Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2024

Notes:
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:
NTPC Green Energy Limited (NGEL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Maharashtra government for the development of green hydrogen and renewable energy. The MoU includes the development of green hydrogen and its derivatives, such as green ammonia and green methanol, with a capacity of up to 1 million tons per year. The MoU also includes the development of renewable energy projects and pumped storage projects of 2 GW.

Notes:
Maharashtra topped the medal tally at the 2023 Khelo India Youth Games with 158 medals. The host state, Tamil Nadu, finished second with 98 medals. Haryana came in third. Maharashtra’s medal count included 57 gold, 48 silver, and 53 bronze medals. Tamil Nadu’s medal count included 38 gold, 21 silver, and 39 bronze medals.

Notes:
Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, highlighted farmer’s welfare and rural demand in the interim budget 2024-25. The budget emphasizes achieving ‘atmanirbharta’ in oil seeds, outlining strategies like research for high-yielding varieties, modern farming techniques adoption, market linkages, procurement, value addition, and crop insurance for mustard, groundnut, sesame, soybean, and sunflower.

Notes:
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman revealed the swift implementation of the U-WIN platform in the Union interim Budget 2024-2025 to streamline immunization management nationwide. The U-WIN portal is integral to digitizing India’s Universal Immunization Programme, currently undergoing pilot testing in two districts of every state and union territory, marking a significant step toward enhancing healthcare accessibility and efficiency.

Notes:
Vice Admiral Lochan Singh Pathania is the Chief Hydrographer of the Indian government. Pathania is a Hydrography Specialist who has a naval career spanning over four decades. He joined the Indian Navy in 1990 in the Executive branch. He has commanded the ships Darshak and Sandhayak, and has carried out hydrographic surveys across India and the Indian Ocean Region.

Notes:
Abhinav Bindra, a former shooter and India’s first Olympic gold medalist, has been selected as a torchbearer for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Bindra is one of 11,000 torchbearers selected throughout France for the 2024 Olympics. The 2024 Olympic torch relay will start in France on May 8, 2024, with the flame arriving in Marseille before traveling across France for 68 days.

Notes:
The government has undertaken crucial measures to safeguard the Black-Necked Crane, as revealed by the Union Minister of State for Environment. This medium-sized crane species, residing in high-altitude wetlands of the Tibetan plateau, faces threats like habitat loss due to climate change, agricultural changes, pollution, and environmental contamination. With a distribution in India, China, and Bhutan, it holds a Near Threatened status on the IUCN list and is listed in Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, and Appendix I of CITES.

Notes:
The Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary in Tripura recently welcomed new additions, including two Royal Bengal tigers, two leopards, four golden pigeons, a silver pigeon, two peafowls, and four hill mynas. Established in 1972, the sanctuary spans 18.5 sq. km, featuring sections for different animal types. It houses diverse flora with 456 plant species and various fauna, including primates, leopards, clouded leopards, and a revived crab-eating mongoose. The sanctuary also boasts a rich avian population with species like winged stork and White ibis.

Notes:
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil has declared a public health emergency due to a surge in mosquito-borne dengue fever just days before Carnival. Despite the outbreak, Carnival festivities are expected to proceed. Rio city hall has implemented measures including 10 care centers, an emergency operations center, and dedicated hospital beds. “Smoke cars” will disperse insecticide in high-incidence areas. With over 10,000 cases in 2024, the municipality faces a significant increase compared to 2023’s total of 23,000 cases. Dengue, a viral infection, thrives in Rio’s tropical climate with frequent rains and high temperatures.