Current Affairs Quiz - January 2022

Notes:
The World Bank has approved a loan of around Rs 1,000 crore (USA 125 million) for the West Bengal government.
The loan has been approved under the ‘West Bengal Building State Capability for Inclusive Social Protection’ operation. The loan is being given for several development projects related to social security.

Notes:
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), in association with ICEA, released a five-year roadmap and vision document for the electronics sector.
Titled “USD 300 bn Sustainable Electronics Manufacturing & Exports by 2026”, this is the second volume of a two-part Vision Document. The first part titled, ‘Increasing India’s Electronics Exports and Share in GVCs,’ was released in November 2021.

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:
Russia has supplied the first batch of 70,000 rifles, as a part of the AK-203 Deal to manufacture the AK 203 assault rifles in India.
The first batch is likely to be used by the air force, while the rifles to be manufactured at the Amethi factory will be delivered to the army. The manufacturing will be done by Indo Russian Rifles Private Limitedm, Joint Venture between Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Ltd (erstwhile OFB) and Russian Rosoboronexport.

Notes:
Tableaux, from as many as 12 states and Union Territories participated in the Republic Day celebrations.
Arunachal Pradesh depicted the four Anglo-Abor Wars between 1858 and 1912, which involved indigenous tribal people of the state. Maharashtra showed the rich biodiversity of the state while Meghalaya portrayed its women-led cooperative societies and SHGs. Haryana’s tableau had several sportsmen while Chhattisgarh portrayed ‘Godhan Nyay Yojana’.

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 Lok Sabha secretariat has launched a new app, Digital Sansad, which enables people to follow the proceedings in Parliament.
It also contains the live telecast of Sansad proceedings. Citizens can access general information on MPs, on budget speeches since 1947, House discussions from 12th Lok Sabha to 17th Lok Sabha.The app will also help members of parliament access services such as checking personal updates.

Notes:
As per the preliminary results of Nepal’s National Census 2021, the country’s population has reached 29,192,480, which is a growth of mere 0.93 per cent. This is also the lowest growth in the last eight decades.
The population growth rate in Nepal is less than the average growth rate of the global population. This is due to the outward migration of Nepalis for jobs and studies. In the last Census 2011, the average population growth rate was 1.35 percent.

Notes:
A total of 246 rebels from the Tiwa Liberation Army (TLA) and United Gorkha Peoples Organisation (UGPO), formally surrendered and laid down arms in Assam.
TLA was formed in 2014 and UGPO was formed in 2007. They deposited 277 types of arms, grenades and 720 rounds of ammunition. As many as 462 former militants of five different terrorist outfits had surrendered last year in the state.

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.