Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2021

Notes:
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) approved the inclusion of the Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHC) scheme in Master Plan 2021. This will facilitate budget rental housing for poor and migrant workers living in urban areas in the Capital.
ARHC scheme was given the Cabinet approval in July 2020, with an aim to provide affordable rental housing for migrant workers.

Notes:
Uzbekistan played host to the ‘Central South Asia connectivity conference 2021’. It is also called as the Tashkent Connectivity Conference.
On the side lines of the conference, India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Tashkent and discussed the situation in Afghanistan amidst the withdrawal of US forces from the country. The Minister also inaugurated the IT room of India-Uzbekistan Entrepreneurship Development Centre.

Notes:
The Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) notified the jurisdiction of Krishna and Godavari River Management Boards (KRMB and GRMB).
The operation of all projects, including generation of hydel power, in the two river basins in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were transferred to the boards. 35 projects in the Krishna basin and 71 in the Godavari basin are brought under the purview of the board.

Notes:
The Union Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy – Shri R.K. Singh has launched an initiative named NEERMAN Awards, which stands for “National Energy Efficiency Roadmap for Movement towards Affordable & Natural Habitat”.
This initiative has been announced as a part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav’ and is aimed to encourage exceptionally efficient building designs that comply with BEE’s Energy Conservation Building Codes.

Notes:
A rare case of monkeypox was detected in Texas, in the United States, as per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Monkeypox belongs to the same family of viruses as smallpox. It induces flu-like symptoms, swelling of the lymph nodes and rashes. Scientists have discovered two distinct genetic groups of monkeypox virus—Central African and West African. The first case of monkeypox in humans was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Notes:
The Asian Development Bank, headquartered in the Philippines, has released the Asian Development Outlook (ADO).
The report has downgraded India’s economic growth for the financial year 2021-22 to 10 per cent from its earlier projection of 11 per cent. This downgrade is on account of the severe impact of Indian economy due to wave 2 of COVID 19 pandemic. The projection for 2022-23 is upgraded from 7 per cent to 7.5 per cent.

Notes:
As on June 25, 2021, India’s forex reserves stood at US$ 608.99 billion, making India the fifth largest foreign exchange reserves holder in the world. China, Japan, Switzerland and Russia are ahead of India in the list of largest forex reserves holdings.
India’s forex reserves comprise of Foreign Currency Assets, Gold, Special Drawing Rights and Reserve Tranche Position (RTP) in IMF.

Notes:
Russian aircraft makers unveiled a prototype of the stealth fighter dubbed “Checkmate”, as per the statement from Rostec, the state-owned military giant which is responsible for exporting Russian technology.
The sneak peek of the new fifth-generation lightweight single-engine fighter jet, was unveiled to the Russian President Vladimir Putin. With a combat radius of 1,500 kilometers and seven tons of combat load, this unique fighter prototype has not been developed before in Russia.

Notes:
A finger-sized fossil of a ’Microsaur’ from 308 million years ago has been unearthed in the United States.
The research finds a new species called a microsaur, which were small, lizard-like animals that roamed the Earth before proper dinosaurs made their appearance. The study gives more data on the evolution of different animal groups, including amphibians and reptiles.

Notes:
A pair of rare Chrysilla volupe spiders was recently spotted at Puttenahalli lake in Kerala. The Chrysilla volupe was believed to be extinct for 150 years, until it was discovered at the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS) in 2018.
The spider belongs to the family of jumping spiders (Salticidae). Male spiders are 5.44 mm long including stretched legs and 1.76 mm wide. They have a upper skin in reddish orange colour with two shining blue stripes. Females measure 2.61 mm long and 0.88 mm wide, and have a greyish upper skin with grey eyebrows with yellow legs.