Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2021

Notes:
Israel and Greece have signed their biggest ever defence procurement deal. It includes a USD 1.65bn contract for establishment and operation of a training centre for the Hellenic Air Force (Greece) by Israeli defence contractor.
This deal is expected to strengthen political and economic ties between the countries. The Air Forces of the two countries also launched a joint exercise.

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 Government of India has recently extended the insurance scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package for health workers for a period of one year.
This insurance scheme convers loss of life due to COVID 19 and accidental death due to COVID related duty. A sum of Rs. 50 lakh would be paid to the claimant of insured person.

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:
The National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), has appointed Rekha M Menon as its Chairperson for 2021-22.
Rekha M Menon is the Chairperson and Senior Managing Director at Accenture in India, succeeding U B Pravin Rao, Chief Operating Officer, Infosys. Nasscom also named Krishnan Ramanujam, from TCS as the Vice Chairperson for this financial year.

Notes:
A virtual roundtable discussion ‘Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS) in Government’ was organized by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) in collaboration with Omidyar Network India.
The MEITY also launched the #FOSS4GOV Innovation Challenge to accelerate adoption of Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS) In Government.

Notes:
During the virtual summit on climate change convened by US President Joe Biden, India Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India and the US are launching an “Agenda 2030” partnership on green collaborations.
“India-US Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership”, aims to implement actions at high speed and on a large scale globally, to combat climate change. The summit was attended by various country leaders like Chinese President Xi Jinping, his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin etc.

Notes:
The Senate of the USA has recently passed a legislative bill to combat the increase in the number of hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific people in the country.
This measure is expected to fasten the review of hate crimes and provide support for local law enforcement agencies to respond to such crimes. The USA has reported several such hate crime incidents in the past.

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.

Notes:
The United States of America (USA) has joined Leadership Group for Industry Transition “LeadIT” – which is a climate initiative by India and Sweden.
With USA joining the LeadIT, it is expected that the partnership would help meet Paris Agreement goals, strengthen competitiveness and create new sustainable jobs in all the three countries.