Current Affairs Quiz - January 2022

Notes:
Twitter announced a new way for users to authenticate their profile pictures, created by non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
The microblogging platform released an official verification mechanism for NFT profile pictures. NFT owners have been uploading jpeg images of their digital assets as profile pictures recently. The authentic NFT profile pictures will be shown with a new hexagon-shaped mask.

Notes:
After massive protests, the Serbia government has cancelled the licenses for lithium mining to Rio Tinto, a multi-national mining organisation.
The Jadar is a river in western Serbia, 75 km long tributary of the Drina river. Serbians staged protests against Rio Tinto’s plans to mine lithium in the Jadar valley near Lozinca town in the country.

Notes:
The Home Ministry announced the list of recipients of the Padma awards.128 people have been named this year for the Awards which are conferred in three categories – Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri.
The third highest award, Padma Bhushan will be conferred on Global  heads of tech giants Microsoft and Google Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai; Vaccine makers – Cyrus Poonawalla of the Serum Institue and Krishna Ella and Suchitra Ella of Bharat Biotech. India’s first Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat was conferred the Padma Vibhushan posthumously.

Notes:
The United States House of Representatives unveiled the ambitious America ‘Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology, and Economic Strength’ Act of 2022, or the America COMPETES Act of 2022.
It proposes to open up new arenas for talented individuals from across the world with a new start-up visa. The bill also provides grant to encourage semiconductor production in the US and to improve supply chain resilience and manufacturing.

Notes:
India has initiated an anti-dumping probe against imports of Vinyl Tiles from China, Taiwan and Vietnam, following a complaint by domestic players.
It is a type of tiles, used for covering the floors in residential and commercial buildings.The Commerce Ministry’s Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) is probing the dumping of Vinyl Tiles. Dumping of the product is affecting the domestic industry which started commercial production in 2019.

Notes:
Ministry of Culture released the pictorial book titled ‘India’s Women Unsung Heroes of Freedom Struggle’. This is launched as a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.
The Ministry will release three pictorial books on 75 unsung heroes of the freedom struggle in partnership with Amar Chitra Katha. The first among them which was released, depicts 20 women leaders whose contributions remain unknown.

Notes:
NeoCov stands for Neoromicia, the species of bat that have been infected with the virus. This virus is associated with MERS Coronavirus and not the SARs-CoV-2.
Recently news about the virus discovered in South Africa amongst bats is being circulated widely. However the World Health Organization has said that whether NeoCov coronavirus poses a threat to humans requires further study.

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:
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:
Tropical Storm Ana hit three southern African countries, leading to a death count of 70. The storm made landfall in Madagascar before entering into Mozambique and Malawi.
Madagascar reported 41 dead and 18 others were killed in Mozambique and 11 in Malawi. The Emergency teams were battling to repair damaged infrastructure and help tens of thousands of victims.