Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2023

Notes:
The India-EU Trade and Technology Council was jointly established by the European Union and India.
Under this new council, three working groups have been set up with the focus on strategic technologies, digital governance, and digital connectivity; green and clean energy technologies; and trade, investment, and resilient value chains. The working groups will be responsible for preparing for the TTC meeting, which is set to take place before the next bilateral India-EU summit.

Notes:
The Black Galaxy or ‘Invisible galaxy’ was recently discovered by researchers in Italy. It was found and characterised using the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array.
The Black Galaxy is compact and has a large amount of interstellar dust. It is forming stars at a rate 1,000 times faster than the Milky Way.

Notes:
The Quad Cyber Challenge was launched by the QUAD member states (Australia, India, Japan, and the United States) to enhance the cyber security within their individual territories.
This campaigns calls on Internet users across the Indo-Pacific region and other places to join the pledge to practice safe and responsible cyber habits.

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:
Yaya Tso has been recently proposed as Ladakh’s first biodiversity heritage site (BHS) under the Biological Diversity Act.. It is also known as birds’ paradise for its beautiful lake located at an altitude of 4,820 metres.
Yaya Tso is a nesting habitat for bar-headed goose, black-necked crane and brahminy duck and it it also has the distinction of being one of the highest breeding sites of the black-necked crane in India.

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:
The earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria has badly damaged Gaziantep Castle, a historic site and tourist attraction in south-eastern Turkey.
The castle collapsed during the 7.8 magnitude earthquake which hit Turkey. According to archaeological excavations, the castle was first built as a watchtower in the Roman period in the second and third centuries C.E. and expanded over time. Most recently, it served as ‘Gaziantep Defense and Heroism Panoramic Museum’.

Notes:
PhonePe recently became the first Indian fintech company to enable payments abroad. It allows international transactions through Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
With this, Indian travellers can make UPI transactions to foreign merchants using PhonePe platform. Cross-border transaction facility by PhonePe will support all international outlets in UAE, Singapore, Nepal, Bhutan and Mauritius having local QR Code.

Notes:
The Tanimbar corella, which is also referred to as Goffin’s cockatoo, is a type of cockatoo that is found exclusively in the forests of Yamdena, Larat, and Selaru islands in the Tanimbar Islands archipelago in Indonesia.
It was later introduced to the Kai Islands, Singapore, and Puerto Rico. A new study found that Goffin’s cockatoos are capable of combining multiple tools to achieve a complex task that is only been recorded in humans and chimpanzees.

Notes:
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope team has been selected to receive the ‘2023 John L. Jack Swigert, Jr.’ Award for Space Exploration.
It is a prestigious award from the Space Foundation. This annual award honors a space agency, company, or consortium of organizations in the realm of space exploration and discovery.