Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2021

Notes:
Aadhimalai Pazhangudiyinar Producer Company and Snehakunja Trust are the two Indian institution among the 10 awardees of the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) Equator Prize 2021.
This is a biennial award to recognize community efforts for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Aadhimalai Pazhangudiyinar Producer Company Limited is a 1,700-member cooperative, run by indigenous people from the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in Tamil Nadu. Snehakunja Trust has protected wetland and coastal ecosystems in the Western Ghats and the Karnataka coast.

Notes:
British formula one champion Lewis Hamilton has won the British Grand Prix racing for the 8th time and has set a record in this regard. He is presently racing for Mercedes. This victory is 99th in the list of wins registered by Hamilton. His team mate Valtteri Bottas finished third in the event.
During the event, Lewis Hamilton collided with Max Verstappen in the first lap and received a 10 second penalty.

Notes:
Bashar al-Assad has won the recent election held in Syria and has sworn in as the President of the country for the 4th time. He has been serving as the 19th president of Syria since 17 July 2000. He would serve as the President for a seven-year term.
He has won the recent elections with more than 95% votes favouring him, while his opponents claim the election to be illegitimate.

Notes:
The Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD), Government of India has setup Dairy Investment Accelerator under its Investment Facilitation Cell.
It aims to promote and facilitate investments in the Indian Dairy sector. Dairy Investment Accelerator is also generating awareness among investors about Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development fund (AHIDF). Under AHIDF, Rs. 15,000 crore fund has been setup for offering financial support to entrepreneurs, private companies, MSME, FPOs etc.

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 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:
Sumit Nagal became only the third Indian to win a men’s singles match at an Olympics edition and the first in 25 years, when he defeated Denis Istomin in the first match at Tokyo Games.
Zeeshan Ali was the first Indian to win a singles match at the 1988 Seoul Games when he beat Victo Caballero from Paraguay. After that, Leander Paes won the men’s singles bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Games, beating Brazil’s Fernando Meligeni.

Notes:
The remains of a collapsed underwater volcano, resembling “Eye of Sauron” from the fantasy series “The Lord of the Rings,” have been discovered in the Indian Ocean.
Two other seafloor structures named after places in Tolkien’s Middle-earth were also identified. The eye is actually an oval-shaped depression measuring 6.2 kilometers long by 4.8 km wide. Called as a ‘Caldera’, this giant structure is left over from the ancient collapse of a deep-sea volcano. It is located 280 km southeast of Christmas Island, an Australian external territory, at a depth of 10,170 feet.

Notes:
The Philippines became the world’s first country to approve the commercial production of genetically modified “golden rice”, named for its bright yellow colour.
The rice has been enriched with the vitamin A precursor beta-carotene to make it more nutritional. Experts hope that this rice will combat childhood blindness. International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), along with Philippine Rice Research Institute has developed golden rice.

Notes:
Skateboarding player, 13-year-old Momiji Nishiya became the youngest gold medallist from Japan as she won the women’s street skateboarding event of the 2020 Olympics.
Another Japanese player Yuto Horigome had won the first ever men’s gold in the sport recently. Nishiya dominated Aori Nishimura, the reigning world champion, in the final. 13-year-old Brazilian Rayssa Leal was second and Japan’s Funa Nakayama bagged the bronze.