Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2021

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:
India’s 1st Home Minster Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel addressed the appointed Administrative Services Officers on April 21, 1947. In commemoration of this event, the Government of India observed every April 21st as National Civil Services Day.
The first such day was observed in the year 2006. This day is dedicated to India’s civil servants for their contribution and hard work in public administration.

Notes:
The Indian Navy has recently joined the rescue operation for an Indonesian submarine KRI Nanggala-402 and its 53-member crew that went missing.
After its 44-year-old submarine went missing while conducting a torpedo drill north of the island of Bali, Indonesia had sought assistance from India. Indian Navy’s Deep-Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSVR) left from Visakhapatnam as a part of the rescue operation.

Notes:
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a great Spanish writer, best known for his novel Don Quixote. His death anniversary April 23 is observed as the Spanish Language Day by the UN.
English Language Day is also celebrated on 23 April, the birthday and date of death of William Shakespeare. The United Nations established language days for each of the Organization’s six official languages.

Notes:
Microsoft and Met Office (UK) have joined hands to build the world’s most powerful supercomputer to forecast weather and climate-change.
The supercomputer, which is likely to be operational in 2022, will provide accurate warnings on severe weather and help protect from impact of extreme storms, floods and snow in the country. Accurate Forecasts may be given which can let the people make informed decisions.

Notes:
UNICEF and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media (GDI) conducted a study and released a report titled “Gender Bias and Inclusion In Advertising In India”.
As per the research that measures over 1,000 television and YouTube advertisements aired across India in 2019, the Indian advertisements on television and YouTube increase gender stereotypes.

Notes:
Every year, 25th of April is observed by the United Nations as the International Delegate’s Day.
This day marks the anniversary of the first day of the San Francisco Conference in the year 1945, during which delegates from fifty countries came together for the first time in San Francisco.

Notes:
Indo-German project ‘Pyrasol’ was launched to transform urban organic waste into biochar and energy in smart cities. It was awarded to CSIR-CLRI by the Indo-German Science & Technology Centre.
It aims for joint processing of Fibrous Organic Waste (FOW) and Sewage Sludge (SS) of Indian smart cities into Biochar. The foundation stone of the Integrated Solar Dryer and Pyrolysis pilot was recently laid at CSIR-CLRI, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Notes:
The Asian Development Bank has recently released a report titled Developing Asia’s Economic Outlook.
As per the report, Asia’s economy shrank by 0.2% in 2020. Although recovery has commenced in Asia, the recovery is registered at different speeds. Also, average inflation in the region is forecast to fall from 2.8% in 2020 to 2.3% in 2021.

Notes:
Ct, which is most commonly used in relation to RTPCR COVID detection test, stands for “Cycle Threshold”.
It refers to the number of cycles after which the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus can be detected. The lower the Ct value, the higher the viral load. As per ICMR, a Ct value less than 35 may be considered as COVID positive.