Current Affairs Quiz - March 2022

Notes:
On 24 March, the International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims is observed.
The Day was proclaimed in 2010 by the United Nations General Assembly. It pays tribute to Monsignor Óscar Arnulfo Romero, who fought against violations of human rights in El Salvador, who was murdered on 24 March 1980.

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:
‘Kambala’ is an annual buffalo-race held in the state of Karnataka. The fifth annual Mangaluru Kambala is set to be organised in Mangaluru City.
After lawsuits filed by animal welfare organizations, the Supreme Court of India ordered a ban on Kambala in 2014. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Karnataka Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 re-legalized the Kambala festival.

Notes:
The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system, located in Australia. As per a new study, fish in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef are losing their colour.
The study revealed that relationship between the colouration of the fish communities and the environment is likely to be impacted by global environmental change.

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:
Bulgaria has recently abolished its controversial “Golden passports” scheme, which offers citizenship of the EU member state in return for substantial investment.
The scheme made it possible for foreigners to acquire residency when they invested a minimum of 500,000 euros in Bulgaria, and citizenship when they invested one million euros. The European Commission has called for the abolition of such schemes as they provide ways for money laundering.

Notes:
The Defence Forces of the United States and Philippines launched their largest joint military drills in the Philippines named ‘Balikatan 2022’.
The 12-day war games involve nearly 9,000 Filipino and American soldiers. It will cover maritime security, live-fire training, amphibious operation and counter-terrorism, as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

Notes:
The President of India Ram Nath Kovind, presented the third National Water Awards and launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain campaign 2022 in New Delhi.
The Government of India in 2019 launched the ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan’ and in the same year ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’ was also launched. On 22nd March in 2021, on ‘World Water Day’, the ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain’ campaign was launched, to urge citizens to conserve water.

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”.

Notes:
Indian Navy commissioned its second P-8I aircraft squadron into the Navy. INAS 316 has been christened ‘Condors’, which are one of the largest flying land birds with a huge wingspan.
INAS 316 will operate the Boeing P-8I aircraft, a multi-role Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance Anti-Submarine Warfare (LRMR ASW) aircraft. It can be equipped with a range of Air-to-Ship Missiles and Torpedoes.