Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2021

Notes:
The state government of Karnataka has introduced a city sewage surveillance system in Bangalore. This is aimed to track coronavirus at an early stage.
This effort of Karnataka is supported by USAID (United States Agency for International Development) and COVIDactionCollab (CAC). CAC is supporting the state by providing training to sanitation workers in collecting samples and analysing them in labs.

Notes:
A bill named “Ensuring American Global Leadership and Engagement” or EAGLE Act has been moved in the USA’s legislative body. This bill is seen as a counter to the policy challenges posed by China.
The bill seeks for increased investment to promote US manufacturing, trade and seeks for increased US intervention to Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Notes:
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that, children who have lost both parents due to COVID-19 would be taken care and supported by the Government of India, under the PM CARES for Children scheme.
Such children would be entitled to receive a monthly stipend once they attain 18 years of age and would receive a corpus of Rs.10 lakh on attainment of 23 years, out of the funds available in PM CARES.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Labour and Employment has announced additional benefits for workers enrolled under ESIC and EPFO schemes, to remove fear and anxiety about the well-being of their family.
As per the new benefit, in case of an employee’s death due to COVID, all dependent family members of the insured person would be entitled to receive the same benefits as in the case of death resulting from employment injury.

Notes:
NASA’s Curiosity rover captured the images of the clouds seen above Gale Crater of the Mars. The crater is 154 km in diameter and estimated to be about 3.5-3.8 billion years old.
The image is a combination of 21 individual photographs the rover took recently to study a strange type of cloud over the Gale Crater. The Scientists made the rover watch for the early clouds, as it was observed that the cloud type was forming earlier in the Martian year.

Notes:
The State Bank of India, in its economic research report “Ecowrap” has predicted India’s GDP to grow at 7.9% for the FY 2021-22.
Earlier the report had predicted a growth of 10.4%, and it has now been downgraded due to the large impact of the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic in the country.

Notes:
The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has set up an Export Promotion Forum (EPF) to promote exports of dairy products.
It also aims to address various issues in the sector. The authority has recognized two clusters: Mathura in Uttar Pradesh and Banaskantha in Gujarat, to develop dairy merchandise. Farmers and small dairy owners in these clusters shall be given coaching and aid in capability building in exports.

Notes:
The Research Design & Standards Organization (RDSO), which functions under the Indian Railways has recently become the country’s first institution to be declared as Standard Developing Organization (SDO).
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) launched the scheme of ‘Recognition of SDO’, to attain the “One Nation One Standard” of the Government.

Notes:
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) of Canada has recommended mixing and matching of the second doses of covid 19 vaccines.
This means that people who reside in Canada and have taken the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine as their first shot, can take either of the vaccines as a second shot, based on their availability.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) six-member monetary policy committee, headed by Governor Shaktikanta Das, kept the benchmark interest rate unchanged.
The repo rate will continue at 4.00% and reverse repo rate at 3.35%. With this, the repo rate has remained unchanged for a sixth consecutive time. The decision has been taken amid coronavirus uncertainty and fears over inflation.