Current Affairs Quiz - March 2022

Notes:
North Korea has confirmed that it has test-fired its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) since 2017 named ‘Hwasong-17’.
Hwasong-17 flew 1,090 km at a maximum altitude of 6,248.5 km and hit a target. Hwasong-17 is claimed to be the largest road-mobile, liquid-fuelled ICBM in the world. Hwasong-15, which was tested in November 2017 reached an altitude of about 4,475 km and covered 950 km.

Notes:
The European Union and the U.S. announced they had agreed “in principle” to a new framework for cross-border data transfers.
Previously, there was an arrangement named Privacy Shield, allowing firms to share Europeans’ data to the U.S. The new agreement is expected to provide relief for tech giants like Meta and Google.

Notes:
Airports Authority of India (AAI), under its R & D initiative, has entered into an agreement with Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) to jointly develop indigenous Air Traffic Management Systems.
They will also collaborate on systems for surface movement of aircraft at airports in the country which were previously being imported. The Agreement was signed during ‘Wings India 2022’ in Hyderabad.

Notes:
Reserve Bank of India released the framework for geo-tagging of payment system touch points. Geo-tagging refers to capturing the geographical coordinates (latitude and longitude).
The framework aims to ensure proper monitoring of the availability of payment acceptance infrastructure including Point of Sale terminals, and Quick Response codes.

Notes:
Under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav 2022 was inaugurated in Andhra Pradesh by the Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan.
Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav is the flagship festival of the Ministry of Culture which aims to preserve, promote, and popularise the rich cultural heritage of India. The first Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav was organised in 2015.

Notes:
Union Ministry of Earth Sciences recently announced that the tropical Indian Ocean has experienced a rapid increase in ocean warming.
The average rise in sea surface temperature of about 1 degree Celsius (°C) was observed over the period of 1951-2015, at 0.15°C per decade. The western Indian Ocean region experienced a four-fold rise in marine heat-waves events and the North Bay of Bengal experienced a two-to-three fold rise.

Notes:
Indian Team emerged as the Champions of the 2022 SAFF U-18 Women’s Championships, despite losing 0-1 to Bangladesh.
The result was declared because of a better goal difference. India enjoyed a better goal difference of +11 in comparison to +3 of Bangladesh. The valuable player of the tournament and the highest goal scorer was Lynda Kom who scored five goals.

Notes:
Surat has become the first in India to get a road that is made out of steel waste. It is seen as an example of sustainable development.
The road is built by Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel India with CSIR India (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research) & CRRI (Central Road Research Institute) with support from Ministry of Steel and Government think tank NITI Aayog.

Notes:
Railway collisions were the second-largest reason for the unnatural deaths of elephants while Electrocution was the first most reason.
The Union Environment Ministry has constituted a permanent coordination committee that includes the Ministry of Railways and the Environment Ministry to prevent elephant deaths on railway tracks. 19 elephants were killed across the country on railway tracks in 2018-19, 14 in 2019-20 and 12 in 2020-21.

Notes:
The 5th BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Summit was hosted virtually by Sri Lanka, the current chair.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the conference virtually and announced USD 1 million in aid to promote the budget of the Bimstec secretariat. The theme of the Colombo summit is “Bimstec-Towards a Resilient Region, Prosperous Economies, Healthy Peoples”.