Current Affairs Quiz - February 2022

Notes:
The Texas Attorney General is suing Facebook’s parent company Meta, saying it allegedly collected biometric data on Texans for commercial purposes without their consent.
The suit claims that Facebook parent Meta has been storing millions of biometric identifiers, including retina or iris scans, voice prints, or a record of hand and face geometry.

Notes:
The full moon, known as the Snow Moon occurs during the month of February. This year, it reached its peak on February 16.
The bright star Regulus in the constellation Leo, the lion was also witnessed along with the moon. The Snow Moon, also called the Storm Moon, is a name from the Algonquin tribe ‘because of the heavy snows that fall in this season’.

Notes:
Using the SOAR (Southern Astrophysical Research) Telescope in Chile, astronomers have confirmed that the asteroid 2020 XL5 is an Earth Trojan.
Earth Trojan is an Earth companion following the same path around the Sun as Earth does. 2020 XL5 was discovered in 2020 by the Pan-STARRS1 survey. Study shows that it is much larger than the only other Earth Trojan known.

Notes:
A team of researchers, based mainly at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a new Programming Language named “A Tensor Language” (ATL), for High-Performance Computers.
Usually, it is believed that there are unavoidable trade-offs between speed and reliability. But the new language maintains both speed and reliability.

Notes:
Indonesia holds the Presidency of G 20 in 2022. The G20 second Finance and Central Bank Deputies (FCBD) meeting produced a communique draft containing a long-term economic recovery strategy to tackle future pandemics.
The communique draft would be further discussed in the first Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting. The theme of G20 this year is “Recover Together, Recover Stronger”.

Notes:
The Government of India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has recently notified guidelines on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for plastic packaging, under the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2022. This aims to eliminate single use plastic.
This defines the roles and responsibilities of producers, importers and pollution control units in bringing down plastic waste.

Notes:
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) organised the ‘Labharthiyon Se Rubaroo’ initiative. It was launched to monitor progress of projects under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U) by directly interacting with beneficiaries.
Recently the Secretary of MoHUA, interacted with PMAY(U) beneficiaries from Assam, Jharkhand and Kerala, to know about their experiences under the scheme.

Notes:
As per the recently released Hurun Report, the number of Dollar millionaires in India have increased by 11% at the end of 2021, with current numbers at 4.58 lakh. The report has also stated that the number of such Dollar millionaires who consider themselves happy in personal and professional life has come down to 66%.
Individuals who possess a personal wealth of over Rs 7 crore are called Dollar millionaires.

Notes:
‘Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT)’ is an array of thirty fully steerable parabolic radio telescopes. It is located near Pune at Khodad in Maharashtra.
Astronomers from the National Centre of Radio Astrophysics (NCRA-TIFR) in Pune, and the University of California, Santa Cruz, have used GMRT to map the distribution of atomic hydrogen gas from the host galaxy of a fast radio burst (FRB).

Notes:
The Delhi government established Specialised Schools of Excellence (SoSEs) to equip students with world-class facilities and instructors.
With the introduction of eleven new SOSEs this year, the total number of such schools rose to 31. The schools provide specialised education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), humanities, performing and visual arts, high-end 21st century skills and Armed Forces Preparatory School.