Current Affairs Quiz - April 2022

Notes:
A draft recommendation on ‘Biodiversity and health’ was released during the Convention on Biological Diversity, held in Geneva.
It will be the key focus area of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. The convention, a part of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), was held physically after two years. It involved discussions to address the need and provide guidance for the One Health approach.

Notes:
The National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) has indigenously developed six new and rare Reference Materials (RMs).
It is the purest form of chemical required for anti-doping analysis in all WADA-accredited Laboratories across the world. They have been developed by NDTL in association with the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER)-Guwahati and the CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM), Jammu.

Notes:
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has entered into a partnership with Canada’s largest payment organisation, Payments Canada.
The partnership aims to transform its payment system operations and help in the implementation of the Real-Time Rail (RTR). RTR is a new real-time payments system that will allow Canadian users to initiate payments and receive funds in seconds at any point of the day.

Notes:
Sweden has launched a pilot project to reduce the carbon emissions involved in steel production by switching some of that process from burning coking coal to burning hydrogen.
HYBRIT or Hydrogen Breakthrough Iron-making Technology – is a joint venture between steel giant SSAB, mining company LKAB and Swedish state-owned power firm Vattenfall. As per World Steel Association, every metric ton of steel produced emitted twice that much carbon dioxide.

Notes:
The United States, Britain and Australia announced that they would begin collaborating on hypersonic missile strike and defence capacity.
This is in response to their rivals Russia and China advancing rapidly in the hypersonic technology. The countries would work on hypersonics in an expansion of their AUKUS defence alliance. This will equip Australia with nuclear-powered submarines to counter China’s growing military activities.

Notes:
Japan’s Nakagin Capsule Tower, a landmark in Japanese architectural history, is set to be demolished by mid-April, due to its ageing.
Nakagin Capsule Tower was built in 1972 by Kisho Kurokawa. It is a thirteen-storey tall building and the tower comprises two buildings that contain 140 similar capsule units. The tower was shortlisted to be a world heritage of Modern Buildings and Sites in 1997.

Notes:
As per the Forbes Billionaires List 2022, Indian billionaires increased to a record high of 166 from 140 last year, with a combined wealth of USD 760 billion. He ranked at the 10th position on the global list.
Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing director Mukesh Ambani continues to stay on top of the list as the richest Indian with a net worth of USD 90.7 billion. Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk emerged as the richest person in the world.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) during his address at the UN Climate Action Summit in 2019.
Madagascar has recently become the 30th country to join the India-backed CDRI. The CDRI is a global partnership that aims to promote the resilience of infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks.

Notes:
The 20-year old Iga Swiatek recently became the first Polish player become the Women’s Tennis Association World No.1.
She recently won the Miami Open to become the first player to sweep the first three WTA 1000 events in a season. Iga Swiatek became the first teenager to win Roland Garros in 28 years in 2020.

Notes:
‘Namami Gange Programme’ is an Integrated Conservation Mission launched by the Union Government of India in June 2014 with budget outlay of Rs.20,000 crore.
Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat recently launched the ‘Digital Dashboard for District Ganga Committees (DGCs) Performance Monitoring System’ (GDPMS).