October 4th Week 2021 Current Affairs Online Test English

Explanation

• ‘International Day for Rural Women 2021’ is celebrated on October 15. The day focuses on gender equality and empowering women in rural areas. The theme for this year is “Rural women cultivating good food for all”. The United Nations General Assembly had established this day on December 18, 2007.
• According to a report by the United Nations, 40% of the total agricultural labour force in developing countries includes women.

Explanation

• LORROS stands for Long Range Reconnaissance and Observation System, which is a sensor system to provide for long–range day–time and night–time surveillance. It is used by the national security forces like the Indian Army, to counter infiltration.

Explanation

• Indian Men’s Table Tennis team which includes ace players G Sathiyan, Harmeet Desai and A Sharath Kamal have won bronze medal at the Asian Championships at Doha, Qatar. The team lost to South Korea with a 0–3 point at the semi–finals. During the event, the Indian women’s team secured the 5th position.

Explanation

• The birth anniversary of India’s ‘Father of Nation’ Mahatma Gandhi is observed as the ‘International Day of Non–Violence’ every year, on Oct.2. 
• The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), in a resolution adopted in 2007, established the day as an occasion to spread the message of non–violence through education and public awareness. In 2004, Iranian Noble Laureate Shirin Ebadi proposed the idea of the commemoration.

Explanation

• Assam Fisheries Ministry recently launched an application, stated to be India’s first e–fish market app named ‘Fishwaale’. The application will help both buyers and sellers to place orders and sell fish, aquaculture equipment and medicine, fish feed and fish seed online. 
• Products such as Freshwater and seawater frozen fish, dry fish and processed fish items will be sold. The app was developed by Aqua Blue Global Aquaculture Solutions, in collaboration with the state fisheries department.

Explanation

• German rail operator Deutsche Bahn and industrial group Siemens unveiled the world’s first automated, driverless train in the city of Hamburg. The project is part of a 60–million–euro ($70 million) modernisation of Hamburg’s rapid urban rail system. As per the operator, this project can bring up to 30 percent more passengers, can improve punctuality and save more than 30 percent energy.

Explanation

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has kept India’s growth forecast for 2021–22 unchanged at 9.5%, in its latest World Economic Outlook report. It also projected India’s economy to grow 8.5% in FY23. It has lowered the global growth projection marginally to 5.9% from 6% earlier. Supply disruptions in advanced economies and worsening pandemic impact in developing countries are the reasons.

Explanation

• Tropical storm Kompasu hit the Philippines and left dead at least 19 people. The storm has triggered landslides and flash floods as it crossed the northern tip of the Asia–Pacific islands.
• Kompasu returned to tropical storm strength after making landfall on the Chinese island province of Hainan. It also crossed Hong Kong and Vietnam and caused damages.

Explanation

• ‘Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Prerana Sthal’ was inaugurated at Naval Science & Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam. It was inaugurated on the occasion of 90th birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, and to commemorate ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’. NSTL is the premier naval research laboratory of Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO). NSTL products including Varunastra, Torpedo Advanced Light (TAL) and Maareech decoy are displayed at the venue.

Explanation

• Praggnanandhaa is Indian ace Chess player and is one of the young Grandmasters of the country. Recently, he won Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour by winning against his American opponent Christopher Yoo. With this victory, Praggnanandhaa has won $12,500 prize money as well as the right to play with an elite set of chess champions at the Meltwater Champions Tour in 2022.

Explanation

• The Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) is an inter –governmental military alliance of 6 full time members (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan) and two non–member observer states (Afghanistan and Serbia).
• Recently the CSTO has proposed to hold a military drill near the Afghan border in Tajikistan from October 22–23.

Explanation

• India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has unveiled the “Bhoodan Grove” plaque at Jerusalem Forest of Israel. This is in recognition of Jayaprakash Narayan’s visit to Israel in 1958 and a 27–member Sarvodaya team in 1960 to Israel, to study the social structure of Israel’s communal and cooperative institutions.

Explanation

• North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an intergovernmental military alliance of 30 member countries, of which 28 are European countries and 2 North American Countries. The NATO is headquartered at Brussels, Belgium. Recently, Russia has announced that it is suspending its missions to NATO and that NATO’s military liaison and information offices in Moscow would be closed.

Explanation

• Indian Railways had begun the construction work on the new 2.05 km Pamban railway bridge in Mandapam, which will connect Rameswaram to the mainland in Tamil Nadu. The Ministry of Railways announced that this bridge will be operational from March next year. 
• The new 2–km–long bridge, linking the island of Rameswaram in the Bay of Bengal to the mainland, is set to replace the existing 104–year–old bridge. It will have a 63–metre stretch, that will lift up vertically to allow passage to small ships.

Explanation

• The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has collaborated with Ministry of Textiles supported by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. An MoU was signed on Implementation Agreement of Indo German Technical Cooperation Project on ‘Sustainability and Value Added in the Cotton Economy’.
• The objective of the project is to increase the value addition from sustainable cotton production in India. 4 major cotton producing states are focussed– Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Explanation

• “River ranching programme” designed as a special activity under the PM Matsya Sampada Yojana under the Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying aims to augment and enhance fish production. The programme has been launched by the union minister Parshottam Rupala at Brijghat, Garh Mukteshwar, Uttar Pradesh.

Explanation

• The Chief Economic Advisor is the head of the Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance. KV Subramanian who was the Chief Economic Advisor of India since December 2018 has stepped down from the post and has returned to academia. He has been instrumental in roll out of Economic Surveys for FY19, FY20 and FY21.

Explanation

• Every year, October 10th is observed as the World Mental Health Day by the World Health Organisation (WHO). This day is celebrated to raise awareness of mental health issues and mobilise support in this regard. This year’s October 10 is observed under the tagline “Mental health care for all: let’s make it a reality”.

Explanation

• The International Energy Agency (IEA) is an intergovernmental organization, established in the year 1974 and is headquartered at Paris, France. It was established in the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co–operation and Development (OECD).
• The IEA has invited India to become its full–time member. If India becomes a full–time member of the forum, then it would be required to maintain a strategic oil reserves of 90 days.

Explanation

• Vidyut Mohan, an Indian entrepreneur has been named the winner of Prince William’s inaugural Earthshot Prize under the “clean our air” category, for his innovation which recycles agricultural waste into sellable bio–products. This prize is also called Eco Oscars and is awarded to innovators who strive to save the planet earth.

Explanation

• Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched a web–based project monitoring portal for military engineer services (MES). The portal has been developed by the Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo–informatics (BISAG–G). 
• It will enable real time monitoring of projects along the process. All stakeholders not only from MES but also the Armed Forces can gain access to the project information.

Explanation

• Allium negianum, a plant discovered in Uttarakhand in the year 2019 has been recently confirmed as a new species of Allium, in journal PhytoKeys. Allium is the genus that includes many foods such as onion and garlic, among 1,100 species globally. It was discovered in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. It grows at 3,000 to 4,800 m above sea level. The scientific name Allium negianum honours late Dr Kuldeep Singh Negi, an explorer and Allium collector.

Explanation

• Bangladesh all–rounder Shakib Al Hasan became the highest wicket–taker in T20 International cricket after he surpassed Lasith Malinga’s tally of 107 wickets. Shakib has 108 wickets from 89 T20 International games. He is also the only cricketer to have a double of 100 wickets and 1000 plus runs in this format. The third cricketer in the list is New Zealand’s Tim Southee, with 99 wickets.

Explanation

• Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and AYUSH Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated Ayush Van, a dedicated forest for Ayurvedic plants, at Gandhidham, Gujarat. The Ayush Van was set up in 30 acres of land allotted by the Deendayal Port Trust (DPT). Tree plantation is being done to improve greenery in urban area and increase density of tree cover in the Kutch region.

• Talpiot Cemetery is seen in the news recently, as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited the place as he began his five–day visit to Israel. It is the cemetery for Indian soldiers who laid down their lives in the region during the World War I, located in Talpiot, Jerusalem. About 900 Indian soldiers are buried in cemeteries across Israel in Jerusalem, Ramle and Haifa. The Indian Army commemorates September 23 every year as Haifa Day.

Explanation

• Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is set to host a Hackathon titled “Aadhaar Hackathon 2021”. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Electronics and IT on Monday, the Hackathon is themed around two topics. The first theme is “Enrolment and Update”, which covers some of the real–life challenges being faced by the residents while updating their address.
• The second theme of the Hackathon is around the “Identity and Authentication”, for solutions to prove Identity without sharing the Aadhaar number or any demographics information.

Explanation

• The Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2021 has been awarded to Benjamin List and David WC MacMillan. They were cited for developing a new way for building molecules known as “Asymmetric organocatalysis.” As per the Nobel panel, List and MacMillan independently developed a new way of catalysis.

Explanation

• The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) established the World Cotton Day, which is celebrated on October 7th every year since 2019. This year the theme is “There’s more to cotton than you think”.
• The purpose of the international day is to maximize the importance of cotton. It also emphasises the problems faced by the world’s cotton economies. The inaugural World Cotton Day was held in Geneva in 2019.

Explanation

• The union minister for Environment Forest and Climate Change Shri. Bhupender Yadav has launched tiger rallies in 51 reserves in the country, under the theme “India for Tigers – A Rally on Wheels”. This is a part of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations in India.

Explanation

• The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended the use of the first–ever malaria vaccine for children. The WHO panel approved the RTS, S/AS01 malaria or Mosquirix – a vaccine developed by the British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). As per WHO, Malaria kills about 500,000 people each year, about half of them are the children in Africa.

Explanation

• Judima, the home–made rice wine of the Dimasa tribe from the Dimasa Hasao district of Assam received the GI tag recently. It is a local fermented drink made with rice, in a pale yellow or reddish colour and a mellow fragrance. The drink is an important part of their tradition.

Explanation

• World Polio Day is observed on October 24 every year to raise awareness for polio vaccination and to eradicate polio.  The theme of World Polio Day 2021 is “Delivering on a Promise”.
• The World Polio Day was established by Rotary International to commemorate the birth of Jonas Salk, who led the first team to develop a vaccine against poliomyelitis.

Explanation

• The United Nations Day has been observed on October 24 every year, to commemorate the anniversary of the entry into force of the UN Charter, in 1945. UN officially came into existence on 24 October 1945. The year 2021 marks the 76th anniversary of the United Nations and its founding Charter. It is the founding document of the UN, which has been working towards global peace and equality.

Explanation

• Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu presented the 67th National Film Awards, at Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan. The Best Feature Film award was given to Priyadarshan’s Malayalam period epic Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea. Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut won Best Actress awrd for her performances in Manikarnika and Panga, while the Best Actor award went to Manoj Bajpayee for Bhonsle and Dhanush for Asuran.

Explanation

• Konkan Shakti 2021 is the first–ever tri–services joint exercise between India and the UK.
• The week–long exercise has begun recently. The exercise will be a platform to share each other’s experiences and to showcase the cooperation between the two countries. The maritime component of the exercise will be conducted off India’s west coast and the Harbour phase will be held in Mumbai. The land phase of the exercise will be held at Chaubatia in Uttarakhand.

Explanation

• In a first, doctors at a health centre in New York temporarily transplanted a pig`s kidney onto a human. It is considered as a significant step toward Animal–to–human organ transplants, known as xenotransplantations. The doctors altered the pig`s genes, to avoid immediate rejection from the human immune system due to the presence of a sugar molecule in pig cells called Glycan.

Explanation

• India is ranked at 71st position out of 113 countries in the Global Food Security (GFS) Index 2021, with an overall score of 57.2 points. It is a global report released by Economist Impact and Corteva Agri–science. 
• Ireland, Australia, the UK, Finland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Canada, Japan, France and the US shared the top rank with the overall GFS score in the range of 77.8 and 80 points on the index. The GFS Index considers 58 unique food security indicators including income and economic inequality.

Explanation

• The ‘Police Commemoration Day’ is observed every year in India on October 21. The day is observed memory of 10 police personnel who died at Hot Springs in Ladakh while fighting Chinese troops in 1959. The Police Forces across the country paid tributes to 377 martyrs from the police and Central Armed Police Forces from last year.
• They also paid tributes to the warriors, who lost their lives during the times of the Covid–19 pandemic.

Explanation

• According to the 2021 Global Agricultural Productivity Report (GAP Report), total factor productivity (TFP) is growing at an annual rate of 1.36 percent. This is below the Global Agricultural Productivity Index, whose annual target is at 1.73 percent growth to sustainably meet the needs of consumers for food and bio–energy in 2050.
• TFP tracks changes in how efficiently agricultural inputs such as land, labour, fertiliser and machinery are transformed into outputs like crops and aquaculture products.

Explanation

• The Union Environment Ministry has released a consultation paper on amending the Forest Conservation Act 1980 to bring some important changes to Forest governance in India. 
• In includes enabling private plantations for harvesting and exploration or extraction of oil and natural gas deep beneath forest land by drilling holes from outside the forest areas. State governments have been asked to send their comments within 15 days.

Explanation

• October 9th of every year is observed in India as the Indian Foreign Services Day (IFS Day). It was on this date in 1946, the Indian Foreign Service was established for the purpose of India’s diplomatic and commercial representation in overseas nations.
• This day is being observed since 2011 to recognize the important role played by IFS officers.

Explanation

• India defeated Nepal 3–0 for its eighth SAFF Championship title. During the match, Sunil Chhetri equalled the ace footballer Lionel Messi with his 80th international strike. Second half goals from Chhetri (49th minute), Suresh Singh (50th) and Sahal Abdul Samad (90th) helped India win the title. Chhetri became the second highest goal–scorer in international football among active players. 

Explanation

• Senior IOFS officer ER Sheikh has assumed charge as the first director general of the Ordnance Directorate. The Ordnance Directorate is a newly created entity to replace the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB). ER Sheikh is a 1984 batch Indian Ordnance Factory Service (IOFS) officer who has served in various capacities in various ordnance factories.

Explanation

• The NITI Aayog, Amazon Web Services and Intel have jointly created a new experience studio, which is located at NITI Aayog Frontier Technologies Cloud Innovation Center, New Delhi. This premise would serve as an experimentation facility for government, start–ups, enterprises, and industry experts. It would house technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality and virtual reality etc.

Explanation

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh felicitated the winners of ‘Dare to Dream 2.0’ Contest of Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO). He also launched ‘Dare to Dream 3.0’ to promote innovators & startups. Dare to Dream is DRDO’s nation–wide contest to promote Indian academicians, individuals and start–ups to develop defence and aerospace technologies. DRDO provides support to the winners under Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme. DRDO Young Scientists awards for the year 2019 were also presented to 16 DRDO scientists.

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

• Every year, 17th October is celebrated as World Trauma Day across the world. This day highlights the high rate of accidents and injuries causing death and disability across the world and the need to prevent them. Road Traffic Accident (RTA) is the leading cause of trauma across the world. Every year, over 5 million people die from injuries across the world. In India alone, around one million people die and 20 million are hospitalized every year due to injuries.

Explanation

• Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying announced that the first calf of Banni buffalo breed was born using in–vitro fertilisation (IVF). A Banni buffalo belonging to a dairy farmer in Gir Somnath gave birth to the IVF male calf.
• The process was carried out to enhance the number of genetically superior buffaloes to increase milk production. Banni breed of buffaloes, found primarily in Gujarat’s Kutch region, are known for its resilience and higher milk producing capacity in an arid environment.

Explanation

• ‘Superstar’ Rajinikanth was conferred with 51st Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his outstanding contribution to the Indian Cinema. The award was presented by Vice–President M Venkaiah at the 67th National Film Awards ceremony, recently held in New Delhi. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is considered to be India’s highest film award and was instituted by the Indian Government in the year 1969.

Explanation

• A National Steering Committee (NSC) has been recently formed for the implementation of National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN) Bharat Mission. It will be chaired by the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Minister of State for Education Annapurna Devi would be the vice–chairperson.
• The Department of School Education and Literacy had launched the Mission in July 2021, to achieve the goal of universal proficiency in foundational literacy and numeracy for every child by end of Class 3 by 2026–27.