Current Affairs Quiz - February 2022

Notes:
‘Central Excise Day’ is observed every year on February 24 in India. It commemorates the Central Excise and Salt Act which was enacted on 24th February 1944.
Central Excise Day honours the contribution of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) in the industrial development of the country.

Notes:
The Intracortical Visual Prosthesis (ICVP) has been successfully surgically implanted in the study’s first participant.
The system is said to have the potential to restore partial vision to people who have lost their sight. ICVP is an implant that bypasses the retina and optic nerves to connect directly to the brain’s visual cortex.

Notes:
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is mechanism, which uses cryptographic protocol to undertake secure communication.
Recently, a joint team of scientists from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, successfully demonstrated QKD link between Prayagraj and Vindhyachal in Uttar Pradesh, a distance of more than 100 kilometres.’

Notes:
The 2nd South Asian Athletic Federation (SAAF) Cross-Country championship and the 56th National Cross Country Athletics Championship will be held in Kohima on March 26.
The tournament will be the first ever international athletics event in Nagaland. More than 600 athletes will participate in the event from all the AFI-affiliated states and UTs of the country and also South Asian countries.

Notes:
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme was launched 24th of February in 2019  to provide income support to all landholding farmer’s families.
Under the Scheme, an amount of Rs 6000 per year is transferred in three equal installments of two thousand rupees directly into the bank accounts of the farmers. Over 1.80 lakh crore rupees have been transferred directly, under PM KISAN scheme.

Notes:
China’s Yutu-2 rover has recently spotted two strange glass spheres on the far side of the Moon. The lunar ‘spherules’ are the first of their kind to be found on the lunar surface.
As per researchers, they are formed fairly recently. Though Glass has been spotted on the moon before, by both the Yutu-2 rover and NASA’s Apollo 16 mission, this is the first sight of Glass spheres.

Notes:
Foreign Direct Investment is a Capital Account component of Balance of Payment (BoP). During the period from April to December 2021, the total foreign direct investment received by India stood at USD 60.3 billion, which was 10.6% lower compared to the corresponding period of the same year.
Computer software and hardware industry witnessed the highest FDI equity inflows of USD 10.25 billion and other major sectors like Manufacturing, communication services, retail and wholesale trade etc have registered considerable inflows.

Notes:
Zmiinyi Island (Snake Island) is a roughly 16-hectare rocky island owned by Ukraine that lies about 300km west of Crimea, in the Black Sea.
Ukraine has honoured 13 soldiers who were killed defending the island from Russian forces. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has awarded each of the guards the posthumous title of “Hero of Ukraine”.

Notes:
India and Nepal agreed to form a joint task force on a proposal to construct a hydropower project from investments of the two neighbouring countries.2
The task force will have maximum three members from both the countries. It was agreed on the Meeting of Nepal-India Energy Secretary-Level Joint Steering Committee in Kathmandu. Both countries also agreed to increase the capacity of energy, imported and exported through the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line.

Notes:
Narsinh Mehta was a 15th century poet who was a devotee of Lord Krishna. Recently, researchers of Bhakta Kavi Narsinh Mehta University (BKNMU)- Junagadh, discovered a new species of spider and named it Narsinhmehtai in honour of Narsinh Mehta.
The admirers of the poet objected to the nomenclature, arguing it was already a global name and objected the association of his name to a spider.