Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2023

Notes:
Bihar Deputy Chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav inaugurated the MV Ganga Vihar at NIT Ghat in Bihar.
The floating restaurant operated by the Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation (BSTDC). The two-storied floating restaurant has a restaurant on the ground floor with a seating capacity of 48 people along with a VIP lounge and a private lounge on the top floor.

Notes:
The 36th Surajkund International Crafts Mela was inaugurated by Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar in Faridabad, Haryana.
For this year, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is the participating international entity while eight northeast states, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura, are the theme states. The artists of these states will come together to showcase their art, handicrafts, and cuisines on a single platform.

Notes:
The United States and the Philippines announced plans to expand America’s military presence in the Southeast Asian nation.
The countries decided to accelerate full implementation of their ‘Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA)’. As part of the agreement, the U.S. has allocated $82 million toward infrastructure improvements at five current EDCA sites. This will provide access to four more bases to the US.

Notes:
National Research Foundation is an autonomous agency that comes under the aegis of Ministry of Science and Technology (DST).
The Union Budget 2023-24 has earmarked Rs.2,000 crore as an outlay for the National Research Foundation to boost research and innovation within India.

Notes:
Medium-density Amorphous (MDA) Ice is a new form of ice that was recently discovered by scientists. This ice has same density and structure as water.
The ice was created by scientists in a container with stainless steel balls at a -200°C. The MDA ice does not have any ordered structure. It will provide the opportunity to improve the understanding of the properties of water.

Notes:
A new report ‘Teleconnections Among Tipping Elements in the Earth System’ Report, has found a direct link between deforestation of the Amazon rainforest and the temperature changes in Tibet.
Tibet is situated more than 15,000 km from the rainforest. It revealed the strong link between climate tipping elements. A tipping point is a threshold beyond which major, irreversible changes occur in a specific region.

Notes:
India’s first Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine (H2ICE) technology was launched by Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) for heavy-duty trucks.
It was developed by RIL in collaboration with vehicle partners like Ashok Leyland and others and was launched during the India Energy Week 2023. The H2ICE technology minimizes carbon emissions and delivers better performance when compared with conventional diesel trucks.

Notes:
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs signed a MoU with Engineers India Limited to develop Waste to Energy and bio-methanation projects in cities with a population of million plus.
It was signed as a part of furthering the ‘Green Growth’ agenda. There are 59 million plus cities in India and EIL will assist them in developing such projects for larger quantum of waste integrating circularity in waste management.

 

Notes:
National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT) is an apex government body that comes under the aegis of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
It is responsible for development of industrial corridors like Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor, Bengaluru – Mumbai Industrial Corridor and others. The Indian Government has sanctioned and approved 8 projects under NICDIT.

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.