July 3rd Week 2021 Current Affairs Online Test English

Explanation

• As per the provisional statistics of 2020–21 of the Coal Ministry, India’s total coal production registered a decline of 2.02 per cent to 716.084 million tonnes during 2020–21. Of the total production, 671.297 MT was non–coking coal and 44.787 MT was coking coal. Chhattisgarh registered highest coal production of 158.409 MT, followed by Odisha and Madhya Pradesh. Jharkhand was the top producer of coking coal.

Explanation

• NASA’s Near–Earth Object Wide–field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) was recently given a two–year mission extension.
• It is a near–Earth object (NEO) hunting space telescope, which searches for asteroids and comets – including objects that could pose a hazard to Earth. The telescope has provided an estimate of the size of over 1,850 near–Earth objects.

Explanation

• F–35 Lightning II is a next generation fighter jet developed by the US–based Lockheed Martin. This stealth multirole aircraft is capable of conducting airstrikes, reconnaissance missions and air–to–air combats. Its development was funded by the US and several of its NATO allies. 
• Switzerland has ordered these fighter jets, making it the 15th nation to be part of the world’s largest weapons project, Joint Strike Fighter program.

Explanation

• India is the largest producer of milk globally, with an estimated production of 208 million tonnes in FY2021.

Explanation

• Valmiki National Park and Tiger Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary is located at the India–Nepal border in Bihar, on the bank of river Gandak. It is the only National Park in the state of Bihar.
• The Authorities of the Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) have identified 150 vultures in different ranges of the protected area. A proposed plan for vulture conservation is sent to the Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (IDWH).

Explanation

• Tropical storm Elsa recently hit Cuba. It subsequently exited Cuba, east of the city of Havana, towards Florida. Cuba faced heavy rains due to the storm, causing light flooding in the capital in lower lying coastal areas.

Explanation

• Union AYUSH Ministry recently launched Ayurveda dataset on The Clinical Trials Registry– India CTRI Portal. The Ayurveda Dataset of CTRI has been jointly developed by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) under the Ministry of AYUSH. Union AYUSH Minister also launched four more portals namely AMAR, SAHI, e–MEDHA and RMIS.

Explanation

• The French Navy hosted the 7th edition of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS). It was concluded at Réunion island, a French department in the Indian Ocean. Indian Ocean Naval Symposium is a biennial event, which was conceived by the Indian navy in 2008. IONS includes 24 member nations that touch or lie within the Indian Ocean Region and 8 observer nations.

Explanation

• Bengaluru is the highest ranked Indian city in Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2021, released by StartupBlink. It is on the 10th position worldwide and on 1st position in India. India was placed at 20th place. New Delhi and Mumbai were at 14th and 16th position (worldwide).
• 43 Indian cities got placed in the list of 100 countries. The top five countries are USA, UK, Israel, Canada and Germany. The top five cities in the Index are San Francisco, New York, Beijing, Los Angeles and London.

Explanation

• Mariyappan Thangavelu is announced as the flag bearer of the Indian contingent in Tokyo Paralympics 2021. Mariyappan Thangavelu is India’s first Paralympian gold medallist since 2004.
• He won gold medal in the 2016 Summer Paralympic games in High jump. He was awarded Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award for Para–Atheletics, Arjuna Award for Para–Atheletics and Padma Shri.

Explanation

• Levon Aronian won the Goldmoney Asian Rapid online chess title 2021. Levon Grigori Aronian is an Armenian–American chess grandmaster.
• He won the title after defeating Vladimir Artemiev. Magnus Carlsen, the current world champion was on the 3rd position. The Goldmoney Asian Rapid is the seventh tournament of the Champions Chess Tour 2021 or Meltwater Champions Tour.

Explanation

• WAKO India Kickboxing Federation has been granted recognition as the National Sports Federation by the Sports Ministry recently.
• Popularly known as “WAKO India”, it was formed in 1993 and its Headquarter is in Faridabad. It is affiliated to World Association of Kickboxing Organization (WAKO).

Explanation

• Maharashtra has become the 5th state in India and 125th global state to join the “Under2 Coalition” to fight the climate change.
• The other four states are: Chhattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Telangana and West Bengal. The Under2 Coalition is a global community of state and regional governments committed to ambitious climate action in line with the Paris Agreement. It started as a MoU which was signed by 12 founding jurisdictions in 2015 in Sacramento, California.

Explanation

• Max Verstappen won the Austrian Grand Prix 2021. Max Verstappen is a Belgian–Dutch racing driver currently competing in Formula One, under the Dutch flag, with Red Bull Racing. The race was the ninth round of the 2021 Formula One World Championship.
• Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas was the runner–up. McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton were on the 3rd and 4th positions respectively.

Explanation

• India’s first Agriculture Export Facilitation Centre has been established in Pune. It will work as a one–stop centre for the exporters in agricultural sector.
• The centre was established by the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) in association with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

Explanation

• A new centre of National Horticulture Board (NHB) has been inaugurated in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh by Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers welfare. National Horticulture Board (NHB) was set up by Government of India in April 1984 on the basis of recommendations of the “Group on Perishable Agricultural Commodities”, headed by Dr M. S. Swaminathan.

Explanation

• India joined the global tax deal under the G20–OECD Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). It seeks to reform international tax rules and ensure that multinational companies pay their fair share wherever they operate. However, when the global tax regime is implemented, India will have to roll back the equalisation levy that it imposes on MNCs such as Google, Amazon and Facebook.

Explanation

• The Reserve Bank of India mandated that 7.5 % of the bank’s total credit (ANBC or CEOBE) should be provided to Micro enterprises. Recently, the Union MSME Ministry announced the inclusion of retail and wholesale trade under MSMEs (Micro, small and medium enterprises).
• As per this categorisation, the traders will now get the benefit of priority sector lending under RBI guidelines. They will also be eligible for availing immediate–term finance as part of the schemes announced under ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.

Explanation

• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) gave its nod to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education to provide technical assistance for satellite TV classrooms in India. This aims to bridge the learning gap due to COVID–induced lockdown.
• ISRO scientists made a presentation before the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Education, MEITY and Doordarshan, about the proposed satellite TV classroom for students.

Explanation

• Invest India, has been awarded the world’s most innovative Investment Promotion Agency 2021 by OCO Global. Invest India was set up in 2009, as a non–profit venture under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It is the National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency of India and act as the first point of reference for investors in India.

Explanation

• The Ministry of women and child development has invited suggestions for the draft of the Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2021.
• The objective of the bill is to prevent and counter trafficking in persons, especially women and children. According to the draft bill, a person found guilty of trafficking can be imprisoned for seven years to 10 years. Those convicted shall be imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh to 5 lakhs.

Explanation

• A part of the Arctic’s ice is known as the ‘Last Ice Area’ and is located north of Greenland. Recently, researchers have found that the region has melted before expected. Scientists had earlier believed this area was strong enough to withstand global warming.
• But as per a recent research paper, the area where the Last Ice Area (LIA) is located, experienced a record low concentration of sea ice. The thinning of sea ice is due to climate change.

Explanation

• According to the first aerial survey in two years, the number of Saiga in Kazakhstan has increased from 334,000 to 842,000. Saiga is a rare type of antelope, which was considered to at the brink of extinction following a mass die–off in 2015.
• After a series of conservation measures, the population of the rare antelope has more than doubled since 2019.

Explanation

• The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) organised the first edition of Indo–Pacific Business Summit 2021, in association with the ministry of External Affairs. The Business Summit, organised over virtual platform, had participation of Governments, Enterprises & Business Chambers from the countries in the Indo–pacific region. 

Explanation

• A group of experts from the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) and its Forest College and Research Institute (FC&RI) has undertaken a project to identify native grasses and trees, suitable for elephants. This project aims to standardise mass multiplication techniques.
• Earlier this year, the Forest Department set up the eight–member team, which recently submitted a report after identifying 29 native grass species and 14 fodder tree species that are eatable for elephants and other herbivores. The team have started a nursery to grow these species.

Explanation

• The International Olympic Committee, for the first time, had made provisions for flagbearers from both genders at the opening ceremony only last year. This will be made effect from the Tokyo Olympics 2020. 
• Indian Boxer M.C. Mary Kom and men’s hockey team skipper Manpreet Singh will be flagbearers for India at the opening ceremony of Tokyo Olympics. Wrestler Bajrang Punia will be the flagbearer at the closing ceremony on August 8.

Explanation

• The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has recently appointed an advisory committee for its Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) project. It aims to promote Open networks developed in open–source methodology.
• This can also make e–commerce processes open source. National Health Authority CEO RS Sharma and Infosys non–executive chairman Nandan Nilekani are appointed in this council.

Explanation

• The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will impose a fine of up to Rs 10,000 per violation of commercial SMS senders who send fraudulent SMS with fake headers.
• Apart from the fine of Rs 1000 to Rs 10000 per violation, the DoT will also undertake permanent suspension of the sending mobile number or sender ID, depending on the number of violations.

Explanation

• The Trafficking in Persons report is an annual study released by the U.S. State Department. As per the report, the pandemic caused an increase in vulnerability to human trafficking and damaged existing anti–traffic efforts. 
• The U.S. has also determined that governments of twelve countries, including China, had a policy of trafficking in the reporting period.

Explanation

• Legendary actor Dilip Kumar died recently at the age of 98. He holds the record of receiving most Filmfare Award for Best Actor, by winning the award for 8 times.
• He had won various awards during his 5–decade journey in Cinema, including Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1994, Padma Bhushan (1991), Padma Vibhushan (2015) and Pakistan’s Nishan–e–Imtiaz (1998). He was nominated as the Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra in 2000–2006.

Explanation

• Oxfam has recently released a new report titled “The Hunger Virus Multiplies”. As per the report, eleven people die every minute of hunger. The report also found that the number of those facing famine–like conditions globally has increased by six times over the past year. It highlighted that famine outpaces COVID–19, which kills about seven people per minute.

Explanation

• Pakistan passed the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill, 2021, which aims to protect women, children, the elderly and other vulnerable groups from domestic violence.
• The bill states that any act of domestic violence will be punishable with imprisonment of a maximum period of three years and not less than six months, along with fines up to Rs 1 lakh. It was also passed by the Senate and awaiting presidential assent. 

Explanation

• Union ministry for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying launched the Online Course Mobile App named “Matsya Setu”.
• The app was developed by the ICAR–Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (ICAR–CIFA), Bhubaneswar. Matsya Setu app has species–wise/ subject–wise self–learning online course modules. It also teaches the latest freshwater aquaculture technologies to the aqua farmers of the country.

Explanation

• Article 169 of the Indian constitution is associated with ‘Abolition or creation of Legislative Councils in States’. West Bengal Assembly has recently passed a resolution to set up Legislative Council with a two–thirds majority. The resolution moved under the Article 169, was favoured by 196 and opposed by 69. The Legislative Council existed till 1969 till a resolution was passed for its dissolution.

Explanation

• The Union Government has brought Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) under the Finance Ministry, to facilitate its ambitious disinvestment programme. Earlier, the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) was under the aegis of Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.
• This will be the sixth department under the Finance Ministry. Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises will be called the Ministry of Heavy Industries.

Explanation

• Haiti Prime Minister Jovenel Moise, a 53–year–old who took office in 2017, was shot dead recently by a group of heavily armed assassins, at his home. Subsequently, the country’s Security forces in Haiti have shot dead four suspected killers of President Jovenel Moise and captured two others. Haiti is a Caribbean country near to the Dominican Republic.

Explanation

• Indian Naval Ship Tabar participated in military exercises with the Italian Navy after entering the Port of Naples. The ship also undertook a Maritime Partnership Exercise with ITS Antonio Marceglia, a frontline frigate of the Italian Navy, in the Tyrrhenian Sea.
• Indian Army chief Manoj Mukund Naravane is on a four–day visit to the UK and Italy.

Explanation

• Dashli ada or Dashly Island is one of the islands of Baku Archipelago, located in the Caspian Sea. The volcanic island is also called as the Ignatiy Stone Island. Recently, an explosion occurred near an oil field in the Caspian Sea off Azerbaijan.
• As per media reports, a mud volcano is the cause of the explosion. Mud volcanoes are driven by hot water and natural gas. They tend to occur where layers of water–saturated clay rocks, in Earth’s interior, are under pressure from the layers above.

Explanation

• Sri Lanka’s Central Bank announced that it has minted two coins in gold and silver, in connection with the Party’s 100th anniversary, and 65 years of Sri Lanka–China relations.
• One of the coins, bears the words ‘Communist Party of China’ in Sinhala, Tamil and English, while the other has a view of the China–built Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre, located in Colombo and the words ‘Sri Lanka–China 65 Years’.

Explanation

• India and the UK held the inaugural meeting of the India–UK Financial Markets Dialogue. It was established at the 10th Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD)in October 2020.
• Financial Cooperation is a key pillar of the 2030 Roadmap adopted by the two countries during the recent meeting of the two Prime Ministers. The Dialogue focused on four themes: (1) GIFT City 2) banking and payments, (3) insurance, and (4) capital market

Explanation

• A new report by WWF and UNEP has found that 35 per cent of India’s tiger ranges currently lie outside protected areas. The report was titled “A Future for All – A need for Human–Wildlife Coexistence”.
• 40% of the African lion range and 70% of the African and Asian elephant ranges fall outside protected areas. As the protected areas disconnected from each other, many animals depend on human–dominated spaces for their survival. 

Explanation

• Paradoxurus hermaphrodites, the common palm civet has been spotted in Odisha after 129 years, in the Satkosia Tiger Reserve (STR). It is also called as the Asian palm civet, found in southern and south–eastern Asia. It is a small mammal belonging to the family Viverridae. Their long body is covered with coarse hair, which is usually grey in colour.

Explanation

• UNICEF has recently released a report titled ‘Suffering in Silence’, to highlight the plight of Niger during Covid–19. As per the report, more than 2.1 million children need humanitarian help in the country. In 2021, 3.8 million people will need humanitarian assistance in Niger. In addition to the armed conflict, displacement, floods, diseases and malnutrition, Niger has also been affected by the impacts of Covid–19 recently.

Explanation

• The UK’s most powerful supercomputer, named Cambridge–1 is operational now. It is expected to make the process of preventing, diagnosing and treating disease faster and cheaper.
• It is a $100m investment by US–based computing company Nvidia. Cambridge–1 can integrate different datasets. It collaborates with various pharma companies and start–ups for data.

Explanation

• Indian biologists have identified a species of moss during an expedition to Antarctica in 2017. This has been published in an international journal recently. The biologists, based in the Central University of Punjab, have named the species as Bryum bharatiensis. Bharati is the name of one of India’s Antarctic research stations. The most astonishing fact is how the moss survives in the landscape of rock and ice.

Explanation

• Geographical Indications (GI) certified Madurai jasmine and other traditional flowers such as button rose, lily, chamanthi, and marigold were exported to the US and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from Tamil Nadu.
• As per the Commerce & Industry Ministry, this export initiative generated employment for 130 women workers. The flowers sourced from places near Madurai are processed in APEDA registered centre.

Explanation

• 16–year–old Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin recently became champion in the Masters’ section of the Serbia Open Chess Championship in Belgrade.
• This is the second consecutive tournament victory for Nihal Sarin after he claimed the title in Silver Lake Open tournament. Sarin became a Grandmaster in 2018 at the age of 14. In this tournament, he won six games and drew three, to remain unbeaten.

Explanation

• The Bhalia variety of wheat, which has a high protein content and a peculiar sweet in taste was awarded the Geographical Indication (GI) tag in the year 2011. This is grown across the Bhal region of Gujarat. Recently, the Government of India has commenced the exports of Bhalia variety of wheat to Kenya and Sri Lanka from Gujarat.

• In the seaside town of Blokhus – Denmark, the world’s tallest sandcastle has been built. The castle is more than 20 metres in height and has been built using nearly 5,000 tonnes of sand. This is 3 metres taller than one built in Germany in 2019, which was previously the tallest sand castle to be built on earth.

Explanation

• International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) was set up to develop and regulate the financial products, financial services and financial institutions in the International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs). IFSCA has issued a framework for setting up and operating International Trade Finance Services Platform (‘ITFS’).
• This will help the Exporters and Importers to avail various types of trade finance facilities for their international trade transactions.