Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2021

Notes:
SEBI’s board recently cleared a proposal for setting up a ‘Gold exchange’ and a ‘Social Stock Exchange’. In the Gold Exchange, the metal will be traded in the form of Electronic Gold Receipts (EGRs) and they will be notified as securities.
Any recognised stock exchange, existing as well as new, can launch trading in EGRs. Vault manager should be a body incorporated in India, registered with SEBI and should have a net worth of at least Rs 50 crore. The social stock exchange will be operated for fundraising by social enterprises.

Notes:
United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has recently released a report titled ‘Transforming Food Systems for Rural Prosperity’.
The report recommended several concrete actions to be taken by governments and policymakers. It said that the Global food systems need a huge revolution, in a more inclusive, fair and sustainable way. As per the report, Food systems are responsible for 37 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions and also highly vulnerable to a changing climate.

Notes:
The Union Finance Ministry has extended the validity of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) by another six months till March 31, 2022, or till guarantees for the overall ceiling of Rs 4.5 lakh crore are issued, whichever is earlier.
The scheme is aimed to support micro, small and medium enterprises, by helping them deal with funds shortage and promote exports.  As of September 24, 2021, over Rs. 2.86 lakh crore worth of loans were sanctioned under the scheme

Notes:
Manipur organises the UNESCO-recognised Festival of Dance and Music ‘Nata Sankirtana’. This year, the 3-Day Festival was inaugurated recently from the capital Imphal.
Artistes from different organizations of Nata Sankirtana and many eminent personalities attended the occasion. Nata Sankirtan was introduced during the reign of Bhagyachandra and recognised as intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2013 for its uniqueness.

Notes:
ONGC Videsh Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of ONGC has commenced its first exploratory drilling campaign in Bangladesh, to locate the availability of oil and gas.
The drilling of the first exploratory well named Kanchan 1 commenced and is expected to be drilled to a depth of 4200 meters. The company has proposed to make 2 more exploratory drills in the country.

Notes:
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.
LORROS has been in the news recently, as an expert panel has cleared a revised technical requirement for implementation of the technology by Border Security Force and Indo-Tibetan Border Police.

Notes:
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has recently announced that he is retiring from politics after the end of his term. He also announced that he will not run for vice president in next year’s elections.
The President’s former aide, Senator Bong Go, filed his candidacy for the Vice Presidency. As per the constitution of Philippine, Presidents are limited by the to a single six-year term. The 76-year-old leader has announced last month that he would run for the vice-presidency in 2022.

Notes:
The first consignment of Kashmiri walnuts was recently flagged off from Budgam. The consignment with 2,000 kgs of walnuts was despatched to Bengaluru, Karnataka under the One District, One Product (ODOP) initiative.
ODOP is a flagship initiative of Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Kashmir accounts for 90% of India’s walnut production. They are known for the superior quality, taste and nutrients and hence widely in demand across the globe.

Notes:
The Odisha government has provided ₹445.75 crore to distribution companies (DISCOMs) to increase the ground clearance of electrical networks. The DISCOMs would replace bare conductors in elephant corridors.
According to the Wildlife Society of Orissa (WSO), 862 elephants have lost their lives between April 2010 August 2021. It also highlights that as many as 135, or nearly 16% of those elephants died due to electrocution.

Notes:
The Indian Navy and State Bank of India (SBI) launched SBI’s NAV-eCash Card onboard India’s largest Naval Aircraft Carrier INS Vikramaditya.
NAV-eCash Card has a dual-chip technology, which will facilitate both online as well as offline transactions. The infrastructure at naval ships blocks traditional payment solutions when the ship is on high seas where there is no connectivity.