Current Affairs Quiz - February 2022

Notes:
A team of astronomers has discovered a new planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, the star closest to the Sun.
The planet named ‘Proxima d’, is the third detected in the system. It is among the lightest of the exo-planets discovered so far. The astronomers used the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) in Chile to spot this exo-planet.

Notes:
International Day of Women and Girls in Science is observed every year on 11 February. The United Nations calls for women’s full and equal access to and participation in science.
The day also celebrates those that are leading action and innovation around the world. As per UN Women, only 33 per cent of researchers are women, and they are awarded less research funding than men, and are less likely to be promoted.

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:
Australian government announced a series of new initiatives to boost its education and cultural ties with India under the Maitri programme.
Under the Maitri Scholars Programme, Australian government will provide over 11 million dollars over four years to support Indian students to study at Australia’s top universities. The Maitri Fellowship Programme will provide 3.5 million dollars to support mid-career Australian and Indian professionals to collaborate on strategic research initiatives.

Notes:
Cholendra Shumsher Rana became the second Chief Justice of Nepal to face ‘impeachment’ procedure in Parliament in seven years over allegations of corruption
The Chief Justice Rana has been suspended pending final disposal of the case, and Dipak Karki, the senior most Judge in the Supreme Court has taken over as the acting Chief Justice.

Notes:
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc.)  is a public, deemed, research university, located in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
IISc Bengaluru has received its single largest private donation of ₹425 crore, which will be used to set up a postgraduate medical school along with a multi-speciality 800-bed hospital. The project aims to develop “physician-scientists.”

Notes:
The National Health Authority (NHA) is the nodal agency for the implementation of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri–Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY).
The Union Health Ministry announced that the National Health Authority (NHA) is working to integrate the database of Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011 beneficiaries with the National Food Security Act (NFSA) portal.

Notes:
The Indian Embassy in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, issued advisory, saying Indian nationals particularly students whose stay is not essential, may consider leaving temporarily.
It also advised them to avoid all non-essential travel. This came at the backdrop of repeated warnings from US officials that Russia could launch an invasion of Ukraine. There are more than 20,000 Indians in Ukraine, including professionals, businessmen and some 18,000 students.

Notes:
Union Science and Technology Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh announced that ‘Pan India 3D maps’ will be prepared for 100 cities.
He also said that mapping of six lakh villages will be done under the SVAMITVA scheme. He announced this during an event commemorating the 1st anniversary of the release of Geospatial Data. India’s geospatial market is set to cross 36 thousand crore rupees in three years.