Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2021

Notes:
The US Senate has recently passed a legislation to ban the import of products from China’s Xinjiang region, as the US has been condemning China for genocide against Uyghurs and other Muslim groups.
Called as the Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act, it assumes goods manufactured in Xinjiang are made with forced labour and therefore banned under the 1930 Tariff Act, unless otherwise certified by US authorities. The current rule bans the import of goods if there is reasonable evidence of forced labour.

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 framework introduced by SEBI, Credit rating agencies will now be required to provide expected loss-based ratings for projects and instruments associated with the infrastructure sector.
The expected loss-based rating is divided into a scale of seven levels, spanning from lowest to highest expected loss. Instruments rated ‘EL (Expected Loss) 1’ will be considered to have the lowest expected loss compared to the life of the ‘EL 7’ rated instruments, which will indicate highest expected loss.

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:
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:
Jezero is a crater on Mars in the Syrtis Major quadrangle, with a diameter of about 49 km. NASA is making final preparations for its Perseverance Mars rover to collect its first-ever sample of Martian rock.
It also has future planned missions to transport the sample to the Earth. The six-wheeled rover is searching for a target in a part of Jezero Crater called the “Cratered Floor Fractured Rough.” This mission is expected to begin within the next two weeks. Perseverance landed in Jezero Crater on February 18, this year.

Notes:
Border Roads Organisation (BRO) Director General virtually conducted the last blast of escape tube of the Sela Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh, which is under-construction.
This blast will enable its faster completion, as per the Defence Ministry notification. The tunnel is being constructed to provide all-weather connectivity to Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh through the Balipara-Charduar-Tawang Road.

Notes:
The Government of India has proposed to establish 42 virology research and diagnostic laboratories across the country, at a total cost of Rs324 crore. These would be established during the 15th Finance Commission period of 2021-22 to 2025-26.
These would be established through a scheme under the Department of Health Research (DHR), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Notes:
The North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC) is a joint initiative of Department of Space (DOS) and the North Eastern Council (NEC). It is located in Umiam, Meghalaya.
The Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, recently laid the foundation stone for the Multipurpose Convention Centre and Exhibition Facility of the North Eastern Space Applications Centre-NESAC, in Shillong.