February 4th Week 2021 Current Affairs Online Test in English

Explanation

• Social Justice & Empowerment Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot released the third edition of the Indian Sign Language (ISL) Dictionary.
• This edition has 10,000 terms of daily use and technical terms including academic, legal, medical terms. The second edition of the dictionary released in 2019 had 6,000 terms and the first edition released in 2018 had 3,000 terms.

Explanation

• The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has been conferred the Skoch Chief Minister of the Year Award. The award has been provided based on a year–long study of results of the projects being implemented by various state governments of the country. Over 123 projects were implemented in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Explanation

• India nominated Ajay Mathur was elected as the next Director General of the International Solar Alliance (ISA). He succeeds Upendra Tripathy, who has serving as DG since 2017. The Director–General has a four–year term, which can also be renewed for an additional term.
• Mathur is the chief of the New Delhi–based The Energy and Research Institute, at present.

Explanation

• Giant Leatherback turtle are the largest of the seven species of sea turtles. They are found in all oceans except the Arctic and the Antarctic. 
• In the Indian ocean, they nest at Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Government’s proposal for tourism promotion and port development will threaten this species, which is accorded legal protection by listing in Schedule I of India’s Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Explanation

• The Union Ministry of Minority Affairs is to organise a ‘Mushaira’ event, in which renowned poets from across the country will recite their poems. The event is to be conducted on 2021 Feb.20, on the theme ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat’.
• ‘Mushaira’, which is regarded as a poetic symposium is part of the Culture of India and Pakistan. It aims to make younger generation aware of the country’s art and culture

Explanation

• Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has recently launched the ‘Pey Jal Survekshan’ survey under the Jal Jeevan Mission – Urban.
• This survey is conducted on a pilot basis in 10 cities– Agra, Badlapur, Bhubaneswar, Churu, Kochi, Madurai, Patiala, Rohtak, Surat and Tumkur. The survey would assess distribution of water, reuse of wastewater and mapping of water bodies.

Explanation

• The Joint Conference of the 11th World PetroCoal Congress and World Future Fuel Summit was organised in New Delhi.
• Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan addressed the joint conference. He highlighted that the Public sector companies in the oil industry have invested Rs 34,000 crore to upgrade plants for producing BS–VI fuel.

Explanation

• The Ministry of Earth Sciences has unveiled the draft blue economy policy in the public domain, inviting suggestions and inputs from various stakeholders. The draft policy document highlights the strategy that can be adopted by the government to utilise the oceanic resources available in the country.
• It also has recognised seven thematic areas.

Explanation

• The Arbor Day Foundation and the Food and Agriculture Organization have recognised Hyderabad as the 2020 Tree City of the World. This is the only city in India to have earned this honour, along with 51 cities globally. Haritha Haram is the tree plantation drive of the Telangana state, which made the city to grow and maintain urban forests.

Explanation

• The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties, also known as COP26, is scheduled to be held in Glasgow, Scotland, in November 2021. The event is to be held under the presidency of the United Kingdom. British MP and President–designate of COP–26, Alok Sharma called on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

Explanation

• Amazon has announced that it is set to begin manufacturing devices in India. This is the first Amazon manufacturing line in India. Amazon will begin manufacturing with Cloud Network Technology, a subsidiary of Foxconn, in Chennai. Beginning later this year, the programme aims to manufacture several lakhs of ‘Fire TV Stick’ devices every year, generating additional jobs in Tamil Nadu.

Explanation

• The Jal Jeevan Mission was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15th August, 2019. It aims to provide tap water connection to every rural household by 2024. Recently, the scheme has reached a new milestone by providing 3.53 Crore rural household tap water connections. 35.24% of rural households receive potable water through taps, against only 17% in 2019.

Explanation

• Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Demeke Mekonnen Hassen arrived in New Delhi. He inaugurated the new Chancery and Residence at Ethiopian Embassy in New Delhi along with External Affairs Minister of India Dr. S. Jaishankar.

Explanation

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah has granted recognition to Mallikarjun Kharge as the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. The Indian National Congress Leader succeeds Ghulam Nabi Azad whose term has ended recently. Mallikarjun Kharge was a former Union minister and had been Congress leader in the Lok Sabha, earlier.

Explanation

• The Union Cabinet recently approved a Rs 12,195–crore Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for domestic manufacturing of telecom and networking products.
• The products include switches, routers, radio access network, wireless equipment and other internet of things (IoT) access devices. With this, the total number of sectors stand at 13, for which incentives of 4 to 6 percent would be provided by the Government.

Explanation

• The Union Cabinet has approved signing of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) between India and Mauritius. This is the first trade Agreement to be signed by India with any country in Africa.
• The agreement aims to liberalise norms covering Rules of Origin, Technical Barriers to Trade, Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, Dispute Settlement, Telecom, Financial services and Customs Procedures among others.

Explanation

• The world’s largest cricket stadium, Motera stadium was rebuilt and renovated. It is the venue for the third day–night India–England Test. The stadium has a capacity of 1,10,000. On account of COVID–19 pandemic, only 55,000 persons are allowed inside the stadium

Explanation

• India–Singapore CEO Forum was recently organised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and FICCI. The India–Singapore CEO Forum was launched in November 2018.
• Union Minister Piyush Goyal addressed the forum and expressed that both the countries can work together in areas such as e–commerce, fintech, smart manufacturing and healthcare.

Explanation

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Australian Space Agency signed an amendment to the Memorandum of Understanding, for space cooperation with Australia.
• The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison last year.

Explanation

The trials of Helina – Indian Army version of a Missile system was carried out recently from an Advanced Light Helicopter. Additionally, Dhruvastra – the Indian Air Force Version of the same missile system was also tested. These systems were designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Explanation

Pakistan has decided to register Himalayan pink salt as Geographical Indications (GI), to curb the unauthorised use of the product by other countries. The rare salt is extracted from the Salt Range in Punjab which extends along the mountains of Pakistan and the north of the Jhelum River. Pakistan is fighting a case in the European Union against India’s move to register Basmati rice as GI.

Explanation

• Annual naval defence and maritime security exhibitions ‘NAVDEX’ and ‘IDEX’ are to be scheduled in the United Arab Emirates.
• Indian Naval Ship Pralaya arrived at Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates to participate in the exercises from February 20 to Feb.25. ‘INS Pralaya’ is the second ship of the indigenously built Prabal Class Missile Vessels.

Explanation

• The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched the Mission Indradhanush 3.0.
• It aims to vaccinate children and pregnant women who have missed their regular vaccination due to COVID–19 and national lockdown. This campaign will have two rounds of vaccination. Women and children of migration areas and hard to reach terrains would be targeted first.

Explanation

• Recently, Scientists have recovered the oldest DNA on record. It has been extracted from teeth of mammoths found in north–eastern Siberia that existed to 1.2 million years. This is seen as a major breakthrough in understanding the evolution of species and determine the characteristics of extinct species.

Explanation

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently laid the foundation stone for Dhubri–Phulbari Bridge over Brahmaputra river. It is a 19 km long 4–lane bridge to be laid from Dhubri in Assam to Phulbari in Meghalaya.
• The bridge will improve transport connectivity in the Barak valley. It also reduces the distance between the four North eastern states of Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Assam.

Explanation

• The TIME magazine’s annual list of 100 “emerging leaders who are shaping the future”, named the “2021 TIME100 Next”, was released recently. Chandrashekhar Azad, the leader of the Bhim army, which runs school to educate Dalit children and works to curb caste–based violence, featured in the list.
• Other 5 Indian origin personalities are UK finance minister Rishi Sunak, Twitter lawyer Vijaya Gadde, Instacart founder and CEO Apoorva Mehta, ED of nonprofit Get Us PPE Shikha Gupta and founder of nonprofit Upsolve Rohan Pavuluri.

Explanation

• Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has built and delivered the 100th K9 Vajra tracked self–propelled howitzer. This is the last howitzer of the contract awarded in 2017. This system has been built with technology transfer from South Korean defence major Hanwha Defense.
• The howitzer was flagged off at the Indian Army’s armoured system complex at Hazira in Gujarat.

Explanation

• External Affairs S. Jaishankar participated in a virtual ministerial meeting of the QUAD, which is a group of four countries: India, United States, Japan and Australia. The QUAD association was revived in the year 2017, to tackle the aggression of China and enhance the strength of the Indo–Pacific regions. President Joe Biden has reiterated the US commitment for the same issue.

Explanation

• Union Minister for Mines, Pralhad Joshi and Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik jointly inaugurated the production in two new iron ore mines of Odisha namely Jiling–Langlota Iron ore Block and Guali Iron ore Block.
• These mines will generate approxiately Rs 5000 crores of annual revenue for Odisha and a wide variety of employment opportunities.

Explanation

• The Commonwealth High–Level Law Ministers Meeting on the Legal aspects of COVID–19 was chaired by the Law Minister of Sri Lanka. It was organised in virtual mode by Commonwealth Secretariat. Anoop Kumar Mendiratta, Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law & Justice represented India on behalf of Union Minister for Law & Justice Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad.
• He said that India used video–conferencing to dispose the cases in a timely fashion during the pandemic.

Explanation

• Uttar Pradesh is set to export a consignment of 20 tonnes of Buddha Rice, also known as “Kala Namak” Rice to Singapore. This variety of rice is one of the finest varieties of aromatic rice in India.
• This will boost the farm exports of the states with more focus on the Buddhist countries. The state Government has declared it as the ‘One District One Product’ of Siddharth Nagar district.

Explanation

• Khajuraho city in the state of Madhya Pradesh has several ancient Hindu and Jain temples. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.
• The six–day Khajuraho Dance Festival began on the temple premises after 44 years. ASI had cancelled the permission as there were reports of destruction of monuments and defacement of idols. For the last 44 years, the festival was organised in open grounds.

Explanation

Bangladesh has recently banned the painkiller ketoprofen used widely to treat the cattle. With this it became the first country to ban all the drugs known so far to be toxic to vultures. Over 10 years ago, the country banned the veterinary drug diclofenac.

Explanation

• After the Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy lost the confidence vote on the Legislative Assembly, the UT’s Congress–DMK government collapsed. The Chief Minister tendered his resignation to the Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, with only around four months remaining for completion of its tenure.

Explanation

• In the month of February, it was reported that six female elephants and a calf were found dead in the Karlapat wildlife sanctuary, Odisha. Recently, a three–member Central team found the decomposed carcass of an elephant calf near the wildlife sanctuary, making the number of elephant deaths in the sanctuary seven. It is said that the spread of haemorrhagic septicemia (HS) is the reason for the elephant deaths.

Explanation

• This year (2021), the 16th edition of India–USA joint military exercise – Yudh Abhyas held between February 8 and 21. This year’s exercise was conducted at Indio–Pakistan border. The exercise aims to enhance cooperation between the two countries and will have a special focus on counter–terrorism operations.

Explanation

• The national anthem was played inside the Nagaland state assembly for the first time, almost 60 years after Nagaland attained statehood. Nagaland was accorded statehood on December 1, 1963, and it was the 16th state of the Indian Union.
• Though playing the national anthem is not mandatory in state assemblies, the practice is usually followed in many states.

Explanation

• Russia has recently registered the first case of a strain of bird flu virus named A(H5N8) being passed to humans from birds. The country has reported the matter to the World Health Organization (WHO). 
• Recently, the outbreaks of the H5N8 strain were reported in several countries liek Russia, Europe, China, the Middle East and North Africa, in recent months but only in poultry so far.

Explanation

• The ‘Central Excise Day’ is celebrated every year in India on February 24. The day is celebrated to encourage the employees of excise department to perform their duties more efficiently.
• Various seminars, workshops and cultural events are organized all over the country, to mark the event. It is also observed to commemorate the Central Excise and Salt Act, which was enacted on February 24, 1944.

Explanation

• The Government of Japan headed by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has recently appointed Tetsushi Sakamoto as the country’s first ever Minister for Loneliness. This decision has been made to tackle the rise in suicide rates due to COVID–19 crisis. Also, the minister is responsible for managing the fall in birth rate in the country.

Explanation

• State Bank of Sikkim was established in 1968, five years before Sikkim acceded to the Indian Union. The state–owned bank provides treasury operations for the state government of Sikkim. Recently, the Reserve Bank of India has brought the State Bank of Sikkim under its regulatory purview. Though the bank will be regulated on par with other banks, the bank’s ownership structure will not change.

Explanation

• Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram received their statehood on February 20, 1987, following the 53rd Amendment of the Indian Constitution in 1986. On 20th January 1972, the North East Frontier Agency was renamed as Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh and on 20th February 1987 statehood was granted to Arunachal Pradesh. Mizoram was also a Union Territory from 1972 to 1987 before achieving statehood.

Explanation

• Pangolins are the most trafficked mammals in the world. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classified all eight species of pangolin as “threatened”.
• The World Pangolin Day is celebrated on the third Saturday of February, to raise awareness on their importance. This year, it has been celebrated on Feb.20. Pangolins are considered as the pest controllers in the ecosystem.

Explanation

• The Union Minister for Forests, Environment, Climate Change Prakash Javadekar has inaugurated Lakshadweep forest department’s headquarters as ‘Atal Paryavaran Bhavan’. He stated that as per NITI Aayog’s scheme for three islands of India, many permits have been issued for different tourism projects in Lakshadweep that are aimed at growth and increase employment opportunities in the island.

Explanation

• Vijay Sampla, former Union Minster recently took charge as the chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC), after being appointed by the President of India. He served as the Union Minister of state for Social Justice and Empowerment from 2014 to 2019. Ram Shankar Katheria was earlier the head of NCSC.

Explanation

• Home Minister Amit Shah released a book narrating the history of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
• Titled as the ‘Rashtra Pratham – 82 Varshon Ki Swarnim Gatha’, it includes thorough–researched articles on the journey, challenges and successes of CRPF, since 1939, the year of its raising.

Explanation

• India hosted the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) Defence Ministers’ Conclave on February 4, 2021 on the side–lines of Aero India 2021 event. The broad theme of the conclave is ‘Enhanced Peace, Security and Cooperation in the Indian Ocean’. During the conclave, India announced that it is ready to supply missile systems, LCA and other weapons systems to the countries in Indian Ocean Region.

Explanation

• National Science Day is celebrated across the country on February 28 each year, to commemorate the discovery of the great Indian physician C V Raman – the Raman’s effect. Raman had received the Nobel Prize for the effect, which he discovered in 1928.
• This year (2021), the theme of the National Science Day is, “Future of STI: Impacts on Education, Skills, and Work”.

Explanation

• The US space agency NASA released the first audio from Mars, captured by the Perseverance rover. The audio sounded like a faint crackling recording of a gust of wind in the red planet.
• Though a microphone did not work during the rover’s descent to the surface, it could capture audio after it landed on Mars. NASA also released the first video of the landing of the rover.