Current Affairs Quiz - February 2022

Notes:
Aryabhatta Research Institute for Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital, is an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Science & Technology
ARIES, along with Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune has organised Indo-US Workshop on “Space Radiation Workshop: Radiation Characterisation from Sun to Earth, Moon, Mars and Beyond”.

Notes:
Italian President Sergio Mattarella has been elected to a second term in the recent round of elections.
Mattarella was reconfirmed with a broad majority, in the voting done by lawmakers and regional representatives. The 80-year old Jurist-Academic has been serving as the country’s President since 2015.

Notes:
Manipur got its first-ever good freight train connectivity post independence, as the first freight train arrived at the Rani Gaidinliu station of the north-eastern state.
Earlier, a passenger train from Silchar in Assam reached the Bongaichungpao railway station in Manipur. This is a part of the 111 km long Jiribam-Imphal new line project, which will connect Imphal with Guwahati.

Notes:
NASA’s ‘Oceans Melting Greenland airborne mission’ has found that Greenland’s glaciers that empty into the ocean, such as Apusiaajik Glacier, are at greater risk of rapid ice loss.
It revealed that ice loss from Greenland’s ice sheet contributes more to the global rise of the oceans than any other single source. If all of Greenland’s ice sheet were to melt, global sea levels would rise by about 24 feet (7.4 meters).

Notes:
US President Joe Biden designated Qatar a major non-NATO ally, during a meeting with the ruling leader of Qatar at the White House.
This is seen as a symbolic honour to Qatar for its assistance with evacuations from Afghanistan and in ending last year’s Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Notes:
Union Budget announced a scheme, under which the government will promote chemical-free natural farming throughout the country.
It is to be implemented with a focus on farmers’ land in 5 km wide corridors along the river Ganga, in the first stage. The Budget also announced that two lakh anganwadis will be upgraded and a national tele mental health programme will also be launched.

Notes:
Ministry of Commerce and Industry notified the second phase of the scheme for enhancement of competitiveness in the capital goods sector.
The scheme was notified with a financial outlay of ₹1,207 crore. It would consist of a budgetary support from the government of ₹975 crore and the rest of ₹232 crore would come through the industry contribution.

Notes:
The Union Budget has reduced the Alternate Minimum Tax (AMT) to be paid by Cooperative societies to 15 per cent.
At present, cooperative societies are required to pay AMT at the rate of 18.5 per cent, while companies pay the same at 15 per cent. The Budget proposed to reduce the surcharge from the 12 per cent to 7 per cent, for cooperatives with total income of Rs 1 crore up to Rs 10 crore.

Notes:
Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG), a New Delhi-based rights group released the India Press Freedom Report 2021. As per the report, at least six journalists being killed, many more physically assaulted, and media houses being targeted.
Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Tripura topped the list of States and Union Territories where journalists and media houses were targeted in 2021.

Notes:
Earth Trojan is an asteroid that shares the same orbit as our planet, going around the Sun. The second Earth Trojan was detected in 2020 and has been named 2020 XL5.
It is a near-earth asteroid (NEO) that is expected to stay in orbit for the next 4,000 years before deviating away. The asteroid was discovered by the Pan-STARRS S1 telescope survey. The first known Earth Trojan asteroid was 2010 TK7, about 0.3 km wide, and discovered in 2010.