Current Affairs Quiz - January 2022

Notes:
“The International Day of Education” is annually celebrated on January 24. This year the theme of the fourth year of celebration is ‘Changing Course, Transforming Education’.
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2018 proclaimed the celebration of this day. India celebrates ‘National Education day’ celebrated on November 11 to mark the birth anniversary of India’s first Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.

Notes:
‘Najafgarh jheel’ is a trans-boundary wetland between Delhi and Haryana. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had earlier directed Haryana and Delhi to prepare an Environment Management Plan for the jheel.
The NGT has directed Delhi and Haryana to enforce the Environment Management Plans that the two governments have prepared for the rejuvenation and protection of the Najafgarh jheel.

Notes:
A Decacorn is a company whose valuation crosses the milestone of USD 10 billion. Food-Delivery Giant Swiggy has raised USD 700 million in Invesco-led new funding, which has made it a decacorn, doubling its valuation to USD 10.7 billion.
Another Food Delivery Leader Zomato was valued at $5.4 billion before its recent IPO. Budget hospitality company Oyo’s valuation is at USD 9 billion in 2021. The Top 3 positions are held by Flipkart, Byju’s and Paytm.

Notes:
Veteran archaeologist, art historian and Padma Bhushan awardee R Nagaswamy has passed away at the age of 91.
He was the first director of Tamil Nadu government’s Department of Archaeology. He played a key role in bringing back the Chola-era bronze Nataraja to Tamil Nadu Nagaswamy founded the Institute of Epigraphy and Archaeology in 1973. He had also excavated many sites in Tamil Nadu, including Korkai, the ancient Pandyan port.

Notes:
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released its World Economic Outlook January 2022 assessment.
As per the update, India is estimated to grow at 9% in 2021-2022, down from 9.5% projected in October 2021. It also projects 9% growth for the Indian economy in 2022-23 Global economic growth will dip from 5.9% in 2021 to 4.4% in 2022.

Notes:
Pakistan has raised USD 1 billion loan with Sukuk (Islamic Bond), at highest ever interest rate of 7.95%.
In return for the loan, Pakistan has also agreed to pledge a portion of the Lahore-Islamabad motorway, which is a national sset built in the 1990s. The last Islamic Bond issued by Pakistan was in 2017, which was a 5-year Sukuk at a rate of 5.6%.

Notes:
India’s exports of electronic goods touched USD 1.67 Billion in December 2021, registering a growth of 33.99% over USD 1.25 bn seen in December 2020. The overall exports of electronics goods in the last financial year was USD 11.11 Billion.
The top 5 export destinations of Indian electronics goods in April-November 2021 are: USA (18%), UAE (16.6%), China (7.6%), Netherland (4.5%) & Germany (4.2%). Mobile phones form a major part of India’s Electronics Goods sector exports.

Notes:
France’s Justice Ministry has been hit by cyber-attack from a group known as LockBit 2.0. The group locked the ministry’s files and asking for ransom from the Government.
The country has launched investigation on the attack. As per government sources, no criminal records have been affected.

Notes:
The Delhi cabinet approved ex-gratia relief of Rs 20,000 per acre to farmers whose lands were damaged by rains last year.
In September-October 2021, several acres of farmland were damaged due to heavy rain and water-logging in fields. If the damage is found to be 70% or less, the compensation will be 70% of the amount. If the assessed loss is more than 70%, Rs 20,000 per acre will be paid.

Notes:
India-ASEAN Digital Work Plan 2022 was approved in the 2nd ASEAN Digital Ministers meeting held in the virtual mode.
The Work Plan focuses on tackling the use of stolen and counterfeit mobile handsets and WiFi Access network interface, for the public interest. It also includes knowledge sharing in emerging areas ICT such as Internet of Things, 5G, Advanced Satellite Communication and Cyber Forensics.