Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2021

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:
Recently the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has said that Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin is found to effectively neutralise the double mutant strain, B.1.617, of SARS-CoV-2. This vaccine is manufactured by Hyderabad based – Bharat Biotech
Also, ICMR has stated that at its National Institute of Virology, scientists have successfully isolated and cultured the double mutant strain which has E484Q and L452R mutations.

Notes:
The former RBI Governor Shri. M. Narasimham passed away recently at the age of 94 years. He was the 13th Governor of RBI and till date is the only Governor of RBI to be appointed from Reserve Bank cadre.
He chaired the Committee on Financial System (CFS) 1991 and the Committee on Banking Reforms 1998, which forms the financial sector landscape that is in existence today.

Notes:
The High Commissioner of Australia to India has launched the Australia-India Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative Partnership (AIIPOIP) grant program.
This AUD 1.4 million (INR 8.12 crore) grant program aims to support a free, open Indo-Pacific region The programme would encourage exchange of expertise and resources between Australian and Indian stakeholders that complements regional mechanisms such as ASEAN, the Indian Ocean Rim Association, Pacific Islands Forum etc.

Notes:
Sankha Ghosh, who is a noted Bengali Poet, died recently in Kolkata at the age of 90 years. He was tested COVID positive.
He is a recipient of Padma Bhushan, Jnanpith, Sahitya Akademi awards, and Rabindra Puraskar awards for his literature works. Ghosh was known for raising voice for various social and political issues.

Notes:
The Indian Institute of Technology – Kharagpur has commercialized its healthcare product COVIRAP.
This is a diagnostic technology to zero on Covid infections. Using this technology, the COVID test results can be obtained within 45 minutes of sampling and the results can be seen using a smartphone application.

Notes:
India has been ranked at the 87th position among 115 countries in Energy Transition Index (ETI), which is released by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The top spot is occupied by Sweden followed by Norway and Denmark. The top 10 positions have been occupied by Western and Northern European countries.

Notes:
Indian Islamic scholar and peace activist Maulana Wahiduddin Khan recently passed away. He was listed in the 500 Most Influential Muslims of the world.
He was famous for having written a commentary on the Quran and translated it into contemporary English. Earlier this year, the government had announced that he would be awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the country’s second-highest civilian award.

Notes:
The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified 25 countries, with the potential to eradicate malaria by 2025 under its ‘E-2025 Initiative’.
As per a new report of the WHO- Zeroing in on malaria elimination, these 25 countries including three from Africa will have to work by responding to the dual threat of malaria and Covid-19. The WHO will provide support and technical guidance to these countries.

Notes:
The “International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace” is observed on April 24, every year across the world.
On 12 December 2018, the General Assembly adopted the resolution, “International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace. It was first observed on April 24, 2019.