Current Affairs Quiz - February 2022

Notes:
Veteran Nobel-winning virologist Luc Montagnier died in Paris recently. He won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2008 for the discovery of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus that causes AIDS, along with his colleague Francoise Barr-Sinoussi.
He had also shared half of the Nobel with German scientist Harald zur Hausen for his discovery of Human papilloma viruses that cause cervical cancer.

Notes:
India signed an agreement with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) for the distribution of 50,000 MT of wheat.
India has committed to send relief to Afghanistan as part of a humanitarian assistance, to be sent in truck convoys through Pakistan by road. Rome-headquartered WFP thanked India for the agreement to support Afghans who are facing humanitarian crisis.

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:
For the first time, India’s Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched a satellite jointly developed by team of international researchers including from Taiwan.
INSPIRESat-1 stands for International Research and Teaching Satellite Project satellite one. It has been developed by scientists from universities of US, Taiwan, India and Singapore. Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C52 mission launched an Earth observation satellite EOS-04 and two others.

Notes:
Digital services company Jio Platforms has formed a joint-venture with Luxembourg-based SES to deliver satellite broadband services across India.
SES is a satellite-linked content connectivity solutions provider SES to deliver satellite broadband services across India. The joint venture will provide SES’s satellite data and connectivity services in India.

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:
Guru Ravidas was an Indian mystic, poet and social reformer who made remarkable contributions in the form of devotional songs, verses, spiritual teachings during the Bhakti movement.
February 16 is marking the celebration of 645th birth anniversary of the Guru. It is observed as Guru Ravidas Jayanti all across the nation. He was born in 1377 C.E. in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. He actively opposed the caste system and promoted communal harmony.

Notes:
In 2018, SEBI asked the top 500 listed companies to split the post of chairman and managing director by April 2020, after the recommendations of the Uday Kotak-led panel on corporate governance. In 2020, it extended the timeline by two years to April 1, 2022.
Recently, SEBI has made splitting of the post of chairman and managing director (CMD) in the top 500 listed companies voluntary.

Notes:
A molecule developed by researchers at the University of Helsinki, Finland named ‘TriSb92’can inactivate the coronavirus spike protein and offers short-term protection against the virus.
In contrast to vaccine protection, the effect of TriSb92 begins immediately after its administration. It protects against coronavirus infection for at least eight hours. In virus studies, TriSb92 was able to prevent even the spread of SARS. The product is nasally administered through sprays.