Current Affairs Quiz - February 2022

Notes:
The Indian Government is hosting a series of webinars across many sectors to help with implementation of Budget announcements.
The Ministry of Education hosted a webinar on ‘Education and skill sector’ as part of this series, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Plenary Session. Seven parallel breakout sessions were held under the identified themes.

Notes:
A week-long commemoration event titled Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate was launched by Union Minister of Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh and Union Minister of Culture G Kishan Reddy.
This was launched as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. The event is being held simultaneously at 75 locations across the country till February 28, National Science Day. It will display the country’s legacy in science and technology.

Notes:
UK’s Chester zoo witnessed the birth of an aardvark calf, for the first time in 90 years. It is named after the house elf from Harry Potter series, Dobby.
Aardvarks are native to sub-Saharan Africa and its name means ‘Earth pig’ in the language of Afrikaans. There are only 66 aardvarks in zoos across Europe. The nocturnal animals use their long noses and sense of smell to sniff out ants and termites.

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:
Pterosaurs were the first flying vertebrates and include the largest flying animals in Earth history.
Recently, a new species has been identified in Scotland named ‘Dearc sgiathanach’. It had a wingspan of 1.6-1.8 metres and lived around 170 million years ago. The species is also the largest Jurassic pterosaur known so far.

Notes:
Union Ministry of Education recently launched a campaign ‘Bhasha Certificate Selfie’ to encourage cultural diversity and promote Multilingualism.
The initiative aims to promote Bhasha Sangam mobile app, developed by Ministry of Education and MyGov India. Using the app, people can learn over 100 sentences of daily use in as many as 22 scheduled Indian languages. It encourages people to upload their selfie with the certificate.

Notes:
The Tamil Nadu Government began work to form India’s first Dugong Conservation Reserve in the Palk Bay region. Dugongs are endangered species protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
According to the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), only 200-250 dugongs are left in the wild, of which 150 are found in Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar in Tamil Nadu.

Notes:
‘Anonymous’ Hacking Group has declared a ‘Cyber war’ against the Russian government after President Vladimir Putin announced an invasion of Ukraine.
The group also claimed responsibility for the attack on the website of the Russia Today TV channel and other Russian websites. Anonymous is an international ‘hacktivist’ group that has been involved in various major cyber-attacks across the globe.

Notes:
Indian Council of Agricultural Research-National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBAGR) has launched a study of ‘Kombai’ dogs.
The study of the breed has been launched under a project to document the indigenous dog breeds. ICAR has already registered the ‘Rajapalayam and Chippiparai’ dogs of Tamil Nadu and the ‘Mudhol Hound’ of Karnataka.

Notes:
US President Joe Biden nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson to be the first Black woman in US history to serve on the nation’s highest court.
She has been confirmed by the Senate with votes from Republicans as well as Democrats. Presently serving on the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, she has also served as a United States District Judge for the District of Columbia from 2013 to 2021.