Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2021

Notes:
Saudi Arabian Airlines, owned by the state is the biggest carrier in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Others include low-cost carrier Flyadeal sand Flynas.
Recently, Saudi Arabia announced plans to launch a second national airline. This would push the kingdom to the fifth rank globally in terms of air transit traffic. The decision aims to turn the kingdom into a global logistics hub, diversifying from oil.

Notes:
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved a reforms-based and results-linked ‘Revamped power distribution sector scheme’.
The scheme is worth Rs 3.03 lakh crore, including Rs 97,000 crore Central outlay. It aims to provide conditional financial assistance to strengthen the supply infrastructure of Distribution companies.

Notes:
Nihal Sarin won the Silver Lake Open chess tournament in Serbia on June 29, 2021. The third-seeded Indian emerged on top of the field with eight points from nine rounds. The second and third places were also taken by Indians Raunak Sadhwani and Abhimanyu Puranik who scored seven points each.

Notes:
Israel-based Polaris Solutions in collaboration with the Israeli Ministry of Defense recently unveiled “The Kit 300”. It consists of a sheet made from thermal visual concealment material that makes soldiers nearly undetectable.

Notes:
The Glacial Lake Atlas of Ganga Basin was recently released by the Ministry of Jal Shakti. It analyses changes in water bodies in the Himalayan regions over a period, which can then be used for studying the impacts of climate change and for pre-planning the disaster response. Around 4,000 glacial lakes have been mapped in the Ganga River basin, with the aggregate lake water covering an area of 20,685 hectares.

The atlas is currently available on Bhuvan portal of ISRO’s National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC). It provides latest information on the expansion or shrinkage of glacial lakes. It also monitors the addition of new lakes during a particular period of time.

Notes:
Nagaland is known as the Falcon Capital of the World. It became India’s 16th state on Dec. 1, 1963. The Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party’s Neiphiu Rio is its current chief minister. Recently, declaring the state as a “disturbed area”, the Centre extended the operation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the state for six more months, till December 31.

Notes:
India announced the ‘Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code’ and it came into force from May 2021. As per the rules, all significant social media intermediaries had to publish monthly reports on the details of complaints, actions taken and monitoring details.
Facebook recently launched its first monthly report for the period between May 15 and June 15. As per the report, Facebook took action against about 30 million pieces of content.

Notes:
Panchmuli lake, situated near the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel ‘Statue of Unity’ in Kevadia, Gujarat. It was seen in the news because as many as 194 crocodiles have been relocated from the lake in the last two years for the safety of tourists.
As per the officials, 143 crocodiles were relocated in 2019-20 and 51 crocodiles were shifted to two rescue centres in 2020-21.

Notes:
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.

Notes:
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.