Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2021

Notes:
Giant Leatherback turtle are the largest of the seven species of sea turtles. They are found in all oceans except the Arctic and the Antarctic.
In the Indian ocean, they nest at Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Government’s proposal for tourism promotion and port development will threaten this species, which is accorded legal protection by listing in Schedule I of India’s Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

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 high-level meeting chaired by Union Communications minister Ravi Shankar Prasad announced that a Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU) will be set up.
It will address the matters regarding Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC) and financial frauds done through mobile phones. The Ministry would also set up a web/mobile application and SMS-based system for redressal mechanism.

Notes:
S. Chinny Krishna, the co-founder of Blue Cross of India, has been conferred with the prestigious ‘Prani Mitra’ award for 2021 by the Animal Welfare Board of India.
Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Giriraj Singh presented the award to Mr. Krishna in New Delhi, for his lifetime service to animals. It is the country’s highest award for animal welfare.

Notes:
The first day of the spring called ‘Pahela Phagun’ is celebrated in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The country’s top cultural organisations including the Bangladesh Shilpa Kala Academy held programmes to celebrate the beginning of the spring.
On account of the Covid pandemic, the traditional programme of ‘Basanta Utsab’ at the Fine Arts faculty in Dhaka university was cancelled.

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:
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.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Agriculture has obtained approval from DGCA for use of drones to implement Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
The Agriculture Ministry has planned to fly drones over 100 districts of the country to capture images of rice and wheat fields for assessing crop yields. It would also be used for claim settlement under the crop insurance scheme.

Notes:
The US space agency NASA released the first audio from Mars, captured by the Perseverance rover. The audio sounded like a faint crackling recording of a gust of wind in the red planet.
Though a microphone did not work during the rover’s descent to the surface, it could capture audio after it landed on Mars. NASA also released the first video of the landing of the rover.