Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2021

Notes:
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru, along with Mynvax has developed a heat-tolerant COVID-19 vaccine formulation, which has been proven effective against all current SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, according to a study in animals.
The formulation also protected hamsters from the virus and remained stable at 37 degrees Celsius up to a month, and at 100 degrees Celsius for up to 90 minutes. Covishield must be kept between 2-8 degrees Celsius while the Pfizer requires specialised cold storage at (-)70 degrees Celsius.

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:
The Government has launched the National Logistics Excellence Awards. The awards are in two categories, the first group includes logistics infrastructure/service providers and second one is for various user industries.
Organisations will be invited to submit entries through the Ministry of commerce and industry website. Shortlisted entrants will present their case to a National Jury panel, and the winners will be announced on 31 October 2021

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:
Russia has invited India for the first time to the Russia-US-China Troika Plus meet on Afghanistan. The meeting aims to discuss the role of Taliban and the future of the landlocked country, among other issues.
As per media reports, Iran has also been invited for the meeting. Pakistan and representatives from Afghanistan are also expected to take part in the meeting.

Notes:
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) was established in the year 2016, under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.
Recently, IBBI has made amendments to the “Insolvency Resolution Process for Corporate Persons Regulations”, under which, resolution professional should submit his / her opinion on avoidance transactions made by a corporate debtor (undervalued transactions, extortionate credit transactions, fraudulent trading, wrongful trading 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:
The Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) is an intergovernmental cooperation among 6 nations namely – India, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. It was established in the year 2000 to boost diplomatic cooperation among these countries.
Recently, the 11th Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) meeting was organized, and India was represented by the External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.

Notes:
Essential Defence Services Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha recently. The Bill empowers the government to declare services mentioned in it as essential defence services.
The Essential Defence Services Bill is aimed at preventing the staff of the government-owned ordnance factories from going on a strike. Around 70,000 people are working at 41 ordnance factories located around the country.

Notes:
Around 154 cases of norovirus cases have been reported in England. It is a highly contagious group of the virus.
As per the Central for Disease Control and Prevention, common symptoms of norovirus include diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea and stomach pain. It is also called the winter vomiting bug. Though the people infected with norovirus can shed billions of virus particles, only a few of them can make people sick.