special operation to eliminate the cultivation of cannabis.
This operation was led by the Andhra Pradesh Police with the Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB) in Visakhapatnam. Recently, around 2 lakh kilograms of processed cannabis was seized while it was being shipped out.