Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2021

Notes:
Federation Internationale des Echecs (FIDE) is the World Chess Federation, headquartered at Lausanne, Switzerland. It was founded on July 20, 1924 and has as many as 195 member countries.
To commemorate the formation of FIDE, World Chess Day is celebrated on July 20, every year since 1966. The day encourages more people to play and enjoy the game of chess. Chess originated in India, moved to Persia and spread across the Southern Europe.

Notes:
China has launched a high-speed train that works on magnetic levitation (maglev), which is designed to achieve a top speed of 600 kmph. This is stated to be the world’s fastest ground vehicle.
This project was launched by China in the year 2016 and the prototype was made ready in the year 2019. The model was tested in 2020 and now it is made operational.

Notes:
Russia has delivered the commercial offer for delivery of 21 MiG-29 fighters to India, which would be commissioned to the Indian Air Force.
The decision to procure 21 MiG-29 fighters from Russia was made by India’s council for defense purchases in the year 2020. Presently, Indian Airforce has three squadrons of the MiG-29s, which are operational.

Notes:
Russia has conducted a successful test of its S-500 air defence missile systems. During the test, the missile system hit a high-speed ballistic target.
The S-500 is said to have a maximum firing range of 600 kilometres and is the most advanced anti-missile system in the world. It is also capable of countering attacks from space.

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 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:
As of February 2026, India’s foreign exchange reserves totaled USD 717.064 billion. Foreign currency assets comprised USD 570.053 billion, making it the largest component. Gold reserves accounted for USD 123.476 billion. Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were USD 18.821 billion, while the reserve position with the IMF stood at USD 4.715 billion. FCAs are held in major international currencies.

Notes:
According to the third annual report on periodic labour force survey (PLFS), conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO) between July 2019-June 2020, the unemployment rate fell to 4.8% in 2019-20.
The unemployment rate in 2018-19 was 5.8% and in 2017-18 was 6.1%. Labour indicators recorded an increase in 2019-20, as compared to previous years.

Notes:
The set of reforms introduced and implemented in India in the July 1991 for a major macroeconomic stabilization and structural adjustment in Indian economy is called as the 1991 reforms.
It was undertaken when PV Narasimha Rao was the Prime Minister of the country, following a major Balance of Payment Crisis in India. July 2021 marks 30 years of implementation of the reforms, more commonly referred as the LPG reforms.

Notes:
John Abraham, a veterinary-doctor-turned-inventor, has received the patents for inventing biodiesel from slaughtered chicken waste.
The biodiesel offers mileage of over 38 km per litre at around 40 per cent of the current price of diesel. It is also expected to lower the air pollution by half. The Indian Patent Office granted the patent for inventing ‘biodiesel produced from rendered chicken oil’.