Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2021

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 Economic Survey for 2020-21 has mentioned “Bare Necessities Index” (BNI), to describe the inequalities in access to bare necessities like drinking water, sanitation and housing conditions between urban and rural India.
The index lists 26 indicators on five dimensions namely water, sanitation, housing, micro-environment, and other facilities. It also classifies the regions in three levels of access to bare necessities namely high, medium, low.

Notes:
India exported 4.45 million tonnes basmati rice (worth USD 4.33 billion) in financial year 2019-20. It has a 65 per cent share in global basmati trade.
Pakistan makes the rest of the global trade. Recently, Pakistan’s basmati rice has received a Geographical Indication (GI) registration within the country. India has applied to the EU for the GI tag for its basmati rice in September 2020. Both countries are exporting basmati to the EU without a GI tag from it.

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:
As per the Union Budget 2020-21, the government would be incentivizing the incorporation of One Person Companies (OPC) in order to boost the ease of doing business.
The Government has reduced the time limit for Indian citizen to start an OPC from 182 days to 120 days. This move allows NRIs to incorporate OPCs in India.

Notes:
Lieutenant General C P Mohanty assumed charge as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff. Prior to this appointment he was the Army Commander of the Southern Army.
The area of responsibility of the Southern Army includes 11 states and four Union Territories. C P Mohanty has replaced the previous Vice Chief of the Army Staff, Lieutenant General Satinder Kumar Saini.

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 ‘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:
Tech major Google has launched a new initiative named ‘Startup School’ to train start-up founders and their teams across the Asia Pacific region.
It is a virtual programme which provides a series of free virtual courses for start-up founders and their teams. Courses on digital marketing, product knowledge and business strategy would be the focus areas.

Notes:
‘The Little Book of Encouragement’ is a book authored by the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama recently.
The book includes quotes and words of wisdom to the people, to face the realities of the world posed by the pandemic. It also discusses how to combat extremism, polarity and climate change and his views on Tibet in his new book.