Current Affairs Quiz - February 2022

Notes:
Vedanta and Hon Hai Technology Group (also known as Foxconn) have formed a joint venture (JV) to manufacture semiconductors in India.
This is the first joint venture in the electronics manufacturing space after the Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI). In December 2021, the Centre cleared a PLI scheme for semiconductor and display board production targeting an investment of Rs 76,000 crore over the next five to six years.

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:
Gati Shakti is a digital platform, which will bring 16 ministries together, for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects.
Under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (NMP), the government plans to develop 22 greenfield expressways, 23 key infrastructure projects including other highways and 35 multi-modal logistics parks (MMLPs), as per the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways (MoRTH).

Notes:
The Government of India, in partnership with the Government of Australia and the Government of Singapore, conducted an international workshop on combating marine pollution focusing on marine plastic debris.
The sessions involved panel discussions to encourage discussion amongst participants from East Asia Summit countries. Ministry of Earth Science organised the workshop.

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:
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:
Nepal will be the very first nation outside India to adopt India’s UPI (Unified Payment Interface) system.
NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) which is an international arm of NPCI along with Gateway Payments Service (GPS) and Manam Infotech has implemented this service in Nepal. This move is expected to play a major role in boosting the digital economy of Nepal.

Notes:
The Munich Security Conference is an annual event in which world leaders gather to discuss international security related policies. It has been convened at Munich, Germany since 1963.
The 2022 Munich Security Conference commenced on 18^th Feb 2022 with a major focus on the Ukraine crisis. But there was no Russian delegation to the conference.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated Asia’s biggest Bio-CNG plant in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore.
The Bio-CNG plant has been set up based on the concept of waste-to-wealth innovation in Indore, India’s cleanest city. It has a capacity of 550 MT per day, claimed to be the highest in Asia.

Notes:
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel unveiled the Gujarat Biotechnology Policy 2022-27, with an expected capital investment of over Rs 20,000 crore, providing assistance to more than 500 industries in the state.
The policy aims at providing capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operation expenses (OPEX) assistance to special projects. Assistance will also be provided on term-loans. It will also provide support to preclinical testing, genome sequencing, lab-vaccine development, manufacturing and testing.