Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2021

Notes:
The Budget Session of Parliament recently began with the address of President Ram Nath Kovind to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament.
During the address, the President mentioned that the ‘Amrut Mahotsav’ will be observed in the country from this year, to mark commencement of the celebrations towards the 75th year of India’s Independence.

Notes:
India conducted the 5th Act East Forum (AEF) meet with Japan and both the countries reviewed progress of various ongoing projects in the North-eastern region.
India’s ‘Act East Policy’ and Japan’s vision for a ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’ are realised through the Act East Forum, which also provides a collaborative platform in the North Eastern Region. The meeting was co-chaired by Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla.

Notes:
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has recently introduced several changes to the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Rules.
It includes mandatory “Impact Assessment” for big CSR projects. It also includes mandatory disclosure of all CSR projects and the CSR Committee’s composition on the company’s website.

Notes:
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has recently released an index named “’Asia-Pacific Personalised Health Index”.
India has ranked 10th out of 11 Asia Pacific countries in the index. This index measures the readiness of 11 countries – Australia, China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and New Zealand in adopting personalised healthcare.

Notes:
IN FAC T-81 is the Indian Naval Fast Attack Craft of the Super Dvora MK II class, which served the nation successfully for more than 20 years in surveillance and Search & Rescue.
It was recently decommissioned at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai. It is a 25-meter-long vessel with 60 tonnes displacement and was built at Goa Shipyard Ltd in collaboration with an Israel manufacturer. The INFAC was commissioned into the Navy in 1999.

Notes:
Serum Institute of India has announced that it would launch a new COVID-19 vaccine under the brand name Covovax.
It would be developed in partnership with American vaccine developer Novavax, by the month of June. The company’s Covishield has been developed in partnership with the Oxford University and British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca.

Notes:
The Government of India has decided to add 14 new minor forest produce items under the “mechanism for marketing of minor forest (MFP) produce through a minimum support price (MSP)” scheme.
This is aimed to provide remunerative and fair prices for tribal gatherers. The additional items include bamboo shoot, Tasar cocoon, elephant apple, wind dry mushroom etc.

Notes:
In this year’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 cricket tournament held at Ahmedabad, Tamil Nadu team defeated Baroda to win the trophy title. Last year Tamil Nadu lost the trophy against Karnataka.
During this year’s tournament, Tamil Nadu remained un beaten till the final match. At the finals, the team chased Baroda’s modest score of 120, with 2 overs and 7 wickets remaining.

Notes:
Pattachitra is one of the oldest and most popular art forms of Odisha. It is a traditional style of painting performed on a cloth-based scroll.
This unique artform is known for its intricate artistic work and details about the mythological stories. Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned the name of a Orissa student in his Mann ki Baat radio programme, for practising the art form during Covid-19.

Notes:
A team of researchers have discovered a new gecko species in the state of Arunachal Pradesh.
The new species belongs to the genus Cyrtodactylus also known as bent-toed geckos. The species was named as Cyrtodactylus arunachalensis after the state of Arunachal Pradesh, in which it was discovered.