Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2021

Notes:
Ibn Abdur Rehman – Human rights activist and journalist of Pakistan, died recently at the age of 90 years. He passed away at Lahore.
He was awarded with the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay award for his work on fostering India-Pakistan relations. He served as the Director of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan from 1990 – 2008 and the Secretary General from 2008-2016.

Notes:
The National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) has entered into a loan agreement with
Deutsche Bank for a loan value of Euro 68.87 million (Rs 600 cr).
The proceeds of the loan would be used by the corporation for onward lending to cooperatives in the country. Also, the NCDC has entered into another agreement with Indian Chamber of Commerce to boost farmers’ linkages with markets.

Notes:
Bengali New Year named Pohela Boisakh or Shubho Nobo Borsho is celebrated this year on 15th April 2021.
It is the first day of the first month of Boishakh according to the lunisolar Bengali calendar, which usually falls on 14th or 15th of April every year.

Notes:
Under the aegis of Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, The Energy Forum (TEF) and the Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry (FIPI) have organized a round table conference titled – “Hydrogen Economy- the Indian Dialogue-2021”.
The round table was conducted in a virtual mode on 15th April 2021. Discussions on emerging hydrogen ecosystems and exploring opportunities for collaboration were agenda for discussion.

Notes:
Special forces of India and Kyrgyzstan began a two-week military exercise in Bishkek. The eighth edition of special forces exercise, ‘Khanjar’ was inaugurated with a focus on counter-terror drills.
Initiated in 2011, this is the eighth edition of special forces exercise. This year, the focus is on high-altitude warfare. In 2015, India and Kyrgyzstan signed an agreement on bolstering defence cooperation.

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 Shipping Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced that 110 crore rupees ROPAX Jetty project is to come up on the river Dhamra in Odisha.
Centre has approved over 50 crore rupees for developing the Roll-on/Roll-off Passenger (ROPAX) Jetty and allied infrastructure, under the Sagarmala initiative.

Notes:
Recently, researchers have identified a new and distinct shark species, by recognising the 300-million-year-old shark’s single tooth on its lower jaw.
The researchers named the 6.7-foot shark as “Dracopristis hoffmanorum”, or Hoffman’s Dragon Shark. The fossils were found in the Manzano Mountains, New Mexico. The skeleton of the species was found in 2013 in New Mexico.

Notes:
IAS officer Siddharth Singh Longjam is to take over as the National Anti-Doping Agency’s Director General.
The officer will succeed Navin Agarwal, who introduced Athletes Biological Passport (ABP) for around 60 elite Indian sportspersons during his tenure. Longjam is currently serving as joint secretary in the Sports Ministry.

Notes:
The House of Representatives of the United States of America (USA) has recently passed the “No Ban Act”.
This bill aims to limit the ability of any United States president to impose a travel ban on the basis of religion. This move has been welcomed by many activists across the globe. Earlier, the US administration headed by President Donald Trump imposed “Muslim Ban” that barred travel to the US from several Muslim-majority countries.