Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2021

Notes:
According to the performance index compiled by the Sydney-based Lowy Institute, New Zealand handled the pandemic the most effectively.
India is ranked 86th in the index comprising 98 countries, which measures several key indicators including confirmed cases, deaths, cases per million people and deaths per million people. New Zealand is followed by Vietnam and Taiwan while Brazil is the worst performing country.

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 Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has recently introduced several changes to the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Rules.
It includes mandatory “Impact Assessment” for big CSR projects. It also includes mandatory disclosure of all CSR projects and the CSR Committee’s composition on the company’s website.

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 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:
The Central Government has approved the Start-up India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) with a corpus of Rs 945 crore to provide financial assistance to start-ups.
As per the recent notification of thethe Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the funds will be disbursed through selected incubators across India from 2021 to 2025. DPIIT will also set up an Experts Advisory Committee (EAC) to monitor the scheme.

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:
The ‘India Justice Report’ was an initiative of Tata Trusts, along with the Centre for Social Justice and some other social agencies.
The report analysed expenditure, vacancies, representation of women and members of SC, ST and OBCs across large, mid-sized states and smaller states. Bihar has employed most women in its police force at 25.3 per cent. Tamil Nadu has the highest percentage of women police officers and Karnataka is the only state to meet SC, ST and OBC quotas.

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:
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.