Current Affairs Quiz - January 2022

Notes:
The Ratings agency ICRA has maintained its forecast of a 9.0% GDP expansion for India in FY2022. It maintained that a K-shaped divergence will be seen amongst the formal and informal sectors of the economy.
The ratings agency also expects the economy to maintain a similar 9.0% growth in the next fiscal year FY2023.

Notes:
NITI Aayog released the “North Eastern Region District SDG Index”, with technical support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The index measures the performance of the District of the eight North Eastern States. A District wise index is being prepared in the country, for the first time. This SDG Index will be used as a base for planning various development and welfare activities, education, health care.

Notes:
Tamil Nadu Government recently unveiled “New Policy for Women 2021”, which includes features such as compulsory martial arts training for school and college females.
It also proposes 50 additional person-days under MGNREGS for all single and women-headed households, and 33.3 percent representation in registered parties. The policy also seeks to make all modes of transportation women-friendly.

Notes:
South Korea’s first domestically produced space launch vehicle KSLV-II Nuri rocket failed due to a loose helium tank.
All the three stages of the rocket worked, taking it to a height of 700 kilometres, and the 1.5-tonne payload separated successfully. The mission failed as the third-stage engine stopped burning 46 seconds earlier than schedule.

Notes:
Iran has launched a satellite carrier rocket ‘Simorgh’ bearing three research devices into space, as per the country’s media.
‘Simorgh’ translates to ‘Phoenix’ in Iran language. The country has launched the devices at an altitude of 470 kilometres (290 miles). United States unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear deal in May 2018 and re-imposed sanctions against Iran.

Notes:
Veteran photographer Sabine Weiss, renowned for her images on the streets of Paris, passed away at the age of 97.
She was the last surviving member of France’s humanist photography school. The photographer moved to Paris after World War Two. She was also regarded as pioneer of Street photography, in which she captured the condition of ordinary people in Paris.

Notes:
The Appointments Committee of Union Cabinet has approved the appointment of  Vinay Kumar Tripathi as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Railway Board.
Presently, he is serving as the General Manager, North Eastern Railway. He is an 1983 batch Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers (IRSEE).

Notes:
The Conference on Disarmament is a multilateral disarmament forum, to negotiate arms control and disarmament agreements. It is based at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
India’s senior diplomat Anupam Ray has been appointed as India’s next permanent representative to the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, as per the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The Indian Foreign Service officer is currently serving as a joint secretary in the MEA.

Notes:
Researchers have discovered two new species of very rare flower flies from north-eastern India and the Western Ghats.
The newly described species named Monoceromyia flavoscutata and M. nigra, belong to the Syrphidae family. The members of this genus are extremely rare as there are only 12 species reported from India earlier, with this discovery in India after 80 years.

Notes:
Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi(IGRUA) was established by the Government of India in the year 1986 at Fursatganj Airfield. It is located in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
IGRUA is an Autonomous Body and it is administered by a Governing Council under Ministry of Civil Aviation. During 2021, IGRUA recorded 19000 hours of flying as against an average yearly flying output of 15000 per year during the previous five years. It also targets 25000 flying hours in 2022.