Current Affairs Quiz - February 2022

Notes:
The lighthouse at Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, is being developed under the Public Private Partnership mode for tourism. Infrastructure includes a museum, amphitheatre, open air theatre, cafeteria, children play area, gazebo, landscaping, and lifts. The development is part of a national project identifying 75 lighthouse sites in India for tourism promotion. Work at Mahabalipuram is confirmed as started under PPP mode.

Notes:
Seven Indian Army personnel, who were part of a patrol team, were struck by an avalanche in the high-altitude area in the Kameng sector of Arunachal Pradesh.
All the seven personnel were later found deceased. The area is located at an altitude of 14,500 feet and had been witnessing heavy snowfall since the last few days. The Army had lost six personnel to avalanches and snow-slides in the Siachen Glacier in 2019, and 11 others in other parts of the country.

Notes:
The Delhi government has digitised the whole process of disbursement of Pension. The entire process, from filling the application form to disbursement of pension, will be online.
The Social Welfare Department of the state has implemented the process successfully. It also announced that there will be no hindrance or delay in pension cases.

Notes:
Scientists in the United Kingdom have achieved a new milestone in producing nuclear fusion energy, or imitating the way energy is produced in the Sun.
A team at the Joint European Torus (JET) facility in central England generated 59 mega joules of sustained energy during an experiment. A kg of fusion fuel contains about 10 million times energy of that of a kg of coal, oil or gas.

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:
India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade announced that the import of drones is banned. The order exempted those used for research and development, defense, and security purposes.
This move also blocks the market for China’s SZ DJI Technology Co., the world’s top dronemaker, and encourages India’s local industry to increase production. Import of some drone components will be allowed.

Notes:
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Centre’s Gross domestic product (GDP) deflator projection for 2022-23 is 3 to 3.5 per cent.
GDP deflator is a measure of inflation and is the difference between nominal GDP and real GDP. Union Budget assumes a nominal GDP growth rate of 11.1 per cent for FY23.

Notes:
The US Congress passed a legislation that ends forced arbitration in sexual assault and harassment disputes at workplaces.
After getting signed by the President Joe Biden, the bill will allow survivors to sue their abusers in a public court even if they have signed employment agreements that require them to settle disputes internally through an arbitrator.

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:
India has cut its tax on crude palm oil (CPO) imports to 5 percent from 7.5 percent. The reduction in the tax, known as ‘Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC)’, will widen the gap between the CPO and refined palm oil import duties.
This will make it cheaper for Indian refiners to import CPO. India is the world’s biggest edible oil importer.