Current Affairs Quiz - January 2022

Notes:
India’s Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) improved by 19 points at National level, from 918 in the year 2014-15 to 937 in 2020-21. This was announced during the Year End Review of Women and Child Development Ministry.
The “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme” is being implemented across India, covering 640 districts across the country. The Poshan Tracker application ensures real-time monitoring of supplementary nutrition. The Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana scheme is implemented for pregnant women and lactating mothers.

Notes:
Telangana became the country’s first large state to record 100 per cent first-dose vaccinations. The state has vaccinated 2.77 crore citizens with the first dose, as per the Central government’s estimated adult population target.
The state is ahead of the national average by 9 per cent in terms of the first dose and ahead of the national average by 3 per cent in second dose.

Notes:
The Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 or AFSPA legislation, has been extended in Nagaland for another six months.
The North-eastern state has been seeking to withdraw it after the alleged security operation near Oting Village in Nagaland that left 14 civilians and one jawan dead in December 2021. The law was first introduced by the British to suppress the Quit India movement in 1942.

Notes:
China is the world’s top producer of rare earth material. Recently, the country has 3 state-owned rare earth mining companies to form a new entity named ‘China Rare Earths Group’.
China has been strengthening its supply chain of rare earth materials. Rare earth is a combination of 17 minerals used as vital ingredients in the production of consumer electronics as well as military equipment.

Notes:
Thirty white rhinos were transferred from South Africa to Rwanda in a Boeing 747 chartered plane. This is the largest single transfer of white rhinos ever undertaken.
The rhinoceros species is threatened by illegal poaching. Southern white rhino, one of two subspecies of white rhino, is considered “almost endangered” by the International Union for Conversation of Nature (IUCN).

Notes:
The Pakistan Government has confirmed the purchase of at least 25 Chinese J-10C fighter jets for the Pakistan Air Force.
Pakistan claims these jets as an alternative to France’s Rafale fighter jets owned by India. Pakistan also has a fleet of US-made F-16s jets.

Notes:
The Conference on Disarmament is a multilateral disarmament forum, to negotiate arms control and disarmament agreements. It is based at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
India’s senior diplomat Anupam Ray has been appointed as India’s next permanent representative to the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, as per the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The Indian Foreign Service officer is currently serving as a joint secretary in the MEA.

Notes:
SMILE (Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise) is an umbrella scheme being formulated by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
It includes two sub-schemes for the welfare of transgender persons and persons engaged in begging. The scheme will include rehabilitation, medical facilities, counselling, education, skill development and economic linkages.

Notes:
The ‘Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTOAB)’ is a standing body of seven persons to hear appeals in disputes brought on by WTO members.
India has recently appealed against a ruling of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) trade dispute settlement panel. The disputed rule said that the country’s domestic support measures for sugar and sugarcane are inconsistent with global trade norms.

Notes:
Trinamool Congress MP Sushmita Dev is the only woman in the 31-member parliamentary panel assigned to examine the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill.
The seeks to raise the legal age of marriage for women to 21. At present, the minimum age of marriage for men is 21 and for women is 18. The proposal to increase the marriage age of women was recommended by the NITI Aayog.task force headed by Jaya Jaitley.