Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2021

Notes:
‘STARS’ stand for Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States. It is a project of the Union Ministry of Education for improving the quality of education in six selected states.
The total project cost of project is Rs 5718 crore with the financial support of World Bank amounting to approximately Rs. 3700 crore. Recently, the agreement for the financial support of the project was signed with World Bank.

Notes:
The Germany-based think tank Germanwatch has recently released Climate Risk Index (CRI) 2021. The index ranks countries as per their vulnerability to climate risks both in terms of fatalities and economic losses
As per the report, India is the 7th worst-hit country on account of extreme weather events in the year 2019.

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:
China is the largest producer of silk, in the world. It is followed by India in the second place. India is the only country in the world which produces all four major varieties of silk namely – Mulberry, Eri, Tassar, and Muga.
Recently, the Textiles Minister Smriti Irani inaugurated India’s biggest silk fair, the 8th India International Silk Fair. It is held on the virtual platform of Indian Silk Export Promotion Council.

Notes:
According to a recent research published in the journal Nature, Scientists have developed a new protein-based biosensor to detect the novel coronavirus.
These devices recognise the unique molecules on the surface of the virus and bind to them. Subsequently, they emit light through a biochemical reaction. This technique does not rely on genetic amplification as used in the RT-PCR method and saves time.

Notes:
The Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray launched a scheme to provide financial assistance to start-ups for filing IT patents.
Under the new scheme, around 125-150 start-ups will be supported in the first phase of the scheme with the financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. The state will also provide up to ₹2 lakh for quality testing and certification for the ideas of the start-ups.

Notes:
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh recently inaugurated a new plant at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bengaluru.
It aims to double the production of the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, India’s indigenous fighter jet. The Defence Ministry also signed a Rs 48000 crore deal to procure 83 Tejas LCA from HAL. This is said to be the biggest indigenous defence procurement.

Notes:
Fishing Cat is a special cat species that is found in wetland and mangrove ecosystems. The cat species is classified as Vulnerable as per IUCN Red list.
A team named Fishing Cat Conservation Alliance has been formed that comprise of conservationists, researchers and enthusiasts across the world working to conserve and protect Fishing Cat species.

Notes:
As per the recent notification of the World Health Organisation, Breast cancer is now the world’s most commonly diagnosed cancer.
Earlier, Lung cancer was the most commonly diagnosed. According to statistics released by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), one out of every six deaths in the total 10 million deaths in 2020 was due to Cancer.

Notes:
The Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Defence have recently approved 26 green zone sites across the country, to operate Drones. With this, the total green sites stand at 32.
Under the No-Permission-No-Takeoff (NPNT) compliance regulations, the drones are not authorised to fly without the NPNT automated green signal. The Government is also developing the Digital Sky platform, for automatic authorisations.