Current Affairs Quiz - January 2022

Notes:
Global internet body ICANN-supported Universal Acceptance Steering Group has roped in Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma as UA Ambassador.
The Group works on developing and recommending standards for languages script that are not currently used to access the internet. He is also part of a working group formed by the Ministry of Electronics and IT to prepare a roadmap on universal acceptance and multilingual internet.

Notes:
A team of researchers from India and Russia has discovered an unknown group of lizards of the family of skinks from Arunachal Pradesh.
The new genus and species has been named as ‘Protoblepharus Apatani’. These lizards are small and active, with a dark brown body with two stripes with a iridescent sheen to their scales. The new species is named after the Apatani tribe of Arunachal Pradesh’s Ziro valley.

Notes:
‘Anxiety’ has been chosen by children as their word of the year for 2021, according to new research from Oxford University Press.
The research also highlights that Teachers have chosen “resilience” as their word. Oxford University Press analysed the evolution of children’s language, and how they use it to reflect their emotions and experiences.

Notes:
The Jammu and Kashmir administration has declared Jerri settlement in Reasi district as the first ‘milk village’ of the Union Territory.
It has sanctioned 57 more dairy farms under the Integrated dairy development scheme (IDDS) for the village. Under the scheme, dairy units of five animals are provided with a 50 per cent subsidy. It also includes provision for various machineries in value addition of milk.

Notes:
NITI Aayog, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), and RMI India released a report, titled ‘Banking on Electric Vehicles in India’.
It highlighted the importance of priority-sector recognition for retail lending in the electric vehicle sector.  The report also provided recommendations to inform the inclusion of EVs in the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) priority-sector lending (PSL) guidelines.

Notes:
Mumbai- based think-tank People’s Research on India’s Consumer Economy (PRICE) conducted ‘ICE360 Survey 2021’.
As per the survey, the annual income of the poorest 20% of Indian households, which has been constantly rising since 1995, fell 53% in the pandemic year 2020-21 from their levels in 2015-16. While, the richest 20% saw their annual household income grow 39%. This is seen as a ‘K-shaped recovery’.

Notes:
Australia’s Online Safety Act, which was passed in July 2021, has come into effect recently. It allows adults to report cases of online bullying in the country to the eSafety Commissioner.
The act empowers the eSafety commissioner to order social media websites to take down content related to bullying against Australian adults within 24 hours and impose fines if not followed. This Act addresses bullying against adults as well as children.

Notes:
Last year, the Centre decided to celebrate Bose’s birth anniversary as ‘Parakram Diwas’ (the day of valour), West Bengal announced that the day would be observed as ‘Desh Nayak Diwas’ (the day of the national hero).
The Prime Minister unveiled the hologram statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at India Gate, until a grand statue of the freedom fighter will be installed. This year is 125^th birth anniversary of Netaji.

Notes:
Researchers have recently found scientific evidence of a strong anti-cancer activity in the ethyl acetate fraction of Halodule uninervis.
It is a species of sea-grass found in the coastal region near Rameswaram in southern Tamil Nadu. It evaluated the activity of the species against various human cancer cell lines, including malignant melanoma, lung, cervix, carcinoma and colorectal cancers.

Notes:
China has published trial rules for the approval of gene-edited plants. Gene editing involves altering the genes of a plant to change or improve its performance.
It is seen as less risky than genetically-modifying them. This move aims to promote the seed industry of China and ensure food security to its huge population. China has also passed regulations for approval of genetically modified (GM) crops.