Current Affairs Quiz - January 2022

Notes:
Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia handed over the first caste certificate based on the mother’s credentials to a single mother.
Earlier, SC/ST caste certificates were issued only based on the fathers’ caste certificates or paternal side certificates. Hence, this is considered as a landmark move

 

Notes:
‘Plan Bee’ was first implemented by the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) as a unique method to keep elephants away from railway tracks.
Union Minister for Railways  Ashwini Vaishnaw informed that the Railways is set to implement ‘Plan Bee’ throughout the country. It uses an amplifying system to imitate the buzz of a swarm of honey bees.

Notes:
India has recently approved a new RT-PCR test kit that can detect whether a sample is Covid-19 positive and if the variant is Omicron.
The kit, called Omisure has been developed by TataMD, in partnership with ICMR. At present, the variant requires genome sequencing which can be done by specialist, large laboratories, for multiple days. It detects Sars-CoV-2, and it has two specific targets for the S gene that are Omicron-specific.

Notes:
A team of Scientists used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile to observe a newborn star (protostar) in the WB89-789 region.
It is located in the extreme outer Galaxy. Scientists have detected carbon-, oxygen-, nitrogen-, sulfur-, and silicon-bearing molecules were detected. The protostar and the associated cocoon of chemically-rich gas were detected at the edge of our Galaxy, for the first time.

Notes:
Japan recently signed a historic Defence Agreement with Australia, to ensure a secure and stable Indo-Pacific region.
This agreement has been signed amidst the expansion of China’s military and economic influence in the region. Called the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA)’, this is Japan’s second such agreement. Japan’s only other military pact is with the United States.

Notes:
The Union Home Affairs Ministry constituted a three-member committee to probe into the lapses in the security arrangement during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Punjab’s Ferozepur.
The Committee will be led by Sudhir Kumar Saxena, secretary (security), Cabinet Secretariat. After his convoy was stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes, Prime Minister Modi’s scheduled visit to National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala and a programme in Ferozepur were cancelled.

Notes:
Wolf Volcano, also known as Mount Whiton, is the highest peak in the Galápagos Islands. It is a volcanic archipelago in the Pacific Ocean.
The volcanic mountain recently erupted, spewing lava and clouds of ash over the Pacific Ocean. The cloud of gas and ash from Wolf Volcano rose to 3,793 meters above sea level after the eruption. The islands are part of the province of Ecuador.

Notes:
Ace Tennis Player Rafael Nadal won the Melbourne Summer Set ATP 250 event title recently. The 20-time Grand Slam champion defeated American Maxime Cressy.
It was also Rafael Nadal’s 89th tour-level crown. Nadal made a successful return to competitive action as this was his first tournament since August 2021. He is also preparing to win the upcoming Australian Open Tournament.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has created a new department named “Department of Fin-Tech”, to promote innovation in the fin-tech sector.
It also aims to identify the challenges and opportunities associated with it. In 2018, RBI created a financial technology unit in 2018, within its Department of Payment Settlement Systems. The new fintech department will also provide framework for further research on the subject and help in policy interventions of RBI.

Notes:
West African nations will close their borders with Mali, cut diplomatic ties and impose tough economic sanctions in response to delay in holding elections.
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the 15-state regional bloc announced this stance, as Mali’s interim authorities have proposed holding elections in December 2025 instead of this February as originally agreed with the bloc.