Current Affairs Quiz - January 2022

Notes:
‘INS Khukri Memorial’ is a Indo-Pakistani War memorial commemorating a frigate attacked by a Pakistani submarine in 1976.
INS Khukri, the lead ship of the Indian Navy’s Khukri class corvettes and an indigenous surface-to-surface missile fitted vessel, was handed over to Diu administration.  Built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, the ship was commissioned in 1989, in Mumbai. The ship was decommissioned in December 2021 and sent to Diu, for public display in INS Khukri Memorial.

Notes:
After massive protests, the Serbia government has cancelled the licenses for lithium mining to Rio Tinto, a multi-national mining organisation.
The Jadar is a river in western Serbia, 75 km long tributary of the Drina river. Serbians staged protests against Rio Tinto’s plans to mine lithium in the Jadar valley near Lozinca town in the country.

Notes:
The International Monetary Fund’s board urged El Salvador to drop Bitcoin from its status as legal currency.
El Salvador last year sought a $1.3 billion IMF loan. IMF has urged the country to strip the legal tender status of Bitcoin due to its large risks. This is also said to be a major obstacle for the country’s efforts to get a loan from IMF.

Notes:
Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra has been bestowed the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in this year’s list of defence awards. It is the highest non-gallantry decoration given to defence personnel.
The PVSM is usually accorded to three-star officers for distinguished service to the nation. Chopra undertook his training at the Army’s sports institutions and was picked to join the service as part of Mission Olympic.

Notes:
The Ministry of Electronics and IT, Government of India, has given approval to Kerala for setting up India’s first ‘Graphene Innovation Centre’.
The state-run Digital University Kerala (DUK), along with CMET-Trichur, is to set up “India Innovation Centre for Graphene”, an R&D incubation centre. It will be implemented with the support of Government of Kerala, and Tata Steel Ltd will be the industrial partner of the centre. Graphene is the thinnest and strongest material in the world and could replace indium in OLED screens.

Notes:
January 26 marks the date the British fleet sailed into Sydney Harbour in 1788 to start a penal colony. For many Indigenous Australians, it is “Invasion Day”.
Prime Minister participated in the national flag-raising and citizenship ceremony in Australia’s capital, Canberra. While many protesters held rallies across the country with some carrying the Aboriginal flag and “change the date” signs.

Notes:
The European Union launched a case against China at the World Trade Organization over its forced practices against Lithuania and some exporters from other member states.
China, the EU’s main trade partner, started blocking Lithuanian products and some other European goods that contained Lithuanian components last December. This was done after Taiwan opened a representative office in Vilnius (capital of Lithuania) under the country’s name instead of Taipei.

Notes:
The United Nations General Assembly designated January 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day or International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust.
It is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. It is an annual day of commemoration of six million Jewish Holocaust victims and millions of other victims of Nazism. On this day, the UN urges every member state to develop educational programs to help prevent future genocides.

Notes:
Pandit Jasraj (1930–2020) was an Indian classical vocalist, belonging to the Mewati Gharana. Recently the Pandit Jasraj Cultural Foundation was launched, presided over by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It is a not-for-profit organisation set up with the objective of protecting and promoting national heritage, art and culture. The foundation aims to take forward the legacy of Pandit Jasraj.

Notes:
The Government of Tamil Nadu has framed a draft policy for senior citizens, acknowledging the State’s demographic transition.
The policy also proposes to create a Directorate for the Welfare of Senior Citizens. The draft document is based on Article 41 of the Constitution, which requires the State ‘to secure the right to work, education and to public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement’.