Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2021

Notes:
Domestic consumption of petroleum products in India in FY21 fell 9.1% year-on-year (y-o-y) to 194.7 million tonnes (MT).
The main reason is said to be the low sales of transportation fuel amid the country-wide Covid-19 lockdown. Petroleum sales have fallen for the first time since FY99 and Diesel sales also dipped 11.9%.

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:
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.

Notes:
The Union Health Minister has launched the “Aahaar Kranti” mission. This mission is an awareness campaign regarding the need for a nutritionally balanced diet and importance of accessibility to all local fruits and vegetables.
This has been launched by Vijnana Bharati (Vibha) and Global Indian Scientists’ and Technocrats’ Forum (GIST) with the moto of “Good Diet-Good Cognition”.

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:
Former Bank and member of the conservative – Guillermo Lasso has been elected as the new President of Ecuador. He is 65 years old and is a three time Presidential candidate.
He defeated his left-wing opponent economist Andrés Arauz by securing 52.4% of the vote compared to Mr Arauz’s 47.6%.

Notes:
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 infect humans, and these are grouped into seven 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.

Notes:
Bengali New Year named Pohela Boisakh or Shubho Nobo Borsho is celebrated this year on 15th April 2021.
It is the first day of the first month of Boishakh according to the lunisolar Bengali calendar, which usually falls on 14th or 15th of April every year.

Notes:
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.

Notes:
As per a recent study, MK-4482, an experimental antiviral drug, is said to have decreased levels of virus in the lungs of hamsters treated for SARS-CoV-2 infection.
The scientists from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) published the study in the journal Nature Communications. MK-4482 is now in human clinical trials, and is delivered orally. These data suggest that MK-4482 treatment could mitigate high-risk exposures to the coronavirus.