Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2021

Notes:
Mario Draghi has sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Italy. He is the former Chief of the European Central Bank.
He is nick named as “Super Mario”. He has announced his cabinet of ministers, which consists of political and technocratic ministers. He is presently 73 years old.

Notes:
India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin became the second highest wicket-taker in tests played in India, after surpassing Harbhajan Singh.
Out of the 391 wickets taken from 76 Tests, Ashwin has clinched 265 wickets in India at an average of 28.76. He achieved this feat during the test match being held against England. Anil Kumble, with 350 wickets, is the leading wicket-taker in Tests in India.

Notes:
24-year-old Priyanka Goswami of Uttar Pradesh won the women’s 20-km walk event with a time of 1:28:45, at the National Open Race-Walking Championships in Ranchi. Sandeep Kumar broke the record in the corresponding men’s event.

Notes:
The Kerala state Government announced that it is set to launch an initiative, to set up and modernise mini-museums.
This project is spearheaded by Keralam Museum, an organisation which builds and modernises museums. The state has also launched the ‘District Heritage Museum’ and aspires to be a museum hub of the country.

Notes:
Malaria caused over 400,000 human deaths in the year 2019. It is said to be causing highest number of deaths among all vector-borne diseases.
Researchers from Tata Institute for Genetics and Society (TIGS), and Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology have released the detailed genome of the malaria mosquito vector.

Notes:
Arribada is a term used to describe the mass migration of sea turtles, where large groups of females assemble at a nesting site on the beach.
Recently, the Olive Ridley turtles have started laying eggs in the beach in this nesting season. The nesting season which usually begins in November was delayed by a few weeks this year, due to changes in climate conditions due to the cyclones Nivar and Burevi.

Notes:
Theodore Baskaran, a leading Writer, historian, naturalist, and activist has been awarded with the Sanctuary Nature Foundation’s “Sanctuary Lifetime Service Award 2020”.
This award has been conferred upon him for his dedicated works in wildlife conservation and for his writings in Tamil – English regarding the same.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Minority Affairs is to organise a ‘Mushaira’ event, in which renowned poets from across the country will recite their poems.
The event is to be conducted on February 20, 2021, on the theme ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat’. Mushaira, which is regarded as a poetic symposium is part of the Culture of India and Pakistan. It aims to make younger generation aware of the country’s art and culture.

Notes:
India is set to host a virtual South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) meet to discuss on management and response of Covid-19 pandemic.
This health secretary-level meet virtually with other SAARC countries, will be conducted as a virtual workshop to exchange best practices amid the pandemic. In 2014, Nepal hosted a SAARC leaders’ summit, which was the most recent meeting of the countries.

Notes:
According to the Institute of International Finance, the total amount of global debt stood at USD 281 trillion at the end of 2020.
It also revealed that the countries, companies and households raised USD24 trillion last year to tackle the economic crisis created due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The total debt was over 355 per cent of global GDP.