Current Affairs Quiz - January 2022

Notes:
“Blue Book” is the name of the manual of the Special Protection Group (SPG), which exclusively protects India’s Prime Minister.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent 20 minutes on a Punjab highway blocked by protesting farmers in a security breach. Usually, the PM’s plan is shared with the state’s top leadership including the Chief Minister, Home Minister and police chief.  SPG coordinates with State Police and other officers for a security plan.

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:
Social worker Sindhutai Sapkal, who was also referred to as ‘Maai’ or ‘mother’ recently passed away. Her last rites were conducted with state honours.
She had raised over 1,050 children and received the Padma Shri award  in 2021 in Social Work category and several other awards and honours. She had also set up a well-equipped home for children in Pune.

Notes:
Odisha’s Ganjam has declared itself the state’s first child marriage free district. It has undertaken a campaign named Nirbhaya Kadhi (Fearless bud).
Through the campaign, the district administration has counselled over one lakh teen-agers and stopped over 450 child marriages. They implemented various steps like providing incentives for informing child marriages, making Aadhaar card mandatory for marriages etc.

Notes:
The Veer Gatha Project was organised by the Union Ministry of Defence, in partnership with Ministry of Education and MyGov to generate awareness regarding the Gallantry award winners.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) announced a list of 25 winners of the Veer Gatha Project. The project was conducted at an all-India level in all States and UTs, in all schools affiliated to CBSE.

Notes:
The Yucatán Peninsula separates the Gulf of Mexico from the Caribbean Sea. It includes 3 Mexican states and portions of Belize and Guatemala.
The Maya civilization, known for its exemplary architecture and understanding of mathematics, originated in the Yucatan Peninsula. According to a new study, the Maya civilization may have had access to nearly 500 edible plants, many of which were highly resistant to drought. Earlier, it was believed that the civilization’s fall was due to drought.

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.

Notes:
National Payments Corporation of India has introduced limits for cash withdrawals and mini statements.
It states that the maximum limit of five Aadhaar enabled cash withdrawal transactions, per customer, per terminal per day. The issuers will also implement a limit of a minimum of five mini statement transactions per customer per month. This has to be implemented by January 15, 2022.

Notes:
Fourteen-year-old Bharath Subramaniyam became India’s 73rd chess Grandmaster, after he secured the third and final GM norm at an event in Italy. He also touched the requisite 2,500 (Elo) mark.
Fellow Indian player M R Lalith Babu emerged winner in the tournament, winning the title. Mitrabha Guha had become the country’s 72nd GM in November last, two days after Sankalp Gupta became the 71st GM.

Notes:
India and South Korea set a bilateral trade target of USD 50 billion before 2030. South Korea’s Trade Minister Yeo Han-Koo and Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal held bilateral talks in New Delhi.
In 2021, South Korea’s exports to India increased 38.5 per cent (USD 7.4 billion), imports increased 37.4 per cent ( USD 3.6 billion), and the trade balance recorded a surplus of USD 3.8 billion.