Current Affairs Quiz - February 2022

Notes:
The country’s first commercial-scale biomass-based hydrogen plant is being developed up in the Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh.
The plant will produce a tonne of hydrogen per day from 30 tonnes of biomass feedstock. It will also produce biochar and methane.

Notes:
The Department of Science & Technology (DST) has established the National Centre of Excellence in Carbon Capture and Utilisation (NCOE-CCU) at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay.
This is India’s first such centre centrally funded by the DST. This Centre of Excellence explores the potential of Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) technologies, which will help India achieve its climate change goals.

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:
Astronomers from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, along with astronomers from BITS Pilani have devised an Artificial Intelligence-based algorithm, to identify potentially habitable ones with a high probability.
As per current estimates, the number of planets in our Galaxy alone is estimated to be in billions. It is an ‘Anomaly detection method’, which is based on the assumption that Earth is an anomaly, with the possibility of existence of few other anomalies.

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:
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) launched the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evem Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM KUSUM) Scheme for farmers for installation of solar pumps and grid connected solar and other renewable power plants.
Recently, the Central government has set the target for replacing diesel with renewable energy in the agricultural sector by 2024.

Notes:
The seventh round of India-EU consultations on disarmament and non-proliferation matters was held in a virtual format.
The consultations are part of dialogue mechanisms under the ‘Roadmap to 2025’ for further strengthening the India-EU Strategic Partnership.

Notes:
The President of India Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the annual ‘Udyanotsav’ of Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. Every year, the event is held during February-March.
The Mughal Gardens will remain open for the general public from February 12, 2022 to March 16, 2022. The main attraction of this year’s event will be 11 varieties of Tulips which are set to bloom in phases during February.

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:
Mount Etna is an active strato-volcano located on the east coast of Sicily in Italy. Recently, the volcano has erupted causing a volcanic storm.
Volcanic storms can happen in particularly violent eruptions or with volcanoes located near the sea. Volcanologists observed volcanic lightning over the Mount Etna in 2021, after the one witnessed in 2015.