Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2021

Notes:
The Government of New Zealand has introduced a new legislation, whereby banks, insurers and investment managers operating in the country are required to report the impacts of climate change on their business.
New Zealand is the first country to bring such legislation. As per the new legislation, banks with total assets of more than NZ$1 billion and insurers with more than NZ$1 billion in total assets have to make the disclosure.

Notes:
Azhdarchid pterosaurs were the ancient giant reptiles that flew in the skies nearly 65 million years ago. They had necks longer than that of a giraffe, over 6 feet long.
Recently, researchers have reported a new finding about their long necks. As per the study, the pterosaurs were supported by an intricate internal structure, which is not like the earlier discovered ones.

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.

Notes:
The financial system regulator – Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently announced the list of shortlisted applicants, under its on-tap licensing window for universal banks and small finance banks.
Universal bank licence can be obtained by individuals and professionals having 10 years of experience in banking and finance at a senior level. For SFBs, the minimum net worth requirement is Rs 200 crore.

Notes:
The National Assembly of France has recently approved the creation of an “ecocide” offence, which seeks to punish acts of environmental damage.
The bill will be applied to the most serious cases of environmental damage at national level, such as the pollution of a river. An offence of endangering the environment is punishable on the lines of endangering life.

Notes:
Charles Geschke, who founded Adobe along with colleague John Warnock from Xerox, in the year 1982, recently passed away.
He also helped develop Portable Document Format (PDF) document. Though he retired in 2000, he remained on the Adobe board until 2020. At present, the CEO of Adobe is Shantanu Narayen. The famous softwares of the company are PDF, Acrobat, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, and Photoshop.”

Notes:
A report was recently released by China’s central bank, People’s Bank of China (PBOC). It stated that India’s demographic advantage to overtake China’s by 2035.
It also proposed that China should immediately liberalise its birth policies to tackle the problems of an ageing population. This would enable the country to compete economically with demographically young India and immigration-friendly US.

Notes:
A new global marine initiative has been launched to protect and conserve 18 million square kilometres of the ocean over the next five years.
This initiative is known as the “Blue Nature Alliance”. It is led by several philanthropic organisations along with national governments, local communities, Indigenous peoples, scientists, and academics.

Notes:
The S&P Global Ratings in its report on Asia-Pacific Financial Institutions, highlighted that the Indian economy is projected to grow at 11 per cent in the current fiscal year.
The agency also revealed that some more targeted lockdowns will likely be needed and the impact of broader lockdowns on the economy could be substantial. As per official estimates, the Indian economy contracted 8 per cent in 2020-21 fiscal.

Notes:
“Global youth mobilization” aims to fund young people’s ideas to combat the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, in various communities. This is supported by the World Health Organization and United Nations Foundation.
It is also backed by UNICEF, USAID, UNFPA, European Commission, Salesforce, FIFA and Heads of State and Governments from around the world.