Current Affairs Quiz - January 2022

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:
China has published trial rules for the approval of gene-edited plants. Gene editing involves altering the genes of a plant to change or improve its performance.
It is seen as less risky than genetically-modifying them. This move aims to promote the seed industry of China and ensure food security to its huge population. China has also passed regulations for approval of genetically modified (GM) crops.

Notes:
India’s rank improved one place to 85 among 180 countries in the Corruption perception index (CPI) of 2021.
Transparency International releases the index, which ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption. In a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean, India’s score was 40. The report also raised concerns over India’s democratic status

Notes:
The Ministry of Electronics and IT, Government of India, has given approval to Kerala for setting up India’s first ‘Graphene Innovation Centre’.
The state-run Digital University Kerala (DUK), along with CMET-Trichur, is to set up “India Innovation Centre for Graphene”, an R&D incubation centre. It will be implemented with the support of Government of Kerala, and Tata Steel Ltd will be the industrial partner of the centre. Graphene is the thinnest and strongest material in the world and could replace indium in OLED screens.

Notes:
James Webb Space Telescope reached its final destination, at around 15 lakh km from Earth. The telescope will orbit in an area of space known as a Lagrange point, where the gravitational pull from the Sun and Earth will be balanced by the centrifugal force of the rotating system.
The points were first theorized by Italian French mathematician Joseph-Louis Lagrange. Webb will go around it in a halo at a distance similar to that between the Earth and Moon

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:
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:
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:
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’.

Notes:
French Polynesia is an overseas collectivity of France, comprising more than 100 islands in the South Pacific in Oceania.
Scuba divers with the UNESCO have discovered a massive reef of giant rose-shaped corals off the coast of Tahiti, the largest island in French Polynesia. The structure is in pristine condition and has remained healthy despite recent coral bleaching events.