Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2021

Notes:
The European Commission released the European Green Deal in December 2020 and set a deadline of March 2021 to propose the first-ever European Climate Law.
The document highlights plans to implement a carbon border agreement. It aims to avoid carbon leakage from less determined nations who are likely to continue depending on fossil-fuel based energy sources.

Notes:
Gowsalya Shankar belonging to Tamil Nadu has been awarded with the International Woman of Courage (IWOC) Award by the US Consulate in Chennai recently.
She has been running a trust named Shankar Social Justice Trust since 2017 which aims to fight atrocities against caste-based violence.

Notes:
The Marine Aids to Navigation Bill, 2021 was recently introduced in the Lok Sabha. The bill seeks to provide a new framework to establish and manage vessel traffic services.
It also seeks to use the term “marine aids to navigation” instead of “lighthouse” to facilitate use of modern forms of aids to navigation. It aims to repeal the colonial Lighthouse Act, 1927, and empower the DG of Lighthouses and Lightships (DGLL) with additional power.

Notes:
The country’s apex judicial body – The Supreme Court of India has intervened on deaths of Great Indian Bustards, due to collision with power lines running in their habitat.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde would examine the presence of overhead power lines in habitats of Great Indian Bustards and find possibilities for converting them into underground cables.

Notes:
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has formed a 12-member committee for prevention of unscientific and unregulated mining being practiced in the state of Meghalaya.
Rat Hole Mining is an unscientific mining practice in Meghalaya in which a pit of 3 to 4 feet is dug and children enter to extract coal.

Notes:
Kathakali maestro Guru Chemancheri of Kerala, died recently at the age of 105.
He is a Veteran Kathakali exponent and is one of the oldest practitioners of the classical dance form in India. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2017 in recognition of his contributions to Kathakali.

Notes:
World’s largest floating solar farms are being built along the coasts and on the reservoirs of Singapore.
Though the country is one among the smallest in the world, it is among the biggest per capita carbon dioxide emitters in Asia. Singapore has undertaken this process to tackle climate change crisis.

Notes:
Venezuela has recently rolled out larger-denomination banknotes due to hyperinflation. The bolivar currency of the South American country is losing its value tremendously.
Bills worth 200,000 and 500,000 bolivars, which are worth just 10 and 27 US cents, respectively, began to circulate in the country. Venezuela’s central bank has also planned to roll a bill worth 1 million bolivars, worth just 50 US cents.

Notes:
The lower house of the French parliament, voted in favour of amending the country’s constitution to include climate and biodiversity protection.
The vote on the climate bill marks the first step towards a referendum on the constitutional amendment. In December, French President Emmanuel Macron announced to hold a nationwide referendum on constitutional amendments regarding the fight against climate change.

Notes:
The Insurance (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was approved by the Rajya Sabha recently. It seeks to increase foreign direct investment limit in the insurance sector to 74 per cent from the current 49 per cent.
As per the bill, majority of those in board of directors and key management persons would be resident Indians, with at least 50 per cent of directors being independent directors.