Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2021

Notes:
The Oxfam International recently released a report titled ‘Inequality Report 2021: India’s Unequal Healthcare Story’.
As per the report, the states attempting to reduce existing inequalities between the general category and SC and ST populations had lower confirmed cases of Covid-19, such as Telangana, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan. Also, states that have had higher GDP expenditure on health, such as Assam, Bihar and Goa, have higher recovery rates of Covid cases.

Notes:
A 53-year-old veterinarian in China is the first known human case of an extremely rare viral infection known to infect monkeys, called monkey B virus.
The virus most commonly infects macaque monkeys, and it is rarely seen in humans. There have been just 50 human cases of the virus reported since it was discovered in 1932, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Monkey B virus belongs to a family of viruses called herpesviruses while Monkeypox virus belongs to a family of viruses called orthopoxviruses

Notes:
Union Minister for Minority affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has been appointed as the deputy leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha.
Naqvi takes over from Piyush Goyal who has been elevated as the leader of the house in the Upper House. Naqvi is a former minister of state for parliamentary affairs minister, and is well versed in Parliamentary affairs. Former leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, Thawarchand Gehlot has been named as Governor of Karnataka.

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:
State owned PSU – Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) would build the country’s first ‘green hydrogen’ plant at its Mathura refinery. This is a part of the company’s plan to produce cleaner forms of energy.
Mathura has been selected by virtue of its proximity to TTZ (Taj Trapezium Zone).

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 Hong Kong’s legislature has proposed legislation on tackling “doxxing behaviour”. This legislation, if implemented, is feared to have a huge impact on technology giants operating in the country.
It is also said that such legislation could be used by the people in power, targeting civil society.

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:
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:
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.