Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2021

Notes:
The Lyrids are comets, which appear to move fairly fast, streaking through our atmosphere at an average velocity of 48 kilometers per second.
This modestly bright comet was discovered in April 1861 by an amateur astronomer, A.E. Thatcher. The Earth’s orbit coincides with the comet around April 22 each year. This year also, the annual Lyrid meteor shower is t take place on April 22.

Notes:
As per a recent study, only 3% of the world’s land remains ecologically intact, without spoiled by human beings.
The undamaged lands are mainly in parts of the Amazon and Congo tropical forests, east Siberian and northern Canadian forests and tundra, and the Sahara. The researchers suggest reintroducing a small number of important species to some damaged areas, such as elephants or wolves.

Notes:
The Gujarat Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) has ruled that Flavoured milk is ‘beverage containing milk’ and will attract 12 per cent GST.
Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation, which markets dairy product under Amul brand, had approached the AAR on the taxability under the GST of flavoured milk.

Notes:
Indian Navy’s first unit of the indigenously-built Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Mk III, Indian Naval Air Squadron 323 (INAS 323), was commissioned at INS Hansa, Goa.
The Mk III version of the ALH will be used for Search and Rescue, Special Operations and Coastal Surveillance. The squadron will operate three ALH Mk III helicopters, a multi-role chopper with the Shakti engine manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

Notes:
The United Kingdom is exploring the possibility of creating a new digital currency, which is dubbed as “Britcoin”.
The Bank of England and the Treasury are set to work together to assess the benefits of a central bank digital currency. The bank said the new currency, would be a new form of digital money for use by households and businesses.

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:
‘Nimbus’ is a flagship cloud service project of Israel, which aims to provide a solution for cloud services to the government, the defence system, and other sectors.
Recently, Israel’s government chose Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google for the USD 1-billion project to provide cloud services for the country’s public sector and military. Amazon and Google beat Microsoft, Oracle, and IBM in the tender for the four-phase “Nimbus” project.

Notes:
April 22 is observed as the Earth Day throughout the world. It is an international event celebrated around the world to support for environmental protection. This year marks the 51st anniversary of the annual celebrations.
The theme for Earth Day 2021 is ‘Restore Our Earth’. The United Nations designated April 22 as ‘International Mother Earth Day’.

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.

Notes:
The CODEX ALIMENTARIUS international food standards and guidelines contribute to the safety and quality of international food trade. Founded in 1963, the standards are provided by risk assessment bodies or consultations organized by FAO and WHO.
Recently, the fifth session of the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) established under Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) was inaugurated virtually. IT is take place from April 20 to April 29 virtually with over 300 participants.