Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2021

Notes:
A German-Madagascan expedition team has discovered a chameleon subspecies in Madagascar, which might be the smallest reptile on earth.
Named as Brookesia nana, the male reptile has a body of only 13.5 mm and top to tail length of 22mm. As per the Scientists, the species native to northern Madagascar rainforest might be threatened by extinction.

Notes:
India’s first-ever geothermal field development project is to be established in Leh, Union Territory of Ladakh.
A tripartite agreement regarding the project has been signed between Union Territory Administration Ladakh, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC),Leh and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Energy Centre.

Notes:
A team of three computer engineers from Assam have successfully developed a video playing and sharing application named ‘TipTeapi’.
It is said to be the rival of the famous Chinese application TikTok. It is said to be a secure application with privacy protection. At present, the application is available for users in India and a few other countries.

Notes:
After the Glacier burst occurred in the state of Uttarakhand, over hundred persons are missing in the massive flash flood.
The flood washed away two hydel power projects namely the Rishiganga small hydro project and National Thermal Power Corporation’s (NTPC) Tapovan project. The projects are located on the banks of the Dhauliganga river in the state.

Notes:
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru to create the Joint Advanced Technology Program–Center of Excellence.
JATP was created by the former Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam in 1983, in which DRDO scientists collaborated with the faculty of IISc. The CoE is to be set up in the premises of IISc, Bangalore.

Notes:
Soyuz-2 is a flagship three-stage launch vehicle of Russia, which places satellites in the low Earth orbit. It is the modernised form of the Soyuz rocket.
Recently, it was announced that the country has planned to launch around 40 satellites from over 12 countries using the Soyuz-2 rocket. It includes the CAS500-1 (Compact Advanced Satellite 500) of South Korea.

Notes:
A working group of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has proposed to reintroduce index-linked insurance products (ILIP).
The Group opined that this can be an alternative or complimentary option to the conventional products and unit-linked policies. It was in usage before 2013. Bond indices such as 10-year G-Sec benchmark, MIBOR, one-year Treasury bill, SBI fixed deposit rate, and others can be used.

Notes:
Indian Army organised a Seminar-cum-Webinar, named as ‘Divya-Drishti 2021’ on Multi-Domain Operations: Future of Conflicts.
It was organised by Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS). Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), General MM Naravane participated in the webinar. India’s Preparedness in Multi Domain Operations was focussed in the session.

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.