April 3rd Week 2021 Current Affairs Online Test English

Explanation

• Ministry of Commerce and Industry notifies Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2021. It also added a new provision regarding publication of a copyrights journal, thereby eliminating the requirement of publication in the Official Gazette. In India, the copyright regime is governed by the Copyright Act, 1957 and the Copyright Rules, 2013.

Explanation

Explanation

• Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal chaired a high–level meeting on implementation of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
• A suggestive implementation plan for school education named ‘Students & Teachers’ Holistic Advancement through Quality Education (SARTHAQ) was also released.

Explanation

• ‘Osiris’, which is officially called HD 209458 b, is the first–ever planet the astronomers have spotted beyond the Earth’s solar system. As per a new study published in Nature, it has been found that six chemicals are present in the atmosphere of Osiris.
• The composition of the chemicals confirm that the exoplanet is over 100 times farther than its current position, when it came into existence.

Explanation

• India formally handed over a fast patrol vessel (FPV) named ‘PS Zoroaster’ to Seychelles. PM Modi participated in virtual meeting with President of Seychelles Wavel Ramkalawan. This is the fourth made–in–India patrol boat to be gifted to Seychelles since 2005.
• It was built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineering and will be used for patrolling, anti–smuggling and anti–poaching operations, search and rescue.

Explanation

• The UN Trust Fund for Counter–Terrorism was established by the Secretary–General in 2009. The fund is used for providing capacity building support to Member States through the UN Counter–Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) and the Special Projects and Innovation Branch (SPIB).
• India has recently contributed an additional USD 500,000 to the United Nations Trust Fund for Counter–Terrorism. With this, India’s total contribution to the fund so far is USD 1.05 million.

Explanation

• Google introduced a new ‘Women Will’ web platform in India. This program aims to provide guidance to women who want to become entrepreneurs. Google also announced to shut down the Internet Saathi initiative inaugurated at the first Google for India event back in 2015. In the last six years, the initiative has trained over 30 million women across rural India.

Explanation

• The fossil of a mammal that lived during the age of dinosaurs has been discovered in Patagonia region of Chile, South America. Named as “Orretherium tzen” meaning ‘Beast of Five Teeth’, it is claimed to have lived lived between 72 and 74 million years ago.
• It is said to have been a herbivore and said to have lived in South America at the end of the Mesozoic era.

Explanation

• The International Quiet Ocean Experiment was originally formed in 2011 to create a time series of measurements of ambient sound in different ocean locations. Recently, a team of scientists from the International Quiet Ocean Experiment (IQOE), have been undertaking experiments to understand and measure the impact of the reduction in ambient human activity due to the COVID–19 lockdown, in oceans.

Explanation

• The La Soufriere volcano located on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent erupted after several decades of inactivity.
• The volcano was dormant since 1979 and it showed signs of activity in December last year. The Prime Minister had earlier ordered for evacuation of people in the area.

Explanation

• Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH), is an autonomous apex research organization under Ministry of AYUSH. It has recently launched a unique digital initiative, the Homoeopathic Clinical Case Repository (HCCR) portal on World Homeopathy Day – April 10.
• The portal aims to create a standard platform for Homoeopathic clinicians, researchers, medical students to enter clinical cases.

Explanation

• The Directorate of Archives and Archaeology (DAA) of Goa inaugurated the Advanced Antiquities Management System (AAMS). This is said to be the first system in the country for storage of antiquities.
• The AAMS is a software–driven automated storage which is used for the storage of various objects. The system provides information about an antiquity and will ensure safety of the antiquities.

Explanation

• The Finance Ministry has notified changes in Post Office Savings Account Scheme, 2019. As per the notification, a beneficiary of the Government welfare scheme can open a basic savings bank account with a post office. As per the notification, there is no minimum deposit required for opening of such an account.
• There will also be no requirement for maintaining minimum balance. The ministry also reduced fee for not maintain the balance in a savings account.

Explanation

The Green bonds issued by Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation was the first of the kind in India. Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation raised a sum of Rs.150 crores through green bond route. The proceeds of the bond were being used for creating tertiary water treatment infrastructure in the city. These bonds have been listed in BSE recently.

Explanation

• The Supreme court has recently held that the word “propagate” mentioned in Indian Constitution permits any above the age of 18 to freely a religion of his / her choice. Quoting the above, the supreme court has dismissed a public interest litigation which had sought court intervention to stop “fraudulent” conversions in India.

Explanation

• Indian Government’s think tank – NITI Aayog has planned to launch a hand book for Online Dispute Resolution (ODR). This book would serve as an invitation to business leaders to adopt ODR in India.
• The book would be published in association with organizations like Agami and Omidyar Network India, ICICI Bank, Ashoka Innovators for the Public etc.

Explanation

• China is set to become the world’s biggest economy by 2028, and its commercial capital Shanghai has become the costliest place in the world. As per the recently released Julius Baer Lifestyle Index, China’s Shanghai is the most expensive city in the world. Shanghai is followed by Tokyo and Hongkong in the list at 2nd and 3rd position.

Explanation

• Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has recently inaugurated the World Skill Centre (WSC) at Mancheswar. India’s first skill centre, the WSC is developed at an outlay of Rs 1,342 crore with support from the Asian Development Bank under the Odisha Skill Development Project. It aims to impart advanced and employable skills to the youth in the state.

Explanation

• “Historical nihilism” is a phrase used in China which describes public doubt over the description of past events by Chinese Communist Party. Recently, China’s cyber regulator has launched a hotline to report online comments that tend to defame the ruling Communist Party and its history. The Party’s 100th anniversary falls on July this year.

Explanation

• “Nomadland” won four prizes including the one for Best picture at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Chloe Zhao, became only the second woman to win the BAFTA for best director for the movie ‘Nomadland’. Best actor award went to 83–year–old Anthony Hopkins while Best actress award was given to Frances McDormand.

Explanation

• The expert committee recommended the emergency use of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine in India. Now, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) will consider this recommendation and authorise the restricted emergency use in India. The other two vaccines are Covishield by Serum Institute and Covaxin by Bharat Biotech. Sputnik V will be manufactured in India by several companies in India.

Explanation

• Commerce and industry Minister Piyush Goyal recently launched the “Trade facilitation mobile app” of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade. The app has a state–of–the–art system and provides real–time trade policy updates, applications and real–time data.
• It will also provide artificial intelligence–based 24×7 assistance and all services of the DGFT.

Explanation

• Thwaites Glacier – also called the “Doomsday Glacier” is present in Antarctica and has been melting fast over the years. Due to its large size of 1.9 lakh square km, it contains enough water to raise the world sea level by more than half a metre. Recently, Researchers at Sweden’s University of Gothenburg have found that the glacier is melting at a higher rate than it was originally thought.

Explanation

• The Punjab government has said to the central government that it will pay the Minimum Support Price directly into the accounts of farmers. Earlier, the Arhtiyas (commission agents) used to pay the farmers. 
• Punjab Chief Minister captain Amarinder Singh announced that the State Food Department has amended the procurement software so that the Arhtiyas will continue to be involved in the direct payment process.

Explanation

• AEFI stands for “Adverse events following immunisation”. India had earlier constituted a national committee on AEFI. Around 617 severe and serious (including deaths) AEFI and 180 deaths were reported. A member of the National committee on AEFI highlighted that Indian has elaborate machinery to monitor the situation.

Explanation

• The Artemis program is NASA’s manned mission to the moon which is set to be executed in the year 2024. Recently, NASA has stated that it will land the first person of colour on the moon and the first woman on moon as a part of the mission in 2024.

Explanation

• Chilika Lake is India’s largest brackish water lagoon, which is spread over the Puri, Khurda and Ganjam districts of Odisha.
• As per a recent data release by the State Forest and Environment Department, the number of dolphin populations in the lake has doubled this year compared with last year. The state’s Chilika lake is known for its Irrawady dolphins.

Explanation

• As per the data released by the Government of India, the combined capital expenditures by 37 large CPSEs and departmental undertakings stood at Rs. Rs.4.6 lakh crore for the FY 2020–21.
• The capital expenditure target for the FY 2020–21 was Rs.5 lakh crore and the achievement were 92% of the budget.

Explanation

• The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), has celebrated its 71st Foundation Day recently. At the celebrations in Swami Vivekanand Cultural Centre at Indian Embassy in Beijing, the foundation day celebrations were accompanied by the launch of ‘Little Guru’ app. This is the world’s first Gamified Sanskrit learning App.

Explanation

• Tropical cyclone Seroja recently hit and damaged a 1,000 km stretch of Western Australia. With a windspeed of up to 170km/h, the category three storm made landfalls. As per the country’s Bureau of Meteorology the storm had weakened yet it would cause damages wi the peak winds of 110 km/hr.

Explanation

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal virtually inaugurated e–SANTA, an electronic marketplace to connect aqua farmers and the buyers. eSanta stands for “Electronic Solution for Augmenting National Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture (NaCSA) farmers’ Trade in Aquaculture”. NaCSA is an extension arm of Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA).

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• New Zealand has become the first country in the world to introduce a Climate Change law for Financial sector. The law requires banks, insurers and investment managers to report the impacts of climate change on their business. It requires financial firms to explain how they would manage climate–related risks and opportunities.

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• On 13 April 1984, the Indian Army launched ‘Operation MEGHDOOT’ to secure Bilafond La and other passes on the Saltoro Ridgeline. Siachen Day every year commemorates the courage displayed by troops of the Indian Army in securing Siachen Glacier, the highest and coldest battlefield in the world.

Explanation

• NITI Aayog, in partnership with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Centre for Social and Behaviour Change, Ashoka University launched ‘Poshan Gyan’. It is a national digital repository on health and nutrition. 
• It is a collection of communication materials created by government agencies and other development organizations for awareness creation and behaviour change in the nutrition sector.

Explanation

• The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is set to deploy Network Survey Vehicle (NSV), to provide better roads to commuters. NHAI has made road condition survey using NSV mandatory at the time of certifying completion of the project and every six months thereafter. 
• This has also been included as a part of the standard bidding document of consultancy services.

Explanation

• Recently, space scientists have discovered a new active galaxy, which is considered to be the farthest gamma–ray emitting galaxy discovered so far. This galaxy is named Narrow–Line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxy, which is about 31 billion light–years away from earth. This has been described as a rare space entity.

Explanation

• As per the data released by the Union Finance Ministry, net indirect tax collection in 2020–21 grew 12.3% over the previous financial year. The total collection stood at Rs.10.71 lakh, thereby exceeding the indirect tax collection target of Rs.9.89 lakh set for the FY 2020–21.

Explanation

• ‘Central Asia’ is the name of an international center for trade and economic cooperation, being constructed by Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan at the borders of the two countries.
• The center would have a capacity of accommodating 35,000 people and 5,000 trucks per day in both directions. It would serve as a large industrial, trade and logistics platform for both countries.

Explanation

• The Government of India has appointed Sushil Chandra as the next Chief Election Commissioner of India. He succeeds Sunil Arora who retired on 2021 April.13. Sushil Chandra is the former CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) Chairman and was appointed as an election commissioner on February 14, 2019.

Explanation

• The European Commission has proposed to make borrowings amounting 150 billion euros till the year 2026. The proceeds of the borrowing will be used to make its economy greener and more digitalized. The funds are proposed to be raised through auctions and syndication through a primary deal network.

Explanation

• Pakistani cricketer Babar Azam has topped the ICC men’s ODI batting rankings. He has clinched the top spot after a huge gap by any one from the country since 2003. He has replaced Indian Skipper and Batsman Virat Kohli after he gained 13 points in the Pakistan South Africa series.

Explanation

• The Government of New Zealand has introduced a new legislation, whereby banks, insurers and investment managers operating in the country are required to report the impacts of climate change on their business. New Zealand is the first country to bring such legislation. 
• As per the new legislation, banks with total assets of more than NZ$1 billion and insurers with more than NZ$1 billion in total assets have to make the disclosure.

Explanation

• The National Nursery Portal has been launched by National Horticulture Board. It is a platform which is available both in the form of a web portal and a mobile application. It intends to create an online market place where nurseries and buyers can interact for sale of plants.

Explanation

• Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launched the EatSmart Cities Challenge and Transport 4 All Challenge. EatSmart Cities Challenge was organized in association with Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and Smart cities mission. It aims to encourage smart cities develop a sustainable food environment.
• Transport 4 All Challenge was launched in association with Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), to improve public transport.

Explanation

• Technology and Social media giant Facebook have signed a deal to buy renewable energy in India. This is the first such deal of Facebook in the country. Facebook and CleanMax are working together for supplying renewable power into India’s electrical grid. The 32–megawatt wind power project is located in the state of Karnataka.

Explanation

• The United States of America headed by President Biden has decided to withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan over the next few months. The exit of troops is set to be completed by September 11th this year, which marks the 20th year anniversary of Twin tower attacks on the USA by the Taliban.

Explanation

• The Union Ministry of Agriculture, has entered into an MoU with Microsoft for implementing a pilot project in 100 villages of six states – Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. Under the project, Microsoft will develop a farmer interface for smart and well–organized agriculture, which includes post–harvest management and distribution.

Explanation

• The United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) flagship State of World Population Report 2021 was released recently. As per the report titled ‘My Body is My Own’, only 55% of women are fully empowered to make choices. Around half the women from 57 developing countries do not have the right to make decisions regarding their bodies, using contraception, seeking healthcare or on their sexuality.

Explanation

• The season between winter and monsoon, referred to as the ‘forest fire season’, is increasing in India due to climate change and scarce rainfall in the Himalayan regions. The forests of Uttarakhand have not stopped burning in the last six months. There were 470 incidents of fire in Uttarakhand’s forests between November 2020 and January 2021 against the previous year’s count of 39.

Explanation

• Adenoviruses are a family of viruses that can cause a wide variety of illnesses in humans, including the common cold, gastrointestinal infections and pink eye. There are 88 types of adenovirus that would infec humans, and these are grouped into 7 different species, A–G.
• Recently, in several COVID–19 vaccines, including those produced by Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca, these viruses are the basis for several COVID–19 vaccines.

Explanation

• The Nagaland government has decided to form a joint consultative committee (JCC) for taking an exercise to register the State’s indigenous inhabitants.
• In July 2019, the Nagaland government launched the RIIN, seen as a variant of Assam’s National Register of Citizens. The committee will prepare the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN).