Current Affairs of 8th January 2022

Current Affairs of 8th January 2022

1. Researchers from SNM college Maliankara, the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, and the Payyanur college have reported two new plant species from the biodiversity-rich Western Ghats regions in Thiruvanathapuram.
2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of PGI Satellite Centre at Ferozepur, Punjab. The PGI Satellite Centre will be built a cost of over Rs 490 crore.
3. There was a massive fire at South Africa’s Parliament in Cape Town.
4. Major General Vikas Lakhera has assumed charge as the 20^th Inspector General of Assam Rifles (North).
5. Indian Navy has started testing the Rafale-M (Marine) for use on its aircraft carriers. France sent a Rafale maritime fighter aircraft to a naval facility in Goa on 6 January 2022 to demonstrate its combat capabilities.
6. Tata Consultancy Services has been selected by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India for the second phase of Passport Seva Program.
7. Uttar Pradesh has been awarded the first prize in the 3^rd National Water Awards in the best state category, followed by Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.
8. India’s economy will return to growth in 2021-22 and its Gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow 9.2% against a contraction of 7.3% in the previous fiscal year.
9. Famous American Actor Sidney Poitier passed away in January 2022. He was the first Black actor to win the Best Actor Oscar for his role in “Lilies of the Field” in 1963.
10. Malayalam movie director Ranjith Balakrishnan has assumed the office of the Chairman of Kerala State Chalachitra Academy.
11. The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has bagged the SKOCH silver award in the ‘Power and Energy’ category.
12. 75^th edition of Establishment Day of the Bureau of Indian Standards was observed on 6 January 2022.
13. The Union Cabinet has approved the MoU between India and Nepal to build a bridge over the Mahakali river at Dharchaula in Uttarakhand.
14. Union Minister of State Science and Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurated India’s first unique Rock Museum in Hyderabad.
15. As per aviation analytics firm ‘Cirium’, India’s Chennai airport is the only one from India to feature in the Top10 global list for On-time performance, in the year 2021.
16. An agreement has been signed between World Food Programme in India and The Akshaya Patra Foundation, on 3 January 2022 in New Delhi.
17. Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi inaugurated the 9^th edition of the North East Festival (NEF) at a program held in Guwahati on 7 January 2022.
18. The Punjab government has appointed VK Bhawra, a 1987-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, as the new Director-General of Police (DGP).
19. Child marriage has become illegal in the Phillippines.
20. Sri Lankan batter Danushka Gunathilaka announced his retirement from the Tests cricket on 8 January 2022.