Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2021

Notes:
The United States of America headed by President Biden has decided to withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan over the next few months.
The exit of troops is set to be completed by September 11th this year, which marks the 20th year anniversary of Twin tower attacks on the USA by the Taliban.

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:
Under the aegis of Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, The Energy Forum (TEF) and the Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry (FIPI) have organized a round table conference titled – “Hydrogen Economy- the Indian Dialogue-2021”.
The round table was conducted in a virtual mode on 15th April 2021. Discussions on emerging hydrogen ecosystems and exploring opportunities for collaboration were agenda for discussion.

Notes:
The Nagaland government has decided to form a joint consultative committee (JCC) for taking an exercise to register the State’s indigenous inhabitants.
In July 2019, the Nagaland government launched the RIIN, seen as a variant of Assam’s National Register of Citizens. The committee will prepare the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN).

Notes:
The Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) was enacted in 1968, to maintain certain essential services and the normal life of the community. The Act includes a list of essential services in its charter.
After the rapid increase in Covid-19 cases, the Chhattisgarh Government has invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA). The refusal to work in essential services has been prohibited. It includes health workers, sanitation workers, workers in water and power supply services etc.

Notes:
A report titled “Climate Vulnerability Assessment for Adaptation Planning in India” is set to be released by the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
The report gives a detailed national level assessment of climate change vulnerability of states and districts all over India. The compilation of data pertaining to the report was supported by the Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation (SDC).

Notes:
Scientists have recently found that the Indian jumping ant can shrink its brain by nearly 20 per cent to prepare its body for reproduction.
As per the study, the ant can again increase its brain size over the following weeks. The Indian jumping ant is the first insect known to be capable of both increasing and decreasing its brain size. There are other insects including the honey bee which can increase their brain size.

Notes:
The Shipping Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced that 110 crore rupees ROPAX Jetty project is to come up on the river Dhamra in Odisha.
Centre has approved over 50 crore rupees for developing the Roll-on/Roll-off Passenger (ROPAX) Jetty and allied infrastructure, under the Sagarmala initiative.

Notes:
Ajay Seth, a 1987-batch Karnataka cadre officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), took charge as new Economic Affairs Secretary.
Ajay Seth was previously serving as the Managing director of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. The new economic affairs Secretary will coordinate the policy efforts of various stakeholders of the government, the Reserve Bank of India and states to maintain the economic growth.

Notes:
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has notified the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for white goods (Air conditioners and LED lights).
The budgetary outlay of the PLIWG scheme was Rs 6,238 crore. An incentive of 4-6 per cent on incremental sales of goods manufactured in India would be given for a period of five years to the companies engaged in the production of white goods.