Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2021

Notes:
The Labour Ministers of five BRICS nations -Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa took part in the BRICS Labour and Employment Ministers’ Declaration.
India’s Union Minister for Labour and Employment Bhupender Yadav chaired the 7th BRICS meeting. The five countries resolved to recover with stronger national economies, inclusive labour markets and social protection systems. Russia organized the 6th meeting of Labour and Employment Ministers in Moscow on October 9, 2020.

Notes:
The U.S. government has recently unveiled an online hub for the victims of ransomware attacks, www.StopRansomware.gov.
This will help the companies and municipalities to find resources and get assistance if they are targeted by cyber hackers. The government also announced it will pay a reward up to $10 million to the person who can provide useful tips to track down cyber criminals who are backed or directed by foreign governments.

Notes:
As per the recent data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the UN children’s agency UNICEF, India recorded the greatest increase in the world in the number of children who didn’t receive the first dose of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis combined vaccine in 2020.
The data highlights that 23 million children globally missed the basic vaccines through routine immunisation services in 2020, due to disruptions caused by COVID-19.

Notes:
Julia Ducournau’s Titane has been adjudged as the best movie and has been awarded the Palme d’or award, at the 74th Cannes Film Festival. She becomes the first female director in 28 years, whose movie has made it to the prestigious award.
Prior to this, it was Jane Campion who was the female director, whose movie ‘The Piano’ made it to the top list in 1993.

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:
Punjab government launched an automated auditory brainstem response system (AABR) under universal new-born hearing screening programme.
Punjab has become the first state in the country to introduce the AABR system to manage hearing loss in new-born and young children. This is done under the Universal new-born hearing screening programme.

Notes:
Ariel Henry was recently appointed as the new Prime Minister of Haiti, amid political turmoil caused by the assassination of President Jovenel Moise.
Ariel Henry, a neurosurgeon and former cabinet minister was chosen as Prime Minister by the President, days before he was assassinated at his home. Ariel Henry will lead the nation until a new President is chosen in an election scheduled in September.

Notes:
Rasmi Ranjan Das, a Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, has been appointed as member of the UN tax committee for the 2021 to 2025 term
A group of 25 tax experts from around the world are appointed as members of the UN tax committee, formally known as the UN Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters. It aims to guide the efforts of countries to adopt stronger tax policies.

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.

Notes:
Chinese scientists have launched plans for a first-of-its-kind nuclear reactor that does not need water for cooling. It is dubbed as the ‘World’s first Clean Nuclear Reactor’.
The molten-salt nuclear reactor, is set to run on liquid thorium rather than uranium. It is expected to be safer than traditional reactors as the molten salt cools and solidifies quickly when exposed to the air, insulating the thorium, so that any leak would cause lesser radiation.