Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2021

Notes:
As per the recent data given by the Agriculture Ministry, the Government has procured over 620 lakh tones of paddy, in the current Kharif Marketing Season.
This is said to be an increase of 17.60 per cent against the last year of around 527 lakh tonnes. Punjab contributed over 202 lakh tonnes, 32.71 per cent of total procurement. Over 1,17,000 crores have been spent for Minimum Support Price.

Notes:
Rajya Sabha has passed the Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020, which seeks to replace the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963.
The bill seeks to provide for regulation of major ports and provide autonomy to these ports. Board of Major Port Authority would be created for each major port, to replace the existing Port Trusts.

Notes:
The Government has approved inclusion of ‘Specialty Steel’ under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme.
A financial outlay of Rs 6322 Cr has been made to promote the domestic manufacturing of ‘Specialty Steel’. It aims to attract capital investment, generate employment and enhance technology up-gradation in the steel sector.

Notes:
Union Ministers and government departments of the country are setting up accounts on Koo application.
It is seen as the Made-in-India alternative to the social media giant Twitter. The app was one among the winners of the government’s ‘AatmaNirbhar App Innovation Challenge’ in 2020. Recently, there has been a tussle between Twitter and Indian Government, in matters related to farm protest.

Notes:
Global payment major Mastercard has announced that it will support some select cryptocurrency directly on its network.
It highlighted that it will give preference to ‘stable coins’ or cryptocurrencies that are linked to fiat currencies like the dollar. It also laid down four conditions for stable coins to be accepted including consumer protection, compliance among others.

Notes:
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has recently imposed a penalty of Rs 1 crore on National Stock Exchange (NSE).
In the co-location case filed in 2015, NSE was alleged for its failure to comply with the stock exchange and clearing corporation rules. SEBI also lashed penalty on the former Chief Executives fot being liable to the acts of NSE.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India has imposed restrictions on withdrawals from Independence Co-operative Bank Limited, Nashik.
This step has been taken for six months due to the bank’s present liquidity position. As per the RBI, the restrictions will remain in force for a period of six months. This restriction has been imposed by the RBI on the provision of Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

Notes:
Yoshiro Mori resigned from the post of the President of the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
After being criticised for his sexist comments he had made earlier. Yoshiro Mori is 83 years old and he is also the former prime minister of Japan. He also served as the president of the organizing body by the previous Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Notes:
Maharaja Suheldev was an Indian king belonging to Shravasti, which is the Gangetic Plains of present-day Uttar Pradesh.
The Government has decided to construct a memorial for the king and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to lay the foundation stone of Maharaja Suheldev Memorial.

Notes:
The United States of America (USA) has decided to revoke the designation of Yemen’s Houthi movement from the present status of “foreign terrorist organization”. This decision was announced by the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken
The movement was regarded and declared as a terror outfit by the erstwhile Trump administration.