Current Affairs Quiz - January 2022

Notes:
Tonga is a group of over 170 islands located in South Pacific Ocean. It is located in the continent of Oceania.
Recently, a volcanic eruption happened in Tonga, below the surface of the ocean and triggered tsunami waves around the Pacific. The US Geological Survey estimated the eruption caused the equivalent of a magnitude 5.8 earthquake.

Notes:
A driver airbag was made compulsory for all passenger vehicles since July 1, 2019. Dual airbags (driver and passenger in front row) became mandatory on all vehicles from January 2022.
Road Transport ministry recently approved a draft notification to make a minimum of six airbags compulsory for vehicles carrying up to eight passengers. The aim is to minimise the impact of ‘frontal and lateral collisions’.

Notes:
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) releases the ‘World Employment and Social Outlook’ every year.
This year, ILO downgraded its outlook for the labour market recovery. ILO expects unemployment to increase to 207 million in 2022, up from 186 million in 2019. Total working hours in 2022 are also expected to be at 2 percent below that of pre-pandemic levels.

Notes:
India is hosting the ‘AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022’.  India is aiming qualify for the quarterfinals and create history by reaching the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup is scheduled to be held in Australia and New Zealand next year. No Indian senior football team has ever played in a World Cup. Japan is looking to reaffirm its top position for third consecutive time, with Australia and China as the biggest challenges.

Notes:
India Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host the first India-Central Asia summit in a virtual format on January 27, 2022.
As per the External Affairs Ministry, the Presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan will participate in the virtual summit. Earlier, India had invited the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to be chief guests of Republic Day celebrations in 2022.

Notes:
‘I4F- India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund’ is collaboration between the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, and the Israel Innovation Authority. It aims to promote joint Industrial R&D between India & Israel.
The two countries have recently approved three joint R&D projects worth $5.5 million including ‘Centrally monitored IoT nano-sensors for diagnostics in healthcare; ‘NoMoreMos’ – a mosquito control biological solution; and ‘IoT enabled satellite communication for real-time collection of agriculture and environment data across India’.

Notes:
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth jointly inaugurated India-assisted social housing units project in Mauritius virtually.
They also laid foundation stone for Civil Service College and a 8 MW Solar PV Farm, undertaken with India’s support. They also signed agreement for the extension of USD 190M Line of Credit from the India to Mauritius for the Metro Express and other infrastructure projects, and an MoU on the implementation of small development projects.

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:
Spain’s Saturnino de la Fuente García, the world’s oldest man, passed away recently at the age of 112, as per the statement of the Guinness World Records.
Guinness World Records named De la Fuente García as the world’s oldest man in September, when he was 112 years and 211 days. He was born on Feb. 11, 1909. Japan’s Kane Tanaka is the oldest living woman in the world, having recently celebrated her 119th birthday.

Notes:
Manipur, Meghalaya, and Tripura were formed in 1972 with the enactment of North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971.
The three states were formed on January 21, 1972 and the day has been celebrated as the Statehood Day every year. Meghalaya was a part of Assam before it attained complete statehood and Tripura was a Union Territory before it attained statehood.