Current Affairs Quiz - February 2022

Notes:
JPMorgan Chase has opened a lounge in Decentraland, one of the most popular metaverses. It is the biggest bank in the US and has started exploring the opportunities in the virtual world known as the metaverse.
In Decentraland, one of the most popular metaverses, the bank’s Onyx lounge is in Metajuku, a virtual version of Tokyo’s Harajuku shopping district.

Notes:
‘Nord Stream 2’ is a 1,230-kilometer-long natural gas pipeline constructed under the Baltic Sea. It directly links Russian gas to Europe via Germany.
Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz has suspended the certification of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, amidst Russia’s recognition of two separatist regions in Ukraine.

Notes:
Reliance Jio announced that it will land the next-gen multi-terabit undersea cable in Maldives to connect it with India and Singapore.
The new India-Asia-Xpress (IAX) undersea cable in Hulhumale, Maldives will provide over 200Tb per second of capacity at speed of 100 GB per second. The IAX system originates in Mumbai and connects to Singapore, with branches including additional landings in India, Malaysia and Thailand.

Notes:
The third Saturday in February is celebrated as World Pangolin Day across the world, to raise awareness of this endangered mammal.
Pangolins, also called anteaters, are illegally trafficked for the bogus medicinal powers given to their scales, which are made of keratin. Since 2019, six of the eight pangolin species have been classified as ‘Endangered or Critically Endangered.

Notes:
System for Pension Administration (Raksha)- SPARSH is an initiative of the Defence Ministry. It aims for efficiency and transparency in pension administration.
Recently, Defence Ministry has signed an MoU to onboard pension services under SPARSH initiative across over four lakh Common Service Centres. The MoU will provide connectivity to pensioners, especially those who reside in remote areas of the country.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Rural Development has developed an Ombudsperson App for MGNREGA scheme, with an aim to enhance transparency in reporting and categorization of grievances. The app would collate the grievances received from various sources like physical, digital and mass media, related to the scheme’s implementation.
The app was released by the Union Minister Giriraj Singh and it is seen as an important step in e-governance.

Notes:
India and Japan has commenced their annual Dharma Guardian exercise in Karnataka. The exercise began from February 27 to March 10.
The 15th battalion of the Maratha Light Infantry regiment will participate for India. The exercise is being conducted annually since 2018. India and Japan are two of the four members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD).

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:
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:
Union Bank of India, in association with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has launched ‘Union MSME RuPay Credit Card’.
This card comes with interest free credit up to 50 days, which is used for meeting business related operational expenses of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The dedicated card for MSMEs is available to eligible borrowers of Union Bank of India. The card also offers EMI facility on their business-related purchases.