Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2021

Notes:
Stan Swamy, the Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist spent nine months in custody after being booked under the UAPA, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act
UAPA is the primary counter-terror law in India. Though it was originally enacted in 1967, the law has undergone over 6 amendments, the last one in 2019. Stan Swamy was among the 16 activists, academics, and lawyers booked and arrested for their alleged links to Maoists in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence.

Notes:
The UK’s most powerful supercomputer, named Cambridge-1 is operational now. It is expected to make the process of preventing, diagnosing and treating disease faster and cheaper.
It is a $100m investment by US-based computing company Nvidia. Cambridge-1 can integrate different datasets, and build large models to determine the best course of treatment for patients. It collaborates with various pharma companies and start-ups for data.

Notes:
Chinese port city of Qingdao, which was making news recently, has a massive algae boom is threatening sea life, tourism, and water transport
In response to that, China has deployed thousands of boats and machines to deal with the massive algae bloom. As per the environmentalists, the. Climate change and pollution contributed to the production of the organic matter which contains micro-organisms and can flourish when nutrient-rich sewage flows into seawater.

Notes:
Bharat Dynamics Ltd recently signed Rs 499-crore deal with the Indian Air Force for the manufacture and supply of surface-to-air Akash missiles
BDL is supplying Akash Missiles to the Indian Army and Indian Air Force. The Company is also exploring to offer Akash for export to foreign countries. BDL is the prime production agency for projects under India’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).

Notes:
The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund scheme launched by the Government of India, is a medium – long term debt financing facility aimed to enhance the post gravest infra in India. The duration of this scheme is 10 years from FY2020 to FY2029.
The Union cabinet headed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved some changes in this scheme, in terms of eligibility, location of the units, interest subvention etc.

Notes:
Indian IT Major Tech Mahindra has proposed to roll out a blockchain-based open-source system to track vaccine supply chains worldwide, in partnership with a startup company named StaTwig.
This aims to predict and prevent failures in supply chains and addresses the problems of expired vaccines, stock out and counterfeiting.

Notes:
An MoU was signed between the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Delhi University to set up the ‘Bangabandhu Chair at Delhi University.
The Chair will focus on the common heritage of the two countries and several subjects including Buddhist Studies, languages including Bangla, Geography, History, Music, Fine Arts, Political Science, International relations and Sociology. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the first President of Bangladesh.

Notes:
World Health Organisation (WHO) released two new companion reports, for new recommendations on human genome editing.
It establishes human genome editing as a tool for public health with an emphasis on safety, effectiveness and ethics. The benefits of human genome editing include faster and accurate diagnosis, targeted treatments and prevention of genetic disorders.

Notes:
The Senate of Pakistan has recently passed a bill named “Torture and custodial death prevention and punishment bill” which aims to criminalise torture and custodial deaths. The bill has been passed unanimously by all members of the Senate.
The bill contains a punishment with imprisonment for a minimum of 3 years upto 10 years who commit the crime of torture or conspire to do so.

Notes:
‘State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World’ is an annual flagship report jointly prepared by FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO. It aims to inform on progress towards ending hunger, achieving food security and improving nutrition.
As per the report, nearly one-tenth of the world population, up to 811 million people went hungry in 2020. World Hunger increased last year, after remaining virtually unchanged for five years. It also projected that around 660 million people may still face hunger in 2030, 30 million more due to the pandemic. An estimated 149 million children were stunted, 45 million were wasted and 39 million were overweight in 2020.