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:
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:
The cabinet of Government of Tamil Nadu, has approved new investments in the state amounting Rs.52,257 crores. This includes investment by Tata Electronics amounting Rs.5,763 crores, for manufacture of mobile phone components. These investments are expected to generate over 93,935 jobs in the state.
The state’s cabinet has also cleared the Tamil Nadu Industrial Policy 2021.

Notes:
PM AtmaNirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana, a new centrally sponsored scheme has been announced in the Union Budget 2021-22. The scheme would be launched with an outlay of Rs.64,180 crore over a period of 6 years.
The scheme aims to develop capacities of primary, secondary, and tertiary care Health Systems.

Notes:
Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated Aadi Mahotsav, a National Tribal Festival at Dilli Haat, New Delhi. The event is scheduled to be held from February 1 to February 15, this year.
Aadi Mahotsav is a national-level tribal festival and a joint initiative of Ministry of Tribal Affairs, and the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED). The event showcases traditional art, handicrafts and cultural heritage of the country. It has been organised from 2017.

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:
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 Education Ministry constituted a task force to prepare roadmap on imparting technical education in mother tongue. It was set up in December 2020.
The committee will be headed by the Higher Education Secretary Amit Khare, with representations from Directors from different IITs and NITs. This was announced in the Rajya Sabha by the Ministry.