Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2021

Notes:
The World Health Organization (WHO) in association with the European Union are launching the 40-million-euro COVID Vaccine programme in six former Soviet republics.
These countries are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova. Also, it has been observed that the number of COVID positive cases in this region has been declining in the past.

Notes:
Hewlett Packard (HP) India and National Skill Development Corporation signed a partnership to provide early skill development of students.
Under the agreement, HP would provide worksheets and content to enhance home learning. NSDC will host the content from the company’s ‘Print Learn Center’ on ‘eSkill India’, its digital skilling platform.

Notes:
The Union Culture Ministry is organising the 11th edition of its Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav (RSM) in West Bengal.
The events will be held in various places namely Cooch Behar, Darjeeling and Murshidabad during this month. It was inaugurated at the Cooch Behar palace and will promote traditional art forms and tribal heritage.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs have recently released the data pertaining to the literacy levels of prison inmates in India.
As per the data, 1,32,729 out of 4,78,600 prison inmates in the country are illiterate. This constitutes 27.37 per cent of the total inmates.

Notes:
The Government of China has banned BBC World News from broadcasting in the country. This announcement has been made by the country’s television regulator.
China has accused BBC for making derogatory reports on the country about coronavirus and the persecution of ethnic minority Uighurs.

Notes:
A group of six black storks (Ciconia nigra), were spotted recently in the Sigur plateau in the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu.
The species is classified by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in the “Least Concern” category. The sighting of the black stork in this region is considered to be extremely rare.

Notes:
Pi Beam – an IIT Madras-incubated start-up has recently launched a 2-wheeler named PiMo. This vehicle can be charged faster than a smart mobile phone.
It has a range of 50 km and is priced at Rs.30,000/-. This vehicle does not require registration and is targeted at personal and commercial users.

Notes:
As per a communication issued by the President Ramnath Kovind, Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi was removed from her post.
This step has been taken amid a political crisis in the Puducherry Union territory and ahead of the assembly elections in April-May this year. The additional charge of the UT has been given to the Telengana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan.

Notes:
The Jal Jeevan Mission was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15th August, 2019. It aims to provide tap water connection to every rural household by 2024.
Recently, the scheme has reached a new milestone by providing 3.53 Crore rural household tap water connections. 35.24% of rural households receive potable water through taps, against only 17% in 2019.

Notes:
Union Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar is to launch software applications for five all India surveys, being conducted by the Labour Bureau.
The Ministry will also release instruction manuals with questionnaire for five All India Surveys including All India Survey on Migrant workers, All India Survey on Domestic Workers, All India Survey on Employment Generated by Professionals, All India Survey on Employment Generated in Transport Sector, and All-India Quarterly Establishment based Employment Survey.