Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2021

Notes:
India’s apex rights body NCPCR – National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has identified 50 “religious places” for complete elimination of child labour.
These places include Taj Mahal and Shri Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya. The commission has stated that collaborative intervention would be made with stakeholders including child welfare police officers, anti-human trafficking unit etc in this regard.

Notes:
The Kaliveli Lake is a coastal lake and a wet land, situated in Villupuram District of Tamil Nadu. The lake is near the Bay of Bengal and is the second-largest brackish water lake in Southern India after the lake Pulicat.
The district administration has recently issued the first declaration under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, to declare the wetlands as a bird sanctuary.

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:
This year, the 16th edition of India-USA joint military exercise – Yudh Abhyas would be held between February 8 and 21.
This year’s exercise would be conducted at Indio-Pakistan border. The exercise aims to enhance cooperation between the two countries and will have a special focus on counter-terrorism operations.

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.

Notes:
The Additional Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Praveen Sinha has been appointed as the acting chief of CBI.
He is a 1988-batch Gujarat cadre IPS officer. After Rishi Kumar Shukla who retired recently, the acting Chief has been appointed till a decision on a New Director is taken. This is the third time in last five years that an interim chief will head CBI.

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.

Notes:
Andhra Pradesh became the second State in the country to undertake the power sector reforms stipulated by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance.
The state has been granted permission to mobilise additional financial resources equivalent to 0.15 per cent of its Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), which means an additional borrowing of Rs 1,515 crore.

Notes:
The Indian High Commission announced that Sri Lanka has settled a USD 400 million currency swap facility with India.
In July 2020, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) had concluded the USD 400 million currency swap agreement, under the SAARC currency swap framework. This currency swap facility is available to all SAARC member countries.

Notes:
The five-day National Horticulture Fair has been scheduled to start on February 8 at the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) campus, Bengaluru.
This year, the theme is ‘Horticulture for Start-Up and Stand-Up India’ to encourage farmers to become entrepreneurs. The Fair can also be attended by people across the country virtually.