October 2nd Week 2021 Current Affairs Online Test English

Explanation

• The world marks the second International Day of Awareness on Food Loss and Waste on September 29, 2021. UNEP also launched the ‘Food is Never Waste’ Coalition at the UN Food Systems Summit held recently. The theme of the day this year is ‘Stop Food Loss and Waste; For the People; For the Planet”.
• Around 14 percent of food produced is lost between harvest and retail, while 17 percent of total global food production is wasted across the world in various stages. World Heart Day is also celebrated on 29 September. The theme of this year is ‘Use Heart to Connect’.

Explanation

• National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM), which was announced for three years (2020–21 to 2022–23), aims for the development of scientific beekeeping in the country to achieve the goal of ‘Sweet Revolution’. It is being implemented through National Bee Board (NBB). 
• Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar recently launched ‘Amul Honey– a product of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. with cooperation with ‘National Bee Board’.

Explanation

• Japan’s former foreign minister Fumio Kishida is set to replace Yoshihide Suga as the Prime minister. He has won the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership vote. Japan is facing a stagnant economy damaged by the coronavirus pandemic, unprecedented public health crisis, and increased political threatening by China.

Explanation

• Union Minister of Power has recently approved a “Dispute Avoidance Mechanism” through ‘Independent Engineer’ (IE).
• The CPSEs executing Hydro Power Projects had been raising concerns that the present mechanism of dispute resolution in Hydro Power sector did not address the conflicts between the Employer and the Contractor at their initial stage.

Explanation

• The Union Finance Ministry has extended the validity of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) by another six months till March 31, 2022, or till guarantees for the overall ceiling of Rs 4.5 lakh crore are issued, whichever is earlier.
• The scheme is aimed to support micro, small and medium enterprises, by helping them deal with funds shortage and promote exports.  As of September 24, 2021, over Rs 2.86 lakh crore worth of loans were sanctioned under the scheme.

Explanation

• The national Mid–Day Meal Scheme has been renamed as PM POSHAN Scheme. Involvement of Farmers Producer Organizations (FPO) and Women Self Help Groups in implementation of the scheme are also mentioned in the new features.
• The Union Cabinet approved the ‘PM POSHAN in Schools’ scheme that will provide hot cooked meal to students of elementary classes in government and government–aided schools across the country. It will also cover students of balvatikas or pre–primary classes.

Explanation

• The Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) was set up in 1957 in Cochin. It is the first and only national center where research in all disciplines relating to fishing and fish processing is undertaken. CIFT has developed fertiliser and pet supplement from shrimp shell. ‘Foliar Spray’, the customised fertiliser with antimicrobial agents, is developed to enhance crop yield and improve disease.

Explanation

• India has more than 63 million MSMEs. They account for nearly 40 per cent of India’s exports, about 6.11 percent of the country’s manufacturing GDP. MSMEs contribute to 24.63 percent of the GDP from services sector.
• Union MSME Minister Narayan Rane has inaugurated the India Export Initiative and IndiaXports 2021 portal of the India SME Forum. India has fixed its exports target of USD 400 billion for this fiscal year. The Minister said that MSMEs would further take it to $1 trillion by 2027.

Explanation

• Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur launched a month–long Clean India Programme from Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology–Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. The programme has been launched as a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
• The aim of the cleanliness drive is to create awareness, encourage people and make them involve in cleaning waste especially the, ‘Single Use Plastic’ waste throughout the country. This campaign will continue till 31st October.

Explanation

• North Korea has claimed that it successfully tested a new hypersonic missile called Hwasong–8. This technology allows missiles to be pre–fuelled and then sent to the field. Days after the hypersonic missile, North Korea said it test–fired a new anti–aircraft missile. This marks the country’s fourth weapons test in under a month. North Korea also said that its weapons are needed for self–defence.

Explanation

• The state government of Rajasthan has launched a campaign named ‘Prashasan Gaon ke Sang’. It aims to enable access to 22 departments of the local administration for the people of remote villages in the state. 
• Under the campaign, the camps in villages would be held under the observation of respective District Collectors on weekdays. Services related to land deeds and issuance of various certificates are also done.

Explanation

• Manipur organises the UNESCO–recognised Festival of Dance and Music ‘Nata Sankirtana’. This year, the 3–Day Festival was inaugurated recently from the capital Imphal.  Nata Sankirtan was introduced during the reign of Bhagyachandra and recognised as intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2013 for its uniqueness.

Explanation

• The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has approved a credit plan for Yaks. The scheme was developed by the National Research Centre on Yak (NRCY) at Dirang in Arunachal Pradesh. 
• The NRCY functions under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The high–altitude animal is also referred to as “mountain cattle”. Earlier, a scheme was announced to insure the Himalayan yaks against the impact of climate change.

Explanation

• The Yidan Prize is an education award that recognizes individuals, or teams, who have contributed significantly to education research and development. The Yidan Prize Foundation have awarded India–based Dr Rukmini Banerji and US–based Professor Eric Hanushek the prestigious Yidan Prize 2021. Nine laureates have been awarded the Yidan Prize since its inception in 2016.
• Dr Rukmini Banerji, Chief Executive Officer of the Pratham Education Foundation, is awarded for her work in improving learning outcomes.

Explanation

• Union Labour and Employment Minister Bhupendra Yadav announced a collaboration with Microsoft India to launch DigiSaksham programme. Through DigiSaksham, 10 million active registered job seekers will be able to access the training including computing and computer science training on the National Career Service Portal.
• The programme is aimed to impact 3,00,000 job seekers in the first year by training them in subjects like programming languages, data analytics, software development etc.

Explanation

• Vice Admiral Adhir Arora, NM has taken charge as the Chief Hydrographer to the Government of India. He succeeded Vice Admiral Vinay Badhwar, AVSM, NM who superannuated in this month.
• Adhir Arora was responsible for maritime boundaries aspects including representing India in the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) during the arbitration with Bangladesh. He was also the co–chair for the 3rd Indo – Mauritius hydrographic cooperation meeting.

Explanation

• The Global Financial Stability Report is a semi–annual publication by the International Monetary Fund, which gives detailed review on the stability of global financial markets. In the recent Global Financial Stability Report, the IMF has dedicated an exclusive chapter to cryptocurrency. Under it, IMF mentions that rapid growth of the crypto ecosystem presents new opportunities at the same time, it has cautioned about the financial stability challenges.

Explanation

• Indian ace woman cricketer Smriti Mandhana has created a new record by becoming the very first Indian woman to score a century in Australia. The previously held record in this regard was 58 runs in the second innings of the Melbourne Test in 1991. Mandhana scored 127 runs off 216 balls, which included 22 boundaries and a six.

Explanation

• Indian shooter Manu Bhaker has made a  top podium finish in the ISSF Junior World Championship held at Lime, Peru. She won Gold in individual pistol event as well as in a mixed team pistol with Sarabjot Singh. Her contribution helped India to rise to the top of the medal tally at the championship.

Explanation

• Edayur Chilli and Kuttiattoor Mango of the state of Kerala have received Geographical Indication tag (GI Tag) recently. Geographical Indication (GI) is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and is regulated under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act of 1999.

Explanation

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $251 million loan for urban flood protection and management in the Chennai–Kosasthalaiyar river basin in the state of Tamil Nadu. The project will establish climate–resilient urban flood protection infrastructure in the region.
• It will construct 588 kilometers of new stormwater drains, rehabilitate or replace 175 km of stormwater drains among others. Chennai’s rapid urbanization has made the city vulnerable to widespread flooding.

Explanation

• Digital Economy Report 2021 was released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
• The report examines the implications of growing cross–border data flows, especially for developing countries. The Report also calls for innovative approaches to govern data and data flows to ensure equitable distribution of the gains from data flows.

Explanation

• NITI Aayog recently released a performance assessment report of district hospitals in India, titled Best Practices in the Performance of District Hospitals. The report is made with collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and WHO India.
• The assessment framework covers 10 Key Performance Indicators and a total of 707 district hospitals across all States and UTs participated in the assessment. The Health Management Information System (HMIS) data for the year 2017–18 was used as baseline. 75 district hospitals across 24 States and UTs emerged as top performers.

Explanation

• National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) announced that Chacha Chaudhary, the popular comic book character, has been declared as a mascot of Namami Gange Programme.
• The character would be used for sensitising children and youths about the cleaning of Ganga and other rivers. ‘Ganga ki Baat, Chacha Choudhary Ke Sath’ is a public engagement activity under the public outreach activities of Namami Gange mission.”

Explanation

• The All–India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), under the aegis Union Ayush Ministry has developed an immunity booster kit for children named “Bal Raksha Kit”, which can be consumed by children upto the age of 16 years. This can be undertaken by the children till the time vaccine is available for COVID 19 disease.
• The Ministry has planned that, on National Ayurveda Day (November 2), 10,000 Bal Raksha kits would be distributed free–of–cost.

Explanation

• The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recently published the latest edition of “Model Lists of Essential Medicines and Essential Medicines for Children”. The new list has prioritized access to diabetes and cancer treatments. The list has included new medicines to assist people who want to stop smoking and new antimicrobials to treat serious bacterial and fungal infections.

Explanation

• The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is observing October 5 to October 10, 2021 as Mental Health Awareness Campaign Week, as a part of the World Mental health Day celebration on October 10.
• This week is observed to raise awareness about mental health and mobilize support in this regard. As a part of this initiative, the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya also released the UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children Report.

Explanation

• The Prime Minister of India Shri. Narendra Modi has inaugurated the “Azadi@75 – New Urban India” – an urban conclave cum expo at Lucknow. During the inaugural event, the PM handed over digitally the keys of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY–U) houses to 75,000 beneficiaries located in 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh.

Explanation

• The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has notified the constitution of National Road Safety Board. The Board will be responsible for promoting road safety, innovation and adoption of new technology, and regulation of traffic and motor vehicles.
• The Head Office of the Board in the National Capital Region and the board may set up offices at other places in India. It shall consist of the Chairman and not three to seven Members, to be appointed by the Central Government.

Explanation

• The Ministry of Textiles has approved continuation of Comprehensive Handicrafts Cluster Development Scheme (CHCDS) with a total outlay of ₹160 crore. The scheme will now continue up to March 2026. Under the scheme, infrastructural support, market access, design and technology up–gradation support are provided to handicraft artisans.

Explanation

• The Pandora Papers are documents on hidden wealth, tax avoidance and money laundering by famous personalities across the globe. The data in this regard has been obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and more than 140 media organisations are working on the people who are involved in money laundering.

Explanation

• PM Nair – a stressed assets expert from State Bank of India is the MD of National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd, which has recently received the approval of the Reserve Bank of India to commence its operations. The decision to constitute the “Bad Bank” / NARCL to clean the books of PSU was declared in the Union Budget 2021–22.

Explanation

• The “SVAMITVA” stands for “Survey of Villages Abadi and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas” is a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. Under the scheme, clear ownership of property in rural inhabited areas is established by mapping land parcels using Drones. Recently, the Prime Minister distributed e–property cards to over 1,71,000 beneficiaries of Madhya Pradesh under the scheme.

Explanation

• The PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (MITRA) was announced in the Union Budget 2021–22 for growth of the textile sector and place India as a global leader in Textiles.
• The Government has approved setting up of 7 Mega Textile parks at a proposed cost of Rs.4445 crore. These parks are expected to provide job opportunities to 21 lakh people.

Explanation

• Mihidana is a sweet dish of West Bengal and is a GI (Geographical Indication) tagged product. This is in news recently as the very first consignment of Mihidana sourced from Bardhaman has been exported to Bahrain.

Explanation

• A Business Summit on National Mission on Edible Oil – Oil Palm for North East was held recently at Guwahati, which was presided over by Narendra Singh Tomar – the union minister for agriculture and farmers welfare.
• The National Mission on Edible Oil – Oil Palm is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme which aims to add 6.5 lakh hectares for palm oil by 2025–26.

Explanation

• The High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People (HAC) is an intergovernmental group, co–chaired by France and Costa Rica. Its objective is to support the adoption of a target to protect 30% of the planet’s land and 30% of its oceans by 2030 (30×30 target).
• The Coalition was officially launched at the One Planet Summit in 2021. It currently has around 70 members. India officially joined the coalition at a ceremony held between the French and Indian governments in New Delhi.

Explanation

• Every year on October 8, the country celebrates Indian Air Force Day. This year will celebrate the 89th anniversary of Indian Air Force Day. The day commemorates the establishment of Indian Air Force (IAF) on the same day in 1932. The first operational squadron was established in April 1933. The day also aims to increase awareness about the Indian Air Force, also known as the ‘Bhartiya Vayu Sena’.

Explanation

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept the key lending rate — repo rate unchanged at 4 percent for the eighth time in a row. Reverse repo rate remained unchanged at 3.5 percent. RBI also retained FY22 GDP growth forecast at 9.5 percent. 

Explanation

• World Post Day is celebrated each year on 9th of October to mark the anniversary of establishment of the Universal Postal Union in 1874. India has been a member of the Universal Postal Union since 1876.
• The theme for this year’s World Post Day is ‘Innovate to recover’. The objective of the World Post Day is to create awareness about the role of postal sector in the lives of people.

Explanation

• The Chhattisgarh government is set to declare the combined areas of the Guru Ghasidas National Park and Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary as a Tiger Reserve. The National Tiger Conservation Authority approved the state government’s proposal. The new Reserve is located in the northern part of the state, bordering Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.

Explanation

• NASA’s Deep Space Atomic Clock, has successfully ended its mission. The clock was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in southern California. The Deep Space Atomic Clock is an ultra–precise, mercury–ion atomic clock. It was launched aboard the Department of Defense Space Test Programme 2 mission on June 25, 2019.
• After the instrument completed its one–year primary mission in Earth orbit, NASA extended the mission to collect more data.

Explanation

• Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal recently launched a port mobile application called ‘MyPortApp’ in Kolkata. The Application is aimed at promoting transparency and easy access to port–related information. The app includes all details digitally and monitors the operations of ports virtually.

Explanation

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen held bilateral talks at Hyderabad House. Frederiksen, who arrived on a three–day visit, will hold talks with President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• Earlier, Frederiksen met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Over 200 Danish companies are present in India and around 60 Indian companies are present in Denmark.

Explanation

• The Madhya Pradesh Cabinet has approved the proposal to provide government land in exchange for the private land being acquired for Atal Pragati Path. It is a 313–km four–lane expressway project implemented under the Bharatmala project.
• The proposed Atal Pragati Path will pass through Sheopur, Morena and Bhind districts of Madhya Pradesh. The state government is providing land free for the project.

Explanation

• Jim Corbett National Park is a world–renowned tiger reserve in Uttarakhand. It was seen in the news recently, Union Minister of State for Forest and Environment Ashwini Kumar Choubey announced that it may be renamed as Ramganga National Park in the future. It is India’s first national park which is spread over an area of about 521 km. It’s known for its Bengal tigers, leopards and wild elephants.

Explanation

• Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries, topped the rich list for the 14th year in a row, as per Forbes Rich List, with a total wealth of $92 billion. He has added $4 billion to his net worth in the year 2021. 
• Gautam Adani, with a wealth of $74.8 billion, is the second richest in India. Shiv Nadar of HCL was number three in the list with a wealth of $31 billion. Radhakrishnan Damani, founder of Avenues Super–mart, and Cyrus Poonawalla, Chairman of Serum Institute, were placed fourth and fifth.

Explanation

• World Bank recently released the report titled ‘Shifting Gears: Digitization and Services–Led Development’. As per the report, India’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the current fiscal year is estimated to grow by 8.3%.
• This is a South Asia economic focus report released ahead of its annual meetings which start next week in Washington.

Explanation

• The RBI Governor – Shaktikanta Das has announced that the fourth regulatory sandbox cohort of the Reserve Bank would be on “Financial Frauds”. It has been stated that the main focus would be on “reduce the lag between the occurrence and detection of frauds” and to “strengthen the governance structure”.

Explanation

• The Tata Sons has emerged as the winner in the bid to acquire Air India and will take over 100% Government of India’s stake in the carrier. Tata sons placed a bid of Rs 18,000 crore, of which Rs 2,700 crore would be paid in cash and the remaining would be absorbed Rs 65,562 crore debt of the airline. The Government of India in 1953 took control of Air India from the Tata Group.