Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2021

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:
According to the performance index compiled by the Sydney-based Lowy Institute, New Zealand handled the pandemic the most effectively.
India is ranked 86th in the index comprising 98 countries, which measures several key indicators including confirmed cases, deaths, cases per million people and deaths per million people. New Zealand is followed by Vietnam and Taiwan while Brazil is the worst performing country.

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:
Former chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), RS Sharma is appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of National Health Authority (NHA).
He is to replace Indu Bhushan after his three-year term. NHA is responsible for implementing the public health insurance scheme ‘Ayushman Bharat’ or Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana. Sharma is also the Chairperson of an empowered committee on Co-WIN platform.

Notes:
On 30th Jan 1948, Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse in the year 1948. On this day, India observes Martyrs Day or Shaheed Diwas, to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi and all martyrs who sacrificed their life for the nation’s freedom.
The 73rd death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi was observed as Martyrs’ Day recently.

Notes:
The 15th Finance Commission headed by NK Singh, with 117 core recommendation, has tabled its report in the Parliament recently.
The Finance Commission maintained the vertical devolution of taxes with the states at 41%. The divisible pool of financial resources is recommended at 42%, with 1% adjustment made for change of status. So, the vertical devolution of taxes to the states stands at 41%.

Notes:
Anders Antonsen of Denmark won the men’s singles final at badminton World Tour held in Bangkok recently. In the final match, he defeated Viktor Axelsen of Denmark.
The tournament is hosted by Thailand in a bio secure coronavirus bubble. The tournament contained no spectators, to guard against the pandemic.

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 Oxford group has selected ‘Aatmanirbharta’ as the Oxford Hindi word of 2020. In Hindi language, it means self-reliance.
Previous Hindi words of the year selected by Oxford are ‘Aadhar’ (2017), ‘Nari Shakti’ (2018) and ‘Samvidhaan’ (2019). Following the prime minister’s address, there was a significant increase in the usage of ‘aatmanirbharta’ following the Prime minister’s address.

Notes:
World Wetlands Day is observed every year on 2nd February to create awareness on the importance of wetlands and its role played in the planet.
This year, the theme of the World Wetlands Day is ‘Wetlands and Water’. This year’s theme highlights the importance of wetlands as a source of freshwater. It also encourages action from people and countries to restore them.