Current Affairs Quiz - February 2022

Notes:
‘World Pulses Day’ is celebrated on February 10 every year. The UN General Assembly in 2019 dedicated this day to increase awareness and access to pulses globally.
World Pulses Day 2022 is celebrated under the theme of “Pulses to empower youth in achieving sustainable agri-food systems”.

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:
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.

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:
The Ministry of Defence has signed up a design and development contract with NewSpace Research & Technologies, to develop a High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS).
The Bengaluru-based company was mentored under the ministry’s Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) initiative. The HAPS aims to conduct surveillance operations and support communications by staying airborne for months.

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:
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:
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) hosted the latest edition of the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the summit, which was based on the theme ‘Towards a Resilient Planet: Ensuring a Sustainable and Equitable Future’. The keynote addresses will be delivered by President of Republic of Guyana Dr Irfaan Ali and Deputy Secretary-General of the UN.

Notes:
Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr. Virendra Kumar launched the Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs (SEED).
It aims to promote the welfare of De-notified, Nomadic and Semi Nomadic Communities. The Department of Social Justice & Empowerment has developed an online portal to ensure seamless registration and data storage of these communities

Notes:
The landlocked African nation – Malawi has recently declared a polio outbreak, after a case was identified in a young child.
As per the World Health Organisation, this outbreak is the first in the African continent in more than 5 years. This strain is of the type WPV1 (Type 1 Wild Polio Virus)