Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2021

Notes:
Startup India Showcase is an online discovery platform for the most promising startups of the country.
As per a recent data from the Union Commerce Ministry, as many as 104 startups from different sectors have been registered on the Startup India Showcase platform. In the platform, the promising start-ups, chosen through various programmes, are exhibited in the form of virtual profiles.

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:
The Oxfam International recently released a report titled ‘Inequality Report 2021: India’s Unequal Healthcare Story’.
As per the report, the states attempting to reduce existing inequalities between the general category and SC and ST populations had lower confirmed cases of Covid-19, such as Telangana, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan. Also, states that have had higher GDP expenditure on health, such as Assam, Bihar and Goa, have higher recovery rates of Covid cases.

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:
The O.P. Jindal Global University has organized the World Universities Summit 2021 (WUS 21), titled “Universities of the Future: Building Institutional Resilience, Social Responsibility and Community Impact’ today”.
The event was inaugurated by the Vice-President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu. This summit has brought academicians and technical experts of more than 25 Countries onto a common platform.

Notes:
The New Generation Akash Missile (Akash-NG), which is India’s advanced Surface-to-air missile has been recently tested by the Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) at its Integrated Test Range (ITR) off the Odisha coast.
This missile system has been designed and developed by the DRDL, Hyderabad.

Notes:
A 11-year-old boy from Haryana died at Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), after he was infected with the H5N1 virus.
The virus is also called ‘Avian influenza’ or ‘bird flu’. This is believed to be the first case of H5N1 among humans in India, and the first bird flu death this year. According to the World Health Organization, ‘avian influenza’, or ‘bird flu’, is a type of influenza virus that causes a highly infectious, severe respiratory disease in birds.

Notes:
World’s first 3D-printed steel bridge was opened to the public in Amsterdam recently. It was developed by MX3D, a Dutch robotics company, in collaboration with a team of experts.
The bridge was unveiled by Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. The bridge was developed for four years and was installed over one of the oldest canals in Amsterdam’s city centre – the Oudezijds Achterburgwal. This bridge represents a major milestone for 3D-printing technology.

Notes:
A Parliamentary Standing Committee has approved the The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2021, without any changes.
The Bill amends the term ‘major airport’ to include group of airports. It also increased the threshold of annual passenger traffic in a major airport to 35 lakh. Previously, an airport with annual traffic more than 15 lakh were called as major airports. AERA will regulate tariff and other charges for aeronautical services for major airports and also a group of airports.

Notes:
The Energy and environment ministers meeting of the G20 countries, hosted by Italy was held at Naples. This meeting has assumed significant importance since it has been convened 100 days ahead of the UN Climate conference – COP 26 at Glasgow.
But this meeting has been criticized since the member nations have failed to agree on the wording of key climate change commitments in their final communique.