Current Affairs Quiz - February 2022

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:
Indian Army conducted its first-of-its-kind Hackathon was conducted at the Military College of Telecommunication Engineering (MCTE), Mhow.
The event, ‘Sainya Ranakshetra’ was conducted in collaboration with the Rashtriya Raksha University. The event was held under the overall guidance of the Shimla based Army Training Command (ARTRAC).

Notes:
Philippines has recently deferred ratification of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
This decision has been taken after farmers and other civil society groups in the country expressed strong apprehensions against the mega trade deal signed. India has decided to stay out of RCEP, as per current situations.

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:
Rajasthan has the maximum households electrified through the solar-based standalone system, under Saubhagya scheme.
The hill states of Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir had no beneficiaries under the initiative. Rajasthan (1,23,682 households) is followed by Chhattisgarh (65,373), Uttar Pradesh (53,234).

Notes:
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman allocated ₹48,000 crore towards completion of 80 lakh houses under Prime Minister Awas Yojana (PMAY) in rural and urban areas during 2022-23.
Recently, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs approved project proposals for over 60,000 houses across five states — Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan.

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:
Crimson Rose is a large butterfly with a mix of black, white and crimson colours on its wings and body. It belongs to the Swallowtails (Papilionidae) family and they are known to migrate along the coast, inland and cross the sea often.
Recently, thousands of Crimson Rose butterflies were seen flying from Dhanushkodi, at the southern-most tip of Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu) Island towards Sri Lanka, which is around 25 km from the tip of Dhanushkodi.

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

Notes:
A US woman is said to have become the third person in the world to be cured of HIV. She is also the first woman to be cured.
The woman is a leukaemia patient and received a stem cell transplant from someone with natural resistance to the Aids-causing virus.  An umbilical cord blood transplant was done, as a part of her cancer treatment.