Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2023

Notes:
Experts at the 5th International Marine Protected Areas Congress in Canada have recommended the setting up of Marine Protected Areas.
Marine protected areas are regions in the ocean where human activities are regulated by the government. These protected areas are set up to address issues such as pollution, litter, overfishing, and climate change.

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 Everglades is a wetland ecosystem in the southern part of the US state of Florida. It spans across the southern half of a large drainage basin in the tropical region. This wetland ecosystem experiences fluctuating weather changes, habitat loss and environmental degradation.
A 35-year plan with an outlay of 10 billion USD is being implemented to restore this wetland. This is the world’s largest and most expensive ecological restoration project.

Notes:
Scientists have discovered the oldest known stone tools in Kenya, dating back 2.9 million years, known as Oldowan toolkit.
This toolkit included hammer-stones, cores and flakes. It is a critical invention for early human ancestors that expanded across Africa and China. The discovery provides a glimpse of importance of stone technology in adapting to different environments.

Notes:
The Punjab Cabinet has approved a new policy for industries and the electric vehicles effective from October 17, 2022, for a period of five years.
The industrial policy of the state focuses particularly on the three key sectors – Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), infrastructure and power. Under the new policy, the state will develop 15 industrial parks covering general and sector specific requirements of various industrial sectors and 20 rural clusters across the state.

Notes:
Quasicrystal is a substance that has atoms orderly arranged like a crystal but its atomic structure is more complex and does not repeat periodically in all directions. This unique complex pattern makes it different from a normal crystal.
Recently, a new type of quasicrystal was discovered in the north central Nebraska’s Sand Hills in the USA.  It had 12-fold symmetry. It may have been created during an accidental electrical discharge because of a downed power line or a lightning strike.

Notes:
The government of Rajasthan has allocated Rs 13,000 crore to implement ‘Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project’ during the recent state budget.
The objective of the Project is to harvest the surplus water collected during the rainy season in the Southern Rajasthan Rivers like Chambal and its tributaries like Kunnu, Parvati, and Kalisindh and transfer it to south- eastern districts.

Notes:
Article 153 of the Indian Constitution deals with the appointment of Governors for each state in India.
President of India Droupadi Murmu appointed governors in 12 states and a Union Territory while accepting the resignation of two. Jharkhand governor Ramesh Bais is now Governor of Maharashtra and Arunachal Pradesh governor B D Mishra has been appointed as L-G of Ladakh.

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.

Notes:
The Emden Port is the western-most sea port in Germany’s coast. It is situated at the mouth of the Ems River into the North Sea.
The Pakistan government is providing military supplies to Ukraine via the Emden Port. It has recently dispatched rocket supplies from the Karachi port for Ukraine via the German port. More than 10,000 rockets have been shipped via this route to be used in Grad multi-barrel rocket launchers. Ukraine is helping Pakistan to upgrade its Mi-17 helicopters.