Current Affairs Quiz - January 2022

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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
The Kerala Bird Atlas released recently is said to be Asia’s largest bird atlas in terms of geographical extent, sampling efforts, and species coverage.
It is also the first-of-its-kind state-level bird atlas in India, and was conducted as a citizen-driven exercise with the participation of over 1000 volunteers. The Atlas has provided data about the distribution of various bird species across major habitats.

Notes:
The National Conference on Agriculture for Summer Campaign 2021-22 was held through video conference. It is also called as Zaid Conference. Zaid crops are grown between Kharif and Rabi Seasons
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Kumar Tomar attended the conference. The objective is to review the crop performance during the preceding crop seasons and fix crop-wise targets for the next summer season in consultation with State Governments.

Notes:
‘International Customs Day’ is observed every year on January 26, across the world with the United Nations as the host. It recognises the role of customs officials and agencies in ensuring flow of goods across the world borders.
The Customs Cooperation Council (CCC) announced the observance of ICD in 1953. CCC was renamed as World Customs Organization (WCO) in 1994. The theme of 2022 is ‘Scaling up Customs Digital Transformation by Embracing a Data Culture and Building a Data Ecosystem’.

Notes:
India-ASEAN Digital Work Plan 2022 was approved in the 2nd ASEAN Digital Ministers meeting held in the virtual mode.
The Work Plan focuses on tackling the use of stolen and counterfeit mobile handsets and WiFi Access network interface, for the public interest. It also includes knowledge sharing in emerging areas ICT such as Internet of Things, 5G, Advanced Satellite Communication and Cyber Forensics.