Current Affairs Quiz - January 2022

Notes:
India’s first indigenously developed Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) protein sub-unit vaccine for COVID-19 is CORBEVAXTM.
The vaccine, which has been developed by Biological E Limited, has recently received the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) approval for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and its PSU Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), have supported Biological E’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

Notes:
The girl child savings scheme Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana will earn 7.6% as interest as of January 2022.
The Government of India has recently announced that the interest rates on small savings schemes will remain unchanged for Q4 2020-21, including NSC and PPF which would earn 7.1 per cent and 6.8 per cent, respectively.

Notes:
Food aggregators like Swiggy and Zomato will have to collect and deposit tax at 5% rate from January 1, 2022.
At present, only those restaurants registered under GST are collecting and depositing the tax. Cab aggregators like Uber and Ola will have to collect 5% Goods and Services Tax for booking 2 and 3 wheeler vehicles.

Notes:
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), under the Ministry of Communication has constituted six Task Forces on 6 G technology.
The task forces are headed by various academia from across the country Directors of IIT-Madras, IIT-Kanpur, IISc among others. India is deploying 5G technology this year and the group will analyse the process and challenges in 6G.

Notes:
Nodirbek Abdusattorov from Uzbekistan became the youngest ever World Rapid Chess champion, at 17 years three months. Magnus Carlsen had won the 2009 World Blitz Title at the age of 18.
He also defeated the Ace player Magnus Carlsen to win the World Rapid championship in Warsaw, Poland. France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave won the World Blitz title.

Notes:
Mud Crab Reovirus (MCRV) has been found in the samples collected from ponds and markets in Andhra Pradesh
MCRV is found to be the reason for the mass mortality of wild crab (Scylla serrate) in Andhra Pradesh. The MCRV, known as Sleeping Disease, has caused mass mortality of wild crabs in all methods of farming since 2019.

Notes:
The ‘Karnataka Electric Bike Taxi Scheme’ was launched in Karnataka six months ago. It allowed private players, individuals, firms, and aggregators to run electric bike taxis in Bengaluru.
Citizens can avail of the service for a maximum distance of 10 km. However, the Transport Department has received only one application for a licence. The state has not yet fixed the bike taxi fares.

Notes:
Social worker Sindhutai Sapkal, who was also referred to as ‘Maai’ or ‘mother’ recently passed away. Her last rites were conducted with state honours.
She had raised over 1,050 children and received the Padma Shri award  in 2021 in Social Work category and several other awards and honours. She had also set up a well-equipped home for children in Pune.

Notes:
Karnataka Minister for Youth Empowerment and Sports announced that Karnataka will host the next Khelo India Games in 2023.
He also announced that over 75 sports students are being trained in the State to take part in the next Olympics. The 2021 edition of Khelo India is postponed due to the pandemic and is to be held in Haryana.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet has approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Nepal for construction of bridge over Mahakali River at Dharchula (India)- Dharchula (Nepal).
The Mahakali River, also called as the Sharda River, originates at Kalapani in the Himalayas, in Uttarakhand, India. It flows along western border of Nepal with India.