Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2021

Notes:
The Jagannath Temple Management Committee, has recently approved a Rs 800-crore heritage corridor project. This project aims to revamp and redevelop the temple and is surrounding areas.
The Lord Jagannath Temple is an important 12th century temple located in Puri, Odisha. The temple was built by the King Anantavarman Chodaganga of Ganga dynasty.

Notes:
Nigerian American economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been appointed as the new director-general of World Trade Organization (WTO). With this appointment, she becomes the first African women to be the Chief of WTO.
WTO is an intergovernmental organization that is regulates the trade between nations. It is headquartered at Geneva.

Notes:
The “Anti radicalism bill” of France, that aims to strengthen oversite of mosques, schools and sports clubs has been put to vote in the nation’s law making assembly.
The bill has been proposed to rid France of radical Islamists and ensure respect for French value. This is considered to be President Emmanuel Macron’s landmark project.

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:
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has recently launched the ‘Pey Jal Survekshan’ survey under the Jal Jeevan Mission- Urban.
This survey is conducted on a pilot basis in 10 cities- Agra, Badlapur, Bhubaneswar, Churu, Kochi, Madurai, Patiala, Rohtak, Surat and Tumkur. The survey would assess distribution of water, reuse of wastewater and mapping of water bodies.

Notes:
The Joint Conference of the 11th World PetroCoal Congress and World Future Fuel Summit was organised in New Delhi.
Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan addressed the joint conference. HE highlighted that the Public sector companies in the oil industry have invested Rs 34,000 crore to upgrade plants for producing BS-VI fuel.

Notes:
Iran and Russia are organising a two-day navy exercise called “Iran-Russia Maritime Security Belt 2021” in the northern part of the Indian Ocean.
India has joined the exercise with a select group of vessels and forces. The drill will cover an area of 17,000 square kilometres and will include shooting at sea and air targets and liberating hijacked ships, as well as search and rescue and anti-piracy operations.

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.

Notes:
The Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, recently announced twenty-five shortlisted cities for the ‘Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge’ cohort.
This challenge is a three-year initiative aimed to support early childhood-friendly neighbourhoods under the Smart Cities Mission of the Central Government. Over 300 pilot projects were proposed in the challenge that would improve quality of life for over 12 lakh children.

Notes:
Recently, Scientists have recovered the oldest DNA on record. It has been extracted from teeth of mammoths found in north-eastern Siberia that existed to 1.2 million years.
This is seen as a major breakthrough in understanding the evolution of species and determine the characteristics of extinct species.