Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2021

Notes:
The latest edition of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) World Economic Outlook was released recently.
It has raised India’s growth projection to 12.5 per cent for FY22 which made the country rank highest among all countries including both the emerging and advanced economies. This year, the country is expected to contract by 8 per cent.

Notes:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a loan of $484 million to improve transport connectivity and road maintenance in the Chennai-Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor (CKIC).
CKIC extends from West Bengal to Tamil Nadu and it connects India to the production networks of Southeast and East Asia. This project will upgrade about 590 km of State highways in the CKIC influence area.

Notes:
‘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.

Notes:
BASIC countries or bloc of four newly industrialised nations has four countries namely Brazil, South Africa, India and China. BASIC was initiated by China in 2009.
The 30th session of the ministerial committee on climate change was held recently, which was chaired by India’s Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar. The BASIC nations asked the developed economies to provide climate finance to developing nations.

Notes:
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan is set to launch “Aahaar Kranti” mission, which aims to emphasis the need for a nutritionally balanced diet.
Vijnana Bharati (Vibha) and Global Indian Scientists’ and Technocrats’ Forum (GIST) have partnered to launch the mission with the motto of “Good Diet-Good Cognition”. The program will train teachers who will in turn teach the students and their families.

Notes:
India has recently become the second-most affected Covid-19 country in the world overtaking Brazil. The top position is held by the United States of America.
Recently, India has been reporting more than 1.5 lakh COVID cases every day and the overall infection has crossed 13.53 million.

Notes:
The United Arab Emirates has named the next two astronauts for its space programme. The ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has named Noura al-Matroushi as the UAE’s first female astronaut.
The two astronauts have been identified among more than 4000 applications received. The two astronauts will undergo special space training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Notes:
Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju inaugurated the Khelo India Centre of Excellence in Rowing in Srinagar.
The training centre is situated in Dal Lake, and comes under the Jammu & Kashmir Sports Council. The centre was upgraded with modern facilities and equipment including 16 new boats and coxless four boats.

Notes:
‘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.

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