Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2021

Notes:
External Affairs S. Jaishankar participated in a virtual ministerial meeting of the Quad, which is a group of four countries: India, United States, Japan and Australia.
The Quad association was revived in the year 2017, to tackle the aggression of China and enhance the strength of the Indo-Pacific regions. President Joe Biden has reiterated the US commitment for the same issue.

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:
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:
25-year-old Manika Batra defeated Reeth Rishya to win the 82nd Senior National Table Tennis Championship.
The top-ranked Indian player and the World no 63 is set compete at two WTT Contender events this month followed by the World and Asian Olympic qualifiers in Doha in the month of March. She received Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 2020.

Notes:
The RBI Act was amended, under which inflation target is set by the Central government, in consultation with the RBI, once every five years.
As the five-year term for the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC’s) inflation-targeting framework is to end this March, the inflation target band of 2-6 per cent is also to be reviewed.

Notes:
Pangolins are the most trafficked mammals in the world. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classified all eight species of pangolin as “threatened” to “critically endangered”.
The World Pangolin Day is celebrated on the third Saturday of February, to raise awareness on their importance. This year, it has been celebrated on February 20. Pangolins are considered as the pest controllers in the ecosystem.

Notes:
CSC is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) under the Ministry of Electronics and IT. It manages over 3.5 lakh common service centres (CSCs) across the country.
The CSC SPV has started a rural e-mobility programme, which urges people to switch to electric vehicles. The CSC e-Governance Services will facilitate loans for the purchase of electric vehicles. It will also focus on setting up charging infrastructure.

Notes:
India has recently extended a Line of Credit (LoC) amounting USD 40 million to the Government of Maldives. This is intended to boost the sports infrastructure of Maldives
This has been announced by the Union Minister for External Affairs Shri.S Jaishankar during his 2 day visit to Maldives.

Notes:
Every year, a group of blue earthworms, migrate about 300 metres up and down the slopes in the East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya.
Scientists of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have prepared a report on the two-way mass migration, for the first time. The blue earthworms migrate twice annually, uphill in spring and downhill in autumn.

Notes:
The Indian Institute of Drones has inaugurated a Centre for drone pilot training and Service and maintenance of drones in Guwahati, Assam.
The centre has been inaugurated in association with the Electronics Sector Skill Council of India. This is the 15th Centre of the Indian Institute of Drones, which is headquartered in Noida. It trains the drone pilots as per the DGCA CAR (Civil aviation requirements).