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:
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:
The Indian construction major L&T Construction, has bagged the contract for building 28 steel bridges for Mumbai and Ahmedabad bullet train project.
The order costs about Rs.1000 crore to Rs.2500 crore. It involves procurement, fabrication, assembly and erection of bridges at various sites in the line. This project has been bagged as a consortium of L&T and Japan’s IHI Infrastructure Systems.

Notes:
The National Statistical Office (NSO) recently released its revised national account data. As per the data, the economic growth rate for 2019-20 was revised downwards to 4 per cent.
The decrease from the previous estimate of 4.2 per cent was mainly due to contraction in secondary sectors like manufacturing and construction. Real GDP growth of 2018-19 is estimated at 6.5 per cent, against the 6.1 per cent revealed in January estimate.

Notes:
As per a recent research published in the journal “Nature”, the number of shark and ray in Indian ocean have declined by 84.7% and has been falling continuously since 1970.
The research noted that oceanic sharks and rays worldwide has fallen by 71% since the last 50 years. Also, 24 out of 31 oceanic shark and ray species are presently classified as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered on the IUCN Red List.

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:
On 30th Jan 1948, Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse in the year 1948. On this day, India observes Martyrs Day or Shaheed Diwas, to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi and all martyrs who sacrificed their life for the nation’s freedom.
The 73rd death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi was observed as Martyrs’ Day recently.

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’.

Notes:
The Union Jal Shakti Ministry has recently launched a unified portal on the ‘Gobardhan’ scheme. The portal aims to monitor the progress made under the scheme.
The Gobardhan scheme was launched by the Government of India to manage cattle and biodegradable waste and also help enhance farmers’ income. It is being implemented under the Swachch Bharat Mission Grameen-Phase 2.

Notes:
India hosted the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) Defence Ministers’ Conclave on February 4, 2021 on the side-lines of Aero India 2021 event.
The broad theme of the conclave is ‘Enhanced Peace, Security and Cooperation in the Indian Ocean’. During the conclave, India announced that it is ready to supply missile systems, LCA and other weapons systems to the countries in Indian Ocean Region.