Current Affairs Quiz - January 2022

Notes:
Ramisyllis kingghidorahi, is a new ringed worm, which was discovered in waters off Sado Island, Japan. Marine biologists have discovered this third species of branching syllid worm.
Among over 20,000 species of annelids (ringed worms), only 2 branching species with a modified body-pattern were known until now namely Syllis ramosa and Ramisyllis multicaudata.

Notes:
Republic Day celebration includes recognition and honouring the brave personnel in the Armed Forces and police. There are eight categories of awards given to honour the recipients for their work in their respective fields.
It includes Padma Awards, Gallantry Awards (Param Vir Chakra, Mahavir Chakra, Vir Chakra, Ashoka Chakra, Kirti Chakra, Shaurya Chakra), The President’s Police Medals, Correctional Services Medal, The President’s Fire Medals, Civil Defence & Home Guards Medals and Jeevan Raksha Padak.

Notes:
India and Israel launched a commemorative logo to mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
The logo has the Star of David and the Ashoka Chakra- the two symbols that feature in the national flags of both countries and forms the numeral 30 depicting the 30th anniversary of bilateral relations. Israel and India established diplomatic relations on 29th of January 1992.

Notes:
A Decacorn is a company whose valuation crosses the milestone of USD 10 billion. Food-Delivery Giant Swiggy has raised USD 700 million in Invesco-led new funding, which has made it a decacorn, doubling its valuation to USD 10.7 billion.
Another Food Delivery Leader Zomato was valued at $5.4 billion before its recent IPO. Budget hospitality company Oyo’s valuation is at USD 9 billion in 2021. The Top 3 positions are held by Flipkart, Byju’s and Paytm.

Notes:
The Government approved the plan for the amalgamation of the Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank (PMC Bank) with Unity Small Finance Bank (USFBL).
USFBL is a joint venture between Centrum Financial services and digital payments platform BharatPe. All the branches of the PMC Bank will function as branches of USFBL with immediate effect.

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 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:
Coal Controller’s Organization, a subordinate office under the Ministry of Coal, released its flagship publications, the ‘Coal Directory of India 2020-21’.
The Statistical Publication contains information on the performance of Coal and Lignite sectors during the financial year 2020-21. It also provides the grade wise data of production and dispatch and reserves of coal. The publication also provides information on import- export and prices of coal.

Notes:
Former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg has authored a book titled , “The $10 Trillion Dream”.
It explores the policy issues that India faces today and suggests reforms for it to become a USD 10 trillion economy by the mid-2030s. S C Garg is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and was appointed as Finance Secretary in 2019.

Notes:
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar announced that 150 villages around the Centers of Excellence will be converted into Villages of Excellence with technical assistance from Israel.
75 villages are being taken up in the first year to commemorate the 75th year of India’s independence. Both countries commemorated the completion of 30 years of diplomatic relations between India and Israel.