Current Affairs Quiz - January 2022

Notes:
The new COVID variant named IHU (B.1.640.2) has been discovered at the IHU Mediterranee Infection institute in France.
The new variant is said to have 46 mutations more than Omicron. The first case was reported from a person who had come from the African country of Cameroon. As per the Scientists, the new strain carries E484K mutation making it vaccine-resistant.

Notes:
Alka Mittal has been appointed as the first female Chairman and MD of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).
NTPC is the country’s largest oil and gas producer.  The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for this appointment.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India announced that SBI, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank continue to be identified as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs).
These banks are Too big to fail and they need to maintain an additional Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital, in addition to the capital conservation buffer. The update is based on the data collected from banks as on March 31, 2021.

Notes:
The Karnataka state government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Singapore-based LNG Alliance Company for setting up the State’s first LNG Terminal.
The first such terminal will be set up in Mangaluru, in association with New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT) with an investment of ₹2,250 crore.

Notes:
The ‘Karnataka Electric Bike Taxi Scheme’ was launched in Karnataka six months ago. It allowed private players, individuals, firms, and aggregators to run electric bike taxis in Bengaluru.
Citizens can avail of the service for a maximum distance of 10 km. However, the Transport Department has received only one application for a licence. The state has not yet fixed the bike taxi fares.

Notes:
The Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has launched “Smart cities and Academia Towards Action & Research (SAAR)” program.
It is a joint initiative of MoHUA, National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) and leading academic institutions of the country. Top architecture & planning institutes of the country will work with Smart Cities to document the landmark projects undertaken by the Smart Cities Mission.

Notes:
The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change released the draft notification for regulations for the extended producer responsibility (EPR) for Waste Tyres.
If finalised, the draft will be effective from the new fiscal year. India discards around 275,000 tyres each year but the country does not have a comprehensive plan for that. EPR means responsibility of producer of tyres to ensure environmentally safe management of waste tyres.

Notes:
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel launched the Student Startup and Innovation Policy (SSIP) 2.0, at the International Conference of Academic Institutions (ICAI-2022)
It aims to financially support school students in innovation and will be implemented for the next five years till March, 2027. The financial support has been increased from Rs 200 of the previous edition to Rs 500 crore.

Notes:
The National Statistical Office (NSO) released the First Advance Estimates of GDP Growth for FY 2021-22 as 9.2 per cent, as compared to the contraction of 7.3 per cent in 2020-21.
As per the estimates, the Indian economy remains on track to regain its position as the world’s fastest-growing major economy. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) forecast the growth at 9.5 per cent.

Notes:
Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel has been appointed Vice-President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
He will serve a three-year term as one of the five Vice-Presidents Beijing-based multilateral bank. HE replaces the former Gujarat Chief Secretary D.J. Pandian, who had been the Vice-President, leading the investment operations and lending in South and Southeast Asia.