Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2023

Notes:
India will be invited as the theme country at the Madrid International Book Fair in 2025, the Ambassador of Spain to the country Jose Maria Ridao.
Spain is the theme country at the 46th International Kolkata Book Fair, which began recently. As part of the cultural exchange between the two countries, Spain has donated books to five universities in Bengal.

Notes:
A new species of frog known as the Ukaguru spiny-throated reed frog has been discovered in African country Tanzania.
The frog has an uncommon characteristic of being completely silent, unlike other frogs that croak, sing, or ribbit. This frog belongs to the ‘spiny-throated’ group. They are only found in small populations, making them vulnerable to extinction.

Notes:
Saudi Arabia was confirmed as the host of football’s 2027 Asian Cup Tournament at the Asian Football Confederation Congress in Bahrain.
Saudi was the only bid presented at the Congress after India’s withdrawal in December 2022. Qatar will host the next edition of the Asian Cup, from June 26 to July 16, 2023. Qatar will become the first country to host three Asian Cups, after 1988 and 2011.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Helicopter Factory at Tumakuru in Karnataka.
The factory is India’s largest helicopter manufacturing facility and will initially produce LUHs. He also unveiled the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH). Initially, this factory will produce around 30 helicopters per year and can be enhanced to 60 and then 90 per year in a phased manner.

Notes:
Superbugs are types of germs, like bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites that are not easily killed by antibiotics.
According to a recent report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), superbugs could be a major cause of death in the future. Overuse of antibiotics in animal farming and pollution from pharmaceutical companies can cause these germs to become resistant to antibiotics.

Notes:
The government has set up a special committee to examine the need for a separate competition law for digital companies.
Chaired by Corporate Affairs Secretary Manoj Govil, the committee will review whether existing antitrust laws in the country are equipped to deal with the challenges that have emerged from the digital economy, and submit to the government a draft Digital Competition Act within three months.

Notes:
The One District One Product (ODOP) initiative is aimed at promoting balanced regional development across all districts of the country.
ODOP has been merged with ‘Districts as Export Hubs Initiative’ being run by the Department of Commerce (DoC) with Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) as a major stakeholder. Under the ODOP- Districts as Export Hubs initiative, products with export potential have been recently identified from all 765 districts of the country.

Notes:
Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh recently inaugurated Mission Antyodaya Survey (MAS) 2022-23.
The objectives of the scheme are- conducting an annual survey at the Gram Panchayat level to monitor the progress in the development process in rural areas, Panchayat wise ranking and making Gap report, which serves as an important input for the Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP).

Notes:
Smart Cities Mission is the Indian Government’s urban renewal program that seeks to create sustainable and citizen-centric smart cities.
It is being implemented by the Union Ministry of Housing Urban Affairs in collaboration with the state governments. As many as 22 smart cities are expected to complete all projects under the Smart Cities Mission. The remaining 78 smart cities under this mission are expected to complete their projects in the next 3 to 4 months.

Notes:
Nigeria has recently announced demonetization to address corruption and bring down inflation. Its purpose is to bring back most of the money that is in circulation outside the banking system and to minimize money laundering.
Nigerians are required to turn in their old 1,000, 500 and 200 naira banknotes as part of this initiative in return for new naira notes. With the African country being largely dependent on cash, the shortage of new naira notes is causing chaos in Nigeria.