Current Affairs Quiz - January 2022

Notes:
The Common Services Centers (CSC) has recently launched the “Yogyata” mobile phone application.  It aims to provide vocational education and skill enhancement opportunities to youth and other citizens in rural areas.
It includes the access to courses like Cyber Security, CAD and 3D printing, to increase employability The training content is on a continuous learning mode and the courses are yearly subscription-based.

Notes:
India’s first state-of-the-art, Para-badminton academy with advanced equipment and facilities has been set up in Lucknow.
The centre has been launched by Dronacharya awardee and Head national coach of Indian para-badminton team, Gaurav Khanna, along with Ageas Federal Life Insurance. It aims to improve India’s medal prospects at the 2024 Paralympics.

Notes:
‘Humid heat’ refers to conditions that are either hot and dry or hot and humid enough to cause decreases in labor productivity.
As per a recent study, India lost around 259 billion hours of labour annually between 2001 and 2020 due to the impacts of humid heat. The loss of these productive hours cost India USD 624 billion (Rs 46 lakh crore). Globally, humid heat caused 677 billion hours of lost labour each year, worth USD 2.1 trillion (Rs 156 lakh crore).

Notes:
Nagaland state was carved out of Assam in 1963 and the two states share a 512.1-km-long border.  Nagaland has been demanding Naga Hills and all Naga-dominated areas in the then North Cachar and Nagaon districts of Assam, to be part of the state.
The Governments of Nagaland and Assam announced that they are ready for out-of-court settlement of the long pending inter-state boundary dispute.

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 scientific team at CSIR-CDRI, Lucknow along with their industry partner Biotech Desk have successfully developed the indigenous RTPCR Kit INDICoV-OmTM for specific detection of the Omicron variant.
Most of the RT-PCR-based diagnostic kits do not confirm whether Covid infection is caused by the Omicron variant. Also various current Omicron tests have several limitations.

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:
A joint maritime exercise Paschim Lehar was conducted by the Indian Navy concluded off the West Coast recently.
The Exercise aims to enhance the inter-service synergy among the Indian Navy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army and Coast Guard.  It was conducted over a duration of 20 days with participation of various equipment of the armed forces.

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:
The Government of Tamil Nadu has framed a draft policy for senior citizens, acknowledging the State’s demographic transition.
The policy also proposes to create a Directorate for the Welfare of Senior Citizens. The draft document is based on Article 41 of the Constitution, which requires the State ‘to secure the right to work, education and to public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement’.