Current Affairs Quiz - January 2022

Notes:
Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra has been bestowed the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in this year’s list of defence awards. It is the highest non-gallantry decoration given to defence personnel.
The PVSM is usually accorded to three-star officers for distinguished service to the nation. Chopra undertook his training at the Army’s sports institutions and was picked to join the service as part of Mission Olympic.

Notes:
Saudi Arabia and Thailand have ended a 30-year dispute over a scandal involving stolen jewels and a series of murders. Saudi Arabian Airlines has announced to restart direct flights to Thailand.
The resumption of full diplomatic ties came during a visit to Riyadh by Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha. Gems stolen from Saudi had a rare 50 carat blue diamond, which was never recovered. The dispute has cost a huge dip in trade and led to job losses for Thai Migrant workers.

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:
Scientists from IIT Kharagpur have developed a portable, inexpensive device for detecting oral cancer. The estimated cost per device is within USD500.
The new technology enables a clinician in a community health centre detect potential vulnerable cases early enough, during the first examination.

Notes:
In new research, a team of scientists at Tufts University demonstrated long-term regrowth of limbs in an African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis).
They achieved this restoration of an amputated hindlimb after a 24-hour exposure to a five-drug cocktail delivered by a silicone wearable bioreactor. The researchers are exploring ways to extend this to human beings

Notes:
The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has revised the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for adopting and implementing the Integrity Pact.
It has been revised for the second time in eight months. The step aims to ensure transparency in public procurements and to provide a large number of of Independent External Monitors (IEMS) to examine government contracts.

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.

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:
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 Government has appointed V Anantha Nageswaran as its Chief Economic Advisor (CEA). He was Dean of IFMR Graduate School of Business.
He was also a part-time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister from 2019 to 2021.The upcoming Survey has been drafted by a team led by Principal Economic Advisor Sanjeev Sanyal.