Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2021

Notes:
The Union Ministry for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has launched the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF) programme.
This nation-wide programme has been launched in partnership with nine Indian Institutes of Management across India. It has been launched under the SANKALP (Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion) scheme.

Notes:
N S Vishvanathan, former RBI Deputy Governor, chairs the expert committee to chart regulatory measures and study consolidation among urban cooperative banks. The 8-member panel was formed by RBI in 2021 and mandated to report within three months on stability and sector road map.

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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:
The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has unveiled the draft blue economy policy in the public domain, inviting suggestions and inputs from various stakeholders.
The draft policy document highlights the strategy that can be adopted by the government to utilise the oceanic resources available in the country. It also has recognised seven thematic areas.

Notes:
The world’s largest cricket stadium, Motera stadium was rebuilt and renovated. It is the venue for the third day-night India-England Test.
The stadium has a capacity of 1,10,000 along with 11 centre strips. It also houses four dressing rooms with in-built gymnasium. On account of Covid-19 pandemic, only 55000 persons are allowed inside the stadium.

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The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Australian Space Agency signed an amendment to the Memorandum of Understanding, for space cooperation with Australia.
The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison last year.

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The International Solar Alliance (ISA) has proposed to launch World Solar Bank (WSB).
This is proposed to be launched at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow that is scheduled to be held in November 2021. The ISA is an intergovernmental treaty-based organization headquartered in India.

Notes:
The Commonwealth High Level Law Ministers Meeting on the Legal aspects of COVID-19 was chaired by the Law Minister of Sri Lanka. It was organised in virtual mode by Commonwealth Secretariat.
Anoop Kumar Mendiratta, Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law & Justice represented India on behalf of Union Minister for Law & Justice Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad. He said that India used video-conferencing to dispose the cases in a timely fashion during the pandemic.

Notes:
India’s leading investment professional, Usha Rao-Monari, has been appointed by the UN chief Antonio Guterres as Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of the UNDP.
She has served in several senior positions in the area of infrastructure investment, including Director of the Sustainable Business Advisory Group at the International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank Group.

Notes:
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the United States would pay the World Health Organization (WHO) USD 200 million.
The U.S. is the largest funder of the World Health Organisation, contributing over 15% of its total funds. Former U.S. President Donald Trump had begun the process of withdrawing from the WHO, which has been stopped now by the incumbent President.