Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2023

Notes:
National Award-winning legendary playback singer Vani Jairam passed away recently at the age of 78.
In a career spanning more than 50 years, Vani Jairam sang over 10,000 songs in several languages. The legendary singer was named for the Padma Bhushan the third-highest civilian award of the country by the Government of India, this year. Vani Jairam has won three National Film Awards for Best Female Playback Singer.

Notes:
The eXperiential Technology Innovation Centre (XTIC) is a newly established research institute in IIT Madras.
It is India’s research and product innovation centre focusing on extended reality and haptics technology. An MoU was signed recently between ISRO and the IIT Madras to develop a training module for the Indian spaceflight programme at the XTIC. It will be developed using the augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality.

Notes:
The Reserve bank of India (RBI) has recently announced regulatory measures on climate risks and sustainable finance.
The new guidelines focused on creating a broad framework for promoting the acceptance of green deposits, a disclosure framework on financial risks associated with the climate crisis and guidelines for climate scenario analysis and stress testing.

Notes:
North Korea stole more cryptocurrency assets in 2022 than in any other year, as per a recent report by United Nations.
As per the report, most of the money stolen was used to support its ballistic missile and weapons of mass destruction programmes. North Korea-linked hackers stole virtual assets worth USD 630 million while its cyber currency heist stood at USD 1 billion.

Notes:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a loan of 130 million USD for the implementation of the Himachal Pradesh Subtropical Horticulture, Irrigation, and Value Addition Project.
The purpose of this project is to assist at least 15,000 farm households to make them more resilient to climate change through improved irrigation and water management.

Notes:
QR code-based coin vending machine or QCVM has been announced as a part of the recently concluded RBI Monetary policy.
QCVM is intended to dispense coins similar to how ATMs dispense currency notes. Coins can be withdrawn using the UPI QR code in designated vending machines. RBI plans to launch the product in 19 locations across 12 cities.

Notes:
‘Forever chemicals’ is a term used to describe a group of synthetic chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that are highly persistent in the environment and resist degradation.
They are called ‘forever’ chemicals because they do not break down naturally and can persist for decades or even centuries. A new study led by Oxford University found high levels of forever chemicals in the ice around Norway’s Svalbard.

Notes:
Sangam age was believed to be between 300 BCE to 300 CE. As per the recent findings by the Archaeological Survey of India at Keeladi, the Sangam age has been pushed to 800 BCE.
Keeldai is a small village along the Vaigai River, about 13 km from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. The eport is based on the archaeological findings from the first two phases of excavation carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India.

Notes:
Jupiter recently became the planet with the most moons, after a dozen new moons were discovered around it. The planet has surpassed Saturn with its list of 92 moons in all.
The spacecraft, dubbed Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer or Juice, has arrived at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. It is a new mission from Earth is ready to explore the planet’s biggest moons and will be launched in April this year.

Notes:
Skye Air, a Gurugram-based drone solutions provider, launched traffic management system for drones in India.
The software was launched in the presence of Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India Nitin Gadkari. It will allow drone operators to plan routes, make flight plans and assess risks before running drone-based operations in the country.