Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2021

Notes:
Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar launched the Indo-French year of Environment along with his French counterpart.
India and France have environment projects being undertaken in Assam, Rajasthan and a project to be started in Jharkhand. The objective of this event is to strengthen Indo-French cooperation in sustainable development.

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:
As per a recent report by Alvarez & Marsal India, as at September 2020, it took an average of 440 days for resolving 277 cases approved by the NCLT under the IBC.
The report stressed on the need for time-bound resolution of stressed assets and enhancing the resolution processes under Insolvency and Bankruptcy code as recovery percentages fell sharply to 15-25 % whenever there is an increase in time taken for resolution.

Notes:
In the Economic Survey 2020-21 tabled in the budget session of the Parliament recently, the Government has pegged in the country’s GDP growth rate for FY 2021-22 at 11%. The GDP growth for the current financial year has been estimated at minus 7.7%.
Economic survey is an annual document prepared by the Ministry of Finance under the guidance of Chief Economic Advisor. Krishnamurthy Subramanian is the present Chief Economic Advisor.

Notes:
Sandro Botticelli, was an Italian painter, who lived from 1445 to 1510 in Florence, Italy. He is said to be an important artist who have contributed to Florentine painting period.
Recently, one of his rare portraits, the “Young Man Holding a Roundel” was sold for USD 92.2 million (equivalent to Rs 6,722 million) at an auction held at Sotheby’s in New York. This also made a world record auction for any work by the Italian artist.

Notes:
The Investment Board Nepal (IBN), chaired by the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has awarded the Arun Hydropower Project to India’s Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam.
The project to develop the 679-megawatt Lower Arun Hydropower Project, is awarded to the SJVN under the build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) delivery method. The project cost is estimated at over 100 billion Nepalese rupees.

Notes:
The 13-day long Khelo India Zanskar winter sports and youth festival concluded at Zanskar Valley of the Union Territory of Ladakh.
The festival was organized by the Department of Sports & Youth Services and the Ladakh Tourism Department, under the Khelo India scheme. It aims to promote the economic activities and winter tourism in Ladakh.

Notes:
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the ‘Kerala Looks Ahead,’ a three-day virtual global conclave.
The conference aims to frame the roadmap for long-term development of the state by reaping opinions from top economists, industry leaders and administrators. Star speakers include Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, WHO Scientist Soumya Swaminathan and top industry leaders.

Notes:
The ‘ASEAN-INDIA Hackathon’ is an initiative taken by the Union Ministry of Education. This year’s edition has been inaugurated and is being organised online from 1st -3rd February 2021.
The event enables India and all the 10 ASEAN countries collaborate in the fields of education, science and technology. The countries also revive their economic and cultural ties under the event. This year the broad themes of the Hackathon are ‘Blue Economy’ and ‘Education’.

Notes:
The Kaliveli Lake is a coastal lake and a wet land, situated in Villupuram District of Tamil Nadu. The lake is near the Bay of Bengal and is the second-largest brackish water lake in Southern India after the lake Pulicat.
The district administration has recently issued the first declaration under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, to declare the wetlands as a bird sanctuary.