Current Affairs Quiz - February 2022

Notes:
Kiribati or the Republic of Kiribati, is an independent island nation located in the central Pacific Ocean.
The country had closed the borders for two years and managed to keep Covid away. Recently, as it reopened and the first flight landed, it is facing a challenge with the outbreak of the virus. India has sent a consignment of medical supplies among other Covid 19 supplies.

Notes:
The Tata Group has appointed Ilker Ayci, former Turkish Airlines Chairman, as Air India’s Managing Director and CEO.
The decision is in line with the Tata Group’s plans to appoint an expatriate chief to run Air India, which it took over from the Indian government recently.

Notes:
Environment clearance has been issued to as many as 60 mining areas and legal mining of Bajri (riverbed sand) is initiated in Rajasthan.
Four years ago, the Supreme Court banned the sand mining activities in riverbeds until a scientific replenishment study was completed. The apex court later appointed a Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to probe the issue of illegal sand mining.

Notes:
Several parts of Jharkhand are witnessing massive protests against the inclusion of Bhojpuri and Magahi as “regional languages” in district-level competitive examinations for government jobs.
The state government issued a notification to include Magahi, Bhojpuri, and Angika among others as regional languages in the district-level selection process through exams conducted by the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC).

Notes:
Department of Fertilizers has sought comments from all stakeholders on the draft Integrated Plant Nutrition Management Bill, 2022.
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers has proposed a law that empowers it to fix the maximum selling price of fertilisers and control its quality as well as distribution.

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:
India reported an outbreak of highly contagious H5N1 bird flu virus on a poultry research farm in Bihar.
The Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) announced that the virus killed 787 out of 3,859 birds on the farm in Patna and all of the remaining birds were slaughtered.

Notes:
Brazil has been hit by heavy rains since December that have caused a series of deadly floods and landslides.
Recently, extremely heavy rains set off mudslides and floods in a mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro state, especially the city of Petropolis, killing dozens of people. The rainy season downpours are being augmented by La Nina and the impact of climate change.

Notes:
The National Institute of Animal Biotechnology is an autonomous research establishment of the Department of Biotechnology. It is located at Hyderabad.
Researchers at NIAB have developed an electrochemical based immune-sensor for rapid and sensitive detection of the Non-Structural 1 (NS1) secretory protein, which is the biomarker for Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV). JEV is the leading cause of mosquito-borne encephalitis in South-East Asia and Western Pacific and is often misdiagnosed as Dengue.

Notes:
Assam government is set to launch a 4-year mentorship programme called project ‘Arohan’. It aims to mentor students and help them to develop their skills.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma met CEO of Tata STRIVE, a skill development initiative of Tata Trusts and sought corporation from them for the project.