Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2024

Notes:
Alzheimer’s disease is a prevalent brain condition, responsible for 60-80% of dementia cases, affecting memory, thinking, and daily activities. Recent studies suggest rare medical accidents can transmit the disease between humans. Typically impacting those aged 65 and older, with unknown exact causes, it involves genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. Symptoms range from forgetting recent events to serious memory loss, and while there’s no cure, certain medications and therapies can temporarily manage the symptoms.

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Union Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, Shri Bhupender Yadav released India’s first-ever Snow Leopard Population Assessment report. The four-year-long scientific exercise, coordinated by the Wildlife Institute of India, estimates approximately 718 snow leopards in the wild. Ladakh leads with 477, followed by Uttarakhand (124), Himachal Pradesh (51), Arunachal Pradesh (36), Sikkim (21), and Jammu and Kashmir (nine). India holds 10-15% of the global snow leopard population.

Notes:
The Delhi government has launched the Delhi Solar Policy 2024 to boost solar power adoption. Residents can install rooftop solar panels, leading to zero electricity bills and potential income from excess power sales to the grid. The policy targets 4500 MW of solar power by 2027, up from the previous goal of 1500 MW. Stemming from the 2016 policy, which yielded 1500 MW capacity, the new policy aims to curb air pollution, cut electricity costs, and promote sustainable energy in Delhi.

Notes:
Shumang Leela, a traditional Manipuri theatre form, faces challenges due to ethnic violence, impacting its artists and jeopardizing the state’s cultural richness. Originating as a comic genre for royalty, it has evolved into a powerful medium for mass education and entertainment. In this unique theatre, male actors portray female roles (Nupi Shabis), and transgender actors take on female characters. The plays aim to educate the public on social, political, and economic issues, with two types – Nupa Shumang Leela (performed only by men) and Nupi Shumang Leela (performed only by women).

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed restrictions on Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL). The restrictions will come into effect on February 29, 2024. The RBI has ordered PPBL to stop accepting fresh deposits in its accounts or wallets after February 29, 2024. The RBI has also ordered PPBL to halt deposits and credit transactions after February 29, 2024. Customers will face restrictions on deposits, credit transactions, and top-ups. Certain services, including fund transfers and UPI facilities, will be discontinued. The RBI’s action against PPBL follows a comprehensive system audit report and subsequent compliance validation report of external auditors.

Notes:
Recently, Mesolithic rock paintings were unearthed at Sitamma Loddi, Gattusingaram, in Telangana’s Peddapalli district. Discovered on a hillock in a dense forest, the paintings adorned a 1,000-foot-long, 50-foot-high sandstone rock shelter. The Mesolithic, or Middle Stone Age, bridged the gap between the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods, spanning approximately 12,000-10,000 years ago. Notable for the transition from large chipped stone tools to microliths, small tools affixed to bone or wood handles for making implements like saws and sickles, it marked a pivotal era in human cultural development.

Notes:
Telangana police conducted Operation Smile-X, rescuing 3,479 child labourers state-wide. Cyberabad police alone saved 718 children, reuniting 526 with parents. 329 were from the state, 389 from other states. Of the rescued, 640 were from child labour, and one was a reported missing child. Throughout the operation, 2,947 children were reunited with parents, involving 676 police personnel working in teams coordinated with various departments and NGOs. The operation resulted in 254 registered cases in the Cyberabad Commissionerate.

Notes:
A potent atmospheric river storm approached at Southern California, posing a severe threat of life-threatening floods and landslides. Atmospheric rivers, responsible for 90% of moisture movement from tropics to poles, act as Earth’s largest freshwater transport. Formed by aligned weather patterns, they include well-known ones like the Pineapple Express. The impending storm highlights the risks posed by these intense moisture channels.

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The 7th session of the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) took place in Kochi from January 29 to February 2, 2024. Established in 2013 under the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), India has consistently hosted the committee, with the Spices Board India serving as the organizing secretariat. In this session, quality standards for small cardamom, turmeric, juniper berry, allspice, and star anise were finalized. The Codex Alimentarius Commission, jointly established by FAO and WHO, is an international body with 189 member countries, meeting annually in Geneva and Rome.

Notes:
Cameroon recently adopted the Nagoya Protocol, a global agreement enforcing access and benefit-sharing obligations outlined in the Convention on Biological Diversity. Adopted in 2010 and effective since 2014, the Protocol establishes a legal framework facilitating fair and equitable sharing of benefits from genetic resource utilization. It supports biodiversity-based research, ensuring researchers access resources for biotechnology while indigenous communities receive fair returns, respecting the value of traditional knowledge linked to genetic resources.