Current Affairs Quiz - February 2022

Notes:
The Haryana Cabinet approved the draft of The Haryana Prevention of Unlawful Conversion of Religious Bill, 2022. It will now be tabled in the Vidhan Sabha.
It aims to prohibit religious conversions made through ‘misrepresentation, force or by fraudulent means or by marriage or for marriage’ by making it an offense. The burden of proof lies on the accused and every individual converting from a religion to another will have to submit a declaration.

Notes:
Geo-location technology specialist TomTom has released the 11th edition of its annual TomTom Traffic Index. It is a report analysing traffic trends seen in 404 cities in 58 countries, during 2021.
India fared better than the global average of 10% decrease in congestion. But, four cities from India featured in the Index’s global top-25 list namely Mumbai (5th), Bengaluru (10th), and New Delhi (11th) and Pune (21st).

Notes:
The Department of Science & Technology (DST) has established the National Centre of Excellence in Carbon Capture and Utilisation (NCOE-CCU) at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay.
This is India’s first such centre centrally funded by the DST. This Centre of Excellence explores the potential of Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) technologies, which will help India achieve its climate change goals.

Notes:
Acromegaly is caused by excessive secretion of growth hormone, most often from a tumor in the pituitary gland. The disorder causes increased height when it manifests in childhood and adolescent age group.
The Fairbank’s disease (Multiple epiphyseal dysplasia) patient usually requires management of pain and orthopaedic procedures.  As per Health Ministry, patients of both these diseases are getting treatment at various tertiary health facilities in India.

Notes:
As per NASA’s recent announcement, there are currently 25,000 total objects tracked on-orbit and about 6,100 below 600 km.
SpaceX’s Gen2 expansion involves launching 30,000 satellites, which will double the number of tracked objects in orbit. As per NASA, this may impact NASA’s science and human spaceflight missions. Amazon also raised concerns that its Kuiper System may be impacted.

Notes:
A team of Indian Scientists has recently identified the next-generation probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus Plantarum JBC5.
The bacterium promoted healthy aging on a model organism called Caenorhabditis Elegans. The team from Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST), Guwahati, has also developed a yogurt using this probiotic bacterium.

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:
India is ranked 46 on the EIU’s Democracy Index report, which was released recently. In the Global index, India has scored 6.91.
Norway and New Zealand got the top two places respectively, while North Korea, Myanmar, Afghanistan were placed at the bottom. India has the lowest score of 5 on political culture and the highest score of 8.67 on electoral process and pluralism.

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.