Current Affairs Quiz - February 2022

Notes:
Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been elected to a second term as Germany’s President. A special assembly voted the veteran politician, to the President Post.
Steinmeier was elected by secret ballot by a majority of the assembly for another five years. German presidents are elected by special assemblies comprising lawmakers and hundreds of other prominent citizens.

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:
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 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:
In 2018, SEBI asked the top 500 listed companies to split the post of chairman and managing director by April 2020, after the recommendations of the Uday Kotak-led panel on corporate governance. In 2020, it extended the timeline by two years to April 1, 2022.
Recently, SEBI has made splitting of the post of chairman and managing director (CMD) in the top 500 listed companies voluntary.

Notes:
INSACOG is India’s SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium. It is a network of laboratories for genomic sequencing and surveillance.
Recently, India announced that is ready to extend its SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) in the neighbourhood as part of the fight against COVID-19. This was announced by Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla at the COVID-19 Global Action Meeting convened by the US.

Notes:
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development is an intergovernmental organisation, established in 1964 at Geneva, Switzerland, with an aim to promote trade among developing countries.
Recently, the organisation has stated that India’s trade deficit as a percentage of global trade has reduced to 0.6% in 2022 as against 0.7% in pre pandemic levels.

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:
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has prohibited the sharing of top secret or secret documents by its officials over Internet.
The officials have been told not to use digital assistant devices such as Amazon’s Echo, Apple’s HomePod and Google Home in office and turn off digital assistants, including Alexa and Siri, in smartphones or watches. Such practices violate the Departmental Security instructions and the National Information Security Policy Guidelines.

Notes:
State-owned hydro power giant NHPC has incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary for clean energy business, including green hydrogen.
The name of the new company is ‘NHPC Renewable Energy Ltd’, as per BSE filing. The government is focussing on renewable energy and target of 500 GW of clean energy by 2030.