Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2021

Notes:
The Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has recently released ‘Marine Mega Fauna Stranding Guidelines’ and ‘National Marine Turtle Action Plan’.
The documents contain framework for handling stranded animals on shore, entangled animals in the sea or boat, management actions for reducing threats to marine species and their habitats, rehabilitation of degraded habitats, among others.

Notes:
China-based technology major Xiaomi has announced “Mi Air Charge”. It is a new wireless charging technology that has been patented by the company.
This device lets users to charge multiple electronic devices without any cables, pads, or wireless charging stands. But Xiaomi has stated that this device is still in the concept phase and will not be available commercially in the near future.

Notes:
The corruption perception index (CPI) for the year 2020 has been released recently by Transparency International (TI). The index uses a scale of 0 to 100 to rate countries, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.
India slipped six places and has been ranked at 86th position out of 180 countries.

Notes:
As per a recent research published in the journal “Nature”, the number of shark and ray in Indian ocean have declined by 84.7% and has been falling continuously since 1970.
The research noted that oceanic sharks and rays worldwide has fallen by 71% since the last 50 years. Also, 24 out of 31 oceanic shark and ray species are presently classified as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered on the IUCN Red List.

Notes:
Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, is an infectious disease caused by a bacillus Mycobacterium leprae. It is named after the Norwegian physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, who identified the bacterium.
World Leprosy Day is celebrated on the last Sunday of January every year to increase awareness on the disease. In India, the day is being observed on January 30 this year, on the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Notes:
In Myanmar, the military has taken control of the country under a 1-year state of emergency. Major leaders of the country including Aung San Suu Kyi are said to be detained.
In a television release, the military has stated that Article 417 of the country’s constitution have been invoked which allows military to take over in times of emergency.

Notes:
In the Union Budget 2021-22, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a scheme of Mega Investment Textiles Parks (MITRA).
The scheme is to be launched in addition to the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. It aims to help the industry become competitive, attract investments and boost employment generation. Under the scheme, 7 Textile Parks will be established over 3 years.

Notes:
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Siddhartha Mohanty as the new Managing Director of the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India.
He is currently serving as the Managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of LIC Housing Finance. Siddhartha Mohanty has replaced TC Suseel Kumar, who retired on January 31, 2021. LIC has four Managing Directors and one Chairman.

Notes:
The Supreme Court has directed Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund to distribute Rs 9,122 crore to unitholders of the six schemes that were shut by the company in April 2020.
SBI Mutual Fund has been directed to carry out the process of disbursement. Franklin Templeton has been mandated to distribute the said money within twenty days from the date of order.

Notes:
The Ministry of Power is set to launch a domestic manufacturing programme for critical power and renewable energy equipment.
The scheme titled ‘Manufacturing Zones under Atmanirbhar Bharat Package’ was announced in the Union Budget. With an outlay of Rs 1,500 crore in the coming financial year, the scheme includes setting up three manufacturing zones per year.