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:
Swami Vivekananda started the ‘Prabuddha Bharata’, a monthly journal of the Ramakrishna order in 1896, to spread the message of India’s spiritual knowledge.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 125th Anniversary celebrations of ‘Prabuddha Bharata’ organized by Advaita Ashrama in Uttarakhand. It is the place of publication of the journal. Several leaders like Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and Sri Aurobindo have contributed to the journal.

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:
The Indian Government is to introduce a bill in Parliament to ban all private cryptocurrencies and create a sovereign digital currency by the Reserve Bank of India.
The bill is to allow certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses. A legislative framework on official digital currency is also expected to be created.

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:
The China National Nuclear Corporation has stated that it has begun commercial electricity production from its “Hualong One unit” which are the third-generation pressurised water nuclear reactors of the country.
The reactor constructed for more than five years at Fuqing in Fujian province was first connected to the grid in November.

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 UN counterterrorism chief has urged countries to repatriate the children stranded in a massive camp in Al Hol.
Out of the 27,000 abandoned children, many of them are children of Islamic State extremists. Al Hol camp is the largest camp for refugees and displaced Syrians in the country, located in the north-eastern Syria.

Notes:
Bangladesh has sent a third group of Rohingya refugees to Bhashan Char Island, which is a newly developed island in the Bay of Bengal.
Around 4,000 refugees have been sent to the island since December. After the third set of 1,778 refugees, the fourth set is also expected to be sent soon. There have been several calls from human rights activists against resettlement of refugees in the island.

Notes:
The ‘Neptune Declaration on Seafarer Wellbeing and Crew Change’, is a declaration released by the global maritime industry recently.
The declaration focusses on recognising seafarers as key workers by all governments in line with the UNGA resolution adopted recently. The Maritime Union of India (MUI) urged the Centre to consider the declaration while formulating ‘Maritime India Vision 2030’.