Current Affairs Quiz - February 2022

Notes:
India celebrates National Productivity Day on February 12 every year. The National Productivity Council (NPC) organises this special day.
NPC is an autonomous organisation established in 1958 under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. National Productivity Council celebrates productivity week February 12 to 18, across the nation under the theme “Self Reliance Through Productivity.”

Notes:
Several parts of Jharkhand are witnessing massive protests against the inclusion of Bhojpuri and Magahi as “regional languages” in district-level competitive examinations for government jobs.
The state government issued a notification to include Magahi, Bhojpuri, and Angika among others as regional languages in the district-level selection process through exams conducted by the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC).

Notes:
UK has announced to be the co-host of an upcoming United Nations virtual pledging summit to address the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
As per the UK government, the virtual pledging conference is aimed to help the UN raise USD 4.4 billion for Afghanistan. It is the largest amount the UN has ever requested for a single country.

Notes:
Using the SOAR (Southern Astrophysical Research) Telescope in Chile, astronomers have confirmed that the asteroid 2020 XL5 is an Earth Trojan.
Earth Trojan is an Earth companion following the same path around the Sun as Earth does. 2020 XL5 was discovered in 2020 by the Pan-STARRS1 survey. Study shows that it is much larger than the only other Earth Trojan known.

Notes:
INSACOG is India’s SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium. It is a network of laboratories for genomic sequencing and surveillance.
Recently, India announced that is ready to extend its SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) in the neighbourhood as part of the fight against COVID-19. This was announced by Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla at the COVID-19 Global Action Meeting convened by the US.

Notes:
Ministry of Culture organised a two-day Global Summit on ‘Reimagining Museums in India’ in the month of February 2022.
The summit was organized under the aegis of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. The online summit will encompass four broad themes: Architecture and Functional Needs, Management, Collections (including Curation and Conservation practices) and Education and Audience Engagement.

Notes:
Philanthropist and founder of Microsoft corporation – Bill Gates has been conferred with Hilal-e-Pakistan, which is the 2nd highest civilian award of Pakistan. He is receiving this award as the co-chair of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
This award has been dedicated to him on account for the foundation’s continuous efforts to eradicate polio and to reduce poverty in Pakistan.

Notes:
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) organised the ‘Labharthiyon Se Rubaroo’ initiative. It was launched to monitor progress of projects under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U) by directly interacting with beneficiaries.
Recently the Secretary of MoHUA, interacted with PMAY(U) beneficiaries from Assam, Jharkhand and Kerala, to know about their experiences under the scheme.

Notes:
Eminent Kannada writer and poet Dr Chennaveera Kanavi passed away at the age of 94 after age-related complications.
The Karnataka government ordered police honours for his last rites. The litterateur won the Sahitya Akademi award for his book ‘Jeevadhwani’. He received various awards including Rajyotsava Award, Pampa Award, Nadoja title, Nrupathunga award, Sahitya Bangara Award.

Notes:
Indian traders have imported a record 100,000 tonnes of Soy Oil from the United States, because of limited supplies from drought-hit South America.
This import has been undertaken amidst the high prices of its rival Palm Oil. The higher purchases are expected to support U.S. soy oil prices, which have already climbed nearly 20% this year.