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:
‘BioAsia’ is a flagship summit hosted by the state of Telangana. It is a global summit which unites the scientists and businesses in various fields with special focus on Life Science.
The 18th edition of BioAsia is scheduled to be held during February 22-23, 2021. The theme of the summit is ‘Move the Needle’, with focus on Covid-19, global health, pharma and medtech.

Notes:
As per the recent report by SBI Research, the GDP forecast for the current fiscal year is expected to contract 7 per cent.
Earlier, the agency had forecasted a contraction of 7.4 per cent for 2020-21. Q4 growth will record positive growth at around 2.5 per cent.

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:
New Development Bank (NDB), also called as the BRICS Bank, has committed to invest USD 100 million into the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund- Fund of Funds (FoF).
With this new commitment, the NIIF has secured USD 800 million in commitments. The other investors are Government of India (GoI), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Notes:
Punjab National Bank (PNB) has signed an agreement with Indian Oil Corporation to provide up to Rs 2 crore to the dealers of the Oil company.
Under the MoU, the bank would provide credit facilities at lower interest rates, nil margin, and with minimum or zero collateral requirements. These measures are to be undertaken under the PNB e-Dealer scheme.

Notes:
FAME India stands for ‘Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India Scheme’.
The phase 2 of FAME scheme is being implemented with a total budgetary support of Rs 10,000 crore. As per the Road Transport Ministry, the government aims to support through subsidies about 62,000 electric passenger cars and buses, along with 15 lakhs electric three- and two-wheelers.

Notes:
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and navigation technology solutions provider MapmyIndia have partnered to create a national level mapping portal.
Along with the state-of-the-art mapping portal, the partnership also seeks to provide geospatial services. MapmyIndia has rich expertise in digital maps and technologies while ISRO has the best satellite imagery data.

Notes:
India records the highest number of Road crash deaths, across the world. The World Bank recently released a report titled “Traffic Crash Injuries and Disabilities: The Burden on Indian Society”.
Union Transport minister Nitin Gadkari released the report, which highlights the unequal impact of a road crash on poor households. Over 75% of the poor households in India reported a decline in their income after a road traffic crash.

Notes:
The death anniversary of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay – 11th February, was recently observed as Samarpan Diwas.
He was the co-founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and the was forerunner of BJP. During the pre-independence time, he started a monthly publication named Rashtra Dharma. He was assassinated on 11th February 1968.