Current Affairs Quiz - January 2022

Notes:
India exported goods worth $37.29 billion in December 2021, the highest ever in a month, as per the data released by the commerce and industry ministry.
India’s merchandise export in April-December was nearly $300 billion, which is an increase of 48.85 per cent year-on-year and 26 per cent against the same period in 2019. Hence, India has achieved three-fourths of its annual export target of $400 billion in the first 9 months of FY22. This is due to the high demand for engineering products, petroleum items, and gems and jewellery.

Notes:
India is the world’s second biggest consumer country of Gold. India had a record $55.7 billion on gold imports in 2021. India bought over double the previous year’s imports The 2021 gold import bill doubled the $22 billion spent in 2020, and surpassed the previous high of 2011, of $53.9 billion. In volume terms, India imported 1,050 tonnes of gold in 2021, over 430 tonnes imported in 2020.

Notes:
North Korea recently fired a “hypersonic missile” that successfully hit a target. The test-fire was detected by several militaries in the region, and drew criticism from the United States, South Korea, and Japan.
North Korea first tested a hypersonic missile in September. Hypersonic weapons can achieve more than five times the speed of sound – or about 6,200 km per hour.

Notes:
Lanka IOC, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation and the Government of Sri Lanka signed lease agreements on jointly developing the Trincomalee oil tank farm.
Indian Oil Corporation’s subsidiary Lanka IOC is set to run the 14 oil storage tanks while CPC would run 24 tanks. Trinco Petroleum Terminal Pvt. Ltd would develop the remaining 61 tanks, in a joint venture where 51% stakes will be held by CPC and 49% by Lanka IOC.

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:
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:
China’s “Artificial sun” reecntly set a new world record after superheating to temperatures five times hotter than the sun for more than 17 minutes (1,056 seconds).
The EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak) nuclear fusion reactor maintained a temperature of 158 million degrees Fahrenheit (70 million degrees Celsius). In 2003 France’s Tore Supra tokamak, maintained similar temperatures for 390 seconds.

Notes:
The Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DAPRG), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions and Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), in collaboration with the Government of Telangana organized the 24th National Conference on e-Governance at Hyderabad.
The theme of this Conference is “India’s Techade: Digital Governance in a Post Pandemic World”. The Conference has unanimously adopted the Hyderabad declaration.

Notes:
Uttar Pradesh has been awarded the first prize in Third National Water Awards-2020 in the best state category.
It is followed by Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.
Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti gives 57 awards to States, Organizations, Individuals etc. in 11 different categories. It encourages stakeholders to adopt holistic approach in water management and motivate people to adopt best water usage practices.

Notes:
For the first time, Researchers have spotted a ‘Clouded Leopard’ in a community forest in Nagaland. Named for its spotted coat, they are known as Khephak in the local Chirr dialect.
Though it is known to inhabit low elevation primary evergreen rainforests, the animal was spotted at an altitude of 3,700 meters along the Indo-Myanmar border. They are found from the rain forests of Indonesia to the foothills of the Himalayas.