Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2021

Notes:
A research initiative named ‘Fund for Industrial Research Engagement (FIRE)’ has been initiated by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) in association with DST and Intel. This is aimed to increase research opportunities in fields like Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML), Internet of Things (IoT) etc.
SERB is a statutory body established by the SERB Act 2008, under the Dept. of Science and Technology.

Notes:
India approved its fourth Covid-19 vaccine, and its first mRNA vaccine, Moderna’s mRNA-1273. It is sold under the brand name ‘Spikevax’ in the US.
Now the vaccines can be imported to India without bridging clinical studies. Moderna vaccine which has 94.1 percent efficacy will be available in India through the Indian pharma company Cipla.

Notes:
Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, ICAI will launch a mobile app for students of foundation, intermediate and final course students. The mobile app named, “ICAI-BOS” will provide next-generation interactive learning and innovative ways to improve quality services to the students.

Notes:
The Government of Jammu & Kashmir recently ended 149-year-old practice of ‘darbar move’. Darbar Move is the name given to the bi-annual shift of the secretariat and all other government offices of Jammu and Kashmir from one capital city to another.

Notes:
Maana Patel made history on July 2, 2021 as she became the first Indian female swimmer to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics through the ‘Universality quota’. The Universality quota allows one male and one female competitor from a country to participate in the Olympics, provided no other swimmer from the same gender qualifies for the Games or receives a FINA invite based on his or her Olympic Selection time (B time). Maana Patel, 21, will join Sajan Prakash and Srihari Natarajan in India’s swimming squad for this month’s Summer Olympics.

Notes:
The Pakistan Army has formally inducted the first batch of the China-made VT-4 battle tanks into its armoury. Produced by Chinese state-owned armoured vehicle manufacturer, Norinco, the delivery of VT-4 tanks from the manufacturer began in April 2020. Pakistan is the third country to have bought these tanks from China after Thailand and Nigeria.

Notes:
Hou Yifan won the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship 2021 title. She won the final game by defeating Indian Grand Master Harika Dronavalli.
Hou Yifan is a Chinese chess grandmaster and four-time Women’s World Chess Champion. She is the youngest female player ever to qualify for the title of grandmaster and the youngest ever to win the Women’s World Chess Championship.

Notes:
Pushkar Singh Dhami sworn in as the 11th and the youngest Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.
According to the Article 164, Chief Minister of the state shall be appointed by the Governor exercising his own discretion according to established practice. Other ministers shall be appointed on the advice of Chief Minister.

Notes:
‘Tiangong’ Space station is the flagship construction of China National Space Administration. Recently, Chinese astronauts successfully performed the country’s first spacewalk in the station.
Out of the three astronauts, who blasted off last month, two of them-Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo, worked for seven hours on the outside of the Tiangong station in the orbit around Earth. Earlier, the USA banned Chinese astronauts from using the International Space Station.

Notes:
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) gave its nod to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education to provide technical assistance for satellite TV classrooms in India.
This aims to bridge the learning gap due to COVID-induced lockdown. ISRO scientists made a presentation before the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Education, MEITY and Doordarshan, about the proposed satellite TV classroom for students.