Current Affairs Quiz - January 2022

Notes:
The Australian government has bought the copyright of the Aboriginal flag, to free the symbol of identity from fights over who can use it.
Indigenous artist Harold Thomas created the flag in 1971 as a protest image. It is used as the dominant Aboriginal emblem and an official national flag. Now, the flag can be reproduced by anyone without fear of legal threats.

Notes:
‘VRR Auction’ stands for Variable rate repo auction. Repo is the rate at which RBI lends short term loans to Banks. A part of it is done at a fixed rate and some of it is a variable rate.
The Reserve Bank of India said it will conduct an overnight variable rate repo auction under liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) for an amount of Rs 75,000 crore. On January 20, the RBI conducted an overnight variable rate repo (VRR) auction of Rs 50,000 crore.

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:
The International Monetary Fund’s board urged El Salvador to drop Bitcoin from its status as legal currency.
El Salvador last year sought a $1.3 billion IMF loan. IMF has urged the country to strip the legal tender status of Bitcoin due to its large risks. This is also said to be a major obstacle for the country’s efforts to get a loan from IMF.

Notes:
UNESCO has added ‘Clinker Boats’ to its list of traditions that represent the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden jointly sought the UNESCO designation. It is a Nordic Tradition and for thousands of years, wooden sailboats enabled the peoples of Northern Europe to undertake trade.

Notes:
The National Conference on Agriculture for Summer Campaign 2021-22 was held through video conference. It is also called as Zaid Conference. Zaid crops are grown between Kharif and Rabi Seasons
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Kumar Tomar attended the conference. The objective is to review the crop performance during the preceding crop seasons and fix crop-wise targets for the next summer season in consultation with State Governments.

Notes:
Pandit Jasraj (1930–2020) was an Indian classical vocalist, belonging to the Mewati Gharana. Recently the Pandit Jasraj Cultural Foundation was launched, presided over by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It is a not-for-profit organisation set up with the objective of protecting and promoting national heritage, art and culture. The foundation aims to take forward the legacy of Pandit Jasraj.

Notes:
Ain Sefra, also known as the ‘Gateway to the Sahara’, is located in northwest Algeria. The area is surrounded by the Atlas Mountains and is 1,000 metres above sea level.
Recently, the Sahara Desert, commonly known for its hot and dry climate, witnessed a rare snowfall. Temperatures dipped to -2 degrees Celsius near the town of Ain Sefra, which has a heat record of over 50°C. The occurrence of rare snowfall this time is due to climate change.

Notes:
Objects that turn on and off in the Universe are called as transients. Slow transients like supernovae appear over few days and disappear after a few months. Fast transients like neutron star (pulsar) flash on and off within milliseconds or seconds.
Recently, Astronomers using the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) telescope have discovered a spinning object that pulses every 18.18 minutes. They suggest that it could be an ‘Ultra-long-period magnetar’. It is located at just an ultra-long-period magnetar from the Earth.

Notes:
Former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg has authored a book titled , “The $10 Trillion Dream”.
It explores the policy issues that India faces today and suggests reforms for it to become a USD 10 trillion economy by the mid-2030s. S C Garg is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and was appointed as Finance Secretary in 2019.