Current Affairs Quiz - January 2022

Notes:
The US Navy announced that the Sea Dragon 22 exercise began along with the navies of India, Australia, Canada, Japan and South Korea.
It is a multi-lateral anti-submarine warfare exercise in the Pacific Ocean, participated by six Indo-Pacific nations.  India, Japan, Australia and America are also part of the ‘QUAD’ group, and also participate in the Malabar exercise.

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:
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:
A new strain of coronavirus that combines Delta and Omicron has been detected in Cyprus. The new strain has been named ‘Deltacron’ due to the identification of Omicron-like genetic signatures within the Delta genomes.
There has been a constant spike in the cases of Omicron variant of COVID-19 across the globe. A detailed study is yet to be done on how the new Deltacron variant will impact the world.

Notes:
‘The Power of a Dog’ was named the ‘Best picture (drama)’ at the Golden Globes 2022. The Benedict Cumberbatch-starring movie also won the best director for Jane Campion and best supporting actor for Kodi Smit-McPhee.
Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’ won the best picture (musical or comedy), best actress in a motion picture (musical or comedy) and best supporting actress in a motion picture awards. Will Smith, (King Richard) won the Best actor in a motion picture, drama award.

Notes:
India’s passport now ranks at 83rd position in the Henley Passport Index 2022, up seven places from 90^th rank in 2021.
The Henley Passport Index ranks all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. It is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). As per the 2022 rank, Japan and Singapore have the most powerful passports in the world, with a free access to 192 destinations.

Notes:
When an onion is sliced the onion’s cells release syn-Propanethial-S-oxide which stimulates the eyes’ lachrymal glands to release tear.
“Sunions” are tearless sweet onions which are increasingly available in markets of USA and UK. These onions are produced by breeding a variety of onions by which, the chemicals responsible for inducing tears diminish over a period of time.

Notes:
State Bank of India (SBI) has raised $300 million through “Regulation S” Formosa Bonds for five years. It is the first Indian scheduled commercial bank to issue public Formosa Bonds.
The bonds have been benchmarked against five-year US Treasury notes and the lender has completed its issuance through its London branch.

Notes:
Two way trade between India and China in 2021 stood at USD 125.66 billion, at an increase of 43.3% from 2020 when bilateral trade was worth USD 87.6 billion.
In 2021, China’s exports to India were $97.52 billion, up 46.2%, while China imported USD 28.14 billion worth of goods from India, up 34.2%. Trade deficit between the two countries was in the favour of China at USD 69 billion.

Notes:
The Chhattisgarh government has decided to set up an employment mission headed by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.
The Chhattisgarh Rojgar Mission will have chief secretary and principal secretary as the Vice Chairman and CEO respectively. It aims to create around 15 lakh job opportunities in the state in the next five years, by leveraging expertise of premiere institutions such as IITs and IIMs.