Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2021

Notes:
Maharashtra has become the 5th state in India and 125th global state to join the “Under2 Coalition” to fight the climate change. The other four states are: Chhattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Telangana and West Bengal.
The Under2 Coalition is a global community of state and regional governments committed to ambitious climate action in line with the Paris Agreement. It started as a MoU which was signed by 12 founding jurisdictions in 2015 in Sacramento, California.

Notes:
India joined the global tax deal under the G20-OECD Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS).
It seeks to reform international tax rules and ensure that multinational companies pay their fair share wherever they operate. However, when the global tax regime is implemented, India will have to roll back the equalisation levy that it imposes on MNCs such as Google, Amazon and Facebook.

Notes:
NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) was recently given a two-year mission extension.
It is a near-Earth object (NEO) hunting space telescope, which searches for asteroids and comets – including objects that could pose a hazard to Earth. The telescope has provided an estimate of the size of over 1,850 near-Earth objects.

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.

Notes:
Philippines Air Force transport plane- the C-130 Hercules, crashed recently, killing at least 50 people.
As many as 49 soldiers were injured in the fiery crash, when the C-130 Hercules transport plane missed the runway while trying to land on the southern island of Jolo. The military is fighting the Abu Sayyaf and other armed groups in the island.

Notes:
According to the first aerial survey in two years, the number of Saiga in Kazakhstan has increased from 334,000 to 842,000.
Saiga is a rare type of antelope, which was considered to at the brink of extinction following a mass die-off in 2015. After a series of conservation measures, the population of the rare antelope has more than doubled since 2019. The Saigas give birth to twins every year.

Notes:
India recently hosted the CoWIN Global Conclave. Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the virtual conclave.
As per the CEO of the National Health Authority (NHA), Dr RS Sharma, about 50 countries have shown interest in adopting CoWIN. India is set to provide the open source version of the platform to the interested countries. CoWIN is a digital platform, developed by India, to efficiently run its vaccination drive.

Notes:
Health Ministry has launched COVID GuruKool, an informational video series on its social media platforms.
It is aimed at providing authentic information on COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccination drive undertaken across the country. Veteran public health experts, policy makers, doctors, scientists and health professionals will participate in the series.

Notes:
The Union Government has brought Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) under the Finance Ministry, to facilitate its ambitious disinvestment programme.
Earlier, the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) was under the aegis of Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises. This will be the sixth department under the Finance Ministry. Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises will be called the Ministry of Heavy Industries.

Notes:
Enceladus is the sixth-largest moon of Saturn. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has recently detected an unusually high concentration of methane, along with carbon dioxide and dihydrogen, in the moons of Saturn.
The spacecraft has found that Titan, another moon of Saturn has methane in its atmosphere and Enceladus has a liquid ocean with gas and water. Researchers assume that there may be methane-producing processes on Enceladus.