Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2021

Notes:
The Ministry of Energy, Israel has announced a National plan which includes the main target of reducing 80 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The plan aims to shut down all coal-fired power plants by 2025, reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the electricity sector by 75 to 85 per cent by 2050, increase electricity generation from renewable energy among others.

Notes:
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India and GIZ GmbH India on behalf of the German Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety signed an agreement on Technical Cooperation titled ‘Cities Combating Plastic Entering the Marine Environment’.
The project’s outcomes are completely in line with the objectives of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban focusing on sustainable solid waste management and the target to phase out single use plastic by 2022”.

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 President of the Central African country Chad, Idriss Deby Itno, who ruled the country for more than three decades, died recently during a fight with rebels.
Hours earlier, the electoral officials had declared Deby as the winner of the April 11 presidential election. Deby was a major French ally in the fight against Islamic extremism in Africa and also supplied critical troops to the peacekeeping effort in northern Mali.

Notes:
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved subsidy for urea to be produced by state-run Talcher Fertilizers (TFL), by means of coal gasification technology.
The company is to set up the urea plant based on coal gasification at Odisha. Talcher Fertilizers is a joint venture company between Coal India, GAIL, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers, Fertilizer Corporation of India.

Notes:
The Startup India Seed Fund has been officially unveiled by the Union Minister for commerce Piyush Goyal.
A sum of Rs.945 crore is allocated for the fund and is expected to benefit more than 3600 startups in the country. Also, it is expected to boost the start-up ecosystem in tier-2 and 3 cities.

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:
The country’s very first ‘Oxygen Express’ departed from Andhra Pradesh to supply oxygen to the state of Maharashtra.
The Ro-Ro (roll-on, roll-off) service operated by Central Railways is ferrying oxygen from Vishakhapatnam steel plant to meet the sudden surge in oxygen demand in Maharashtra due to COVID 19 pandemic.

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.