Current Affairs Quiz - February 2022

Notes:
Brazil recorded the most deforestation ever in the Amazon rainforest for the month of January, according to new government data.
Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon totalled 430 sq kilometres last month, five times higher than January 2021. This is according to preliminary satellite data from government space research agency.

Notes:
Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been elected to a second term as Germany’s President. A special assembly voted the veteran politician, to the President Post.
Steinmeier was elected by secret ballot by a majority of the assembly for another five years. German presidents are elected by special assemblies comprising lawmakers and hundreds of other prominent citizens.

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:
Japan is the only country that has dedicated country-focused industrial townships across India. Recently DPIIT (India) reviewed the status of Japan Industrial Townships (JITs) with METI (Japan).
Japan Industrial Townships (JITs) were set up after the “Action Agenda for the India-Japan Investment and Trade Promotion and Asia-Pacific Economic Integration” signed in 2015. They wer developed in India especially in Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) and Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC).

Notes:
The Northern Mariana Islands, a United States territory, is located only 2500km southeast of Japan.
Japan has planned to dump more than 1 million tonnes of treated water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power station into the Pacific Ocean. The Northern Mariana Islands has proposed another viable solution to the plan to be considered.

Notes:
Vedanta and Hon Hai Technology Group (also known as Foxconn) have formed a joint venture (JV) to manufacture semiconductors in India.
This is the first joint venture in the electronics manufacturing space after the Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI). In December 2021, the Centre cleared a PLI scheme for semiconductor and display board production targeting an investment of Rs 76,000 crore over the next five to six years.

Notes:
Philippines has signed a USD 375 million deal with India to buy three batteries of the BrahMos cruise missile from India.
Recently India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held discussions with his Philippines counterpart Teodoro L Locsin, on mutual national security and development aspirations. External Affairs Minister Jaishankar has undergone a three-day maiden visit to the Philippines.

Notes:
‘Babushka batallion’ is an army of older women, being organised by far-right movement Azov. The training offered basic lessons in first-aid, survival and evacuation, weapons safety and how to use a weapon.
The tension between Russia and Ukraine has entered a critical week and the USA has warned that troops could wage a bloody campaign to take the country within days.

Notes:
NITI Aayog inaugurated the first-of-its-kind initiative of ‘Fintech Open month’, to bring together regulators, Fin-tech professionals, industry leaders, start-up community on a common platform.
The overarching theme is ‘OPEN’, to achieve three objectives namely 1) encourage Open ecosystem across the Fin-Tech industry; (2) promote co-innovation and growth; (3) ensure financial inclusion and leverage new models like Account Aggregator.

Notes:
DefExpo 2022, India’s biennial flagship defence exhibition is scheduled to be held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat in the month of March.
More than 900 defence firms and 55 countries have so far confirmed their participation in the Expo. It is also claimed to be Asia’s largest defence exhibition. Out of the 900 exhibitors at the event, more than 100 are foreign players. The 2020 edition of the Expo was held at Lucknow