Current Affairs Quiz - January 2022

Notes:
Union Ministry of Coal launched the “Koyla Darpan” portal, to Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) related to the Coal Sector.
At present, the portal has 9 KPIs including Coal/Lignite Production, Status of Coal Stock in Thermal Power Plants, Infrastructure Projects, Allocation of Blocks, Monitoring of Major Coal Mines and Coal Price.

Notes:
India’s first ever District Good Governance Index (DGGI) was released in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
In the composite ranking of the index, the Jammu district tops the list followed by districts of Doda, Samba, Pulwama and Srinagar in the UT. The Index is a framework document which assesses the performance under ten governance sectors with 58 indicators.

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:
The Peruvian Government declared a 90-day “environmental emergency” in damaged coastal territories, after 6,000 barrels of crude oil spilled into the sea.
The incident occurred at the La Pampilla refinery, where the “Mare Doricum” tanker belonging to the Spanish energy firm Repsol was transporting 965,000 barrels of crude oil. The spill has caused death of marine wildlife and the spill is investigated as an environmental pollution crime.

Notes:
The Department of Food and Public Distribution under Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution with its principal agency, FCI (Food Corporation of India) has developed a roadmap to launch the Online Storage Management (OSM) in the country.
The OSM seeks to create a single source of information for the food grains stored in the country for central pool through integrating State portals with the central portal.

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:
The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) notified a ‘Drone certification scheme (DCS)’ to ensure minimum safety and quality requirements and to boost indigenous manufacturing.
The objective of this DCS, released under liberalized Drone Rules, 2021, is to provide the minimum requirements for security requirements for drones and enable their evaluation for certification. The liberalised Drone Rules, 2021,was released by the MoCA in August 2021.

Notes:
Coal Controller’s Organization, a subordinate office under the Ministry of Coal, released its flagship publications, the ‘Coal Directory of India 2020-21’.
The Statistical Publication contains information on the performance of Coal and Lignite sectors during the financial year 2020-21. It also provides the grade wise data of production and dispatch and reserves of coal. The publication also provides information on import- export and prices of coal.

Notes:
Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar launched the Karnataka Brain Health Initiative, a first-of-its-kind plan in India.
The plan has been undertaken by NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences) in association with NITI Aayog. Under the new programme, Doctors will be trained in screening and treating mental health patients.

Notes:
‘Great Barrier Reef’ is the world’s largest coral reef system located in Australia. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has recently announced a further one billion Australian dollars ( USD 703m) to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
The reef is under threat from global warming and the government is criticised for supporting fossil fuels.